>From Gwendolynn at gwendomama: I’ve been tagged with the Eight Random Things About Me/ Meme. I’ll warm up the fingers ( fdsajkl; fjdksla; thequickredfoxjumpedoverthelazybrowndog) and see if I can dredge up eight interesting things about me. Oh! They don’t have to interesting? Just random? Phew. That’s a relief.

First things first:

HERE ARE THE RULES… We have to post these rules before we give you the facts.- Players start with 8 random facts/habits about themselves.- People who are tagged need to write a post on their own blogs about their eight things and post these rules.- At the end of your blog post, you need to choose eight people who get tagged and list their names- Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they are tagged.

1. We have pet rabbits because I am allergic to cats and dogs and because my daughter loves rabbits.
2. My house is a cluttered mess right now because we are preparing for a rummage sale. A little clutter is okay, but we’re way past that level now. It’s outrageous.
3. My popcorn addiction is almost as strong as my coffee addiction. Almost.
4. I’m a bit frustrated with my weight. It keeps going up, and I keep developing health issues (back, foot, wrist) that prevent me from working out or doing my favorite exercise, walking.
5. I didn’t go to BlogHer. Maybe next year.
6. Our house is old, built in 1890. I’m eternally grateful that Husband knows how and is willing to handle most minor repairs and even some of the major work.
7. I’m beginning to turn my thoughts toward autumn and the start of school. I will start reading the new curriculum manuals as soon as the laundry is done. You’ll just have to use your imagination to estimate just exactly when I’ll get to reviewing the curriculum for my new grade level.
8. I am a die-hard Harry Potter fan. I have read all of the books, and I’m now joining my son (age 15) in reading the last one together. The movies are good, but they don’t stack up to the books.
9. I prefer healthy cereal for breakfast, with fresh fruit on top if I can get it. My husband calls it “Nuts and Twigs.”
10. I love freebies and super bargains, and my favorite place to find them is the lovely Mir’s Wantnot.net.

I tag — oh, so many people have done this one already!! Leave a comment if you haven’t been tagged yet and would like to participate. The more the merrier!

>

I haven’t accomplished all I should have in June and July. I didn’t take Amigo to the orthodontist yet, I didn’t write my first novel, I didn’t use the new lipreading software I bought, in fact, I haven’t loaded it yet. And it’s August!

That’s a problem with being a teacher. In my line of work (elementary classroom), we put our hearts and souls into our work from mid-August until mid-June, and then expect to pack in a year’s work of leisure time in 8-10 weeks. No wonder I’m getting this feeling of failure!

But if I look away from the to-do list and focus on the Ta-Da! side, it looks better. Really.

• I packed up and moved all of my personal/professional classroom materials to another school during the last week of school in June. It filled one and a half minivans and took three large cart-trips to get it all in the building. Most of that? Boxes of books.
• I cleaned out my current room and handed in the keys. Oh, that took more out of me than I thought. Handing over the key after seven years was a toughie.
• I’ve taken at least one bus trip each week with Amigo. He needs to learn public transportation because he will not be able to drive, and we sure have fun riding downtown to the library or to have lunch.
• I sat with a pet rabbit as he died, and comforted the daughter who loved him so much.
• I helped Amigo pack for camp, and picked him up, sweaty and happy, a week later.
• I spent a weekend in Chicago. (No, not BlogHer, darn, but it was really fun.)
• I planted, watered, weeded the garden, and the results are showing. We’re eating fresh tomatoes on every salad, and I’ve cooked fresh green beans in the steamer. The bunnies are getting fresh lettuce and parsley, too. Mmmm.

Okay, there’s more, but I feel better now. There are many miscellaneous list items I didn’t accomplish, but there are enough important pieces on my “Ta-da!” list that I can feel good about my summer. I think I can slowly start working on getting ready for school. S-l-o-w-l-y.