Keep It In Perspective

AL didn't see the doctor for 2 hours after our scheduled appointment, but it hardly phased me. After all the 5+ hour ER visits we've had, this was nothing.

College Girls' Christmas

Heading out to the annual Christmas get-together with my college girls. Yay for good food and quality time catching up with good friends!

Pretzels!

Nate and I made homemade pretzels using this new recipe. It's advertised as a copy cat of Auntie Anne's and let me tell you- it was pretty dang close. Maybe it was the quarter cup of butter drizzles over the top...

Game Night

Just had a fun board game night (We Didn't Play-Test This, Apples to Apples, and Scene It Squabble) with some of our neighbor friends.

Christmas Cookies!

First Day of Break

Getting some things done around the house, finishing the last Christmas present, and baking some Christmas cookies.

Big Eaters

You always hear about how much teenage boys eat, but I'm here to tell you- girls can put it away too. I know at some point I'll stop being amazed by how much AL eats, but it hasn't happened yet.

Class Christmas Parties

I am especially sure I could never be an elementary teacher on class Christmas party days.  The sugar highs, the squealing, the stick hands!  It's too much!  I need to stay in the library until it passes.

Committee Member?

Apparently I've been on a school committee all year, but didn't know it until I was called to a meeting today.  Oops.

Ship Breaker

Finished another book in the doctor's office. I kept reading reviews (like this one) about this one everywhere and it was just as good as everyone said it was. Another great young adult futuristic distopia.

6 AM

This is the LAST day I have to get up at 6 AM for 2 whole weeks! Yippee!

My Mom Did It

I'm ordering a cap and gown. I'm writing checks for college application fees. This is all new to me because 10 years ago my mom did it for me. And now I'm doing it for AL.

Knock on Wood

If AL and I make it through her doctor's appointment this afternoon without incident, it'll be a whole week between breathing attacks!

Thanks to Exams

I hardly know what to do with myself this morning.  Because of middle school exams, I don't have morning news or my remedial math class. I don't even have to cover the 8th grade teacher's first period like I usually do.  I can actually be a librarian all morning!

TV Show Quotes

I'm pretty sure that about 40% of what Nate and I say to each other is quotes from TV shows.

Pretend Christmas Break

Pretending like it was already Christmas break and staying up late seemed like a good idea last night. It's much harder to pretend at 6 AM.

Hot Cocoa by the Gallon

For a reading reward, I've made 8 gallons of hot cocoa today and tomorrow I'll make 8 more.

School Tradition

The week before Christmas break, all the teacher load down the table in the workroom with goodies.  We sneak away to graze and enjoy each other's company.  We look forward to certain teacher's signature dishes.  We make the last week of school so much more enjoyable.

Cuss Words

A 3rd grader wrote more obscene versions of the following words in a picture book:  heck, butt, darn, copulate, female dog.

At least it was in pencil.

Christmas Tradition

I just purchased tickets to Callaway Garden's Fantasy in Lights.  Riding the trolley is really the only Christmas tradition Nate and I have together (I'm pretty sure we've gone for at least 7 years), so I'm really looking forward to it.

Goal for the Week

AL tells me her goal for the week is not to go to the hospital. I think that's my goal, too.

Nate's New Recipe

Nate decided to try a new recipe tonight- Baked Zucchini Sticks with Sweet Onion Dip. Sounds amazing, right? Well, it was a whole lot of work (and mess), nothing seemed to go right, and the end result was super bland. I guess with all the new recipes we try, we're bound to have a flop from time to time.

2 Book Reviews

Thanks to quite a bit of hospital waiting, I've finished 2 pretty good books lately. Of course, they're both kids/young adult books, but I wanted to recommend them anyway in case you're looking for some Christmas break reading.

The first, Wonderstruck, is a sweet, rich story told half in the most beautiful pencil sketches.

The second, is the sequel to Matched- Crossed. Enjoyable teen dystopia series, though not as good as Hunger Games (or even close to as good as Chaos Walking).

The Mall

I must really like AL because, at her request, I just went to Walmart AND the mall on a Saturday afternoon, 2 weeks before Christmas.

Laugh

AL makes me laugh. She says such funny things and has such a contagious laugh. I'm glad she's feeling better. I'm glad she's part of our family. I'm glad she plans to stay with us until she goes to college.