Viva Fiesta or Not!

Saturday, my best friend, Sandra, her hubby and daughter Holly and I went to the King William Fair. I have three words: hot and crowded. I got a major sunburn on my chest and poor Holly looked like she was about to melt. I spent most of my money buying large glasses of sweet tea. You know, there is something about us Southerners and our sweet tea and lemonade. You cannot get enough. It was some good people watching though. I knew San Antonio was an eclectic city but boy, you don't realize it until Fiesta week. Korn's song, "Freak on a Leash" is very appropriate during various fiesta activities when people come out showing their more interesting sides. I have never seen so many piercings, liberty spikes, various hair colors, tats and alternative lifestyles. It was fascinating. If I was an artist, I would love to have captured it on a canvas or it would have been a cool black and white photograph with the variety of people at the fair. Last year, I marched in it with my cool guys reading group. This year, I didn't get up in time to go to the parade. I did get my Pioneer chocolate chip cookies and my favorite gordita. YUM! Sandra told me that to remind her of the heat and crowds next year when she begs to go again. I hope that I'll have my daughter by then and we'll find other things to do than be herded cattle in the fiesta stampede.

The other thing I have been contemplating is whether or not I should say something in one of my yahoo groups. It seems that the wait has hurt all of us and has made us all sensitive (well duh, it sucks!). Peoples feelings are getting hurt and I think what sucks is that when we write something, our tone can't be heard. Sometimes words sound more cutting and mean than they were intended and/or people are reading other things/meanings into things. I have also heard that some members of this group have e-mailed others with children saying nasty things, which is not cool. The bottom line is that the wait sucks. I understand the envy/jealousy of people getting a SN referral before we/me getting one, but we also aren't in their shoes. We don't know what other things they are going to have to deal with. It's like being the single girl who gets upset with her friend for getting married because she wants to be married too. I totally get this last comparison, because I am a single girl and most of my friends are married. At one point, I was very envious of my girlfriends getting married but I know I haven't met my Mr. Right...just like my Miss Right Child isn't ready to come into my life right now. I have to be patient and accepting. I have to have faith because it's the only thing that can get me through this wait. I have no control so as Carrie Underwood would say, "Jesus, take the wheel..."

I should have known...

I should have known that when the cargo pocket snagged on the computer cart and ripped a 12" rip in my pants that it wasn't going to be the best day. I almost had an accident going home to change my pants. When I went back to school, the AC was out so it was hot and humid and we were doing inventory (scanning over 13,000 volumes). Then the reports that we needed to run wouldn't run and the person in charge was out and about so I had to wait about an hour before finding out if I had to rescan all 13,000 volumes we had done in the past 2 days. The good thing was that we didn't have to. We kicked up so much dust and found more mold which resulted in a huge headache which I still have. I guess the positive thing in this whole thing is that our missing list wasn't very long. YEA!

Tomorrow we (me and D) go to NIOSA. YEA! I am so going to eat Cowboy Klops and wontons and churros. I remember when I was younger, I could stay the whole time and the crowds wouldn't bother me. Not anymore. I like leaving when it gets crowded. Happy Fiesta.

Farewell to D's Grandma

One of my good friend's grandmother passed suddenly yesterday afternoon. It was unexpected. She had been on the mend. Her daughter who lives in California was in town for a school reunion and had visited earlier in the day and she was fine. My friend says she hasn't cried yet and feels like her grandmother isn't dead. She also feels guilty because she told her grandmother she'd visit her last week but she had a crazy week and din't make it. She is a great granddaughter and is always visiting her grandmother. So, Thursday is the rosary and I'll be there to support her. I know her grandmother is no longer in pain and is with Gramps. This whole thing made me think about my grandparents. We visited them this weekend and both weren't doing well. My Granny wouldn't wake up and when she did, it was to tell me to take her shoes off because her feet were hurting. My Popo was incredibly weak and he looked so frustrated. My Granny is getting her battery replaced on her pacemaker tomorrow. I hope everything goes well. I just don't want my grandparents in pain or suffering. I feel bad that they are stuck in a nursing home because they can't care for themselves and they are stuck in non-working bodies.

On a brighter note, did anyone see American Idol? I LOVE David Cook. He rocks.

Planting! Roots! National Library Week

This morning, I helped my parents plant a mountain laurel and a hibiscus in their yard. Then we came to my hard and I planted a mountain laurel in my backyard. I'm very leery of leaving Hope alone in the backyard with the new plant. She has dug things up in the past and I wouldn't put it past her to do it again. She's on chaperoned backyard visits.

I am also going to get a patio cover put in. Because my house is newer, I hardly have any big trees in my backyard and in this South Texas sun, it can be brutal sometimes. So, I'm getting one put in so I can sit out back and I'm going to have a ceiling fan installed. As soon as it's done, I'll take pictures and post them. I'm also going to get a new front door. I have solar screens on my house so it isn't really super bright inside. So, I want to get another door that'll let light in. I saw some at the Home Depot that I liked and I think I'm going to get one.

Monday starts library week. I have so much planned for my library. I have contests for both my staff and students. On Friday, I'll have a cake for people to munch on. Usually, I have TLA convention but it's in Dallas this year and I didn't feel like driving the 4 to 5 hours up there this year. Besides, Shannon comes back tomorrow. YEA! My student aides and I have been missing her very much. They had it on their calendars. I was thinking I probably should be thinking, "What am I? Chopped liver?" But Ja'Lesa put it to me this way, "I like you, but it's just that I see you every day and I haven't seen HER in forever. If you were gone a long time, I'd probably miss you too." Thanks alot. Probably. Oh well. It's middle school.

My best friend rocks!

My best friend Sandra and I finally got to celebrate my birthday this weekend. We (her hubby, her beautiful baby Holly and I) went to dinner. We ordered a bottle of wine and she gave me the coolest pair of shoes. It's funny how well she knows me and what I like. I get her things like a bread warmer or luggage (that's what she wanted) and she gets me cool clothes and jewelry. Of course, when we go to dinner, exciting things happen such as a guy two tables over having a seizure at the fire dept's EMS came and took the man to the hospital. Now that I think about it, it has been kind of drama lately in my life. A person I know was put on administrative leave and nobody knows why. You just get that leaky tire sound and the shaking of the head when you mention that persons name to the people in charge. Then a student threw a letter on my desk that said that they didn't want to live in their pain anymore and so I had to run after the student and take them to the nurse. On top of all of that, I overspent my magazine budget unintentionally. The bookkeeper told me the wrong amount in that account at the beginning of the year so I had to go to my principal to bail me out. I was so embarassed. I'm really a good money manager. She already thinks I'm a little ditzy because I am so not like the librarian from the school she came from. Heck, I'm not like most librarians. I love what I do and am exuberent about it. There's nothing wrong with that and my kids like to come in, visit with me and get a book. I think that's more important than being the stereotypical librarian.

My arms are super sore from wrangling the weed eater this weekend. It's time again to start yard work. I am not a big fan of the lawn mower but it's a heck of a lot cheaper to do it yourself. Tomorrow is the beginning of another week and another TAKS test. I'm crossing my finger and saying a prayer for my 8th graders who have to pass it.