12195

That's how many steps I took today while at work. That equals 4.43 miles and 824 calories. Woo, no wonder I was tired tonight. And that does not include the 4 miles I walked at 5:30 this morning listening to the ever-chipper Leslie Sansone and her walk-away-the-pounds friends.
So I am heading to bed early with a stack of Newsweeks. Keep movin' everyone!
And in case you're wondering, yes - that walking does equal out the half box of Somoa girl scout cookies I ate tonight. But still didn't go over my daily total with the exercise points. Walking rocks!

Jury Duty and other stuff on my mind

So I went to sleep at 9:30 last night. I am a party animal. We did go out to Lute's Casino with some friends from work and enjoy dinner and some great conversation, lots of laughs, etc. Then we came home and tried to watch Man about Town. This is a movie I have been wanting to see since I heard it was in the works and then it was never released on the big screen - straight to DVD. Not sure why. It's a Mike Bender film (he writes, directs, and is a major supporting actor in it) and I loved him last The Upside of Anger. Loved, loved, loved it. But I fell asleep. I do not blame the movie or Ben Affleck (whom you know I adore) but rather this insane week. So I went to bed. And proceeded to sleep for 10 straight hours. Wow, guess I was tired.
So I woke up and immediately had to start writing my jury duty letter so I can mail it today so I don't go to jail. Angela and I were both summonsed for jury duty on July 1, 2007. I would love to serve on a jury, I find it fascinating, especially if it's anything like a John Grisham novel or Twelve Angry Men or Law and Order. But not in July. This is our month off, our summer vacation. I'd already been pricing plane tickets that would take us to Michigan right when school got out then to Texas to see Brick #3 for the first time and to celebrate the 4th of July with them and then back here. So this really puts a wrench in things. Big time and I am so not impressed.
So I wrote a letter explaining I need to go home to see my parents who are in poor health (go with me folks) and am hoping for mercy. Please hope with me.
So it's now Saturday, and I am headed to school to help Ang and Shannon out with their career ladder stuff (a horrible, evil program that the district forces new teachers into). Then we'll see what the day unfolds!
Later gators!

The first day of Lent

So today I had to explain Ash Wednesday and Lent to my seventh graders. Interesting as most of them are go-to-church-three-times-a-week Catholics. But we discussed it nonetheless. And when asked what I was giving up they were surprised when I said nothing. As usual I am taking my whole "Do something" for Lent stance. I am already trying to give up extra calories, soda (since January baby - it's working!) and procrastination (this may be a never ending battle).
For Lent this year I pledge to exercise and write daily. Not just when I feel like it, which would be rarely. So this morning I got up at 5:20 am and walked 4 miles with the aerobic video and Kevin Smith's podcast in my ear. And I'll do it again tomorrow (though I doubt the podcast tomorrow will contain such a lively poltical debate as today's over whether or not Oriental is no longer politcally correct).
So what are you all giving up/taking on?

Big news in Yuma

It sprinkled yesterday, yep - a few drops of rain on the sidewalk and today the kids were all a flutter with the news. It's funny, I want to tell them that 4 days of rain or 14 days of rain is news not 10 seconds. But they don't get it here, especially not the kids.
We had a good day, overall - I even got my 1000 words in when I got home. That's my goal: 1000 words a day on either a screenplay or novel. We'll see how it goes.
I did not meet my exercise quota today - only hit 8365 steps or just over 3 miles but my feet hurt by 6th hour and I was home by 4:15 writing so I guess that's ok. We'll try again tomorrow.

The playground

So these are pictures from our Saturday morning. Angela and I volunteered to help build the new playground down by the river here in Yuma. It's being funded and built completely by volunteers and was designed by the kids of Yuma. It looks like a giant castle, and is pretty cool!

We worked from 8am until 12pm and were considered skilled workers because we said we felt comfortable using a circular saw. Actually, we ended up using a drill and putting up the blue and pink blocks you see here. It was tricky work, I had to stand on a 10 foot ladder and screw the blocks into place into the plastic composite boards. I used muscles that haven't been worked out in quite a while. And my balancing skills. We put up quite a few all over the place and then half an hour before our shift was over our supervisor found us and told us we had to take them all down. There had apparently been a miscommunication and there had to be pink boards under the blue pieces. So with heavy hearts Angela, Lety (our new friend who was grouped with us) and I took them all down. Needless to say after that I did not feel nearly as bad about going through 4 drill bits in 3 hours!

