Hungry Hippo

I do not know what to do with my dog. He eats everything. Shoes, glass, paper, leather bags - you name it, he will eat it. I am not just talking about chewing things. I mean full out digesting it until there is no trace. Yesterday I came home to find a half eaten prescription pill bottle. I went into full panic emergency mode. I gave him hydrogen peroxide to try to make him throw up. I was on the computer with poison control. I was rubbing his belly - anything I could do to try to get the pills out. Of course he did not throw up; he has a stomach of steel. I sat for the next three hours waking him up every few minutes because I was afraid if he fell asleep he would die. Matt walks in and goes to his computer where he finds a neat pile of pills next to his desk. Apparently Winston did not eat the pills - just the container. If this is what it is like to have children, I am not interested.

No more glass!

Today is my last glass fusing class. I am so sad. I really love this, but I just don't have the money or space for a kiln right now. I can pay to have the glass fired, but I won't have access to the fancy grinder to make it beautiful. I may still take the "lab" in August just to have access to the equipment. I don't know what I am going to do with all of this jewelry as it is.

I have 4 weeks of summer left. It seems like it goes by so fast, but I am already ready to go back. I miss the routine and the kids. (In April, I can never imagine saying that!) I do miss being able to cuddle with the animals all day. I am sitting on the couch and Squeaky and Winston are both laying down next to me. If I could take them to school with me, life would be perfect.

Home Sweet Home

I love to travel, but I love to be home more. There is truly no place I would rather be. I am happy to be with the kitties and Winston.

Today I have been the laundry diva. I hate laundry more than anything else and I have done multiple loads today. Maybe if I take a nap it will magically take care of itself.

Oprah and Fireworks and Tears

I pretend to be pretty tough. I have encountered a lot in my life and overcome my fair amount of adversity without completely falling apart. I never blamed anyone and I never looked back. This gives me some "street cred" and helps me put on a pretty tough front. The truth is I am a softie.

I cry about everything. Today I turned on the television to Oprah (which I hardly ever watch) and Dolly Parton was on. As soon as she started to sing, I started to cry. Then Kenny Rogers walks out and I am sobbing. No real reason, just stirs up some kind of emotion every time I hear them. I guess it reminds me of my childhood; the good parts.

I cry during fireworks - everytime. I cry when I watch championship games. I cry when I watch the finale of American Idol or Hell's Kitchen. I cry during musicals. (So far, Mary Poppins holds the record with four times, but Wicked came in a close second). I cry the last day of school. I cry when I watch my students perform at PTA meetings. I cry when I see unlikely animal friends. Today I saw a goat and a great dane that were best friends. Of course, I cried.

Believe it or not I am not a bumbling mess most of the time.

Company is coming

I am not the best housekeeper. It was so much easier when I was single, but now that there are two of us I feel overwhelmed most of the time. My house is not dirty by any stretch of the imagination and probably not even messy compared to most people, but I expect a lot. I spent 6 hours cleaning yesterday. I was so pleased and ready for my guests this weekend. Today my husband came home sick from work and now I am looking around and seeing "stuff" where it isn't supposed to be. I may have to ban him from the house until our guests get here.

On a Positive Note

My foot seems to be feeling a bit better. I think mostly because I have stayed off of it for the day. I did get a cortisone shot and now I remember why I don't usually do that. I have a dizzy-style headache and am up at 2am with a rumbly tummy. I have had cortisone shots over the years for the pain in my hands, and now I remember why I put them off. The good news is my Squeaky is an imsomniac and sits up with me on nights I can't sleep.

I am supposed to hear back from the radiologist to find out if I have a hairline fracture or not. I am not sure they can do anything about that anyway, but I guess it is good to know. Winston is not loving the fact that I can't take him on mid-day walks. He is a good dog though and just hangs out near me wherever I am.

I am positive I am very far from the glamourous life today.

And even more...

And more...

What I do in my spare time

This is what I have been doing all summer to keep myself busy. Kind of out of control.

Grace, where are you?

Once again I have managed to do something to my foot. I have broken every toe on both feet, twisted, sprained, bruised, and even fractured my feet. I even managed to get a swollen bone in one foot which means the blood vessels in the bone swell and cause pressure. Not one of these injuries comes with a great story. It is just a matter of my taking a step the wrong way, tripping or otherwise looking at my feet wrong.

