Once Upon a Summer...

So I realized tonight that it has been over a month since I have posted anything, and what I did post was written during a really rough patch of time. Sorry about that, friends!

Summer has marched on and now, here we are, over halfway through it and I haven't yet caught my breath. Unbelievable to think that a month from tomorrow is my first "official" day back to work for our staff retreat. (BTW, if I hear any snide comments about teachers getting summers off, I will probably vomit. Repeatedly. If you only knew.)

Still, it's been a good summer - though fast and right now, HOT. I didn't plan any big trips this summer, which is OK with me. Sometimes it's just better to stay put. Maybe next summer! Not necessarily in sequential order, summer thus far has included:

• A relatively sudden decision to buy a house. Oh my! I started the summer planning to move to a new rental situation by summer's end, but my course changed direction quickly and dramatically. Update post on that to come in the next day or two.
  
• Administering Credit By Exam & Exam of Acceleration to students - I get the CBE for older kids, but why, WHY try to skip a trade early on? As an upper elementary teacher, I don't get it.
• Saw lots of good movies, some with friends and some catching up at home!
• Lots of great catch-up lunches and dinners with friends I don't see nearly often enough!
• Dogsat and/or housesat for a couple of different people. Fun times!
• Welcomed my parents into town and with them, worked at the Youth Evangelism Conference, where we've been working for about 20 years! Not only is it a great time to see my parents; it's also a great time to see old friends who are almost like family.
• On the same weekend, saw my brother-in-law, sister, and niece as they drove up to send my niece back home with my parents for a week.
• The next week, picked my niece up at the airport for a week with her aunt! We did SO much and had a blast together: American Girl Store, Studio Movie Grill, Ice Age 3, Hannah Montana Movie, Medieval Times, PJ/Movie day, Barbies, painting pottery, magic tricks, and more!
• Read lots of great books! I love summer reading.
• Reformatted my PC. Had to be done - that's all I can say about that. But, glad it's done now.
• Took my vacuum cleaner apart until I found the clog that was keeping it from working. Yay, me!
• Tried desperately to begin catching up on reading magazines. I subscribe, and then never read them. I have stowed them away until they're too numerous to conquer. I'm trying though.
• Tried to stay cool in this horrible heat! If it's like this already, August scares me!
• Watched way too much TV.
• FINALLY joined the ranks of iPhone addicts. Why did I wait so long? Yet another technology addiction for me to add to the list.
• Went walking with a friend from work as often as our schedules would allow - I have enjoyed that time! We have had a couple of weeks of schedule conflicts, but I have been trying to walk event when we couldn't.

I think that's about it. There could be more, but it's escaping me at the moment!!

Soon to come - some laughs and uh-ohs from the summer, and a house-buying update!