Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Roger went to work for a few hours this morning. I got Jack off to his cub scout den meeting (sledding), stopped by the post office to pick up some priority mail boxes and then worked in my office a bit. When Roger got home around noon, I got organized to go out. I packaged up some orders, collected the muslin I bought yesterday, scissors, duct tape, and dusting supplies. After another stop at the post office I headed to the museum and started working on replacing the brightly colored shelf backings (that I put up last March for the Wayne Theibaud show) with the neutral muslin. I spent a lot of the time having conversations with people, so only finished four of nine shelves. Oh well. It was a good day. I regrouped with Roger over dinner out (Jack was home with Johnny and Benny). Then this evening I spent three hours ironing the slip cover and 11 cushion covers for the couch. I'm beat!

Monday, December 29, 2008

Started taking the picture book exhibit down. Roger borrowed his parents' pickup truck and we collected the couch, the bookshelf, the rug and the glass case we used to display David A. Carter's pop up book mockups. I stayed on at the museum sorting through books, taking inventory, and putting sale stickers on. Roger and I returned the truck to his parents, we got something to eat, and then I dragged him to a fabric store on an errand. I bought 20 yards of muslin for $15 to redo the backs of the shelves at the museum store. The whole time we were working hard, Jack was playing hard with his friends. He went sledding multiple times! In the evening I took the slipcover and all of the cushion covers for the couch we brought home from the museum to the laundromat to wash them in the big machines. But the labels said do not tumble dry (100% cotton would shrink I suppose). We hung all of the cushion covers in the laundry room to dry, but the slipcover was huge. Roger strung a rope in the garage and we hung it from that. Our jeeps had to spend the night out in the cold.

Sunday, December 28, 2008

Yesterday I had a horrible headache all day, still recovering today. By the end of the day I felt pretty okay! Mostly watched movies recorded on my DVR. I've been watching a lot of movies this vacation. I don't often watch movies, so there are plenty to pick from that I've never seen. It was very strange how many movies I have recorded that have the same actors. A serious case of two degrees of separation. Like the other night I watched Barefoot in the Park with Jane Fonda, then the next day I watched Georgia Rule with Jane Fonda. I watched Fracture with Ryan Gosling and then The Notebook, also with Ryan Gosling. I watched Chasing Liberty with Mandy Moore and started watching A Walk to Remember, also with Mandy Moore. I watched The Good Shephard, with Angelina Jolie, and I've got The Bone Collector with Angelina recorded. I watched To Die For with Nicole Kidman and have Far and Away with Nicole recorded. Weird.

Friday, December 27, 2008

A lazy morning (I'm getting so spoiled on vacation!). Puttered with this and that until it was time to take Jack to a doctor's appointment. He had a stomach bug about a month ago and continued to complain that he felt sick to his stomach. It seemed to be in is head (fear of barfing - he has so little experience with that!). He was easily distracted by friends and he seemed to complain most when it came time to go to school or church. But he kept complaining after school let out for vacation. And then one morning he decided he'd just stop eating for fear of throwing up. So I made an appointment. He explained to the doctor what was going on and had to answer all sorts of personal questions (you can imagine). The doctor took Jack quite seriously and ended up prescribing three medications (primarily in an effort to make sure that Jack's digestion was on track) and gave us a list of fiber rich foods. Between the copayment and the prescriptions we're into this more than $100! But I am hopeful that Jack will end up eating more healthfully as a result. Doctor's orders and all that. After the doctor, we had lunch out, then stopped by the grocery store to stock up on fiber filled foods we think Jack will eat. Jack picked out some funky African fruit called a kiwano (or horned melon). We haven't tried it yet. Other events worth noting: I emailed all of the artists in the show re the closing in a few days and when they can start gathering their pieces. And Jack went to sleep fairly early so Roger and I had time to watch a movie together. We watched Hancock with Will Smith. Very different than I expected, but I like it. Apparently I'm catching up on movies this week!

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Happy Christmas! I managed to stay in bed until almost 7:00. Of course Jack had climbed into bed with us just after 5:00 a.m. so it didn't actually mean I slept until 7:00. Opening presents was very nice. We're quite civilized and take turns. At one point Jack opened a small Lego set and asked if we could take a break so he could put it together. Yes, very civilized. I tried to take a nap between opening presents and going to Ogden's for Christmas dinner, but mostly talked on the phone with family in Argentina (my sister) and Massachusetts (mom, dad, sister, uncle). Christmas dinner was also very nice. Lots of family chatter and games (I won a round of Apples to Apples after not winning a single point in the previous round). We got home late in the afternoon. Jack built more Lego (he finished building two of the three big sets he received), I watched a movie (Barefoot in the Park with Robert Redford and Jane Fonda - I'd never seen it before). 

Wednesday, 24 December 2008

Christmas Eve! Jack spent much of the day picking up and patiently waiting for our traditional pizza party, which didn't start until 5:30. Roger took care of vacuuming. I dusted and cleaned the bathroom. Good family effort! Roger and I went out a various times to run various errands. Dropping off gifts, buying forgotten items like paper cups and plates for the big party, etc. And, of course, lots of wrapping presents. But it was really a peaceful, relaxed day overall. The party was lots of fun with nearly 20 people: Ogdens (including cousin Saralyn), Grahams (including cousin Brian), Vaughns (including their five kids), cousin Evan, and Grandma and Grandpa. While the grownups talked, the kids had a huge nerf dart battle and played Lego. Then we broke out Wii Mario Kart. The Vaughn kids had no idea their parents had their own Wii system and Mario Kart wrapped up under the tree at home! A quiet evening after the party. Jack and I read, and, per tradition, Jack fell asleep by candlelight. Then we're pretty sure Santa came.

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Almost all of our Christmas gifts are bought, wrapped and delivered, including a few top secret projects that required Jack to leave the house (Roger took Jack and his friends sledding and then I sent Jack to his friends' house afterward). We enjoyed a crazy trip to Target for last minute stocking stuffers. Jack finished up Grandma's Lego advent calendar for her. Roger, Jack and Jack's friend Cooper took apart our old microwave. We made a good attempt at cleaning the house for our Christmas Eve party tomorrow, but we are not done yet. We had family movie night tonight and watched Horton Hears a Who. Very funny! We especially liked the Ice Age short on the same DVD.

Monday, December 22, 2008

Christmas cards are done and mailed! I've also been catching up on sleep! Jack had five friends over, sometimes all at the same time. No more light saber battles inside the house! It snowed almost all day long. Jack and his friends had a huge snowball fight outside (thankfully not inside--that has always been against house rules). Jack got hit in the face with a giant snowball. Roger came home early and snow blowed the driveway. Then a few hours later he snow blowed again.

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Lots of Christmas music at church today - always a favorite of mine. Worked on Christmas letters. Delivered some Christmas presents, a birthday present and visited with friends and family. Finalized the end of the semester by submitting grades online. Watched a bit of a movie with Roger and Jack. A nice pre-Christmas Sunday.

Saturday, December 21, 2008

A family day today. A quiet morning at home, then haircuts for me and Jack, a stop by an afternoon wedding reception for one of Roger's colleagues, a visit to Grandpa, a trip to Target (where we didn't buy anything except a gift card for someone!!!), dinner at Panda Express and a cozy evening at home. 

Friday, December 19, 2008

Roger took the day off, so I got to lounge in my warm bed while he took Jack to school. After I finally got up, showered, had breakfast and threw a load of laundry in, I got to work on our Christmas cards. I spent way too much time fighting with paper jams trying to print our letter. I'm not sure how many copies I ended up getting on the fancy paper I bought. I've got the labels all printed and will spend the rest of this evening getting the mailing put together. Roger and I went to the Christmas assembly at Jack's school, and Roger got some great shots I can put in the PTA newsletter. We made Jack finish school and he later called us to pick him up because of the "white out conditions." It actually was snowing pretty hard, but I'm sure he'd have made it home from the bus stop okay. We picked him up, dropped him off at Grandma and Grandpa's while we shopped at Costco, then picked him up and took him out to dinner with us. We are now well fed and cozy at home.

Catch Up

Okay, so I've been a slacker for nearly a month. A few highlights: We had a lovely Thanksgiving here at our house with Roger's parents and our nephew Tim. We've been to several fun parties, including a party at our friend Justin's photography studio in downtown Provo, an art opening at BYU for one of Roger's student employee's BFA project, a good friend's 60th birthday party (I love that I have friends who are 25 and friends who are 60!), a wedding reception for a neighbor's son, and a shower for a bride who is marrying into one of our favorite families. We wrapped up the story time series we've been doing at the museum in conjunction with the picture book art exhibit. I think it was a great success! Roger finished what he hopes is his final class for his MLS degree. Jack had a 24-hour bug and now refers to everything in his life as "before barf day" and "after barf day." (Thankfully he very, very rarely gets sick!) I took Jack to a Kurt Bestor Christmas concert at the events center at UVU, especially to hear his daughter, one of my students, sing. I've had a couple of doctor appointments and a CT scan, and am now on very strong antibiotics in hopes of licking what we think is a chronic sinus infection. I've also graded about 100 papers for my UVU classes, including one marathon session to get all of my student's final papers returned to them this past Monday. Jack and I finished So You Want to Be a Wizard and are currently reading Island of the Blue Dolphins together. Christmas shopping is well underway, we've got our Christmas tree up, we've got snow on the ground, and all of us are done with school (well, I still have one paper to grade from a student who turned it in late and then I've got to submit grades). Now back to my daily postings!

