I had no idea I'd been gone so long. It was such a BUSY week getting ready for houseguests and testing for report cards.

My principal had a little party for me at Wednesday's faculty meeting. She made a nice speech, gave me a certificate, and then we had cake. Most everyone has been very congratulatory. Only a couple of people at my school have become green-eyed monsters. At the pre-k grade level meeting, it was the opposite. Only my director and one other teacher congratulated me. The rest of the 37 preschool teachers either ignored me or gave me dirty looks. How junior high school are they? How totally immature? I don't care. I hardly ever see them, and it is more important to have the support of the people I work with every day. DD's teacher made a big deal out of it in class. DD is VERY PROUD.

DD got her midterm progress report. Out of the blue, she is having trouble in reading. I don't get it. She began the year in the top guided reading group, and without any warning, I get a note about how she is "struggling." I don't understand why since she reads every day at home. Granted, on the weekends, we slack off, but not during the school week. I think my kid should have some down-time. I don't want her to hate school in first grade because she spends her whole day doing school-work only to come home to a couple hours more of it. But, apparently, I've been too lax. Now it is time to buckle down.

My nephew and his fiancee arrived last night for dinner. We had a great time with them. I finally feel like I know his fiancee. The wedding has been moved from June 2005 to October 2006. I'm disappointed, but I guess they waited too long to start planning. After DD reluctantly went to bed, we talked about serious family matters...all stuff I've been dealing with solo. Now I will have his support. They are moving back to CT in the fall. We got to bed around 1:30am, and my nutty DH actually got up at 5am to put in OT at work. I have a big headache from all the champagne and cosmopolitans I drank, but it is worth it for the fun we had. They returned to my sister's house around noon. I miss them already.

We are waiting for the Nor'easter to arrive with 2 feet of snow on the coast, right where I live. It is 3 degrees. I am praying for a snow day on Monday.

WELCOME PAM AND CHRISTINE!!!

Take care one and all.

Welcome Pam and Christine!
Sorry to be so long at saying hello to you......I have been MIA. Seems my Ds had this computer crawling with spyware and the poor thing could not handle it. SO another trip to the computer guy, who bless him cleaned up the mess. I hope you will love this board, I have made some great friends here.

I won't be able to get personal, or at least too much with being missing for so long. And after all.......I should be doing my 90 minutes of excercise instead of posting.....cough, cough...... But just could not resist the urge to say hello.
Kerry- you BIG loser!!!!!! Don't get down on not being able to carry the 25# of salt. Your 4.5# loss this week is such an inspiration to us all and I am SO happy for you.
Keep up the good work.

Robyn- sorry about the marathon Walmart visit. Had one of them about 3 weeks ago at Sam's. Oh, so frustrating!

Summer- we too are waiting for the Nor'easter. Actually it is here, and snowing away.
Hang in there and stay safe!! Oh, and some reallly big, wet raspberries on the green eyed monsters! Congrats!

Mouse- how are you feeling? (from sort of skimming the past week, it seemed as though a new med dosage was giving you a hard time).

Paisley- how was your week??

So, lets see, the computer is fixed. Dd's car is fixed.....she ran into a tree next to our driveway last weekend, knocked off the mirror.....went out anyway....then her window(the other side of the car!) froze up in 5 degree weather, so she calls her mom at 1 am on Tuesday am to tell me that she is running late! Bless our mechanic- who got the window fixed and epoxied the mirror back into shape and reattached it (saving her about $100 by doing so). Had a 3 hour safety meeting this week, Dd had step throat....oh, this was the week that wasn't. I did get to WW (complete with sick Dd) and lost .8#. Not too bad considering that TOM arrived the next day. I have babbled enough and have a ton of email to catch up on and delete.
Guess I will get my AP's in today and tomorrow with the snow shovel. Oh......BTW, I did clean out my WW materials. Does anyone want some older WW materials? This is most of the literature you get at meetings, points values to foods etc... I have fairly complete literature for winning points and then flex points. And really, neither differ all that much from the new stuff. Send me a PM if you might be interested.
Gotta go......gee, it feels good to be back!
Ginny

