The Short Short

I did it! I just entered one of Patricia's chapters into a contest. It was Writer's Digests' Short Short Story Contest (1500 words or less) and of course the deadline is Dec. 1st. And that is in 52 minutes. It's true what "they" say, if it weren't for the last minute, nothing would ever get done.
I feel excited by this! I know it's probably not a big deal and it's $12 down the drain but still - you never know. (Well, I'll know in February).
Okay - it's off to bed. The elves were busy tonight wrapping Christmas baskets of cookies and candy for work tomorrow. Being Dec. 1st we figured we should kick the gift giving off. Plus, Ang is leaving us very soon.
In other news -
1. I am still feeling sickly. Very sickly. And my students fear one of my lungs will go careening through the air every time I attempt a cough. It was a great day!
2. I love the writing on Grey's Anatomy. Love, love, love it. Can I please, oh please, have a writing job for Christmas? Pretty please Santa?!!?!
3. It was 32 degrees this morning and silly me - without a proper winter coat. That's right. When I moved to the south side of the sun I was told not to bring anything heavier than an Old Navy sweatshirt. "It never gets cool here." Well bull! It gets downright cold. Brrrr!!! So I wore my lined suit with a long sleeved shirt underneath and my trench coat buttoned up to the top. And I was still cold!

A case of the Mondays

Yes, it's true. It was a pretty great weekend. We ate, we hung out with friends, we went shopping, we saw a movie, we brunched, we baked, we read, we played Christmas music loudly with the doors open because it's 80 degrees here.
And then Monday morning happened.
Angela woke up sick. And kept getting sicker. She's been tossing her cookies into my trash can (hers is mesh) for over 12 hours now.
And I have the plauge. The common sore throat, achy thing you catch from a building of kids and bad air circulation. Lovely.
So I'll depart after a few random thoughts:
- The movie we saw this weekend was Casino Royale, the new James Bond flick. It was good. Very good. It was my first Bond and I am sure Daniel Craig will forever be my Bond. Go see it, it's a great way to spend a few hours on a Saturday afternoon.
- There's this obsession out here with riding four-wheelers or quads over the sand dunes. It seems insane but thousands do it every weekend with their RVs and their campfires. And 4 people died this weekend around Yuma in dune accidents. People are STUPID.
- We've been engaged over in Iraq longer than WWII. And now it's being deemed a civil war. Who's running this show and what's the plan? Seriously.
- My grandma turned 81 today and I am really missing home. And not just because I want someone to take care of me when I'm sick.
- I need a B-12 shot like they were handing out on Studio 60 tonight.

A day to be thankful

On Thursday Angela and I went down to the Crossroads Mission on the river. It was a hot day, in the 80s and they had this whole empty lot set up with tables and chairs, a "store" with clothes and stuffed animals and tons of people. There were so many volunteers that some even left their food and went home, promising to come back at Christmas. We're guessing that they served around 1000 people. We went through a lot of turkey, that was our station. This group that fights child abuse, the Rough Riders, cooked most of the food and were there (with their motorcycles!) to serve. It was very humbling to see so many people, so hungry, but also thankful for what they were getting. We saw a lot of kids too, which was sad. But they made us smile too. They ate their pie first, they ran around with the whipped cream and squirted it in the mouths, they were too shy to carry their own plates, they were covered in dirt and grime. There were women who looked tired and were carrying babies and bags of their belongings. There were men who looked hard, tired, old, who talked of living 2o years in the institution. Angela helped one man carry meals down to the boys on the corner who were too embarrassed to come up for food because they were drinking.
It was hot and dusty and no one seemed to notice. There was prayer and music and so much food. We gave out heaping platefuls and seconds and thirds. We encouraged people to take food to their families and to take some for later. We sent plates in to the people in the detox center next door. And there were so many volunteers. Many were "snowbirds" and it was great to see them sharing their holiday in that way. There were also members of the Marines and Navy there spending their time away from family with other people's families.
I was glad we could do this. I was glad that these people, every single one of them, got food on at least that day. A day when so many of us have too much food (including Ang and I - we still have leftovers!). It was an awesome reminder of how thankful I need to be. I have a roof over my head, I have a job that pays me, I have things, I want for very little that I actually need. I am grateful because I was on the other side of the line Thursday. I am also grateful because those people I met Thursday taught me a lot about cherishing what is most important and helping no matter what.

