A week of goodness

This past week, my birthday week, has been really nice and I've felt lots of love from friends. I'm sharing some of it here for my own future reference!

Last Sunday afternoon I went over to Marla's house for a little while to see her puppies! Her Boston Terrier, Flynn, had a litter of puppies back at Christmas. There were five pups total, and they're keeping two of them. Two more have gone to their new homes and there's just one female left. Several people are considering taking her so I'm sure she'll be adopted out soon.

Here's Carsen with the pup she picked out to keep. She named him Remy.

Aren't they adorable? 

When I got to work on Monday morning, one of our regular substitute teachers, Judy, had seen on Facebook that it was my birthday and she brought me a gift bag full of goodies! I was so surprised. She's such a sweet lady.

Pens, stationary, Hershey kisses, and a Sonic gift card. So nice of her, but it was the thought that I really appreciated!

Then the next day, Tuesday, the mom of two of my favorite little kids showed up with them at school and said, "Why didn't you tell us your birthday was yesterday?! (She had also seen it on Facebook). "The kids and I love you!"  They presented me with a little rose bush. How sweet is that?

Later that same morning, the art teacher left a card on my desk while I was away for a moment. This made me so happy! She's also a very sweet lady and I adore her.

One last thing I meant to mention is that Little P. (who has the same birthday as me) turned 13 years old this week!!  How is that possible?! He's not "Little" anymore! I texted him and his mama on Monday and we've made plans to get together soon and have dinner. I'm going to give him money for a gift, because I don't even attempt to buy presents for teenage boys. I cannot believe my little buddy is a teenager now. Kids grow up entirely too fast! Meanwhile, I'm just over here getting old. :) Haha.

Not so little anymore

Last Friday morning I got a text from my friend Judon, mom of Little P. She told me he had a city league football game the next afternoon and would love it if I could make it out to see him play. I don't know (or care) anything about football, but I love Judon and P., so I went. 

It was a crisp, beautiful fall day, and I got to see this young man and his team win the game!

Look how much he's grown! I guess I should stop calling him "little". The three of us went to lunch afterwards, and as we were leaving the restaurant, I was shocked to realize he's as tall as I am now. He'll be 13 in March. Unbelievable.

Still good friends all these years later!

Shot down

I haven't shared a Little P. story in a while, so I wanted to tell you about talking to his mom yesterday. Since we both work in the same school district, I can reach her office by dialing her extension even though we're in different schools. Anyway, I was thinking about her and P. yesterday morning and how we hadn't talked in a while, so during a slow time I rang her up to say hello. *

Anyway, we chatted for a couple of minutes, caught up, etc. When I asked her how P. was doing, she told me about something that happened to him recently. His middle school (!) is having a Valentine's Day dance this Friday evening. There was a girl he liked, so he summoned his courage and asked her to go with him. So cute! Right? 

Except...you want to know how that little sh*t of a girl responded? 

Turned him down, which is perfectly fine, but then she told her circle of little catty mean-girl friends that he had asked her, and they all laughed at him.

Laughed at our little P.!

I was so mad.

Judon handled it like a pro, as usual. She didn't get too excited about it all, merely telling him, "Forget that girl. Go by yourself or with two or three of your best guy friends." She encouraged him to look on Amazon to find something he might want to wear, and he picked out a red suit jacket (!) so she ordered it for him. Then they shopped together for a shirt and pants to wear with it. I'm so glad he's going to go and I hope he has a blast! I told Judon to send me pictures of him all dressed up.

And I hope that girl gets a lesson from karma one day. 

Growing up is tough. I'm glad I don't have to do it again. I wouldn't go back to my middle school years for anything!

*I knew that she'd see who was calling, and if she was busy at the moment she wouldn't pick up. That's why I wasn't worried about disturbing her at work.

Wish List

Last week I got an email from Little P.'s mom that she knew would make me smile. Little P. had created a Google slides presentation (haha) of his Christmas wish list and shared it with her. She forwarded it to me because she knew I'd get a kick out of it.

Little P.'s Christmas List 2024

1. A cell phone ("please please please can I have one?")
2. Sneakers (not cheap ones, either)
3. An Xbox gift card
4. A new football to replace one he lost.

