Friday

Today is the last day of August. And after all of my griping about how much I dislike this month, I'm a little surprised it's over already. Where did the month go? Tomorrow is the first day of September and I couldn't be happier about it.

Tomorrow is Auburn's first football game of the year and it will be televised (not a lot of big games on the first weekend.) Auburn is only #18 in the AP preseason poll (behind 4 other SEC schools). But I'm good with that. It is very tough starting the season ranked high. It's much better to prove yourself as you go along. Of course everyone will be looking at Florida. Auburn has to play them this year in The Swamp on September 29 but let's not look too far ahead.

The weather even seems to be cooperating with the end of August. We've had a couple days with rain and the highs are just crossing 90 with overnight lows in the 70's. Looks like Fall is on the way!!!

Thursday

I've had a busy last two days. (Which is good, because when I am off work I tend to be lazy and unproductive.) Wednesday morning I worked in the first aid clinic at school for the first time. I have to work for 10 hours with another volunteer before they set me loose on my own. It was an interesting morning and I think it will be a good volunteer position for me.

Wednesday night I went out to eat with my friend Kim. Kim and I have been talking on the phone (while at work, no less) for years and have never gotten together. We both needed a night out without the kids. We met at Logan's and had a good time. I recommend their Mesquite Chicken, it was very good.

Thursday I worked 1/2 day at Sam's Club Pharmacy for Kim. They are a little busy then I am at this pharmacy but not by much. It was a slow morning but I probably would not have gotten anything done at home. I walked before I went in to work, though so by the time I picked up the kids at 2:45 I was feeling run down. I took a nap. That put my whole day in perspective. I exercised, I worked 5 hours, I napped and even cooked supper for my family.

Monday

Yesterday I worked at that other job. It was one of those days in which I remember why it was that I quit working there full-time a year ago. First of all, I went out and walked in the morning which guaranteed I would be tired by the end of the day. I didn't go in to work until 10am so I had an hour in the morning to relax. Later, I was really glad I took that time. One of the computer terminals was out at work. This both slowed down production and interrupted the normal flow of work. Also, someone knew was in to start training. Monday is not the best day to train someone. We were entirely too busy to take the time. I'm not the best person to train someone as I have little patience for it. (Get trained already and get to work!) After I ate some lunch the laser printer quit working. (It had been giving us maintenance warnings all day but we had unwisely ignored them). There is a back-up printer (of the dot matrix variety) but it prints about a page per minute. After that small things began to go wrong. There were a couple of times I thought I was going to lose it but I kept it under control. (There really wasn't time for a panic attack.) After an hour or so a second printer was located and installed and we were back at full-speed. I left at 9pm having worked steadily on my feet for 11 hours (except for my 20 minutes of lunch). I had to buy groceries. I managed to arrive home by 10pm but naturally I forgot some things in my haste to get out of the store. This morning I am here at the regular job and I am going to sit down for most of the day and recover.

On the positive side it was a good day diet-wise. I was too tired to eat supper last night and instead ate a banana and went to bed. I didn't have a snack. I'm sure I'll make up for it today.

Interview Meme

Autumn's Mom was kind enough to send me these interview questions. If you would like to be interviewed, see the instructions below. If you do this meme, you can pretend like there are people out there who really care about the answers.



1. If you could pick any profession to be in, what would it be? Besides the one I have, I assume, and without the corresponding training and education required. Secretly, I think I would like to be a nurse. I think I enjoy the patient interaction part of my job most of all and I seem to do so little of it.

2. What is your favorite part of being a parent? My favorite part of being a parent is having this little companion to always share things with and have around for company and who is constantly looking to you for an example. And your least favorite part? Having this little companion you always have to share things with and who is always around and who sees your every mistake.

3. If you had the chance to speak to a relative or friend who's passed on, who would it be and what would you say? Gosh, I miss my Maw-Maw. She's been gone 2 years now. She was sick for a long time before that. She was like a second mother to me. I would tell her how much I loved her and how many lives she touched here on Earth and how much she is missed. But that we are all happy she is singing with the angels and without suffering or pain.

