TGIF!

This has been another long week. It seems like ALL the weeks are long when they're right before vacation!

I did concessions 3 nights this week -- thank goodness tonight's game is a girls game, and I don't have to work! Three nights of smelling like a big ball of popcorn is plenty. Now I won't have any games until January! Hooray!

In addition to working long days, I nearly screwed up all future vacation plans on Tuesday by being atypically clumsy. I was walking down some stairs, totally not paying attention, thought I was at the bottom, and took a huge digger! I'm sure it looked really funny, but it hurt like hell! I was grateful for two important things, tho: 1. No one saw me fall; 2. I didn't swear out loud! These are both important, as it was still during school! I was determined that my ankle wasn't broken, so I hobbled back to my room, where I proceeded to swear a bit. :) My ankle swelled up to the size of a grapefruit and immediately started turning colors. I hobbled down to the basement to get some ice and then iced and elevated for the rest of the night (mostly). I still had to help a bit with concessions, but by the end of the night, I was managing to get around with only a slight limp. I had the athletic trainer take a look at it, too, and he thought it wasn't broken, either.

I still took Wednesday off. :) I thought I'd be able to go, but when I got up in the morning, it was so stiff and sore that I figured I'd better use a sick day. I spent nearly the entire day laying on the couch with my leg piled on pillows, icing on and off. By the end of the day, the swelling was much better, and I was walking nearly normally.

These last two days have seen healing, but also some amazing colors! My entire foot and ankle have turned some lovely shades of black, blue, yellow and green. Looks cool behind the dolphin tattoo...

So, thank goodness it wasn't broken! Only 1 week til Christmas, and 11 days til Vegas! I'll be 100% by then!

I survived!

Well, it was a long week of concessions, but I survived. Even though there weren't very many people at the boys basketball games, we still did good business. And, the boys even won on Thursday! Both the JV and varisty beat Ithaca, so that was really exciting.

Yesterday was LONG! I was up at 5 and out the door by 6:15. I had to drop off books at the library, stop at the ATM and get cash, and pick up the donuts, and get to school by 7. Ugh. All of our kids showed up to work ALL DAY (except one), and, they all actually worked hard! It was awesome. We were busy and ran out of a few things, so had to make a couple of emergency runs to the grocery store, but all in all, things went really well. We made nearly $700 for prom, so that was excellent.

We also made an additional $200 for setting up and tearing down the tables. Friday night set up went great -- we had 10 kids who could really haul the big, heavy tables, and we were done in an hour. Saturday, we only had 6 (some didn't show... grrr...) and so Gail and I had to help haul. Today, my arms are so sore, and I have bruises on my inner arms! It looks like someone whacked me with a stick! :) I am glad it is all over. This week I have NOTHING! No concessions, no book or clock, no nada! It is fantastic!

I am also working with Jen this weekend on figuring out more stuff for the Olympics. We can buy our tickets to Whistler (for the luge) starting tomorrow. It is a 3 hour bus trip from Vancouver, but only costs $25ish. What a great opportunity to meet other people! I am looking into buying some small pins to trade or just give away. I am so excited!!!

We are also thinking about changing some of our lodging plans. My friend, Lana (who I met on my trip to Norway), will be working at the games, and has talked to her friend about our plans to stay in Victoria. She thinks that will be difficult, and has volunteered to let us stay at her house (maybe). So, I'm calling this lady today to get the scoop. I am confident all will work out.

1st long day of a long week

Today is the first day of hell. Otherwise, known as basketball concessions. What a long day! Plus, it's been forever since I've done concessions, and I'm not totally sure I remember how to set it all up! Yuck. So, I've been a busy lady today. I helped fill the candy machine (for the junior class), then filled the juice/water machine (for the student council), created a new activity for my civics class (for the teacher in me), I'm off to figure out the scoreboard (for the A.D. who can't figure it out himself), then off to concessions (for Travelers' Club). Some days, I think I'd like to work in a nice, big school where there are TONS of teachers to do all the different things, instead of just a few of us.

Can't wait for the rest of the week! :)

Catching Up

It seems like I have such good intentions about keeping current with this blog, but time always gets away from me! How is it the end of November already?

I was home for much of last week -- Yea for Thanksgiving! Thor had been up in Eau Claire since last Friday, when I was home for GW. That was super fun, too, but I'm thinking it might be awhile before any of us play President again...

We had a short week of school, so I was able to head home Wednesday afternoon. I spent a nice, relaxing evening with Jan, then was up relatively early on Thursday to start getting ready for my favorite holiday! I got an apple pie ready, then headed to Osseo to pick up the relatives. It was a small gathering (just me, my mom, aunt, great-aunt and a lady whose like a relative but not by blood), but we had a great meal and good times. The pumpkin pie (brought by one of the Osseo ladies) was FANTASTIC! I was jealous -- her crust was way flakier than mine, but she was nice enough to share her secret: put 2 tsp. of powdered sugar in with the flour! I am ready to give it a whirl.

In the late afternoon, I took the ladies back to Osseo, then when I got back home my mom and I met Laurie, Lynn, and families at the mall to go see "The Blind Side." You need to see this movie! It was so awesome -- even if you aren't a big football fan, you will still love it! We had 12 people in our group, and took up a whole row in the theater!

Friday I was up at the butt-crack of dawn to go shopping with Jen. There were lots more people out than last year, and I bought more stuff for myself than Xmas presents... Ah, well. I've actually done a good job of getting stuff throughout the year this year, anyway. And Jen and I got our totally cute matching outfits for the Olympics. And, she found the most excellent top for NYE in Vegas... I found one last week, but hers looks better, I think...

