Over a year ago, I wrote ‘The List.’ It was blog post about winning the lottery, or more specifically, what I would do if I won the lottery. With tonight’s jackpot listed as $540 million or a half billion, it was hard not to think about it as I drove home, yesterday. I mentioned to grandpa and grandma that a lot of good could be done with that much money and it could. So, I decided to dust off last year’s post, revise it, and repost. Continue reading The List – Part 2
Tag Archives: great days
Spring Break Part II
Sunday’s post was brief, but it cut into my morning time. I usually try to get up before anyone else and enjoy the quiet time before the day begins, but yesterday Olivia got up with me, and grandma and grandpa were already up and moving. By the time I was writing, the cottage was in full motion with everyone moving for the morning. I started to write but, realized it was futile to continue and stopped, vowing to finish at night when everyone was spent from the day. But, I forgot I was one of the ‘everyone,’ and fell asleep on the couch, reading one of my spring break books – Scat by Carl Hiaasen. Even Ivy had gone upstairs by the time I woke up at 1 AM and stumbled upstairs and climbed sleepily into bed. Needless to say, I didn’t write last night. Continue reading Spring Break Part II
Spring Break – 2012
I‘ll be brief, I promise. It is Spring Break. I have big plans and small ones, too.
The plan was to leave immediately after school Friday, but I nixed it on Thursday because I was exhausted and did not want to drive 360 miles Friday trying to stay awake nor settle back seat disputes. So, we settled on leaving Saturday morning and even then I was sleepy the last hour or two. The drive was pleasant and it was amazing to drive through budding trees and the emerging green grass. We even stopped at our friend’s house for a brief visit. I visited with the parents and the kids had fun with each other. It was a nice visit and broke the drive into two parts – But, we made it and we’re here at the cottage. Continue reading Spring Break – 2012
The Sunshine Report
Today, where I am the sun rises at 6.51 and sets at 7.08 bathing the landscape with twelve hours and seventeen minutes of sunshine. Actually, there is more sunshine because it is light after the sun sets and the sun bathes us with a bit more light before fading into night. Lately, the weather has been warm, really warm. It feels more like May than March. However, considering the winter weather we had, it is par for the course. Continue reading The Sunshine Report
weekends, sigh
Weekends disappear in the blink of an eye; actually, the entire past week disappeared in the blink of an eye. I can hardly believe the week is done. It was an easy week due to state testing, but it is done except for makeups for students who missed a day or two. I look back at the week with a bit of pride – I accomplished quite a bit and am current with just about everything at school; however, my office space downstairs is a fire hazard and I have other tasks to accomplish this weekend. Continue reading weekends, sigh
March Saturday Morning
It is another three-day weekend for the kids and they need it. Yesterday was a teacher institute day (teacher learning) across the county and all schools were out. I sat through a class on vocabulary acquisition our district rolled out at the beginning of the year. It is a pretty successful program focusing on Greek and Latin roots. I like it because it is concrete. There is a right answer and a right way. As much as the kids needed a day out of school because state testing begins next week, I needed a day in the classroom. I got a lot of the learning yesterday and am looking forward to applying it, but most of all it was it was good to get confirmation that what we are doing is helping kids learn. Continue reading March Saturday Morning
Spring Day
Spring has sprung, at least for a brief moment earlier this week. Wednesday morning, I walked out of the house and it was 50 degrees; it was the same morning the storms rolled across southern Illinois. Right now, we are back in the mid-30s and cloudy; it looks much the same as most of January and February did. Nevertheless, it is spring. Continue reading Spring Day
Stamps, stamps, and more stamps
For those of you who know me and maybe those of you who don’t – I like stamps. My last post included a mention of stamps and I have mentioned stamps and letter writing several times. But, I love stamps, postage stamps, commemorative postage stamps to be precise. Continue reading Stamps, stamps, and more stamps
Embarrassed, seriously.
I got up early this morning and finished my book, Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt. I have been reading it since early January at night before bed, reading as much as I could before I could no longer hold my eyes open. Last night, when I got home from the dance, I wanted to finish it, but I was exhausted and spent from a long week and read only a few pages before falling asleep. I woke in the middle of the night and went downstairs to read – to go back to sleep. I read a bit on the couch before dozing off with the light on and the dog at my feet, I woke up to a bark and dog who needed to go out. I made pot of coffee and covered up on the couch and finished the book. Overnight, we got a dusting of snow and the dreary cloudy days of Thursday and Friday were erased by a clear, bright sunny Saturday morning. Continue reading Embarrassed, seriously.
Winter Break is over
Winter Break is over. I suppose that is a good thing. I need to get back to work and have a bit more structure in the day, but I have certainly enjoyed the time to rest, relax, and restore. I have enjoyed cooking, reading, and spending time with family. I have my regrets – I didn’t accomplish as much grading as I wanted, I didn’t clean up my desk and organize my personal office like I planned and sadly, I have been restoring my waist line and not vice-versa. Continue reading Winter Break is over