A day off, finally!!   My gardens survived 3 nights of frost and I'm so happy nobody died!  Today is gorgeous and warm and sunny!  Daughter and I are gonna spend some quality time together today, can't decide whether to go to the movies or on a picnic!

Car hunting is going slowly, for me anyway, since my son borrows my car to do the hunting.  I feel like lately all I can do is work or stay home     But he's looked at a few, and is still looking.  I won't hurry him along yet, I want him to find something good that he likes - big decision, first step into adulthood with a real car loan and all.

Got the first phone call from the soon-to-be ex yesterday.  He laid out his plan for selling the house and then bitched about our kids (who are doing just fine, thank you)  Really reinforced that I am truly better off without him!  Won't rant, but it really rocked the serenity I've been trying to build.  After work crawled into a bottle of wine, then with will-power way down, ate 3 ice cream bars.....UGH, felt disgusting afterward.  Guess I'll have to learn how to handle things better  

Well where to begin. She is in 6th grade, and her semesters are broken up into 3rds, each lasting 6 weeks. It has seemed that each 6 weeks this teacher has given out 2 projects. I've only liked two all year that she has given. One was for each student to write a book that she had published for them. that was the cheapest one all year only cost $5. The second was to do a poster about themselves using the 12 cultural keys. You had to cut the poster into a flag shape which Deanna enjoyed.  She said she finally could explain to her friends what being pagan was about! It turned out great. For every project the teacher has asked each student to use 3d objects in some way and always has them draw some type of pictures too. I'm all for teachers giving projects instead of tests, but when she don't give any tests how is she suppose to know if the students have learned anything, or what she herself might need to touch more on next time around?
  One of the projects she has to do this time is to put together a binder about South America. She must use the 12 cultural keys and find something starting with the letters A to Z. Use 10 3d objects, hand draw 7 pics, find the rest on computer or magazines, find 2 maps(1 political and 1 regional), have a cover page, a page that shows all the places she founds the info, and each page must be put into a page protector. Than they have to all be formated in the same way. The second project, she has to write an essay about what she believes. Which wouldn't be so bad if she would have explained to the kids how to do one! The paper she sent home on this had so many big words that I barely understood it, let alone an 11 year old. I finally just told her to write one big paragraph telling about something that she strongly believed in. I have talked to her teacher, she isn't that bright in the way of teaching. She has only been doing this for 3 years. Deanna says that the only reason she will ever remember this teacher is because she gave her so much work to do that she never got a chance to go play, and that she use to like doing projects, but not anymore! " They suck-ka-ka!" her words not mine. But ya know I can't say I blame her.

The Doctors office just called and we will be going into the hospital next Wednesday for testing and staying till June 5th. Hope they find what they need so we can get all this talk of surgery over, or have it done this summer. Now I have to figure out what to do to help my daughter get her projects done by next Wednesday!

And we wonder why our kids hate school anymore!!!

heck here they have taken away recess, even for the kindergartners. If they have PE they get no recess at all, and if it's the day they don't they get one. NO wonder our kids are all being diagnosed with ADD, no school doesn't hold their attention, and they get no time to expell any of that little kid energy, except in class, then they just want them drugged so they will sit still!!!

Duh, can we say they are little and they cannot sit still for that long! Hell even the teacher doesn't cause they are always getting up walking around the classroom, or back and forth across the front of the class!

Isn't that the truth Novia! I have been taking Deanna to Physical therapy for about 2 months now, because she hasn't been able to stretch her muscles out in her legs which is causing her legs and lower back to hurt. I feel so sorry for most of the kids now a days when it comes to school. They keep trying to cram to much in, and that isn't any good for them. Than they wonder why our kids are getting so fat! If they would let them be kids they would burn all that off.

Guess what, she brought home another project yesterday! That makes 3 due by the end of the year. This one is for science this time. How many more is she going to get?

What kind of a school is this?  I've never seen this, but then I don't work in a "conventional" school myself.  I get the whole using projects as "assessments" thing.  But not three of them.  Sounds to me like your teacher lacks creativity, or has "too much" creativity for other and lacks variety.  If all they do is projects, how do they learn to do other things?  I gave my little guys one big project for the whole year which they perfected and outshined even the high-schoolers in (they are 2nd graders).  This "progressive" thing really can be a bit TOO progressive.  And then, some teachers take it too far.  They have their own pet hobby which they like to push on the students.  (We all have that, actually, mine's called "reading".) I roll my eyes for you, IcyMoon.
I will light a candle for Derek that this will be a fruitful venture!

