B is for Bet

Yummy breakfast

New favorite breakfast food: Sara Lee Blueberry Mini-Bagels. I like bagels, but I don't like the full-sized ones... too big and hard to eat. :)  But these are just right. You wonder why I'm eating breakfast at 9 a.m.?? NO classes today since it's AACS week. The national competitions are held on campus this week every year. It's generally a madhouse of high school students who have no idea where they are going or how to get there. The halls are overrun with them, so for the last couple of years, we've actually cancelled classes on this Wednesday, the biggest day of competition. Rhonda and I will be judging the expository essay contest later today. Always a treat. :)

My biggest job today will be to finalize my taxes. Yes, I'm a procrastinator. I'm getting  a second opinion today from my friend Karen K., who is a master of such things. I can't believe that I owe as much as I do. Here I thought when you buy a house, you always get big ol' refunds. I've yet to get a refund on any taxes except for my state return. And this year, I have to pay the state! This can't be right.

First pair of socks

  Well, here they are. Imperfect but not bad. I'm going to call them "fraternal socks" since they aren't quite identical matches. I was afraid I was going to run out of yarn, so on the second one I scrimped just a bit and made it a smidgen shorter than the other. Both fit, so I figure it didn't make a whole lot of difference. I consider these my learning pair and hope to do better on the next ones.

But now it's Monday.

It's Monday, and another beautiful day here in South Carolina. The weekend was good: mowed the yard, bought some flowers, prepared for planting, did the housework, almost finished sock No. 2, watched three movies, did my taxes (finally), went to church, didn't get a nap but needed one. Whew. Weekends are hectic, but fun. Hope yours was good.

Is it wrong to be glad that it's Friday?

Have you heard the argument that God made us to work and that we should be happy when we're working? that to look forward to vacation or the weekend is a sign that you are either way too lazy or simply in the wrong job?

I have to respectfully disagree with this philosophy. I love to teach.... but I don't like being overwhelmed by too much work or too many papers to grade. So sometimes I long for the weekend to catch up on what has fallen by the wayside while I've done my best to get through the week. I love Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays.....

Attacked by the allergens

Evidently spring allergies are hitting many with a vengeance. I feel like a broken record saying this again, but when your whole world is being governed by how much pollen is in the air and in your system, it's basically one of your primary topics of conversation. Now I read that I should have started taking allergy medicine two to three weeks before I started having symptoms to "get the medicine in my system"!!!  Needless to say I had no idea when the symptoms would begin and thus no medicine is in my system except what I started taking about a week ago.

It didn't help that I mowed the front yard yesterday and the backyard today. You will know how bad it was when I say if I'd had one of those masks you see people wearing over their nose and mouth, I would not have hesitated to slap one on. But I will say my yard looks more like a yard today and less like a pasture.

The good thing about today was I had a guest speaker in three of my classes. Craig Paddock, a BJ grad and now a page designer at the Charlotte Observer, spoke to my intro journalism classes and to my reporting class. He gave an excellent presentation and offered good advice for my students.

Forgot to mention that a Washington Post reporter sat in on my reporting class last week. He was here to interview some of the higher ups, and he wanted to sit in on a class or two. I hope I said nothing that was quotable. :)

Did someone say free books?

Challies.com is once again giving away free books: Hugh Hewitt's Blog and Hell's Bells 2 (not quite sure what that one is, but you can go read about it). You can't win if you don't enter. ;)  Click on the graphic below to enter.

Around my blog neighborhood....

Jon at Personal Trainer did what I didn't have time or energy to do--rounded up some of the variety of responses to the death of Pope John Paul II.

Melanie is back in Germany... but not before she took a drive in a pretty cool looking MG. Check out the pics!

Jason over at State of the Union points us to a New York Times article that labels cars as either Democrat or Republican. Imagine my chagrin to find out that Honda Civics are driven overwhelmingly by Democrats! Tell me it's not true!

For the Starbucks fans out there, did you know that Romenesko of Poynter.org fame also has a blog that reports all things Starbucks? That's what you call niche blogging....  A recent entry drew more than 50 comments about the decidedly liberal quotes on the Starbucks cups.

If you've ever had a hankering to live the simple life, take a look at a series of posts at Dry Creek Chronicles. You can imagine what I think of one of his recommendations: avoid mass media. :)  The series makes for interesting reading, and I hope to post a few thoughts on the subject myself when I can simplify my life enough to get around to it.

And over at Sharper Iron, a discussion on "bad hymns"  almost has me vowing never to post a Sunday Hymn again. No telling what kind of uproar would ensue if only those folks over there knew which hymns I really like. I almost hesitate to send anyone to that particular post, but the comments are quite interesting to read even though I get perturbed every now and then.

Whose idea was this anyway?

Midnight last night didn't seem so late..... but 5:30 this morning seemed awful early. Grrrrrr.

Windy Saturday

The wind has been blustering around here all day today. I've been catching up on household chores: laundry, dusting, vacuuming, etc. I had some out-of-town guests visit me to attend the 8th annual Living Gallery on campus. Our seats were a little farther back than usual. I'm trying to decide whether I like seeing the full effect of the recreated works of art or whether I miss being able to see the real people embedded in the recreations. One of the things that amazes me most about these larger-than-life pieces of art is how the lighting can make them come alive. If you've never been, you should plan to come next year. I don't think you have time to make the last performance since it starts in half an hour.

I got a belated birthday present today: a certificate good for one dogwood tree to be planted by my friend who is a landscaper. Yay! I love dogwoods, and my backyard is the perfect place for one.

One bad thing about spring for me is the Dreaded Allergies. I never used to have problems, but I do believe I now have a full-fledged case of spring allergies. I've been sneezing today and my eyes are burning and watering and my throat seems to close up. And all this after I took an allergy pill this morning. I think South Carolina is notorious for causing adult-onset allergies in those who move here.

I am settling down to read two new magazines I had waiting for me in my mailbox today: Southern Living and Real Simple. And I may glance over at the NCAA tournament every now and then. Sounds like a lovely way to spend Saturday night, eh? .... and I may even knit a few rounds on my infamous sock.