All pretty normal asks from an 11-year-old boy, but it was the last slide that made me laugh out loud. 

That boy cracks me up!

Birthday weekend

 

Nearby peach orchard in full bloom. 

(McLeod Farms, McBee, SC)

Yesterday was my birthday! I've been having a really nice weekend. First of all, this area is beautiful this time of year! How gorgeous are those peach trees? And here are blooming dogwoods at the end of my driveway (my neighborhood is full of dogwoods, wisteria, and jessamine at the moment):

We're still having some chilly nights, but my lettuce is coming along nicely. I planted it in a plastic kiddie pool this year to save space in the raised bed, and it seems to be working out well. I'm looking forward to fresh greens.

And of course, my tomatoes and peppers are getting big and will be ready for planting out in a couple more weeks (I hope).

On to birthday gifts! Gregg went shopping with me yesterday and I picked out three new bird feeders to hang in the back yard. We put them up this morning.

And my main gift was a really nice new grill! We bought it last week and Gregg spent hours putting it together one afternoon. Lots of cursing was involved. :)  It's the nicest grill we've ever owned and I'm excited to cook with it! We couldn't try it out yesterday because of rainy weather, but tonight we're going to break it in. I went by the butcher shop yesterday and had some thick, beautiful ribeye steaks cut (the price ended up being eye watering, but it's a special occasion, right?) and I also went to the farm stand and bought some Florida-grown corn on the cob, new potatoes, and zucchini. Tonight we'll have a small feast! :)

Of course, my birthday post wouldn't be complete without mentioning my birthday buddy Little P.! He turned 11 years old yesterday (I turned 49). I went out to eat Mexican food with him and his sweet mama earlier in the week. He's growing up so fast!

We always take a birthday selfie. It's a tradition.

His mom told me he's really into the video game called Fortnite, which I know absolutely nothing about, but it turns out you can buy gift cards for it and do.......something...with them. No clue, but I got him a Fortnite gift card and also an ice cream shop gift card for his birthday. He seemed thrilled! Video games and ice cream seem like a really good birthday gift for an 11-year-old boy. 

Birthday recap

No, I didn't drop off the face of the earth after my last blog post. In case you were wondering!

My birthday week/weekend was a lot of fun. I had intended to write about it right away, but then it was Monday morning before I knew it, and that kicked off a really busy, really stressful week at work. By this past Wednesday afternoon I was crying in my office, it was so bad. After that, though, things improved, and I managed to end the week yesterday feeling okay again. Exhausted, but okay. So here I am.

Let me rewind to my birthday, March 23rd. When I got to work that morning, I caught a teacher-friend of mine in the process of putting a "Happy Birthday" banner over my office door. It was so sweet of her! It really started my day off on a happy note. I made her pose for a picture to capture the moment!

Other gifts were soon to follow. A big card made by the kids (and teacher) in the autistic class, along with a little decorative bucket filled with candy and an assortment of fun pencils. A pot of fringe tulips and a card from a handful of other teachers. A beautiful bouquet of spring flowers and balloons sent by my parents. Hugs from several of my favorite students. It was probably the best day at work I've had all year!

The fringe tulips after they finally opened. Aren't they gorgeous?!

When I got home, Gregg gave me a water lily bulb he special-ordered for me to go in the container pond where the goldfish (rescued from the school aquariums) live. It doesn't look like much now, but it's going to be beautiful in a few months. The variety is called "Georgia Peach". 

My other birthday gifts were a new pair of walking shoes, and a nice set of knives (sorely needed in my kitchen).

On to Saturday, March 25th. My little get-together was fun, although only Marla and Martina were able to make it. I'd hoped Martina's husband, Will, would be able to come, but he had to work until too late. I also urged Gregg to invite his friend Ben, but he declined to do so on the grounds that Ben, although a nice and fun guy, likes to drink beer and when he drinks beer, he often gets loud and kind of annoying. I told Gregg I didn't mind (I wanted him to have some male company and Ben's a good guy despite his faults) but Gregg said he didn't want to risk him making a nuisance of himself. 

