It must be love

Troy bought me a pressure washer today! I spent hours outside with it, cleaning everything that wasn't alive. Some of the shrubbery got a little cleaner as well. The porch looks great, the siding is better than its ever been, and the sidewalk is sparkling. What a husband! I've wanted a pressure washer for several years, and now I have my very own.

I started working on some stained glass yesterday. I was thinking about knitting an afghan, but I have too many unfinished projects out there to go buy yarn. I set a table up in the basement by the windows looking outside to the driveway. That way, open windows allow all the yucky lead fumes to go out and Henry can be tied up and still see me. I'm working on a turtle. Its lots more fun than grad school work.

Speaking of stained glass, I had an interesting conversation with my sister today that bothered me a lot. She was talking about learning to do stained glass with her roommate. I got very upset, although I tried not to let her know. I was jealous enough over the crocheting. You see, I thought of myself as a failure at so many things when I was younger. My sister always seemed to be so self-assured, so adept at school, and so emotionally well-rounded. Then I learned to crochet, knit, quilt, and do stained glass. Crafting has been my niche for the last fifteen years or so, something I do and excel at. I could create amazing things that people loved to hang up and gush over. I really loved the gushing. Now, my sister is a great gusher, and she has more of my stuff than most people do. She actually has a more varied collection of my "artifacts" than anyone- stained glass, quilts, etc. But if my sister learns to do stained glass, then I am losing my niche. I don't want to lose the attention I get for my crafting. (Just to note- my sister actually didn't know when she started crocheting that I knew how to. I've been crocheting since I was about ten, but she some how missed that fact as we were growing up.)

Now, I see my sister twice a year. She lives HOURS away, we don't share friends, and our lives are completely different. Why am I so bothered that my sister might do stained glass? Why is she still a yardstick by which I measure my achievement? Its similar to the feeling I have around teenagers. I'm married, I have a job, and a successful life. I have been socially validated. But popular teenagers make me feel about four inches tall.

This is a long ramble, I know. I just need to figure out what I'm doing with regard to my sister. How can someone I never see have such a pull on my life?

Teresa- sorry to ramble about you. Its just what's been on my mind most of the day. I love you- I really do!

Six Days Left

Today actually went by quickly. I've been doing a reading assessment on my students. Its for the Wilson Reading System and I gave them the assessment at the beginning of the year. So far I've completed and scored two, and I'm very impressed at the improvement that's been shown. I feel like I'm getting concrete proof that I accomplished something this year with my students. I know with No Child Left Behind that I'm supposed to be helping all kids become successes to fit the government's definition, but my goals were to make them better people and help them learn to read. I think I've succeeded at both, although its been a tough year.

I have a couple of projects to do for grad school, but I think I can get them done this weekend. I really do procrastinate quite a bit. As long as I don't eat the cookies!

Seven Days Left

Ah... Family life (aka sex ed) was interesting. I was in with the fourth grade boys and the PE teacher, who is one of three men who work at our school. He talked sooo fast. The boys were staring at him, confused. They'd been waiting all year to learn this stuff, and now he was talking so fast they couldn't understand it. Here are a few clips of wisdom:
"In married humans, the egg cell and the sperm cell unite to form a baby."
"A woman's period is when her body gets rid on an unfertilized egg."
"Girls have a reproductive system specifically designed to receive sperm."
I felt like I was in the dark ages. But no, its just public education. The PE teacher mainly read those things from a script. I told the guys they could ask me questions if they couldn't find the PE teacher, and I was mobbed. I guess they feel a little more comfortable with me than you'd think.

Yesterday I bought a smaller size of pants- a major feat. I'm very proud of myself. I'm hoping to be at 175/176 when I weigh in on Friday. If I could've stuck with WW completely for the last several months, I'd be at my goal by now. Its okay- I'm changing my lifestyle, not just my weight.

I get paid for this?!?

So my day consisted of three strange things. 1) Chaparoning a trip to the local children's museum for AR incentive day. Two hours of yelling, screaming, happy children and ten minutes of being in the "tower" or indoor playset. Wore myself out! 2) Driving around to get a student's sex ed permission form signed. 3) Teaching boys the first part of "family life," which was all about hygiene and drugs and alcohol. The family life part was fun, and we had a rousing discussion about the differences in deoderant and cologne. The boys all looked embarrassed until I told them we weren't learning anything about private parts today, that it was tomorrow. So I guess the really funny stories will have to wait.

I woke up today thinking it was Monday. Thank goodness it isn't really. These last few days will make me crazy.

Sunday/Saturday

I love days like this- it feels like Sunday, but since I don't work tomorrow, its really like a Saturday. The weather here was just beautiful. It was seventy-five degrees and breezy. Troy spent half the day doing yardwork- lucky him!

I'm actually working on a quilt. My craftwork has been very sporadic since grad school started, and while I've started lots of random projects, nothing has gotten finished. I have partially finished needlepoint canvases, rugs, hardanger embroidery, and quilts. I've probably started ten projects in the last year, and I haven't finished a darn thing. I guess if starting things makes me feel good, I'll just keep starting things.

We put invertebrates and one fish in our little saltwater aquarium today. Its weird to have an emerald crab in your kitchen, and not to eat, either! Its a lot of fun to just sit and watch the anemones blowing in the current and the hermit crabs scurrying around.

Nine days of school once I get back, and I'm so glad. I'll be teaching the boys hygiene for family life and sitting in on the gym teacher going over sexuality with them. This should be really interesting. The fourth grade boys this year are a motley crew. I just have to remember to take in Troy's deoderant to talk about odor. Mmmm... He smells good.