Hit the mark

So I made it today: 12,846 steps. Well over my ten thousand goal. How'd you all do??? (it helps to work a ten and a half hour day, keeps my feets a movin'!)

And a happy V-day to me!

So I was going to post yesterday and somehow it became 11:30pm and I had to fall into bed. Somehow the time passes so quickly when you are a) watching 3 episodes of Lost to get caught up with the rest of America and b) chatting online with friends from Michigan, setting up your MySpace account, and just playing online. So we'll just pretend it's yesterday and I'll report on Valentine's Day in the southwest.
So my biggest treat/surprise was when I got home and there was a brand-new dishwasher installed! I am so excited. We've been fighting with ours for several months and finally the maintenance guy gave in and just ordered us a new one but that was over a week ago and I was getting antsy. So I was delighted yesterday to find the plastic wrap on the puppy when we got home. I was so excited I put the detergent right in and Ang was like, Sarah - we don't even have dirty dishes in it yet. But I didn't care. I was "pickled to death"!
Also, I got gifts at school. A bowl of candy and a big container of chocolate covered pretzels, a You're So Raven card, and various others. The pretzels never made it home:-) Okay, okay, neither did the candy.
And I was so excited this year - I got tons of cards and gifts in the mail from family and friends, I feel so blessed really, so loved. So THANK YOU! All of you!
Alrighty, I've had my five minute break and I need to finish grading papers. I am giving two tests today and a lesson on descriptive writing. It's also "Friday" - a nonstudent day tomorrow and no school Monday so I know things will be a bit frenzied (that's one of our vocab words this week!). I am also being observed fifth hour which should be interesting. Frankly, I just want it to be done, it was rescheduled once and I know I shouldn't be but I am a bit anxious. But I suppose that keeps me on my toes!

The count

I walked 10,248 steps today (and that was just until 6pm when I took the thing off)! That's 3.72 miles just at work, whew! No wonder I get tired, and today wasn't even a very busy day walking wise. Today I inputed grades and we listened to a 22 minute story on CD that allowed me to sit and work and listen for most of it. So I think I did pretty good. How'd you do???

Pickled to death

-We are learning about descriptive writing in class this week. Last week we had a lesson on synonyms and using better words to describe things. For our Do Now! work one morning (which is on the board every day, something they have to do to get started immediately without my prompting them) I had them find synonyms for good, bad, happy and sad. One of my students put down the phrase "pickled to death" as a synonym for happy. I couldn't help but smile. I asked him quietly if he meant "tickled to death" and he got this embarrassed smile on his face and said he thought the thesaurus said pickled to death. I thought it was great and laughed about it to myself all day. Priceless.
-Some of you will be happy to know (or at least you'll pretend to be) that I wrote today! Yep, I worked on the novel, on Molly and Crystal's stories. They intertwine somewhat which makes my life oh so confusing. And I have added some side characters from Patricia's story in which makes it just a bit more convuluted. But all in all it went well and I feel rather accomplished. It's not done or anything but I feel like I'm moving forward! And I gotta say, that's better than the alternatives...
-I saw this very white crane today in the front yard of the apartment complex. I tried describing him to my dad who I was on the phone with at the time but I've yet to find out what his name is although I've done some checking. (Not name as in Fred or Louise but type - there, clarification). I actually went out with the digital camera to take a snap of him but as I approached him he flew away. Hmmm, I need to hone my stalking skills. But the kinda creepy guy who smokes outside his corner apartment all the time startled me so maybe that was my problem. I put my camera away and walked swiftly home. I'll keep you updated. On the crane that is, not the creepy guy.
-So most of my kids are failing my class. Literally getting an F. This hurts me. And I know it's not me, it's them not doing their homework, them not taking their time on essays and tests but they'll get the wrath anyway tomorrow when I print out grade sheets and make all the Ds and Fs get them signed and stay after school for the next few weeks. I will not let them fail gosh darnit! I will not!
-I went to the doctor today and got a pretty clean bill of health although I need to have some standard blood tests done tomorrow. So I am fasting for that right now. I was encouraged to take calcium supplements, 1000-1500mgs a day. So I went right to Walgreens and got me a big bottle of 400 pills, 600mgs each and I promptly took 2 so I think I'm good. That means I am now taking a multi-vitamin, vitamin D, vitamin E and calcium supplements. Ang thinks I am crazy but I told her the nurse practitioner told me I could even take Flinstones as long as I took something. She thought that sounded terrif so she got some Flinstones on her way home and guess what, she hates the taste! Hehe. A well spent 5 bucks:-)
-I got a new pedometer this weekend, the 6 dollar one lasted 3 days and then quit counting steps so I got a 20 dollar one I am hoping lasts much longer. I am shooting for 10,000 steps a day and I'll report back so someone challenge me!
-We had a Netflix discussion tonight. We're winding down our time in Stars Hollow with the Gilmore Girls (and there was much sadness!) so we have to beef up our cue. Ang is not terribly impressed with my movie selections (i.e., Say Anything and Drumline and some independents (Half Nelson) which I have never seen but would like to) so we added some new TV: the last of The Sopranos and House. We'll see how those go. Suggestions are widely encouraged:-)
-Another thing I learned at the doctor today: underwire bras are bad for you. I never knew this! All my life I've been thinking I had to wear them and turns out nope, they are not good and should only be worn for a night out on the town. I was instructed to spend some money on some good sports bras instead. Hmmm. I liked that thought:-)
-Alrighty, I am signing off for the night. I have to be at the lab at 7:30 to give blood and then it's a 9 and a 1/2 hour day at school (afterschool program's running twice this week for me!). Whew...'Night all!