Marla did bring her little girl, Carsen, for a while right at first. As always, her daddy came and picked her up after she'd visited for a little while and had some food. That little girl is really growing up.

Carsen and Poppy

For food, I remembered something we'd done at a previous workplace for a staff lunch: crock pot hot dogs! Yes, hot dogs can be heated for a couple of hours in a crock pot and they turn out perfectly steamed and delicious. The night before I made an awesome batch of homemade hot dog chili (if I do say so myself!) that could be kept warm in a smaller crock. I also made my homemade guacamole that always gets raves, bought a couple of different kinds of dip (including salsa), and several kinds of chips and crackers. The first local strawberries are ready early this year, so I went and bought some and made strawberry daiquiris for drinks. And for dessert, we had a bakery-purchased caramel cake. It was all so easy and so good! Marla brought a beautiful platter of fruit with a yogurt dip, and Martina brought chocolates and candy purchased on her recent trip to Germany to visit her grandmother. We weren't lacking for good things to eat!

We had fun. The weather was nice, so we spent several hours on the back porch, talking and drinking daiquiris.

The next thing I did to celebrate my birthday was almost a week later, this past Wednesday. I went out to dinner with Little P. and his mom. As you all may remember, P. and I share a birthday so we had to do something to celebrate! We went to a fancy build-your-own hamburger restaurant (his choice), and I gave him a couple of new books for his gift. He started reading one of them at the table, so I consider that a success. :) The funny thing about giving him books was that my gift from him and his mom was a gift card to the bookstore! Haha! We both love books.

Before we left the restaurant, we had to take our traditional birthday selfie! I look terrible in it because that was the afternoon I'd cried at work, and my face was still puffy and my makeup was gone. Seeing my favorite little boy made me feel better, though! We're now 48 and 10 years old.

The inside of my birthday card from him.

Dinner date

After work today I met up with my favorite kid (and his mom) for Mexican food. It was so good to see them both!

In the middle of dinner Little P. said to us, "You two sound just like the girls at my school. Talk, talk, talk....about other people!" I replied, "Are you saying that your mom and I are gossiping?" and he said, "YUP!"

Haha!

I love that little boy to bits. He always makes me laugh!

This and that on a Thursday afternoon

Happy Friday Eve! (As a coworker of mine used to say)

It's been another long and busy week. My new job is absolutely crushing me at the moment. There's so much to do, and not enough hours in the day to get to everything. Most afternoons I end up staying over anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour beyond when I'm supposed to get off. I don't get paid overtime, either. 

On the bright side, I'm learning a lot, and my new boss has had nothing but praise for the job I'm doing. She's been very friendly and kind, which is saying something because most of the staff is terrified of her! She's already demoted and fired some people and threatened to fire others. It's obvious she came to our school with the intention to "clean house" so to speak, so I'm grateful that I keep getting more responsibilities, not less! She's told me that I'm valuable to her and that she has faith in me to do a good job. She shows she means it by leaving me strictly alone to manage my own workday and tasks. So far, so good...although I'm still nervous about her. It's hard not to be when almost everyone else walks around on eggshells all the time! Hopefully she'll settle into her new job soon, and then everyone will be able to relax a little. 

Gregg had his colonoscopy on Monday, and it turns out his oncologist had also ordered an endoscopy to be done at the same time. The colonoscopy was all clear, but the endoscopy showed a "nodule" on his duodenum. The doctor took samples to biopsy and we probably won't hear anything until the middle of next week. That's kind of scary. The doctor was careful to not say much of anything about it one way or the other, and was out the door in less than a minute. There's nothing to do but wait and see. 

What else? I spoke to Prophet (Little P.) and his mom the other day! They're both doing well, and we've made plans to have dinner together one night next week. I sure miss seeing them both at work, though!

I don't know how to end this post so I'll just sign off with a picture I just snapped of Marco T. Barlow* amusing himself with chewing on an ink pen while I type away at the computer. He's still up to his devilish bird business, just like always! 

* Marco will be 15 years old next month! I was thinking of having a little hatchday party for him...but would that be too weird?! I could invite all his favorite people over, and we could have birthday cake and deviled eggs (hahaha!) and wine, which he also likes. What do you think?

