Halloween!

Halloween was fun, as usual! This year I had Slash, a werewolf, and a genie. Slash is pictured beside his self-portrait pumpkin...one with braces. The genie was going to make a pumpkin throwing up but changed her mind at the last second...a woman's prerogative, dontchaknow. My oldest (he's 13) didn't want to go until the very last second, so luckily we had the werewolf costume laying around. He wouldn't even carve a pumpkin this year. He had to take off for a soccer tournament during the height of the festivities. There were some kids that I SWEAR had to be high school seniors. They were huge! My kids got too much candy, as usual, and for the first time in forever I actually ran out of candy. Good times!

There aren't many places in this world that I've seen that are more beautiful than the mountains. These pictures are from a trip to the Smokies in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. The fall colors are beautiful...reds and oranges being my favorite. The weather here today is about 50 degrees with a 100% chance of rain, and boy do I wish I was in the mountains with a stack of good books, a pot of coffee, and a blazing fire. I love to play in the creeks there, too. You can drag the rocks every which way and make a little dam so that you can hear the water trickle across the stones as you quietly rock on the porch or try to nap covered in an old quilt. *sigh* I need a vacation.

Busy times ahead

The stress is just piling up, but that is what is supposed to happen with women, right? I wish I had the same "I don't give a damn" attitude that men can switch on so easily. I have a paper to write, about 70 papers to grade (mid-term), and 3 birthday parties to chauffer the kids to this weekend...not to mention soccer games and Pokemon shindig. I'm tired just thinking about it.

I'm still stuck on songs. There is a new station in my area that plays music from the 80's...takes me back to high school days. I've been stuck on Whitesnake and Def Leppard lately. Photograph and Is this Love have been on a continuous loop through my head. I guess I should thank God that they don't play Michael Jackson.

And William....the WAR thing just isn't appealing to me. I've tried it, but I haven't logged in for over a week now. The quests are stupid. The community sucks. I long for the old crew from DAOC. Fun times. For now when I have time to play, I log in there. I rarely find a group, but c'est la vie. I'd rather stand around there spamming LFG than playing that silly WAR quest crap over and over alone.

HAHAHAHAHA!

Ain't it the truth...

Pumpkin Patch!

Although it was way too hot (85 degrees in OCTOBER), we did have fun. The kids really enjoyed the pig races and the big bin of corn the most. They are kindergarten students, so they also thought riding in the big yellow school bus was a big deal. I came home just exhausted from the trip. It was a drive through curvy country roads, and with the heat and the constant watch over my 'group' of kids, I had to come home and nap before going to teach.

My 11 year old got his bass this week and if I hear Smoke on the Water ONE MORE TIME...I just might smash the thing myself. The 13 year old is off on a Science trip to the mountains with his class, and I haven't heard from him in 3 days. I'm going through withdrawal. He'll be home tomorrow night, however, and things will be back to their loud, bickering, door slamming self.

Progress!

I went to the library today and actually made some headway on my Science Fiction paper. Who knew there were so many stories but so little research done on the subject. If I could stomach an entire semester of it, scifi would probably be a good topic for my thesis.

This week I get to go to the Pumpkin Patch with my 5 year old. It should be fun, fun, fun...surrounded by 100's of kindergartners! (Pops a Valium in preparation) I'll try to post pictures.

One option

Have I mentioned that I LOVE the fall? Halloween is probably my most favorite holiday. I've been searching for some good jack-o-lantern ideas. I think this one is in the running...

And for "William"....I've been on the game, I just need a tutor to help me figure out how the damn thing works! :P

Rain, rain, how I love the rain!

It has been raining all day and we are due to have even more tomorrow. It is getting chilly outside, too. All I want to do is curl up on the couch with an old quilt, a good book, and a big mug of hot chocolate. Fall is my favorite season, and I am SO glad the heat is going away. I'm just starting the last in the Twilight series, Breaking Dawn. I have that, The Secret Life of Bees, and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo on my reading agenda. All 3 have been sitting around calling me for a while, so here is hoping for more rain and cold nights.

The presidential debate is in town tonight. I need to watch it because I'm still one of the 'undecided'. One scares me, but the other one literally takes my breath away with stupidity.

Thats my boy!

What a fella! He has got this habit of sticking his tongue in his right cheek when he kicks. He also is much stronger and more comfortable kicking with his left foot, although he is right-handed. Ain't he just the cutest? I know, I know...you can't see him because of his floppy hair that he REFUSES to get cut. Trust me...he's adorable!

We shall see

Now I'm teaching a little differently. So far the students are receptive because they aren't going to be doing endless grammar exercises. I hope that just by the sheer fact that they are writing more, their writing will actually improve. We shall see.

Now for the student hat...my school has changed my education interview to a week earlier than originally scheduled. It is now scheduled for the same day that I was to go on a field trip with my kindergartener to the pumpkin patch. I have about had enough trying to get certified. I may just put it off a while longer and concentrate on getting just the Master's degree done. Again, we shall see.