One of the good days

Today was a day I needed. A good day. A day when everything went well in class and the kids seemed to get it and I was enjoying it.
I was supposed to be evaluated today by my boss, the vice principal. But he had a death in the family and had to reschedule for next week. Even though we're not supposed to put on a "dog and pony show" when the administration comes into our rooms, we all do and I am no exception. We've had a lot of profession development classes lately on how to be better teachers: writing and sharing our objectives with the kids, key vocabulary, instructional design, etc. And while it sometimes seems like a waste of time, today it all came together. I had planned a very formal lesson, scripted from a workbook on the 6 traits of writing, for my eval. And I decided to continue on with it despite the fact that no one but the kids would be watching. And I'm glad it did. Today was descriptive writing, learning to use the thesaurus and synonyms. And it went so well. It took almost our whole 2 hour block but I had the kids discussing, writing notes, using their books, talking about words, finding new words to use when insulting each other, it was GREAT. Today is what I believe teaching is all about.
And then afterschool I had tutoring. I ended up with one of my kids and 2 of Angela's and it went so so well. I was almost giddy afterwards. I got to talk through a tough story with one of my girls and help her raise her test score from a D to an A+. I got to walk one of Ang's boys through a test on cacao beans and forest fires and have fun in the process. I got to help another of Ang's boys write a creation myth that he seemed excited to write (well he always seems excited, he is ADD but anyway, he was at least writing!). And I had a girl in detention for gum chewing who told me, unprompted, that she had learned her lesson. So I let her skip the punishment section after a few minutes and make up a test she'd missed.
So yeah, all in all, a good day.
And on a side note (or a birdwalk as they call it here, we call them tangents where I come from) - I was thinking today as I watched my kids work and talked with them all day about words, what will these kids be like when they are grown ups. Won't they be something. To think, I only get to know them for a little while. They're still kids. They've only just begun. They are just starting. But in a few years, it would be interesting to find out who they become. Because they're going to be some pretty cool adults. But it's just crazy that I only get to see them for this moment. For now. So I am appreciating that today. I am enjoying being with each of them. With the girl who writes "Miss Knapp is the best" on her white erase board. With the boy who waves at me every single time he sees me. With the boy who was so angry when I gave him 2 detentions but found Angela every day I was out sick to tell her he'd been behaving for the subs. With the girl who reminded me today that her mom and I were both born in 1977. With the girl who, every time we hear a song by 'The Fray' (on announcements and Channel One usually), yells, "Miss Knapp, it's your favorite band" (say something one time and they never forget it. With the boy who's decided Angela is now Mrs. Brown (Mr. Brown is the math teacher down the hall Ang has a very contemptuous relationship with) and they honeymooned over Christmas break. With the girl who asks my permission to wear her new shirt with writing on it to school the next day.
This is all just from today. I am truly amazed at all the happens in my world on an hourly basis. How many thoughts and individuals I come into contact with. And how each of them affects me. And how I affect them. How they seem to crave my attention and at the same time defy me regularly. Even the good ones. It's astonishing. I am so grateful for this experience. So grateful.

