I scratched together enough change to buy what I need to make spanish rice, with chicken though rather than ground beef. Chicken breast cheaper than 27% fat hamburger? *That* is a crime.

Payday is Thursday so I probably survived.

The week so far has been okay. It's so cold though, horrible weather, more like November than May.

I have to go on a team-building, brainstorming awayday on Thursday. Kill me now. It's not even a proper awayday, it's in the building next door. But they give us lunch, so it's not all bad. I'll have to make sure I don't eat too many carbs, or I'll fall asleep in the afternoon session.

Oh, and Friday Night Lights is on right now, so I'm having my weekly Riggins fix.

RIGGINS! Love me some Riggins!!!

I took myself to McDonalds for lunch. Chicken sandwich, fries, frozen lemonade, mmmmmm. Then some lady gave me a hard time jaywalking and I gave her the finger. Then I came back to my desk and breathed fire in e-mails to people who drive me crazy. HEAR ME ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAR.

Home sick with pre-bronchitis. I'm scared to death of strep so a day of sore throat saw me at the dr. office as soon as they opened.

Got a Magic Johnson Foundation bracelet

Hubs is waiting (again) for headhunters to call him back. I'll probably be picking up the kids from school.

I have been seriously grouchy this week. A lot of stuff is getting piled on me (or coming to me via their natural course of things) and not a few of these issues have to do with cleaning up messes that other people have made.

Yoga tonight, though, so that will help.

A mixed bag for me.

Good: No longer sick. Thank goodness. I had some weird thing for most of early April that was mostly a never-ending back of the head headache and total exhaustion. Also, we are back home after a pretty fun week in Orlando (first visit ever) last week, and I am overjoyed to be re-united with our dog and cats. Also, it is sunny outside. Also, we leave again for an other short one week vacation in Puerto Vallarta this Saturday.

Bad: Everyone else at work is off to a conference I'm not attending, so I have a pretty boring grab bag of coverage things to do this week. Also, I have a pile of stuff from last week's vacation to wade through. Also, I am totally off my 1/2 marathon training since beginning of April (due to above mentioned sickness and vacation) and need to get back in the saddle pronto or poop out for my upcoming half. Which means a 7 mile run tonight on out-of-practice legs.

Back at work after short vacation of sitting on very uncomfortable seats and watching 15 movies.

1/2 Marathon on Sunday, sorta kinda ready for it but not really.

Tried to give up caffeine this week and only made it until early afternoon today when my coffee jones overpowered me.

Yeah sick here too, probably a sinus infection. Wanted to see my doctor today but I didn't feel like driving, just a bit dizzy. Going to see if I can get my brother to take me to a walk-in clinic tonight. I'm sure I need some antibiotics, I try to avoid taking them when I can but I am going on 3 weeks now of sinus issues and now getting to the point where I just feel like garbage in general so I give up on it going away on its own. I have so much yard work to do and it just rained so the air is nice and clean, figures I am not sick much all winter then get sick during the best time of year.

Frozen lemonade? WANT!

I finally had my respiratory test today. I was surprised to be so wiped out afterwards. Totally shaky, out of breath (of course) and lightheaded. Took about an hour to feel normal again. Weird.

Stopped by the library to drop off and pick up some books. I really need to quit fucking around on the internet and READ BOOKS because I have to keep extending the return dates.

McDonalds has frozen strawberry lemonade, it is DELISH. A++, would slurp again. I still wish Dunkin Donuts would bring back the Lemonade Coolatta, though.

Tired... Trying to put the finishing touches on getting my students ready for the AP Literature exam next Thursday. It's such a bloody difficult test -- 55 multiple choice questions on five passages of literature, old and new, poetry and prose, in 60 minutes, as well as 3 essays in 2 hours (about 40 minutes per essay), two in response to more reading. They're troopers, though, my students. Working hard (most, anyway).

At the same time, getting another 50 kids ready for the state English Regents. I've taught about 25 different books so far this year, between the two grades. (No wonder I don't feel like reading at home.)

Is it summer yet?

I spent the weekend alternating reading and working on the pillow I'm making for my friends in Pittsburgh. After a unexpected JoAnn run, I finished it last night.

Yesterday involved a 2 hour long all hands meeting (which I called into -- teleworking rocks) which was very interesting.

Today was more meetings, lunch at a diner-type place that according to their menu only serves hormone- & antibiotic-free meats and locally sourced veggies (I had a chocolate milkshake, caramel french toast w/ maple syrup, local farm eggs & nitrate-free bacon -- so so good), and a doctor's appointment that went well (my luck is holding for randomly picking doctors off a list).

The rest of the week is more of the same.

It seems like everyone is getting sick! I had a sinus infection around three weeks ago, then again the past few days. Hopefully the antibiotic will get rid of it quickly.