Festivities

I've had such a great birthday this year, and there's still more fun to come.

For the first time I created a birthday fundraiser on Facebook, kind of on a lark and not expecting anyone to actually donate much, if anything. I picked Doctors Without Borders/Medecins san Frontieres and was pleasantly surprised that we've exceeded the automatic $200 goal that Facebook sets! I'll be doing that again next year--it's such a worthy charity.

I finally figured out what to get Little P. for his birthday. I asked his mom what kind of gift cards he might like, and she said his favorite place in Florence was Cold Stone (ice cream). So all your suggestions about ice cream were spot on! I ended up getting him a $25 gift card to Cold Stone and a tie-dye parafoil kite. He seemed pretty excited about both!

Since the nurses at school got me the pretty flowers with the Happy Birthday balloon attached, all the staff and parents and students saw that it was my birthday and I got lots of well wishes all through the day. A couple of the kids gave me hugs. It was nice. After work, I met up with a couple of friends, Paulette and Marian, and we had an early seafood dinner at Tubb's. After we ate, it was book club night, so we proceeded to Karen H's house (she was the host). I was given more flowers and cards and even a gift card, none of which I expected. It was so very nice of them!

Gregg's gift to me came earlier in the week: a nice food dehydrator! I'd been wanting one since last fall, and with my garden prospects for this year looking good it should be a useful gift. I've already made some delicious apple chips, and some less-than-stellar banana chips (I need to keep working on that recipe). I'm hoping to use the machine to cut down on food waste, since most vegetables and fruits can be dried and added to recipes later. I'm also interested in making homemade (good quality) treats for George. Dried strips of chicken breast treats cost the earth and should be easy enough to make in a dehydrator. In any case, I'll have fun experimenting!

The last part of my birthday festivities will be happening on Saturday. Season 2 of Bridgerton drops on Netflix on Friday, so on Saturday (Gregg's day to work late) Marla and Martina are coming over for food, birthday cake, wine, and a Bridgerton marathon!!! I'm sooo excited! Gregg looked at me funny when I told him that was my big plan for my birthday. "That's really what you want to do?" he said. Umm, YES! Marla and Martina both thought it sounded fabulous when I suggested it! We're going to have so much fun, even if the sexy Duke of Hastings won't be a part of season 2. :)

It's been a very, very good week. I'm such a fortunate woman.

Birthday boy

 Little P. and I have a birthday coming up next week! He's going to be nine years old. I adore that boy, and it's fun that we share a birthday. This year I have no idea what to buy him for a gift, though. A couple of weeks ago I asked him what he wanted, and you know what he said? "I don't know, I really already have everything I want." I thought that was rather mature, given how he usually has a big list of expensive items in mind when holidays and birthdays roll around!

I pressed the issue a bit the next day, since I'm going to get him something and need ideas. After giving it some thought he mentioned that he went to a birthday party at a skating rink a while ago and didn't have his own pair of skates. Since I know nothing about kids' sizing, or how fast his feet grow, I didn't feel comfortable with that suggestion. It's a specific enough request that it's likely someone in his family has already bought the skates, anyway. When I asked him what else he might like instead, he just shrugged. 

So, dear blogger friends, what would you buy for a nine year old as a birthday gift? I love to buy books for kids, but only if they like to read and will appreciate them. I'm sorry to say that even though P. reads really well (and well above his grade level), he's not turning out to be a real reader. What he does like is building things with Legos, and projects that involve electronics and robotics and even math. He recently qualified to begin the advanced/gifted academic track in school, so he's a really smart kid. And he likes active outdoor play and sports, typical boy stuff. Any suggestions will be welcome (not too expensive, though).

I have two more Little P. updates for his fans. Remember I told you he had a crush on a little girl in his class? Everything was going well until the day the teacher asked the class who had been whispering when her back was turned and the girl ratted P. out. He showed up at my desk that afternoon in a state of high dudgeon, a betrayed young man! From that day on, Love was Dead. 

