Blog Heaven!!

Y'all!! Look how awesome my new blog layout is!!! I volunteered to be a "guinea bee" for Anissa at Beelicious Blog Designs and who knew I would end up with such a great layout!! I think you should go right on over there and check out her website if you haven't been by there yet. I am totally in love with my new page!!

Cameron is driving again as I type with his driver's ed. instructor. He will drive again for 3 hours today and i'm hoping he does as good today as he did Monday. He brought home results for a reading screening that he was given at school and he scored on a post-high school level, which is great for a 10th grader who really should be in 9th grade. He made the cut off to start school by a few days, so he started Kindergarten at 4 years old and sometimes struggles a little bit because of it. We got really tickled reading the results because Cameron does not do ANYTHING extra as far as reading or studying. I read a few of the computerized comments to him:

• These scores indicate that Cameron Jean (for some reason it calls him by his first and middle names as if he's in trouble - and the Jean is French and is pronounced closer to John) likely reads for pleasure, information, and academic purposes (ok, if you say so!)
• Cameron Jean likely previews chapters before reading and takes notes while studying (cough, cough, cough...he doesn't read the chapter at ALL and trust me he isn't studying, much less taking notes!)
• At this level, Cameron Jean needs to continue to read nonfiction materials, classic literature, and the daily news (bahahahahahaha...is World of Warcraft considered nonfiction??)

Anyway, I was proud of his reading abilities and hope that will encourage him to maybe, oh I don't know, open a book?

I was a very good dieter today, not really by choice, but I was. I had a low-carb Slim Fast for breakfast AND lunch!! I brought one to work just incase I couldn't slip away to eat, and then I couldn't slip away to eat!! It worked out fine though because I really wasn't hungry and just had a snack when I got home. The guy who did our workshop yesterday was at one of my schools all day today starting some programs with some of our kids, so my supervisor, my boss, and pretty much everyone from the school board was in and out of the school throughout the day and I didn't want to leave incase anyone was looking for me. I met with several of my kids and caught up on some paperwork and got some meetings scheduled, so it was a productive day.

I'm going to go rest my brain now!! Have a good evening!!

I could get used to this!!

Yes, that's right!! More awards!! I could get used to this people!! Watch out!!

Patti at Nonna's News gave me this award today! Isn't it cute?? Thank you Patti!!!

Here are the rules...

Mention the blog that gave it to you and comment on their blog to let them know you've posted your award.
Publish these rules
Share 6 values that are important to you and 6 things you do not support:

6 things I value:
1. My relationship with God
2. My family
3. My friends
4. My education
5. My job
6. My desire to help others

6 things I do not support:
1. Barack Obama
2. Drug use
3. Pitt bulls
4. Dead beat dads (or moms)
5. Teachers who forget why they chose to be teachers
6. Euthanizing animals that are not terminally ill

6 people I'd like to pass this award to:
1. Breanne at Expectantly Waiting
2. Karen at Surrounded by Sea Monkeys
3. Kelley at My Life With My Love
4. Chelle at Chelle's Writings
5. Leslie at Got Kids, Need Valium
6. Virginia at Maboozle

Tulsi at The Family Awaits gave me this award today!! Thank you Tulsi!!!

The creator of this award said that "since everyone is being warm and fuzzy with the passing of awards lately, I've decided to come up with my own. It will be called the "NYX" award after my cat."

The rules will be simple:
Pay it forward to at least one blogger you think needs a bit of cheering up, or a mean ass little kitty to stare down unwanted people, objects, moods, lingering doubts, etc. If you don't know anyone needing a Nyx fix at the moment, keep her in reserve.

Link back to the blog who gave it to you.
Link back to me if you want. This part is completely optional. I'm not in this for fame and fortune. This is about putting a smile on a fellow bloggers face.
Pretend to like cat's if your a dog person.

I am going to give this "pick me up" award to Kimmy at MBKimmy's Krazy Thoughts because she has a new baby plus a toddler, and they are ALL sick and have been off and on for a few weeks!! And well, she just needs something to make her smile, so I hope this does it!!