Just because

I really don't have much to blog about today. Nothing exciting has happened, not much new to report here though it is sunny and 80 degrees. But I kinda miss the snow and cold of the north. I know, I know, if I was there I surely would be singing a different tune. But I'm not there and part of me misses my fleece bathrobe and my turtleneck sweater and my wool socks. Here I sit in my summer pjs with the window open because it's 65 at 10pm. Don't hate me because I live in the southwest!
I am feeling moderately better though everytime I blow my nose my kids cringe and I woke up this morning with a sore throat, a new symptom this time 'round. I came home tonight, made a stir-fry and collapsed on the couch with some Gilmore Girls. (We taped Lost and will try to avoid all spoilers until we watch it, probably on Friday.)
Well this was a boring blog but it's all I've got. I'm a little off my game because of this whole plague part 3 thing going on. I'll work out some better stuff for tomorrow. Until then, sleep tight!

Back to the grind

I made it back to work today and it felt as if I'd been gone four weeks instead of four days. But it was nice to hear over and over from the kids that they missed me. And they had a lot to tell me:-) Good and bad. How the pencil sharpener's just quit working, how the wooden snowman got broke, how the sub said I had a lot of eighties music in my CD collection, how they got a detention in math and they don't know why. So much to hear from my 59 little ones.
Work was fine, we read a story and I got some organization and grading done and tried not to exert too much energy. Doing that brings on coughing fits and that seems to freak the kids out.
But I did manage to put 10,006 steps on the pedometer today. That's twice out of three days wearing it I've hit the 10,000 mark so yay! How many steps did you take today???

Antibiotics and Kleenex

Yep, that's right, I'm sick again. Fever, chills, aches, runny nose, sore throat, lovely productive cough. I've got it all. And since I had already missed 2 days of work this week for this lovely sickness, I finally went to UrgentCare last night. The doctor there was great, I've always had good luck there and at $50 for the visit, it's really not bad in my opinion. He told me I have an upper respiratory thing and sinusitis or something like that. He drew little pictures of my sinuses on the table paper and talked about dissecting cadavers and I tried very hard to listen. My ears peaked when he mentioned a possible CAT scan if the 14 days of antibiotics don't clear this up.
Ang went with me and I was very glad for that. I think that you should always go to to doctor with someone when you are sick. It's too hard to hear all they have to say when you're not feeling well. She asked some great questions for me and I am so thankful to have the support as I was sitting there just trying to keep from coughing.
The doctor wrote me a note for missing school, and gave me cough syrup with codene and antibiotics. I guess I took the cough syrup to early last night though because around 3:30 I woke up and proceeded to lay in bed coughing for the next hour. Then I got up and decided to do something else, thus why I am online at 4:45am.
The good news is that I have sick days, so I am thankful for that, and that my kids have gotten good sub reports these past 2 days. I can't ask for more really. At $99 for 2 types of drugs I really don't know what people without health care do, so I am very thankful for that as well.
Guess I'll head back to bed. You know, in theory it's great. Three days in bed doing nothing but flipping channels, napping, and reading a little bit. But in reality, it stinks. Go figure!

We finally did it!

We made it to the gym yesterday, finally! We went in the morning and while we were a bit nervous, we jumped right in. I did the bike and the elliptical machince (it looks fun but kicked my butt) and then we found that they have a women's only weight room that rocked! So needless to say, my arms are quite sore today.
Also, I bought a pedometer yesterday. I got a cheapie for $6 at Target and have been challenged to keep track of my steps every day by my friend Angel. So here I go! Today I walked just over 5000 steps. My goal is 10,000 every day but today I had to sit in a class all day so I didn't get to move much however tomorrow I plan to move, move, move. We did take a walk tonight though and I walked to the mailbox twice just to get more steps in.
On another note, I am sick again. A lovely cough that is full of crap. I am so not impressed. And I don't know if it warrants a doctor's visit or not. I guess I'll wait a few days and see. I am taking Mucinex so hopefully that will help.
Oh yes, one more thing:
Chandra Wilson won a SAG (Screen Actor's Guild) award last night for best female actor in a dramatic series and I am so excited. As Miranda Bailey on Grey's Anatomy, she is just amazing to watch. But it was her acceptance speech that made my night. (And no, it wasn't just that she referred to Isaiah Washington as "that other one in rehab"!) I was flipping channels and came upon it unexpectedly. But in her speech she said she was glad that Hollywood has taken her as she is including her skin, her nose, and her arms, at which point she pointed out her jiggly underarms. It was great! It made me smile to think that someone in Hollywood, someone who is on screen doing great work, has jiggly underarms. Because I do too:-)

We are the champions (of the hallway)!

