of summer vacation.  I feel like a kid, I swear.  It’s my last week of summer vacation and I better make it good.   No seriously though, I do have some stuff to get done this week.  I want to get my desk/room organized.  I have to make sure everything is ready for the start of school.  I would like to outline the year in chemistry since I didn’t get as much lesson planning done as I had hoped.  I also need to get all my clothes ready.  I want to make sure that everything is ironed and ready to go. The last thing I want to do in the mornings is figure out what to wear.  I also have to go get some laser surgery on my gums – that will be fun.  I have no doubt the week will just fly by.   A very important thing I want to do is get my blogs fixed up.  I have put little time and effort into their upkeep in about a year and I need to remedy that.  I have some stuff that is no longer valid on some.  On others I don’t have much of anything.  Time to get organized, clean up the blogs, maybe some new templates, who knows, but that is on my organizational list this week. So I’m off to start the organization process.

Doing the same thing over and over but expecting different results.  I can be like that sometimes.  Especially if a habit or action worked for me at some point but has stopped working, I will continue to do it expecting it to work again even though it’s not working and I know it’s never going to work again.  I keep doing it until something hits me in the face – hey!! it’s not working….

Anyway, I’m feeling that way about a couple of things in my life.  There is one particular item that is controlled by others and I just participate in.  The powers that be keep bringing things up – different things, yet nothing ever seems to change.  I’m beginning to wonder if it’s time to let it go.  Also, with this group, there’s a lot of talk but seemingly little action and that irritates the hell out of me.  Don’t tell me what you’re going to do and never do it…. just do something and surprise me….I know people are busy, with the economy the way it is everyone is busy watching their money and trying to make a buck.  Even more reason to just put up and shut up….don’t get people’s hopes up then nothing happens…..seriously.

In other news, one more week and then school starts again.  Yikes!! I can’t believe summer vacation passed by so quickly.  I did get a lot done but I wish I’d gotten more…. Oh well, water – bridge, etc….. Okay, I’m off to do something constructive and stop all the bitching

Okay, I have a confession.  I have this terrible habit and it just drives me absolutely bat sh*t crazy.  I use any excuse under the sun to not do something.  It can be the most lame, stupid excuse in the history of the world but I will use it.  For example, I have been working to get my lessons ready for school – which starts in 2 weeks.  I have got the pre-algebra going great, notebook ready, lessons getting organized, tests written – it’s awesome.  Today I have 20 days worth of lessons ready to go, so the first month is handled.  However, the chemistry side is not going so well.  I only have like 3 days ready for that.  My reason??  I don’t know when the labs will be.  Huh?!?!  How lame is that?  Seriously, I don’t know when the labs will be so how can I plan my lessons.   I kid you not, I am insane sometimes.  The labs kind of tie into what we are learning but they can stand independently too.  For example, the first lab is a measurement lab.  There will be a bunch of different things to measure and different measuring devices to use. We will then compare the entire class to see how accurate and precise they were.  We do cover this in class but it can just as easily be covered in lab.  I haven’t written the lessons because I think to  myself I don’t know if I’ll deliver it in class or in lab. Really, what does it matter? If I deliver it in class great.  If I deliver it in lab – that will work too.  I am a complete crazy person sometimes, I swear….

Tonight is the series finale of LOST. I have been a huge LOST fan since the very beginning. I used to ride my bike by the crash site during the first season. From the first I thought it was a great series. I did lose it during season 2 though.

What the heck is with the second seasons of shows?? Almost every show I have ever watched will have a fabulous first season then the second season sucks big time. If they make it past that the third season is usually better and things are okay from there on out, but that second season is always, always, always, horrible. It happened with my beloved LOST. It happened with Heroes and I was a huge Heroes fan. It happened with Grey’s Anatomy. It’s almost as if they are surprised that their show was a hit. They spend years getting the scripts for the first season just right and then when it actually does well and they need to come back a second season they rush and write whatever comes into their heads. Or, my other thought, is that the series does so well they decide to change it. Huh?? Okay, done ranting.

So I’m very much looking forward to the series finale but I’m also a little sad.  First, the reasons I’m looking forward to it.  I am curious to see how it all plays out.  The flash sideways they have been doing confuse me.  If the crash didn’t happen and they all made it to LA safely apparently their past was altered too.  So that confuses me, we’ll see if they clear that up.  They have answered a lot of questions in the last couple of weeks but it still doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.  So Jacob is guarding the light at the center of the island – but why exactly?  Also, why can’t his brother leave the island??  Hopefully it will all be answered tonight.  But the real true reason I’m happy it’s ending? I hate being hooked on a TV show. I hate wanting to watch something so badly that I will alter my schedule to do it.  I have a DVR and I can record it but that is a lot of pressure having those recorded shows waiting for you to watch them.  I hate it.  I’m hating TV more and more lately and so the opportunity to “lose” a show makes me happy.