Monday, November 24, 3008

Scrambled to get the last few papers graded before class today. Got them handed back just in time to collect the next batch. As usual, my first class went very well and my second class just stared at me when I asked them questions. Every once in a while we have a break through, but I hate having my day at school end like that. I came home from school, did a bit of grocery shopping, then pretty much ran down for the rest of the day with a huge headache. Roger and Jack went out to run errands, including a stop at Krispy Kreme to stock us up as we head into the Thanksgiving holiday. I stayed home and watched CSI.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

We all hunkered down today, recovering from various illnesses and much lack of sleep. I am so happy that Jack is back to his spirited self (though whining before bed in hopes of getting off school tomorrow!). Roger is getting over a big bad cold. I took the last of my antiobiotics this tonight. Fingers crossed that I won't take a dive again after very little sleep the last two nights. I spent a good part of my day grading papers. And I'm getting another big stack tomorrow. Blech. I love everything about teaching except grading papers. I need to learn how to stop procrastinating so I can enjoy more time without having the stacks hanging over my head! Honestly, I don't know how instructors with more than 40 students do it!

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Oh, it was a long, long, sleepless night. But Jack made it through. He's still feeling lousy tonight, but his stomach has settled and his fever has responded to Motrin. Roger hung out with him earlier today while I went to story time at the museum (Lily Toy Hong, who brought some of the Chinese antiques that were represented in her books for show and tell). I had lunch with friends, then got a bit of work done at the museum. My friend Lisa turned up with her daughter and I took them through the picture book exhibit. When I got home I hung out with Jack and we read for a while. Then he and Roger watched a movie while I took a nap. More hanging out and reading. Jack is now finally getting some much needed rest. 

Friday, November 21, 2008

Jack and I slept in this morning until after nine. I dropped him off at school on my way to UVU, where I oversaw peer reviews of research proposals and annotated bibliographies. Darn exciting. But I think that my students have a much clearer view of what they need to turn in to me next week. After school Jack went off to play at a friend's house and I hung out in my office, mostly not working. When Roger came home we went to a wedding celebration at a neighbor's house. Their son, who works at the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem, is getting married in the morning. A quiet evening at home until Jack threw up about 9:30. This happens extremely rarely. Another round about 11:00. It's nearly midnight now, and we're hoping he settles in to sleep. Poor guy.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

It was hard to get Jack to school, but we did it. He's got a cold and wasn't feeling particularly well. I told him he could call me if he was miserable. When I got to the high school, the librarian said the system still wasn't working well. Would I rather just take the day off? I still have a pretty hefty stack of papers I need to grade, so I went home to work on them, telling her to call me if the system came back up. At about 11:00 Jack called from the school for me to pick him up. The deal is that if he ever stays home sick or comes home sick he has to forego friends for the rest of the day. That usually keeps him in school, but I think he was a bit miserable. So I picked him up and we hung out for the rest of the day at home. I didn't get all of the papers graded. Crap.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

MLA part two. I had some candy left from Monday so I used it to reward correct answers. I totally lost track of time between my two classes talking with a couple of students and ended up nearly 20 minutes late to my 2:00 class. How embarrassing! Honestly, my brain is so untrustworthy anymore! It was all good, but I had to cram 50 minutes of instruction into 30 and that wasn't so easy. Luckily I had enough candy left for everyone to have some. I had a nice visit with Roger's sister Carol in the afternoon. Then I took Jack to Cub Scout Pack Meeting, where they decorated Christmas cookies, made candy cane reindeer and wrote letters to people. Jack chose to right a letter to Grandpa, and included a drawing of Utah with lots of landmarks he's been learning about (fourth graders here learn state history and geography).

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Crazy day at the high school library today. The computer network was down. We could still check books in and out with a handheld scanner, but students had to have their ID card for scanning--no way to just enter their ID numbers. One class showed up without a teacher (a sub showed up about half an hour later). The librarian was teaching a class in another part of the school, so I was the only grownup. I couldn't believe I had to tell a group of boys that they couldn't watch ESPN three times! Every time I turned the television of, they turned it on! I had to be the mean mom. I don't like that part of my job. I've been reading The Faith Club (about three women--one Jewish, one Muslim, one Christian--who talk about their respective religions over the course of several years seeking understanding and common ground). One of my book clubs discussed it tonight. We had such a great time, and I came away feeling so blessed to have strong, intelligent, spiritual friends.

Monday, November 17, 2008

Up on time, showered and dressed, Jack to school, worked on getting organized for my classes. MLA citation system today. Took candy to get my students through. It all went fairly well, but honestly, you could spend weeks explaining a citation system! I try to do what I can in two class periods. One student very earnestly asked if I knew anything about the "CYA" citation system that his physics professor said he needed to use. I was so surprised, especially in the age of text messaging, that hardly anyone in the class new what CYA meant and that his professor was playing him. So if nothing else, my students all learned about the principle of CYA (which I think you only really learn if you have a highly bureaucratic job). I think my antibiotic prescription is helping. I feel more clearheaded.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Another Sunday has come and gone.

Saturday, November 15, 2008

A slow start this morning, but eventually I was functioning fairly well! Two days into the antibiotics and I'm feeling even more hopeful that I will be functioning normally soon. Huge turnout at story time today (Mark and Caralyn Beuhner came)--at least 80 children plus parents! I went out to lunch with friends Linda, Shelley and Brent (who is managing the development of the new sculpture garden at the museum). Brent treated us to a family style bowl of sizzling rice soup at the Mongolian Grill. Shelley and I took inventory of the picture books (we've broken even and are now making money even after getting another order in yesterday). I worked hard on getting all of the cords in the new point of sale system organized and crammed into the back of the case the monitor sits on so I could shut the back of it. What a rat's nest! I hung out for a bit more helping Shelley work on a brochure. Then Roger showed up to wrangle me home. We left Jack with Johnny and Benny and went out to dinner. I am now stuffed full, in my pajamas and tucked in to watch a bit television before bed. Yawn.

Friday, November 14, 2008

Roger is my hero. He took the day off today. He wasn't planning to spend it helping me, but he did anyway. Once again, I didn't feel well when I woke up. He called and made a doctor's appointment for me. The only opening she had was 1:15--right between my UVU classes. I had an in-class exercised planned (write 100 questions on your research topic!) and so I asked Roger to come with me to school. He was planning to spend the day working on a paper for a class he's taking, so I thought he'd get lots of work done while my students were working. Anyway, he came with me to my noon class, then I took the car and went to the doctor and he got my 2:00 class going on their assignment. I got back to school at 2:30. What a good guy! Plus he got to meet my students and see where I've been working. That was nice. They took my blood at the doctor's office to check for a few things, but decided that most likely I've been suffering from chronic sinus infections and so started me on a course of antibiotics. I am full of hope that I will feel better soon! In the evening Jack and I went with Roger to help him out with a video contest the BYU library was hosting, then we had dinner at Panda Express and did a bit of shopping at Target. I was worn out by the end of the day!

Thursday, November 13, 2008

I started out pretty strong today! Got Jack to school, went to a PTA meeting, went to work at the high school for a shorter shift than usual (and we were busy, busy today with lots of students), took a break for a bit in the afternoon, then went out for the evening to a library board meeting (it's my job to take minutes, which is so easy to do now with my trusty macbook!). When I got home after 9:00 I was thoroughly worn out. I am really, really tired of not feeling up to life.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Worked steadily through my to-do list (get Jack to school, get organized for class, post office, photocopying handouts, teach class, get home, run to the grocery store), and then I stopped. It felt so good to stop.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

I tried very hard to put in a good day's work at the high school library today. I spent most of my time buried in the stacks making sure books were in their proper order and reflowing some of the overcrowded shelves. So I didn't have to have much of a brain and that was good. Pretty much crashed when I got home. I went to bed at 7:00, woke up to help get Jack to bed, read for a bit, then went back to bed.

Monday, November 10, 2008

Home sick today. It was snowy and cold and I called the English department at UVU and asked them to post signs on my classroom door. Class cancelled. After I dropped Jack off at school, I climbed back in bed and slept. The only thing of note today was a nice long conversation with my mom, who is in the hospital having her second knee replacement surgery. She's doing well.

Sunday, November 9, 2008

A low-key day at home with the family. Not much to report except we all ate far too many Rice Krispy treats and Jack spent at least an hour carefully going through his latest Lego catalog putting together a list of kits he'd like for Christmas. He wrote the whole list out with item numbers and names, then prioritized his top six choices. Yes, it was a lengthy list.

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Another fun story time at the museum. Roger and Jack have been a huge support this fall, coming to story time with me and taking pictures. Julie Olson was our guest artist, and she did a fabulous job. One of the books she illustrated (There's Always a Way, Annie McRae) is about a girl who wants to be so many different things when she grows up. Julie asked the kids what they want to be when they grow up. Jack raised his hand and said he wants to be the president of the Lego company. I think he's on the right track and we told him so--he's good with people, he's got a great imagination, he is intrigued by doing business and making money, and he's got the makings of a good engineer. Good news on the museum store front--we've just about broken even on all of the inventory I've brought in for the picture book show and we're only half way through the exhibition. The store doesn't do a lot of business, so it's a pretty big deal! Other good news: mom had knee replacement surgery on Thursday and she is doing well!

Friday, November 7, 2008

I had fun with my UVU classes today. For a mid-semester break from the rigors of research and academic writing, I had them do a creative writing piece and turned it into a competition. The topic? A brand new athletic shoe that I saw on the shoulder of the I-15 entrance ramp while driving the other day. The students were free to do anything at all with that topic, use any writing style or device, develop the topic any direction they wanted to. I will be announcing the winners in class on Monday. Most of my students were really energized by the task. It was fun to hear them spontaneously shout out, "Oh, I've got the perfect idea!" The students who struggled were actually some of my top students, so I felt good about stretching them. Another memory to keep from today: dinner (actually breakfast from the breakfast all day menu) out with Roger at the Model A Cafe.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Worked hard reorganizing books in our non-fiction section at the high school library today. Talked with a couple of teachers about some of the things they're doing with research and writing. I'm trying to figure ways to exploit the fact that I work both at the high school and UVU to help further the cause of critical thinking, research and writing skill development. Thought I forgot PTA meeting this morning, but later realized that it was postponed until next week. I did forget to attend a Relief Society dinner tonight. I'm sad about that. We got an invitation to a party to celebrate the passing of the library bond, which was held in an indoor sport court at a friend's house. Even though it was all grown ups besides Jack, he had lots of fun! We played a couple of games, including a game where we blew up balloons and let them go, hoping to land on a prize. Whoever came closest won the prize. It was hilarious! The balloons were very unpredictable. Jack was the only one who got his balloon to actually land on a prize, and he got a big round of applause.