4. You read a lot of books, give us your top 3 favorites. Top 3? That is a hard question. I'm not sure I can narrow it down to 3, but I'll give it a go. I loved the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon (of course there were 6 of them.) I love Jane Eyre and White Fang and books by Elizabeth Berg, John Grisham, Lincoln Child & Douglas Preston and the Harry Potter books. Sorry, I said I didn't think I could do it. If I had to pick 3 from this year's list I would say, Memoirs of a Geisha, The Time Traveler's Wife and East of Eden (and Mists of Avalon).

5. Sweet or Salty? Why must I chose? Can't I have them together? My two favorite candies in the world are M&M's (plain or dark chocolate) and Reese's Cup Minatures. I love that combo of salt & sweet. I love chocolate covered cashews, almonds and macadamias. But if I had to choose I would say my favorite is the chocolate and therefore - sweet.



Here are the rules:

1. Leave me a comment saying, “Interview me.”

2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. I get to pick the questions.

3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.

4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.

5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Friday

I had a pretty productive day today. It was good to do something and not feel so lazy. I washed sheets and blankets, painted the mailbox, picked up some groceries and worked on some projects. This afternoon I made homemade strawberry ice cream. Tonight I'm cooking hamburgers on my indoor grill. I'm feeling so proud of myself I thought I would brag to you a little.

Still no rain and still hot! (You thought I had quit harping on the weather, didn't you?) I have a Dogwood tree that looks like it is dying. Next week we are supposed to have a high down in the 80's. It will be like a cold front!

Have a great weekend!

Thursday Thirteen

Rather than talk about the weather (again!). I thought I would fantasize about vacationing.

Thirteen Places I would like to visit (US edition)

1. New York City - Broadway, Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building

2. Charleston, SC - old South

3. San Francisco, Ca - I've been there on a one day visit but would like to see more

4. Grand Canyon

5. Yellowstone National Park

6. Seattle, WA

7. Philadelphia, PA

8. Alaska

9. Hawaii

10. Boston, Ma

11. Kansas City

12. San Diego, CA

13. Key West

Wednesday

Yesterday I went for my Red Cross first aid training. I am certified in first aid now. If you have a minor accident while I am nearby I know how to call 911. Just kidding. It was a pretty comprehensive course and luckily covered a lot of the legal aspects of what you can and can not do. I hope to volunteer in our school's clinic. It did not include CPR and I might go back for that. It has been many years since I took CPR and the procedures have changed.

I'm feeling a little blue today. I didn't exercise yesterday and then I blew my diet in a big way. (Because once you realize you've blown it you might as well blow it big, right?) I'm working today and tomorrow and then I have a 3 day weekend without a lot of plans. Maybe I can pull myself out of this slump and stop being so lazy.

Our area Water Department has put us on water restrictions. This is as good an exuse as any to stop watering & fertlizing the flowers. They seem to be holding their own. I'm still wishing for a little tropical storm to blow some rain & cooler weather our way.

Monday

Nothing for you to see (read) here. An uneventful Sunday. I have no witty stories or frustrating tales to tell you. Church, swim lessons, supper - that was our day. I'm at work today hoping everyone else's blog will give me some food for blog posts.

Saturday

It rained last night. A large thunderstorm rolled through. I'm very thankful for that. We are still in a deficit of course but it was a blessing nonetheless. My walk this morning was cooler (although still quite humid).

Book Update

I wanted to tell you about a couple of books I've read recently. The first is Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. I heard about this book from some one's blog. It's a shame I don't write these things down so I can thank them later. I have found the most delightful book recommendations lately from reading blogs. This book is the story of Jacob, who after his parents die leaving him penniless runs away to the circus. It is set in 1931 but told through the eyes of Jacob when he is 90 (or 93 he's not sure which). It is not a very long story but I enjoyed it immensely and found it very easy to read. Read the review on Amazon and decide for yourself but I recommend it.

