Emily poured purple juice on her plate this morning.

"Hey! This isn't syrup!"

In the Doghouse

My dad was grumpy this morning.

Turns out Malloy has taken over the $200 igloo that my dad bought for the cats so they'd shut their yaps and stop meowing all night. He even bought a heated water dish and a heated pad that he has plugged in to the outside of the house. This morning he found Malloy reaping the benefits of the heated pad in the igloo.

Dad got mad, and unfortunately for Malloy, dad was holding a shovel.

At breakfast, dad exploded, "You need to catch him and take him to the humane society! That is your joal!" shakes his head, but still mad, "That is your goal!"

(Was it a mixture of job and goal?)

It took all I could muster to not laugh at joal, but you better believe I'm laughing now.

Early Thanksgiving Dinner

Ben's cousin Kent Jones invited us to his family's early Thanksgiving dinner held on Sunday night. They live out in Tooele, and when I agreed to go with Ben, my mind was churning out Taylorsville. Big difference between Taylorsville and Tooele. Why are you calling Thurm for directions? Why do we have to drive past the airport?

It was a great time all around. The Jones family was incredibly friendly and chatty, the food was outstanding, and now I want to live in Tooele where everyone has access to the lake via their backyard. Kent built his own waterfall; this guy is amazing.

Point of the post:
After stuffing ourselves silly, we all gathered around the family dinner table to play an intense game called Whackee Six. Ben and I were on the same team, and while I was getting a quick version of the rules, the Jones family was jabbing at Ben, insisting that all Heiners are super competitive.

My mind shot back, "Heiners may be competitive, but Batemans always win."

We won.
Of course.

Listen Buddy

I was busy silently cursing another teacher; his inadequacies had created a huge emergency to-do list for me, and he also made me late to my meeting.

So I huff out my door, barely miss knocking down our busty sweeper, but then I'm nearly knocked down when I hear her say, "Turns out, when you don't have your period, you gain a lot of weight. So ...," and she Vanna White's her whole body.

Inadequate teacher stands there, nodding his head, arms folded, totally engaged in the conversation, "Hmm ... I didn't realize. You know, now that you point that out, I have a cousin ... "

I wanted to melt. I closed my eyes as I locked my door behind me, held my lips tight as I tried to sneak upstairs.

1st red flag: How is this girl so bold to talk about this stuff to a male teacher?
2nd red flag: Why was the teacher continuing this conversation?

So grossly inappropriate! Am I wrong?

That Really Grinds My Gears

1. South Towne VW Dealership.


Me: "I came in three weeks ago, why was I never called that my parts were in?" (I was on edge from living a life with a trunk that wouldn't latch. I dare you: Don't shut your trunk, place something strategically so that it won't latch when jarred by one of the many bumps that infest our roads, and love life through heavy snow storms.)


Dork: "It must have been an oversight."






2. The District




Case 1:


I was violently ill Wed night/Thu morning. I have NEVER been this sick before in my entire life. I was desperate to get the number to order a substitute; the district changed programs this year, and of course I hadn't put it in my phone yet. I watched the clock, and a little before 6:00 A.M. I called my parents', barely keeping it together enough not to cry. My dad was so sympathetic, but didn't know the number, and mom was in the shower. She called back, gave me the number, but when I tried calling, before I could even enter my pin number, the dang system would hang up on me. After three similar tries, I quit. Awesome.

So I called Carrie (a fellow teacher who knows everything and is the greatest), and she tried to get on-line and help me out. No luck. Something was up with my pin number. Our principal had begged us to set everything up the week before school started, and I had dutifully checked that off my list. I had taken care of things! Why wasn't this working?


So I ended up calling the Sub Office, and the lady on the other end talked to me like a baby. She made me pledge that I would go on-line and practice, watch the 8 minute video, "I can't do this every time for you. I will do it this once, but promise me that you will go in and practice. So you promise? You promise to watch the video too? ...", and repeated everything three times. It took her three seconds to put in the order, tell me my pin (How the hell was I supposed to know what it was when I had set it to something different?) I was fighting the urge to flip out, but the fight to not puke while I was on the phone overpowered and took all of my concentration.

I called Carrie back and she was also angry that my pin number made no sense.


Granted, I'm sure that lady gets a lot of irresponsible people bugging her, but I had troubleshot to the best of my abilities, and I secretly wished (kind of, but not really) that something horrible had happened to me so that I could throw it in her High and Mighty face.