The reason I’m a little sad it’s ending?  It’s a good show and there really are so few of them on TV anymore.  I’m tired of the reality crap.  Okay, I do like the Amazing Race and will watch Survivor if there’s nothing else on, but other than that I’m done with it.  I can’t stand the “celebrity” shows on TLC and all those channels I can’t even think of now.  So as a whole TV pretty much sucks and losing a good show is a little sad.

Okay, there are places in the Mainland where LOST is just about over.  Time to get off the internet so I don’t stumble on anything I don’t want to.

The other day I got a spam text message. It surprised me and pissed me off but I didn’t know what to do about it. This afternoon I got another one and it really, really pissed me off. So I jumped on the internet and, since Go*gle seems to think I’m making too many searches, went to Bing and searched for a way to stop them. I have Sprint and found out that I can text the phone number or email address the spam messages come from to 9999 and they will mark that number/address as spam and block them. Sweet!!! I don’t know if it only blocks it to my phone or from the whole network. I hope it’s the whole network. Anyway, I’m very pleased that there is something that can be done about the scum spammers. Apparently every phone network has a way to block these scumbags. I’m very happy and am now going to join Hubby outside. I do believe him and the boys are smoking cigars out there…..

Now that the site is up and working and all is right with the world, let’s get back to our regular blogging nonsense. The end of the school year is almost here and you have no idea how much I’m looking forward to it. To be incredibly honest, a small part of the reason I got into teaching was the breaks – trust me, it is a very small reason and there are so many much more important reasons – but it’s true it’s there. I realize now that those breaks are really, really needed. Teaching is hard, draining work, and you need those breaks to recharge. So I’m looking forward to 6 weeks off. I have 2 main goals during those 6 weeks.

First, I will finish my thesis in it’s entirety. I am going to work up a schedule for my days and I’m going to devote 3-4 hours each day to the thesis. That amounts to about 126 – 168 hours of work on it. Since I’m not doing research this should be more then sufficient to write a really good paper. I love my topic and I love the methods I’m using so I don’t think it will be a problem doing it. If I can I’ll spend more time on it. I will be attending the class where you actually write the thesis. I’m not registered so I won’t actually be a member of the class, but I’ve spoken to the instructor and it’s okay if I go. That will be 5-6 hours a week extra. Yeah!!! I will have my thesis done by August 1st.

Second, I am going to become one of those weight loss success stories. I am going to workout everyday and really work on getting in shape. This process will be detailed over at Cake. I really want to run and do triathlons again and I need to lose a little weight to get started. My goal is to start running again June 1. Yes, it was May 1st but due to being sick almost the entire month of April, I’ve pushed it back a little. I also want to buy a treadmill, but not just any treadmill. I want a Nordic Track Incline Trainer with iFitLive. I have decided that when I lose 15lbs I can buy myself one. I have posters all over the house with a picture of the treadmill and the words “15 lbs” above it. Every room I walk into I see that. I even have one posted on the refrigerator and what great motivation that is.

Third, I want to work with Axl and Lola. Since I will be home most of the day, I want to spend some time training them to do various things. I also want to spend time working on the walk with them. They are getting a lot better but there is still lots of room for improvement.

Finally, there is soooo much work to be done on the house. I want to get some more painting done. I want to get my workout room organized. I would really like to get the bird room painted – but that involves moving all the birds out for a couple of days, so it is a major undertaking. I want to do something with the kitchen cabinets and there’s a ton of other little things that need to be done. Hubby will be building a deck and putting a sliding glass door in the workout room. So overall it will be a pretty busy 6 weeks.

So that is what I plan to do on my summer vacation. How about you???

During the week it’s just hard for me to blog. I think of things to blog about but I’m usually at school. By the time I get home and relax a little I’ve completely forgotten what I wanted to blog about. I keep telling myself that I should use the voice recorder in my phone to make a quick memo.

It’s been a pretty busy week. I’m working very hard to stay on top of the school work so that I don’t get behind. I hate having papers piled up on my desk – it makes me crazy. I hate having a messy desk but there are times when it just can’t be helped. So that drains me a lot too. Also I’m giving tests in both chemistry and pre-algebra so there’s review and writing the tests and all that nonsense.

What else….oh yeah, I was having major stomach issues – major. I was feeling unusually bloated and my stomach would physically hurt for no apparent reason. I wasn’t getting hungry at all and food was rapidly becoming a nightmare. I could not figure out what was wrong and was afraid it might be something serious. Then I realized something. I had given up milk because I suspect I’m lactose intolerant, but I had continued to eat whey powder and yogurt. Ummm….hello….. I stopped them and things have seemed to clear up. It kind of bums me out though because I love my protein smoothies. Maybe I should check into a cell mass review and see if I can locate a protein powder that doesn’t bother me. Hmm….we’ll see….