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

I was determined to pass back papers to my classes today (I kept waiting to feel well to grade them--I don't like grading papers without a brain!). I made it! I decided to spend class today discussing an editorial that I had them read and respond to about a week ago about some of the reasons we've gone into a ditch and how we can get out of it (primarily by pay attention to education and infrastructure). I wanted to tie it in to the choices we all make as individuals (like my choice to teach, and my students' choice to go to college). The discussion in my first class was dynamic and useful and fun. My second class? I felt like I was pulling teeth. Later in the afternoon, I attended a worthwhile staff meeting for adjunct instructors (we spend time sharing ideas and passing ideas by one another for input). On the way home I stopped by the museum to say hi to artist Will Terry, who spoke at Evening for Educators, an ongoing series there. I invited Roger and Jack down to see the opening of a John Telford photography exhibit and to meet him. His photos are amazing!

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

What a day, packed full of turning a corner. I voted when I dropped Jack off at school (only about 10 people in line ahead of me). I spent most of my time at the high school reflowing the stacks to make room for all of the magazines I've finished cataloguing. I had quite a few conversations with students about the election, some leaving me frustrated with the misconceptions that people have, some giving me hope in our future. One of my neighbor's kids truly believed that if Obama was elected, he would start killing all of the two-year-olds in the country. What?! I tried hard to focus on grading papers in between getting Jack to cub scouts, emailing, talking on the phone, and peeking at election results. At the end of the day, we watched both McCain and Obama speak. And I checked the results of the library bond, which looked quite positive. My main wish is that we will pull together as a nation to get through these difficult times, looking to Obama for all of the good he can and will contribute to healing our divides if we will only let him. 

Monday, November 3, 2008

I woke up today without a fever! I paced myself though. Got some work done after dropping Jack off at school, headed up to campus and oversaw my students doing peer reviews on the paper they're working on, came home and took a bit of a break, went with Roger to the museum to get the point of sale system set up, graded some papers, read to Jack, went to sleep at a very decent hour.

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Church was eventful. Jack shared a scripture in Primary closing exercises (Mosiah 5:7), and Roger and I got new callings (jobs). We are on the family preparedness committee and our job is to help everyone build their food storage--getting the word out on good sales on good food storage items, helping some of the elderly get food, etc. Food storage is not one of our strong points, though we do have some and try to pick up extra things every time we shop. And comparison shopping is not one of our strong points. So we've got a lot to learn. That might actually turn into a strength for a job like this. We totally understand the people who haven't really got a grip on the whole idea. Actually, I'm excited to be doing something real and concrete to help my neighbors.

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Fun story time at the museum with Sherry Meidell, then lots of inventory work and a meeting with the museum director. Roger has tackled putting together the hardware for the museum store point of sale system, which required far more technical expertise than I was capable of summoning. We're going to take it down to the museum on Monday evening so I can start entering the inventory. After a bit of a break, Roger, Jack and I headed to The Training Table and Target. Apparently the theme of the night was places that begin with "T." I was thoroughly hammered by the time we got home. 

Friday, October 31, 2008

A UVU day, but my students did in class exercises so I didn't have to pull my brain together quite so much. I left my students in my last class working (they'll turn in their work on Monday) and left a bit early to get to the Halloween Parade at Jack's school. I barely made it! Jack took a bit of a break after school (he's been really grumpy lately), then hooked up with friends and lots of candy and trick-or-treating. I think Jack has more fun handing out candy than getting it. I like that about him. Oh, and Jack dressed up as Indiana Jones this year (not his first choice, but we weren't willing to shell out the dough for the clone trooper helmet--hmm, maybe that's why he's been grumpy).

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Took a sick day. Spaced going to Jack's parent teacher conference (the official day was last Thursday, but they scheduled specific times, couldn't fit them all in that day and I was supposed to go at 3:45 today). Didn't finish grading papers like I planned. The hole I'm falling into is getting deeper and deeper.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

I was productive for part of the day. Got myself organized and to campus for classes. I'm thinking I didn't really do much beyond that, did I? It is ridiculous that I'm not feeling better. I should go to the doctor, but I feel foolish because it's not like I'm that sick. I usually only go to the doctor when I feel really, really crappy and maybe an antibiotic will help. I just have the feeling the doctor will just tell me to ride it out this time. So why bother going?

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Pushed the snooze alarm multiple times this morning, but got Jack to school on time and made it to my job at the high school. I finished cataloging the magazines today. Woohoo! Thursday I get to reflow the stacks so we can fit back issues of the magazines on the proper shelves. Came home totally worn out from work and read for a bit. I dropped Jack off to meet Roger on campus (they saw a movie, got some dinner and visited Grandma and Grandpa), then I grabbed take out from Panda Express, headed home, cleaned up the house a bit and had book club meeting in the living room. It was good for my soul.

Monday, October 27, 2008

Worked hard all day. Totally wore myself out. I really think I need to go to the doctor, but still haven't made an appointment. Got winning essays off to the newspaper, prepared for class, taught classes (we went outside and had class on the grass for my second class--our classroom gets SO hot), came home and worked on finalizing the inventory spreadsheet for the museum store for the end of the fiscal year. It felt so good to take a good dose of Advil, get in my pajamas, climb in bed and read to Jack.

Sunday, October 26, 2008

After church I changed into pajamas and finished my book for book club (The Thirteenth Tale). Pretty much sums up my day.

Saturday, October 25, 2008

The three things I want to remember today: (1) A very funny story time at the museum with Howard Fullmer. While we were waiting to get started, he entertained the kids with a standup routine. Jack brought his friend Cooper and they had a great time. (2) A delicious dinner out at a Thai restaurant in Salt Lake (one we'd never been to before on South Temple). And (3) a beautiful performance by the Utah Baroque Ensemble at the Cathedral of the Madeleine. We invited Chris and Fred to come with us. I'm very glad we took Jack to a performance there--the acoustics are amazing. Plus I could pretend we were in Europe.

Friday, October 24, 2008

I got through another day without proper energy. I'm not sure I'll ever have the energy to really do anything again. My classes did in-class exercises today while I graded essays. I still haven't gotten their papers back to them and it's weighing on me. After class I met Roger and Jack at Mi Ranchito for a late lunch, then did some stock up shopping at Costco. Came home and did some laundry, a bit of picking up, but mostly nothing much. Got into my pajamas very early.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Jack made it to school on time, but I was late to my job at the high school because I had to run around to all of the elementary schools in town picking up essay contest entries for the Friends of the Library contest. Nearly 100 entries! Something was in the air at the high school, and I spent too much time telling students to follow various rules and to generally keep it down (we don't keep a silent library, but we still have to keep things reasonable so students can get work done!). I do not like that part of my job. After school we picked up Jack's friend Josh. When Roger got home, I headed down to Jack's school to work a shift at the book fair. I brought the essay contest entries and was able to read through them all because there were three of us working. I think I've got my first and second place winners and a handful of essays to reread to decide on a third place winner. There is one entry, though, that I still have to pick up so I don't want to make a final decision. I stayed to help with some cleanup at the school, then came home, read to Jack and eventually got some sleep.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Jack and I slept in. I dropped him off at school on my way to UVU, where my classes met in a library computer lab. Librarians taught the classes, so I had it easy. I ran into my niece Saralyn during my break between classes and we had a nice visit. I'm always impressed with how hard she works. After class, I got home, ate a late lunch, then got a phone call from the museum, "where are you?" I had totally forgotten that I was to give a guided tour of the exhibition to our 8-11 year old activity day girls (a church program). So I ran down to the museum and we had a lot of fun together. Then home to pick up Jack for haircuts. Then a Halloween cub scout pack meeting complete with costumes and trick or treating.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

A good day at the high school library. Lots of classes in, lots of books to process to get out to the floor. It's good to keep busy! Jack got to take his pocket knife to cub scouts and carve pumpkins (actually, they specifically didn't use the pocket knives to carve the pumpkins--to scary for moms!). While he was at scouts, I ran some errands. When Roger came home we went out to satisfy my craving for cherry pie (for DAYS I've been craving it!). I'm still struggling with my health. I so want to feel 100%!

Monday, October 20, 2008

A foray back into the world again. Went to UVU to teach my classes. Jack called me right before the first class started to tell me that I forgot to put his lunch in his backpack. I got home about five minutes before his bus arrived and whipped him up a plate full of all sorts of treats--peanut butter sandwich, chips and salsa, baby carrots, cheese, a glass of milk and a fun size milky way. He sat down and pretty much ate the whole thing! I spent part of my afternoon looking for good articles for my class to work on a summarizing and response activity for our in-class exercise on Friday. I think after all that, I'm going to take a different tack. We got all of the Lego in the family room cleaned up for the weekly vacuum. Mostly I took it pretty easy today. I am feeling better, but I think I might make a doctor's appointment.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

A day of rest to wrap up a four-day weekend of rest. I think I might live, but I've got to pace myself! We watched the latest Indiana Jones movie on DVD as a family. We dropped in to visit some neighbors. I did some emailing and blogging. I read some of my book for book group. I surfed the web. I made fried eggs and toast. I was going to go up the canyon but decided against it. That's pretty much about it.

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Feeling a bit better today, but I'm going to take it easy this weekend. Went to story time at the museum (Guy Francis, a personal favorite who signed a book for Jack) and took care of this and that for the store there. Had a picnic lunch in the new sculpture garden, which actually isn't open to the public yet, but made a huge leap forward with the new sod that was laid this morning. Took care of this and that at home in the afternoon, including sending off a letter to the editor in support of the new library. After he got home from story time, Jack played with friends for the rest of the day. When we wrapped that up, we went to our favorite greasy spoon in Spanish Fork for dinner. I started reading The Thirteenth Tale for book club. I really like it so far.

