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elizabethblue
Nov. 21st, 2006
08:00 pm - A Proud Mommy Moment
Yesterday my 9 year old brought home his report card for the 1st 9 weeks of school. He's in 3rd grade now, which is the first year they start using the A - F grading scale. I was extremely pleased, and extremely proud to see that he made the A/B Honor Roll. :):):):):) I cried, I was so proud of him.
I'm just as proud of my oldest son when he gets good grades, too, but my 9 year old is hearing impaired and has been at something of a disadvantage, so for him to get on the A/B Honor Roll is something that pleases me to no end. He has worked very, very hard, and I think I might cry again just writing about it.
It's also thanks to his wonderful teachers. They (and the whole team, really) have done a stellar job not only creating his IEP, but executing it as well. They never miss a beat when the task is something he would not do well with because of his hearing loss. (Just as an example, he always receives preferential seating in any classroom or situation, and he takes orally-administered tests one-on-one.)
The teacher he has this year is particularly wonderful because she has always wanted to work with the deaf. She knows Sign Language, which is something I've been enouraging Matthew to learn with me, if, God forbid, he should ever lose his hearing completely.
In Kindergarten, he had such a horrible teacher. He learned very little that year, and as a result, was not prepared for 1st grade. He spent most of 1st grade behind and struggling to catch up. Because we felt there was no way he'd succeed in 2nd grade, his teacher and I decided to hold him back. That did him world of good. Since then, he's had struggles, and he always will, but he's a super-smart kid and I can't even put into words how proud I am of him. He's had a hard time of it since he started Kindergarten, and still he's got a great attitude, and he loves school.
Oct. 12th, 2006
Oct. 6th, 2006
05:50 pm - Dreary day
I thought I wouldn't mind the rain and cold weather because it gave me an excuse to stay inside, be warm and -- uh -- actually WRITE. But in order to feed my family something other than lentils or couscous, I had to go to the store. Mind you, I've got about 5 gallons of homemade vegetable soup, too, but it's unacceptable to serve it without some sort of carbohydrated accompaniment. Either hot rolls or grilled cheese sandwiches. To my horror, I discovered I did not have any sandwich bread with which to make grilled cheese and not enough flour to make hot rolls. So I had to go to the store.
I was so irritated by the weather and the traffic by time I got there, I got frozen rolls, which I feel is cheating, but so be it. I don't give a flying fuck. They're still good. Everyone will probably be bad tonight anyway, so maybe they don't deserve homemade rolls! So there! LOL. Anyway, I got frozen rolls. But then I decided to get flour, too, in case I decided to make something that requires flour tomorrow. That led me to want to bake banana nut bread, so I got some butter and some nuts. (I already have bananas and everything else I need for that.) But then I remembered one boy child doesn't like banana nut bread. He likes only chocolate desserts. So I got brownie mix, too.
Man, I love to cook when it's cold.
I got home, started heating up the soup and letting the rolls thaw, and on the spur of the moment, realizing it was after 5:00, I opened a beer. Now it's not very likely at all that I'll make either banana bread OR brownies. Instead, I think I'll do internetting tonight. Just goof off. Sounds like fun!
Oct. 4th, 2006
03:46 pm - Things that bug me
I just feel like complaining, that's all.
1. Condensation on my car the morning after I've washed it. Rain is even worse.
2. Store brand hot dogs.
3. Shitty customer service.
4. People who talk on their cell phones while driving. Whenever this topic comes up, everyone participating in the conversation agrees that talking on a cell phone while driving is annoying to other drivers, dangerous and just plain unnecessary. Goddammit, the world was still turning back before those things were invented! When you needed to make a call, you stopped at a pay phone, or you just waited until you got home. The world is not a better place now that we have cell phones and the ability to talk on them to whomever at any given time of the day no matter what the hell else we're supposed to be doing or paying attention to!
Why don't I ever hear anyone defend talking on their cell phone while driving during those times when everyone is bashing Cell Phone Talking Drivers? No one ever pipes up and says, "Well, I do it, and I'm proud to say so!" No one ever says, "I talk on my cell phone while I'm driving because driving in itself is boring, and I need to have something else to do to occupy my brain." No one ever says, "I get so much more work done by talking on my cell phone when I'm driving. Plus it boosts my metabolism, diminishes the look of fine lines and wrinkles on my face, makes my kids get straight A's in school, keeps me perpetually tan and good-looking, grows my grass green and healthy and cleanses my colon so I feel healthier and stronger than ever!"