AND, if that wasn't enough, I get to be a "Guinea Bee" for Anissa the Queen Bee for a new blog design!! I am really excited to spice up my boring blog layout!!!

Ok, so, what else? I had another long day today. I went to a workshop after work today until 6pm about cultural diversity and disproportionality today. I'm glad I went, but I'm tired! I had an IEP meeting (it's a special ed. thing) at 9am this morning, and the parent who came showed up with sandwiches, chips, brownies, cake, and soft drinks. And yes, they put the brownies in front of me and I had to look at them for 2 hours while the meeting went on. And yes, I totally blew my diet and ate 2 brownies, a sandwich, and a bag of chips. And no, most parents do not bring food to the meetings, but this one always does. How cool is that? And since I blew my diet, my co-worker/friend, Courtney & I went to eat at the Chinese buffet before the workshop. I will do better tomorrow!!! But it was worth it!

Cameron's dad picked him up today for his week with him, but he'll be back tomorrow after school so that he can do his driving for drivers ed. again. I should be able to get to see him for a few minutes before his dad picks him up. I'm still waiting to hear if Landen is free (he has a busy social life) this weekend to come spend the night. I miss him!!

Yes, you know what night it is!

Yes, it's steak night!!! The best thing about the Atkins diet is that I can eat my favorite ribeye steak, sauteed mushrooms and veggies!! We will go whenever Cathy & Brent get home, which hopefully wont be long from now. Walter is stopping on the way home to get his hair cut at a little salon down the street but i'm sure he'll be home before them. I went and got my hair cut this afternoon and it came out cute. I'd take a picture except that I didn't get the girl to blow dry it, so I'll do that this weekend.

I got a poem from JP in the mail today and it really touched me. If you can get past the drug use and subsequent behavior problems, he is a wonderful person, and I have always been able to get past that to see him for who he is, but can't allow that in my house or around Cameron. He is a former "gifted" student, although I never liked that label. He was tested for the program in 2nd grade and we were told that only 1% of the population has an IQ as high as his. So, to see him end up where he is today, in jail, and possibly for the next 40 years is really hard for me. But as I've said, I turned him over to God even before the incident happened that landed him in jail 18 months ago and I feel certain that God is going to give him a second chance. Ok, but here is why I said all that...check out the poem he wrote me. I really had to laugh about the "always on time," because I am, neurotically, always on time. He is that way too, thanks to me, which I guess is a good thing!

I was tagged by Anissa for this meme!
1. Where were you 10 years ago? Just starting to date Walter, partying like a rock star with my friends, working as an office manager.

2. What is on today's To Do List? Drop boys off at school, work, hair cut, steak night, read blogs and new book.

3. What would you do if you were a billionaire? Pay off all my bills, give money to all of our family members, set up savings accounts for our kids, pay for anyone to go to college that wants to go, donate millions to charity, start a shelter for cats.

4. Name 5 places you have lived. Baton Rouge, Louisiana; East Point, Georgia; Murfreesboro, Tennessee; Birmingham, Alabama; City I live in now, Louisiana.

5. Name 3 of your bad habits. Talking too much, worrying too much, snacking too much.

6. What are your favorite snacks? Ice cream, bread pudding, chocolate

Who will you tag for this meme? Anyone who wants to do it!!!!

I've been fighting with Cameron this week about spending an hour each day doing homework or studying. It is always obvious when his dad doesn't stick to the rules because now I get an argument since he isn't making him do it on his week. We agreed at the beginning of the year that we would BOTH (not just ME) require him to work on school work an hour each day after school whether he has homework or not. There is always something to read over or catch up on or even work ahead!! Cameron told me he was NOT going to sit there for an hour if he didn't have homework. I informed him that he WAS and yes, for the record, he did. He pouted the whole time and that's his choice as long as I don't have to see it. I emailed his dad and asked him if he's sticking to our agreement and it could be that missing so many days from the hurricanes just created some laziness with Cameron, but I want to be sure. Cameron told me yesterday that he'll just go live with dad all the time, something you always wait to hear with teenagers when they don't get their way, but i've never heard it before. I told him he'll want to check with dad about changing schools because dad drives him 45 minutes to school every day of his week and 45 minutes home every day of his week. He might not appreciate that too much and Cameron isn't going to switch schools. So yeah. Call dad!

