sigh… been away a while

Sorry everyone… it has been a busy little while here in my world.

(before you ask, yes it is blue here in my world. Everyone is friendly too)

so, sorry to have been away, I know that all 5 of you are distraught over my lack of posting these long weeks!

Things have been crazy! I was hired to teach at a new school, so there has been training, and new classes to learn and conference calls to attend.

I am still busy as a beaver, as a new term at KU started this week as well. My first seminar was last night, and I was *on*. Do you ever have those days?  I know that all the teachers will understand this..

teaching is a bit like stand-up comedy… it is part entertainment, and part trying to pry their little heads open and pour in the subject matter.  Disturbingly, it seems to me that more and more students want the material spoon-fed to them.

Let me give one example: A student is having trouble opening Word 2007 documents. I tell her that she can go to Microsoft.com and find a converter that will allow her to use her old version to read the new ones.  Easy enough right?

nope.

Throughout the day, she posts two messages in the course, two emails and then IM’s me after seminar to ask about this converter. On AIM, as well as one email she expressly asks me to “look it up for her and send her the link and info”. I tell her in the email response to look on MS.com or “google it”. I know it is there, I have seen it. Used it on an older computer when it first came out. I KNOW it exists and is easy to find.

So, she IM’s me after class to ask me to find it for her again. I ask her if she has even looked for it. She says no.

So I tell her again to look for it herself…. but I can literally “feel” through the IM that she is just not sure she can do this… I mean… look what  I am asking her to do! Google! READ! DOWNLOAD! ALL BY HERSELF! oh no!  Too much, too hard! Do. it. for. me.

No.

I refused. I told her to  google some key words like converter and word…I told her that if she looked, and still had issues, that I would help her. BUT only after she tried to do it on her own.

she left me with a long pause and then… “ok, I’ll try. But you will help me if I can’t do it, right?”

SIGH.

This morning….

email. from student X.

I take a deep breath and open it.

“Dr. Alex, I  found the converter, and it works perfectly!!!! You rock”

Why is it that I have more confidence in them than they do?

I think this fear and coddling and handholding has something to do with it. Add in the helicopter parenting, and you have a generation of ‘kids’ sho have absolutely no confidence in themselves to fend for themselves.

I am addicted to this new website… free range kids. See it here.

Read the comments… they will FLOOR you…

like the guy who cannot be the Sunday School teacher anymore, because he bandaged up a skinned knee, complete with a hug, and the parents are now convinced he is a pedophile… or the sister who believes that her brother-in-law was ‘grooming’ her son as a future victim because he gave his nephew a set of tools.

Seriously… where is the common sense? And anyone who knows me, knows that I don’t have much… I might be book-smart, but I didn’t start generating any street smarts or common sense till I was 25.

So for me to say that there is a lack of common sense… well…

it is a sad state of affairs!

XOXO

strange meeting

Today as Ed and I were walking Einstein at Scott park, I had a strange encounter.

Einstein garners all kinds of reactions in people… many people stop me and ask me about his ‘wheels’. The reaction has been overwhelmingly positive. So many people have stopped me and expressed to me awe or congrats or simpy curiosity about how and why we chose to put him in the cart, and how he took to it, how he learned to use it, and how it has changed his life.

Today however, this many stopped me and asked about Einstein. Ed had a call, and was walking ahead of us (as usual).  We had met a woman and her dog a few yards back on the trail, and this man identified the woman and dog  as his wife and dog. He asked me if I had faith in god and Jesus.

Now, mind you, my spirituality is not something that I discuss openly with anyone. I have learned in my family that religion is either “my way or the highway”. I learned a long time ago to just smile and nod….. or try to run for the nearest exit. Barring that, it might be a good idea to start gnawing on your own arm if that is the only way out.

I will say only this to express the how  discussion of  of beliefs goes  in my family… once after I slipped and made a comment about my something in the way of what I truly believe, I had a cup of coffee thrown at me. Across my office.

Fortunately the coffee was cold.

But I am getting off track…

So, this man, on the trail…

He asked me to confirm what I believed, and told me that he was not trying to convert me.. or even invite me to church.

From there it got a bit strange…. but in a good way.  He said that in order for him to pray over Einstein, he would need my permission. Actually, it made a good bit of sense. The idea that it is kind of an invasion of privacy to just pray when someone  has not given permission. It is kind of like entering someone’s home against  their permission. That  if that were not true then God could enter anyone’s life and take away all the bad things… that we have to accept it into our lives of our own will. Kind of made sense. He then asked me to repeat after him and asked for command of healing for Einstein.