Makes me wonder who, out of the conversation participants, really do talk on their cell phones while driving but cannot admit it in front of other people. If I NEVER hear anyone say they do it, and everyone I talk to ALWAYS says they hate it when other people do it, then who the hell are all these damn people I see doing it? I guess I've just never talked to them.
In the past 24 hours all of these things have happened to me: I got behind a guy going 30 in a 45 mph zone who was talking on his phone. That was just irritating. Another car, the driver of which was talking on a cell phone, started gradually veering out of his lane into mine. That pissed me off. You don't fuck with the 'Bird. Some stupid bitch in an SUV nearly rear-ended me on the highway while she was talking on her cell phone. (And don't even get me started on SUVs - especially when they park next to me in a parking lot.) I'm sure there were more cell phone incidents, but those are the ones I recall at this very moment.
I have a cell phone. I love it. It's great for when I'm at the grocery store and can't remember whether we need milk or not. I can call home and find out. It's good for roadside emergencies, too. It's cool to have at work since my voice mail doesn't work, and I can talk to people while I'm outside taking a smoke break. Comes in handy for all sorts of things. Free long distance. Fancy ringtones. (Right now my phone plays the Star-Spangled Banner.) I've never found it necessary to talk on the phone while I'm driving. Hell, I can't even hear the damn thing ring when I'm driving because the sound of my exhaust is so beautifully loud. Plus I have the radio up anyway. There's not anyone in this world I'd want to talk to badly enough that it couldn't wait until I was done driving wherever the hell it is I'm going.
5. Heavy traffic.
6. Bugs.
7. Parents who can't control their children in public.
8. Commercials on the radio. Except for the Burger King sausage biscuit commercial. I love that one.
9. Commercials on the television.
10. Reruns.
Oh, there's so much more. But I don't have time to write it all down now. I've got to get to work!
Oct. 3rd, 2006
10:32 pm - Too much to do in October!
It's a busy month. On Saturdays, through the end of the month, 2 of my kids play baseball. We're there until about 1 pm. This coming Saturday is free after that, so I'll probably just be Drinking and Cleaning. The following Saturday is Book 'Em, a book fair in Waynesboro, VA. That Friday, the 13th, I have to choose what I want to do the most: go to a high school football game (my son's school is playing my alma mater) or go to Street Wars - drag racing at Virginia Motorsports Park. I'm leaning toward the latter.
The following Saturday and/or Sunday, I need to drive down to the Newport News area and take pictures for my ghost book. And the following Saturday is my Halloween party.
I feel kinda stressed. I would really like a Remote Control Skeleton Robot. It would be even cooler if said Robot could throw pumpkins that explode.
This weekend I'd like to research different ways of making things explode. I think blowing stuff up is fun.
Oct. 2nd, 2006
11:53 pm - What I want for Christmas
A remote control skeleton robot.
Does anyone know where I can get one? Or know where I can find instructions for building one? I really want one. Seriously!
Tonight I'm making steak on the grill again - but it's early yet. Only 11:52, and I just took the meat off.
Oh, I do love meat. I honestly don't know what I was thinking when I went through that vegetarian phase when I was 17. I LOVE MEAT!
Sep. 29th, 2006
12:48 pm - My first foreign language spam!
LOL. It was all in German. How disappointing. It might have been porn and I'd never know! German porn might be worth looking into, you know?
Spam marketing techniques really need to improve.
Sep. 28th, 2006
10:49 am - Fall is here
While it's warm today - 80's expected for the afternoon - it's supposed to turn sharply colder by Saturday. I'm bummed about that because it means my tanning season officially ended 2 weeks ago. If I have to go more than 2 weeks, my tan fades so much I may as well not bother anymore. Sigh.
On the plus side, it means I get to make my vegetable soup this weekend. For the last 13 years, I've it around this time of year because I crave it at the end of September. I crave it at the end of September because it's what I had for dinner the night before I gave birth to my first child. It was the last good meal I had for over 24 hours!
Weather changes call for wardrobe changes, too, and I'm having a strong urge to go shoe shopping. :)
Sep. 23rd, 2006
12:30 am - Midnight Grilling
Yum. It's midnight. And I'm cooking steaks on the grill. I just felt like it.
Sep. 20th, 2006
12:39 am - Pinks! rocks
Oh, man, Rich Christensen is just as hot in person as he is on TV. I had a blast watching the Pinks! shoot last Saturday. It is totally my favorite show on TV. I'm going to keep a close eye on the schedule, and if they film anywhere within driving distance for me, I am SO there. :)
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