I came back home yesterday night in the hopes that I would get lots done around here before heading back to school on Monday. It was a fantastic idea, until my mom called me at 11:15 to let me know that I'd forgotten to bring home all the lefse-making stuff that I need for this Wednesday. UGH! So, we met in BRF at 1:00. I swear, if it's not on a piece of paper, it just doesn't happen!

I have two nights of concessions this week, so it will be a busy one. I also have to work at the local craft fair on Saturday doing the concessions for the junior class. Lots of popcorn making this week!!!

Catching up

First quarter ended on Wednesday. Odd, but there it is. I don't ever remember having a quarter end in the middle of the week, but since I'm not on the calendar committe, I just go with it. Anyway, that means only 3 more to go! Ha ha ha. We will have parent-teacher conferences next week, which are usually pretty laid back for me. I don't have a lot of parents searching me out; I usually get the overflow from the science teacher next door. But, it's time to get lots of other stuff done, and it means I actually have to clean off my desk. It is currently buried under several piles of paper. By next Thursday, however, it will be organized! Or, at least, thrown in a box where parents can't see it.

Last night I took my middle school girls roller skating for their end of the season party. We have generally gone bowling in the past, but this year's 8th graders wanted something different. And just because we went roller skating does not mean I roller skated. I'm no dummy. I may have some pretty darn good health insurance, but that doesn't mean I have to use it! But the kids had a lot of fun, and I had a lot of fun laughing at them!

I am headed to EC this weekend to go see "This Is It" with Mikki, Jen & Alex. I love Michael Jackson music! He was a bit... weird... to say the least, but he always made good tunes. I did turn down Jen's offer to buy me a rhinestone glove, though.

MSVB is Done!

Boy, it's been awhile since I blogged! I honestly thought I'd be a bit more consistent, but...

Monday was our last msvb game. We played North Crawford, who had beat us twice already this year. The 6th and 7th grade team did awesome! They played so well -- serving was good, they hustled after everything, and even had a few spikes! And they won! Hooray for them!

Here's the 6th and 7th grade team photo

The 7th & 8th grade team won one of the three games, but couldn't come back in the end. It was still a good season for them. I have six pretty talented 8th graders that I will miss next year (I won't miss all their attitudes, but for the most part, they're pretty good).

Here's the 7th & 8th grade team

Both teams had a really good season. All that's left is the end of the year party, and apparently this year, that means roller skating. I will not be participating. I will be sitting on the sidelines eating pizza. :)

A long week

Last week was long. The week before ended on a great note, with my class winning Homecoming activities for the second year! U-rah-rah E-le-ven! Oh Good Lord, doesn't that sound strange? Anyway, it was awfully exciting, even though I paid for all the cheering by losing my voice, mostly, for the whole weekend. And even into Tuesday, if I talked too much during the day it was raspy by about 2:00. Seems like the kids didn't mind...

Monday I had a volleyball game, Tuesday I worked at the high school game, Wednesday I had a field trip (see paragraph below), Thursday I had a conference and a volleyball game, Friday I had practice after school, and then yesterday I had a vb tournament. Today, my Bears have a bye, so I am at loose ends.

My field trip on Wednesday is one that we usually take, but sometimes have to skip. It is for my juniors for Youth Government Day, and involves a trip to the courthouse in Viroqua to watch court proceedings. I really like the field trip -- it's sponsored by the American Legion, our judge is intimidating but fair, the Legion provides lunch (usually Pizza Hut), we go to DQ for treats before going back to school, ...and I think it gives kids a good perspective on what it would be like to have to go to court. Sometimes we don't go, however, if any of the kids are related to anyone actually appearing in court that day. Even though 25% of the junior class has actually appeared before the judge this year, for one thing or another (isn't that a spectacular statistic?), no one we really knew was on the docket, so we went!

And things went smoothly, until it was time for a 20-minute recess. While I didn't specifically tell the kids not to leave, it was sort of implied. However, apparently a few kids went outside. In and of itself, not horrible -- except that when I went to look for two of them (no the best behaved girls on any given day), they were coming back inside, and reeked of smoke and perfume. Grr was I angry! I chewed them out for a bit, but didn't actually find any cigarettes. They had to stay by me the rest of the day, though, and did not get to go into DQ for a treat. It was there that I found out why they didn't have any smokes on them -- they had taken butts out of the ashtray outside the courthouse and smoked those!!!!! EWWWWWW!!!! GROSS!!!!! I was way more disgusted by that than by any actual smoking... So, it was a fantastic field trip. :)

On a brighter note, my 8th grade team (+2 7th graders) took 3rd place yesterday at North Crawford out of 6 teams. Only three games left!

Cemetery Tour

Yesterday I had my field trip to Forest Lawn Cemetery in Madison. It is my favorite field trip! It is sponsored by the WI Veterans Museum, and features stories about the Civil War. They hire a playwright who creates monologues based on people buried in the cemetery who were active during the war. They also hire actors to present the monologues. This year was excellent -- the stories were interesting and held the kids attention, and the actors were simply fantastic. It was a beautiful fall day, the kids behaved, we learned a few things, and then, of course, went to the mall. :) If only all field trips could be so awesome...

John Coleridge Pradt and Col. Stephen Vaughn Shipman

Pradt was a survivor of a surprise attack by Quantrill's Raiders. He was one of only 9 survivors. Shipman was wounded three times in combat, then returned to WI to become an architect. He designed the rotunda for the capitol building.