Yippee for beautiful weather!!
it got up to 30degrees celsius here, not quite sure what that is in farenheit, but it's nice and toasty, I wore a tiny haltertop and shorts to school today, and it felt wonderful! Just last weekend at my cottage near Orillia it was SO cold I thought I was gonna have to scrape ice off the windows in the mornings.  Of course, I had to go to school all day, in an overairconditioned building, and stay there until around 8 because it was a clinic night, but I still got to sit out for my lunch break, and that's enough to revive the spirit some. Didn't quite get the tan I was hoping for though...

I had a great time at the beach!!   :!:   We had a beautiful condo with an outstanding view of the ocean which I admired every morning and evening from the balcony.  The sound of the waves is so calming to me.  

We bought and stocked groceries so we ate out only twice.  One time at a new place that has opened since our last trip there, Cobalts, I think.  I had some very tasty baked garlic/parmesan oysters on the half shell and a Caesar's salad.  The other time was at The Steamer and I had huge jumbo red shrimp and crab claws with corn on the cob, potatoes and cole slaw and a taste of one of the girls piece of french silk pie.   :roll:

One of the girls cooked a delicious jambalaya with shrimp and sausage the second night there and we all enjoyed it with a wilted salad with parmesan dressing and a bottle of wine.  We were able to eat leftovers from that for the next few days.  

Everyday I woke up early, ate a bite of breakfast and packed a sandwich lunch with some chips, some snacks (usually watermelon, canteloupe, a few slices of lime    and a snack bar) and a "few" drinks (okay I had a small ice chest) and headed down.  I had the perfect ratio of 2 bottles of water to 4 bottles of Corona.    I would put my things on my chair then take a long walk along the shore in search of odd shells and such.  By the time I would make it back, the cabana boy would have the cushions and umbrellas out and I was there for the day, basking in the sun, playing in the waves, listening to my friend's sirius satellite radio, reading and laughing it up with the girls and of course "people" watching.  

The weather was perfect with the exception of a little sprinkle one evening and the last day there was very windy.  So windy that the sand felt like needles at times, but not enough to drive us indoors.    

So that was my trip!  I've been trying to catch up on all I missed while I was away so I better get back to business.  

Blessings,
Amethystone

Sounds like the perfect weekend away amethystone!

Poor kiddo!! yet another project!!!!

Well guess it's official I have got to get my ass together. I've had a pain in my calf for about a month now, and hubby made me go to the Dr.'s for it, although it is not nearly as painful as when it first started bugging me. I have a vericosed vein.      On top of osteoarthritis in my knee. So I now have to wear a stretchy sock, or an ace wrap on my calf to kep the pain down. More of a burning/itching thing. Sigh. I have got to shed some poundage, as that will help, both vein and knee, or at least keep vein from getting worse.

sighhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Was going to get to a point I could get back on my bike, but can only do it on flatter ground. No walking on steep inclines either as it will put too much stress on the knee. (Sounds/feels like half amythestone's beach is under my kneecap!)

Most all my weight is from my shoulders to my hips.

     

siggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

SM she goes to a public school here in Austin. I have never seen so many projects for one kid. I think it is just this teacher, she has only been teaching for a few years and I think she is just trying to hard.

Amythestone your trip sounds wonderful! I haven't been on a vacation in 2 years. � Is it alright if I live vicariously through you?

Kath sorry to hear about your tan, but now with the weather turning nicer you will be able to work on that. Just for now enjoy it!

Novia I hope that the pain gets better. I know that the ted hose (socks for legs) will help with the veins. They should help give support to your legs and make it easier to walk and move around.

Well it is official, the hospital just called to verify that we need to be there next Wednesday at 9 am till the 5th of June. Now comes the time when the anxiety starts to set in. As the day grows nearer the worse I'm going to become. I can feel it already. Hot bath here I come!  hottub

Icymoon, I'm hoping and believing for a good report and as SM has said a "fruitful" venture for Derek.  I hope your daughter does well with her school projects.  I agree with most here that some schools are loading the students down with things other than the three R's that were so important sooooo many years ago.  Makes one wonder how we all got where we are.  

Novia, I hope the pain subsides in your leg and knee.   I know vericose veins and arthritis are so painful in their own right, not to mention together.  I'll be thinking of you.