The whole encounter was maybe 5 minutes, but it was interesting in many ways.

Without going into my beliefs or how I feel about the whole thing. I will say this.

I certainly felt something during that conversation.

If nothing else today, stop and remember how blessed we are.

XOXOXO

Weekend plans

So, I have been trying to deny it… for months now… I have lived in denial. But, today, thae day has come, and I can no longer pretend it isn’t true.

My husband is old.

Like dirt, dinosaurs. Old.

His 20 year class reunion is this weekend, and this, coupled with an upcoming birthday, has made me finally face it… he is old.

Poor honey, soon, he will be needing a hearing aid, cane…. maybe even one of those carts you see advertised on TV.

So, tonight, he (and I suppose myself as well) will attend a “meet and greet” for his reunion.

Fortunately, the M-80′s may be able to distract from this terrible reality I find myself in. Nothing like good 80′s music to take away the grim realities of aging.

LOVE YOU HONEY!!

xoxoxoxoxo

The Busy Begins

Good morning all my faithful 5 readers!

This week is the beginning of a very busy month for me. I started the training class for “Mountain U” and I am now teaching 2 courses with “Southern State”. This is, of course, at the same time I am contiinuuing to teach my 3 classes for KU.

I am really hoping that it all works out. If I said I wasn’t at least a bit scared, I would be lying. But, I am far more excited than anything else. It has been a long year,  with a bit hit on our income.

Maybe I can even afford to find someone to help me with the ‘heavy lifting’ with the house cleaning. Since I can’t run the vacuum, and I try not to lift anything heavy…. scrubbing the tub is a no-no….. Ed has to pick up a lot of the slack. No offense… but most men don’t “see” dirt like women do. So, it is often a trial to get Edward to help. On top of that, in a month, he will be a busy-bee with fall work.

Looking forward to all of it!

Today, I can count my own blessings!

XOXOXOXO

blessings

I had the pleasure of attending a wedding shower for my friend’s fiancee this weekend. I have certainly become friends with her as well over the past few years, but he and I were friends long before they were a ‘we’. In fact, he and I were friends before I even met Edward.

Tall T and Miss S had known each other for years, but a few years ago they rediscovered each other. I knew she was the one when he would not stop talking about her…. It took him a long time to admit just how in love he was with her. Cute actually.

It has been a bumpy road for them.

She was diagnosed with a terrible illness, and they have worked together, and been through  whole lot together. I worried, as I am sure they did, whether or not this would actually ever happen….

I was so angry when it happened…. I mean, here was this great guy who waited a long time for his “lobster”! For the one, who fills him with joy, and makes him happy, and truly appreciates him. And I worried that she would be taken away.

It just wasn’t FAIR!

When he called to tell me that she was on the mend, and that it looked like she would in indeed be around to give him hell for many years to come…

well… I cried like a baby. I am not ashamed to tell you, my faithful 5 readers, that I was hysterical. I also had to walk back into a classroom and talk to co-workers and students.

It was hard to explain that they were tears of joy.

note… I am getting teary as I write this….

I am thrilled for them. They are both just the most wonderful people you would meet, and that this fall they will get married….

grateful, elated and just plain old thrilled!

I couldn’t ask for a better match for Tall T.  And Miss S is getting a wonderful man who really loves her.

Say a little prayer right now…. be thankful for all of you blessings, even if they are only a few in nature.

It has been a rough year for me, as you know… the last 15 months I have been sick, tired, depressed…. you name it. But when I thought of these 2, at least I could remember that I had a few blessings, no matter how bad it was.

I hope that you count your blessings, and inlcude all of us in your prayers…. Tall T, and Miss S… pray for many happy years for them… pray to remember your own blessings, even when its  really tough to do so.

this is dedicated to Tall T and Miss S. May you have as much happiness as can be found in the world.

And may you be there to give each other hell for many years. I can’t wait to dance at your wedding…. and I can almost guarantee that I will be crying at your wedding… but I’ll bet there won’t be a dry eye in the house.

much love

XOXOXOXOXOXO

good news

I have great news to share!

As many of you know, I have been actively seeking some additional on-line work. I LOVE, love KU…. don’t get me wrong, I love it there. I wish I was FT there. I would be a happy clam to have a FT position with a place that I feel really appreciates that things I do.

but… sadly, they have not seen the light yet, and I remain a valued PT employee. (but a happy one)

So, I have been seeking some additional work…. because since I had to leave practice last year, our income took a pretty big hit. The extras were not as easily attained without that income.

As you know, I want to spend some good portion of Erie’s brutal winter in a warm climate.  This is a pretty good size ‘extra’. Even if we save on heating this old house…. it is still a good bit of money to rent a place in FL.

