The Demoting of Pluto

Today, I learned that my science lessons as a child were all in vain. Pluto has been demoted, it is no longer considered a planet. All the time I grew up, I thought there were nine planets, and now there are only 8.

This presents a new challenge. I always knew the planets in order because a cute little saying one of my teachers taught us. It goes like this.

My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas

in other words

Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto

but now I would have to say My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine ______

That won't work, so I've been trying to come up with a new way to say it all day

My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Newspapers - comical
My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Noodles - at least it's food
My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nails - ouch!
My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Newts - YUCK!
My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nothing - this was Adam's idea, Kayleen said NADA

None of those sound right. Now I have been thrown into a deep depression. So sad, my whole childhood was a lie. It has thrown me into a depression which will be hard to recover from.

A moment of silence for Pluto......The former planet, not the Disney character....

Excitement/Dread

It's weird how one event can throw a person into both emotions. In my case, it's the event of school starting. I have been back in meetings for two days now and tomorrow I get to spend my first day in my new classroom setting up for the year. I am pumped up, yet at the same time dreading starting another school year. So, I thought I'd let you all know about it (not that you care, but it's something to read anyway)

Reasons why I dread the start of a new school year

1. New Building, New Room, New Grade, New Curriculum - I mean this is only the 3rd time this has happened to me in Saginaw, you think I'd be used to it by now.

2. 6:00 in the morning comes WAYYYYYYY too early! - I am defiantly not back on a school schedule yet.

3. The thought of having 28-30 kids in my class - for a girl who has been spoiled rotten by never having more than 18 in my room, this is an issue.

4. Having to move all my stuff back out of my basement in cart it all into school - this will be a multi-day job. I have a little car.

5. Knowing that my days of fun, freedom, sunshine, and LONG days spent with Mikayla are OVER!!! ---so sad :(

Reasons why I am excited to get back to school

1.Better, Safer, Newer, Nicer Building - my classroom is awesome - clean, lots of shelving, closets that actually lock. It's like paradise compared to my last 2 classrooms.

2. New challenges - I do like change most of the time and my new school and new grade will be presenting a lot of them

3. The feel of setting up a classroom for fall - I hate carting all my stuff around but I find setting my room up exhilarating! (I went to a conference on vocabulary building today)

4. Knowing I have more to do than sit around playing on the computer all day - that makes a person too lethargic.

5. Looking forward to Christmas & Easter breaks - Hey, I start early people!

Well, I guess that is it. Now my life will return to a sense of normalcy. Back to work, back to the daily grind, back to checking papers every night, back to my masters classes at SVSU, back to the driving back and forth to Saginaw every day, back to routine, back to a set alarm on my alarm clock, back to getting to bed at a decent hour, .........SIGH..........

The Joys of Housesitting

I am experiencing my first house sitting experience this week. On top of a crazy weekend with the wedding in BC (which--by the way--was lovely) and all, it was a little hairy even getting out there on Sunday, but I managed it. Granted, I wasn't suppose to be dog sitting until Thursday, but ended up with the dog all week. I don't really have any words of wisdom to share when it comes to Housesitting, but I thought I would give you some new things I have learned about myself through this housesitting experience ---please note, this is only Wednesday and I have to house sit for the rest of the week.

1. I am not the dog person I thought I was - always thought I wanted a dog in the house, now I am not so sure. Xena is a sweet dog, I am just not used to a dog following me all over the house. She is so tiny she is hard to see, so I am always afraid I will step on her.

2. Flowers are nice but a lot of work - for those of you that don't know Darrell & Sue's yard - let's just say it's a small garden that needs a LOT of attention.

3. Houses that are not my own have strange noises

4. Dogs will always come in the house 10 minutes after you have had them outside and have a "accident" on the floor - Xena has done this to me several times this week. For a little dog, she can make a BIG mess!

5. I rely on my computer WAY too much!! - They have a Mac at their house and I know NOTHING about MACs. Plus there is password protectors so I can't check my e-mail. NO Sims, No Life, No Clue, no basic web surfing - I am too spoiled at home.

6. If you leave a dog home for too many hours by herself, she will hyper ventilate when you come home - notice a lot of these have to do with a dog.

However - it has been fun spending some time in Midland again. I went shopping on Tuesday and painted pottery in the afternoon. Today I am back at home hanging out with Mikayla, but tomorrow I am hoping to get to my favorite Midland library and hopefully not get big fines. Meanwhile, pray for Xena --I think she is not used to be so little spoiled. The poor puppy been stuck with me all week!

Oh the things I do to avoid cleaning...

I am becoming a master at avoiding cleaning, and my house is starting to show the damage of that. I am what is called a procrastinator ----I put things off as long as possible. So, as I was sitting here tonight (avoiding cleaning of course) I thought about all the ways I keep myself from just getting the cleaning done...

1. Blog - this one should be obvious, I mean...I am doing it right now.

2. Read all my old blogs - yup, did that today too - it was kind of fun

3. Play Sims, Life or Clue on the computer - I can get lost building houses on Sims for hours when I really work at it

4. Wander around to see what Adam is doing - this only works during the hours that he is home

5. Pick up a book I've been wanting to re-read - and when I am avoiding cleaning, I want to re-read everything

6. Search the internet for odd facts or the episode breakdowns of old tv shows - this can really eat up time.

7. Make plans for the school year - I think I have made up my daily schedule about 20 times in the last week

8. Look through my cupboards for chocolate - I know I haven't bought any, but for some reason I keep thinking it will magically appear there.

9. Rearrange all the fans in my house - I am seriously trying to keep the place cool without running up my energy bill

10. Stare at the mess I am suppose to clean and try to uncover some sort of magical power that will zap it all away without me doing a thing - yeah, that hasn't worked---I wonder why?

Well, a few more minutes of cleaning successfully avoided. I guess now I will have to get to work....Maybe....Sims are calling me....No maybe Life...Maybe Adam wants company downstairs....Maybe I have some chocolate stashed somewhere....

My brush with fame

I am back from a two day shopping excursion with my mom, my pockets empty and my living room floor covered in bags that I am tempted to leave there but I had to take a minute to tell everyone about my brush with fame today.

Mom and I finally stopped at 7:00 pm tonight to eat at Fudruckers in Flint. Fudruckers is a build your own burger kind of joint - not fast food but faster than most restaurants food. We picked a table, pretty much oblivious as to who were at the tables around us.

About 15 minutes into our meal, three guys at the table next to us get up to leave. (when I say table next to us, I literally mean 3 feet away no exaggeration). The one guy, a fairly tall, good looking African American turned towards me as he got up and I thought to myself....Man, he is a dead ringer for Tiger Woods.

Then I thought ...humm....Buick Open is this week....that IS Tiger Woods

I eagerly told mom and we watched him walked away. The whole time we were there we hadn't seen anyone go over to that table and make a fuss at him. I mean, Tiger Woods!!! If you pay a lick of attention to anything, you've heard his name before. But here he was just a regular guy, eating a burger at Fudruckers, spending time with his caddy and ?? maybe a bodyguard.

Yeah, normal expect he makes many MILLIONS more than me.

So that was my brush with fame. We called my dad - he had zero reaction. So I called Adam - at least I had a reaction there. At least Phil Mickelson wasn't with them, cause my cousins Andy & Nick would have hurt me if I hadn't gotten his autograph.

So, had to share that story. Probably the closest I will ever get to a famous person in my life and I have no picture proof..but oh well, it's a great story to tell.