That's what I'm talkin' 'bout! My kids, the North American superstars, won the Spell Off! banner back from Europe today. However, I must say that Angela's kids proved to be formidable opponents. They stuck it out 'till the bitter end spelling words like pnemonia and duffel bag (the tricky space) and boycott (the double consonant) and gnarly and reign and rein and so many others. So congrats to all our spellers who worked hard memorizing the 126 words we had this quarter.
So today started the new quarter - our third, boy time flies. I got 4 new kids spread out in 2 classes and I got to start the day with a rather unpleasant HR meeting where I was repeatedly addressed with the phrase, "So you've done nothing" in reference to the professional development and college classes I'm supposed to be taking. See Ang almost died in September and as such, they dropped mefrom my class because the first day of 12 was that day and I was (understandably, I thought) at the hospital waiting for her to go into surgery. And then for my second chance at some credits I was sick in bed hoping to die from my throat's firey pain. So yeah. I got chewed out essentially and was informed when the state comes to audit us (because we're on an improvement plan because we are a "failing" school - I'm sure this is also because I've done nothing) they'll have to be told and I quote "You've done nothing." What a great start to a Monday.
So yeah, at least the day got better. And I ended it with a rockin' peppercorn pork lion I made and hand writing letters. I love that. Oh yeah, and some Gilmore Girls. I love them too:-)
Oh, and a little P.S. - I've been nominated for New Teacher of the Year. The ballots are collected tomorrow. I don't really expect to win but I figure more than one person must have voted for me if I at least got nominated:-)

Happy 60th Birthday Dad!

My dad turned sixty on Wednesday, January 17th. I wasn't there to celebrate with him, but I am so grateful he has a wonderful church family who threw him a party to celebrate. My grandparents were able to be there too and while I really wish I could have hugged and kissed him on Wednesday I know that he knows I love him.
So here's to you Dad - may we have many, many more birthdays to celebrate whether we're together or apart.
I love you Dad.

From the artic

So I know you east-coasters are belly-aching about your ice and snow and sub-zero temps but here in Arizona it gets chilly too. And 59 in my classroom this morning was downright frigid. It led me to find Angela's hooded sweater which I promptly put on and then I covered it with my jean jacket and all I day I got comments from Angela about my new undercover gig as a narc. She said I looked like one of those cops on TV who tries to look like they're homeless or from the streets. I told her if I had some gloves with the fingers missing I'd wear them too.
Other than the temps it was a pretty good day. My checkbook balanced. I finally have a good tidy sum (well in my world) in my savings account. I made cookies for the less than half of my students who managed to turn in homework four days last week (the criteria for said homemade chocolate chip cookies). We watched an episode of that interesting in a sorta train-wreck, can't look away way, new show Dirt with Courtney Cox. I think we'll stick with it a few more eps. Oh yeah - and a kid I have who I thought had learning disabilities was actually just lazy. Go figure!
Also - yesterday I saw the movie The Good Shepherd with Matt Damon. It was a great film. As I told my kids today in my review for them, it's a grown-up movie with lots and lots of talking. They did not seem impressed and only wanted to talk about Stomp the Yard and Freedom Writers. Oh well. But really, TGS was well done. I thought Matt Damon was great, though I always think that. I thought the writing was really good (Eric Roth - scribe of Forrest Gump among other things) and I thought Alec Baldwin aged well in the movie (much to Ang's dismay, she hates the guy). I am intrigued by all things CIA and D.C. so it was a perfect movie for me and it made me want to come home and read some more history books, especially about what happened after the second World War, where all my history classes left all. ALL OF THEM. No joke. I never learned about Vietnam in a class, or anything else for that matter. And this movie focused heavily on the Bay of Pigs. Good thing I had a social studies history sitting next to me, thank you Ms. Hall!
Let's see what else you should know - oh yeah, Friday we went out with friends to this fancy Japanese restuarant and I tried sushi for the first time. Mine was eel and it wasn't bad. I declared that if I was hungry and there was nothing else I could probably eat some more. Thank goodness I had chicken stir-fry cooked right in front of me to look forward to. Though I did enjoy the enamame (soybeans in the pod) that were our appitizers. Very good!
On another note, my iPod has a new skin, it's hot pink, an iSkin and so far we are very happy with it. I ordered it though apple and it has a belt clip and I think the person who's used it the most so far is Ang;-) Although I have been jammin' to a little of JT's Sexyback on it. Rock on friends!
P.S. - I know some have inquired and sadly, no, I did not make my first spin class Sunday. Instead I got to walk around Walmart and run into too many co-workers. Long story short, Ang found out she has to have a released signed because of her appendix before she can work out. So we left the gym. The sad part is we've belonged for several weeks now and still haven't seen a workout room or a piece of equipment. Best five bucks I ever spent. But hey, I made lowfat brownies tonight:-)

Baby, it's cold outside!

