What a week....

I'm sorry for the lull in action. You may have noticed, Jolea gave me a Helloooooo. I do that to her when she hasn't blogged in a few days. It's our way of saying, "you are neglecting..." or "don't make me worry." But in our family it's always been "no news is good news."

We made it through 'our' first week of school. As always, we were busy in spurts. The phones ringing at a fairly steady rate and new students and parents drifting in to enroll. Sometimes several families all at once, like they are in a race to get their kids in a desk. Maybe some schools run out of room, but not us. Even when we do run out of room, we still take them. Sort of like Old Mother Hubbard in the nursery rhymes. We'll take them all.

Thank goodness for the first week, because it's a trial run for the second and third week! Shhhhh, I didn't tell Judi!

Judi did VERY well in her first, first week, she skipped that last year and jumped straight into the heart of the job. She just kept plugging along, entering the info of new students into the district database all the while I kept busy with many smaller jobs like cleaning out and reorganized the supply cabinet (a small gift for Maria), sorted mail, and updated calendars. I like the small jobs, the kind you can tell yourself, "check, check, that's done."

I'm starting the new school year out with the thought "I like the calendar," many of you know, how the calendars gave me a severe beating last year. I was trying to manage no less than 6 or 7 seperate calendars. I think I may have it down to 3 this year... that is if I don't count my personal calendar. But that's OK, all I do when I leave school is go home and knit. My calendar will just state, must make time for knitting.

I did spend the majority of yesterday revising the Teacher Handbook, Office FAQs, and New Teacher Handbook. I won't take all the glory I had editing help... thank you Mary. But I got ALL the typing done, I love to type. I know the staff will be happy to know Mary and I edited out 5 whole pages from the Handbook! We just cleaned up some things. The rules are still the same... no running in the halls (unless you are wearing black high heeled boots - private joke), no screaming (take it home, you can scream in your backyard), no throwing objects, unless you are on the Kickball Field. Remember this is the Teacher Handbook, there is a handbook just for students.

I think we are ready for a full week of trainings, workshops and the staff retreat next week!

News on the home front.... this past week Hubby tried to go to work on Monday, didn't do well. He was feeling so exhausted and came home by noon. I guess that would have been when he was feeling the full effects of the chemo. He stayed home Tuesday and Wednesday. By Wednesday night when I came home he looked like his old self again. You know what I mean... he had that mischievous look in his eye he always has, not that tired -I'm on chemo look. He also went to the Guitar Club meeting when one of his friends came over. I think D was just coming by to check on him and Hubby said let's go! They gathered up some guitars and took off to the two hour meeting. One of the side effects Hubby had read was that he would experience some tingling and numbness in his fingers and toes. GREAT! Would someone please keep the side effects info away from him. So he was thinking he couldn't practice... sounds like an excuse for an 8 year old. "Sorry Mrs. Meyers, I didn't practice the piano because I had some numbness in my fingers." (Nita will like that... our piano teacher was Mrs. Meyers, she would have said "I'll give you numbness...")

Back to Hubby - He went to work Thursday morning and stayed all day, and he commented that is was a pretty good day. He didn't even take a nap when he got home! Which is rather odd, because before he was ill he always took a nap when he got home. That's just something people do when they get up at 4:20 to go to work. Unless you are Martha Stewart or me and can survive 13 hour days. Can you say metabolism!

His appetite is back too. Thank you Lord! I walked in the house yesterday to find that he had been warming tortillas and eating them with butter and salsa. I had no more set my purse down when he is getting things out to start dinner. It's ONLY 5 PM! Everyone knows "we eat about 6:15" and everyone also knows I do ALL the cooking, I have that 30 minute meal down to 20 minutes. I think I may like this Chemo-Man! So he ate a HUGE bowl of (leftover- he never eats leftovers!) red beans, more tortillas and drank two big glasses of tea. He probably would have killed for a Dr. Pepper.... I went back up to the school to finish some things for Monday, and when I returned he was eating a big chocolate ice-cream cone! I've always thought a healthy appetite is the sign of a healthy person. I'm not talking about grazing on junk food either, I mean real food, when your body says "give me beef!"

He's also thinking he's going to loose his hair... so the other day when I asked him if he wanted me to cut his hair, something I have been doing for about 9 years, he said "no it's just going to fall out in a few weeks." We'll see, he may be sporting a lovely comb-over swept into a French braided ponytail. Or maybe one of those stylish buns sometimes worn under a turban like a Yogi (not the bear - I can hear my brother now, "the only bun Yogi Bear had was a hotdog bun...".)
Gotta love the side effects listing.

Michael, Di and Andee will be coming in this weekend to get the final load of Andee's things to move to Austin. I hope they will come in tonight so they can go with us to Garland. Those of you living in the Dallas area, may not know, but Garland has one of the best entertainment spots around. Every Saturday night, Spring through Fall, people gather on the square in old downtown Garland, to play Bluegrass Music. Even if you are not a fan of Bluegrass, you will enjoy this. There are so many talented people out there, just sitting around picking with a bunch of other talented people. It's free, they are really good and it's mostly picking, very little singing. I know... that's what turns a lot of people off Bluegrass, that high-pitched twangy singing. This is mostly picking... and the kids..., you have got to hear the kids!!!! These kids (teens really) are so good you just want to smack them, and say "that's not fair! You should have many more miles under your belt to play that good!" So if you are looking for cheap entertainment head to Garland. Yeah it's hot (102 in Aug.) but don't go until 8 or 8:30... they will stay out there until midnight! It's well worth the short drive from Allen, one of the kids comes from Corsicanna!

Here are a few more pictures:

This one, I like to call "no place like home" because when you are sitting there as Di was, you have to keep telling yourself there is no place like home or you will never go home.

No that's not the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants....

Jolea, this is the Composite Guitar.... the one that can withstand life at sea.

Jolea I re-vamped the herb stand.... it's on a shepard's hook that's driven down through a gap in the deck. That way when the wind blows it doesn't topple over and potting soil doesn't fall out when I water it.