I also read The Dante Club by Mathew Pearl. This one was a little more difficult to read and it took me 6 days because I couldn't get into it at first. But it turned out to be a pretty good read. It is set in 1865 Boston and features historical characters involved in a murder mystery. If you enjoyed Dante's Divine Comedy then this will be enjoyable fiction for you. I had never read Dante so I had to read up on the story through Wikipedia. (I also took the time to read up on the characters in the book.) The dialogue and language is unfamiliar and I struggled sometimes to keep focused. But I am glad I read it because I found it educational.

Another book that I read rather quickly was The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. First published in 1985 and made into a movie in 1991 it is on that notorious list of must read books that is circulating around. It reminded me a lot of the book The Road which I just read a few weeks ago. It is set in the Republic of Gilead (formerly the United States of America) which is under a kind of strict marshall law. Women are valued only as breeders and servants and are forbidden to read. The story follows Offred, a handmaid, given to a high "Commander" with the hopes of producing a child for him and his wife. The book is a bit frightening but an enjoyable read.

I also read recently H is for Homicide by Sue Grafton. I'm working my way through these alphabet murders. I find them a refreshing change from more complicated fiction as the above novel. They are good murder mysteries and very quick and easy to read.

As you can see on my blog I read quite a lot of books and am always looking for a recommendation. Feel free to make a suggestion.

Friday

I've been feeling a little down lately. I'm not sure why. Maybe it is a consequence of the kids going back to school. I thought I would be ecstatic about that. Indeed, I do enjoy the freedom. But maybe too much. I don't seem to know what to do with myself and have been kind of lazy. Although I have been walking in the morning little else has been accomplished. I was off the last two days and I'm thankful to be back at work today at least getting paid, if not exactly being busy. (I'm not going to say that the depression is due to the intense heat because I am going to try and not talk about the heat today.)

August is half over now and I can start looking forward to fall. Mother and I are going to the Deeper Still Conference in Nashville in early September. Auburn's first football game is September 1. I hope to be going to the beach in October. So I have a lot to look forward to, I just find myself in a bit of a funk lately. Maybe what I need is a good uplifting book to read. What I've reading lately has not fit that bill. My phone friend (with who I talk to at work because she isn't busy, either) has gone to Disney World. Mother is in Maryland visiting my brother and his family. Maybe I'm just a bit lonely today. If you're lurking there, leave me a comment. I promise I'll be over this pity party tomorrow.

Thursday Thirteen

I'm sorry if you've come to my blog hoping to read about something other than the weather. It's just all there is right now. We have a 30% chance of rain this weekend and so the humidity will be between 60 & 100%. By Monday the highs are supposed to drop back into the mid-90's. And it is not that I am wishing for the destructive forces of a hurricane. But a non-destructive tropical storm to bring a good rain would be good. I don't even remember when it last rained. My apologies to Texas who apparently will be getting rain from the Tropical Storms hanging out in the Gulf. They don't seem to need anymore. Can't you send us some?

Back in the summer of 1991 I was living in a four bedroom apartment with one other girl. In order to afford the utilities (the other two girls had gone home for the summer) we had to leave the thermostat on 80. I knew then that I was going to college so that someday I would not have live without air conditioning.

So instead of a regular Thursday Thirteen I am doing a Thankful Thursday.

13. I'm thankful for Air-Conditioning.
12. I'm thankful to Benjamin Franklin for discovering electricity
11. I'm thankful to Willis Haviland Carrier who (according to Wikipedia) first discovered and used electric air-conditioning in 1902
10. I'm thankful for all the advances in air-conditioning technology between 1902 and the present and for Bryant for making my particular unit.
9. I'm thankful for the trees behind my house for helping keep my house cool.
8. I'm thankful for the men & women who have given their lives for the freedom I take for granted sitting in my air-conditioned house.
7. I'm thankful for the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) who keeps our utility bills some of the lowest in the country and Huntsville Utilities for providing my electricity (although certainly not for free!)
6. I'm thankful to my high school chemistry teacher who first suggested pharmacy as a career
5. I'm thankful for my parents who taught me to work hard for what I wanted and for helping finance my education.
4. I'm thankful to Auburn University for my degree in Pharmacy (and for my wonderful years there.)
3. I'm thankful for my two employers for paying me so well so that I can afford air-conditioning (and keeping the building cool while I am working.)
2. I'm thankful to my hubby and children for putting up with my crazy hours.
1. I'm thankful to God, for all the blessings in my life, including air-conditioning.