And of course, my timing is amazing. We leave for Vegas in two weeks. Between now and then I have a three day math class, house guests and a six month old puppy that needs to be walked every few hours. I don't have time to be hurt or to even go to the doctor.

I am off to research foot pain rememdies. Wish me luck.

Channeling my inner pop star

Okay, so if you know me you know that I am obsessed with pop music. The more ridiculous the more I love it. The songs that everyone else groans about and change the channel on; I turn the music up.

Everyone who really knows me also knows that my true calling in life is to be a Pussycat Doll. I know I am about 15 years too old, about 75 lbs too fat and might lack a little rhythm. As far as I am concerned, these things should not hold me back. I have heart and that is what matters.

The last time I was in Las Vegas I threw my butt out trying to do the Pussycat Doll "butt pop" in the Pussycat Doll Lounge. I go back to Vegas in two weeks and have vowed to keep my dancing desires to myself. Besides, these days I am feeling a connection to Katy Perry. I can't possibly get into trouble with that one!

Fur and Blueberries Everywhere

I think the animals are getting used to me being around the house. They aren't under me the entire day anymore. As I say this, there is a cat laying on my foot staring at me. I have already been kicked out of the bed by an oversized cat, a bed-hogging husband and a very stretchy puppy. Squeaky and I on the couch plotting our strategy for the rest of the evening. Push the others out of the way or just resolve to the guest bedroom.

Today was one of those rare days when I had nothing that I had to do. I watched a Lifetime movie, part of a Rosanne marathon and some old school 90210. This is really the first day all summer I have watched TV other than the news. I am not impressed. When did TV get so boring? As a kid I watched TV all day every day all summer long.

I am down to the very last of the blueberries. Last weekend I dragged my husband and his mother, sister-in-law and nephew out to pick blueberries. It was 95 degrees at 9am and may have been a little unpleasant. I think we lasted an hour. It was worth it though! We have had fresh blueberry muffins and blueberry lemonade all week and it has been great. I just made another batch tonight.

I get to pick up my glass pieces tomorrow (actually today...). I am loving this class. It is basically an open studio time and I am a glass jewelry making machine!!! I am not terribly good at it, but I love it anyway. My friend Laura and I are the only ones under the age of 65 - besides the instructor - so it is kind of fun to hang out with the ladies also.

Just another glamourous day.

If this is summer, I am ready for fall...

Seriously? I thought I was going to get a vacation. Ten weeks of sleeping late, sitting by the pool, reading chick lit and being quite smug to those that have to work 12 months a year. Not quite.

Winston, the puppy, has had explosive poop two days, my family has lost their minds and I have been working just has hard as I do during the school year. Sleeping in means 8am - what happened to mid-morning?

The good news is that there has been so much wackiness around me that I am getting great material for that novel I am going to get to one day. There is no need to make stuff up, I just have to pick up the phone.

Summer blues before it starts?

I am a teacher. I would love to say it is just my job, but that is just not true. It is my life. There isn't anything I say or do or think that doesn't have something to do with my students. I am told not to take it personally, but it is personal to me. For nine months each year, these are my heart and my soul. Most of them don't even know it. To them I am the horrible, moody teacher who makes them read. I am the one who asks them questions they don't want to answer and the one that makes them step out of their comfort zone and think in a way then never have. Some hate me, some love me. Most of them just tolerate me.

There are eight more days of school left. I can barely say it without giggling. I live for summer, not unlike my students. I love long days with no responsibility. I have the whole day to play with my puppy. I will read book after book. I will finally clean my house.

But I am also left with a sense of fear. For three months, these students don't have the safe haven of the classroom for part of the day. Most our on their own. Have I given them the confidence to make the right decisions? Will they realize their own worth and choose to stay on the right track when no one is watching over them?

This week I have made it my goal to make sure they all know they are loved. I will make sure they all understand that I see something in them they don't even know exists yet. I see them as more than the smart kid or the annoying kid or the class clown or the kid that picks his boogers. I see them as individuals with talents and skills and feelings. I will do my best to only point out the positive in each of them.

This may be the hardest week of the year.