I am having trouble starting this little entry, so hopefully, I’ll think of something interesting to say!

Yesterday was not particularly interesting.  I did some writing and ran some errands.  I did find gravel, but I didn’t go to the mall.  After lunch, the sun came out, so I decided to plant my vegetables outside.  I moved the tomatoes and peppers (3 types) into bigger pots on the back patio.  I staked the tomatoes just to make sure that the rain didn’t beat them down.  Some of the peppers are looking a little sad now, so hopefully, I didn’t kill them!  But there’s still plenty of time to start over if these ones don’t make it.

After that, I cleaned up the kitchen.  I’d created a temporary shelf in the bay window so our veggies would get enough sun, so I took that down, put everything away and swept the kitchen floor.  It looks so nice now!  Then I loaded the dishwasher, worked on some stuff for drama ministry and worked on my ironing.  Karen called while I was ironing, and we chatted for a bit.  Then Eric came home!

After dinner (I broiled pork and made french onion potatoes and broccoli…very yummy!), we went up to MicroCenter on Henderson Road.  It was nice to chat during the drive. And we found exactly the connection Eric needed to finish rebuilding the computer he’d been working on.  We also splurged on a flat-screen monitor for his mom (it was on a great sale!).  Then we stopped at an art supply store to find the book repair supplies that I have been hoping to find.  They were there, so now I have a project for today!

And as for today…I think I’ll clean the guest room.  I also may run to the grocery store and work on a writing project I have started.  Tonight (since it’s Wednesday), we have ministries at the church.  This Sunday evening is a Praise & Worship night, so tonight will be our dress rehearsal for it.  It makes planning for drama easy for me!  

The sun peeked through the clouds a few times yesterday, which was very nice!  Unfortunately, I think today is just going to be gray and drizzly again.  I hope this system is going to finally pass by sometime in the very near future!  But at least it’s warming up a bit…

Yesterday I cleaned my bedroom.  I actually moved all the furniture (including the queen bed), dusted, vaccuumed, organized, washed the sheets and remade the bed.  I felt very accomplished when I was finished!  I also worked on the computer a bit and did some writing. I almost repotted the plants, but decided to wait again…however, I think the day is drawing near when I will actually get that project accomplished!

I may clean another room today (probably the spare bedroom).  I’m also thinking about doing some running around/shopping.  We’ll see.  Other than that, I guess I don’t have that much interesting to say.  If I think of anything, I’ll let you know!

Long weekend!

Saturday started fairly normally, although I actually slept in until 8:30 (which is late for me!). Then we had a fairly uneventful morning/early afternoon.  I worked around the house, cleaning some things up.  Then I was going to re-pot the vegetables that I’d started in my kitchen so that they could be outside, but I decided that it may have been to chilly yet to really leave them outside.  Yes…it will be nice to get back into the 60s and 70s again since it is May, after all.

Anyway, the veggies went back into the bay window in my kitchen, so I may work on them today or tomorrow instead.  Then I started to get ready for our weekend away; we were having dinner with my friends from college in Wadsworth and then we drove down to the farm to spend Mother’s Day with his family.  So I made cookies to take with us and started to pack some clothes.  We got everything around and left a little after 3:00.  We were about an hour north (of a 2 hour trip) when I realized that I left our church clothes hanging in our bedroom.  SO we made a quick stop at the Lodi Outlet mall to find me a decent shirt to wear (Lodi isn’t really a great outlet mall by the way) before getting to Mike & Erika’s.  We had a good time there and left for the farm about 10:30…which meant that we got to the farm about 12:30 on Sunday morning. 

Sunday we skipped sunday school and slept in, then went to church.  Then we took the entire Hogue family (except one cousin) out to dinner for Mother’s Day. I was a little concerned about taking a group of 11 out, but we went to Bob Evans (which is very fancy to Grandpa & Grandma Hogue), and we really didn’t wait that long at all!  Then we just hung out at the house for the rest of the day.  It rained pretty steadily, so we were stuck inside, and I was pretty antsy by the time it was time to go.  We almost stayed longer (we left about 7:00) to go over to the Powell get-together, but we figured it would make us very late starting for home.  So we just came home.  That was a good choice, I think.

