It's Over...At Last!

American Idol is finally over!  I watched it all this season, and now I sort of feel like it was a waste of time.  I really liked Crystal Bowersox, and of course, she didn't win.  She's an amazing singer, and I'm sure she'll do just fine without the title.  Now I have to focus my efforts on "So You Think You Can Dance."  Can't you tell school's over?   Bill and I are leaving for Portland this Saturday for a visit with my mom, Ben, Becca, Kathy, Doug, etc.  Bill's just staying for a week (I'm sure he'll get tired of dinking around Portland while I spend time with mom), so I told him he could head on home, and I'll fly back a week later.  The good thing is, Bill loves to drive,  and this will give him an opportunity to see a bit more of the countryside (Oregon, Nevada).  I'm looking forward to the trip, and will relish the time away from the classroom. 
We had graduation this afternoon, and it took 2 hours!  When the Valedictorians (2), principal, and the student body president spoke, plus a few musical numbers, we thought the kids would walk, and off we'd be.  But no, the president of the school board decided to speak, also, and he was boring.  I thought it would be funny if we (teachers on the stage) all began texting one another, while the program went on.  I say turn about is fair play, since our "former" students always seemed to enjoy texting while we lectured in class, but we chickened out. You can't win them all.

Toilet Paper!

I'm not afraid to talk about anything on this blog (obviously).  As my blog title implied, I will clue my family in on a great deal I found this morning.  I was able to buy 5 cases (24 rolls per) of toilet paper for 15.84 from Staples!  The regular price was $54.95, but that was before I waved my magic wand.  I'm really hoping the TP is as good as the kind we buy at Costco.  Costco's TP is close to $17 for 36 rolls, and I got 120 for less than $16!  The bottom line is, when you all come to visit, we are set.  I think the cases look so environmentally cool, don't you? And as the ad says, "it's good for home & office."

Cat Fight!

I felt like I was dreaming in class today, when two girls (one of them barely 5' tall, and 80 pounds dripping wet), got into a fight!  I jumped in to break them up, but there was so much adrenalin flowing, these two young cats would not break apart.  It probably was quite a site, the two girls and me moving around the front of the room like in some sort of weird dance.  I've broken up female fights in middle school back in Portland, but these two girls, whew! It took me a few minutes to get my heart rate down (on the bright side, I won't have to do much exercising tonight!).  Just think, with only a week left of school, two girls go at it...pretty dumb, if you ask me.

911...Ooops!

I was at the Verizon store today, checking on my bill, and was told it would be faster to just call 611.  I got in my car and dialed the Verizon number, and got 911.  Imagine my surprise when the dispatcher said, "911, what is the nature of your emergency?"  To which I wanted to say, do you have record of when I paid my current bill? Of course I didn't say that, I was too shocked, and I just said, "oh my gosh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to dial you."  The dispatcher wasn't sure at first, and asked me if I was sure I  didn't need them.  I wonder how many false calls, pranks, etc. they get in a day?  I was so flustered, I just told her I made a mistake in dialing.  How many people dial 911 instead of 611?  Well, look at your phone and the placement of the numbers 9 and 6.  Yep, one right on top of the other.  I did  feel stupid, though. 

I did a little bit of coupon shopping, and scored pretty well with my coupons and above normal shopping abilities :)  I paid just around $20.00 for the items in this picture.  I think the pre-coupon price was around $40.00, so I feel pretty good about it.  I do have an abnormal amount of shampoo around the house, now, so for all of you coming to visit this summer, DON'T bring any shampoo!

 Don't forget that the second horse race (The Preakness), for the triple crown is today.  Go Super Saver!
Aww, dang it, "Lookin at Lucky"  won the race.  Good thing I didn't bet on Super Saver (not that I had any money to bet, anyway).

