29 December 2011

The City of New Orleans

For the longest time, I considered Las Vegas my favorite travel destination...

Until now.

I have visited the city of New Orleans twice in the last seven years.  So, I guess I'm kind of an expert now.  Sort of.

Mostly, New Orleans is known for this:

The multiple-storied, wrought iron balconies.  The debauchery of Bourbon Street.  Vampire novel settings.  Hurricane Katrina.

Yes, yes, yes.  All that and more.  History, culture, beignets, shopping, food, people-watching.

And really, that's only the tip of the travel iceberg in the Big Easy.

22 December 2011

Christmas Resolution

Okay, so I know it's tradition to make New Year's Resolutions.  Well, I've never done that.  I probably won't start now.  I mean, honestly, a whole year?  Sometimes it's hard for me to stick with things for a day, let alone a whole year.

But, I do feel it might be worth my energy to craft a few resolutions for this weekend.  Tonight, I will be traveling to my in-laws - gods give me strength.

Resolution #1: I resolve not to overeat.  And if I do, let me glut on carrot sticks and fruit, instead of cookies, candy, and Chex party mix.

Resolution #2: I resolve to keep my immediate family at the forefront of all doings this weekend, as opposed to the "the whole, entire family" mindset.  If we get bored, we'll play a game, take a walk, go for a ride, etc....without anyone else, if need be.  There's no reason why we should limit ourselves when all Grandpa wants to do is nap on the couch or the men want to go pheasant hunting.

Resolution #3: There were two scenarios last year in which I felt quite put out (both of them on my oldest child's behalf).  I resolve this year to either A: get over it and move to Resolution #2 or B: take action, say something and be done with it.  I won't swallow it, push it down, just to let it fester bitterly over a year's time.

There.  That seems doable.

09 December 2011

Cleaning, Completion, and a Complex Conundrum

Ooh.  First post of December.  Boy, have I been lax.  Here are the three major things that have happened to me since my last post:

1. The cluttered, messy state of my office has been grating on me, and especially, this last week.  I mean, the Feng Shui was just way, way off.  So today, finally, I was able to declutter, vacuum, dust, and revitalize my workspace.  Ahhhhhhhh....

2. The reason I was able to devote part of the afternoon to office-cleaning was that there was nothing for me to grade.  I finished the last few papers earlier today, and with that...my semester is pretty much at an end.  Okay, yes, final exams are next week...but I can manage that.  All I know is...I have NO grading or lesson planning to do this weekend.  Oooooohhhhhhh....

3.  Two out of three ain't bad.  Meatloaf's words have rung true today.  I am trying to get a realistic grip on a situation here on the homefront.  My oldest son is playing his first year of junior high basketball, and is on the "C" team.  He is one of the better players on the C squad, and is really able to be a leader on that team.  Plus, he's happy because he plays quite a bit. 

However, he had a game last night and so, there was no practice today.  But, after emailing a parent-friend of mine, turns out some of the kids (the "A" squad) did have practice this morning.  What's going on here, right?  My puzzlement soon led me to suspect that maybe my son's "C" squad had been "exempted" from practice on purpose.  And that ensuing train of thought led me to thoughts of outrage and injustice.

I'm at that point right now of deciding whether I should take action or not.  Talk to the coach or not.  Let it go or not.  As of now, my husband and I are waiting until the next called-off practice, at which point we will totally resort to juvenile behavior (a.k.a show up at practice to see if team is there).  Our course of action stems from there.

Icky, right.