Semester is over (well, one of my classes has a final on Friday, but I'm exempt due to having a 97% in the course) and I know my grades already, which is nice. Had a hell of a time getting to my BioChem final yesterday morning though (I won't go into detail, but suffice it to say that I missed my 5:30 AM bus by two minutes, spent about five minutes in the parking lot smoking a cigarette and banging my head on the steering wheel, then panicking while figuring out the parking situation on campus and then driving to Still(H2O) in a pretty nasty storm instead of going over my notes on the bus like I'd planned). But, it all went well and I managed an 86, which more than secured my B in there, which is nice as that course has had me sweating profusely all semester. Done. Yippie.

Vacation begins next Friday. Heading back down to the panhandle of Florida to visit my sister and sit on the beach for a few days drinking beer and reading books and then coming home for a couple of extra days off with the dog and fuck-all to do. I'll actually have eight days in a row off, with no work or school responsibilities, for the first time since December of 2005. Kinda can't wait.

I had a really great day yesterday (got a 90 on my calculus exam when I was sure I had failed! a potential summer research opportunity popped up!), but my happy bubble totally burst about two hours ago when my cell phone was stolen out of my back pocket while I was walking home from school.

The only consolation is that it's a piece of crap phone and I was planning to get a new one soon anyway. But still, it really sucked.

Oh man. The police just came over so I could report the theft, and that did not make my day better. Being berated for not calling 911 immediately when I just had my phone stolen doesn't make much sense to me.

Wow ochrdraco. When I had my phone, iPod, checkbook etc. stolen, they just took my info over the phone and then told me to download a form on the net and fill it out and bring it in, if I wanted to 'really' report it.

911 had absolutely no interest in my little dipshit prob.

Apparently the fact that it was lifted directly from my person (it was in my back pocket) is what made the difference.

Well, after defrosting the freezer, turning it over and removing the dead mouse, it's no longer shorting out the circuit and all is well. Rest in peace, Sparky II. I'm now off to have some stern words with my useless kitty about leaving "toys" around.

Pretty depressing really.

I took some time off from working last year to try and make websites that would generate revenue. 6 months in and one project had to be shelved, and the other two have done nothing. Despite spending nearly £400.00 on various ill conceived marketing strategies, I've picked up approximately £3.00 in monthly revenue.

:-(

My week has been pretty meh. It has been extremely slow at work and so I've been spending most of my time looking at bellydance costumes and costuming. A lot of it looks like things I could possibly make on my own, so I'm going to try and start doing that. However, my ideas have outpaced my income, so a lot of stuff is going to have to wait.

Had dance class last night and we're prepping for a performance in mid-June. I just hate the fact that we keep changing the songs that we're going to do! I'd much rather focus on a few songs than keep flitting about other choreographies. Of course, I'm not helping myself because I created a solo choreo that I might do if I can have it prepared in time. And I have ideas for 3 other solos.

Currently have 3 sewing projects going on. Hopefully I'll finish one of them by Saturday (which is when it is needed, eek!) and the second should be fairly simple, but the third is my first ever costume and I'm a bit nervous since the fabric was pretty expensive.

WERETABLE!!!

Oh, man, seanyboy, that sucks. I'm sorry.

Showing the house all week. Strangers looking at all of my stuff. Then when we sell it I have to leave NYC. There is no good side to this.

I just finished writing a (frankly overdue) letter of sympathy. The deceased was my great-uncle, but he was my late father's favorite uncle, and to me much more like my very favorite uncle than any of my actual uncles. I finally realized I've been putting off writing the letter because I'm so very sad and didn't want to face it.

But now it's written and addressed, and at least I feel a bit better about that.

Well, after defrosting the freezer, turning it over and removing the dead mouse

There's nothing good in that phrase. Yikes.

approximately £3.00 in monthly revenue.

Or that one!

Boy, we are all having rough weeks, huh?

Oh, and Friday Night Lights is on right now, so I'm having my weekly Riggins fix.

but this one sounds okay! We've just reached the near-end of the series on DVD; one more disc and we're all done with FNL. Sad.

We're in season 4; I'm going to be sad once we're out of episodes to watch :(

We're in season 1. So lots, lots more to come. No spoilers, please.

No spoilers, please.

I would NEVER! except this total non-spoiler with no plot mentioned: Senyar, there's a rough patch in season 2 thanks to network interference and then the writer's strike. Stick with the show and it gets back to normal.

So lots, lots more to come.

I'm genuinely envious. A friend who works at World's Coolest Videostore with The Fella had to browbeat us into watching it in the first place, and she was spot on. I'm going to miss the show so much when we finish it.

Even the rough patch isn't so bad. So much good acting from everyone! I'm totally in love with Kyle Chandler.