John Wayles Jefferson
Jefferson was a leader in WI's 8th Infantry. He was wounded twice in combat, and after the war, became a prominent businessman in Madison and Memphis, TN. He passed as white all his life, although he was the grandson of Thomas Jefferson and his slave, Sally Hemmings.

Cpl. George Washington Spears
Spears was a Confederate soldier who was captured, along with his brothers, at Island 10 in the Mississippi and brought to the POW camp at Camp Randall, WI. He was killed in a dispute with a guard and buried in the Confederate rest at the cemetery. It is the most northern cemetery for Confederate soldiers.

Friday Afternoon

Well, I survived the first full week. It helped that the seniors were gone today, and my afternoon had two classes finishing movies. Now I have my prep period, and aren't I being productive? :)

Both vb teams won against Kickapoo last night -- even with three girls missing. Two were out with flu-like symptoms (lots of that going around), and one girl had been stung by a bee in the afternoon. Not usually a big deal, but her hand swelled up to about 3x its normal size, and was red and hot. She was sure, however, that she could still play. Ummmmm..... No.

Each team won all three games, so that was pretty exciting. We actually have practice today, all by ourselves. It's been awhile since that's happened. Last time we had to share with the JV, and that just makes it hard to accomplish much.

Have a great weekend! I'm headed to BRF on Sunday -- my mom's cousin Mary is visiting from the west coast. I'm going to hit her up for a place to stay when Jen & I go to the Olympics. We have a place in Victoria, but we'd like to spend a few days in Seattle, too.

A full week? What's up with that?

So, this is the first week of school that is an ENTIRE week! I have to come to school all day, every day. Who thought of this??? I am not so excited about it. However, all the seniors will be gone for an English field trip tomorrow, so that part won't be too bad.

It has been a long week already. Monday night I attended the school board meeting as the teacher rep. It was kind of interesting, and I had some of my students there. I am now requiring my civics class to attend one meeting per semester, so I figured if they had to be there, I should be, too. Then, Tuesday night we had a volleyball game in Ithaca. Neither team won (they are kind of on a down streak), and we didn't get back to school until 10:15!!! We had traveled with the varsity and then stopped to eat on the way home.

So last night, I got home about 5:15. I laid down and took a nap til 7:00! Good lord I'm old now. I was still even able to go to bed at 10:30! Wow.

We have another game tonight. Home, though, vs. Kickapoo, so it shouldn't be a late night. We have a few kids out sick (lots of that going around already). Wash your hands with soap!!! Lots!

Monday, Monday

Mondays are long no matter what. But, today seems especially long! A) It's colder than it has been and I'm just not ready for that. B) I had a bit longer weekend, and just didn't want to come back. C) It's 5:40 and I'm still here. D) I have to be the teacher representative at the school board meeting tonight, and that doesn't start til 7. E) I didn't know I was going to be the rep and so didn't pack any food. I'm eating my dinner of Famous Amos chocolate chip cookies as I type.

So maybe I'm complaining a bit, but on the bright side, I did wear my Chicago Bears sweatshirt to school today. How fantastic was yesterday??? A Bear win (when they were picked to lose) and a Packer loss (when they were picked to win by 9 1/2!) always makes my day.

Happy Fair Day!

Today was early release (kids out at 11:30) because it's the Vernon County Fair! We have the last county fair in the state, and I love it that we get a half day off from school! Teachers were done, too, but I had vb practice. My 7/8 team scrimmaged the JV, and held their own. We just finished up, and I have a couple of errands to run, then I'm headed to LaX for a fun night with T-Ford and Natalie. We haven't gotten together (just us) in forever! Lots of laughs, snacks, and beer! Hooray!

This week both the 6/7 and 7/8 teams won on Monday at DeSoto, and then both got killed Tuesday at North Crawford. Our next game is Tuesday at Ithaca. MSVB only has one month left! I'm not sure how that happened!

We Are the Champions!!!!!

I love to WIN!!!

Both the 6th/7th and 7th/8th grade teams took First place at the Kickapoo Volleyball Tournament today! I coached the 7/8 team, and we won all 6 games. Heidi, my assistant, coached the 6/7 team, and they won 5 of 6 games (they lost the last one 26-24!). It was SOOOOOOOO fantastic! Both teams play very well. The 7/8 team even had a few spikes! It's great when they play as good as they're capable of.

On Monday, we're off to DeSoto, then Tuesday to North Crawford. We will finally get another practice on Thursday (we've only had three all season). Imagine how good they could be if we only practiced regularly!

And the winner was...

We had our first msvb game last night. We went to Wauzeka, and, after 9 years, I finally made it to the school there! The sb field is nowhere near it, so even though I've been coming to Wauzeka forever, I had no idea where the school actually was! Amazingly, it's right across the street from the gas station we always stop at... apparently I'm not good with details.

It was a long ride there, too. We went with the high school, since Wauzeka is big enough to have two gyms. The bus was CROWDED! I had 17 players, 3 managers, and 2 coaches. High school had 15 players, 2 managers, and 2 coaches. Luckily, I have some really tiny girls who do fine three to a seat. :)

Anyhoo, I didn't have very high hopes for the teams last night. We'd only had two practices, so I wasn't real sure how an actual game would go. But, the 6th and 7th grade won all three of their games! I was so excited for them. They are still a lot of fun at that age -- I wouldn't want to teach them all day, but vb is great. The 8th grade games were not nearly as good. They lost all three. Apparently, the girls who were my strongest servers last year can no longer get the ball across the net, or if they do, it goes out of bounds. Grrrr! I ended up playing the 7th graders to

serve. Good thing we have more practices before our next game!