Anyway, Eric played on the computer a bit, while I read the newspaper and watched tv (I decided to watch the Survivor finale just for fun), and then we went to bed. 

Eric is not feeling great today, so he is staying home.  I think it’s residual exhaustion from last week.  And since he really only had Sunday off (which wasn’t terribly restful) before going back to work, I think he’s a bit worn down.  Anyway, he’s still sleeping now, so that’s good!

Of course, today is the day that I’m hosting my accountability group for lunch, so it’ll be a tad weird to have him around for that, but oh well!  Maybe we’ll get done earlier than normal (which wouldn’t be too bad since we’ve been known to talk for 3-4 hours!). 

Yesterday was a fairly productive day.  I did some computer stuff in the morning and then went shopping in the afternoon.  I also did some cleaning around the house, and I did clean out my car.  Thankfully, the rain rinsed the outside off, but the junk on the inside definitely needed to be thrown away!  So now the inside is nice again (someday I’ll do a real cleaning complete with vaccuuming and such, but this will do for now!).

It’s raining again today and I guess it’s supposed to rain periodically all weekend too.  I keep reminding myself that the ground was getting dry and needed the rain, but I really wish it could rain at night and then be sunny all day! 

Tomorrow, Eric and I are going up to spend the afternoon with my best friends from college.  We’ll have dinner with them before heading to the farm for Mother’s Day.  Then we’ll be back on Sunday night.  Boy…I guess it’s a good thing Eric is taking the day off…we’re going to be busy!

So my office is now cleaned out and “closed” for the summer.  I’ll probably go back down every so often to have lunch with my mom and to check in.  But it’s nice to have the term officially and totally done now.  Yesterday’s luncheon was okay.  It was free food, but the dept. always goes to an Italian restaurant in Fairborn, and I think their food is really bland.  I don’t think they season their sauce much at all.  And a couple of the ladies ordered meals that took a half-hour to come, so they held all of our meals until theirs were ready.  I guess I understand why…but it was still annoying.

Before lunch, I cleaned my office and threw out a ton of old papers/journals/portfolios.  I kept the binders that were still in decent shape, but the papers all went into the recyclables!  I also reorganized my bookshelves and desk.  After lunch, I stopped in at my mom’s office for a bit to say hello.  I also wanted to let her know that Eric and I are planning to be at the farm this weekend for Mother’s Day.  Actually, both Karen & I will be gone, I think, so we have to figure out another time to have a mother’s day meal or something. 

Last night, every time I looked up, Eric was taking a picture of me.  I have to admit that some of them turned out pretty good (even with someone as non-photogenic as me!).  We even went out to a metro park to take wildlife pictures too.  He’s very into the camera, which is actually kind of fun.  So I might need to start figuring out how to upload pictures to xango for  you all to see.  Maybe later…

Today, I don’t have too many plans.  I need to send out the small group newsletter and plan stuff for my drama ministry tonight.  But now that I don’t have school stuff to do…the pressure is not nearly as intense on either of those things!  I may start cleaning the house, or I might clean out my car.  And I might go shopping for a few household necessities (like coffee filters!).   So it doesn’t look that exciting, but that’s okay by me right now!

I love sunshine!  Just thought I’d share…

Yesterday, I did the laundry and I ironed (which I’d put off for over a week).  I also made reservations for our anniversary get-away, talked to Karen for a while and cleaned up the kitchen a bit.  So…I didn’t really do too much!  I still have lots of summer activities to keep me somewhat occupied.  Eric and I went shopping last night to get some accessories for our new digital camera (which he is having a marvelous time learning how to use).  But it was fun to just hang out with him, too.

I’m definitely just out of school.  I’m so tired by 8:00 in the evening and I wake up still tired.  It usually takes me a couple of weeks to really stop feeling so exhausted.  Thankfully, I can be as laid-back as I want (or as I can be…since I don’t relax that well!).  Today I’m heading back to CU to do some clean-up in my office and to take care of some last-minute class issues from the semester.  But then I’ll be totally done.  My dept. is also having a luncheon today to celebrate the end of the term, so I’ll probably go to that, as well!