Case 2:


Strolled into my classroom the morning after my sub to find that it had exploded. Really. Rooms tend to be disheveled after a sub, but mine was unbelievable. I should have taken pictures. All of my markers/pens/pencils are gone, my desk was surrounded my students' desks (I literally had to climb over them to get to my desk), my posters had been ripped down, and ... my new interactive whiteboard was in pieces in my office.


I freaked out.


I panicked.


The pukey feeling I had finally conquered returned.


I desperately searched for Carrie.


Luckily, I was able to schedule an emergency computer day which resulted in me enduring so many whinerbaby comments from my kids. I sent my aide to my room to clean up and it took her two full days to somewhat put it back together. I was terrified that my Promethean Board wouldn't be the same; I had been one of the lucky ones who actually had one in working condition. The company that installed it said they'd charge a $300 reinstallation fee. Nice. My stomach hurts recalling everything.

The next day I was talking to administration, "You know how my Promethean Board got ripped down and is now in pieces in my office?"


"What!"


"Oh! I thought you knew!" as I rubbed my head. So I described the bomb that went off in my room, listed what I had done on my end, and begged administration to talk to the custodians again about putting my board up.

Apparently, District had swooped in and replaced my old whiteboards. They had to take down my Promethean Board because it was mounted on my old whiteboards. I had put an order in for new whiteboards three years ago! (My very first year of teaching; those boards were horrible.) So I have shiny new whiteboards that I don't need because now I have my Promethean Board. What a gigantic waste, another teacher should have those new boards. 


The custodians got my Promethean Board up and working by the end of the day. Phew.


3. Substitutes that insist on being my students' best friend.

• "Sure you can listen to your ipods!" and pulls out his too.


• Texts while my students are taking a test.


• Courteously helps himself to all of my whiteboard markers, overhead markers, pens, pencils, and leaves a mysterious sticky stain on my desk.
• Plays with my VCR/DVD combo.

4. Irresponsibles

• "I completely forgot about that meeting!" Really? Huh. Did you receive the two e-mail reminders that we got from the district? You did. Did you receive the reminder e-mail that I sent out two days ago? You did. Then, did you still not come to the meeting? Sure enough.

St. Georgio / Zions

We arrived Fri. night and decided to have us a little "night climb."

I could not figure out what was showing up on my pictures, but now I'm obsessed with how cool our headlamps look.Joe below, Ben above.
We camped out right at the bottom of this face.Lil' Climber's Lost Shoe

Old Lady enjoying her sketches.
A granola couple, their two dogs, and friend passed on the trail. One of their dogs was running all over the place making sure he met everyone, and the old lady huffed, "He should be on a leash, there are a lot of protected animals around here."
The couple started laughing really hard, and the husband held on to the dog's tail for a bit.
It was hilarious/horrible.Hiking up Angel's LandingMade it! I was very nervous to be this close to the edge, and yes, it's not that close.
I thought we were done, got scoffed at, and then my direction was pointed towards the "Scary Chain" part. I remember when we were little we hiked this and one of my boy cousins cried pretty hard during the chain part. Cute Referee Joe
A couple that passed us joked, "Hey, I think that's the guy that sold you your shoes."

Here I Come Halloween!

I was combing the aisles of Walmart, locating my robot costume needs, when the rack of toddler costumes proved too tempting. Pink legs called to me, I chewed my bottom lip debating the size 4-6 toddler, and then a little girl cooed, "That is really pretty."

"I know!" and I was sold.

When Uni met Malloy

Uni was a little down when I answered my phone and stopped giving him attention.

Black meets White

Get outta here!

Wild Horse Canyon/Goblin Valley/Bouldering

UEA 2008

Heiners: Ben and Thurm

Gainers: Jessica and Chris

Batemans: Amy

Greatest trip ever. I urge everyone to hike through Wild Horse Canyon, it's a must, and surprisingly easy. I would love to make this a yearly tradition.

Many of you have probably seen this literal hole in the rock gas station, but this was my first visit.

At this gas station we learned that the gas hose doesn't always rip out when left in.

Our first campsite.

I dreamt that animals were surrounding our tent all night, and I kept screaming at them to run away. In the morning we found many tracks: bunny, lizard, coyote ...