Oh, wait! I forgot where I was. No practice today, and our first home game tomorrow. Then, a practice on Friday and a tournament on Saturday. Ah, well. At least it's only middle school and no real pressure.

School is going pretty ok, too. Today my local history class went out and took pictures of Main Street that we have photos from 1909 and 1950. If you turn today's photo black and white, it's nearly the same. Weird!

One week down, and a free weekend!

The first week of school went pretty well, I think. I like most of my classes, and I have 17 girls out for MSVB! I'm teaching History vs. Hollywood this semester (I usually have it in the spring), and the kids picked out some movies I haven't seen yet, and ones I haven't watched for awhile. One kid did pick "Dances With Wolves," though. YUCK! He's one of my special ed kids, though, so I couldn't come up with a good reason to tell him no. Grrr.

Local History should be fun -- I have seven kids in there who actually seem interested in what we're planning to do! I have a couple of people organizing some old photos of LF for us to use. We looked at two on Friday and they really got into trying to figure out what was in each one.

I am glad it's the weekend, though. It was a long four days, getting up early every morning! It takes awhile to get back in the groove. Luckily, this next week is only four days, also. Hooray for Labor Day! And, to make it even better, I don't have any real plans! I've pretty much lazed today away, but I've loved every minute! I'm busy lots of weekends coming up, so I plan on taking advantage of this one.

First Day of School

Well, today was my first day of school... again. I can't believe that this year is year #10 at LF. How can that even be possible? Didn't I just live in EC and work at the Griz? The good one, I mean? Time flies.

Today went pretty well, except for the fact that I was up way too early -- like 3:00! I had to pee, and then I had a million thoughts running through my head, and then... well, I was up. So, today has been long, and it's not even close to being over!

I like all of my classes so far. One day does not a semester or year make. But we're off to a good start, I think. In about 10 minutes I will start middle school volleyball, too. I should have a big group of girls, and it's always fun. Then I'm doing the book for the JV and varsity volleyball game tonight. Long day.

On the plus side, I didn't get a pimple or my period on the first day of school. First time that's happened in a long time! :)

MN State Fair

So, Saturday morning I was up at 4:30 a.m. OMG I never am up at that time! It was so dark! And, although I had set my coffee pot the night before to have the coffee already brewed, there was only about an inch of hot coffee in the pot. Hmmm. Investigation revealed that there wasn't any water still in the tank, nor were the grounds wet. Aha! I never filled the tank with water the night before! What was in the pot was Friday's leftover coffee! Apparently, I am not ever meant to be up at that time of day.

Why was I up, anyway? Yesterday was the annual outing to the MN State Fair! This year was a bit different -- my mom was coming with! So I needed to be out the door by 5:30 to pick her up in EC and be to Chris' mom's (Ger) by 9. I left my house at 5:20!

It was kind of gloomy and rainy all morning until we got to Hudson. Then the sun came out a bit. It was still a little cloudy, but it looked like it would be a great day for the fair. We made it to Ger's by 8:30. Fantastic! Chris pulled in right behind us and after a quick potty break, the five of us (Chris' nephew, Nicholas, came too) were off! The bus stop for free rides to the fair is about 3 blocks from Ger's house, so it works out perfectly!

Once we got to the fair, the first stop was the Dairy booth. Nothing like a big shake early in the morning to set the tone for the day! I had strawberry-rhubarb this year -- a brand new flavor. Then we watched one of the princesses have her head carved in butter. Oh, to be a princess for the MN State Fair! I was disappointed that the milk booth seemed to have disappeared. That's where I buy a stress cow for my classroom pass each year. No cow for me.

Then we headed to the animal barns. No surprise, Jan was on the hunt for llamas. We didn't find any. But we did see lots of cows (some were HUGE!) and sheep and goats and pigs (saw the largest boar in MN -- 1,300 lbs!) and horses. The first horses we saw were Belgians -- almost as big as Clydesdales! Their hooves were kind of odd, too, and they had funky ribbons in their manes and their tails pulled up into floral arrangements. I'm not sure they were cool with that...

Next on the food agenda was beer (it was almost 11 a.m. by this point) and Pronto Pups. Unsurprisingly, they go very well together! We went through Heritage Square, and then we ate Big Fat Bacon (1/4 - 1/3 lb. of bacon on a stick, deep fried, of course) and mini-donuts.

Off to the grandstand! Lots of stuff to look at, but it's almost the same every year. Then we age funnel cake. Chris & Nicholas had powdered sugar, and Ger, Jan & I split one with powdered sugar, chocolate, and vanilla cream (like a Boston Creme Pie). Nummy!

Then we watched the parade (they have one every day). Tons of bands! Freedom, WI (boo) and Cashton bands were there, even! No candy, though. Next we headed through the Eco building. Jan got lots of info about wind power. We had some coffee at the Swedish Lutheran booth. The sun was hiding, and coffee hit the spot.

The Art Building was next. Some people just throw crap on a canvas and apparently it's art. Who knew? Then we hit the Education building, and stopped at the CSB/SJU booth, of course. Got a new pen. :)

Finally it was time for cheese curds. They are so fantastic! Hand dipped and golden brown... even though I just ate them yesterday, I'm drooling thinking of them. We were going to get a deep fried Snickers, too, but the line was too long!

