Already a busy morning!  Karen called just as I was walking back in from my walk.  Her car wasn’t starting this morning, so she needed a ride to work.  So I’ve been to Plain City and back already today!  And I even told her that I’d pick her up after school, too.  I’m such a good sister!

Yesterday, I shopped.  I decided to spend the $150 I got for writing those articles on new clothes for myself and pay with cash, rather than using our bank card.   First, I ran errands in the morning to Target and Kohl’s for some necessary things (no clothes).  I got some great Mothers Day cards at Target which I must mail today (at least for my MIL since we won’t be there on Sunday).  After lunch, I went to Lane Ave. and bought $75 worth of clothes for $45 at NY & Co.  I love that store.  I got a skirt, three shirts, and a pair of earrings (the jewelry put me over $75 so I could use my coupons!).   I didn’t find much else there that I just loved, so I came home and hung out with Eric for a while.

Last night, Karen skipped choir to come to the mall with me.  We had a great time…much laughter!  Karen found lots of clothes.  I did not.  But I did get a new pair of shoes and a pair of dressy capri pants.  And I still have about $50 to spend if I want.  So Karen and I may go out again tomorrow (she’s taking the day off for a dr’s appointment but has the afternoon free!).

Today I will be working around at home: tidying up, ironing, and generally relaxing.  I love summer.

So today, I’m supposed to get the other pair of shoes that I ordered after the mixup of yesterday.  At least this place does send you shoes by overnight delivery (for free)!  I just hope they’re the shoes I ordered this time!

Yesterday I was pretty busy.  I cleaned my house and mopped the kitchen floor.  I did the laundry.  I read some and worked on my book project again (so far I’m 2 for 2 in days of writing on summer break!).  I did not go to CU, but I did got let Karen’s puppy out.  And I made dinner for some friends who moved on the weekend, then made dinner for us. 

Today I need to run to WalMart.  I would also like to do some shopping, maybe at the mall, maybe on Lane Avenue. We’ll see, though.

Two prayer requests, though.   Yesterday, Debbie miscarried a baby (they hadn’t even told us they were expecting yet).  This is not unusual (they seem to have a lose one/have one pattern going on), but that of course, does not make it easier.  So please pray for them.  Also my brother had an interview yesterday (talk about timing) for a job at CedarCliff which they both really want him to get.  Just pray that he would be able to get the job.

Thankfully, I have nothing exciting to report today.  Yesterday was pretty relaxing and productive.  I did some writing, ran errands, vacuumed, started the laundry, worked on Mom’s gift (I’m almost done!), and did some reading, too.  I also ordered some hiking boots online (it’s hard to find my size boots of any kind in a store), and according to the email I just got, they should arrive today!  Cool, huh?

EDIT (10:45 am):  So my shoes arrived by FedEx today.  I ordered a pair of hiking boots from Zappos.com.  I opened the box to find gold Nine West sandals.  Um…not exactly what I ordered.  However, I called them to ask about it and the service rep (after realizing that they have no more size 5 in that style) actually tried to find another site with those shoes in the right size and then tried to help me find another option when that didn’t work.  And they’re sending me a coupon for 20% off another purchase.  I can live with that!  END EDIT

Anyway, I think today will look much like yesterday!  This afternoon, my department is meeting to interview a prospective hire, but I doubt I’ll be going.   I’m really tired, and the two hours of driving for an hour’s worth of interview for someone whom they will probably hire with our without my input just doesn’t make it seem worth it.  I could change my mind, but I think I might be more useful to them to stay here and pray for them all!  We’ll see…

One last thing from Sunday: For the first time ever, we were visited by Mormon missionaries.  I answered the door to find 3 ladies there, and “Sister Grubbs” spoke to me (words in brackets indicate where I don’t remember exactly what was said) while the other two gave silent support.

Grubbs:  “Hello! We are going door-to-door talking to people about Jesus and I was wondering if I could ask you three simple questions.”
Me: “Actually, my husband and I are already believers in Jesus Christ.”
Grubbs: “Really, so then you know that he has a plan for your life?”
Me: “Yes, we do.”
Grubbs: “Would you mind describing that plan for me?”
Me: “Sure.  We believe that [he has saved us] and is making us to be more like him and when we die, he’ll take us to heaven to live with him forever.”
Grubbs: “Wow!  You’re the first person I’ve talked to that has had any real idea [about this].
Me: “And we also believe that his sacrificial death on the cross is how we are forgiven of our sins, and we are trying to simply live out our faith to our neighbors [and in our lives].”
Grubbs: “That’s great.  We also wanted to offer you a free copy of the Book of Mormon (she hands me a small flier) which is another revelation of Jesus Christ, other than the Bible, telling about his [actions] in the Americas. Will you call that number and order it?”
Me: “Probably not because we don’t believe that it is another revelation of Jesus Christ.”
Grubbs: “Well, we believe that Jesus didn’t just show love to those in Jerusalem.”
Me: “I don’t believe that he did just love those in Jerusalem…after all, he loves me.  But we still don’t believe that this (I held up the flier) is another revelation.”

At this point, the lady behind Sister Grubbs thanked me for my time and said goodbye.  The trio walked down my driveway as the lady who had closed the discussion began to ‘instruct’ Sister Grubbs on (I suspect) what she could/should have said to me.  It was a rather interesting encounter, I must say, and I said a prayer for Sister Grubbs.  I hope she finds the truth.