Friday, October 17, 2008

Another sick day. Luckily both Nebo School District and UVU have fall break right now. Roger took the day off and took Jack up to Lagoon with some friends of ours. I tried to rest. I still feel pretty much the same, but tomorrow will be a new day!

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Sick day.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

It's been so up and down with my health these last couple of weeks. I'm very frustrated! (Could there be a correlation with the Dow Jones Industrial?) The good news about today is that I met with a very nice reporter from the Deseret News at the museum to talk about the exhibit. And my classes at UVU went well despite a rocky start to my day. In the evening I watched the last presidential debate (I will be so relieved when this election is over!). I read comments online afterwards at various websites, including The New York Times and Fox News. It is so amazing to me how completely differently people see and hear and interpret things about the candidates and their policies. We all look and listen through our own filters (including me). My prayer is that after the election we will get past all the crap that's being flung around and unite in an effort to lift ourselves up out of this hole we're in.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

I learned how to use the laminator at the high school today. I took off a bit early to go to one last PTA meeting to talk about the library bond election, and in the evening I went to the last library bond committee meeting (yay!). I still have the essay contest to oversee, but that's more fun. While I was at the library meeting, the children's librarian said she saw Jack earlier--he went on a field trip to the library with his cub scout den after school. I couldn't figure out how she knew he was my son. Then she told me the story of how she'd asked the cub scouts if they had any idea where the library had gotten so many books and Jack raised his hand and said, "Ingram" (which actually happens to be the distributor the library orders most of its new books from). She asked him how he knew that and he told her that his mom and dad used to own a bookstore. Jack just cracks me up!

Monday, October 13, 2008

I am sick again! For the last two weeks, I keep randomly running a fever and it keeps stopping me in my tracks. One of my students today complained of the same thing happening to her. Weird and frustrating! Anyway, I took care of the bare minimum today--getting Jack to school, getting stuff ready to run errands and teach class, going to class to collect the papers that were due and going over the next writing assignment, coming home and resting for the rest of the day. One highlight of the day was using the English department copier to make PDF files and had the copier email them to me. Crazy technology!

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Highlights of the day included substitute teaching Jack's primary class at church and meeting my brother and sister-in-law (in town for their daughter's wedding) at the museum to see the exhibit.

Saturday, October 11, 2008

We woke up to snow! Roger and Jack were the first to leave the house when they headed off to walk in the BYU Homecoming Parade (for the BYU library) and toss candy to the crowd. Then mom and I headed down to story time at the museum with Fumi Kosaka. I was a bit late because I couldn't find my wallet, but it all worked out. We had a good crowd there! Then Carol joined us and we headed up to the Mt. Timpanogos temple for our niece Sarah's wedding. Jack hung out with cousin Ben while we were in the temple. Then we all shivered during a family photo session on the steps and Jack started losing it because he was starving. Roger took his mom and headed up to another family wedding in Layton (his cousin's daughter), and I got some food for Jack, dropped him off at a good friend's house near the temple, then headed to Salt Lake with mom to drop her off at her hotel (she's here to attend a conference). Instead of going on I-15, we went up over the mountain from Alpine to Draper and saw the new Draper temple, which hasn't opened yet. After I dropped her off, I headed to the Alpine Art Center to help set up for Sarah's reception. Most of the work was done, so when Roger showed back up again, we went to get a bite to eat and then to pick up Jack. The reception was lovely, and we had a fine time visiting with family. Changing into pajamas felt so good when we got home!

Friday, October 10, 2008

The day was not so full of pressure because on Wednesday I announced to my classes that we would not meet on Friday and I'd have them do their in-class exercise on their own. I actually took Jack to school in my pajamas! After running in the Canyon (and running into my friend Linda), I put together the PTA newsletter. Mom and I ran a bunch of errands (got the last of the essay contest entry forms to two elementary schools, posted the PTA newsletter at Jack's school and took it to the district office for photocopying). Then we went out to lunch at the Model A Cafe in Mapleton. They serve breakfast all day, yum! I took Mom to see the windmills at the mouth of Spanish Fork Canyon. It's amazing to see them up close. After Jack got home, I took him to the museum while Shelley and I took a quick inventory of the picture books and then we picked up Johnny and Benny. Pizza for dinner, the Roger and I headed to a neighbor's wedding reception at a barn in Mapleton. It was a great place for a party!

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Mom came to work with me at the high school library today! She has serious data entry stamina. Except for a 20-minutes lunch break with me in the school courtyard, she worked on one of the library computers for my entire six hour shift! The librarian was out today (her daughter is getting married tomorrow) so I got to wrangle all of the students on my own. Actually, other than some extra loud talking, the are really well behaved. After school we picked up Jack, then after we hooked him up with friends, Mom and I went grocery shopping. We picked Jack up on the way home and discovered that he had been helping his friend get several chickens and roosters rounded up and into a cage! Dinner (a bit cruelly, roast chicken) and a nice relaxing evening.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Oh, man. I did not feel well this morning still. I barely got Jack to school and got the guest room ready for a visit from Mom before heading up to my UVU classes. I had all sorts of plans that just went by the wayside. Including getting the PTA newsletter done (but actually, that's worked out because there is something important I need to get into it and I won't have that until tomorrow). Luckily my students worked on peer reviewing their papers that are due Monday so I didn't have to be especially coherent. By the time my two classes were done, I was starting to feel much better. I headed to Target to buy a wedding gift for Roger's cousin's daughter who is getting married on Saturday, then to get something to eat and then to a 5:00 UVU staff meeting. I had just enough time after the meeting to get home and changed before heading down to the museum to give an exhibition tour to the Nebo Reading Council (mostly teachers, librarians and literacy specialists). I think that went fairly well! And while I was giving the tour, Roger, Jack and my mom showed up on the way home from the airport. We'll have a nice visit with her until Saturday.

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

My day went really well up until 5:30 when I got home, got into my pajamas and climbed in bed with a fever, sore throat and headache. And that's where I stayed the rest of the evening! In the morning I visited five different schools! I dropped Jack off at Brookside, went to PTA meetings at Westside and Art City, tried to drop essay contest info off at Cherry Creek but the librarian wasn't there and then went to my library job at the high school. I worked hard at my job until 3:00, got home in time to be there when Jack got off the school bus and then headed off to cub scouts with him (I was substituting for one of the leaders). In the morning Jack said he thought it would be really nice if Dad could come to scouts too because the activity was going up in the canyon and learning about photography. I left Roger a voice mail and he took off work an hour early so he could be there. He ended up taking over the lesson and was fabulous with the boys. One of the boys (who usually doesn't say much at all!) went home and told his mom all about it. That is a success in my book.

Monday, October 6, 2008

We got a bit of late start this morning, Jack and I. I was up at 8:00 but let Jack sleep in. He's got quite a head cold and I though the extra sleep would do him good. I graded essays all morning and made a few phone calls. I dropped Jack off at school on my way to teach my classes. I got home just as Jack arrived at the bus stop (I think traffic might be worse lately because gas has now dropped below $3.50 a gallon and more people are on the road). I did some emailing and phone calling this afternoon and sent off a short article to the newspaper about the friends of the library essay contest. The minute Roger got home I was off for a run in the canyon. The days are getting shorter and I want to get up there as much as I can. I helped Jack get some of his first book report done (he's got the title page done, a description of the main character done, illustrations for both done, and a good start on the book summary). I'm all worn out now. Time for blissful sleep. I regret letting Jack sleep in this morning. He doesn't seem worn out at all!

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Pretty much pajama church all day. Watched both sessions of the LDS Sunday conference and one and half sessions of Saturday conference that I recorded yesterday. Hung out with the family. Then stayed up too late reading a book. Hmm. Did I actually do anything else?

Saturday, October 4, 2008

Woke up to rain and it rained all day! Instead of getting up and going running, I read for a bit and then went back to sleep for a bit. Scrambled to make a salad for my niece's bridal shower and get down to the museum to check on some inventory and do story time. We didn't schedule any illustrators because we weren't sure we'd have anyone show up (LDS General Conference weekend). But we did have people show up! I read books illustrated by Kevin Hawkes and Brett Helquist who now live on the east coast and probably won't get to Utah before the show is over. I took down some questions for them from story time attendees, and I'll post their answers on our exhibition blog. A very nice shower at my mother-in-law's for my niece, then home for a bit, then off to a bridal shower for one of our neighbors (who also happens to be the daughter of the high school librarian I work for). Roger, Jack and I did a major cleanup of the family room after a long hard week of playing with friends and Lego. Now I'm in my pajamas, sad that our dvr failed to record the opening skit of Saturday Night Live. I heart Tina Fey.

Friday, October 3, 2008

I made it through the day! Crammed in a bunch of office work and errands between dropping Jack off at school and getting to my noon class at UVU. This included setting up the rest of the story time schedule at the museum (just two more dates to confirm!). In-class exercises in both classes, so I spent the time grading papers. Hiked to the payroll office between classes to make sure I was really getting paid for both courses I teach (six weeks in to the semester and I finally got a paycheck and it was half what I expected - yikes!). Turns out we do get paid biweekly, but the first pay period starts after the drop deadline. So I'll get paid the last two weeks in Dec. even though I won't be teaching. Confusing! Anyway, after Jack had a party with his friends that he organized a couple of days ago (including complicated handwritten invitations!), Roger, Jack and I headed to Target to get some wedding and shower presents. After I got home I spent an hour wrapping gifts! Five wedding gifts and two bridal shower gifts. Phew! Then I spent an hour folding laundry and ironing. So ready for bed . . .

