Miscellaneous Missives

"The house without a dog, a cat or a baby: a house without cheer and laughter. ~Scots Gaelic triad "The spiritual quality of a house is derived from its inhabitants. When owners are away, the house seems soulless and empty." from The Celtic Spirit Having a pet in the house does change the feeling or atmosphere of the house. When KK is gone, I notice a difference. Maybe he feels the same way when I am gone. Although I haven't been absent from the house, I was gone every night after work this week leaving the home empty most of the time. Later in the evening when I did return home, it was always the same. He was happy to see me at first; then snubbed me. Yesterday, when I returned home, it was different since I returned earlier. Perhaps it's a good thing we have each other... a house with cheer and laughter and soul. Gratitudes and Gifts 1) Kitty Klaus 2) a day to be productive 3) having time to breakfast two days in a row

Everyone knows what they say about Karma being a bitch. Today this came to fruition. When the committee I co-chair set up dates for the next meeting, I said today was the only day I couldn't make. Although this was a over a week ago, I already had plans to make sure I went to BodyFlow at 4:00. The other co-chair and the remainder of the committee scheduled the meeting for this afternoon without knowing my other obligation. At noon I checked with one of the members to make sure everything was ready to go and admitted to the reason I wouldn't be attending knowing she probably wouldn't say anything. As planned I skipped the meeting and went to BodyFlow, a class I hadn't attended since my most recent shoulder problems. It's seems there's a ton of shoulder work in this class (combination yoga, Pilates, and Tai chi). This caused enough shoulder irritation that I had to leave within the first fifteen minutes of class. Maybe I should have attended the meeting af...

I rarely give tests, but today and tomorrow I'm giving a two part test. Tomorrow when they're finished with the test, they will be reading quiet. This has been grand. All of their work is graded, and all e-mails have been answered. I have even started working on next week's lesson plans. Although I've had quite a few parents at conferences tonight, I have even been allowed time to post to my blog while my room is empty. Life is good. Life is good because... 1) I am caught up at school. 2) I ate out for lunch and will eat out for dinner. 3) The sun is shining.

I have nothing... nothing but thankfulness! Giving thanks for... 1) music especially during workouts 2) the new pt will be fine 3) a new Bookmarks magazine

Tonight's conferences went fairly well. I, however, tried to make a list of every parent who visited. This worked until I was "slammed." All of a sudden my room was full, and all I could do was try my best to talk to parents and get them on to the next teacher. Highlights? * the parent that said, "You seem like a "real" person. Tell me is my daughter attending school with a bunch of thugs?" * the child that wanted to attend summer school because life at home in the summer was boring. * the two brothers that did their best to show that they were the better student as the interpreter tried to catch up * angel food cake and brownies with dinner * the student that admitted that now that he was behaving, I was a nicer teacher... go figure * the student that has said he was moving for at least three weeks... he's really moving, and I made him come to conferences because I didn't believe him. My list of Thanks 1) conferences going fairly well 2) ...

I have continued working out and doing my shoulder exercises as prescribed. Although it does take some time to get through everything, I have been faithful. The good news is that I can lift my arm over my head. The bad news is part of me wants to challenge it and see how far I can go. My heart says, "Let's try some floor push-ups tonight instead of wall push-ups", but my mind says, "Maybe we should wait and talk to the PT." We'll see how tonight goes. Let's say thanks for... 1) Snickerdoodle almond cookies and working out 2) short meetings 3) acupuncture

"...that progress is not the goal anyway but presence..." I perked up a bit when I heard this line in church this morning. This is something I've been thinking about lately. Maybe I didn't have words for it, but my mind has been challenged by it. It comes to mind when I am overwhelmed with everything that needs to be done. Nothing gets done well, but everything gets done although merely average. Sometimes I really need to relax and take time for myself... relax and take time to breath. Yesterday I did this by working out, reading, and spending the entire evening watching the Olympics with a friend. The problem is that today I need to face reality again. Today I will not be present, but I will be trying to make progress on school forms. Some day I plan on being present and making progress but not today. Time to Give Thanks 1) talking with my dad 2) time to reflect 3) colored pencils for coloring during church