GREAT NEWS!!  The construction on I70 West is now finished (after a year or more of slowed traffic), so my drive to CU went SOO fast yesterday.  And the truckers now have an extra lane to run in, so they weren’t hounding me at all (they’ve been really bad on 70 recently).  So even though it was raining, I had a marvelous drive to work yesterday!

Of course, from then on…I was just crazy busy really.  I had classes, and thankfully, my students were all pretty upbeat and talkative.  They seem to have recovered a bit over Thanksgiving, and since we have just about 2 weeks left (including finals), everyone can see the light at the end of the tunnel.  Amen!

Other than classes, I ran some errands, went home for lunch (Mom forgot to tell me she wouldn’t be there!), but it was okay because Deb came over during lunch with the girls to give me Eric’s birthday present (I told them the wrong DVD, so she needed to exchange it).  Kelly has a lovely cough now, so of course, I was covered in germs before going back, but I doubt I’ll catch it. *fingers crossed* I usually don’t get too sick, so we’ll hope the pattern holds!

Last night was Christmas rehearsal.  I’ve been trying not to think about it too much, but last night I did come fact to face with exactly how much there is to do before the 10th.  I was getting a bit tense by the end.  And it didn’t help that almost every one of my people has to miss at least one of our few remaining rehearsals, which they all informed me about last night.  YIKES!   So I spent most of the rest of the evening praying about it, reminding myself that it will all get done, and asking God to keep me focused on the reason we’re doing this (which is NOT about me!).  Still…should be interesting to see how it all comes down…

Yesterday wasn’t terribly exciting, really.  I didn’t leave the house once!  I did get my grading finished, cleaned up my house (including the bathrooms!), and worked on a writing assignment.  A couple of friends came over about 1:00 and we chatted and worked until about 3:45.  Then I chatted with Karen while I made dinner.  Eric got home and we spent our evening just hanging out really.  So I don’t really have much to say…maybe I’ll think of more later!

Yesterday wasn’t terribly
exciting.  I graded some (not much, but I’m ready for tomorrow’s
classes!).  I did a little work around the house (again…not much!). 
And I spent the entire afternoon shopping at the mall!  I found some
great bargains for Christmas gifts (mostly for the nieces), but (DUM
DUM DUM DAHHHHH) I finally found some knee-high boots that fit my
scrawny little legs!  That’s right…J.C. Penney’s shoe department had
a pair of children’s boots that I can wear.  I’m very excited about it,
though I do hope they look okay.  I’ll have to have Karen check them
out for me later!

And finally, in honor of the holiday weekend, here are some pictures for all to enjoy!
 

So the weekend was a good one (and long).  Since most of you were around on Thanksgiving, I won’t spend much time on that.  But I will try to post some pictures later!

Friday, we did get up at 5:30 and drive up to Bethel Rd. to see what MicroCenter’s line was like.  I am a morning person, but not necessarily a social person at that hour.  We got up there to see a line that was crazy long…outside the store!  So Eric just decided to get back into the car and drive home.  I will admit that I was grumpy about the whole thing.  Thankfully, he was smart enough to put me back to bed when we got home at 6:30 (after he sent an email to his brothers telling them of our unsuccessful trip), and I slept until 9:00 (which is VERY late for me!).

After we were both up and around, we headed out to the farm for the rest of the day.  We chatted with his mom and brother, saw the new calves (one was about 22 hours old!), goofed off for a while, and then had another family dinner with the Hogues.  It wasn’t terribly exciting, and I wore out pretty quickly.  We left about 10:30 to come home and arrived about midnight.  It was very nice to sleep in our own beds and just be home when we got up!

Saturday I cleaned the house some and spent the bulk of the day putting up Christmas decorations (perhaps I’ll put up pics of that stuff, too).  We went out for supper and wandered around some stores for the evening before heading home.  Church was Sunday morning.  We were there by 8:00, got home about 11:30.  I made chicken tacos for lunch, cleaned up the kitchen, read the newspaper and did the puzzles, worked on Christmas stuff for a bit, then started the laundry.  I actually finished most of it (and ironed, too!).  I watched the end of Singin’ in the Rain while I ironed. I folded clothes while watching The Brothers Grimm, which Eric had Netflixed, but it’s not that great, really.  And I watched the end of Legally Blonde just before going to bed.  And that was the weekend!

I actually finished (or at least started) every item on my list.  I did get some grading done, but not all of it, so that one can’t be completely crossed off my list.  But even so…I got everything else done (and a few other things like wrapping Christmas gifts)!

I guess that nothing terribly exciting happened yesterday.  I cleaned, ran errands, wrapped gifts, goofed off on the computer.  Our meeting actually went really well at the church, so that was also good!  I went back to church with Eric for choir/orchestra rehearsal (I’d given the drama people the week off) and worked while they played Christmas music and such.  It’s always good to immerse myself in the music at this point…helps me know intuitively when to call light/video/sound changes when we actually do the program because I know the music really well.

Anyway, today will be a low-key day, I think.  Down to CU, grade in my office, give a test at noon.  Then either come home or grade some more.  The more I get done, the less will be hanging over my head later!  I also have to make a cheese ball for tomorrow…but I got all the stuff for it at the grocery yesterday, so I should be able to whip that out tonight! 

