Hebe is at last happy about her high school choice. Seems like a few of her buddies are making the same choice, so she will have friends there and she'll have no problem making friends with the swim team, I'm sure.

Good news! Its nice though to have had the "problem" of being able to choose between various good schools.

:) :) re Sundae's post on the progress she's making with Tiger.

That's great! Im surprised, tho, that they didn't actually work that out beforehand.

No, they were all IDK until the last minute, and we told her friends is about the only criteria she shouldn't give weight to, because almost everybody changed friends when they go to high school, like as not she won't be in the same classes, and things like FB make it easy to keep in touch anyway. So her decision was made w/o that, it's just an added bonus to find that she's not the only one going to this school and not the only one opting out of their zoned school (this school is zoned for some).

Plus these are not her close buddies. Her close buddies are not currently at the same school as her but will be at her zoned school and on that swim team.

Funnily, one of he closest friends changed her mind again and is not going, but now that Hebe's happy with her choice, this is a non-issue

Just another example that raising toddlers takes more energy, but raising teens is harder.

NSFW
 

has a few "bad" words....


...but this is what we sing on the way to the bus stop on a Friday morning :D

You made me totally nostalgic for the NSFW song we used to sing on the way to school... (this was without parents in the vehicle, I should probably add.)

I'M GOING HOME TOMORROW!!!

thank god

I guess i should put this in the buy thread but my new droid phone i bought today is making me happy. .. yeah the first nice thing I've bought myself in a while from my first paycheck back in the i & e field.
.

My cousin messaged last night to say that my auntie had had a heart attack. Luckily it seems that she's ok, has had a couple of stents put in and will be fine to go home soonish. There's a history of heart attacks in the family and this particular aunt is one who seems to carry everyone else's stress without ever fraying at the edges herself. Such relief that this doesn't seem to be long term serious.

21 Years ago, my son Liam was born. One of the happiest days of my life. Today I am happy he is away at college on his 21st BD.

:)

'cause I went water aerobicizing this morning! Wonderful workout, and I love, love, LOVE my aqua jogger belt. My fave piece of exercise equipment next to the big ball. Combine it with my handy dandy ipod shuffle in the waterproof headphone set, a close by pool that costs $2 and voila! happy dorky water aerobics. I know it's for fat old grandmas, but I don't care.

I AM a fat old grandma!

my hip has been giving me fits. It's about to go out on me completely, so I'm doing the non-impact water stuff, and trying to lose weight. Also got me some Nordic walkng poles for extra stability, and taking tumeric capsules. This part does not make me happy, tho. A hip replacement would not be fun.

I loved aquaerobics (what it was called where I was) which was a proper class with warm-up and cool-down and everthing.
I didn't have all the spangly equipment, but belts and floats and tubes were provided as part of the class, as was the music.

But yes, I did it during the day (when I was signed off sick) so it was full of Grannies. Not that I judged - I was pretty much the fattest person there. But I did put in a huge amount of effort, and was teased gently by the leader for my bright red face.

Congrats pjinx. That's gotta be a good feeling. Way to rebound!

Are you seeing a doctor, kiddo? I'm guessing extra calcium and fosomax would also be called for.

no, trying to avoid the doctor! (goes off to look up fosomax . . . )

upgraded my cell phone. got rid of the pos cricket pos thing considered a cell phone. bought an android. i'm lovin' this phone except i can;t figure out how to make it vibrate on text notifications. but overall i love it! (it;s a knock-off but runs on the android software or whatev you call it. i happy! i love it! (should i have put this in the buy thread??) oh well anyway, the camera on it is great. way better than my crackberry was.

Pics from Friday.
Dressing up always makes me happy.

I forgot to take pictures with my felt tarts and my hitting stick!
Never mind, I think you get the picture.

You look too lovely to be the Queen of Hearts! :p:

Beautiful, SG! What did the kids think?

Tulip, I am flattered of course, but I was the kindly, motherly Queen of Hearts from the nursery rhyme, and not the Red Queen from Alice in Wonderland. Although Dad did joke I should have my photo taken with his axe and my severed head from Halloween.

Clod, part of me worried that the Tiger would be unsettled by all this, but he took it in his stride. He loved being called Lightning McQueen :)

I was asked TWICE if I was the Devil. No. And more than that, I was asked by countless children in the playground at lunchtime if I would take my wig off. NO. "Show me your real hair!" NO! You see that every other day of the week!

Of course the best reaction I got was from the other staff, which I was happy to reciprocate. And the older children were delighted when I named their characters - one year five girl couldn't believe I'd recognised her as Willy Wonka. I couldn't believe that anyone wouldn't! Oh the girls loved the little touches - the nails, the rings, the crown.

