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Life or something like it....
Well, the calendar says it's almost February 2009....the school says it's a new semester starting on Monday...our girls get older and more accomplished and more amazing every day...but MY brain is wondering Where the heck is the time going?!?
I read along pretty regularly but since I have very little to contribute I just keep quiet. Not much in the way of homekeeping is on the front burner of my consciousness these days. Cooking, cleaning, laundry, errands...it all seems to get done...just not with the attention I used to pay. I'm not sure if that is a good thing or not...
All is well, here. We trudged through the holidays without my dad...that was hard, especially since my parents' wedding anniversary would have been on Dec. 21. My sister broke her ankle last Thursday night; we'll find out tomorrow if she needs surgery. That is a tough place for them as she is a salon manager/stylist and brings in about half their family income.
As it looks right now, I'll be job hunting for next school year. Our district is facing major financial issues and most of the elective courses are being cut to bare minimums. Since I'm relatively "new," I'll probably be part of the cuts. On the bright side, I may end up "at home" next year..or just subbing. Thank goodness we haven't made any changes in our lifestyle since I went to work. At worst, DD18 will have to get student loans for college next year. We are very lucky that way.
In other news: DH bought a Harley...I guess I'm gonna be a "biker babe" this year!
I don't even think I need to add to that statement....just ponder it and see the humor/irony there.
Anyway, I wanted to let you all know that I'm around. I think of you all often.
Much love,
Lenora
Good to hear from you!
Good to hear from you! About the school/financial woes. They may not have to cut back as much. Here we don't have many extra stuff (1 band class, ag courses, and home ec, oops, FCS). They won't cut any of those I don't think, but would start with the aides first. Also heard (since I'm sleeping with a member of our school board) that even though the gov. was planning on education cuts, many of those will be made up for with some education bill going thru. I bet you will be ok.
My DH wants a bike, too. I better skip the skimpy leather brazier. LOL! Mine isn't getting one this year, though. LOL!
Jenny
http://heresyourtrouble.blogspot.com/
so glad to see you Lenora
I think of you often and loed reading your update!
Jul
Bonus Day
We're all at home today under a foot of new snow...Julie, you're probably getting it too, huh? DD18.5 had classes this morning at the university but the afternoon classes were canceled. DH stayed home and is working from the recliner!
We were scheduled for a 4:00 appointment with the orthodontist for DD13.9, but they were able to get us in early so we're already home. She has one tooth that must come out (we knew that) and then he seems to think the rest will just "flow" into place. Of course that "flowing" is gonna costs us plenty but we think it's worth it...she's worth it.
I"m playing with a new wheat bread recipe and have a bowl of dough rising in the kitchen. If it comes out well I'm going to take a fresh loaf to our next-next door neighbors: he plowed all the sidewalks on the circle, and two driveways besides his own. Lovely, lovely couple.
My sister had surgery on her ankle yesterday but is already home. Her MIL and our mom have dinner taken care of for the rest of the week. I'm planning on going down on Sunday while her DH goes to watch the Superbowl.
I've been playing with sourdough starters this winter and have three going right now. I think I'm dumping one...(not thrilled with it) but I'm going to keep the other two. One is a sweet starter (like for Amish friendship bread) and the other is less sweet for bread and rolls. I'm going to try a sourdough soft pretzel recipe this week end. I'll also probably make a batch of lemon-poppy seed bread with the sweet starter to take to school on Monday...must eat seeds for Groundhog's Day (Candlemas,Imbolc)
DD13.9 roasted her first chicken for dinner last night. It was yummy. I"m planning on using the rest for creamed chicken and biscuits for dinner.
I'm getting ready to clean out my lazy Susan. It's in the corner by the stove, right under the mixer and food processor. Since I'm lazy about closing the darn thing when I'm cooking, it seems to get "crumby" really fast. It is beyond gross right now so that's the plan.
If the weather breaks and the snow plows work all night, we'll probably all go back to school/work tomorrow. It really was nice to get the phone calls at 5:30 this morning and go back to sleep for a couple of hours! Bliss!
Love to all,
Lenora
All Alone!
...the DDS' went to hang out with a friend and DH went to a motorcycle show with the guys from work. I can see 10,000 things that need done right here from the recliner but I'm not doing any of them. So there.
According the the weatherpeople we have had as much snow this month as during the Blizzard of '78 I suppose we're lucky that we've gotten it over a month and not in just a few days, but it really is getting tiresome. The snow piles at every corner are taller than cars which makes turning corners almost life-risking and the mounds in the center of the cul-de-sac are way taller than I am. Bleh. Enough already!
I think I've discovered the perfect sandwich-wheat bread recipe. I can find great bread recipes...and as far as I'm concerned they're all perfect right out of the oven..but a bread that stands up to a day-or-two on the counter and slicing thin enough for sandwiches has eluded me...until now. PB&J is the definitive test of a great sandwich bread around here and my latest loaf passed with flying colors.
I'm spending the afternoon tomorrow with my sister. I think we're going to watch The Women instead of the Superbowl.
I guess I really ought to at least shower today...and vacuum...and some laundry...If I really get motivated I may drag out the Valentine's Day decor. I guess if I don't get to it this weekend I might as well not bother.
Alright! Enough lolly gagging! I'm going to accomplish something today...starting now!
Love to all,
Lenora
hi Lenora!
haven't been here in ages and I hardly even know my way round any more.