At the end of January Little P. had his "Vocal Star" audition. He had picked I'm Still Standing by Elton John to sing. His mom said that when he first got up on the stage and saw the people looking at him, he froze, and then his bottom lip started to tremble. She thought, "Oh, no...." but then he pulled himself together, managed to smile (although she knew he was on the verge of crying) and then sang his song all the way through. His voice shook but he finished it! She told him afterwards how proud she was of him, even if he didn't win. I was pretty proud of him, too. That took guts!

 And look how handsome he looked in the new jacket she bought him for the audition:

(This picture makes him look so grown up for an eight year old! He doesn't really look quite this grown up in person).

Update: weather and little friends

It's been another cold, cold day at the end of the coldest January this area's seen in a while. There's even some more snow in the forecast this weekend! They say we won't get quite as much as last weekend, but even a dusting is more than we've seen in the past four years. 

Little P. will be thrilled if it snows again. He showed up at school last Monday afternoon telling me about the fun he'd had playing in it on Saturday. He even built a snowman! I'm still waiting for his mom to show me pictures of it.

Two things (besides snow) are new with Little P. this week. 

1. He has a crush on a little girl in his class. He told me about it, in confidence (shhh!), and asked me how he could get the courage to talk to her and tell her he *likes* her. My advice to the young Romeo was to make friends with her just like he would with any other kid in his class. Today he reported that the little girl told him, "P----, you're really smart!" when he knew the answer to something--so it would seem things are going well in that department.

2. Every spring our school district has a "Vocal Star" talent contest with elementary, middle, and high school divisions. All students are welcome to try out. Little P. showed up Tuesday afternoon and told me he'd decided to audition for it! I was pretty surprised when he told me about it. At first he said he didn't know what he wanted to sing, but after an hour in his mom's office, he came back and told me he'd found a song! Hold on to your hats, friends, it's a good one! 

Hahahaha! I have NO IDEA how he picked this, or where he found it, but that's his choice and he's sticking to it. He's learning the lyrics and practicing, and when he comes by my desk and sails into the chorus of:

P: "I'm still standing......."

 

I've taken to jumping in with the:

J: "YEAH, YEAH, YEAH!..."

part.

 We do it several times in a row and laugh and laugh. That kid is a hoot! 

Thursday night weather update

 Ways to call in snow, according to my 8-year-old buddy, Little P.:

*Wear your pajamas inside out for a couple of nights.

*Flush ice cubes down the toilet the day before.

*Sleep with a spoon under your bed.

It may be working, because he reported to me this afternoon that he's been doing all of these things, and now the forecast is calling for the possibility of an inch of snow after the ice does its thing. I hope we get a little snow, for his sake. 

In any event, there's a very good chance we could lose power and/or internet access for a couple of days. Not only are we expecting ice and snow, but the nighttime low temperatures are expected to be around 19 degrees (-7.22C) and the highs will struggle to get much above freezing. Whatever cold precipitation we get, won't be going away very fast!

My little family will be just fine. We have gas logs for heat, a gas range for cooking, plenty of food (people and pet), and no need to leave home. If it wasn't so dangerous for the essential workers, I'd even say I'm looking forward to it. Real winter weather is such a rarity in eastern South Carolina! I'm hoping to finally see snow here at our "new" house and "new" neighborhood.

Maybe I should flush some ice down the toilet......or sleep with my pjs inside-out. Little P. is convinced it will work!

Cold hands, warm heart

Winter has arrived in South Carolina, with blustery winds and gray skies and temperatures a good bit colder than normal for the early part of November. The high today was only 50 degrees (10 degrees for you Celsius peeps) and tonight the low is 39 (or 3.88C). I'm looking forward to lighting the fireplace for the first time this weekend, and also making the first batch of chili for the year. Yesterday afternoon Little P. was standing beside my desk at work, and he noticed the old, soft sweater I'd put on to fight off the chill. 

"You have a hole in your sweater" he said, pointing. 

I explained that what he was pointing at was just one of the buttonholes. He then proceeded to carefully fasten the buttons all the way down the front for me. I said, "P----, what are you doing?" 

"Buttoning you up. It's cold outside."

My heart melted. That little boy is such a gem. 

