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!

One day down, four and a half to go…until Eric comes home.

Last night, I got home, ate supper, and went grocery shopping.  I got home and Eric called while I was putting them away.  He arrived safely, but he was really tired.  They will have a busy few days, but that will be good.  Who wants to be bored!  I also loaded the dishwasher while I talked to him, so now my kitchen is a bit cleaner…

Today I voted, so that was taken care of.  I’ve also graded a couple of portfolios already.  I have lots more to do, but I think I’ll stop and get ready now and then head to CU to grade for the rest of the day.  Sorry I don’t have anything more exciting to tell you!

Today is the last day of classes.  I will collect portfolios in my
comp classes and have a review session for the Basic final exam (which
is Wednesday). The students, of course, have finals for the rest of the
week, but my primary focus will be grading portfolios!  I cannot
express how happy I am to have survived this semester.

The weekend was very good.  Eric and I spent a lot of quality time
together because he’s going to be gone all this week to CA for a
business trip.  We watched tv and a movie on Friday night. 
We worked around the house on Saturday.  I did laundry so Eric
would have clothes to wear!  We refilled the back patio with sand
so the bricks stay put, and Eric did a number of other little jobs
around the house.  Then we went for a short hike and then went out
to dinner (Wendy’s) and did some shopping on Saturday night. 
Sunday we had church, of course.  Then Eric went in to work for a
bit because one of the Mythbusters (a Discovery Channel show) was
touring Battelle and he wanted to meet him.  Then we hung out
while I finished laundry and ironed his clothes.  Then we packed
his stuff and got ready for small group which was a good time…we’re
all getting really tired, so we were pretty slap-happy all night long
(even during prayer!).  Then ran to the bank so Eric had cash with
him, final preparations, then bed.

This morning we left the house at 7:00 and I drove Eric to the airport
before heading all the way back out of the city to make it to CU. But I
still made it about my normal time.  Eric’s flight leaves shortly
after 9:00, I think.  He’ll have a conference on Tuesday-Thursday,
and then he and a guy from work are going to spend a day hiking in
Joshua Tree National Park. Then they’ll fly home on Saturday. 
I’ll pick him up at 4:00 on Saturday.  Needless to say, it’s going
to be a pretty long week for me…well, maybe I’ll get most of my
grading done early!

I guess I don’t have that much to say today.  Yesterday was a
low-key day.  I worked around at home for the morning and then ran
errands in the afternoon.  I got my oil changed, went to Kohl’s
and Kroger and then ran home.  I got dinner ready (we had baked
steak so it took a long time) and then Eric got home.  I had a
rough morning, so he was very attentive when he got home. He’s so
sweet!  I felt very loved (and the flag-waving was great!). 
Then we talked along while before we went to bed, which I desparately
needed.

This morning was much better, thankfully!  I put a pork roast in
the crockpot for supper tonight, and we have to be at the church at
7:00 for ministries.  I am definitely NOT ready for drama tonight,
so I need to work on that soon.  Other than that, my comps are
optional work days this week, and we’re on the last two sections of the
book in Basic.  Great fun! 

We left about 4:15 for the farm.  I got home as quickly as
possible from CU and finished packing.  Eric had gotten home,
mowed the grass, and was finishing his shower when I got home.  Of
course, we hit rush-hour traffic, but it wasn’t a bad drive even with
that.  We got to the farm between 6:30 and 7.  When the guys
came in from milking, we had supper and then just chatted for a while.

Pam (MIL) had a meeting on Saturday in Canton, and Larry (FIL) and
Allen went to get fertilizer in Ashland.  Eric and I drove into
Amish country and bought fresh cheese (it’s the BEST ever!).  Then
we came home and hung out until everyone got home.  I worked on a
monologue for an upcoming service and Eric mowed the lawn.  That
night, Grandpa & Grandma Powell came out, and we had dinner with
them.  Then I helped Grandma figure out how to use her new cell
phone, and we all just visited for a long while. We talked a lot about
their recent vacation to Hawaii.  Lots of pictures, videos and
stories from that!