A midnight crisis

Okay, so it wasn't exactly midnight. It was 10:30 tonight, on a Sunday, when you are supposed to be getting ready for bed and for the week to come. Another busy week. This week has been hectic enough: formal observations and evaluations at work, dealing with a team member leaving, Angela's still sick and getting worse, Christmas shopping - Oy!
So we went Walmarting today and a few other stops and ever since I've had this nagging feeling. So I came up to check my checking account balance and low-and-behold I apparently had a stroke this week and didn't write down several charges from the debit card, including last week's Walmarting and Christmas shopping! All the receipts were there but I had "forgotten" to put the numbers down. Ugh. And I wonder why my stomach is hurting right now (thus the blogging and not sleeping).
So yeah - after a tense half hour I finally figured it all out and bam! I have $14.40 left until payday (thank goodness for savings accounts hooked up to transfer funds! The internet is amazing!). Sometimes life seems so easy but it never is, is it?!?!
So yeah, I have my third formal observation first thing tomorrow morning. Third in as many weeks. It's fine, I know everyone goes through it but it's a bit nerve wracking. The good news is my bosses said I did a great job during my last two and I got all the "points" possible. (If anyone knows T4S speak, I got my 5 out of 8!)
But on the upside I have stuck to my guns and have not charged Christmas gifts or any recent groceries. I almost did today but held back. And it was a lot of groceries. We are making a turkey here on Thursday for just us and we are making cookies for everyone we work with for Christmas presents so we had to stock up!
Also tonight Angela and I made a blanket! Yep - one of those no-sew fleece throws. It was fun and it only took about an hour and a half. We made it for our friend Shannon for Christmas, it's a mauvey-purple and sagey-light-green.
Also, I'm well on my way to being done with most of my Christmas shopping. A few more things to get and/or order online and voila! done before it's even December. Woohoo. We went to Mexico yesterday and picked up some awesome gifts (for some of you!!!) and got good deals. And a 12-pack of Coca Light! Which we then proceeded to drag almost an hour in line to get back into the U.S. That was fun. I even got a little sunburned, it was about 90 out and very sunny!
Okay, my stomach's settling and I am tired! Happy new week everyone!

Weekend Update

Some ramblings from my three days "off":
- I got a pedicure yesterday and the color of my toes is I'm not a dirty mistress. Once we saw it we just had to get it. You Grey's fans will know what I'm talking about;-)
- There is nothing worse than being at Walmart and having the cart with the bum steering. It felt like I was pulling a mule around the store. Ugh.
- Last night when we walked back over the border we saw the giant photos of our pres and vp. Bush looked normal (for him) but Cheney had this evil smirk. I swear! We were commenting on it in line. It was rather annoying to be forced to look at his mug while waiting.
- We got a three day weekend from school yet I have managed to put in almost over 7 hours this weekend. What a bargin!
- Friday night I was introduced to several of Yuma's finest establishments. At one there was a man and a woman in the woman's restroom, in another there was a girl who couldn't pull her pants up. Ah, big city Yuma!
- I did some Christmas shopping this weekend even though it feels far from Christmasy here. But the songs and snacks and sights in Hallmark helped:-)
- Know that a turkey breast and a turkey loaf are so not the same thing!
- Funny story: While walking back to our car last night (we parked at a Del Sol grocery store half a mile from the Mexican border) I mentioned to Ang that I wanted to get some Coca Light next week when we went to Algodones (it's Diet Coke but it's SO SO SO much better than the stuff her in the states, it's insane!). She said, "Let's go into the store and get some right now." I said, "We're not in Mexico weirdo." Yep, that's right. Even where you're in America here, it feels, looks, sounds and is very much like Mexico (we like to call it 'Wee Mexico').
- And finally, I've been minding the federal government's and all the healthcare officials warnings and have been trying to get at least 30 minutes of exercise every day. I've walked a total of 14 miles in 7 days, done Tae Bo and weights and right now my body feels like crap. My muscles hurt, my joints hurt, and I feel old. Great.
- All in all quite the weekend. And tomorrow it starts all over again!

