Oct. 14: Still here

I think the only way to get back to my regular blogging schedule—ha! “schedule”—is to just start. So, here I am. Starting. Playing a little bit o’ catch-up. Rambling, even.

I don’t have time to do lots of the things I love anymore, it seems. I know (hope) this is just a busy time and things will eventually return to the normal that I want. That normal includes talking to Mother Mary several times a week. Reading every night. Getting my laptop’s awful/noisy fan repaired so I don’t have to listen to movies to drown out the annoyingness. Thinking about things that don’t involve school. That’s the big one.

Victor and I took a break from everything on Friday night and saw a local production of Avenue Q, one of the silliest and most entertaining Broadway musicals I’ve ever seen. We first saw it as part of a Broadway in Portland series a few years ago. The one on Friday night was just as good—not an abridged version (I was worried), with just the tiniest of changes to fit in topical humor. It was delightful to laugh for two straight hours.

Not that I haven’t been laughing in other parts of my life. My busy-ness at school, while incredibly stressful at times, is still very much something that feeds my soul. I feel fortunate every day for the people I work with there because they are dedicated and creative and lovely. I am so, so lucky.

Here’s one bit of exciting news: we hosted a costume swap one evening last week. I had sent a press release/announcement to the school district, hoping our event might appeal to people outside our little school. As it was the first time we’d planned a costume swap, we had no idea what the response would be. The press release definitely helped—it was picked up by several news agencies, and we had lots of outsiders attend. And the biggest surprise was when KGW news showed up with a camera (because, really, isn’t a costume swap, like, the best idea EVER? Nowadays parents spend so much on costumes that are worn one time; why not trade them with other people?). I missed the bit they ran on the news that night, and the video isn’t online, so that was a bummer. But otherwise? What a memorable night!

Jogathon is Friday. Our multicultural fair is the next week. Did I offer to coordinate the continent of Europe? Why, yes I did. I might not be very smart.

Overwhelmed? Very much. Happy, though. And needing a vacation like never before.

That’s all the catching up I have time for at the moment. I’ll try to do more in the next few days.

Mar. 31: A nothing-esque post

I have nothing to say. Nothing. I do, however, have these two photos from Passive Aggressive Notes, which, in case you haven’t already checked it out, is quite the entertaining site. Any parent can appreciate these two notes, I think:

Don’t want to leave it at that—what a weak post that would be, huh?!—so I pulled a meme out of my “crap to post when I have nothing to say” folder. Here ya go.

1. How far away is the last person you kissed?
   Um, 10 miles? I think that’s how far away the hospital is from our house.
2. Last person you were in a car with?
   Kim F’n
3. Who was the last person you talked to?
   Same one I kissed—Victor
4. Have you seen anyone lately that you don’t get along with?
   Yup, but I was civil because I’m so incredibly mature <cough>
5. What was the last movie you watched?
   Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. I’ve been wanting to see it since before it came out, and we finally rented it last week. We walked out of the stage musical because we thought it was so horrible, but I ended up really, really liking the movie. Very graphic, depressing, all that… but so well done. I’m not a big Tim Burton fan at all, but the man has a way of filming his vision of a story that really works. (P.S. Watching with captions on helped. Woulda been nice to have them for the stage musical.)
6. Do you like rain?
   If I didn’t, it’d be stupid to live where I do. I hate hard rain, but the drizzly stuff doesn’t bother me. And we have so much green green green all spring and summer, it makes the grey winter worth it.
7. How long do you take in the shower?
   These days my showers could be just a few minutes long, but I usually take 10-15 minutes anyway.
8. Do you like your hair long or short?
   I like hair. I wish I had some.
9. Best friend or close friends?
   Both
10. Where would you like to be right now?
    On a warm beach
11. Have you ever thrown up in public?
    Yes, on a plane. I was quiet and kept it all contained, so it could’ve been much, much worse. Still, I was waaay embarrassed.
12. What was your favorite subject (or specific class) in school?
    In grade school, I loved spelling. In high school, English. In college, modern poetry and business ethics were probably my two favorite classes.
13. What was your least favorite subject (or specific class) in school?
    Math, always. My least favorite college course was business law.
14. What is your favorite color shirt to wear?
    Probably red
15. What’s the closest thing to you that’s green?
    One of my beading tools
16. Write down some lyrics to the song you’re listening to.
    Oh, I wish you could meet my girlfriend
    My girlfriend who lives in Canada
    She couldn’t be sweeter, I wish you could meet her
    My girlfriend who lives in Canada
    (by the closeted Bert-like character, Rod, from the Avenue Q soundtrack, which is hilarious)
17. How many pets do you have?
    Three—one cat and two dogs
18. What made you laugh today?
    Some emails
19. What were you doing at 7:00 this morning?
    Trying to sleep—what’s wrong with me lately? I can’t sleep.
20. If you could go back one month and change something, would you?
    Probably, but I can’t think of what it would be, so I’m not gonna bother

June 27: Happy Happy Happy

Yesterday was a good day. Katie and Jack spent most the day with their cousins at Grandpa & Grandma’s while I worked from home. (Psst… I also took a nap. Shhh…)

We took the kids to their last day of swimming lessons. I think I’ve mentioned before how lessons go. Katie is a fish; she knows several strokes and swims the width of the pool over and over, with all the precision an 8-year-old can muster. Jack, on the other hand, does fine in the water until it gets on his face. If he gets splashed, we have to wait ten minutes for him to stop freaking out. If he is told to put his face in the water to practice blowing bubbles, he does it very reluctantly and then takes ten minutes to get every last drip off his face. And then he goes back to swimming and then we start all over again. So I have to admit I was a little surprised that Jack passed Level A. I’m thinking maybe his teacher just wants to get him the hell out of her class.

Katie passed Level D with no problem.

Now that they’re both more confident in the water we feel a little more comfortable when we swim at friends’ houses. My next step is to teach them MY rule of swimming:

“Now remember kids… no running, no diving, and no salt on my margaritas.”

The day ended especially well because Victor and I went to our last show of the Broadway in Portland 2007-08 season, Avenue Q. It was, without a doubt, one of the funniest shows I’ve ever seen. It was basically an R-rated version of Sesame Street. Who couldn’t love that? If you go, just be warned: there is full puppet nudity.

More later. Gotta drive to Cottage Grove this morning.