It was all well worth it. Not one member of staff had a completely shop-bought costume. Which I thought was great.

Lil' Pete toured Middlebury college Friday and fenced in the local open up there yesterday. She is very excited by the college. It is fun to see her all bouncy like a zombie puppy with a new ball.

A new red ball?
(am currently reading Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief)

Oh dude, you drove right by my house (within 20 minutes) Next time we should meet for lunch.

Actually, I stayed home with the heat and ice this time, but I'd love to stop by if/when she sneaks by the 17-19% admissions rate! Man I'm glad she got her Mom's brains and her Grammas art skilz. I'll have to be content that my genetic gifts will ruin her children.

I have a Droid X, and as far as I can figure out, you can't. I'm not getting another droid when I can upgrade in June, if they don't fix that.

I guess I could probably fix it myself but, shit, I really don't want to.

Middlebury is nice! I loved it there when I visited a few decades ago, but got wait listed. :(

Sundae you look FABULOUS! :heart-on:

Extra Special FAB !!!

You can. I fingered it out. Go to your text message screen then select the menu button and scroll down to. Vibrate and turn it on. That may not be the exact proceedure but that is where it is, in the messaging area menu.

On and SG? You looked marvelous there!

#awaitingdroidhusbandawayapp

One term left to go! I am dragging my buns. I noticed in my mail box a pdf certificate for the Deans list way back on Feb 7th. My second one. I don't earn a certificate when Algebra is involved as next term I will be taking Business math and that will drag my GPA down again as algebra did. I can do it, I am just s...l..o..w.. in math. willy slow

Well all in all. I feel happy about the GPA. 3.42. Top 15 %. I feel a little less tired now.

Only a little, but good enough it deserves a highlight post.

You're doing great Sky. Just remember it's not a sprint it's a marathon - and you're on the final mile.

Thanks Pete!

And, if it's the Portland marathon, you get a beer to help you through it.

Had a GREAT session today with the tiger cub and his Speech Therapist.
He lost focus part way through (I blame the heat of the room - it's always like a furnace in the Special Education Needs room) but then I would of course.

During the First, Last, Next game - which involved pieces of paper, he started flicking them at me when the sequence was completed. But when we moved onto the worksheet he was well focused - if a bit slower than usual - and at the end he looked me full in the eyes to say goodbye without prompting (he initiated it! and he maintained eye contact for all three words!)

The Therapist is so happy with his progress that she will discuss taking his hours down to from one a week to three hours a term. Although I am to receive extra training and stay in email contact.

He's come along so well. Obviously I am following the programme given by the ST, but I'm so pleased to have confirmation that it is working and he is progressing as well as I think he is. We are establishing more and more of a rapport, which although it doesn't necessarily help him interact with all strangers/ adults, does mean that I can work with him in a class setting without him feeling uncomfortable.

I think it helps in a small way that if we work 1:1 during a choosing session (children get to choose what they do - they're only 4-5 after all) I have to send other children away. They are always curious and sometimes quite jealous. Sometimes it's because we play a game each session as a reward. Sometimes it's because they hear the Tiger laughing. But mostly it's because children that age want to be included. One session twice a week the cub chooses one or two friends to join him. Funnily enough, this was instigated to help teach "taking turns". Who was the one I didn't have to speak to about the correct order of turns in Pop Up Pirates? Arrrrgh, you got it.

Happy day indeed.

The pics of SG dressed up as the Queen of Hearts are great.

My two friends in Japan have checked in and are safe. One is trapped at his office indefinitely because the trains are down, but it's a power thing, not a proximity thing. They are fine.

I was told by a friend today that I am happy that I am not addicted to opiates, something, I guess, that happens a lot.

My friend in Japan FINALLY emailed me to tell me she and her family were terrified but that they are all safe. :)

My individual health deductible is only $2500, I thought it was going to be $5000. Another $800 about and I'll meet that obligation, then I go to a 80/20 split. Whew! Finally have a surgery date. May 17. I'm ready to get this over with!

What's making me happy is actually something that happned last week. But I keep getting a little buzz from the memory ;p

My birthday pressie from J was two tickets to see Richard Herring's new standup show: Christ on a Bike. So, last Thursday off we went to Bradford Alhambra's studio theatre to see Herring. Wow. What a night. That man is so funny. I literally pulled a muscle in my abdomen I laughed so hard.

As it was in the studio, it was quite an intimate venue, and J and I were sat front and centre. No stage, just an open area in front of the seating. I could practically have touched him. I didn't. That would have been a stalkerish move. But I did go and get a signed copy of his 'coming of age' memoir, How Not to Grow Up.