The wildest horse in Wild Horse Canyon.

I must admit that I was nervous for the 9 mile loop.

Look at how gorgeous the rock is.
Slotness.

Couldn't help but wonder our fate if there was an earthquake ... or flash flood.

Everyone else could touch the sides.

Show offs.

Ben

Thank you Thurm for snapping this picture.

Climb around?

No, no, we'll just walk through the icy/rocky water.

Deepest puddle.

I had my pants rolled up, and they still managed to take a sip.

Our little climbing gang.

Can you see the Gainer's shoes? They're amazing.

Thurm Dog

Goblin Valley

We climbed into a cave, and then met Chris' challenge to climb out this tiny hole.

My bum got stuck, and it was terrifying, but I was able to wiggle my way out.

Chasing lizards. Boys will be boys.

Looking down into Goblin Valley.

Bouldering. My lizard friend.

He had no idea I was above him, so I ended up sneaking closer, squeezing his belly, screaming, then laughing way too hard when he skittered away.

Heel hookin' Ben

Tuesday Night o' Carving Pumpkins

Mine, Ben's, Em's pumpkin childrenI love our little porch guardians.

I don't love this last picture, but I've started a healthier lifestyle, and I wanted a "before" picture. Here's to already losing 2 lbs since Tuesday!

Wednesday: I've Gone Crazy

• While my chili was warming up in the microwave, I ran upstairs to check my box. I found a huge stack of bright blue handouts intended for my TA kids. Oh no! I looked at the directions, and I was supposed to hand them out to my kids on Oct. 22 so that they could attend the Oct. 24 meeting. "Just great," I'm muttering to myself. I totally didn't hand them out, but this is not my fault. I tutor every Wednesday morning, so I checked my box at 7:00 A.M. It's not my fault that the handouts were put in afterwards. So I was standing over the garbage, ready to toss the handouts in ... Duh! Oct. 22 is next week. I am so glad that I didn't vent to one of the many teachers in the room. I am dumb.

• Here's a breakdown of the next events: (Forgive the JayDee speech.)

1. Chili exploded in microwave. It popped its top and scared me.

2. Chili wasn't done cooking, so when I tried to coax it back in, it overflowed. (Count with me, that's two times I scrubbed the already gross microwave.)

3. Chili jumped out of my hands as I was about to open the math office door.

4. Chili so messy. It sprayed itself all over the wall, under the door, and all over the carpet.

5. Me say swear.

6. Me notice that chili is covering my pants!

7. Me say yet another swear.

8. Tried to clean it up, it won't let me.

9. My entire lunch break has been foiled, my pants are disgusting ...

10. Brilliant! I'll blaze to my parent's home and borrow some of Em's pants.

11. I literally run, am I even going to make it?

12. The ONLY pants I can even FIND are her bright skin-tight yellow ones.

13. Remember the day I spilled chili all over myself, all over the floor, and my consequence was to wear bright yellow pants to the last half of school?

• Ivan cheered me up during 5th period. I have a flourescent light that insists in flashing every once in awhile. Well, it rests right above Ivan, and it did its thing. Ivan stood up, jammed his fingers into his ears, and marched to the door, and waited.

"Ivan? What are you doing?" I am so confused.

"The fire drill!" and he said this with some attitude like we were all so stupid.

We laughed and laughed, and I could not get my kids to settle because I'd giggle every time I tried to tell them to get back to work. Poor Ivan, he's so trained. Yes, a light flashes before the fire alarm goes off, but there's no way his little fingers would keep out the blaring beeps.

James' 29th Day of Birth's Dinner Celebration

Me: "Where did everybody go?

Ezra: Shrugs, "Don't know."

Me: "I think it's time for dinner! They went to dinner!"

Ezra: Screams and shakes, "Me don't want to go to dinner!"

Me: Calmly, "You don't want to go to dinner? Why?"

Ezra: Whispers, "Everybody will see me."

So Ezra strolled into the kitchen with his hoodie pulled tight over his head.

I am so ready for Halloween.

Can you tell which bot is Em and which bot is me?

Bad Habit Resurfaced

Cut my own bangs. I thought I'd licked that nervous pick.

I used to make fun of all of Zach's pictures because he has the squintiest right eye ever.

Great, thanks a lot karma.

It looks like I've been punched in the eye and nose.

