Bibliomama

 My Thursday school gives me the highest highs and the lowest lows. It's the furthest from my house, and even though the commute is pretty easy (on the highway, one exit), it did give me pause when I was considering the job - even with bad weather driving to work isn't usually an issue for me because all the other schools are so close. It's also my only K-8 school - all the others are K-6. I thought "hm, it might be interesting being in a K-8 school." And I guess it is, in the way of the Chinese curse "may you live in interesting times". The funny thing is, I don't even have any grade 7 or 8 classes visit me regularly, but it still changes the feel of the school. There was an issue with some of them coming in at recess last year, which I didn't realize wasn't supposed to be allowed, so then they all got in trouble and I got more comfortable being the mean librarian. It is cool seeing a few of the teachers who are really good with them, but wo

 I am having a difficult week and that is okay. Friends, I saw every hour on the clock last night. Lucy started moving around at four like she was thinking breakfast would be not a bad idea. Usually we tell her to shut the hell up and lie back down, but today I got up and let her out and fed her on the off chance that I might fall asleep and sleep a little past 6 a.m. which is more like her usual breakfast time. Didn't work, but oh well. Fortunately I'd had one good night's sleep in the last three, so I was able to keep my composure throughout most of the day. I even managed not to giggle outwardly when a grade-six girl came up to me and said "I told Ms. R. that I found some swears in this book I borrowed. I found some more. Can you please tell her, and also I'd like to renew it please." Something along the lines of St. Augustine's prayer "Lord, grant me chastity and celibacy -- but not yet!"? It's almost the end of NaBloPoMo and I still have

 I'm having a bit of a mental health bobble, and the commiseration over sleep stuff was welcome yesterday.  I did stay up too late, but fell asleep and slept well. Lucy and I had a cozy morning. I think it was Suzanne who mentioned loving her flannel sheets and wow, same. I was worried that perimenopause would rob me of the joy of flannel sheets, which would have been exceedingly shitty, but as long as I still wear shorts and a tank top, the flannel sheets are great. I bought a set from Bed Bath and freaking Beyond (Sex and the City callback) a couple of years ago and was so immediately smitten I bought a second set. I always get in bed and read with no covers on and the fan on me for the first ten minutes or so so I won't overheat, but this results in very cold feet with regular sheets. When I pull up these ones it's like the bed is hugging me.  I also have this diffuser from Saje that sucks as a diffuser but is a perfect night light. When I turn off the light and read in

I have been absolutely stupid tired all day.  If someone said this to me, I night ask "do you mean it's stupid how tired you are, or that you are so tired it's making you stupid?" If you asked me this, I would say "yes". I went to be early last night. Well, no I didn't, but I went to bed less late than usual. I forgot to set my alarm, but I woke up in time to get ready for work, and usually this means I feel more rested than usual. I yawned so much I felt like I was going to swallow my own head. Fortunately, Mondays are crazy busy and it goes very quickly, which is fortunately when you feel like you have a micro-nap every time you blink. So. My third school.  I think I've been there for ... a couple of years? Time's lost all meaning.  Things I like: 1. The school has a very nice feel. The vice principal comes and gives me chocolate on every Appreciation Day for whatever I am, I can't remember what exactly they call it, leave me alone, I'm

 We were down one person, but otherwise it was perfect. It was a beautiful day. We wandered around, shopped a little, ate a little.  We wondered why Collette couldn't find her sunglasses, and then we wondered how the heck Collette's glasses got into the back of the Rav, when she had already lost them BEFORE she got in the Rav, and then someone realized that Collette had folded down the seat to help Margot find her seatbelt receiver, and her glasses were probably on her head and fell off and slid over the seat into the back. Then I asked how the heck we were even allowed out in public unsupervised and Susanne said 'what do you MEAN? We figured it out, we're brilliant!' We drank a little. We fought some burrito duels. I won the Fear Me badge for one round We sucked real bad at Pictionary We theorized about this store. Do they do miraculous things to your hair? Or is it a hair salon for supernatural beings? Like, vampires can't see their reflection so they'd ne

I am doing this today. With slight variations based on it being a whole new year. I am driving because Collette's cottage is a half hour past where Matt's grandparents used to live, and it is one of the few places I don't get anxious about driving. I will tell you all how badly I did at the games and if I spent too much money and ate too much cheese (I almost certainly will) tomorrow.  Crap, I'm out of tequila. 

Last NaBloPoMo Friday! 1. So I just read Swistle 's post mentioning breakout out her pine-scented soap right after Thanksgiving, which reminded me of ccr in MA saying she hoped my snowdrop soap smelled as good as it sounded, which is a funny collision of thoughts because - wait, what even is a snowdrop? Oh, it's a hardy herbaceous plant that perennates by underground bulbs. Huh. Anyway, the soap DOES smell lovely, but last year I bought some Pecksniff's pine-scented soap at Homesense because I had bought two kinds of Pecksniff's liquid soap before, in lovely rectangular containers with lovely subtle scents, but friends, this was the very OPPOSITE of subtle. It was, in fact, like being waterboarded in a bucket of Pine Sol. I offered it on my community giving group and someone else took it, and if they had almost no olfactory receptors I'm sure they were very happy with their free soap.  2. My kitchen smells amazing and not remotely piney right now. Tomorrow is an an

 I think I've mentioned that I took a beginner's German course years ago, I think it was the summer before fourth year. I had English and French courses, but I needed one German to apply to the Comparative Literature program I wanted for grad school.  I had to start one week late because there was some mix-up at the registrar's office and they thought there wasn't room and then there was. The instructor was a little wary when I showed up because it was a three-hour intensive course once a week, but I didn't have any trouble catching up. I tend to pick up languages easily at first, and then stall out when it comes to being able to write or converse beyond a certain level. The class was a wide mix of people - undergrads, grad students, adults who were doing it for interest. It turned out that one of the other undergrads was an engineering student who my future husband (engineering physics student) knew slightly. He clearly fancied himself a bit of a punk - black leath

 And then today I nearly clean forgot to post. Most days this month have been easy, which has not often been the case.  Today was the viewing day at two schools for the Scholastic Book Fair. I love the book fair, but I kind of hate the viewing days - it's all the stress and noise and insanity of the actual fair without actually selling any books. I had double classes much of the time, and the number of times I had to tell students to stop blatantly breaking the rules I had gone over thirty seconds earlier was...high. The pencils and erasers and highlighters and stupid gadgety stuff was covered completely at my morning school, and will be until students come in with their parents - too much theft and damage happening otherwise. At my afternoon school it was covered with clear plastic wrap so kids could still see it. This was.... a choice. (About the comments commiserating with me over the toys on the desk at my Wednesday morning school - I felt half vindicated and half sorry for thr