Sorry…I don’t mean to offend those who do not get the summer off, but I am totally done with all of my grading and the semester is finished!  I input my last grades at 5:00 on Friday, and I am free and clear for a few months.  I have decided to stay at CU for one more year, at the most two.  I am definitely not ready to commit to long-term plans right now, but I think that one year will be sufficient to accomplish what I need to do.  But then again, I don’t have to worry about it for a few months, so that’s just what I intend to do!

ERIC IS HOME!!!!!

I picked him up on Saturday afternoon.  His plan was a few minutes late, but nothing too serious.  Especially since they almost didn’t make it home at all.  They had a lot of mechanical problems in CA and Phoenix (their stop), but they did get in mostly on time.  We just hung out on Saturday night, enjoying each other’s company again (it is SOOO nice to have him home!). We also got our new digital camera, so he spent a fair amount of time learning about it.  Sunday was mostly low-key, though I had a meeting during second service and he had an orchestra rehearsal at 4:00!  Then we had a small group cookout in the evening.  Eric even played badminton with the guys!  I was so excited…he played a game!!!  Gee…maybe it wasn’t such a low-key day…oh well!

Today, I have talked to Erika (a friend from college) and ordered flowers for my mom for mother’s day.  I really need to start a to-do list of things that I hope to accomplish this week (and maybe this summer!).  I also REALLY need to clean my house.  I’ve been putting it off until school was over.  I guess now I have no more excuses! 

ALMOST DONE!!!

Okay…just a short post.  I have only 10 portfolios left to grade. 
Eric is coming home tomorrow.  I think I have a direction for the next
year figured out.  And God is really, really good.  Oh…and it’s sunny
out right now.  Happy Friday to us all!

Karen and Eric were kind enough to let me hang out with them last
night.  We watched Survivor.  I don’t really follow the show, but it’s
not hard to catch up, really.  And it was way better than sitting alone
in my house!  I’m staying in Cedarville tonight so I don’t have to
drive so far for graduation tomorrow.  So the next time I sleep in my
own bed…Eric will be next to me.  Yeah!

Okay…back to grading…

I got a lot of grading done.  I finished one class of portfolios
and can now start the second class.  I’m running out of steam a
little bit, but if I just keep going I should catch a second wind
(about the time I realize that I am almost done!).  I also
finished all the grading for my grammar class, so that one is totally
done.  I love the end of the semester!

Last night was busy.  I started home later than I’d intended to
(so I could finish that class), so I had to hurry and eat before
heading to the church for drama ministry.  Then we worked on
various drama things before I went home.  I talked to Karen for a
long time, as well.  But it’s really no fun to go home this week
to my big empty house, so I was glad she was willing to chat for a
bit.  Shortly after I got home, Eric called.  He was almost
chipper, and he said his presentation had gone well.  He was now
ready to enjoy the rest of his trip.  I wish he was coming home
tomorrow instead of staying the extra day.  But it’s not too much
longer, I guess.

Anyway, I’m helping my mom some today with graduation stuff, and I’ll work on grading as well.  So…back to work!

Just a quick post before going to give a final (for Basic English, not Comp). 

Yesterday I did get a lot of grading done.  I, hopefully, will
finish at least one class today.  I have to give the Basic final
at 10:30.  I’ll grade during that and then for the afternoon as
well.  If I really stay focused, I’ll get a lot done.

Last night, I didn’t do much after getting home.  I had some
supper and then watched tv and surfed the net looking for a place for
Eric and I to go on our anniversary.  We are planning to get away
for a few days, but we probably will save our big vacation until later
in the summer. Anyway, so I worked on that and then did some reading
and writing for drama tonight.  Then I turned out the light and
waited for Eric to call.  Three hour time differences are really
annoying!  Today Eric is giving his presentation; he’s very
excited to have it done so that he can then enjoy the rest of his trip
without that hanging over him. But he was much more at ease last night
(less nervous) because he realized that he’d have to work pretty hard
to be the WORST presentation there (think old scientists rambling on
about esoteric scientific stuff).  So that made him feel
better! 

This morning, I started to make beef stew in the crockpot before I came
down and then realized (after I had already put stuff in the pot) that
I was out of potatoes.  How do you run out potatoes (unless you’re
Kim, of course).  So I decided I’d just make some noodles when I
got home and put those in instead of the taters.  Necessity is the
mother of invention, after all!