So, on to the good news. Online education is exploding, which is great for me. About 2 months ago I interviewed with a school, and I have been WAITING for them to choose the people to advance to the training.

Yesterday, late in the day, I finally learned that I will be one of the instructors joining the training course! YAY!!!!

I also picked up one other online course for the fall. I completed that training already, and that course begins later this week. I will be teaching for 3 schools now, and I am so excited!

The only bad part about this?

Who is going to clean my house while I am busy working? How will I deal with working FT again?

lol, wonderful issues to have!

xoxoxoxoxo

Sunday Morning Crisis

Sunday mornings are NOT meant for a crisis. They are for lazy paper reading, and breakfast making. They were not meant for worrying, and running around….

That is, however, the way I began my day.

I woke up early, and got out of bed… made tea, and here is where is gets crisis….

The laptop is sitting on the coffee table in front of the couch. (can you see where this is going?)

Soon, there was tea ALL over the coffee table, and running like a little river toward the fan opening on the laptop.  I sacrificed the paper, the new mouse and the TV remotes, to grab the laptop and hold it dripping as the tea ran onto the hardwood floor, and the blue rug.

I moved the laptop to relative safety, and cleaned up the rest of the mess. Then I had to face the very real possibility of damage to the Gateway.

Now, this laptop was not a very expensive one. In fact, I am still amazed by the deal we got. That being said, I am attached. Also, this is not the right time to be needing to purchase a major appliance for us.

So, I roust Ed out of bed, and ask him what to do… what to do? Can I put it in the bag of rice? Thats what you do with cell phones.?

He peeped at me with one eye open, and told me NO. don’t do THAT.

Ok… so what do I do?

we settled on opening it up, and looking around. A bit of moisture, and a LOT of Einstein hair later….

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wait for it….. don’t you want to know if I was successful?

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YUP! I am typing this on my lap right NOW.

Aren’t you proud of me?

xoxoxoxox

Einstein’s Big Adventure

wall at EYC... we've already walked pretty far!

so, for those of you who have seen Einstein in the past few months, you have seen that he has trouble getting around. He has a degenerative condition, and his back legs don’t always do what he wants them to do…. He walks on the tops of his back feet, and oftern ‘tips over’.

But, make no mistake, this dog IS NOT ready to “go quietly into that dark night”. He still RUNS AWAY for goodness sake. He can’t go very fast, or very far, and even I can usually catch him. But, its just the idea, that if his daily walk is not up to snuff, he will try to extend it all by himself. He will pull himself up, and keep going. Some days, I think he would do it all day long….

But, its sad to watch him drag his back legs into working order. Heartbreaking in fact.

I went to the vet a few months ago, and had that really difficult conversation…. my vert adamentally said that Einstein was not ready. And steadfastly assured me that I ‘would know when he was ready’. Einstein is bright eyed, and full of life. Its just that his body won’t listen to his head. (I understand that so well!) My vet  has said that he is not in pain, and I agree. There are times, when Einstein has taken a spill,  or walked too far, that I can see he is  is pain. Usually and Ecotrin, and he is good to go! The vet he suggested I look into wheelchairs for him.

So I did.

 http://dwanecart.com/

There are many kinds, you can check out handicapped pets for one.

It made its debut on Weds night, but on Thursday, we walked him at the EYC…. BIG HIT! He was off and running.

He doesn’t like to …. ummm….

(whisper) poo in it.

so, he took himself out, and did that, then went back in. Neither Ed or I saw how he did it, but we are aware that if he hated it, he would simply remove himself from it.

So… here…

without any further run up, is the video! (I can’t embed the video for some reason… perhaps I need to upgrade my blog!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVTQwMAYyaw

 

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgl5KtjXDu0

 Cheers, to you Jennifer for the wheels!

 

 XOXOXO

good and bad….

so, I have some good and some bad to share.

I usually start with the bad news. I don’t know why. Just cause. I guess to mitigate the bad with the good news. Maybe so we can remember the good  part and not the bad.

On with it… while I was in Chicago, partying it up with the peeps, my name was drawn for $3,300 in the daily at the club…. now, I had a great time  in Chicago… I am not sure I had 33 hundred smackers worth of it.

-sigh-

Maybe they’ll pull it again for even MORE money today.

Second, my laptop has a fatal flaw… so it seems… my external mouse will no longer work. It worked the day before I went to Chicago, but once I got there it won’t do anything…  I have tried numerous things to fix it… and nothing has worked. So, it looks as if I will need to wipe-out the laptop and reinstall Vista. If its not one thing, its another I tell you! Technology is wonderful, but when you rely on it, and it goofs up… well, its a pain.