Blog Fodder

I love the stat counter reports I get. Four people last week found their way to my blog searching for the plant I wrote about a few days ago. I hope they found my entry and pictures helpful.



Other searches:



Barbecue Cookout Difference - I'm glad to educate more people on these terms and their regional meanings.



The Road Cormac McCarthy Hot Tub - I didn't actually read this book while relaxing in my hot tub. It's actually to warm for that right now.



I had a new visitor to my blog because of my entry about cross-stitching. It's always nice to have new people stop by and comment.

Tuesday

Of course I know that I am beating a dead horse but there isn't much else going on around here to blog about. Today will be the 7th day in a row we've had 100+ degree days (with heat indexes reaching 110'). My Father-in-Law said this was the worst heat wave since 1980 when we had 17 days in a row of 100+. In 1980 I was too young to care much about the weather so I don't remember it as a particularly hot summer.

Last evening while at my other job we had a power outage. It doesn't take long without air condtioning for buildings to begin to heat up in late afternoon sun. After two hours they determined the power would remain out for several more hours and I should go on home. We couldn't work without power and so customers were no longer allowed in the store. It was a nice treat to be home last night with my family.

I am at work today but then I have two days off. I've got errands to run but no real agenda. It's too hot to do much that requires getting in and out of the car. The Lego Star Wars games finally turned up. They were inside the Tinker Toy Cannister. I didn't check there.

Weekend

We had a really good lazy weekend.

A friend of Rick's brought us a meal yesterday, Curry Chicken, A rice dish, & salad. The circumstances were a bit unusual but the food was very good. Hubby cooked fried okra to go with it.

Yesterday my daughter went to her first swim leson. We got a late start on this. My son took swim lessons when he was 4 & 5 at their daycare. By the time my daughter was old enough to start they stopped offering. With our busy lives we had not made time for swim lessons. I was fortunate to discover Sunday lessons being offered at the University Fitness Center. At 6 years old she is very confident in the shallow end but lacks the skill to swim in deep water.

This morning there was a nice breeze on my morning walk. Now I'm sitting here doing nothing instead of going on in to work.

Purple Secretia

I get a lot of search hits on my blog from Purple Secretia because of this blog entry. Because it seems a lot of people are searching for this plant I thought for fun I would write a little more about it. There is no entry on Wikipedia about it so perhaps people just want to know what it is.

Purple Secretia is a purple perennial plant that thrives in our area (zone 7). It blooms in the summertime with purple flowers. It is found everywhere in landscaping in our area because it looks so good with contrasting colors. (It looks excellent with orange lilies or various yellow flowering plants.) It spreads rapidly, and returns every year. I discovered this plant a few years ago and have enjoyed having it in my garden ever since. It is very difficult to kill. It's roots spread & run deep and unless you manage to get every last one of them it will return to you the following spring. After it emerges from the soil you can transplant it to other areas of your garden or give some to a friend. More will grow in it's place. It seems to thrive in our semi-drought conditions and grows equally well in sun or shade.

I am not pretending to be an expert on this plant, I am just telling of my experience. I have found it difficult to locate in major garden centers. The employees will generally not know it by this name. Small nurseries usually have a few plants as I believe its largest use is to landscapers. In late October or early November when I generally plant bulbs in my garden and pansies I will sometimes pull the remaining plant out of the garden (not actually by the root, just the portion above the ground) to allow room for these winter & spring choices. Don't worry, it doesn't seem to mind this and will return in late April.