Your comments on snow have me amused because the whole of the UK has ground to a halt this week because of less snow than you describe!!! The powers that be are trying to say that we'd have to spend more on infrastructure to keep us going than it's really worth because even this much snow is the worst in nearly 20yrs. We just don't seem to get the bitter winters as much these days.
Do you miss being at home, chatting on here regularly, doing the little things in your own time, and even having time for extras? I know you've always managed to cope really well with the housework - I've never been the best housekeeper, ever - but are you really happy with the change? Obviously it was a conscious choice in your case because you worked towards it for so long and so hard, but have you ever thought about just going back home full time? I guess the reason I'm asking is because I'm exhausted (still ongoing anemia issues) and I've had more bad weeks at work than I can count so it's all just going crazy at home and I really ache for the 'old' days sometimes when we'd come on here and check in a few times almost every day.
On the up side... I'm back to trying something new with the menu planning. It's been so bad in recent months I didn't even do it in January for the first time in ages. So now I have just finished designing a 3wk rotating menu plan with weekends left empty, and very flexible meal ideas rather than set dishes. We're off to Singapore at the end of next week so I'll start that when we come back. I really hope it works because I desperately need to claw back some control over my life at the moment!
Needless to say the luxury retail market isn't going that great at the moment, but we're clinging to life for now and doing everything we can to chop off the dead wood and keep the good stuff strong. There are definitely still good bits - our Harrods bit has been doing us proud. But it's one problem on top of another recently so I barely get chance to deal with one set of trouble before there's reinforcements. Haven't kept up with anyone at all recently... not Honey or anyone here, or anyone else at all. The worst part is that I can't currently see the light that I know is at the end of the tunnel somewhere, and if I look back the previous light has long disappeared.
Still... our new office lady said she was always amazed at how much we laugh and enjoy ourselves in the office, so as long as I just get maudlin when I come here and rant to old friends we'll be fine.
And looking at your posts Lenora, at least we all still have reasonable levels of health. It's nice to see you so chirpy. Not too sure about that bike though, but fortunately DH is less likely to be a biker than me, so that's good.
Hi Jenny, Julie... nice to see other familiar faces even after so long.
Kerri.
Ponderings
HI Kerri! Hi everyone else, too!
Kerri, I TOTALLY miss being able to define my own days. COMPLETELY miss it. I love my job; love the students, the building/staff, my schedule; all of it...but I do miss having that...autonomy: the ability to say "Today I'm going to accomplish X, Y, and Z." And then NOT accomplishing it and being good with that, too. I"m out of the house from 6:30 in the morning until 4:00-5:00 pm most week-days. I do miss my home. The idea of not having a full-time position (or any position) next year is not terribly upsetting. It's very nice to be comfortable with a Que sera, sera kind of attitude. Whatever!
I really do see value in what I do. Some days I feel like I'm mothering 135 teenagers...but a good chunk of them NEED mothering and I see enough of a response from so many of them to keep me going every day!
I'm sorry to know you're in a dark place right now. All I can say is keep trudging ahead. The light might be closer than you think...maybe it's just around a corner and you just can't see it yet!
Menu planning...I think I remember that...
Anyway, I had been thinking about your questions...sorry it took me so long to respond. I hope you're having (had?) a wonderful visit to Singapore!
Love ya!
Lenora
Hello to Lenora and Kerri!
Been thinking about both of you!
Jul
Menu plan wk2!
And you thought YOU took a long time to reply Lenora! Hi Julie.
We had a good time in Singapore, accomplished a few things, got together with family and an old friend.
My 3wk menu plan started the Monday we got back and we're into week 2 now. So far so good and I really hope I can keep it up. I made really sure it was flexible because my biggest concern with a proper rotating menu plan was that I'd get bored of particular meals. I've got things like 'egg dish' or 'pasta dish' in there, 'something and chips', 'Mexican', 'soup' so it gives me enough guidance to know what I'm going to be cooking without really restricting our choices too much. And I didn't plan in the weekends at all. Fingers crossed.
I've had to bring some big chunks of work home in the acceptance that I'm just never going to get round to doing them at work. Included amongst that is the wretched risk assessment I should have completed when we started and redone periodically. So much paperwork on health and safety - it's just nuts.
At least my actual work days are still comparatively short. I only leave the house at around 9am and leave the office at about 3pm - it helps that it's only about a 10min drive to work! Somehow I never manage to achieve anything between getting home and dinner time at about 6pm, and then we just drift into the evening, off to bed and then up again to do it all over. I've never been THAT driven by housework I guess!
I wouldn't mind not working next year (I'd love it!) but the only way that's going to happen is if the company doesn't survive the current problems, and in spite of everything I shall fight tooth and nail to ensure that doesn't happen. So for now I'm indispensable - we couldn't get anyone else to do so many things for so little money, and with my weird mix of skills!
It's funny that people seem to think I wouldn't go back to 'just' being a housewife after doing a 'proper' job. In a heartbeat!!
Lenora, I hope you get a break next year, while your girls are still around to appreciate you properly, and so you can recharge your batteries a bit. It's nice to be reminded that there are plenty of teachers around for whom teaching isn't simply a job but a vocation. DS' elementary school teachers are mostly like that, but DD's high school teachers seem to give homework that requires no marking, and fail to teach what really matters (religious education being a classic example but I am NOT getting started on that now - you'd think it would be the perfect vehicle for teaching tolerance!
).
Kerri.
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