Thursday, October 2, 2008

I'm feeling much better today. After dropping Jack off for school (wearing his Sunday clothes for a field trip to the high school to listen to the Utah Symphony--we had a bit of a battle over the clothes), I headed to the school district office to get our friends of the library essay contest approved. I should hear by Tuesday. Attended our Brookside PTA meeting, stopped by the library to pick up some fliers, stopped by Hogi Yogi to pick up a sandwich for lunch and got to work at the high school about 11:00. At 11:30, I attended the high school PTA meeting to talk about the library bond, then worked until 3:00. My favorite part of the day was seeing Jack after the symphony concert on his way to the school bus. Except for a couple of errands, I pretty much stayed home and worked my way through this and that. I even gave up going to book club tonight to get piles of buildup off my desk. I'm feeling a bit more on top of things tonight. Jack and I read for more than an hour tonight and finished our book! Trying to decide if I'm going to watch the Palin/Biden debate on the dvr or just read up on all of the commentary about it. Nah, I'm going to have to judge it for myself. So little time!

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

A bit caught off guard that it's October already. Scrambled to get organized to do the rounds of PTA meeting visits at all of the schools in town, spreading the word about the library bond election. Visited my first PTA meeting and then dropped entry forms for the friends of the library essay contest off at four of the seven elementary schools I hope will participate. Worked on some museum stuff, including lining a few more illustrators up for story time (I've got to finalize that schedule!). Both of my classes ended up going fairly well at UVU today with some interesting class discussion about some of the topics they are writing about in their second papers. I want to have them do a practice peer review on Friday and needed to come up with a paper that reflects the specific assignment they are working on.  I ended up writing a paper myself, and am proud because it's something they can really rip apart. If someone turned what I wrote in, the highest grade I'd give it is a C-. It doesn't have any spelling errors in it. I couldn't bear to put in any spelling errors. But it does have some organization and development issues. Enjoyed Jack's homework assignment--he had to read to me for 20 minutes tonight.

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Finished phase one a major cataloguing project at the SHS library today. Yay! Cleaned the front room for visiting teachers (from church), who didn't come (one of them brought me a whole watermelon and cookies later with apologies!). Spent an hour and a half giving blood (well, more than an hour of that was spent waiting to give blood). Worked on lesson plans for classes tomorrow. Created an entry form for the Friends of the Library elementary school essay contest. Typed up a story for Jack per his teacher's instructions and helped him work on his very first book report (due Oct. 9 - we're way ahead of schedule!). Worked on putting together notes for a round of PTA meetings to talk about the library bond. Will have to get up very early to get everything organized for my day tomorrow.

Monday, September 29, 2008

Pretty much dragged myself through my day. I don't think I'm 100%. Bit of a fever and some aches and pains in the afternoon and evening. I got Jack off to school, finished getting ready for my classes, then met up with friends for brunch at Guru's. First class went well, second class went okay but the room was really hot. Attendance is getting spotty in the second class. I think students believe they can slide by in my class. I do believe I need to email the slackers and let them know that they are wrong about that. I called the local paper this afternoon to see if we can get winning entries for the Friends of the Library essay contest published (yes). I've got to get all of that organized and rolled out to the school librarians. I'll work on that tomorrow. Tonight? Advil and sleep.

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Thankful for a day of rest. Other than going to church, I really didn't do anything noteworthy.

Saturday, September 27, 2008

A beautiful run this morning, story time with illustrator Will Terry at the museum, lunch at the cafe there and a couple of hours of work, then a late afternoon matinee with Roger. We saw Ghost Town. Funny! Then hung out at home for the rest of the day. I'm worn out after a long, busy week.

Friday, September 26, 2008

Today was nice. Roger took the day off work because Jack didn't have school and I did. Before class I went for a run up the canyon and ran into several friends. It's so beautiful every day this time of year. Class was a breeze as a my students wrote in-class essays. While they worked I wrote a bit and planned next week's classes a bit. After class I did a few errands, including a big Costco stock up. After I got home, I decided I just wanted to hang out and relax. I debated whether I wanted to watch the first presidential debate (I've been ignoring the presidential race lately because, per usual, it's become petty and ridiculous). I was glad I watched the debate. It elevated the race back to, well, a presidential level.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Happy birthday to my sister Maryann! Up at 7:00 a.m. and didn't stop until 9:00 p.m. when I got home and made something to eat and crashed in front of the television. Three loads of laundry, six hours in the high school library, $10 for a wristband at the Brookside carnival (Jack climbed to the top of the rock climbing wall!), and a schmooze fest at the public meeting to get input on the new library that we hope to build here in Springville if we can get the bond passed in November. Too tired to flesh out any details tonight. 

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Crazy busy from morning to night. Scrambled to get Jack off to school (kept remembering things I forgot to do like write a check for school picture day). Headed up to meet friends Linda and Lisa at Mimi's Cafe for brunch at 10:00. Got there about 9:30 and sat in the sun outside the restaurant grading papers until they arrived. Had great conversation over eggs benedict. Headed over to UVU and graded papers until class started. Read three pieces with the class and discussed their rhetorical elements. Once again, it all went well in my first class and it was like pulling teeth to get my second class to dig deep. Honestly, we read Ann Cannon's latest Deseret News column (a fabulous study in varied sentence structure). My first class laughed out loud long and hard. I'm sure the students in my second class were laughing inside (how could they not?), but it was way too quiet in the classroom. When I got home I couldn't find Jack anywhere. It's early out day on Wednesday and he's supposed to go to his friend Brett's house after school. Let's just say it all turned out okay and Jack is officially tired of getting lectured. I barely made it down to the museum in time to give a tour of the exhibition to a children's book review group comprised primarily of children's librarians throughout the valley. Then I rushed to get to girls' night out with some friends from the neighborhood. We ate lots of Mexican food and went to see The Women. Movie was okay. Laughing all evening with friends was great! Got home in time to hang out with Jack and read before bed.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Today was definitely better than yesterday! Spent the day working at the high school library and made lots of progress on projects there. Contacted most of the PTA presidents for schools in town to get on their agendas for October meetings to talk about the library bond election. Worked on a proposal for an elementary school essay contest ("I'm a friend of the library because . . ."). Went to the library bond committee meeting and presented my proposal. It's a go, and they're all excited about it. Worked on finding interesting readings to discuss in my UVU classes tomorrow (I'm taking a picture book called Henry Hikes to Fitchburg, an Ann Cannon column from the Deseret News and a very dry article from an academic journal about snails to contrast with Ann's column). Capped off the evening with book club at Judy's house. She lives by the creek, and we sat around her fire pit and ate smores, and talked about all sorts of things. It was very, very good for my soul. Pretty much made up for a lousy Monday.

Monday, September 22, 2008

Today was a quintessential Monday. Everything seemed to go wrong and one bad thing led to another. I am seriously frustrated about selling my brother's house. We've had two offers (not perfect, but they'd have gotten him out of debt and given him some cash), and two deals fall through. I accidently flipped cereal and milk on my keyboard and monitor (my old computer, thankfully, and after 15 minutes I didn't have time to spend, it's all better). I opened my cell phone bill and discovered that I went over my minutes and it was expensive! I accidently packed a book order in a flat rate priority mail box and it cost me several dollars more to mail it. The PTA newsletter (that really needed to go out by today!) was awol. I ended up having to take time to drive all the way down to Spanish Fork to pick it up. It was pouring rain when I got to campus and the good news is I had an umbrella. The bad news is I was wearing sandals that got extremely slippery when wet. I could hardly walk. My first class went satisfyingly well; my second class was once again a bit deadly. I'm not sure where all of my time went in the evening. Email, dishes, reading to Jack, talking to Roger, a short bike ride. I got through the day.

Sunday, September 21, 2008

A lazy morning--slept until nearly 9:00! Yay! I think I'm finally feeling back to normal. Hope it lasts through another busy week. This afternoon Roger, Jack and I drove up Provo Canyon past Sundance and hiked up the Mt. Timpanogos trail until we got to the second waterfall where we picnicked on rocks by the river. I figure we hiked about three miles round trip. Jack did a great job hiking, and very thoughtfully stopped to get every locust and grasshopper (there were a lot!) off the trail so no one would step on them (we saw quite a few squished ones). After our hike, we drove the rest of the Alpine Loop and came down American Fork Canyon. We stopped for a short visit with our friends in Highland (Gracie's family), then headed home. I'm supposed to be getting prepared for class tomorrow, but I haven't really done anything yet.

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Woke up way too early and read for while before going back to sleep. Then got up and went running up the canyon. I headed down to the museum in time for our first weekly story time (each week we'll have a different illustrator). We had a respectable group, but we need to figure out how to get more people there. I stayed to work on getting our inventory spreadsheet up to date. I set up shop in the museum's atrium. I think I'll make that my office while I'm there. It was very pleasant. Shelley and I took inventory of the children's books we brought into the store in conjunction with the show. We've sold about 100 books so far, which is actually really good for the store (we need to figure out how to get more people there too). In the evening, Roger, Jack and I went to see our friend Johnny, who is 15, perform in a piano quartet at the Covey Arts Center in Provo. He did a great job! The whole concert was wonderful - all sorts of young people playing all sorts of instruments. I think my favorite was the piece played on the harp. After the concert, a Target run. Then home to bed!