Speaking of Little P. hanging out at my desk, this week brought a big change to my work situation. The school principal and the man in charge of security for the district finally got a  front door camera/unlocking device installed in the lobby. A new, larger desk had been ordered and set up out there before Covid hit, but without cameras and a way to unlock the front doors no one could work from there. When I got to work on Monday morning, Mr. Oates told me that I'd be moving out there now that we had the doors and security sorted. I was really surprised. Within the hour, the technology department sent out a guy to move my computer, monitors, phone, intercom, and scanner to the new desk and I was ready to roll.

Which means, of course, that I no longer have to work beside the gossipy, backbiting, and lazy office women who were making me so unhappy! I'm now working from a spacious lobby area, with a view of the goldfish aquarium, and much closer access to teachers and students than I've ever had before. It's almost like those women who were driving me crazy no longer exist. They're hidden away inside the inner offices, and I'm fine with that. I'm so much happier! What a stroke of luck.

My new desk with the sweater Little P. "buttoned me up" into draped over my chair:

A few teachers and other staff members have hinted that they're happy that I've moved, too, and now they can bypass the main office and come straight to me when they need something. One even said, "You're the only one who ever made me feel welcome in there. The others are rude." So it definitely wasn't just me!

I like the change for more reasons than just being away from the office ladies, though. I've enjoyed having the custodians, students, teachers, aides, therapists, etc. etc. coming and going all day, being friendly and stopping to chat and making me feel welcome in my new spot. Two teenaged girls have been stopping by my desk sometimes to talk about the goldfish. They claim they can tell the boys and girls apart, and they've given five of the nine names: Vinny, Jacob, Kenny, Thelma, and Felicia. Haha!

 I have a feeling I'm going to have some fun in my new spot. I'm already enjoying myself out there, even if the lobby is a bit drafty and cold in the winter. I'll be keeping the sweater handy, and maybe I'll even get a small electric kettle for making cups of hot tea at my desk. 

November is off to a good start.

Little boys

Returning to work and to a more normal workload these past two weeks has been exhausting. Last night I was in bed sound asleep by 10pm and didn't get up until 8am, so I had ten solid hours. Then this afternoon, after watching the first few cheesy episodes of that old 60's gothic soap opera Dark Shadows (feeling like I ought to be smoking Virginia Slims and sipping a Tom Collins the whole while), I took a two hour nap. It felt great.

Prince George was super happy to come lie at the foot of the bed and take a nap, too. I think he probably misses our daily summer afternoon naps together as much as I do. In fact, I just miss him, period, now that I'm back at school. I mean, look at this face. How could I not?

He sure has come a long way. Next week will be a full year since we lost Ginger, and he's finally settled into being the only dog and soaking up all the extra attention. He's better behaved and more mature now. A thoroughly good boy. 

I miss this rascal while at work, too. My most troublesome son. He'll be fourteen years old next month.

The one thing Marco likes about me going back to work is helping me get ready in the morning. Sitting on my shoulder and "helping" me put on makeup is one of his favorite things. Sometimes he preens my hair while I do it, which is kind of adorable. Another good boy (most of the time).

Here's my final picture to share with you today. Meike asked if I'd seen Little P. yet this year. Yes I have! How I'd missed that little boy! Even with only a two month break, it looks like he's grown some. I was so happy to finally see him again this week and give him a big hug.

Wednesday tidbits

It's been an unseasonably chilly day here today. The high temperature only reached the mid 50s, which is more like February than May in South Carolina. Personally, I'm enjoying it. The heat and awful humidity will be along shortly, no doubt.

We've also gotten some much-needed rain. The last several weeks have been very, very dry and watering with the hose just isn't the same. Despite the cool temperatures and lack of rain, my garden seems to be flourishing. Knock on wood.

You may remember I mentioned a female cardinal had built a nest in our pomegranate tree. She's been sitting on it, but so far hasn't produced any eggs. I know because I snuck over there and reached up high to snap a picture with my phone when I noticed that she (and her mate) were off somewhere for a minute.

Isn't that a pretty piece of workmanship, though? There's even a strip of clear plastic woven in on one side which you can see in this picture. And the pomegranate is blooming like never before, so it's going to be a pretty place for a clutch of baby birds to come into the world. There are so many flowers on the tree this year that I'm beginning to think we may even get a few fruits for the first time! Baby birds and pomegranates...how cool is that?