Not the best pictures but it gives you an idea.

Friday - Diet Update

Well, my hard work this week paid off. I was hoping for 2 pounds to jump start my weight loss. I wanted to lose those 6 pounds I had gained back since April. So I've been sticking to my program this week, I walked 4 days and I tried to drink water. And this morning when I weighed in I had lost 4 pounds. Wow! That is more than I have ever seen in a week. Which leads me to believe that the numbers were unnaturally inflated last week. Probably from water gain. At any rate I am glad to see the number on the scale. I am motivated to keep it up for another week, anyway. A big loss one week usually means a plateau or gain the next week, though.

Today is a me day. The kids are at school, I've done my exercising and have the whole day to myself. I think I am going to work on projects for my Homemaker's Clubs' upcoming Cultural Arts Competition. And then a special lunch treat. And then a nap.

Tardiness

Do you have a child who is difficult to get ready in the morning? Who drags himself around? Are you always running late? Well I have the opposite child.

We are early people in general. For the most part people can be catorgized as early, late, on-time or inconsistent. It has been my experience that you can not change late people into early people. You can lie to them to get them their on time but you can not change them. (I could do an entire post on this and maybe I will later.) Late people, after they have kids, usually become very late people. So as early people we tend to be places before everyone else and spend a lot of time waiting on the late people in our lives. Our children are early people, too, and this is good.

This morning we were running a little behind getting out the door because Thursday is the day we get the house ready for our housecleaning service (hate me later). The kids and I were running around finishing various chores. At the last minute my daughter came back in the house to use the bathroom. So we left the house at 7:32. What this means is we had to sit through the redlight between us and the school (1/2 mile away) 4 times. I assured my son that he would not be late. You are not tardy until 7:50. He had a panic attack in the backseat waiting each time for the light to change and each time seeing that we would have to wait another time to get through. (Our side of the light is uphill and any large vehicles usually take more than there share of the time to get through.) I dropped the kids off at 7:44am.

My son can not stand to be late to school. He does not have to be conjoled into getting ready in the morning. In fact, he generally gets up before I do and as he doesn't need to shower is ready long before me. He is usually eager to get in the car and go and has to wait on me and his sister.

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Things I do not like about August

1. It is hot.

2. When you get up in the morning it is hot.

3. When you go to bed at night it is hot.

4. Your car gets hot enough sitting in the sun to cook food.

5. If you have to do any shopping it is hot.

6. If you exercise later than 5am it is hot.

7. It is humid, so you can need a bath just from walking out to your car.

8. There are no holidays in August.

9. It is hot.

10. August has 31 hot days.

11. Fall fashions are out but who wants to buy them in 90' weather.

12. It is too hot to use my hot tub.

13. It's too hot.

Cross Stitch

I've been cross-stitching since I was a little girl. I find it a very relaxing hobby. I have all sorts of projects that have never been framed as well as quite a few on the walls. I usually chose projects that look interesting to me, and will be beautiful when finished. I usually cross-stitch in the evenings while watching television. I recently finished a wreath which I am going to enter into my County Homemaker's Cultural Arts competition. It is really the only fiber art (or creative art at all really) that I am good at. I do not sew or quilt or scrapbook.

My mother recently decided to try her hand at cross-stitching. All my life my mother has been good at various fiber arts which I never much cared for. She sews, embroideries, crochets and quilts. She thought cross-stitching would be a more portable craft to take on her various trips. I think she also thought it would be relaxing for her, too. You can see her blog for her latest project.

Not surprisingly, my daughter has wanted to learn cross-stitch, too. A year back we found a "Learn to Cross-Stitch" kit at Michael's. We have tried various attempts to work on this with much frustration. At first, I thought, she was still too young. But she is nearly 7 now. So last night I decided it was the plastic canvas and yarn in the kit that was giving us problems. I found a small pre-finished cross-stitch doily in some of my stuff and an apple pattern that did not look too difficult. I found a large blunt needle. I started her out on her first row and she set to work. So far she is doing well and I am very excited that we will be able to sit together working on our projects.