Robin Hood

I was actually the very first person in line tonight for the opening night of "Robin Hood."  As usual, I got to the theater early, and since it was the first night, I had a feeling there would be a line.  There was, but I got to be numero uno!  I'd say that was pretty cool, even though I was alone.  I just sat on the bench, reading a book, while the crowd drifted in.  I had my pick of seats. Wow, what a treat, but since I went to Cinema 6 (remember that theater, Adam?), it's not like the choices are all that great.  Oh well, I loved the film.  It was different than I had expected, and that sort of took me by surprise, but I do recommend it to all of you out there that like to play with a bow and arrow :)

I've already started my spring cleaning (thanks, Erin), and my fridge is 1/2 clean as we speak.  I'm trying to get a bunch of the cleaning done before Bill and I leave for Portland in a couple of weeks.  That's my goal anyway.

Look at the size of that bow!!
I do have to say that Russell Crowe did a much better job than Kevin Costner. Duh.

My 3rd Night

Ho hum, what do I do, now?  For some reason, I cannot get myself excited about spring cleaning.  I know I need to get started, but not yet.
I've been alone now for 3 days, and believe me, I'm going a bit nuts!  Of course, you must assume I wasn't already nuts to begin with.  I find myself actually talking to myself (no one answers, thankfully).  You know how my bedroom floor creaks?  Well, there are times, when I'm either in the TV room, reading, or elsewhere in the house (coming in the front door, for instance), when I hear that infamous creak.  It's really creeping me out.  Every sound is starting to bug me.  I'm not sure when Mandy's coming home, and Bill will be a while, yet.  He's in Tucson visiting his sister, then he's off to Phoenix.  So for all of you out there that are currently surrounded by little ones who demand your attention in various ways, be grateful for the company...it's just so dang quiet here!
In case anyone is interested, I planted two tomato and one cucumber "Topsy Turvy" planters on the front porch and I think I can safely say they are dead.  We had a strong wind storm a week or so ago, and it knocked the heck out of them.  I was so excited to plant tomatoes (yeah, I know, upside down), and reap the benefits.  We went to a wedding reception at our next door neighbors a couple of weeks ago, and their backyard is fantastic; they even have a knockout greenhouse. I would love a backyard like theirs. What commandment is that? "Thou shalt not covet..." Oops, actually I think it doesn't have anything to do with greenhouses.

                
















My topsy-turvy tomatoes do not look like these, and this greenhouse is only in my dreams!

2 weeks and counting...

Yes, there's only 2 more weeks left of school, minus graduation, which we all (teachers) have to attend.  That's fine, since I get to hoot and holler at the those that walk across the stage to receive their diplomas.  I'm amazed at some of the graduating seniors, and not in a good way.  How they got their act together to graduate is beyond me.  I guess I should be happy they will be out of the school, and some I will miss a bit.
I'm giving our state "End of Levels" test this week, and it gives me some down time to get caught up on some of my grading.  Bill and I are taking off for Portland the day after our last day, and I'm really looking forward to that.  We'll be gone about a week and a half, but I wish it were longer.  My mother is hanging in there, but she would love to have us as long as possible, and so would I.  We'll see...
I don't have any pictures of any of us to post this time.  I've got to take my camera to Portland, and blog that trip.  Mandy's leaving for Salt Lake this afternoon, which means I'll be alone the rest of the week, since Bill's visiting his siblings, and Adam and Ashley in Phoenix.  He's in Albuquerque today for a couple of days of golfing with his brother...go Bill!  He's heading on down to Tucson after that to visit with his sister, and since Jesse is doing some training at the air base in Tucson, they may get together for dinner one night.  After Tucson, he's heading north to Phoenix to see Adam and the family, and if not California next, he's heading home.  Boy, I sure miss him!
Erin and the kids had a weather scare yesterday.  They had HUGE tornadoes in Oklahoma City and the surrounding area, so I told Erin to get in the car with the kids and head out of Dodge.  They're ok, though.

Back to school stuff.  I just finished our school's literary magazine, Kaleidoscope, and here's a picture of the cover.