Friday, September 19, 2008

After a meeting with a sales rep at the museum to order some inventory that will help me build up a section in the store focused on helping people tap into their own creativity (sketching and watercolor kits, that sort of thing), I headed to school. Pretty much finished grading papers and turned them back to students. The assignment was an unusual one (I'm following the assignment sequence laid out by the UVU writing department), and I think I made it more confusing than it had to be. I'm feeling a bit unsettled about that. I had the students write about Martin Luther King Jr.'s rhetoric in excerpts from his I Have a Dream speech. How did his word choices, what he focused on, the way he organized his ideas and the tone and style of the piece reflect his point of view and purpose? It seemed fairly straightforward to me, but my students didn't understand what I wanted. I'm not feeling like a very good teacher this week. I'm not feeling much good at anything. And don't try to talk me out of feeling this way. I need to wallow a bit. And I really need more sleep.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

 A long day of cataloguing and helping students at the high school library, then grading papers for UVU all afternoon and evening. I didn't get enough done for either job. I also kept having run-ins with Jack (about getting dressed in the morning, about picking up, about doing homework, about talking to me respectfully). I did hold firm on a couple of things, and I think at the end of the day he respected that. But man, parenting is a tough, tough job and I screw up a lot! On breaks from grading, I took a long walk around the block, I read to Jack, I did the dishes, I did a load of laundry, I listened to funny stories Roger had to tell from work. All in all, a pretty routine day full of too many things I didn't really want to do (okay, mostly the grading part). Tomorrow is a new day. I'm looking forward to a fresh start.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

I've got to figure out how to get more sleep. I'm getting run down with my new schedule. After dropping Jack at school, I went home to work on getting ready for class. I'm also working on getting illustrators lined up for our Saturday morning story times at the museum through the fall. My first class went really well, my second class is still hobbling along. I've got to think of something, but it needs to be worth their time being there. After school I did a little bit of this and that, chipping away at projects I'm working on. When Roger got home, I went for a run up the canyon. Then I went down to meet with Shelley at the museum (open late on Wed.). Her mom showed up with a group of young women and I gave an impromptu tour of the show. Read to Jack, then blessed sleep.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Time is going by too fast! I spent a good part of the day at the high school library, cataloguing magazines and training TAs to put mylar covers on books. We got all of the picture books covered for the museum exhibit (we had donated boxes and boxes of mylar cover to the H.S. when we closed our bookstore, so we forwarded a bit of the donation on to the museum). When Jack went to cub scouts, I ran some errands. Shipped book orders at the post office and dropped the covered books off at the museum. My favorite moment of the day was finding fresh flowers at my door from my friend Angel. After Roger got home I went for a run up the canyon. Took care of laundry, feeding Jack some dinner. Then settled in to watch the season premiere of the Biggest Loser. I only got to watch half of it because I had so many other things to do. Fell asleep as soon as I got Jack to bed.

Monday, September 15, 2008

I tried so hard to work all day. I spent the morning on PTA and museum business and getting ready for classes today. Got my classes taught. Picked Jack up at school and took him to pick up his new glasses. I didn't get those eye drops at my exam last week so I could see well enough to help Jack pick out his glasses. So I had the drops today. With very poor eyesight, Jack and I grabbed a bite to eat while waiting for the drops to take effect. After we got home, I pretty much crashed. I didn't get anything else done, really, for the rest of the day, except sleep. Gotta get back on track!

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Slept in until past 8:00. Still a bit tired today, but doing much better. Jack participated in the Primary Sacrament Meeting program today and did a good job on his speaking part. He also sang most of the songs (or at least mouthed the words--it was hard to tell). I took a bit of a nap when we got home, then worked on creating a blog for the art exhibition. Then I worked on the overdue PTA newsletter, which included a fun interview of our new principal. I had one of the sixth grade classes come up with questions, which included "can you walk on your hands?" (The answer was "No, but I can ride a motorcycle." Jack and I read for about an hour, and now I'm trying to get some things organized for my UVU class tomorrow. I'm making a late night snack of cauliflower. Partly because I discovered it forgotten in the fridge. Partly because I really need to get some vitamins in me to recover from this past week (month?).

Saturday, September 13, 2006

My alarm went off just before 8:00 this morning and it was like no time had passed. I slept very, very soundly, but only for five hours. I hurried to get to the museum and get the last pieces hanging on the wall before they opened (which went relatively smoothly except for some near tragic issues with the frames - Roger saved the day several times). As soon as the exhibit opened (wow! I thought this day would never come), my brain completely shut off. I spent the day chatting with people in a bit of a daze. The opening reception for my exhibit and four others coincided with Celebrate Your Museum day, so we had a fabulous crowd come through. And many of the illustrators came. It was fun to actually meet some of the illustrators I had only communicated with by phone and email. Huge crowds also meant that the museum store had a successful day. Yay! Home about 5:00, I immediately got in pajamas, had soup and watched Project Runway. Asleep at 7:00. Woke up at 11:00. Must go back to sleep now.

Friday, September 12, 2008

I'm so glad I'm on the other side of today. Got up after only four hours of sleep, but sustained energy all day. And now it's after 2:30 a.m. I just finished getting the last pieces ready for the picture book art exhibit - a six frame, eight step description of the process of illustrating a book. So now I have to unwind and I'm writing this. Pretty much all good today, though very busy. I got signage for each artist done, and almost all of them are up. The museum store is in good order thanks to Shelley and her husband. The shelves in the gallery are stocked with picture books for people to read. My UVU classes wrote their in-class essays today, which worked out well. I formatted a list of artists and books represented in the show and proofread signage while they worked hard to argue for and against both presidential candidates. We're working on stretching this semester. Roger and I met up at the museum while Jack hung out with friends this afternoon and we wrapped up this and that. Then we ran a few errands and grabbed some dinner. Then I came home and focused on the illustration project. I think I'm officially unwound. I'm going to go lay down my head.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Spent this anniversary focused on memories of my Grammie, who was born on 9-11-1911, but who died before the twin towers fell. Got a couple of hours of work in before taking Jack to school and heading to the high school library for a 3 hour shift. The librarian wasn't there, and I couldn't track down the admin login information for the cataloguing system, but I found lots of ways to make myself useful. Home for a few minutes, then to the post office to mail book orders, and to the museum for a few hours before meeting Jack's school bus at home. Shelley and I got lots done, including getting a start on putting books out on display in the store, getting the last few pieces ready to hang, talking with Doug who will adjust the lighting, etc. Spent the balance of the day at home, mostly working on signage. I was up until 3 a.m. I still need to proofread the signage before printing it on the special paper I bought. I just need to make it until Saturday afternoon and then I can crash.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Up early (I'm actually really looking forward to not starting out that way for a while) to work on preparations for class, including grading some essays. Dropped Jack off at school and headed to the museum to meet up with a few people, including the sign guy. The exhibit title is up on one of the panels and it looks great! I also met with Hala Wittwer, one of the artists, and got some fun bookmarks and cards to sell in the store. And I had a meeting about the reception (I'm a little stressed about that, wish I didn't have to worry about it, so very, very glad that my friend Linda is spearheading the food!). I headed to campus to teach. By the time I got there I'd sorted out in my head what I wanted to do, and both classes went smoothly. Friday's classes will consist of an in-class assignment that I've already worked out, so I'm feeling more on top of things. I ran some errands after class, then went to a UVU staff meeting for adjunct instructors. Got home about 7:30, changed, gulped down a couple of slices of pizza, and headed down to the museum for an interview with a reporter from BYU's Daily Universe. We've got several illustration professors and lots of BYU graduates represented. When I got home I went for a short walk, then read to Jack. And now we're all staying up too late.

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

I'm not actually done with my day. I still have to figure out exactly what I'm doing in class tomorrow. But I thought writing this might help me focus. I was up early this morning and got bills paid before waking Jack up for school. I took a phone call from someone who is going to help organize a phone campaign to pass the library bond and we ended up scrambling to get to school in time. I dropped Jack off and headed for a three-hour shift at the high school library. Then I ran home, grabbed some lunch and headed down to the museum where I worked--mostly on signage--until I had to run home to meet Jack's school bus. I got him a snack, cleaned up the kitchen and then walked with him to cub scouts. While he was at scouts, I tried to get some work done, but I got really sleepy. Finally, I just closed my eyes for ten minutes. When Jack got home, I felt quite revived! We ran down to get Johnny and Benny from the China Cafe, I worked on library board minutes, then ran down to the city building for a library bond meeting. Two hours! Yikes! Roger had to go back to work to finish a project, so I had to get Jack dinner and help him get his homework done. But I had a huge list of people I needed to call and email about various things like library bond stuff, PTA stuff, etc. Somehow we managed to get it all done. I finally got Jack in bed and I read to him for about half an hour. And here I am, still trying to figure out what I'm doing in class tomorrow!

Monday, September 8, 2008

Even though I did many of the the things I planned to do today, it was very different than I expected because I had some company. I took my sweet, spoiled son with me rather than making him go to school today (long story). We went to Jack's school to pick up his homework and ask his principal about something for the PTA newsletter, we went to the museum to take care of a few things, we stopped at the sign guy to touch base on our exhibition sign, we grabbed some lunch at a drive thru, we got to UVU a bit early. I graded papers while Jack worked on his homework. We taught two classes (I had the students do brainstorming activities, so it was actually okay for Jack to be there). We grabbed a snack at a drive thru (I know, I know), then I ran into Robert's to select some sample paper for signage for the exhibit, then Jack and I went to the eye doctor. We ordered contacts for me and glasses for Jack. He's a bit devastated. I am sad for him, but it will be okay. I got glasses in the 4th grade, too. When we got home we found the couch had been delivered! Roger and I hauled it down to the museum and set it up. Then we hauled a bookshelf down. Oh, and I had at least three moments today when I wanted to run away screaming from helping my brother sell his house. By the end of the day I was pooped!

Sunday, September 7, 2008

I started out the day paying attention to the fact that it was a day of rest. I slept in, went for a run, ate a good breakfast, hung out with my family. Then little by little I got sucked in to the things I need to do for the art exhibition. I started working on signage, then realized that I really needed to check some things at the museum, so I headed down there. It took five minutes for me to figure out what I needed to do, and then I spent more than two hours reworking some of the groupings so that the signage would be low enough to meet ADA requirements. And of course I had to adjust some of the adjacent groupings to make them work with the changes. Since I got home I've been working on and off on the signage and emailing artists for missing pieces of information. Stopped to help Jack find some elusive Lego pieces. Stopped to talk to my mom on the phone for a while. Stopped to watch a bit of the US Open women's final. Stopped to read some Mr. Popper's Penguins to Jack. Got sidetracked for a while and sorted out how I want to display the pop-up book art schematics in a frame. Stopped multiple times to get soda refills. I'm not done, but I'm done for. Got to go to bed!

