Getting New Parts

I apologize for being such a poor blogger this past month. I've been battling problems with my right hip for the past couple of months. I met with the orthopedic guy again in July. At that point, he said it was time for "total hip replacement." The timing was terrible. When you work in public schools, you try to schedule these things during the Summer. This plan would not work for me. I decided to schedule my surgery for tomorrow August 27th. This would allow me to attend all the beginning of the year meetings and work with all our students for media center orientations.  I just did not anticipate how exhausting it would be trying to walk and do my work. But it's done! I took care of what I needed to at school. Now, I can take care of my hip. New body "Parts" can be a good thing. I'll be a slacker for a bit, but promise to rejoin the blogging community once this is over.

And they do grow up......

My baby is growing up. He will be a Senior in high school this year. He's a big kid. He's 6' 2 and still growing. He wears a men's size 15 shoe (expensive and hard to find)  All these factors have been easy for me to see and accept. This past week's events have hammered home that my "baby" is a baby no more. 

Last week, he had his wisdom teeth extracted. The very same day he was offered his first "real" job. He has done lots of pet-sitting for neighbors and even worked at my school for my boss last Summer. This is a "real" job where he had to interview with several folks. Because his job is several miles away, we had to buy a car for him to go to and from work. Black shoes had to be ordered from Zappos.com. Friday was his first day on the job. I had to stay close to home. Of course, I worried and worried and worried. He is so excited about this job at a video store. His passion is video games.

Last week, we did his first college visit. Michael was psyched. He thought the place was awesome. I was actually proud of my hubby. He was so grown up. As we were looking at the football complex at UGA and they were raving about the Gym Dogs, he managed to keep quiet. I was waiting for him to add "And who won the National Championship?"  For an serious LSU fanatic visiting another SEC school, my husband was quite the grown-up.

Twenty Wishes

Summer is the perfect time to escape into a book. One author that I enjoy is Debbie Macomber. She writes inspirational romances. I love lists. This book Twenty Wishes had a great appeal to me.I enjoyed the other books in The Blossom Street series. The story usually takes place in a book store, coffee shop, yarn store - all places that I love. The main characters grow. They make changes in their lives. That's my favorite type of book - one with great charcters. The main characters in Twenty Wishes are widows who meet after meeting in a book club. They challenge each other to work on a list of 20 things they always wanted to do but never did. They search to find things that will make them happy and fulfilled. 

I do know that the act of making a list of goals helps to make these goals begin to happen. I have started several lists - 30 People That I'd Like to Meet, Things I Want to do Once I Retire From Teaching, Things To Do Once We Are Empty Nesters- so it is natural that I would want to do a list of Twenty Wishes. I haven't listed all twenty. I'm still searching and thinking, but here is a start.

1. Spend a month at the beach (reminescent of A Gift From The Sea by Anne Morrow Lindburg)

2. Learn to knit socks

3. Travel to Australia

4. Take a cruise with my just my husband (we went on a cruise with our son and friends)

5. Go on a week long quilt retreat

6. Act as a foster home for rescued Dachshunds

7. Travel to New England in the Fall

8. Quilt on a long-arm machine

9. Stay in a bed and breakfast

10. 

11. 

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

I can just see my husband's face on some of these wishes. LOL

Start making your list. What are some of The Twenty  Wishes for your life? Please post on your blog or comment on my blog. 

Stimulating the Economy

My family has done our part in stimulating the economy. With any more effort, one of us will have to get a second  job. 

It began with our dishwasher. It was the original builder's grade dishwasher. A neighbor had one rust through the bottom and flood her wood floors. The rack on our DW was beginning to rust so we replaced it in early June.  Shortly after that main shaft on my computer chair cracked. This was followed by the paper-shredder and fax machine. The mircowave oven was next to decide that it's job was done.   

We began looking for an older car for our son. He has a job. (of course, he will pay a chunk of his earnings for insurance and gas expenses)  We visited a reputable dealer last weekend with the idea of an older car for our son or something else for me to drive with the price of gas and the distance that I now drive to my school. Well, we found two cars that met our needs. We traded in my beloved van and are the proud owners of a"gently used" Nissan Altima and a Kia Spectra. (It's too hot to go outside and take pictures. The ones I used are courtesy of Google Images, but look like our "new" cars.)

Ok. We're finished stimulating the economy. It's someone else's turn. Care to volunteer?

Back in the saddle Again......

Well, I hope this is true about my blog. It's just been a bit crazy here for the past two weeks. I'm missed you, my blog friends! Here's hoping that things have settled a bit.

Summer is coming to an end for me. Yes, I know it's still Summer on the calendar and hot as can be here in Atlanta, but the school bell rings for teachers in my county this Monday morning. I'm rested. I've played. I've sewed lots. I've spent wonderful time with other quilters.  I'm missing the people that I work with, but more so I'm missing our kids. our students. It will be wonderful to interact with them again. Come Monday morning, it will be like hitting a brick wall. Back to the alarm at 5:00 a.m. and non-stop all day long. C'est la vie!