I’m typing this with the birdie boarder sitting on my shoulder. We are watching a blue-capped pionus while his owners figure out what they want to do. His name is Monty and he’s quite friendly. He’s still adjusting to being here but he’s doing just fine. He’s a smaller parrot but he’s slightly larger then my birds so it’s different….

Okay, that’s all I got. I’m going to see what the dogs are doing….

it’s just going incredibly slowly. Now that school has started again progress on the house has slowed to a crawl. I don’t imagine that any real progress will be made for a couple of weeks. That’s okay, we have the rest of our lives.

So school is back and that means I’m back to work. That’s good, I love what I do, but it’s bad, I’d rather stay home and work on the house and hang with my dogs. Oh well, the price you pay….

I will say that since we moved I have not been sleeping well. I was beginning to think there was something wrong with our mattress even though it’s only 2 years old. But then on Monday I slept so gooooood…. I realized that it’s me not the mattress.

Looks like we will be getting a new bird on Saturday. It’s just a boarding situation though, at least that’s the plan. We’ll see how it goes….

Okay, I’ve got some school work to do…

since we closed on the house and I finally got a good night’s sleep.  Last Thursday and Friday I didn’t sleep well at the old house because there was just too much to do and my mind was whirling.  Then we moved in here and Saturday night I didn’t sleep well because I never sleep well the first night in a new place.  But then Sunday night I didn’t sleep well, and Monday night, and Tuesday night……and I didn’t know why. I was tired, very tired, but I kept waking up during the night.  It was getting to the point where I was considering wrinkle eye cream I was looking so bad. But finally last night I got a good night’s sleep. I felt great this morning and am ready to tackle the day. Geez, it only took a week

That’s what I’ve decided we are. It’s spring break and I’m trying to get the new house settled. As a result the TV is on more then it normally would be. As I work around the house I half watch/listen to what’s on. What I’ve noticed is the unbelievable amount of drugs available for the most ridiculous things and I’ve decided we are a nation of wienies…… Seriously…. Apparently with the slightest problem we look for drug to fix it. Can’t sleep? Take a drug. Can’t wake up? Take a drug. Pee too much? Take a drug. Pee too little? Take a drug. Pee at inappropriate times? Take a drug. Sad? Take a drug. Too happy? Take a drug. Can’t get it up? Take a drug. Seriously people!! Do you really think taking a drug is the answer? If you read the possible problems from taking these drugs they are worse then the problem you have. One drug for frequent urination says this:

What are the possible side effects of ENABLEX?
The most common side effects with ENABLEX are:
• dry mouth
• constipation
ENABLEX may cause other less common side effects that include:
• blurred vision. Use caution while driving or doing dangerous activities until you know how ENABLEX
affects you.
• heat prostration. Heat prostration (due to decreased sweating) can occur when drugs such as ENABLEX
are used in a hot environment.
These are not all the side effects with ENABLEX. For more information, ask your doctor, healthcare
professional or pharmacist.

So it will stop you from having to pee so frequently but you’ll be constipated. Or have blurred vision. Great. Come on people. There is a saying among the endurance sport community, HTFU – Harden the f*ck up!!! I think the general public needs to take that advice….

The real problem I have with all this stuff is that the scientists really don’t know exactly what causes these problems. At least most of the time. They have a problem, frequent urination. They find an apparent cause, sudden bladder contractions. They come up with a way to stop it. Also, there is generally not one cause of things. The body is a giant interactive machine where all the parts work together. There is no way to say this is the one and only thing and it is what causes hair loss. Without years of testing there is no way to know the exact side effects of any of these products. How many drugs get on the market and then years later there are law suits because there were serious side effects. Yet the general public continues to demand drugs for all kinds of weird things and then take those drugs. How insane.

I just read so many blogs about people taking all kinds of medicine for all kinds of things and I think to myself, have you tried other options? I went through a period where my lower intestine hurt. I would get constipated and be in real pain. My doctor wanted to prescribe drugs to ease the constipation and the pain. Well that’s great but it doesn’t solve the problem, it just masks the symptoms. So I said no and began being my own doctor. I determined that it was something I was eating. I removed wheat and wheat gluten from my diet and it improved. When I removed lactose it went away completely. Had I followed my doctor’s advice I would have taken the pills and continued to eat as normal which my intestines in an uproar but the pills masking all the symptoms. I believe that’s how damage is done. So I stopped eating those things and I’ve felt fine ever since. Hmmm…..go figure…..