Recovered from the week before and heading into the new one.

We spent our weekend recharging the old "battrees". I completed all the chores I put on my mental list, except for one.
Not bad, not bad.
Yesterday, we spent most of our day on our "Extreme Aquarium Makeover". Ever since we've had this aquarium, it's had a big problem with nasty brown algae that grows in sheets and covers things so quickly. Smells nasty, too! I thought it had something to do with the salt someone told us to add when we bought the first batch of fish for this aquarium. Hard to say, but now we have new gravel, new fake plants, a new decorative feature AND all is scrubbed and shiny clean. We were looking at fish while at the pet store. The big fish look like a tempting idea. We thought perhaps they'd make a more stunning statement than the wee ones we usually get. F, was totally weirded out when we mentioned the possibility of her sharing the living room with a 5 to 8 inch fish or two. She thinks a puppy sounds much better. :>D
N and I, went and had a nice relaxing early dinner at Boone's Treasury yesterday. Since we so rarely go out to dinner anymore, we don't get a chance to talk one on one like we should.
We came home, and N put the aquarium back together. Then we took F out for an excursion to Freddy's.

Pink popcorn OR cherry blossoms??

Yesterday was one of those days where things just seemed to happen and as Dillon described it, "it was the fun-est day EVER!".
Turned out that the date that was scheduled for the fire department to bring their truck didn't get written on the calendar. So about 30 minutes into our day, the office called to notify us that "there's a firetruck here for your class". It was windy and cold, but we didn't care. They gave us a tour of the firetruck and a reporter followed us around writing notes about this valuable, community, education program that is about to be cut from the fire department budget. Fireman Bill gave us ice cream treats for bringing back our form stating that we checked our smoke alarms. We went back to our classroom, just in time to make planes with our buddies. We flew them outside for a little while, said goodbye to our buddies and then went back outside to eat our treats. After that it was time to say goodbye for the week. The afternoon was pretty much the same, except we knew the fire department was coming and a photographer came instead of a reporter.
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080405/NEWS/804050324/1001/NEWS
F and I, grabbed a mocha and then drove out to World Market and Bed Bath & Beyond to dink around for a couple of hours. I was tired, but it's good to get the girl out of the house.
I put leftovers in the microwave, made happy hour and then F's friend Kasey stopped by for a bit. The rest of the night I messed around on Sierra Trading Post's site and then dozed in front of the TV. "I'm such good company!", she said sarcastically.
This morning, Shirley and I, met at Sassy Onion for her belated birthday breakfast. Such a gift to sit and visit with her for a couple of hours. Hours that never seem 60 minutes long.

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood . . .

Geez, N! Stop teasing me! He brought home a www.PBOwner.com brochure with the house across the street from Dan & Shirley. How great would that be - to live across the street from two of my favorite people? Such a beautiful setting, too. Room to enjoy the kids' company - you know, when we're all together and we're prepping dinner, drinking wine and sharing stories in the kitchen? Hmmm, sounds like a TV series, doesn't it? Guess I better get my hair cut like Sally Fields while I'm dreaming.
It was a busy, but nice day with the short people. They do so enrich my daily existence. Yesterday, we were working on opposites. When I checked a completed paper, I would quiz each student on a couple of opposites not on the worksheet. I asked bright Layla, "what's the opposite of bare feet?".
She grinned and replied, "people feet!".
I was hoping to come home and take F shopping after work today, but she hasn't been sleeping very well and wasn't ready for that level of activity. I sat down and made a list of what I needed for tonight. N left for band practice and F's friend, Kasey, wanted to spend time with her. So, I rearranged my expectations/plans for the evening. I washed the girl's hair to get ready to spend an evening with Kasey (Sweeney Todd and strawberries) and then left to buy groceries on my own.
I came home and prepared the vegetables and their marinade I signed up to bring for the funeral of a co-worker's mother. Hopefully, I won't leave them behind tomorrow morning.

Wee Willie Winkie Day

We celebrated the letter "w", by having Wee Willie Winkie Day at school. Which means we dressed in our PJs and ate waffles. :>) The kids love it of course and there's nothing like going to the dentist mid-day in your PJs - not to mention the grocery store. If people were curious, I just told them I escaped. :>D
F made some more hummus for us and now she's prepping dinner.

Nothing but blue skies . . .

Okay, so maybe I didn't eat as well in the 24 hour period prior to my fasting blood draw as I had planned, BUT I did remember not to put food in my mouth from dinner until the needle. Ah, the tall mug'o coffee sitting in the cup holder of the Fyundai . . . waiting for me . . . filling the car with that lovely, rich, smell that makes my breath repel even the strongest, small person. Despite the fairly long line of people waiting, it only took 25 minutes from the time I walked in the clinic's door.
Today in science, I made parachutes with small groups in the tiled area. This is the first time I've used squares made from cut apart plastic, storage bags. The school garbage bags were so flimsy, but worked well. I must've decided to change, because of the ease of cutting the bags apart compared with cutting slidey garbage bags into squares. It used to be quite the production, but I always finished with that satisfied, thrifty glow. I was ready to go back to the old way, after the first small group this morning. The masking tape wasn't sticking to the plastic - complete disaster. You can't fashion a proper parachute if the strings refuse to stay attached. So, I retrieved the transparent tape from the classroom - nearly as bad. bleh, bleh, double bleh
Luckily, I thought to grab 5 home type dispensers when I traveled home to feed F lunch. Once again, the PMers have all the luck! :>)
UPDATE: F and I, took an after school trip to Costco to pick-up a prescription and do some grocery shopping. Since our list held more than her lap ever could, we decided to try the cart that attaches to the front of a wheel chair. Sweet Sue, at the front, tried to talk her into a motorized cart instead. We explained that she's more comfortable in her own chair. While the WC cart doesn't hold even half what their regular carts can, it worked very well. At first, I thought the turning radius was going to be a major problem. It can be difficult enough to maneuver around Salem shoppers. Eye contact is such an unspoken taboo around here and eye contact is so helpful in negotiating between and around other shoppers. But it was just fine and I feel like I had a nice workout. ;>)
After all that, she's making dinner for us now. Me? I'm enjoying happy hour with you. Yes, my ear is tuned to help out (she is beginning to tire waay out). I'm not completely numb . . . yet.