I think this is a pretty cool cover.  Too bad I didn't paint it myself.  It was one of our art winners.

Happy Mother's Day

Even though my mother doesn't use the computer, much less the internet (I have tried to get her to play solitaire so many times, but she thinks she's too old to learn "new" tricks. ARRRGH!).  Anyway, this Mother's Day message is for my mother and any other mother out there that reads this blog.
I just love being a mom, and I know I learned how valuable being a mom is from my own mother.  She had humor (which I didn't always get until I was older), strictness (which I really needed when I was young), and a couple of other qualities I so admire now that I'm a mother and grandmother.  Even though I don't feel I have mastered them, they're always something I want to achieve before I leave this life.
No mater what anyone of my brothers and I did, she would always love us (yeah, and kick the heck out of us once in a while...not really kick, but you got that feeling you were in trouble...maybe it was just me, my brothers were pretty much perfect). She really hung in there with my father.  He had a demon he had to battle, but my mother just loved him and helped him to overcome.  My mother also forgave, and loved just about everyone, even though they were a different race, economic background, more beautiful than her (just a joke), and only drew the line on people if they were a bad influence on her children.

Here's to you, Mom!

Stay tuned, I have more to add!

I wanted to post pictures of all my kids, and grandkids, but by the time I counted on my fingers and toes exactly how many pictures I needed to find, I was pooped!  I found this cartoon, and thought it was cute, so that will have to do for my Mother's Day post.  

(Kinda cute, huh?)

Oil Spill

I'm not the most environmentally appropriate person on this planet, but I just wanted to  share my views on the catastrophe that  recently took place out in the Gulf of Mexico.  I wish the government would have had the fire booms in place to burn off the spill once it happened, but, of course, that didn't happen.  Our government should have done that, or at least made sure the oil company (BP) did it.  Who was responsible? I really don't know, but the one thing I do know is everyone seems to be pointing their finger at someone else. Now we have the worst oil spill lapping up on our southern beaches which is having an extreme financial impact on  individuals and companies that just want to make a living.
I found this cartoon that sums up my feelings exactly.

 I'm hearing now that this will have a direct impact on our gas prices.  Insanity!

The Kentucky Derby

  

Go Super Saver!!!                                                                                      

I just love  The Kentucky Derby...even if you have to wait all day for a horse race that lasts only one minute (ok, one and a half minutes).  I'm not kidding when I tell you the horse I wanted to win, won!  I was hoping Super Saver would win, partly because I love to save (coupons, etc.); also,  the jockey, Calvin Burrell, snuck up and won last year, and in fact has won 3 of the last 4 Derbys.  Lastly, a guy bet $100,000 on Super Saver, and ended up winning $900,000! You gotta love it.  That's how my Saturday went.

The Iron Man-St. George, Ut. May 1, 2010

I did go shopping alone, since Bill rode his bike out to a location where the Ironman race was zipping by. Bill is so cute.  Just about everytime the St. George Marathon rolls around, Bill loves to ride his bike up to the route, and be the biggest cheerleader for the runners.  With the Iron Man in town, he couldn't resist it, and took off around 8 am.  That's a pretty early Saturday for Bill; you gotta give him props for that.  Traffic was crazy today, since they had to close a bunch of streets to accomodate the race.  Can you imagine swimming 2.5 miles, biking 112 miles, and then to top it off, running a marathon?  I'm there, sign me up next year.  I guess St George has a 5 year contract with Iron Man, Inc., so we have this for the next 4 years.  Get ready everyone.

Bill and Mandy are in their last week of teaching, with finals ending next Friday.  I've got 3 more weeks, and then I'm free, whoopie!

Silly boys

I wast just looking over some photos I took when we drove up to Zion National Park a couple of weeks ago with Summer and Tyler and the kids.  Here's a picture of Bill, Tyler and Will as they raced us up to Zion...and back again.

Don't you love Tyler's intensity?