What a weekend…

• Friday afternoon, I picked up Karen’s puppy and brought her to my house.  She did great here…no messes or puddles where they weren’t supposed to be.  She played well, with us and by ourselves, and she even did great on the car rides.  She’s a funny little puppy, too.  She liked to hide under our new end tables and peer out at us like she was stalking…so cute!
• Friday night, my BIL, Ryan, came over with is PS3.  Apparently the game station is also a BlueRay (basically a type of hi-def dvd), so after showing Eric the graphics (Eric is NOT a gamer) on the games, we watched Night at the Museum in hi-def.  Cute movie…pretty funny, really.  Though we will not be buying a BlueRay player anytime soon: they cost at least $700 and each movie is at least $30.
• Saturday I went down and helped Mom at graduation.  It went very well.  My job was to help direct the graduates and to keep the mommies/daddies out of the line of march.  The second part was definitely the harder of the two.  When I got home, I read a book, hung out with Eric, and played with the puppy.  Nothing too stressful.
• Sunday had a rough start for me, but it turned into a great day.  I was really struggling with fear/worry when I got up, but Eric really helped me and the service at church was just what I needed.  We grilled out for dinner and then went for a walk at a Metro Park near here.  Then we just vegged and relaxed for the afternoon.  I worked on my Mother’s Day gift and read (I finished the book before going to bed).  We also walked around the corner to visit some friends who’ve just moved into a house on the next cul-de-sac.  It was a good day after all…
• Today I have no firm plans.   I need to do laundry and clean my floors.  I might run some errands.  I might just sit down and read some more.  Who knows…

So apparently, the end of semester work was really hanging over me because once I finished and was driving home yesterday (and for the rest of the evening), I was in a really good mood!  It’s one of the major downfalls of the generally-nice academic schedule: there is such a pendulum swing from busy-ness/deadlines to no requirements at all. But that’s okay because now I’m done for about 3 months.  Yay!!!!

Last night, I got home and relaxed for a bit before I made dinner.  Then I goofed off some more, worked on Mom’s present, and went for a walk with Eric.  Then we came home and watched Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (his idea) before heading to bed. And it was so nice to get up this morning, knowing that I have no work hanging over my head!

So far this morning, I’ve had breakfast and read a book and checked my email.  I decided that today would have no schedule or to-do list.  For one day, I’ll just do whatever I want, when I want!  Later, I’m going to pick up Karen’s puppy because we’re keeping her while Karen & Erik go to see his parents this weekend, but that should be fun, so it’s not really a to-do thing!

And one last thing, in working on my albums, I came across some pictures that I thought you Xanga people might enjoy!  Ah…the high-school memories…

Does anyone remember the title of this play?  Beth Gaffner had to kiss Dennis Frost in it…

National Honor’s Society Induction Day, 1994 (I think.)

EDIT (3:39 pm) I just finished grading and inputting my students’ final grades.  YIPPEEE!!!! END EDIT

I’ve finished grading my Basic English class.  I’ll probably
submit those grades today.  Now I just have to keep reading Comp
papers until I’m done with those.  I’m hoping to finish those
today, but we’ll see how that goes.  So I’ll be back in my office
today just to keep myself from being able to do something other than
grade. Or at least it’ll be harder than if I’m at home!

Last
night, Eric and I got cheap Chinese food for dinner.  Then he went
to orchestra, and I mostly goofed off.  I did read one paper (I
started a second, but didn’t finish it) before he got home.  Then
we watched Glenn Beck’s special on global warming last night.  His
take is that the science doesn’t necessarily support that we are
causing global warming and that there needs to be continued dialogue
about it, rather than the Al Gore-types just telling everyone that they
are right.  It was very interesting…

Anyway, then we went
to bed.  Not a terribly exciting evening, I guess.  But I
pretty much won’t let myself do much other than grade, so hopefully, my
life will be more interesting in a day or so!

I got lots done yesterday (went to Target, WalMart, the bank, let the
puppy out, tidied the house).  I graded in the afternoon for a
while.  We did some filming at our house last night for a church
thing, though I don’t think we’re going to end up using what we
shot.  I was a bit frustrated by that turn of events, especially
because Deb brought the girls up so that Kelly could help us out, but
it was fun to play with the girls and we all had supper together. 
It could’ve been a worse evening, I guess! 

I was really beat last night, so braindead I couldn’t go back to
grading (I didn’t think it would be very fair).  We were in bed by
9:20.  I always forget how tired I am at the end of a term. 
It’ll take me until sometime late next week to really stop being so
exhausted. 

Today I am grading in my office.  I have a final to give at 10:30,
but other than that, I’ll just be grading.  Hopefully, I’ll get a
bunch done!

Classes are over!!

And not a moment too soon, I think.  Yesterday was a long day of other people’s crises.  And I don’t remember having so many students all working on their papers quite literally until the moment they turned them in!  But it’s done now, and we can all relax a bit.  Today starts Finals (I give one on Wednesday), and I have to grade this week.  Grades aren’t due until next Thursday, but I’m going to try to get everything done this week so I can be done.  I like being done!

Good news!  I got accepted to grad school at University of Dayton.  I wasn’t surprised by the news, but it had taken them a long time to send the letter, so I was starting to wonder about that.  But it came yesterday, so baring something unforeseen, I will start school in the fall (part-time and continue to teach at CU for another year). Such fun, huh?