We hit the Horticulture building (gladiolas were the featured flower) and we all registered to win a rain barrel. Apparently these are all the rage, and if I win, I'm giving mine to Jan. Then we headed for the International Bazaar and more beer while we looked at all the shops.

What a day! Lots of laughs, good food, and fun times. Jan and I got back to EC about 8:45, and I was in bed by 9:15. Tired! But a great way to have fun before heading back to school.

Almost ready for school... kind of!

Three days of inservice left me wiped out. How in the world will I mange a full week with kids? Good think we don't have a full week for the first three weeks of school! :) Next week is Tues. - Fri. (can't start school til Sept.1), the following week is Tues. - Fri. (no school Labor Day), and the third week we have early release on Friday (Vernon County Fair!). It's good to ease into things.

I think I am almost ready for school to start (well, except for the whole getting up in the mornings). I have all my classes set to go, except for Civics. And I would be ready for that, too, if I hadn't decided last week to totally revamp it! I'll still use some of what I used to do, though, so it won't be too difficult.

Tonight is the first football game of the year. Last season, we tied for conference champs. I'm not too sure if that's possible again this year, but I'm ready for it! I'll be selling tickets for tonight's game. If it's a blow-out, I'll head to EC tonight, if not, I'll be on my way by 5:30 a.m. tomorrow morning! Jan and I are going to the MN State Fair tomorrow with Chris and her mom and nephew. We need to be to Ger's by 9:00 a.m. I am looking forward to eating my weight in deep fried food on a stick!

Last week of summer...

Wow. Inservice starts tomorrow. I spent all day at school today, anyway. I'm tired. And, it's almost 10 p.m. and I have to go to bed! Good lord it's hard to get back in the swing of things.

Especially after last week! I had a good conference at the Chippewa Valley Museum from Monday thru Wednesday, and then spent Wednesday night through Saturday morning with Ang in Bloomer. My liver still hurts! But, damn, did we have fun. We made significant progress on this year's version of "Knitting with Hotties," and I'll try and get the finished edition on the blog. Not that we were objectifying men, or anything.

Then Saturday afternoon was Bobbers Golf Outing. Super fun! The weather finally cooperated and we had a gorgeous day for golf. Although I didn't win (dang it, Donna! One stroke!!), I still got an award for longest drive on the 14th hole, and cutest outfit. Tee hee!

Dinner at the Holec's was fantastic, as usual, and the bonfire rocked! I was glad April could make it and be in charge of the poker stick.

Overall, it was a great last week of summer. I miss it already.

Last few days of freedom

No one has asked me to register them to vote yet. I'm a bit depressed about it. :)

Only one more real week of freedom before it's back to the grind. I am so glad that I have a job with summer vacation! I know I complain when it gets to be fall and it's time to go back, but really, what the heck would I do if I had to work ALL THE TIME?

I'm busy this last week, too. I have a meeting at school this afternoon about a new class I'm teaching this fall, I'm going to BRF tomorrow for a great day at Lillian's and a Sons of Norway meeting, then on Monday I head to EC for 3 days at the Chippewa Valley Museum for a conference, and then I'm going with Ang to her folk's camper. Finally, next Saturday I have Bobber's Golf Outing. Monday I have another meeting at school (union stuff, this time), and then inservice starts! Shut up!

I made a calender the other day so I could get all my crap organized, and I realized that I'm pretty much booked through October! Nothing like going from an awesome, relaxing summer to full-on activity!

Too much time on my hands

Isn't the internet amazing? I was wandering around it this morning, and checking out the Mike & Mike site (while watching the show, too). Found this! Super funny. The only photos they have are of guys, so that's why my arm is a bit manly...

Deputized

I am such a nerd. It's ok. I know it. I even revel in it. So that's one of the reasons I am excited to announce that I am now a...

Special Registration Deputy!

What the heck is that? Well, it means that I am officially deputized by the state of Wisconsin to register voters! I went to a 2-hour training on Friday afternoon, along with Patty, our school secretary. We had to go through the forms, read the pertinent statutes, and take a real-live oath with our hands raised and everything! I have a commission that lasts until December 31, 2010.

So, if any of you live in WI and haven't registered to vote, I can help! Or if you move and need to update your register, I can do that, too!

Really, what it will be used for most is getting high school students registered to vote so they don't have to do it the day of the election. But I am totally not limited to that! I love being geeky!

Mishmash of junk

How is it August already? Happy birthday #5 -- nice of you to catch up to the rest of us. Boy it sure was fun on Saturday night in EC with #1, 4 & 5. I'm pretty sure I've never had that much fun at the 400 Club! :) Everyone had fun, no one puked (at the bar, at least), and we all got some railroad souvenirs. Ha ha ha!

I'd been in BRF earlier to attend the premiere of Lillian's new movie: "Dancing with Miss White." A bit too much dancing for me (made the movie LONG), but Lil's parts were great, and the clips at the end were perfect! Plus it was fun to see some relatives for dinner before the movie.

I went to school yesterday to get some stuff ready for the newsletter and take care of my supply order. It really isn't bad being there when there aren't any kids there! :) It's hard to believe that school starts in three weeks! Only inservice -- "real" school starts ONE MONTH FROM TODAY! Good lord. How do people with other jobs do it? I'd go absolutely crazy without summers off.