dance. . .dance. . .dance
 

We didn't get as much snow as we were supposed to get. The Weather Channel is stills aying the Baltimore Metro area will be getting 6-10 inches. I think the weather on the local news just said we have between 5-6 inches now. I'm not sure if we're going to get more or not. The Weather Channel's winter weather expert seemed to indicate that the radar was now showing dry air, and so does the local weather... but the forecasts are saying more. I guess I'll have to wait to find out.
I have pictures of some of it if anybody is interested... I went up on the roof in my boots and coat to take 'em. Some of them came out really well.
We'll likely have school on Monday because the streets aren't that bad. I won't go out driving, because I don't think people in Maryland know how to drive, but if I were in Lancaster I'd probably go out tomorrow. I've seen too many idiots in Maryland weaving all over the place and doing 55 or more in weather like this.
Paisley: Glad you enjoyed the dancing. :)
Ginny: Yea, it has a little bit... It is also my week off the one med, and I always feel that. I was worried because the mail-order pharmacy hadn't sent the meds yet and I'm due to go back on tomorrow. However, they were there last night when I got my mail.
Summer: Welcome back, congrats... I do understand. I'm glad your administration did right by you. I'm usually ignored, like last year, I was nominated for a Disney Teacher award by a parent... its anonymous, so I don't know for sure who nominated me. But my administration acted like it didn't even happen. They never said a word to anybody.
:mouse:

Well, we ended up with 13 inches of snow...a lot less than the 24 they predicted. I'm really bummed because it stopped snowing this morning. So, most likely we will have school tomorrow. I am dying for a snow day. We've only had one so far, so we are still getting out at a decent time in June. What I need right now is some time at home to get stuff done. I really enjoyed spending time with my nephew and his fiancee, but I lost a day that I needed to work on report cards. So, a snow day would have really come in handy right now. One more day in June won't matter.

Ginny, congrats on the weight loss in spite of your period and all the stress of your week! Better down than up.

Paisley, 10 POUNDS...FABULOUS!!!!! It sounds like your night out dancing was a total blast! I wish there was a club like that for multi ages around here. The clubs are basically for 20-somethings. I can even remember feeling really old at 28, which was the last time I went out dancing. I'm sure there are great places in Manhattan, but we don't like to venture out too far at night. Boy do I sound like an old fart! I am very happy for you though. Dancing is such great exercise and such fun all at the same time. You don't even know you are working out.

Mousie, the drivers in CT aren't so safe either despite us getting snow pretty regularly. Everyone is in such a friggin' hurry, and they drive like maniacs, especially the SUV's. It really sucks that your administration didn't acknowledge such an important honor. I really support my coworkers and support staff. I am excited for other's accomplishments. Why can't we all be that way?

Gee, Summer, sorry, I think we stole some of your snow. I would say we ended up with 18 " of it. And also we will most likely have school tomorrow, although I would expect a 2 hour delay. The secondary roads are not too good, and it is getting colder as the sun sets, so all that is left will freeze up for the am commute. No church for us this am- it was just too nasty out and still coming down. This has been sort of a strange weekend for us. I do not mind at all being housebound, as a matter of fact I rather enjoy it. Just with everyone home, I feel as though I am a slave to the kitchen- 3 full meals and all the clean up. But, I am getting my gumption up, and have decided that during spring break I am painting my kitchen over- taking down the wall paper and making it the same beautiful shade of yellow as the living room. I think it will look really nice.......just when I am screaming about taking down the wall paper and having serious misgivings about my sanity, please remind me what a great decision this was! Anyway, I did get a nice cold 50 minute walk in ( do love to walk in winter :)). Now it is time for a cup of tea.

Paisley- 10#!!!! That is just awesome!!!! Congrats to you! Your dancing nite out sounded great! I love to dance, and Summer hit it right, what a painless way to get some fun excercise in. Wish I could have joined you.