Saturday, September 6, 2008

I stayed up way too late last night, even though I was in bed early. Oh well. I slept until almost nine. A bit of a slow start but I shifted into high gear by ten. I converted some data files of voter records to Excel files (for our library bond campaign) and ran them down to the library on a jump drive because they were to big to email. Then I headed over to the museum for an interview about the exhibition with a reporter from the Daily Herald. I worked at the museum until 5:00, and Roger, Shelley and Jack all helped. We got everything hung on the walls except for three pieces by Brett Helquist, including a piece from a Series of Unfortunate Events book (we're waiting on frames for them). We got the rug in and assembled the glass case for David A. Carter's working models for a popup book. We got the four 8' tall 4' wide panels the museum has into the gallery and set up to create two "walls" for the reading area in the middle of the room. The couch we ordered from Ikea has still not shown up. The delivery company assures us (after two failed deliveries) that it will be here Monday. Overall, the exhibition is coming together really well. I am thrilled (and a bit stunned) that we've ended up with exactly the right number of pieces for the space. It's truly serendipitous. The director stopped by about 5:00 and gave us a nod of approval (though we do have to lower some of the signage for ADA compliance). After we left, we headed out for a family dinner, a visit with Grandma and Grandpa and a trip to Target. I bought new pillows and some healthy cereal. It appears all I want is a good night sleep and a good breakfast. 

Friday, September 5, 2008

I'm writing this early. It's barely after 8:00 and I'm in my pajamas and snuggled in bed catching up on my recordings of the Republican convention. After I got Jack off to school today, I scrambled to get some things done at home and then at the museum, including several conversations with artists and some merchandise ordering. I also had to figure out exactly what I wanted to accomplish in my UVU classes this afternoon. It all worked out okay. It's so funny how I cover basically the same things in both classes and yet the experience is completely different. I beat Jack's school bus by about one minute, hung out with Jack for a bit and when he hooked up with friends, I headed down to the museum for about an hour to take care of a few things, including checking the book order that came in. Roger and I went out to dinner, then I came home and got into my pajamas. Night night!

Thursday, September 4, 2008

I let Jack sleep in a tiny bit this morning since I had to be at a PTA meeting at 9:30. So he was a little late for school. After the meeting, I worked on a couple of things for the PTA newsletter, then headed over to the museum to hang pictures all day. Roger, Shelley and even Jack were helpful as we arranged pieces, pounded nails and used the level. We've got all but one section of the walls done (we're still waiting for a few pieces that should arrive tomorrow). We only had a few stressful incidents. Overall things are coming together really well. My friend Wendy's daughter got married and her reception was at the museum. So at 7:00, we stopped pounding nails, went home, I showered, then headed back down to the museum for the party. It was fun to visit with people, and I gave the editor of the local paper a tour of the partially hung exhibit as well as a few friends. I'm staying up way too late - putting together a final list of the books represented in the show. Off to bed!

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

I am so tired I can barely keep my eyes open. But I was so busy today, I need to do something to transition. So I'm going to write this. Up before 7:00, placed a huge book order for the museum store, emailed a few artists to find out if I'd get their pieces today (too early to call), got Jack up and off to school, prepped for my UVU classes, did three loads of laundry, washed up the dishes, stopped at a copy center on the way out of town, got to my first class in time for the tech guy to show me few things about the computer lab I teach in, taught my 12:00 class, scrambled to grade essays and make some phone calls in between classes, taught my 2:00 class (not as well--started losing focus because I was overtired and needed to eat lunch--I rambled too much), met up with artist Mark Buehner's wife at the McDonald's near campus to get his pieces, dropped them off at the museum, picked Jack up at a friend's house, did some emailing regarding the latest potential deal to sell my brother's house (it's looking bleak and will likely fall through), placed an order for some cool journals for the museum store and set up an appointment with Mary, my favorite sales rep, took care of some other office stuff, fixed dinner for Jack, then headed down to the museum when Roger got home from work. I spent the evening at the museum working with the fabulous Shelley (who used to work with us at the bookstore and just started a job at the museum yesterday) to take a first stab at figuring out what pieces will hang where. It was hard to figure out where to begin, but I think we made very good progress. Home to a bit of dinner, a serious foot wash after going barefoot all evening, and a few chapters of Mr. Popper's Penguins with Jack. Now? Sleep! 

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

A long day, with lots of things I needed to do. But things didn't really fall into place very well. I had to work hard to convince Jack to go to school this morning without getting really aggravated. I had to redo some cataloguing work at the high school. I left the high school early to get some other work done and get to the museum. I wasn't really focused, but I was happy to see how much of the artwork has shown up at the museum. I'm still waiting for work from a half dozen artists, including several of the most important pieces. I just have to trust that they will show up. Jack walked from school to the museum, but forgot which direction he needed to go and had to backtrack. I had to work hard to convince him to go to cub scouts this afternoon. I haven't finished grading the essays I want to turn back to my students tomorrow. I'm only partially prepared for class. I finally got a distributer account set up to order books in for the museum store, and spent the last hour putting together an initial order. Then the website went down. We're all a bit out of sorts around here. But I did get up the canyon for a good run. When I got back to the Jeep, the sun had set, the sky was a spectacular deep orange and deep blue, and the sliver of the moon made me smile.

Monday, September 1, 2008

I can't believe it's September! A storm front came through (we woke up to a soaking rain and were treated to a mid-morning thunderstorm). The afternoon and evening were beautiful and clear, but temp was in the low sixties! A cozy morning sleeping until past eight, then reading in bed. Jack woke up early and worked hard on a presentation requested a new Lego set. He typed up ten arguments on the computer! We negotiated and agreed that if he cleaned up every bit of Lego on the floor, we'd stop by Target on the way home from Ikea (where we needed to go to find a few things for the museum exhibition). Jack went to his friend Josh's house while we ran errands. I worked on UVU class plans, went for a run up the canyon and went grocery shopping. Jack built his Lego kit (V-19 Torrent). It's pretty cool. He was sad, though, when the pilot got lost. We're hoping it turns up. We're trying to think positive thoughts.

Sunday, August 31, 2008

Woke up early and read for a while then fell back asleep. All of a sudden it was 10:30. We had to rush to get ready, but we did make it to church. I was officially released from my Primary secretary calling, and after I helped my replacement get her bearings, I was free to go to other meetings. Which actually worked out nicely because I completely forgot Jack was supposed to give a talk in Primary closing exercises. Roger wrote a talk, I added a bit to it, then we pulled him out of class for a few minutes to go over it. He did an amazing job, including holding some pictures up at exactly the right times. After church we took the illustrations we picked up in Park City yesterday down to the museum and checked out all of the pieces that came in yesterday. Later in the afternoon I risked getting rained on and took a hike/run in the canyon. It only rained a little, but I enjoyed an invigorating wind. When I came home, I read for a bit on the front steps before taking a shower. I watched the last bit of Democratic National Convention I had recorded, including Obama's acceptance speech while ironing. Right now I'm listening to the rain and waiting for Jack to come upstairs so we can read and go to sleep.

Saturday, August 30, 2008

We packed lots of fun into today. We were all up early after getting a good rest. Then we headed up to Park City (stopping for breakfast in Heber) to pick up some of Robert Neubecker's pieces for the exhibition. We got to see his home and studio, including dozens of his drawings. He worked for Newsweek for years, and we recognized some of his cover illustrations. After we left him, we stopped by an open house and toured a home for sale in his neighborhood, most impressed by the pond full of huge rainbow trout. The house was only 10 times what we paid for our house! Our next stop was Park City Resort, where we took a chair lift up the mountain and took the alpine slide back down. Stopped in Heber for a late lunch, then stopped at Roger's parents house for a quick visit. After we got home, Jack went to a friend's house and we headed to a wedding reception for our neighbor's son. When we got home from that, I changed and went for a long walk. I ended up at my friend Linda's house, visited for a while, then she offered me a ride home (it was very dark by then). Now the three of us are hanging out watching Finding Nemo. A good, good day!

Friday, August 29, 2008

Woke up really early this morning, got a little work done, then fell back asleep. It was so hard to get up when the alarm went off. Dropped Jack off at school, went home to get ready for class, do up a Primary page for the ward newsletter (my last time!), then headed to the museum. We selected an EJ Bird piece from the vault and touched base on a few other things. Then I headed to a sign design place to initiate an order for the title of the exhibition. Then I headed to campus. Classes went well, except in the second class we endured too much heat. I need to figure out who to complain to. Heat doesn't help the academic experience! Came home, ate a late lunch and sort of crashed. Eventually I just crawled in bed and took a nap. It didn't last long, but it made a difference. Helped our new neighbors across the street move a few things in. Planted myself on the couch and watched Democratic National Convention speeches that I taped earlier this week.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Summer vacation is definitely over. Our days are officially packed with "things we need to do." I worked at the high school today, making frantic phone calls on breaks to try to facilitate communication between the art museum's bank and a big supplier I've been working to set up an account with. Somehow paperwork got lost and I'm days behind on that project. I also joined the faculty book club that meets at lunch on Thursdays in the library. We decided to read The Book Thief for our first selection. After school I took care of mundane life tasks while Jack enjoyed a good play with friends. Off to Lisa's house and her newly landscaped backyard for book club (okay, I am now actively participating in three book groups). We discussed The Last Lecture and chose A Three Dog Life for our next selection. While I was at book club, Jack finished a marathon session of homework (two days' worth due to leaving his backpack on the bus the other day). So he was still up when I got home. Before bed we watched part of Martin Luther King's I Have a Dream speech in honor of its 45th anniversary. It was fun to see the backdrop of the mall in Washington and the Lincoln Memorial, which we visited on our trip to D.C. last spring.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

A big day today: the first day of school at UVU! I got Jack dropped off at school a little early so we could meet the school bus to find the backpack he left on it yesterday afternoon. Then I headed back home and scrambled to get ready to meet my students for the first time. I was still putting the finishing touches on my syllabus, but I got everything done in time. I was glad that I left early for school because parking was crazy. It ultimately didn't matter that I had an employee parking tag--I had to park in student parking anyway, which meant a good hike. My classes went very well! Everyone is so quiet on the first day of school. My main goal was to kick start the bonding process. After school I went to Target to catch up on wedding gift shopping (four down, one to go). In the evening I went to a bridal shower for my friend Wendy's daughter, who has also been Jack's dental assistant many times. All three of Wendy's children are moving on within the next month: two daughters are getting married and her son is going on an LDS mission. Phew!