Amana

My mom and I took a mini-vacation this week. She came down on Saturday afternoon and on Sunday we headed down to Amana, Iowa. I was in Amana for an art class with Gail in April and I knew it was a place my mom would like.

It was settled in the 1850s by a group of people who lived communally -- no one owned houses, they had communal kitchens, everyone worked for the good of all, and they had church 11 times a week! The communal living ended in 1932 but they still have a corporation that the church members run and people own stock in it. There are seven little towns that make a little circuit (Amana, Middle Amana, High Amana, West Amana, South Amana, East Amana, and Homestead). We hit a couple of towns on Sunday, but not many because most business aren't open that day, and if they are, are only open til 5.

Monday we spent the whole day in Amana. It got to be almost overwhelming. We hit the main museum first, then walked the town and hit some shops. This is where the Amana woolen mills are -- I got a blanket and a sweater! Nice quality stuff. They also have a brewery -- good beer. I brought home a couple 6-paks. Of course. :)

Tuesday we hit the other museums we hadn't seen, and the towns that weren't open on Sunday. It was a lot to see, but we had a great time. We also ate like we'd never seen food. The towns were settled by German immigrants, so most restaurants served EXCELLENT German fare. I had weinershnitzel, potato dumplings, German potato salad, just to name a few. We also got some terrific homemade breads and fudge. I don't need to eat for a week!

Anyway, it was a great trip. But Amana is definitely one of those places that you really only need to visit once. It's not exactly the place you'd go all the time, but I'm glad we had a chance this summer. Now, I'm back home for a few days.

The Joys of Renting

So, I called my landlord yesterday because my shower was leaking. Not in the shower, but in the pipes. It didn't sound too bad yesterday, but then I went into the basement to do some laundry, and it was like being in a rain forest. So I called him again today to let him know. He got here about 8 tonight -- but I could hear him go upstairs, first. I thought maybe he'd been confused by my message and thought there was a leak in the upstairs pipes. But he came back down and got the board off from in front of the pipes. He'd been unsuccessful in getting the upstairs renters to come to the door. I told him I knew they were home, because both cars were parked out front and no one had left since the girl got home about 6. He told me he was planning on evicting them since they hadn't paid rent yet this month. Goody!

He had to leave to get a part, and when he got back, told me that he'd called the police to "check out" the upstairs. Since the main door was wide open, but no one answered the door to the apartment, he was "concerned." :) He put a patch on the pipe while we waited for the cops (he will be back tomorrow to replace them). When the cops showed up, they also went upstairs and knocked and knocked. Then they came to talk to me. I shared what I knew (they were home, that was the only exit, etc.). Mike (the landlord) came back with the key, but the cops said they couldn't go in unless it was an emergency.

I went back inside, and the light in the stairway came on. Girl neighbor finally came downstairs. Apparently, she and her boyfriend are sick, and had been sleeping. Uh huh. They were just fine yesterday, and I heard them walking around while Mike ran to get the part. Arrgh!

So, Mike's going to evict them tomorrow when he comes to replace the pipe. Good times! I wish I owned my own home. But then, I guess I'd have to do yardwork. Toss up!

Free Association

What happened to summer? It was going along, warm as could be, I had a tan, wanted to spend time outside, and then POOF! Gone. It has been so cold (relatively speaking -- 64 in April seems a whole lot nicer than 64 in July!) and blecky lately. I went up to St. Cloud last week to see Chris and the weather just did not cooperate. However, it was icky enough to not feel guilty about sitting on the couch most of the day doing absolutely nothing!

I had a great couple days there, then we had "Dinner with the Amys." That's what Chris calls it, and since Amy and I don't have a better name for it, that's what it shall be called henceforth! This time, we thought we'd only do appetizers, since we usually have a ton of apps and then are too full to really eat. Seems like a good idea, until we had 400 appetizers! Oh my lord it was a lot of food, and we put a pretty good dent in it. Then we played 2 games of Trivial Pursuit. I won both times (or at least, I was on the winning team). Love it!

Now I'm back home for a few days. I will be in EC on Thursday -- going to Grease with Ang and the fam. Lunch (?) with Lisa, and then hopefully something with Jen & Mikki on Friday. Then back home because Jan is headed this way. We are going to Amana, IA, on Sunday to check it out. I was there this spring for a class with Gail, and knew my mom would love it.

It's hard to believe that it's nearly the end of July. I am so busy on weekends coming up and it seems like school is right around the corner!!!!! Oh NO!!!

A new Wii addiction?

Yesterday, I finally got Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 for my Wii. I played this for the first time about a week and a half ago with Kala at Gail's. I loved it! I went to wallyworld that night (I had to buy cat food) but their price was $49.99. Kala got her copy at Best Buy for $39.99. I was all about saving $10. And, I looked online, and it was the same price, with free shipping! Plus I still had an old gift card worth about $5, so I got it even cheaper! But, I had to wait for it to come by mail.

I didn't play yesterday, since I actually went golfing, and played 18. Today, though, was a different story. After I watched the Tour de France, I put in the new game. I set up my golfer (she's got HUGE jugs and a skinny waist, just like me! ha ha ha) and started to play. Of course, I have it set on the easiest settings, so I ROCK! :) I played a few courses and won two tournaments before I decided to try playing with the regular settings. I am not nearly as dominant without the nice cheats. I haven't decided if I will try and play real, or if I will still play with the help. I do like to win....

