TUESDAY ALREADY

[Nasoosie]

GOOD MORNING TO ALL!

It's back down to 19 degrees F. this morning, so I should have no problem getting out of my driveway. And it won't be daylight until I get to school. No wind left, at last, and tons of stars in the black sky. News just said that New England should see some clearing at last, and they sure do need it.

Three regular days of school to come, and Friday is another Superintendent's Day for us. I have no clue what is in store for us to learn, but I wish it had something to do with the latest plans by the president to once again revamp the education system in the U.S. No Child Left Behind seems to be allowing ALL our kids to be left behind rather than helping those who can't keep up and used to be left behind. I am so thankful I am not just starting out in the field of education----I would think very hard about entering the field now. I know that our present-day kids have nowhere near the challenging curricula we had when I was in high school. And back then, teachers did not have to teach students to pass test requirements----they taught their subject as they saw it needed to be taught, tests be damned.

Coffee is hot and hazlenut, and, as I am trying to get my jeans to button up easier before summer and warm weather show up, there are no snacks here! I have cut back on both my lunches at school and my suppers here at home, trying to eliminate most carbs again, other than my multi-grain sandwich rounds I use for bread.

March is marching on like a runaway train---I can't believe Nasus Day has come and gone already. Does time slow down any when one retires?

I still haven't heard a word from my kids in FL about any property they looked at over the weekend, so I guess I have to be patient for more time.

I need to get my papers together that I will need to fill out in order to get paid by NY State Retirement System----another step toward the dreaded , scary decision! I just wish the school would come up with some money so I wouldn't have to use my sick/personal days when I let them know of my plans. An incentive would be nice and allow me to do my job properly until the last day of school. Guess I need to talk to the powers -that-be once more to feel if they are even still considering such a plan.

Hope you all have a decent day, and that you'll stop by and let us know what's up in your part of the world. Happy Tuesday!

[Liz]

Good morning ladies! Happy Belated Nasus Day, Soos. So glad you are about to put that scary decidion behind you and look forward to all the possibilities ahead.

Yesterday I stimulated the economy by buying myself a new laptop....an Apple MacBook Pro. I am sooo happy with it! I was getting frustrated with the slow operation of my Toshiba even after dumping files & programs, defrag, etc. Norton Antivirus continually running slowed it way down too. I had that bad Trojan Horse last summer and did not want to go through the frustration again this summer when traveling. I'd almost forgotten how smooth and fast a computer can run...so now I'm singing again.

Roe has a vet appt. this morning for his 3 yr. rabies vaccine. Shhh...he doesn't know, but he'll be happy to go for a ride in the car. He's going to get his toenails worked on too...he doesn't like me to do it.

Talked to my sister in MA last night and she has been pumping/wet-vac her cellar which has been flooded with all the rain. Hope things dry up soon for everyone in the flood zones and spring will be welcome here too!

Wishing all a joyous day.

[Forestgal]

Greetings all from the land of Shake, Rattle, and Roll!

Was awakened at about 4:10 this morning to a smallish earthquake. One good jolt -- more noise than anything -- and then it was over. Apparently it was in the area of the large Whittier Narrows earthquake that happened in 1987. That one was 5.9 and caused 6 deaths. This was a 4.4 with minimal damage -- more frayed nerves than anything. Apparently some broken windows and maybe some sort of sinkhole on the I-5. But it's made the news big time and has made me think about where all my papers are. Fortunately I keep an old rolling briefcase packed with everything I'd need to get out quickly, largely due to the fire issues we face every year.

I can't explain the math behind earthquakes, but this really was small in comparison to the large quakes that have happened around the world lately. One of the leading authorities on earthquakes has stated that we have them of this magnitude regularly but they're usually located in unpopulated areas and never feel them. My biggest concern is always whether a big one will happen at school. Listening to the news right now the expert's saying that there is about a 5% chance that there's going to be a bigger one, so I'm not too worried.

Okay, off to school. I've had a lovely 4-day weekend. Took myself on a mini-vacation to the Houston Rodeo! It was great, and I'm feeling a little culture shock right now with the thought of facing 35 fifth graders today. Oh well ... life marches on!

Laura -- and Jed

[AlmostThere]

Morning! Coffee is nice and hot!

I popped awake at 3 this morning. I have a bit of a headache. Wondering if it's the BP meds I'm now taking at night.

Soos, 15 yrs ago my x ran for the school board in Alaska for that very reason. The schools were dumming (is that a word?) down the brighter kids in order for the slow learners to feel good about themselves. Then they looked for extra $$ to teach the 'brighter' kids in 'special' classes!!! Makes no sense.

I called my grand daughter, Danica, last night to wish her a happy birthday. She turned 10. She was a bit upset in that she learned that she will miss the last week of school because her Dad's parents are celebrating their 50th wedding anniv. by taking all their kids and grandkids on a cruise from somewhere in CA to MX and back. The last week of school is when the classes have allot of their parties, picnics and class outtings. The poor thing is torn in that as a kid she wants to be at school, but also her grandpa isn't well and probably this will be the only time the whole family will be together. Such a dilema for a 10 yr old.

Bowling today! Love Tuesday mornings!

Calling for sun and mid 60s for this weekend. I'm trying to get my SIL to get my new battery in the MH so I can start some short trips soon.

Oatmeal is hot. There's fresh fruit, too. I can blend you up a smoothie!

[AlmostThere]

double post

[Cedar518]

Greetings all from the land of Shake, Rattle, and Roll!


Okay, off to school. I've had a lovely 4-day weekend. Took myself on a mini-vacation to the Houston Rodeo! It was great, and I'm feeling a little culture shock right now with the thought of facing 35 fifth graders today. Oh well ... life marches on!