Third, when I went to the farm yesterday, I took the eggs out of the fridge… got sidetracked by the fresh green beans, and left  the eggs sitting on the counter by the money box. Mrs. D. emailed me today to ask if I forgot them. I had finally realized last night, long after I got home.

-sigh-

Fourth, I have to have an MRI  on Friday morning, to be sure there isn’t anything funny going on with my head. I have been having deadly migraines for months, and now I have a weird bump on my head… I am sure its nothing, but need to be sure!

So, now the good news… I made raspberry ice cream yesterday with fresh raspberries from the garden. It is wonderful! A nifty shade of purple, and so creamy. It was my first foray from vanilla, and I had a scoop of each last night for dessert. Now I need to master chocolate, and bake those wonderful blueberry muffins I saw on joy the baker.

Also, THE CANADIANS ARE COMING! It’s Dover Days this weekend and  many Canadians are coming by boat and car to spend some time with us! YAY!

I have a new term start tomorrow, and I have 3 classes! Wheeeee!

One more…. I have been steadily working on the house for the past 2 days, and I have a good handle on the normal kitchen and bathroom stuff, and I even got the old dresser cleaned up, and almost ready for use! (I have been putting that off for a while) I  have attacked the 2 upstairs bedrooms, and have them this close  to presentable.  I won’t be good for much for the rest of today, I overdid I bit, and my leg is throbbing, but I have that delicious satisfied feeling that I accomplished something!  Now, I need to reclaim the dining room from the clutter, dust and vacum and the house will be as good as it ever gets!

 

So, there you have it some good, and some bad from the past few days. I guess its fortunate that the ‘bad’ things aren’t really all that terrible… and the good things FAR outweigh them.  I think that’s called blessed!

I wish you all the same satisfaction of accomplishments and may you week be as good as mine!

 

XOXOXOXOX

weeks in review

So, maybe I should talk today about all the stuff I have been doing lately… besides traveling and worrying about how to manifest that Florida vacation next winter…

But, I mention that Florida vacation is very important to us… I WANT that month in Key Largo more than almost anything. In fact, when I am looking at spending money, I weight it against whether or not it is more important than Florida. As in: “do I want these shoes, or do I want Florida?”

I haven’t purchased new shoes in a while.

Since I am only able to work at KU for now… I can’t be on my feet long enough to teach, and practice is just not physically possible for me now… so my income in the last year has taken a BIG hit.

If you know my husband, then you know that he is a bit of a procrastinator.  One example:

Several years ago, we had cabinets made for our kitchen. Beautiful custom cabinets that will match the ones that exist in my 1930’s kitchen. In this future kitchen, there is a moveable island, floor to ceiling storage, and counter space that can accommodate more than just a toaster.

I am still waiting.

So, Ed will contribute to Florida. When he gets around to billing his wonderful customers. He works from morning till late at night… but, doesn’t bill those lovely people in such a timely fashion. (I love it when they come to me begging for Ed to send them a bill) So, you can see, that in my marriage… I am the one who worries more about the long-range-plan.  

What was I talking about? Oh, yeah… catch-up on life.

We have been having Sunday picnics at EYC, which has been my favorite part of the week. Each week has seemed to have a ‘theme’… week one was the Canadian Seafood Fest, where Ed and a friend had the gigantic lobster… week 2 were thick, juicy steaks… last week… I slow-roasted some pork, and made BBQ pulled pork ‘wiches, they were wonderful.

What will this week bring? I am traveling back on Sat, and I sure I will be dead tired… maybe Ed should can do the picking and shopping. I can say that I have eaten so much chicken that I think I might start clucking soon… So, I know I want something that does not have feathers.

Beef. It’s what for dinner.

Other than that… worrying about starting a new term next week, and I still waiting to hear the specifics of the training course for the other. I guess I will still be nervous until I have the specifics of the training course are sent to me.

Einstein has been having good and bad days. By the time I get home, his new wheelchair should be there when I arrive. So the first part of next week I will be fabricating a ramp with some sticky tape out the back door, as well as getting the cart together for him to try. I am curious to see how he will do. I think either he will take to it like a duck to water, or he will be very Brittish on me and look it with disdain and stand still.

 

I will be sure to post pics and post about that adventure when it happens. Including some of the new ramp….

 

My backyard will be ALL hill-billy then… clothesline, plants in the driveway, the jungle of raspberries, and completed with the new add-on ramp.

 

Stay tuned… it’ll be an interesting week.