A little of this, a little of that

I was up in EC over the 4th. My mom and I went to Rock Falls for a parade -- a pretty nice one, too, considering RF is unincorporated and about 3 blocks long! Then we hung out in the beer tent for a bit and watched the kickball tournament. For grownups! It was funny. We watched fireworks from the deck with Lois. I think we can see 3 towns' shows from there, plus lots of other random people shooting off much bigger fireworks than my mom ever let me have. I usually got sparklers, smoke bombs, and snakes (you know, they looked like black pellets and when you lit them, they grew a long ash that curled around). Nothing that really made noise or was too flashy. :)

Today, I have lots on my agenda. Ha! Just kidding. I do need to go to the library and get more books, and then I'm going to paint some sample paints in my bedroom and the little room. I know in my head the colors I want; now it's a matter of finding them in paint! So, that's my agenda. I'm pretty sure I might sneak in a nap...

Home again

Thor has finally come home from Grandma's. He'd been there since June 11! He doesn't like the car ride TO Grandma's, but once he's there, he really loves it. It helps that Jan takes him outside everyday, too, and always has toys, milk, and time to play. I think he got to play outside every day that he was there this year! And, he is getting better about just being outside, too. Now he will sit in one place and just hang, instead of traipsing all over the dang yard. He still wants to go out into the cornfields, because that looks like SO MUCH FUN, but he has started to realize that he has to stay closer. When I was around, he would even just sit and relax in my lap on the porch. We will try doing that now that he's home.

On another note, I had a great time at Jen & Bobber's bonfire Saturday night! It was great to see everyone, and I didn't spend ALL my money on Lia Sophia. :)

Oh, and I've started peeling from my sunburn. Cool, in a gross kind of way.

Summer vacation is BUSY!

So, my summer is going great, but these past few weeks have been busy. I went to Black River Falls on Saturday for my Sons of Norway picnic. I'm the youngest member in my lodge by about 35 years. The other members are so cute! :) Anyway, we had a great potluck, and then we played bingo for stupid prizes. It was a nice afternoon, and my mom and I got to spend some time with Lillian, too. Then I headed to EC to pick up Thor.

Except that my friend Gail called and invited me to her cabin in Elcho. I haven't been there in about 3 years, so I thought it sounded fun. So, I stayed in EC til Monday (no use driving back down to Viroqua to turn around and go north) and headed over. It is about 2:45 to get there, and Monday was a great day for a drive.

I stayed at the cabin til Thursday. We had a good time -- we played cribbage, went fishing, went mopeding, had a campfire, and generally just relaxed. This year, I won big in cribbage -- usually Gail only plays til she loses, and then we have to be done. But this year, she was a better sport, even though I beat her 13 games to 3, including two skunks! Ha ha! I also caught more fish than her: my 4 to her 2. I caught 4 northerns, ranging from 15-24 inches. I was just happy to catch anything! We don't keep them, anyway.

Yesterday I drove back to EC to get the cat. My mom said, "why don't you just leave him here til you come back this weekend?" So, I came home empty handed. And I have one day to not really go anywhere, before I head up to EC Saturday. BUSY, but having fun.

Summer vacation is FUN!

I just got back this afternoon from visiting April & fam for a few days. I love being able to just get in the car and go! It helps that Thor is at Grandma's... But I had a super fun time with April, Stro, Myles & Shay. Spending time with kids I like is fun, but it still reminds me why I have a cat and not kids of my own. :) We also played an awesome new game -- well, it's new to me -- Rummikub! If you haven't played it, I highly recommend it. It was fun (although a bit long at times, when some of the players are "SURE" they can go out...) and easy to learn.

April and I also went to see "The Hangover." Sweet Jesus I laughed a lot. And was still giggling about parts of it the next day! Parts were definitely stupid, but dang it, sometimes you just need to watch a movie like that! The next night we went to Myles' baseball game (he pitched pretty well, but the team got smoked) and then April & I hit the casino. We'd never been to that one before, and it was HUGE! It was not, however, conducive to winning. They did not have any penny slots, and the 2-centers were not helping us make money. We were there for an hour or so, though, and neither of us have to get a 2nd job.

Finished!

Yesterday was the last day of school, which means, TODAY STARTS SUMMER VACATION!!! Hooray! Today I slept til 9:30. It was awesome. And, I have no plans. Even better! I do have some plans for this week, though. The boys baseball team won their regional (1st time in 19 years!) so they play at Potosi for sectionals on Tuesday. So exciting! So, I"m going to that game. Then I'm headed to EC on Thursday. I'm getting new tires on Friday, along with having my car detailed. A clean car for the first time since softball started... I can't wait! On Saturday I'll head to the Cities to see Chris, Amy & Brian. What a great week! I love summer!!

Almost Vacation!

Only 4 1/2 days of school left. I think I can make it. This has been a long year, and I am definitely ready for a break. I am also looking forward to a summer of not doing a whole lot of anything! My plans so far include: 1 week in EC with Chris and Ang. Honestly! That's the only actual scheduled event on my calendar. I love it! Other things on my list of things to do include: trip to Milwaukee to see Myles & Shay play ball; trips to EC for campfires (but not camping); trips to EC to hang out with Jan and so Thor can spend some quality time outside; a trip to St. Cloud to see Chris; golfing; reading; a whole lot of relaxing. I can hardly wait!

Just not meant to be

So, today was attempt #2 at the La Farge Softball Tournament. The first one, scheduled for April 25, was called due to thunderstorms. The reschedule, for today, has been cancelled to to a super-mucky field from 10,000 inches of rain last night. OK, maybe not quite that much, but still, it's never good when you walk onto a softball diamond and sink to your ankles.