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

It was a battle to get out of bed this morning and it was a battle to get Jack out of bed. But we got him to school on time, and I got to my job at the high school on time. I spent the day cataloging magazines for checkout and supervising TA projects. There was a problem with the air conditioner--we were so hot all day long. It felt good to get home, get a huge glass of ice water and change my clothes. Jack came home and was mad to find out that I was enforcing his grounding from friends today (fought doing his homework last night way too hard). But then he settled in. I did some work to prepare for my UVU classes that begin tomorrow, but not enough. I got sidetracked by some library board stuff, including watching a presentation on a fabulous conceptual idea for a new building (twice). When I got home I grabbed Roger and Jack and we went up the canyon for the last bit of daylight. They played by the river and I ran on the trail. A good way to end the day.

Monday, August 25, 2008

I finally slept until my alarm went off. I even pressed the snooze button and fell back into a deep dream. Of course, falling back to sleep has its drawbacks. It was hard to get up! Got Jack off to school, despite all of his grumbling that he hates Mondays. Back home to work, work, work in my office. Finalized the order for the point-of-sale system for the museum and got a better deal than I hoped. Free shipping and a free upgrade to the level of software we really need. Cleaned off my desk and organized my tasks. Worked through my entire list of artists, some of whom I still need to bug. Met with artist Howard Fullmer at the museum. Saw the wonderful pieces Brett Helquist (of Series of Unfortunate Events fame) sent that arrived today. Played hooky after Jack got home from work and went to see Mama Mia with a bunch of girlfriends. We had the theater to ourselves and, yes, there was dancing in the aisles. Battled with Jack to get his homework done. The only penalty incurred is that he's grounded from friends tomorrow. But his 20 sentences with spelling words is complete. I truly dread the day when his homework has to be done in cursive. We've got about a month left before that happens. 

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Went for a nice hike/run in the canyon before church. No snakes. Church was uneventful except for the fact that I was told I'm going to be released from my Primary secretary calling next week. But I'm not going to know what my next job is going to be, at least not for a few weeks (I hope it's a job I'll like!). So after church I went through all of my primary stuff, updated files and got it all organized for the next secretary. I'm sure going to miss working with my friends in Primary, but I have to say, I like the idea of not having a church calling for the next few weeks. It was very cathartic cleaning all of the Primary related stuff out of my office. And in keeping with good things coming to an end, we watched some of the Olympics closing ceremony.

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Tried to sleep in without too much success. Got up and hiked up the canyon. I passed the last runners in the Hobble Creek Half Marathon and then the trail was quite empty except for a SNAKE that I almost stepped on. I'm not really sure what I accomplished during the day other than a couple of loads of laundry, a trip to the grocery store and a few other errands. I watched Olympics on and off all day. Jack and I are reading Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator together. My fifth grade teacher read it to the class and I haven't read it since. I always thought the vermicious knids were pernicious knids. Go figure.

Friday, August 23, 2008

Had to get to orientation meetings at UVU by 8:00. They lasted until 3:00. Actually they were supposed to last until 3:00, but the last speaker was still going and I had to duck out to get home for Jack, who beat me there on the school bus by a couple of minutes. Most of the meetings were very worthwhile, especially in terms of understanding why the faculty over the writing program designed the sequence of assignments the way they did. I also saw several old friends, some of whom I had no idea were teaching at UVU! Later at the post office in Springville, I was telling Roger about some of the people I saw at the meetings, and the woman in line ahead of us turned around and introduced herself as a member of the UVU English faculty. How random was that?! We spent the evening at our niece Megan's wedding reception at the Fort Douglas bandstand at the U of U. We were plunk in the middle of what had been the athlete's Olympic village during the 2002 Winter Olympics. It was a beautiful reception, perfect temperature, good food, nice visits with family and friends. The highlight for Jack was getting to shoot a musket--some of their pioneer reenactment buddies showed up in full Mormon Battalion military regalia and gave a musket salute to the bride and groom! And all through the day, I was trying to coordinate a counteroffer on my brother's house, trying to communicate with him in Kenya and our agent on the east coast. Keep fingers crossed!

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Up extra early this morning! Worked a bit on my syllabus for the English 1010 classes I'm teaching this coming semester at Utah Valley University, then went for a good walk. Jack got up at 8:00 totally on his own. Maybe we're actually readjusting for school after keeping very late summer hours! After I dropped Jack off at school I headed to my first day working at the Springville High School library. I enjoyed covering books with mylar covers, cataloguing periodicals and helping students. Oh, and having lunch in the faculty lounge listening to a discussion about passing kidney stones. I had nothing to add. I set myself up with an ID number so I can check out books. And I came home with one. Piddled away the afternoon, then got very serious getting the draft of my syllabus done for English 1010. Now I can go read to Jack, and then read the book I checked out.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Jack went off to his first day of fourth grade today! It was a good day, and he came home from the bus stop with a smile on his face. I tried very hard to be productive the whole day, which included finishing the last 75 pages of a book for book club tonight. I vacuumed the family room and washed the kitchen floor. I did a load of laundry. I reviewed an offer on my brother's house and talked to the agent about it. It's a low offer, but it's an offer. I made lots of phone calls to get to the bottom of some problems my brother had with his mortgage. I stopped by the museum to meet with the accountant. I stopped by the high school to pick up my employee parking pass. I drove down to the China Cafe to pick up Johnny and Benny for Jack. I went to book club and enjoyed lots of good laughs (and a sinfully delicious chocolate dessert) with my friends. But I didn't make much progress on pulling together my syllabus for my UVU classes. And that has been at the top of my to do list since Monday.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Jack's last day of freedom before school starts and I dragged him on errands. We stopped by the high school to check with Lanell, the library I'll be working for. We stopped by the art museum to get a signature on a form and fax it to a wholesaler I'm setting up an account with. We stopped by the post office to mail some book orders. We stopped by Jack's school for the open house to meet all his teachers. Jack's just going to love fourth grade--he'll get to turn in all of his writing assignments in cursive. He had a friend over in the afternoon while I cleaned up my office, trying to get a grip on my growing to do list. One minute I'm feeling fairly on top of things, and the next minute I'm totally overwhelmed. When Roger got home from work he took Jack to the new Star Wars Clone Wars movie while I went for a hike up the canyon (it was hot!). We tried to wind things (read: Jack) down and get lights out at a reasonable hour, but didn't have a lot of success.

Monday, August 18, 2008

I wish I could report much progress on my projects, but I mostly flitted around today. Cleaned a bit, did a few loads of laundry, worked a bit on my syllabus for my classes at Utah Valley University, talked with/emailed a few artists (two told me today they are swapping out selections), touched base with some suppliers I'm getting accounts with for the museum store, made macaroni and cheese for Jack and friends, and so on. No structure to my day, and I didn't even get out of the house until Roger, Jack and I took a late night run in the Wrangler to Shopko. It was a beautiful night to be out the the family in a Jeep with no roof.

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Got up early to take advantage of Roger being home now on Sunday mornings (no more bishopric meetings!) and went for a fabulous hike up the canyon. Came home to get a few things organized for church, then went to church and did sharing time in both Junior and Senior primary. I'm always happy to help out at church, but it sure feels good to have that checked off my list. A peaceful afternoon and evening reading, napping and watching Olympics. Gearing up for a very busy week with school starting.

Saturday, August 16, 2008

After many days of waking up too early, I stayed in my pajamas until noon! I read in bed, ate a late breakfast. General slugfest. In the afternoon Roger and I went to Ikea and dropped a wad, primarily on items for the art exhibition that we'll be able to use at home afterwards. I'm setting up a reading area in the center of the gallery, and we decided it would be the perfect excuse to buy the couch we've had our eye on for the family room for over a year. We bought an extra set of slip covers just in case, and were rewarded for our efforts with a sale that saved us $300! So we used that savings to buy an area rug. After we got home, I headed to the grocery store. Then home to organize some things for my sharing time lesson in Primary tomorrow and to watch--what else?--Olympics. I realized tonight that I was 9 when Mark Spitz won his 7 gold medals, and that Jack is 9 and we watched Michael Phelps win 8. In Jack's words, "Cool!"

Friday, August 15, 2008

Walked up to the mouth of the canyon early this morning. I've loved my early morning walks! Worked on various projects until Jack and I went to get our hair cut at 11:00. Treated Jack to ice cream at SOS Drugs, went to the post office, then went to Partyland to look for something I need for Primary on Sunday. Back home and back to work. I had a few things to deliver around the neighborhood, so Jack and I biked around. He hooked up with a friend, then more friends, then more. I headed down to the museum about 4:00 to get a tax form signed by the director and ended up meeting with one of the curators to talk about all sorts of fun things we're going to do with the exhibit. Pieces are starting to show up, and I feel like I've turned a corner with pulling this all together. Roger and I went out to dinner, then home to watch Olympics. I made Jack and his friends pay attention to Michael Phelps' 7th gold medal race. I'm going to sleep in tomorrow!

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Once again, up early. This time I woke up at 6 am (!) and was out the door for a good walk by 6:20. Then I scrambled to get all sorts of things ready before guests arrived at 11:00 for a bridal shower for my niece Megan, which turned out well. Good conversation, good food, and of course, good presents! Aunt Carol hired Jack to take care of his two-year old cousin during the party. He took it very seriously and did a fabulous job, and then helped us clean up afterwards without even being asked. I got the house back in order in time for a visit from my cousin Talia and her boyfriend Alex, who are on their way from Portland to Chicago. Talia will be starting a masters program at the Art Institute of Chicago. I took them down to our art museum, gave them a good tour and introduced them to the director, who kept us engaged in energetic conversation for the better part of an hour. Home again for dinner, then off to a library board meeting. Watched Olympics until past midnight (had to stay up for the women's gymnastics medal ceremony!), doing research on point-of-sale systems for the museum store during commercials (I got the go ahead to order!).