Here's something else I wanted to show you. Early Sunday morning we took George to the park down the road from our house, and had it all to ourselves. The city has just had a nice new skate park built over on one side and I got a photo of it.

It's bigger and nicer than it looks in this photo. Usually we see lots of kids with skateboards having a great time on this super-smooth new skating area. I never could use a skateboard as a teenager. I had several good friends in high school that were stoner/skater type boys, but I was too clumsy and uncoordinated to even stand up on a board. How some of those guys would have loved having a place like this to practice! They had to make do with homemade ramps and such when we were growing up. I feel lucky as an adult that I have easy access (less than a mile from my home) to one of the nicer parks in our county. This particular one has five (I think) baseball fields....speaking of which....

My buddy Little P. is playing baseball for the first time this year, and they play most of their games at this park! Gregg and I went to one a couple of weeks ago to see him play. It was so much fun! I know very little about baseball, but Gregg and his brother and sister played for years when they were growing up. Little P. didn't know we were coming, and we walked up to the side of the fence just as the game was starting. When he came to the outfield close to where we were standing, I started to go over and call to him, but Gregg stopped me and said, "If he knows you're standing here watching him he won't be able to concentrate" and he was right. A few minutes later he happened to look our way, spotted us, and for the rest of the game he kept checking to see if we were looking. :) He was so happy we came to see him! 

(Little P. is number 12 at the bottom left).

Speaking of P., his mom asked me if he could hang out at my desk for my last 30 minutes yesterday while she went to a meeting. Of course I said yes, and was happy to have him. He got on a roll telling me silly fart jokes and making me laugh, until I finally made him take a selfie with me while we were giggling. Of course he had to pretend to be picking his nose while I took the picture! That child is such a joy to me.

Q: What do you get when you eat bean and onion soup?

A: Tear gas!

Q: What do you call a dinosaur fart?

A: A blast from the past!

Got jokes?

 My eight year old buddy Little P. loves to tell jokes. He comes by my desk every afternoon after the school bus drops him off and we talk for a few minutes. As often as not, he has a couple of new jokes to tell me. One of today's was a corker:

Q: What do you call a cow with no legs?

A: Ground Beef.

Hahaha!

That made me laugh so much I texted it to my husband. I also encouraged P. to tell it to our principal, who (himself the father of two small boys) laughed pretty hard, too. Then he told P. a joke in return that was just edgy enough to delight a little boy. Here it is:

Q: What do you call a cross between an elephant and a rhinoceros?

A: 'Elifino.

Read the answer aloud slowly a couple of times if you don't immediately get it. :)

Our principal is a bit of a prankster and enjoys a good (harmless) practical joke. I'll never forget the April Fool's Day when he set up a microphone from the band room by the computer that teachers and staff used to clock in. He printed out instructions that said, "NEW VOICE ACTIVATED CLOCK IN SYSTEM. PLEASE SPEAK INTO THE MICROPHONE SLOWLY AND CLEARLY, AND STATE YOUR NAME AND POSITION AT SNEED MIDDLE SCHOOL. WAIT FOR CONFIRMATION." and then he sat in his office and watched on the security cameras as 90% of his staff fell for it and attempted to clock in that way! Hahahaha! I'll admit it....I was one of the April Fools that day. 

I'm thankful every single day for my job. I don't make much money, but I have lots of job security, excellent benefits, and I get to have a good laugh almost every day. Sometimes multiple times a day. How lucky is that?

Sprung

 

A photo taken recently in Beaufort, South Carolina. I stole it off Facebook. Photo credit goes to Doug Noll.

It's the Vernal Equinox! I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm especially happy to see the arrival of spring this year. It's been a long, unpleasant winter. 

Just look at the tender new leaf buds coming out on the little baby fig tree! Just two weeks ago I was hoping it had survived its first winter in the ground. As of this morning, it would appear so!

Since I'm over a week out from my second shot, I picked today to go out and do some shopping. I needed new sneakers and jeans and for obvious reasons I'm hesitant to order either online. I also needed to get a birthday gift for little P. I hate hate hate the mall with a fiery passion but it's the best place to get a bunch of different shopping done in one centralized location. So that's where I headed. You wouldn't believe the hordes of people there, half of whom weren't wearing masks. I nearly had a panic attack just trying to navigate around the parking lots looking for a space to park the car. It's obvious stimulus money and tax refunds are hitting simultaneously. Ugh. I was uneasy the whole time!

Lots of businesses are gone since the last time I was there, including the Game Stop where I had intended to buy little P. a gift card to put towards the video game he wants. No big loss there; I don't like the idea of giving kids electronics or video games in the first place. I certainly wasn't going to drive across town to the other Game Stop, either. So I got him an alternate gift that was on one of his wish lists that his mom shared with me. It makes me much happier: a nice Lego kit. Apparently little P. is crazy for Legos.

He specifically requested Minecraft Legos, and when I texted his mom she confirmed that he doesn't have this one already. Legos are so much better for creative play! Of course I looked for books, and P. likes to read, but when it comes to his favorite series I don't know which he has already and which he doesn't. I think he'll be pleased with this--I hope so, anyway. I'll let you know Tuesday.

As for me, I looked and looked and couldn't find any shoes or jeans at the mall. I ended up driving to a shoe store close by and getting a new pair of Saucony sneakers. I love this brand! Not only are they very comfortable to walk in, but they hold up well. My last pair is pretty beaten up and well worn, but still perfectly useable. They just don't look nice for wearing when I'm out and about or meeting friends. I'm happy to have a new pair. Then I came home and did something that's a first for me: I bought a pair of jeans online. I searched for a pair that had great reviews, so we'll see. If they don't work I'll return them, but if they do then that will be a game changer. I hate trying on clothes in store dressing rooms, especially now in the age of Covid. If this pair works out well I'll order two more in different shades/colors.

That's been my big day so far. I stopped at one last place, a butcher shop, and picked up Santa Fe stuffed chicken breasts and baking potatoes for our dinner tonight. The spuds are baking, and in a few minutes I'll add the chicken breasts to the hot oven and make a nice salad. Gregg will be home from work in about an hour, and since he works late on Saturdays I try to time Saturday night dinner to be ready (or close to it) when he walks in. 

I hope you've all had a pleasant "first day" of spring! Happy Equinox, everyone!

St. Patrick's Day (and spider junk)

 Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

My day at work was fun. Little P.'s mom (one of our Guidance Counselors) goes all out on holidays to think of fun activities and treats for the entire school. Today she brought green iced cookies for the staff, arranged for candy and green bead necklaces to be hidden around the school for the students to find, served "leprechaun juice" (green Hawaiian Punch) during all four lunches, and encouraged everyone to dress up in green today to celebrate. No one can beat her for dressing up for special occasions! Here's a photo of her I shared on the school's FB page this morning.

Don't you just love it? It's obvious where little P. gets his quirky sense of humor and outgoing personality!

It being St. Pat's Day made the morning go by quickly, as I kept getting called to take pictures to share on social media of staff wearing green as well as all the treats. The cafeteria staff cooked an Irish themed lunch today: shepherds pie, roasted potatoes, and cabbage! There were even fresh strawberries for dessert. Everyone was in a good mood. The new band director, Mr. Cribb, greeted me first thing this morning with a  hearty "Top o' the mornin' to ya!" and made me laugh. 

So, speaking of little P....he's been coming to my desk the past couple of afternoons and Googling photos of spiders. I have no idea why he's so obsessed with spiders all of a sudden but that's all he's wanted to talk about. Today after we looked at some pictures of different types he turned to me and asked (giggling up a storm), "Mrs. Barlow....do spiders have penises?"  Hahahahaha!

After I quit laughing I had to admit that I have no idea whether or not spiders have penises. When I saw him reach for my keyboard to start typing into the search bar, I said, "Don't you Google that on my work computer!" I know him well enough now that I knew that's what he was about to do! Of course, then I had to explain why he couldn't look up the answer. Our district office can and probably does monitor our searches and online activity. It might look a little weird if my bosses saw me looking for spider penises on my work computer! The thought of that really made him giggle, the little imp.

There's never a dull moment with that boy around!