Yesterday was a draining day.  It was a normally busy all day, and I kept being surprised by students who had issues or questions that just seemed to require a lot of me.  I was pretty wiped out when I finally got home.  Eric was late because he had an eye dr. appointment, so I made soup and we sat on the couch, ate our supper, and watched tv. Then we turned on a movie and went to bed when it was over.  It was just after 9:00 when we turned the lights out, but I’m still a bit tired this morning. 

Today I have a number of things on the agenda:

• A meeting at the church 12:30-1:30.
• Errands to grocery store
• Clean up my kitchen
• Finish the laundry
• Grade/read papers (if I get this done today and tomorrow, I’ll be free as a bird until next Wednesday!)

If I want to, I have other options to fill the rest of my time, but this to-do list looks “do-able” so I might just limit myself to these ideas!  Because a short, but entirely crossed off, list is much more rewarding than a longer list with stuff left on it!

It was another early morning since I brought a friend down to CU this
morning.  Today, we really scooted along and got here almost right
at 8:00 am.  I’m a bit tired.  I don’t have a lot of prep
work to do for this week since it’s Thanksgiving, so I’ll just goof
around in my office for a bit, I guess.

The weekend was busy, but pretty good.  We saw Stranger than Fiction
on Friday night (Will Farrell hears a narrator’s voice).  That is
actually a really good movie…not a typical Will Farrell movie at
all.  We both really enjoyed it. Next, we have to see the new Bond
movie, I think.

Saturday was a lazy, laid-back day for us.  I goofed around in the
morning, went for a walk with Eric, got ready for the day and ate lunch
(about 1:00), then headed to Cedarville for Kelly’s birthday
party.  We watched the game (that was a bit too tense in
places!  But it’s okay because they won. )
around the various parts of the party: dinner was during halftime,
presents were during the end of halftime and part of the 3rd quarter,
cake & ice cream after the game ended.  Kelly liked her gifts,
so that was fun.  She’s old enough now to figure out the whole
concept of “It’s all about me today!” so she was enjoying being the
center of attention again, too! 

The funniest part was Holly, though.  At one point in the second
half of the game, we cheered loudly for something on the television,
and Holly looked up, suprised by our shout.  She saw us clapping
and grinned, thinking we were cheering for her…which, of course, we
then did!  So every cheer for OSU, after that, turned into a cheer
for Holly.  It was very cute!

Sunday was church (including an 8:00 am arrival for orchestra
rehearsal), then a meeting in second service.  Then we had dinner
(sausage gravy over homemade bread).  We relaxed for a while, and
then I got some work done (cleaned the kitchen, made snacks for small
group, started the laundry, and worked on Christmas).  Then after
a light supper, we headed to small group and stayed around chatting
afterwards…so we didn’t get home until almost 10:00.  But it was
a good day, anyway!

Just a quick something…I’ve been working busily in my office this morning, then had a department meeting.  Now I’m in the middle of classes.  My students are (mostly) glad to find out that I’m moving the chapter test to Monday of next week (from Wednesday) so they can leave earlier for break.  I know…I’m a giver.

Yesterday, I found a gift for Kelly.  I also finished Karen’s gift and Mom’s for Christmas.  That’s always nice!  I did little things in the afternoon, mostly goofing off at the computer, and I graded the papers I had.  After dinner, we had a Christmas rehearsal at the church until 9:00, so then we came home and went to bed.  Sometimes I actually do manage to take it easy when I want to!

So I’ve been terribly productive for three days, and I’m done being Superwoman for the week.  Yesterday I finished my grading, taught my classes, had 2 advising meetings, drove home, made supper, then ran to church for drama rehearsal.  Thankfully, Mythbusters was a rerun, so we spent some quality time together before going to bed right at 10:00! 

Today I have only 1 or 2 things I must do.  I need to email Christmas lists and I need to buy a birthday present for Kelly.  Her 4th birthday party is on Saturday (right in the middle of the OSU/Michigan game ), and I need to get her gift today.  Other than that, I have a few, very non-pressing tasks to get done.  Sounds much more relaxing!

And in honor of Kelly’s upcoming birthday…here are some pics of my girls!

Things I did yesterday:

• Dropped off our recyclables at Home Depot
• Went to Kroger & Sam’s Club
• Rearranged my dresser/closet so my winter clothes are now easily accessible again.
• Did a load of ironing clothes AND ironed them!
• Cleaned my kitchen counters (twice!)
• Swept the kitchen floor
• Worked on Christmas program stuff
• Graded
• Talked to Karen on the phone briefly
• Made dinner
• Watched a movie with Eric
• Read for a bit and went to bed.

So it was a productive day.  Today will be busy (classes, more
advising meetings, drama rehearsal this evening), but not terribly
bad. 

Yesterday I was in line at Kroger, and the cashier was
chatting with these two ladies who were checking out.  They got
all done and then realized the lady didn’t have enough money in her
account to cover her purchases, so then they had to start taking some
things back off until the total was low enough for her (which also
required supervisor override).  So they finally left and the guy
in front of me handed the lady a blank check to cover his purchases.
They can print the total for you, but the cashier wasn’t paying
attention and put in the wrong amount on the guy’s check.  He had
brought only one check with him, so they ended up having to have him
pay the $8 left in cash.  Thankfully, my turn came and there were
no issues.  But seriously…it’s not THAT hard, is it?