Dinner with Fellow Teachers

Laurelin was in town, so she, Mike, and I headed over to a Thai restaurant. I miss my Taiwanese buddies, I miss our adventures, I miss Taiwan. I was browsing through my very first posts on this blog, and found some gems of Laurelin and Mike. I also have some amazing ones of me and Ben and Ben's beard/shock of hair. I love those pictures. I fell in love with a mountain man I guess.

"This isn't the greatest song in the world. No. This is just a tribute. Couldn't remember the greatest song in the world. No. This is just a tribute."

Tribute to Laurelinium

Me and Laurelin: The motorcycle wreck survivors.

• She's always up for anything, and I mean anything.
• She's the bravest navigator ever.
• She's not afraid to adventure by herself.
• Her crazy stories make me laugh so hard. (Once a week, I got hit by a car or a scooter ...)
• I knew she was trouble when she couldn't stop giggling at our ILP meetings in Provo.
• Her style of playing basketball is jungle.
• She's brilliantly witty.

Tribute to Mike Petrogeorge

Me and Mike in Alishan back in our Taiwan days.

• He gives the best compliments, and they are always genuine.
• He consistently makes me laugh, and he thinks I'm pretty funny. (Right Mike?)
• He's a mighty fine bowler.
• Thoughtful and generous to the max.
• When I stumbled on his prosthetic leg as I clambered into bed ... wowza! That was the grossest/most ingenious April Fool's joke ever.
• How can you not be drawn to his shockingly awesome head of hair?
• He's my favorite Greek.

Missing my Boys

Ben's in Idaho, and who knows where Malloy is.

Seriously, let me know if you see Malloy.

Andrew Wiles

No idea who he is?
Look him up, and then checkout the movie
The Proof put out by NOVA.
You will be amazed.

I had my geometry kids take a wild guess and write down who they thought Andrew Wiles was. Their worlds will be rocked on Monday when they find out his true identity.

Here are my favorites so far:

1. Person who devoted his whole life to proofs.
2. Albert Einstein's best friend?
3. The guy who invented proofs. Thanks a lot Andrew...
4. He is a magician who rides a pony named Wilson. He has written three books in his lifetime and is a senior at Yale. He likes poetry and beautiful sunsets. His favorite brand of ice cream would definitely be ... chocolate chip cookie dough!
5. The man who created proofs and conditional statements and the bang of things we learned. Or he discovered the potato, which ever.
6. A kid who's father was in love with math but he wasn't. And his father passed away and he came in love w/ math.
7. A man named after a saint and a country in Great Britain.
8. A person I don't know
9. Some dude who decided we should have proofs for some weird reason.
10. He's like the free masons, the templars, and the men in black all combined.
11. A country singer.
12. Umm ... Batman?

And my most favorite:
13. Your boyfriend.

Ryan: "Guten tag Ms. Bateman!"
Me: "Guten tag, Ryan."
Ryan: "You speak German?!"
Me: "Just a little," as I pinch my fingers.
Ryan: "Wie alt bist du?"
Me: "Ich bin sechs und zwanzig jahre alt."
Ryan: "Whoa! You are old!"
Me: "Oh please, I'm not that old."
Ryan: "I am 14 years old, and I will never get older."
Me: "Hmm ... bet you will."
Ryan: "Nope, never. Bet you $50 dollars I won't."
Me: "$50! That's a lot, done."
Ryan: "$50 is not a lot, not when I'm going to be making trillions."
Me: "Trillions? I want to make trillions. How Ryan?"
Ryan: "Let's just say it's something to do with a little accident that happened last year. What's going on with MESA?"
Me: "Have you talked to Mr. Jensen? He's in charge of our next field trip."
Ryan: "MR. THOMAS! I mean MR. JENSEN! Okay, auf wiedersehn Fraulein Bateman."
Me: "Tschus!"

Old Climbing Pics Dogwood - I conquered this last year,

it's a feel-good-about-your-skills climb because it's not too hard.
Peek-a-boo
Potato Hill - Coming down

Trying to Cheer Up Dra

I thought putting on Em's bright blue pants would do the trick. Nope, I just got a half smile from a very tired Dra.

I told her to guess who I was as I sat shaking my butt, and my mom shook her head with, "I don't get it."

Dra sighed, "She's being Emily."

Got to admit that I was pretty proud of my bubble butt for fitting into Em's blues.