Yes, I know, back in July we would have killed for this weather down here in Yuma, AZ but not today. The low last night was 26 degrees. This may not seem to bad, even to me, a native Michigander who's endured her share of frozen toes and lake effect snows but down here, it's a bit ridiculous. I don't have a winter jacket or mittens or even a good, heavy sweater. I left them all up north when I was promised warm weather and bright skies 364 days a year. So last night when we went grocery shopping (which we now have to do at the off-off-peak hours on Saturday night because of the snowbirds descent on us) I was cold. Luckily I have a few sweatshirts and some heavy socks but still. Paging global warming!
It's 43 right now at 12:30 pm and there's a promise of 10 more degrees but I wouldn't bet on it. I guess this is the price we pay for a balmy 80 degree Thanksgiving. Lovely.
On another note, I am going to my first spinning class today. I am excited. We joined the gym and haven't made it this week (I barely was able to nourish myself before falling asleep - it's like the first week of school all over again). But I am ready now. And we have tomorrow off so if I can't move after, it'll be okay.
It was a good week back at school. We had fun in my class. Including Friday when I gave the spelling test to my 6th hour and couldn't figure out why they would not stop giggling and outright laughing. Then 8 words in (there are 18 total) I realized I hadn't pulled the screen down so the words were still on the board. That's one for the books, according to Ang who couldn't stop laughing when I told her about it. I laughed too but made them throw that test away and we did it again later in the day.
We've also started a foreign exchange student program at school. This week there have been many Europeans (Ang's kids) who get to come visit me in North America and vice versa. Oddly enough, when thrown into a new climate these children are usually hard-working angels. I wonder what would happen if we sent them down the canal to Africa (8th grade)!
And one last funny anecdote - I have 1st hour prep which means I don't see kids in class until 2nd hour. And I often pop into Ang's room during 1st hour to deliver copies, ask questions, chat or help out some of her kids. And when I walked into the room one morning this week, one of her kids said quietly (but not quietly enough), "Uh-oh, here comes trouble." I thought this was hilarious. I told him we could go in the hall and discuss some real trouble and then I smiled. Out of the mouth of babes...

Misc. news (if you can call it that)

I am back in Arizona. Yep - back to the sun (and wind!) and 65 degree temps. We arrived Friday after 2 long plane rides. Apparently Ohio State is in a bowl game here in our sunny state and every obnoxious fan over the age of 40 was on our flight. Including the 4 very loud, semi-drunk men in the seats in front of us. So all in all, a bad buckeye experience.
But alas, we made it home. And it's good to be back into a semi-normal routine. I have joined a gym (on a trial basis, for 5 bucks) and bought tons of healthy food to keep cooking and being healthy healthy.
In fact, last night at Walmart I decided to try to be more natural and bought some organic food and a lot of fresh food. It was really funny - I was deciding between the organic milks and I was explaining to Angela that they don't feed the cows antibiotics so it's better for us. And she got very concerned looking and said, "Well what if they get sick?" It was funny.
So yeah, that's the news here from the western front. Not much else is happening. I need to go do laundry and finish unpacking and be productive. Hope you have a wonderful week everyone!

Heading back to the sun

Tomorrow we will fly back to Arizona, Angela and I. It has been a busy week - we were in Chicago yesterday and today. Angela got bad again and spent yesterday hooked up to IVs at the Diamond Headache Clinic. Today she learned how to give herself shots if needed and I got to watch in case I have to jump in. Medical school here I come:-)
So yes, vacation is almost over. I am ready to be home, to get back in a routine, to write, to go back to the kids at school (did I say that?!?!?!), to see the sun for more than 3 hours at a stretch.
I will answer emails and calls this weekend. I promise. Life will resume normalcy. But I will miss home. I will miss my parents, Brownie, my grandparents, friends here, a familiar town, traditions, puzzles, etc. Mostly I will miss just being here, the community of here.
More after the jet ride:-)