They're Here

The first week of school was exhausting. The 5 year olds are eager & cute, but there's so many of them! I was given a class list with 27 names but that lasted about 3 seconds. Every time I blinked a new student was arriving at my door. On Friday I took the little ones to art class... went to the ladies room and when I returned to pick up my kids another one had been added to my class. That happened last year too!

When I returned from lunch, yet another student. At the end of the day I was told another one would be starting on Monday. Forgot to mention only about 8 of them speak English... that's less than 1/3 of the class.... that night I fell asleep on the couch (sitting up)....... it's going to be a great school year!

Tornado in room 14

The first day of school is still a week away & I'm already in trouble with the "boss man". Like most of the teachers in my building (& across the country), I usually spend the last week of summer vacation in the classroom arranging the furniture, unpacking the closets and putting up bulletin boards.

When I got to school this morning there were tables stacked on top of each other, every piece of furniture was in a different place and my area rug was missing. Luckily my husband was off from work & just a phone call away. He moved furniture, boxes & carried my very heavy 9X12 rug from across the hall back to the classroom.

After almost 2 hours work, the boss paged me on the PA system... "Mrs. M. please come to the office". When I got there I got chewed out for not stopping in to say "Hi" when I arrived in the building! My new mantra for this school year will be...

Lord give me the strength to make the changes I deem necessary, grant me patience to accept the things I can not change and grant me the wisdom to hide the bodies of the idiots who piss me off between now & June.

This week the "teenaged one" left for his second year at college. It was a long, long summer! There were times that I wanted to smash him in the head with one of my non-stick fry pans ( I'm not really a violent person LOL). This time he took less "stuff" with him. Since my husband & I helped him move out of his old dorm in May, this trip to the new dorm building his dad (ex-husband) was assigned the moving in task.

The night after he left, the "Boy" sent me pics of his new dorm taken with his camera phone. It's a lot more spacious than the previous dwelling. At least he keeps the dorm room neater than his room at home. Of course his favorite non educational thing to do is jumping into Lake Ontario to cool off. It's going to be a great year.... miss him & his messines.

The Grizzwolds go to the Grand Canyon

Looks like the reluctant traveler (husband) had fun. After the Grand Canyon, we drove through the Navajo reservation and headed south to Tucson & Tombstone. Before our 9 day excursion was over the husband was already asking "Where should we go next year?" Can this be the same guy who didn't want to get on a plane just a week ago?

Vacation '09

Just before our first anniversary , my sweetie & I started planning our first vacation together. Prior to this we had taken road trips & long weekends. We wanted to go somewhere that neither of us had been to before. This was going to be a challenge since the hubby had a bad experience on a plane 7 or 8 years ago & had not flown since.

We finally decided to go to the Grand Canyon.... but the question was, "Could I get him on a plane again?" On the morning of our trip he was out of bed by 4 a.m. (the flight was at 8:30). Luckily the flight was smooth & we got to Arizona safely. August in the southwest is like sleeping on the surface of the sun! The drive from Phoenix to Sedona and later Flagstaff was the best part of our trip... spectacular scenery & the higher altitudes made for much cooler temperatures.

Nothing could have prepared me for the moment I saw the canyon up close. Breath taking, awesome , majestic... I was speechless (for a change LOL). The husband actually enjoyed himself (even though he let me know a million time s since we met that he hates flying).

Suburban Woodstock

If you were a girl growing up in the 1970"s , then you were probably a fan of David Cassidy & the Partridge Family. Last night at Burns Park on the south shore of Long Island, I got to relive my childhood. The parks dept. of my town has been sponsoring concert every Tues. & Sat. all summer long.

After dinner my friend Ellen, her husband & I ventured to the park to see our '70s idol David Cassidy. Besides his hits like "I'll Meet You Half Way" & "C'mon Get Happy" he wowed the crowd of more than 10,000 people with music from Cream, Hendrix & John Lennon. It was a magical night.... the perfect sunset, no humidity, very few mosquitos.... good friends & great music, what could be better?

The Cookin' Cowboy

The kitchen is my least favorite place in my house.... luckily I don't have to venture into that domain too often. When I found a man who enjoys cooking & does it well I tied him to the hood of my car and raced to city hall to marry him. I keep him hand cuffed to either the BBQ grill or the stove depending on the season. He still won't divulge the ingredients to his secret marinade, but that's OK. I am truly blessed!