SM, I know you must be glad the school year is ending and I hope you're in for some fun time this summer.

Just hold out Kath.  It's bound to warm up eventually and you will get that radiant sun-kissed glow that you are anticipating.

Acasia, I hope you had a good time with your daughter.  Be thankful your son is taking his time looking for the right car.  And the ex......well, you said it.  

I'm off to spend a few days with my older one and her family near Houston.  I leave early tomorrow and return Tuesday.

So if I seem quiet again here for a few days you'll know why.

Amy, hope you have a great time over here. �Should be a wet weekend from the looks of it. � hee. �(I've actually looked forward to the rain and thunderstorms! �The heat and humidity get miserable.)

Leg trouble is definitely nothing to scoff at! �I feel for you, Novia. �I've seen others suffer with veins in their calves and it isn't fun. �I have them in the thighs (thanx to my 3 lovely childlings), but they aren't as tough to deal with as the calves. �They itch sometimes and they send shivers in me timbers if I rub them, but other than that, its hard to tell they're there. �Wear your hose proudly. �You'll feel much better in them.

Kathartica, you are a very patient person to put up with that kind of nagging for such a long drive. � Parents can sure be hard to deal with at times. �I get that with my Dad now and again. �He's 80 and getting crotchetier all the time. �I love him, though, and understand why he gets that way. �Oh, he is completely sound in mind, but, he's a bit bitter from trying to wear rose-colored glasses all his adult life. �So, every once in a while, he will "tell it like it is" (well, how HE sees it, anyway) and insult the hell out of you in "your best interests". �I have to be careful, because I have a tendency to vehemently defend myself in a loudly verbal manner. (Then I have to go and apologize to my poor old 80 year old Dad. �Bad daughter! � )

IcyMoon, don't worry. �Everyone is pulling for you and I know that everything is going to turn out all right! �There are candles lit all over this castle for you and Derek! �Lots of love and blessings to you!

Dakota has a new friend! On friday I decided that she's been solitary too long, she's kinda lack-luster and spends way too much time just sitting in the corner of her tank with her snout dug into the sand.  I've thought that I should get her a friend before, but it's hard to find one about the same size (she's kinda a teenager... plenty of adults for sale, plenty of babies, but no juvenile females in the right size range.) and besides, I was broke and didn't really have the moolah to add another dragon to the family.  But osap just came in, and so did my income tax cheque, which means I've got over 3 grand of extra money all of a sudden- yahoo! And I happened on a tiny hole in the wall reptile shop that just happened to have a whole wall of juvenile beardies for sale! Enter Sahara.  She is what they call a peach... a cross between a sunburst (yellow) and a tangerine... she's supposed to have a wonderful peachy colouring but she's kinda more the yellowy-green baby poo colour. She's chubby from lack of exercise, her claws are over grown, she's missing toes and the tip of her tail from being put in with a male a lot bigger than her, and she was covered in mites. In other words, I paid way too much for her.  But, she's very docile and calm... I thought Dakota was serene, but Sahara actually has her beat in that department.  Very people friendly, has been already socialized to lots of other dragons, so I knew she'd get on fine with Dakota.  And of course, not that it matters to me, she has a pedigree for her fancy colouring and parentage.  It seemed like a good buy at the time with money burnin a hole through my pocket.  
Dakota wasn't too keen on sharing her home at the beginning, kept flailing around and throwing herself at sahara, but they've settled in now, and as I type this they're sitting in a favorite basking spot together resting their chins on each other's backs.

Sorry if I've been a bit scarce, but my ferret stormy had taken a turn for the worst, and has spent the past couple days passing. Lat night he passed on, just after midnight. I sat in the livingroom in the dark cuddling him as he passed on. Hubby just buried him in the back yard, by the swing we spend each niught swinging in. I'll have to figure out something to place over him to mark his resting place.

pardon me if I'm still scarce for a day or two.

Tigger pounces and huggles to all!!

I'm very happy for you and Dakota, Kathartica.  It sounds like to two will get along fine.  I always say, what does price matter when you find exactly what is needed at the time you need it?

Novia, I'm very sad to hear opposite news from you.    Its always tough when our fur-friends pass over.  Sometimes harder than losing humans.  I hope all goes well for you.  We'll see you when you feel better.

Many good wishes for all on the beautiful Sunday.  There's a thunderstorm a brewin' and I'm likin' it!