Meet Malloy

This cat blundered into our yard, and he/she is here to stay. He/she has now been knighted as my cat, and I kindly named him/her Malloy. My cat is the best of all of the cats that think that our home is theirs.

Here's a taste of why.

• Malloy actually purrs and actually likes to be held.


• Malloy comes when called. (Unless he/she's nervous about one of the other cats coming around.)


• Malloy cockily continues purring while the other cats hiss and spit at him/her.


• Malloy is happy to be pet, none of this dropping the belly to the ground, refusing to be pet. (I'm talking to you Moe!)


• Malloy is so soft and so dang cute with his/her white neck and white mittens.


• Malloy already deftly avoided a kick from my dad. (Dad missed and kicked the chair, and I cannot stop laughing as I continue to hit re-play in my mind.)


• Zach opened his arms wide, called to Malloy who was clear across the yard, and Malloy came running/purring.
• Malloy is a menace to the other cats. (Trust me, they need this.)
• Malloy is a blast from the past. (Look at my Born a Batman picture on the right side of this blog.)
• Malloy likes to tell secrets.

Greatest Weekend Ever!

Friday:

• Climbed the hardest climb I've ever tried, a 9+. Please don't laugh, I'm trying to get better. Scared me so bad, I almost cried.
  
• Ate sushi with Ben and Jess.
• Longboarded up Provo Canyon, then back down Provo Canyon.
• Visited with Zach and Em.

Saturday:

• Ate a yummy breakfast with the Bateman fam.
• Rode trax to SLC (The crazies were in full swing.)
  
• Saw the circus! (I was absolutely amazed the entire time. It truly is the greatest show on earth/The most terrifying show on earth.)
  
• Ate at Jason's deli. (Free ice cream!)
• Busted it to get to the Red Lion hotel in order to catch the 5:00 P.M. Fun Bus to Wendover to visit Nat and Thurm. (Tears on my end.)
• Ate at a Mexican restaurant with Nat, Thurm, and baby Quinn
• Told scary stories

Sunday:

• Slept in late (Finally!)
• Helped Quinn get ready for church. (Tears on his end.)
• Used our free buffet ticket for lunch. (Crazy lady was there demanding that someone give her a blanket or a towel because she was too cold to eat. Amazing that they didn't have a blanket to offer, Ben and I laughed pretty hard. Later, when I snuck a peek, she was sporting a gross towel probably one fresh from being used to wipe off a table.)
  
• Played Bandu and Chicken Foot
• Hunted for frogs/scouted out old buildings/chased a lizard/mosquito bites galore
• Awesome hike
• Yummy homemade soup
• Watched a movie
• Goodbyes to Nat and Thurm
• Fun Bus home wasn't so fun at first because we almost got kicked off due to lack of room. "You could sit on my lap!" "Um ... I don't think my boyfriend would like that."

Thank you Nat and Thurm for letting us play with you and the little guy.

Pooja

I was driving to work the other morning, thinking about how it seems like I am more grumpy these days then I really should be, and an SUV politely switched lanes in front of me. 

Their license plate read POOJA.

I couldn't stop laughing; I can't stop laughing.

I was quickly brainstorming possible meanings of POOJA. 

Poo jar? (That's for you Camille.)

Poo ja! (Like "Joke's on you, I just poo'd ya!")

Jessica used it later on in the day to describe how gross something tasted. 

I will forever love POOJA.

Please, tell me what POOJA stands for.

Survived Another PTC

Parent Teacher Conference Joys:

1. Student plops down next to his beautiful mother and squeaks, "Can I take your picture?" I laugh, then realize it's not a joke, then get confused eyebrows while I question the purpose of the picture. I get a shrug from the student, with a mumbled, "Project." Then his mother mumbles, "Youtube." This is all very sketchy, so while I'm still in a confused pose, student pulls out a green camera and snaps away. Perfect, thanks. So watch for me on youtube. Look for a confused Ms. Bateman who's body is screaming for a break from being at the school for 26 of the last 48 hours.

2. "Hi, I'm Ms. Bateman. Thank you so much for coming."

"Oh, so you're the one who keeps bugging us."

Arrgh! So you have been getting my phone calls, e-mails, letters! Return my messages for crying out loud, and help me get your kid to turn in work and behave in class. (I'm not exaggerating, my last resort was to send a letter.)