Quickfire points about the night:

I saw the two empty seats at the front and made a beeline for them. Only after we'd been sitting there for a few minutes and all other seats begun to fill did J suggest that the reason the seats had been empty is because anybody sitting there is gonna get picked on...

So, in light of Herring's new messiah persona, he decided he needed some disciples. Asks J:

'You'll be my disciple won't you sir? What's your name?

J answers: 'Judah'

long pause

Herring: 'Are you lying?'

J: 'Nope'

Herring: ... 'ok. Well, (echoes an earlier point about 'Peter who was named Simon') I'm renaming you anyway: Judah who was named Trevor.'

'So, Trev, what do you do for a living?'

Trev: 'I teach at XXXX University'

Herring: 'Great what do you teach?

Trev: 'Computer Games'

Long pause...

I can't recall exactly what was said after that. I do recall my opinion being sought regarding coveting an ox, and whether or not that was worse than bumming it. Oh, and something about a small anointment.



It loses something in the translation...


Anyway. Very funny.

I loved every minute of it. best Birthday pressie in years. I've been a fan of Herring since he first started out, back when it was him and Stewart Lee doing a double act. But have never seen him live til now.


For the uninitiated, here's a clip of Richard Herring from 2009: oh, prolly should stick a nsfw warning on this

My cow orker came over and apologized. I kept looking for a sign that it was an approachable situation, and I wasn't getting those signals. I, of course, apologized too. We've both been going through a lot. It just really really bothered me. We had a work hug and reaffirmed our buddiness.

Roses and angels in the world...gotta watch for them.

cool!

that was hilarious.
"my enemy is his own worst enemy..."
"get some purchase..."

Liked it, Dana.
Bordering on typecasting for male homosexuals though. He was completely right in his portrayal of anal sex (male-male or male-female) but that's not the be-all and end-all of gay sex. I'd also have liked him to parody the reality of hetero sex, especially with inexperienced partners/ one night stands. That would have felt less Us and Them to me.

But I did grin widely at the fact he was floored by J's responses. I mean, what are the odds? Sounds like he coped well though. And what a fantastic birthday present! I am beginning to understand your relationship with J better now.

I am happy because I get to see the DC this weekend.
The DC being DanaC of course.
No idea why I came over all old-skool.

But also happy because I've had such a wonderful week with the cub. Without wanting to be too negative, it can't last. I'm currently working on concepts in language which he can easily grasp and then transfer into general conversation after practise. I expect there will have to be a time when we start working on social issues, and the4re will be more conflict.

I'm still very positive though, because we have established a rapport, and I think I am beginning to understand his brand of logic.

Your work with the cub sounds awesome Sundae.

On the homosexuality thing: he was specificallyreferring to childhood signals and their anatomical oddities. His comic persona is basically a huge perv. Monumental perv. Animal, vegetable or mineral.

Talking of J and I being friends. Don't know if I posted it here, but last month was 21 years since we first met. 13 years as partners, and another 8 years as bezzy mates. *smiles*

Oh, and just to drop back to Herring. Did I mention I was close enough to see his eyes? He has gorgeous eyes. Fascinating in interview as well. Very clever guy.

Anyways: yey for the upcoming weekend of fun. Oh, and I have a little something to smoke too :p Nothing too fancy, not the good stuff...I know a friendly farmer who passes me the chaff so to speak.

Ta. I've not seen enough of him to know that. Anything with a poctcode?
In a completely natural way, I'd like to say Tiger has astounding eyes too. They are not dissimilar to the colour of Diz's eyes. He is getting better and better with eye contact with me, so I see his peepers more often now.
Oh YAY!
But do get some earplugs chick.
In that sitch I am the Amazing Snoring Woman.


Looking forward lots & lots.

I was watering the Spargoose bed this afternoon , and Look what I saw ,
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5296/...71939b1c24.jpg
DSCF7105 by zippyt, on Flickr
Then another , and another , and another , and WOW They are Sproutn All Over the Place !!!
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5013/...7fb78de4_b.jpg
DSCF7109 by zippyt, on Flickr

I love fresh sparra grass!

btw, I signed in to comment on your post Zippy, and I put my password as yumm, which of course is not it, and didn't work. lol

I gotz To many Boobie Pix , Flicker made my account restricted ,
The Bastiges !!

You're making me very angry with your early asparagus.

Someone told me once that asparagus takes three years before it actually produces an above-the-surface plant. Is that even remotely true?

I heard that too - just a few days ago!

It's more than remotely true, it's proximally true. From seed it is 3 years and then your harvest window is short. If you over harvest you'll kill the plant. Most people start by buying "crowns" that are a year or two old. after several years the asparagus stand should be vigorous and enable several weeks of harvesting.

http://kitchengardeners.org/pics/4asparagus03.29.06.JPG