So, I guess we just aren't meant to have our tournament this year. On the plus side, that means I get an earlier start for my trip to EC.

Happy Mother's Day, to all you mom's out there. I'm so glad I only have a cat!

Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

I sure do wish I was in EC at Cancun for a giant margarita! Or more... But, not five pitchers worth! :)

Home already?

Today, I actually get to go home while it's still light out! I was in Iowa over the weekend at an art class -- I made two pieces of art, and learned two important things: 1. Art is hard. 2. I am not a collager. I thought a lot of what was made looked like crap. I kind of felt that if I'd only had a box of uncooked macaroni I could really make something... Anyway, I do like the two things I made, so it wasn't a total waste. But back to my point, I was gone from Friday afternoon until Sunday night at 9. Then, Monday, I had a softball game and got home at 8:30. Last night, I stayed for the local forensics performance, and got home about 9. It's only 5:40! The sun is shining! I can go home! Hooray!

TGI'm Not In High School!

Why is there so much drama in high school? I don't ever remember there being as much drama between girls as I see these days. Sure, there were some issues, but good lord. I think that sometimes it is just overwhelming to listen to hs girls. Today I had two girls screaming in the hallway after practice, and yelling at each other all the way out to the parking lot. Then, I had one of them in my room crying and nearly hyperventilating, and I can barely even understand why she is so worked up! So now I need to talk to the other one, and try and figure out the story. And then, thry and get both of them to come to some kind of resolution, at least to the point that they can play on the same team. Ugh. Did you know there are only 32 school days left????

Filters needed

So I've noticed more and more lately that kids (and adults) really lack a filter. You know, that inner voice that reminds you, "it's not ok to say that now." Kids do it all the time in school -- they open their mouths and stuff comes out that no one in their right mind would say! I have to remind them all the time to turn their filters on. But there are definitely adults that lack one, also. I have a super great example of poor filter usage by adults and students, but I'm not going to write about it here -- if you really want to know, send me an email...

Anyway, I just wish more people would think before they open their mouths. Saying the first thing that pops into their minds just usually is a BAD idea, and causes trouble for more than just them!

Snow storm?

So, I was supposed to go on the Art Club trip to Minneapolis this weekend. It is a pretty fun trip -- we go to the Walker sculpture garden (you know, the one with the giant cherry on a spoon), the Minneapolis Institute of Art, and then the Mall of America. But, we cancelled the trip because we were supposed to get this horrific snow storm today. And, it was snowing here when I woke up this morning. But it stopped. And all melted. The radar says it is supposed to snow more, but it actually looks kind of nice out now. It figures!

I love coaching. Honest!

Did you know that it's ok to be late for a softball game if you're a starter? It is, if you have a doctor's appointment. It is NOT, however, if you say you have a doctor's appointment and are really getting your bellybutton pierced. Grrr. We will deal with this situation at practice tomorrow.

We lost our first game of the season today. 9-3. Not horrible, considering we hadn't had a practice on the field or seen live pitching yet. And it was a non-conference game, so now we have a week to fix the problems before we have a conference game.

We did have a triple play, though. That was pretty stinking awesome. Bases loaded. Liner to short. Catches it, throws home. Catcher tags out the girl coming from third, then throws to second. Second baseman tags out the girl trying to get back. I loved it! So, obviously, the game wasn't all bad. Couple of hits here and there, couple of good plays, couple of errors, and couple of walks given up by the pitcher. LOTS of room for improvement. I hope!

Long day

Some days, working with teenagers is tough. Some days working in a small school is tough. Most days it isn't so bad -- but today was frustrating. Softball starts next week, and I've been working on a line-up and trying to be more organized. We didn't have the best season last year, so I've really been trying to come up with some different ideas and options for practices and how we do things. I think I have a group of talented girls who could really do well. But. My pitcher doesn't want to pitch. My catcher quit today because she has "too much else to do." No one else wants to pitch OR catch. The only kids who come to open gym on a regular basis are middle school boys who want to play basketball. ARRGH!!!!

Tomorrow MUST be better.

I am SO not ready yet!

So, softball practice starts in 2 weeks. Technically, only a week and a half. I have so much to do before then! I found some new ideas about practice and drills and stuff today, so I need to go through all 200 pages or so of that! I really want to change things up this year. Last year was not so hot, and I think making a change in how I run practice and what we do could help us get better.

Open gyms could start as early as tomorrow! We have to wait until basketball is over -- the girls have been done for a week or so, but the boys have their first tournament game tonight. They've only won one game this year, so there's a good chance I'll have open gym tomorrow. :)

Snow Day?

I guess I can't really call it a snow day, since our day off is due to the ice. We got out of school yesterday at noon, and I came home and took a 2 hour nap. Excellent. It was interrupted pretty often, though, by all the THUNDER! Crazy. We didn't end up with much snow -- only about 1/2 an inch. But it is on top of a pPretty serious glaze of ice.

Woke up this morning when I got the text from WKBT that we were 2 hours late. I stayed up (I went to bed at 9:30 last night, so I was actually kind of awake!). Read a book, drank coffee, and waited to see if we would close. I finally decided we weren't going to close, so I took a shower at 8:10. Got out, and the phone was ringing. Closed! Ah, well.

We have to make this day up, of course. We are now in school until the first Friday in June. Hopefully we won't have any more days off -- I would hate to have to go into that second week!

So, enjoy your day! I'll be in my pjs, sitting on the couch, reading a book. :)