3. "Hi, I'm Ms. Bateman. Thank you so much for coming," and if the parent reaches out a hand, then I shake the hand, but I never offer mine first. It's just a germaphobe thing at this point. Older gentleman reaches for my hand, and holds it firmly while he explains who he is. He then proceeds to absolutely crush the hell out of my hand. I was thinking, "Who are you? Superman back at the bar where the guy made fun of you? Let go of my hand!" He held it for way too long, and held it way too tight, to the point where I had to talk myself out of rubbing it tenderly once he let go. Then he pulled his chair closer, and to the side of me, then closer, then closer, until we were practically touching knees. Too close!

We talk and talk, I really do adore his student, and he tells me how his wife is also involved with helping and encouraging student at home, but then he starts to stammer, "You are just, I'm sorry, it's just that I'm, I'm sorry ... I think I'm old enough to be your dad."

I move the conversation right back in the direction of the student. Those kind of comments scare me because they can be completely innocent in a you-are-so-young-to-be-a-teacher way, but they also can be not so innocent. Blech

Talk talk talk, then the stammering bubbles up again, "I'm sorry," and he leans closer then he already was and stares intently at my face, "it's just that, I'm so, you're just ... You look exactly like one of my old girlfriends," and he kind of whispered the last part.

I jumped up out of my seat, and stood as I thanked him for coming, please tell student to keep it up. Thankfully, he got the cue to leave, but of course he had to crush my hand one more time before he left.

Aah! I was terrified, but then that turned into terrified laughter, and I couldn't stop. I took the two steps over to Ms. Anderson who was next to me, and thankfully, she didn't have any parents at the moment. I retold the story in a hilarious fashion, and she kept covering her face with a, "Oh no! Amy!" but I got her to laugh with me. While we're still laughing a bit, and discussing how awkward it's going to be in class because I'll associate my cute little student with dad, out of the corner of my eye I see waving. He's waving to me form across the gym, then he continues to wave as he crosses the gym, then he starts to walk backwards out of the gym, waving with two hands. 

Not as bad as a wonky eye, but I do have wonky toes. 

My sisters always laugh really hard when my heart gets sad because fitting my toesies into those toe separators never quite works. However, I've had two Christmas miracles this year. My sweet pedicurist has been able to get my toes to cooperate! Feel free in joining me in patting my toes on the back. 

*Pic shown is not of my toes.

Been tagged, Here are Six Quirkies.

1. I am still terrified of gremlins.

2. I used to share cat food with my cat. "One x for you, one x for me, one x for you, one x for me."

3. I used to think that a wolf lived in our attic because there's a black splotch on one of the bricks in our fireplace that looks like a wolf, and I convinced myself that it was the previous owner's way of warning us.

4. I used to be a champion clogger. Only 1st place trophies for my team, thank you. Maybe I should bust out those bad-boys for the talent show at school.

5. When I wake up after a great night's camp-o-thon in a tent, my eyes are puffy and almost swollen shut. Shrug. I have no explanation for you.

Rough Day?

Thursday and Friday weren't my favorite days at school, in fact they might top off as my two least favorite days out of all the slim pickins. Do you remember when Alfalfa from the updated Little Rascals comes trudging home, and he's just in his underwear and he's soaking wet, and the one little kid says, "Rough day?" That's how I felt.

Here's a less detailed, more bulleted version of what transpired.

• 504 meeting made me tardy to my own class


• Kid got flustered as he showed the class how to work a problem out, ended up throwing a marker at another student. (He came and sat on the floor next to me, think kindergarten.)


• I was back-stabbed yet again when it comes to math tutoring


• Fire alarm during lunch. Say it with me, "Pure chaos."


• Broke up an intense fight outside of my room


• Immediately after breaking up the fight, an administrator comes in to observe my teaching techniques
  
• "Ms. Bateman's cool now, but I bet she'll turn mean and creepy."
• Had to talk to a teacher about how embarassing it is that he never shows up to our team meetings. (There are only three of us total.)
• MESA overwhelms me
• Ended up crying last night, mostly because I was at the school from 7:00 A.M. until 5:30 P.M. and I was running around like crazy the ENTIRE day, and I was hungry and tired, and I still have 23 things on my to-do list that are waiting for me on Monday
• School meeting today (yes, Saturday) from 8:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M.