Laura -- and Jed

I read about the earthquake this a.m. on Yahoo..... glad it wasn't a "big one!" And the rodeo sounds like fun! So,... now you are facing 35 5th graders? That's a huge class. I didn't realize you had 35! I think we have a limit of 27 here. Most classes range from 18-24. My friend Kath has 21 in her 5th grade this year.

it's now almost 10 a.m.... I'm here at school,... have 7 seniors and a junior here in the computer lab. it's senior research paper time,... so there's not a sound to be heard while they research and type their papers. I really enjoy the older high school kids. the 7th and 8th graders make me nuts with their silliness. But ya know,... they keep me laughing too a lot of the time.

Hope everyone is having a great day!

[Ladyhawk]

Hotel coffee this morning. Bleh. Spent yesterday buying stuff I forgot and refilling the prescription I left at home. Bobby spent seven hours at the pool. (Met a girl) I've also been researching gps units since my sense of direction is pathetic. Made the drive down here extra stressful.

Hope to be hooking up with Ava today or tomorrow. Ava, I was looking through all my junk yesterday trying to find your phone number and then remembered it was here online. (duh)

[Redetotry]

Cloudy again this morning but warm so that is wonderful. I like cloudy weather and wish I could spend summers where there is lots of early morning fog.
Liz congrats on your new Macbook Pro I wish I had waited a few more months when I bought my Macbook as it had many issues. I'm so happy I bought the three year warranty as it's been replaced three times in less than a year! I think the Pro solved most of the problems the earlier one had. I normally don't buy warranties but read in several places that it was highly advised. There are no long waits to talk to a tech person either when you have the warranty which is great.

[AlmostThere]

My son was a bit bummed that I got another Toshiba and didn't replace it with a MAC. He loves his, desktop type model. But I loved my other Toshiba. I only had to replace it because it ran out of virtual memory and hard drive space. Well, and the letters on the keys were worn off and a few keys wouldn't stay on any longer. Oh, and the lid no longer would stay up. I used two criss crossed dumb bells to prop it from flopping all the way open. So I think I got good mileage out of it!

[Acadianmom]

Hi Laura, I heard about your earthquake this morning. There sure seems to be a lot of them all over. I haven't been to the Houston Livestock Show in a long time. My DH and I got married while we were there 35 years ago. We were there about a week showing a horse and I just about walked the soles off a new pair of boots on all that concrete. Michael Jackson and his brothers were performing at the rodeo we attended and I couldn't understand why the kids were climbing out of the stands trying to get to them. He wasn't on my radar at all.

The Ramblin Roses had a rally in East Texas and I got to see Sharon, Vicki and Helen. The campground was a little small for one of our rallies and it was packed. A more rustic setting among trees and it was nice to get away from all the concrete. We even got to have a campfire one night. The cold water connection to my water heater broke Saturday and I couldn't run my water. I was having to heat water on the stove. Thank goodness I was in my motorhome when it broke so I was able to turn off the water before there was too much flooding.

My DH came in with a bag of turnips and I am smothering them with smoked pork chops. They are beginning to smell good. I might have to cook a pan of cornbread to go with them.

[Getupngo]

...Does time slow down any when one retires?...

NOPE.

The passage of time is just less irritating.

The wife of a longtime colleague/competitor died unexpectedly last week. Today is her funeral. I'm really struggling about whether to go. Feelin' kinda paralyzed. He and I are not close, and I wouldn't be missed. Perhaps I'll just send a card with a note.

It's a beautiful day today ... going to be sunshiny and 60 degrees. Supposed to snow Thursday -- but hey, that's not here yet. Gonna work in the garden patch. Write in short sentences.

[Cedar518]

The Ramblin Roses had a rally in East Texas and I got to see Sharon, Vicki and Helen.

gtgs are good,.... what are the Ramblin Roses?..... and who are Sharon, Vicki and Helen?,.... I mean, what are their usernames here?

I'm looking forward to "getting to a get-together" at Soosie's this year. It's such fun to meet other campers.

[BirdbyBird]

Liz, congrats on the lap top purchase. I am waiting till later in the year (if I am lucky and it keeps chugging along) to replace my iBook. It has been a trusty work horse for over five years but also has gotten to the point that it only has 30 minutes of battery life.....and is running out of room and seems fragile. To help me make it until I can gather up the CASH....I bought a small netbook. It's has phenomenal battery life which will come in handy when boondocking, etc. I am planning on using it mostly for e-mail, facebook forum and blog reading. It is much smaller and lighter that the iBook so much more portable. I also bought Streets and Trips....since I have never found any program that can match it that runs on the APple platform. Apparently because it only runs a watered down version of Windows 7 it doesn't need the HUGE memory storage, etc. I also like that if WIFI is available I can do a quick connect to the internet using a separate Linix OS so that the main OS of the computer isn't even available to be corrupted by an evil virus. I am liking it, but also know that I still want to update to a Mac for my primary 'puter and for banking and budget and pictures.....

[Acadianmom]

The Ramblin Roses is the Texas chapter of RVing Women. There isn't a chapter in Louisiana so I joined the Texas club. Sharon is Sprinter and Vicki is Vblake42. Helen is a member that Laura met at the National Convention but she's not on the forum. This is a real fun group and we have some great GTG's.

Martha

[Cedar518]

The Ramblin Roses is the Texas chapter of RVing Women. There isn't a chapter in Louisiana so I joined the Texas club. Sharon is Sprinter and Vicki is Vblake42. Helen is a member that Laura met at the National Convention but she's not on the forum. This is a real fun group and we have some great GTG's.

Martha

Thanks Martha! After I sent that I remembered that it was a chapter of RVingWomen. I figured Sharon was Sprinter, but didn't know the others. Sounds like a great time. Good for you!