Summer- sorry that you will most likely have school. Nothing better than a snow day to get caught up. The visit with your nephew sounded very enjoyable~ wedding planning and all that. Try not to stress out too much about the report cards- when do you have to have them done by? ( I am in a similar boat, trying to get the rest of my way over due thank you notes done from Christmas......)

Mouse- guess you will be going in tomorrow like the rest of us. I hear ya with the wacko drivers- and I know that Maryland drivers can be pretty bad.
And snow makes them even worse. Dd just cut out a cartoon about bad drivers. I think it was the far side about warnings on packages. On the one side it had what was called an unnecessary warning on a toilet bowl brush "do not use for oral hygiene". On the other side was an SUV with a necessary warning "only for use by a capable driver, not by some poor driver who can't drive in the snow anyway!". Ok, I blew the wording but you got the gist. BTW, is Imp acting like a nut case??? There is a full moon on Tuesday and RC has been nuts for a few days. She chatters to herself constantly and rampages thru the house without provocation at all. Rather amusing.......

So I have babbled enough (bet you wish my computer would crash again so I would shut up again, right??). Better go......enjoy the rest of your weekend!
Ginny

Hmm. No, Imp is being pretty normal. He's a little upset that he can't sit in the window. I live in a very old building that they've changed into apartments: I love buildings like this, but as with the last place like this, the windows leak like a sieve! Fortuantely, I don't pay for my heat... but I had to roll up some towels against the bottom of the window. The only way to get it completely down is to lock it. I'm not tall enough to lock it down, because the window *starts* about 5 feet up the wall. I'd drive the maintenance people nuts locking and unlocking the window!
I'm sure we'll have school tomorrow, and pretty sure we'll be on time too. I hope they've done something about the roof of our garage, because yesterday they hadn't done anything but shovel the ramp out. I'm parked inside, and I'm sure the stairs are covered with snow now. I'm really bad, as you all know, on stairs... so we'll see which is worse tomorrow morning. We only had 5-6 inches here in the city, but some of the spots in the state had 7-9 inches. And at one point it was snowing again this afternoon.
Okay... I need to go try to work on the article that I meant to do yesterday... and those rubrics on the kids.
:mouse:

Hi Ladies,
I have been trying for the last day and half to post. So here I go again. I hope that I am able to post. Congrats to Ginny and Paisley on your weight loss! Way to go ladies! Keep up the good work. Sounds like everyone has enjoyed their weekends. I did not one but three one mile walking videos yesterday with my sdd. She wanted to do more, but I was dripping wet by the third mile. Then in the afternoon, I went outside with the kids for a little while and played in the snow. Even tried my hand at sledding down the hill in our front yard. After I went off the sidewalk and into the street, I was done for the day. Today I walked to church with my sdd. There was only 18 people there. This afternoon my sdd and I went through my closet and drawers and set aside my clothes that don't fit me anymore to sell in a yard sale this spring. I filled a laundry basket with them. Plus I still have four more drawers to go through. Plus I swept the floors and did three loads of laundry. So I have been busy today. I did do the gazelle for 45 minutes this morning. I think I might go upstairs here in a little bit and ride my bike for 45 minutes. We are on a 2 hour delay at the moment for tomorrow. So I might just get up at my regular time and just so that time to work on school stuff. But I will be really surprised if they don't change it to a closure due to the ice that is going to be freezing over night due to low temps. Well I better go and get the dishes cleaned up from dinner. Talk to you all later. Have a great evening. My fingers are crossed that this works!
Kerry

Just a quickie update: I checked the closings list, and I was wrong! We're CLOSED tomorrow. This is the first time in 3 years that I've been here that the City has closed before the County... even when we had the blizzard and were closed for a whole week, we frequently had to wait until 5:30 in the morning for them to decide.
I'm really glad we're closed tomorrow: the roads aren't really that bad, but I'm sure that most of the sidewalks haven't been shoveled. I'm always worried (really, even though I was joking about this with a friend earlier) about the kids who walk to school in the dark. Its bad enough they wear these dark jackets with dark hair and you can't see them... there is never a crossing guard at most intersections... but to add in that they have to walk on the street most of the way because the sidewalks aren't cleared is just horrid.
Well...I'm off to bed. I would like to go to the gym tomorrow. Its supposed to be warmer this week, and not as windy.... so the pool should be okay. Maybe.
:mouse:

Evening Ladies,
Mouse glad to hear that you have a day off. It is a much needed day off for you to regroup and recharge your batteries after your hetic last week. I hope you are able to make it in to the gym.
I am one tired lady this evening. I rode my excerise bike for 45 minutes tonight and must have gotten a second wind of engery because I gathered up and took out the trash and recycling, gave my sds a shower (only one that wanted to spend an extra night with us), made my green tea for the next two days, made my lunch and dinner for tomorrow, laid out my clothes for tomorrow and talked to my brother on the phone. So I guess I should sleep great tonight. In fact, I think I am going to close for now and go to bed. Talk to you all in the morning.
Kerry

Just a quickie~ we are on a 2 hour delay. I am on little sleep. Dd decided to go to watch the football game with a guy she has seen once since she came home. And we knew she was planning on going back to school (in Long Island, where some of the heavier snow fall amounts were seen). So we expected her back by around 10:30 at the latest......with her planning on leaving around 5 am. Got a little concerned at midnite when she did not call and was not home......and with her not so stellar driving record, I became concerned. At 2 am (with Dh's blessing) I decided to drive to the friends house to see if she was indeed ok. Oh, she was fine alright.....they had decided to go to a movie, or at least she said. She does have a cell phone, (it was turned off)- guess her parents do not deserve the courtesy of a phone call to advise us of her change of plans. So I am tired......and glad she is back at school. Never thought I would feel about one ofmy children like this, but this is the way it is. Gotta go take care of my other two- get Ds to the bus stop and get ready for work.
I did get a 2 mile WATP tape in, and sometime today I will crash. 2 1/2 hours of sleep just don't make it.
See ya!
Ginny

Survived the morning. Most of my students were pretty good, and other than the one with an awful nose bleed the journey in was uneventful. Gotta laugh- Dh called me and he too emailed Dd because we have no idea if she made it to school in one piece. Oh my, his email was missing any of the anger we felt, almost huggy-kissy.
But then he did not spend most of his weekend cooking and doing laundry for her. I did. Mine was much more terse.......one of those hope you got there-you could have avoided this mess had you called you moron (no, I did NOT call her a moron) sort of emails. Am I being unreasonable here???? And I can't even blame my volatility on PMS! Ok, nuff of me bellyaching......thanks for listening.
Hope everyone's day goes well and as far as Monday goes is a good one.
Ginny

I don't think you're being unreasonable, Ginny. I'm 31 years old, and am still required to call home when I have been out of state... so last Tuesday when I got back at 10:30 from taking the kids to see Alton Brown, I called my mother. When I was doing grad classes at Hopkins and driving from PA or MD or VA to MD, I had to call home after every class. On another topic, where does your daughter go to college? I graduated from a school on Long Island as well. I was just talking to one of my friends from school who is still up there....
Its so icky and damp outside, I'm having real trouble getting motivated to go outside.

Thanks for the moral support, Mouse. Being that we are paying for some of her college (rest is scholarships, nothing out of her pocket) her expenses, her cell phone and her car....well I think we deserve a bit better than we are getting. She is attending Adelphi University. Which school did you attend on LI?

Survived this afternoon, fatigued and all. And Dd did arrive at school, she sent Dh a very terse one liner that she had arrived there ok. Big of her.......
Guess I'd better get off and put back the kitchen. The only thing I got done this am was mopping the floor. Oh, and my dishwasher died this morning.....only 3 years old and the repair service will not be here for a week. Bummer.
See ya !
Ginny

I graduated from Long Island University-CW Post, in Greenvale, or Brookville. Take your pick. ;)
I considered going back up there for grad school (to Columbia's Teachers College), but couldn't get a job offer except with NYC Public Schools. I wasn't interested, so I went to Hopkins instead.

:mouse: