Holly-Batali

Elvira, my lovely daughter, has a pseudonym. Actually, Elvira is a pseudonym, but she has yet another. For some months now she has been publishing her work under the nom de plume "Holly-Batali" on Fanfiction.net. She's so amazing. Check out her Springtime With the Cullens. It's my favorite!

Letting Go

Drummer Boy got his driver's license yesterday! Yay!!! Of course, there is the caveat that we still accompany him on the freeway. Okay, make that Dad accompanies him on the freeway since I don't have the stomach for it. And I'll probably drive with him at night for a little longer. And maybe during the day, too. Let's just say, he's not getting his own set of keys yet, okay?


I spent the last two days helping our art teacher pack up her room. Our school is not going to have a separate art lab next year due to budget cuts. There were supplies in there from the 60s and 70s, if you can believe it. We dumped so much stuff in the trash I think the world's global temperature went up a couple of degrees. Someone must have ordered supplies every year without inventorying what they already had. We threw out so many full gallons of paint--it was so sad. But it had been sitting there for years and was all separated and nasty now. Tons and tons of stuff. But the room is completely done now, and I've been snagged for more purging duty tomorrow. It's very freeing, throwing away other people's things. It's like spending a million bucks on television ads in one day. What fun! I think I'll dedicate my college career to that. Oh, wait. I did do that.

So I came home and threw out all our old markers and pens that were dried out. I also put a whole stack of expired credit cards in the shredder. I'd been meaning to do that for ages! If I can just keep telling myself that all this junk belongs to somebody else, it will be a whole lot easier. Next I'll go online and order lots and lots of fun things and pretend someone else will pay the bill. That sounds like fun! Just kidding, sweetie.

Another One Bites the Dust

Well, another school year is almost over. Almost being the key word. Drummer Boy ended up doing very well, and Elvira is doing well, too. If she can just retake a Geometry test or two so her teacher will pass her for last term. If only ... She has been so swamped that I'm surprised she doesn't have Power Point slides tipping out of her head when she nods off.

Kitty Boy and Tinkerbell are doing great. The GT room is all packed up and generic again. We're looking forward to La Push in August and a handful of other places in the meantime. I'm building a reading list for myself and have decided I want to complete one task every day this summer, whether it's dusting the ceiling fan or sewing on a button I've been meaning to. I'm the master of starting things but never finishing them. That's my big goal. Just one thing a day. More than one is gravy, but not expected.

I love summer vacation. I really want to go home to see my family. I miss them all. I got to see Caro last week on her way from Idaho to home for good, but it was only for a few hours. Not enough. I found myself just staring at her because I've never really spent much time with my own sister and I was just trying to memorize everything about her. I want to be around my family enough that their very appearance isn't so captivating, just reassuring. I want to see Jim's store and help out. I want to take my mom out to lunch and dig up weeds at the house. I want to sit on Dad's bed and spend all the time in the world with him. I want to be there when Suzy comes with the kids. Utah is nice, but it's never going to be home.

This post ended up differently than I thought. Funny how that works.

I'm No Longer Gifted & Talented

I'm about to be just average again. Waaaa. I found out today that our GT program is ending, for the most part. They'll still have an after school component, but I won't be involved in that. I like what I do, but most of all I love the kids. Even the ones that drive me nuts are actually pretty engaging, bright, funny kids.

I don't know what I'll do next year. It would be nice to not do anything, quite honestly. I think I could make enough E-baying our excess stuff to probably match my income! Plus, I have a million jobs and projects that have been put on ice for the last umpteen years while I was working or had tiny kids at home.

Let's see ... I could have lunch with Tinkerbell and help in her class. I could get the rest of the photos in albums. I could go through our digital photos, burn them onto CDs, get some printed out, and get those in albums. I could edit our million hours of home movies and burn them on DVDs. I could catch up on my ironing and make Sweetie's Halloween costume BEFORE Halloween--what a concept! I could work in the garden and get things straightened up out there. I could research scholarships so Drummer Boy can pay for college. I could work on Dad's genealogy so Mom can just focus on her own. I could finally paint some walls, rip out carpet, lay wood floors, change out light fixtures, tear down wallpaper, and the list goes on and on.

Come to think of it, who has time for work? I mean honestly--I'm way to busy for that.