She thinks that when her grandmother visits next month she will have it completed.

Tuesday

I had such a productive day today. After I dropped the kids off at school I did my morning walk around our neighborhood (about 2 miles). It was already in the 80's at 7:30 AM and I actually didn't mind the various sprinklers I had to pass. I showered and was in my car by 8:30. I bought groceries and returned home and put them away and it was not even 11am yet.

I then went to a book club meeting. I've been trying to find a book club for a while now but was concerned about others not sharing my tastes. I read for pleasure and don't want to read what I don't like. This club is through our public library and they were reading the book The Tenth Circle by Jodi Piccoult which I mentioned here. Since I had already read the book I decided to give it a try. The group had only 4 attendees today. I picked up lunch at a local deli on my way. The group actually met at the branch on South Parkway which is on the other side of town from me but I did not mind. I enjoyed the discussion although the others did not like the book as much as I did. The discussion stayed on point for the most part. Next month we are reading any of Lillian Jackson Braun's books The Cat Who.... I haven't read any of these and am looking forward to it. While at the library I checked out two paperbacks that looked interesting.

Yesterday evening our young friend 'lil David came over for a few hours while his mother went to a meeting. (We call him 'lil David to distinguish him from the other dozen or so Davids in our lives.) After supper we went outside for a little while. At 7:30 it was still too hot to be outside even with the sun behind the trees. I started sweating from just being there, not really moving around much. Back into my 70' house I went. Have I mentioned how much I don't like August?

In the afternoon with only about an hour before I needed to head to the school I thought I would sneak in a little time on Lego Star Wars (the original trilogy). However, my daughter had taken it upon herself to hide the game. She didn't want her brother and his playmate playing it on Saturday without her. The problem is she has no idea where it is now. We looked and we looked and we looked some more. This girl certainly knows how to hide something. I haven't completely given up, things do usually eventually turn up, but I am very frustrated.

How Hot Is It?

Today's high is predicted at 93' with a humidity averaging about 50% this means it will feel like 99'. The weather people are not predicting a break from this heat during the week. What few scattered showers arrive will only serve to increase the humidity and general mugginess. It's best to stay indoors. I know the temperatures out West rise above 100' but I'm not sure if that dry heat compares to the oppressiveness of a humid Southern summer. This is the tradeoff we have for our mild winters. What kind of trade-off is that really? I want to live in one of those climates where it is 75' year round with tropical breezes browing in from the ocean. Oh, August, you are my least favortie month. August has no holidays. It has 31 days. It is (here in Alabama) the hottest month of the year. The days are long and the temperature doesn't become bearable until after sunset. The entire month of August I am just wishing for September.

Book Update

I've read two books I would like to tell you about. The first is The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. The book is a memoir recalling the circumstances in which the author grew up. It's told in first person. Jeanette's father was a drifter who could not keep a job. He moved his family from town to town where they lived hand to mouth. The scavenged for food while their father drank what little money he earned, until he lost a job and they had to leave. Jeanette survived her childhood because despite the circumstances her parents loved her. They did a poor job taking care of her, making decisions and choices that were not in her best interests. But throughout the narrative the love her parents had for their children shines through. Jeanette and her siblings became successful adults despite their upbringing. I don't know how Walls wrote the memoir without traces of bitterness showing. It is an excellent read.



I also read Cormac McCarthy's The Road. (Please see J's excellent review here.) The Road is the story of an unnamed man and his son trying to survive in a "post-apoclyptic hell" from some undescribed event. Their are few survivors. The man and his son are among the few "good guys" hiding from roaming bands of murdering thiefs as they make their way south. The catastrophic event is years in the past and little is left of the burned out land upon which to survive. I read the novel in only a few hours. It is written in a slightly unusual narrative syle. It is depressing but captivating. It has been called a masterpiece and honored with several awards. It is indeed a good piece of literature and worth your time to read.