Just when I thought today couldn't get any better...

OMG! (This is the standard opening line for most of my girls papers - OMG is the best in 7th grade slang)
It started off as a pretty good day (for a day that included work and 3 meetings and walking 4 miles). I woke up to the glorious news that we, the Democrats, had taken control of the House back. I was elated. Nancy Pelosi and her list of things to do in her first 100 hours. I can't wait! Christmas in November. It begins to make up for 2004. Especially if something happens to the president and vice president - hello President Pelosi!
And then I went to lunch, where we have rather spirited conversations even though we're all on the same "side". And there I learned that Rumsfeld had resigned! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
So that was great. And then when I got home we learned that the Democrats had also taken the Senate! Could I be any happier?
So I turned off the political stuff and watched this week's episode of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. The show that is well written, well acted, funny, and interesting I'd like to reiterate. So that was a nice capstone to the evening - even though it's been rumored to be on the chopping block at NBC.
BUT WAIT -
I retire to my bedroom, click on some of my favorite blogs and newsites and low and behold, I have received yet one more gift today - on what I thought would be a random Wednesday in November.
Studio 60 has been picked up for a FULL SEASON!
Life is good. Things are returning to normal in the world. And I am happy.
So I am going to sleep:-)

Mini Moe

On Saturday I added a new member to our household - Mini Moe. Yep, I broke down and bought a television. The giant moster that was Angela's 27 inch died recently. Well it was a slow death actually. It started with the screen blanking out and then it took a while to warm up. And then it died completely. After a morning of trying to do my walking tape with no picture I gave up. We thought about moving hers downstairs but then I decided to bite the bullet. We really wanted one of those nice plasmas but alas we ended up at Walmart purchasing a nice, flat screen (not to be confused with a flat panel we quickly discovered) 20 inch. And at a mere 99 dollars it fit nicely into my budget. (Well if you call having literally $16 to my name right now fitting nicely then yes.) So there it is - my guilty pleasure, tv. My must have - Mini Moe. So named because it's half the size of Ang's Mightly Millie (okay, I just made that up but whatever - it was a freakin' huge tv, we both have hernias from putting it in the dumpster. And a mere 20 minutes later when I took more trash out it was already gone from said dumpster!).
So that was my exciting weekend. It's not nearly as big as the pretty silver tv Chris helped me pick out at Best Buy but I can carry this one and I don't need a computer science degree to hook it up. In about 40 seconds we were already watching the Food Network. With a picture this time. And I'm hoping I don't have to sell this one for gas money:-)

A very quiet night in Stars Hollow

So yeah - we scheduled our first games night for tonight and while the invitations were readily accepted on Monday, when it got to today, it was a whole different story. That's right - Angela and I spent the night alone, well not completely alone if you count the fabulous cast of Gilmore Girls. So yeah, that was disappointing. But I will survive. I've vented, I've eaten too many chocolate chip cookies and tomorrow is another day. A day full of promise, of excitement, of things not yet realized. That's what's so great about every single new day. It's NEW!
School was pretty good this week. Except there is a student I am VERY angry with. He got 3 referrals today, including being kicked out of in school suspension. So that's annoying. But I am trying to remember he's 12 and I'm not. So I've got that going for me.
But we're reading a hilarious book in class and the kids love it. So much so that I was reading to them when the final bell rang today and no one realized it was time to leave! How great is that.
Alrighty, I am off to bed. I am happy and ready to start anew. To start with exercise and writing and doing stuff and having fun regardless of how many friends come to my game night!