Pranksters of the Decade

Check out these guys. I read about their Home Depot mission...they all went into Home Depot and shopped in super-slow motion for quite a while. Then they froze in place. Hilarious!!

First couple of days of school are going well. The kids were REALLY quiet the first two days, but some of that wore off today. I think overall it's a pretty good group of kids. I can see that there are a couple that I will have some issues with, but on the whole they seem okay. I could just be seeing the "on your best behavior" bit, though. Best to be cautiously optimistic.

Hey, if you are still with me and reading, would you comment so I know you're out there? I haven't had comments in so long that I worry I'm the only one who reads this anymore. Thanks!

Errata

My dad tells me that I'm off on my figures on the biggest boar...he's right. The biggest boar weighed in at 1199 pounds, while the biggest ram was 462 pounds.

Those are some dang big pigs/sheep.

State Fair

Iowa State Fair competition: who can eat the most items that are unhealthy or fried or on a stick?

D won with a total of 9 points. I only managed 5 1/2. My dad, my brother, and my brother's girlfriend came too. Some of the fried/sticked/unhealthy items we enjoyed: pork chop on a stick (actually a bone), corn dogs (2 points!), fried pickles and mushrooms, fried cheese curds, veggie corn dog for J's girlfriend, corn on the cob, and of course fried Oreos and fried peanut butter cups on a stick for dessert. Mmmm, feel those arteries clogging.

Speaking of which, we finally got our picture taken with the life-size cow made out of butter. Mmmm. Christmas cards, here we come! We saw the biggest boar which was almost 500 pounds, the biggest ram, and lots of varieties of sheep, chickens, and rabbits.

Revisiting summer goals

I was rereading my blog and came across my list of summer goals. Thought I'd go back over it and see what I've accomplished this summer as I prepare to move on to school.

*Cleaning out/making my study functional.
Some success here...it was really clean for a little while, then has gone somewhat downhill again. I totally hate filing, which is the reason.

* Completing my wedding album (as soon as I get off my butt and order copies of a few more pictures)
Nope. Haven't gotten the extra pics from the photographer yet. I did make considerable progress on D's baby book, though. I'm working on book 2.

* Redecorating our bedroom, mostly by painting walls and some furniture, but also removing borders, putting up crown and new baseboard molding, and replacing closet doors.
Done except the closet doors.

* Spending a day a week at school, organizing and moving stuff to my new (larger) room and getting the old room (which will become a dedicated science lab) in better shape.
Uh, not so much. Did spend this last week at school, though.

* Taking three ballet classes a week to stay in shape.
I did when I was in town! Back to 2 again this fall.

* Going to Chicago before and after attending a wedding in Kentucky.
Awesome. See post below!

* Reading, reading, reading. Anything I can get my hands on.
Definitely. Currently working my way through the Dune series.

* Taking a week-long seminar in August offered by my college on stem cells, taught by my favorite professor. Staying in beautiful Door County, WI, on the college's property, and eating the fabulous cuisine of Chef Steve during that week.
Done, and done. Can I add gaining some weight at the same time and meeting some of the most fascinating people I've ever met? Most were retired and had so many things to talk about. Travels, life, grandkids...

* Relaxing, renewing, and revitalizing. Those three Rs are so much more important than the other 3 during the summer!
Most definitely. This was the core of my summer and it'll be my goal to make it such for summers in the future.

And might I add to the list: attending the Iowa State Fair, which we will do with my dad, brother and his girlfriend who will be visiting this weekend.

All in all, I think it was a successful, restful summer. My batteries are fully recharged. Bring it on!!

Snakes on a Plane, Continued

Wish I had written this.

A movie about my life would probably be entitled: Teens in a Science Lab.

What would the movie about your life be called?

Back to school

It's that time again. After an amazing and only occasionally frustrating summer, I find myself back at school preparing for a new year. Teachers offically start on Thursday, and the kids' first day is a half-day on Tuesday. Our bedroom is FABULOUS...I shall post a link to pictures as soon as I can...and I am happy to have such a tranquil and relaxing place to come home to. And no more hideous wallpaper border. The only thing left to do is buy a mirror for over my dresser and install the closet doors (after we get some of them cut down to size).

I LOVED the stem cell seminar. Not only did I learn some incredibly interesting details about stem cells, their production and use, but I also observed some fabulous teaching techniques. It was so inspirational to watch a master teacher at work. I only hope I can achieve that level someday.

I moved classrooms this summer, mostly because the room I was in before was a lab and although it had lots of lab tables, it had no room for desks. Thus the kids were packed in pretty tightly, and this made for some, um, interesting classroom management/discipline issues. My new room has much more desk space and hopefully we will not be sandwiched in here so much. I even have space for a couple of "isolation seats"...good for troublemakers.

This is definitely the best time of the school year...we are getting ready, there is plenty of anticipation, but it's still quiet and subdued in the building. You can almost feel the excitement. Yes, I do love the smell of brand-new pencils and paper. It never gets old, does it?