Saturday

My dieting got away from me this summer. I was very fortunate for the first month or so to be maintaining a comfortable weight. Then my eating got a little out of control. Because the kids were home I found it difficult to exercise. And slowly the pounds crept back on and the scale numbers were registering higher. I told myself it was time to get serious and last week made a half-hearted attempt to get back on the wagon. Thursday morning I was baking cookies and what started out as a nibble became a full-day of binging that left me unsatisfied and disappointed with myself. Friday morning the scale registered I had gained weight. So now I am motivated. School has started, so no more excuses about exercising. This morning before work I went out at 6:45 and walked the neighborhood (and I'm not a morning person!). I'm trying to drink more water and give up on the late night junk food. I'm blogging about it to have some accountability. I lost 15 pounds over a 6 month period and I was really proud of myself. So proud, in fact, that I deceived myself into eating anything I wanted. And then into eating everything I wanted. So I've gained 6 pounds of it back. Gasp! My goal this time is to lose beyond the previous loss. I'm hoping for 10 pounds.

Friday

Yesterday I had an entire day to myself and I could hardly remember what I used to do with them. I took a walk and I took a nap. I did a little shopping. I took a long leisurely lunch. It was so hot yesterday. The thermometer registered 96' but getting in and out of the car in hot pavement it felt a lot warmer.

Both children seemed to enjoy their first day of school at the new school. They were both still excited when I picked them up. My son announced that he had four fun things spaced throughout the day: snack, lunch, PE and recess. Both of them made new friends and liked their teachers. Luckily, there was no homework on the first day.

My son had shown some concern about changing from his previous private school to the public school because of things various children and adults had said. However, we have heard many good things about the public elementary school. I think once he realizes that like his private school the teachers care about their students he will not notice much difference (other than the size difference).

Our decision to put the children in private school in the beginning was because my daughter was too young to attend public school, but in the private school she could start preschool early. Because my husband and I both work we needed the children to attend the same school. We put off the transfer to the public school until my daughter had completed Kindergarten. This decision was based on a number of factors and considered prayerfully.

Thursday Thirteen

School Starts today and I so want that to mean that it is Fall. School starting used to mean the beginning of football season, the change of leaves, and the first cool breezes of Autumn. In reality the first football game is still a month away (September 1 if you're an Auburn fan), cool breezes will probably not be felt for 6 weeks, and the first leaves change here after October 1. Fall is my favorite time of year and I look forward to it (longingly) all summer.



Thirteen Things I'm Looking Forward to this Fall

1. Football

2. A relief from this heat

3. Shorter days

4. Candy Corn

5. Boiled Peanuts

6. Beach trip during Fall Break

7. Yard displays

8. Halloween

9. Fall fashions - wearing jeans, long-sleeve shirts, and boots

10. Family reunion

11. Leaves changing color

12. My daughter's birthday (October 10)

13. Deeper Still

School

We had orientation at our new school last night. The school is quite a bit larger then we are used to (both as parents and students) with over 600 students. I was amazed at the size of the cafeteria and library. The previous year this elementary school had enrolled over 1200 students and had become quite overcrowded With the opening of a new elementary school in our area we are glad of the change for our first year. The portable classrooms have been removed. The classes still seem to be small (20-22 students) and the teachers seemed friendly. So far our experience has been pleasant. There is a lot to learn and get used, though. We have to figure out the day care & car line procedures. They have a system for paying online for meals. Our first grader is excited about having homework this year. Our fourth grader seemed disappointed to learn that he would have to read every night this year, too. I have lots of paperwork to fill out. I'm a little worried about my daughter finding her classroom on the first day but she is determined to walk in herself. (She doesn't want to risk crying if I walk her in myself.) I think this is a good change for us. I am eager to go to my first PTA meeting and learn about opportunities for volunteering. They have a first-aid room staffed by volunteers and I think that will be a good fit for me. We are looking forward to a great year!