Spring break pictures

It's my spring break, whee! I stayed in in Little Rock Friday night because I am addicted to my SciFi Channel shows and the finales were playing. I got to Mena Saturday morning in time for Allie's soccer game, which was promptly rained out, and we had a nice, cold rainy Saturday at home. In the evening everybody was over and we dyed eggs and I made hot cross buns. Easter was rainy, but so far this week it's been brilliantly clear and warming.

Some pictures: Allie clinging to my leg, Easter eggs, Layla sleeping with Andy, and Layla modeling her pretty Ralph Lauren duds.

This just in: trying to get students who have spring fever to focus in class is like getting puppies to eat with a knife and fork.

Bath, birthday, Build-a-Bear

Allie's birthday was a couple of weeks ago and I went home for the weekend. I got to watch a little bit of Meshugge Nuns rehearsals (they serenated me with "Three Shaina Maidels" before I fed them Krispy Kremes), visit a little with Gramma and Dixie, go to the dump with Daddy, and see the end of Layla's bath. Saturday was gorgeous, and Allie and I played Bratz outside in the yard. We took pictures of Toro and the burros. Allie's party was at Rick's Saturday evening. Pizza, Lizzie McGuire cake, arcade games, presents, cash, a good time for all - especially the birthday girl, I think. Later that night Mama, Daddy, Gramma and I watched The Princess Bride. Inconceivable!

Click on the thumbnail pictures to see the larger versions.





Today, Mama and Allie drove over to Little Rock to get Allie's AWANA book incentive: Build-a-Bear at the mall. It was a nice break for me, after a whole day of spring-fevered students who couldn't have focused on a twenty-foot high flourescent bullseye. Allie picked out a border collie, had her stuffed, dressed her in a shirt and skort, and named her Alex. We ate in the food court before coming back to my apartment to play for a little while. I'll be home for spring break in a few days.

Arkansas.gov | Digital Photo Contest

Arkansas.gov | Digital Photo Contest

Hey, Daddy!

1. You need to check my blog, because I tell you stuff here! For instance, the link above.

2. This photo contest sounds cool! If you take any pictures between now and the middle of May that you want to enter in the contest, I can help you submit them.

The Onion | How Could I Get My Wife's Funeral So Wrong?

The Onion | How Could I Get My Wife's Funeral So Wrong?

So morbid. So wrong. So funny.

Finding the Ultimate Theory of Everything

RedNova News - Space - Finding the Ultimate Theory of Everything

I've been meaning to read more about string theory. I may not understand it, but I at least want to try.

Friday update: Mongolian baby and flowers

Today was a lovely day, bright, mild, blue sky. I took my camera to campus and took a few photos after I got away from my office. Unfortunately, I had to spend most of my afternoon hanging around in the Cell (my windowless, dank office) with a nice IT guy who was fixing my computer. It's one I inherited from my boss a few months ago, and it was so full of spyware that the virus protection had just stopped working, and I couldn't really do anything anymore except use my Firefox browser. He took care of it, though. By the way, SpyBot and Ad Aware are good programs to have on your machine, and you can download them free. But back to the photos, the pear trees are blossoming! And it's the peak for Spring Beauty, what I used to call "snowdrops." (Remember, you can click on the thumbnail to see the larger version of the photo.)



I gave my advanced students a test in the morning. It was their first test this semester, and they were freaked out. When I came in the classroom I swear they were all staring at me shaking in their seats. Hee! We had reviewed for two days before hand, I don't know why they were so worried. Well, yeah, I do. The first test you have with a teacher is the worst, because you don't know their testing style yet. They'll be okay.

Wednesday, we had a baby in class. One of my students showed up after lunch carrying this sleeping 9-month-old kid wrapped in a coat. "It is Mongolian baby," she explained, the child of family friends. I guess the baby's father never showed up after lunch, so she just brought it along. Everybody thought it was a girl because of the two pigtails sticking straight up, but she assured us he was a boy. Very, very cute, and no trouble at all during class. One of the Bulgarian girls looked like she wanted to put him in her pocket and take him home. I don't think I've seen her as happy as she was holding him as we worked on non-defining relative clauses together. And the charming young Turk, Cassanova to women, hyperactive 20-year-old bouncer, bane of my teaching existence, doted on this baby like a new father. It was kind of funny. I went along with it. I wouldn't let babies in class regularly, but I'm trying to relax a little, too.



I was really worn down, especially on Wednesday and Thursday, and I wondered if my body was fighting flu. I've been on an anti-viral drug all week since Allie came down with the flu (poor dear) and I shared a drink with her at the movies Saturday. (Oh, I unexpectedly decided to go home last Saturday. It was really nice.) I started midweek trying to go to bed early, and lo and behold it is possible for me to get to bed before 2. Especially if I'm falling asleep at 11:30. Go me! I feel a lot better today.