On Sunday, Pam and Allen went up to church early and Larry wasn’t far
behind them.  Eric and I were a bit late for Sunday School. 
It was an unusual service; Pam was in charge because the pastor was on
vacation and there was a missionary speaker.  Then we went home
and had a huge Easter-style dinner to celebrate Easter/birthdays on the
Hogue side of the family.  About 1/4 of the family has birthdays
in April!  They also deep fried a turkey (those are okay…but I
still prefer oven-baked) and Eric and Allen tried to deep fry corndogs
while the turkey was cooking.  Apparently it worked, though the
hot dogs were still a bit cold they said.

Then we mostly sat around and talked until 5:00 when Larry & Allen
had to go milk.  Later, Pam, Eric and I went for a walk around the
farm and then came back and cleaned up the house. By then it was
getting later, so I packed up the suitcases and we loaded up the car
and said goodbye.  Of course, there was much chattering before we
actually left.  I was really ready to go…I was exhausted! 
In fact, I kept dozing off on the way home (good thing Eric was
driving!).  We got home just after 10:15, so I got ready for bed,
returned a phone call that needed to be answered quickly, and then went
to bed.  I slept like a log!

Now it’s today…Eric has the day off, so he was planning to work
around.  I think he enjoyed having one day where I went to work
and he slept in!

Fridays are a good thing!  And today I have workshops again, so my
classes won’t be too stressful (I hope!).  We have a school
meeting at 10:00, though, so I do have something to fill my time. 
I’m leaving CU as soon as possible after my 2:00 class because Eric and
I are leaving for the farm as soon as we can.  It’s hard to
accomplish because I have to leave most of the packing until after work
(because we need to shower, etc., today), so then we end up fighting
rush hour across the city.  But hopefully, I can leave straight
from class, so I can be home early enough for us to miss the worst part
of it!

Yesterday I had lunch with my friends.  The soup and bread turned
out great!  They brought salad (yummy!) and homemade carrot cake
(also pretty good!).  Then we just talked for 3 hours.  Since
I had cleaned up the house before they got there, I didn’t have a lot
that needed done in the afternoon.  So I read a book.  I
actually finished one that I had been reading, but I read at least half
of it yesterday.  Then we had dinner (I finished the book after
dinner), and Eric and I took a walk in the neighborhood.  Then we
watched a little tv and went to bed. 

I wonder if Karen and Erik liked any of the houses they saw yesterday…

I got the garbage out this morning…just so Kim knows!

It was so nice to have a relaxing Wednesday night instead of the normal rushing around.  Neither of us were particularly hungry, so we just scrounged up supper for ourselves. And then we mostly watched tv all night (mostly Mythbusters on Discovery Channel ).  Then we went to bed!

Today I have friends coming over for lunch.  I’m making soup/homemade bread.  They’ll bring a side and dessert.  It’s always fun to host them, but I have lots of cleaning up to do before they arrive!  How does a house get so cluttered in such a short time?  Oh well…

Workshops are very laid back, so I’m glad that my workload will be
minimal this week.  I’ve now officially caught up all the grading
that I’m aware of.  Now I just have to show up at the scheduled
times and lead my students on to brilliance.  Okay…not exactly,
but it sounds good, huh?

Last night, Eric grilled our chicken (which was yummy!) for
dinner.  Then I cleaned up the kitchen a bit (not much really),
and made/sent our small group newsletter for this week.  Then we
started to watch a movie we’d gotten from Netflix (The Big
Bounce).  Not that good really.  Some funny lines, but
overall, not worth it.  Oh well!  Then, (after some great
flag waving!) we read for a while and went to bed.  I had trouble
falling asleep, but eventually I made it!

Oh…and because Eric and I are going to the farm for the weekend, we
don’t have to go to church tonight for ministry stuff.  I’m VERY
glad to have a relaxing evening (no grading, no ministries, nothing!)
to look forward to.