Alrighty then, I'm outta here!! Have a great night!

Monday

I received this sweet award from Patti at Nonna's News today! It is so pretty and the meaning behind it is really what blogging to me is all about!!

To translate the gift from Portuguese to English, it means:"This blog invests and believes, the proximity"[meaning, that blogging makes us 'close' -being close through proxy] How awesome is that??

"They all are charmed with the blogs, where in the majority of its aims are to show the marvels and to do friendship; there are persons who are not interested when we give them a prize, and then they help to cut these bows; do we want that they are cut, or that they propagate?"

Then let's try to give more attention to them! So with this prize we must deliver it to 8 bloggers that in turn must make the same thing and put this text:

So, here are my 8 bloggers who will receive this award from me:
1. Anissa at Home Where They Belong
2. Tam at Momma Song
3. Amy at Escape Into My Thoughts
4. Mere at The Babblings of Mere
5. Susie at Bienvenue
6. Lizzy at The Journey to The Hot Tub
7. Lula at Lulaville
8. Tulsi at The Family Awaits

Day 1 of our diet went good! For breakfast I just had a low-carb Slim Fast because I'm lazy. Walter boiled a bunch of eggs last night, so he had boiled eggs & bacon this morning. For lunch we both brought a salad to work. I also sent him with some beef jerky and pork rinds for snacking. I get off work at 2:30, so I didn't need to do any snacking until I got here. I ate some cheddar cheese and steamed some brocolli so Walter can snack on that until dinner, which is a pork roast and pretend potatoes. I don't mind saying my weight because I do not have all that much to lose. I weighed 161 this morning and I am quite neurotic about weighing, so I plan to weigh every day. I know I shouldn't, but I really can't help it, and on the Atkins diet, it's usually good news as long as you aren't cheating. I wont say what Walter's weight is, but as he loses, i'll say how much he's lost. I really hope he'll stick to the diet and exercise plan with me!! Cathy is planning to go to the gym with us too, so between all of us, maybe we'll get there!

Work was good today. I met with several of my students and 1 parent, so the day went by pretty fast. I've been trying to set up several different meetings, so that has been keeping me busy.

Cameron is home for the week from his dad's. He's been doing the 1 week here, 1 week with dad for 12 years now, so you'd think I would be used to it, but I'm always a little uneasy when he's gone. We live on the line of 2 parishes (most people have counties) and I work in 1 parish and Cameron's school (5 minutes away) is in another parish. My parish cancelled school Friday, but his didn't. Thankfully, his dad was concerned about the weather and kept him home. It was a really nasty day and I was relieved that he wasn't out in it. Interim report cards came out Friday, so he got his today and it was GOOD! He has 4 A's, 1 B, 1 C, & 1 D. The D is 1 point from a C, so he can bring that up with a little effort. His dad did not support me last year in insisting he spend time on his homework, but agreed to this year, and it really made a difference. Cameron's 15th birthday is tomorrow and he came home today and had "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" written on his hand, no doubt by some girl at school, and I said, "oh, you started celebrating your birthday early?" He said, "today isn't my birthday?" I said, "no, it's tomorrow." He said, "oh, well dad said it was today and that's what I told everyone!"

My sister, Donna is doing ok - still out of power, but they have a gas generator. I have asked them to come here if they want, but I don't know if they will or not. Donna works from home, so she could realistically work from whoever's house she is at. However, her husband decided to raise homing pigeons, so yeah, he can't very well bring them with him. I'm not sure what you do about that. Leave him there and come enjoy some electricity? Still no word from JP, so I am still just trusting God to keep him safe. I've tried calling Elizabeth but haven't heard from her. That isn't unusual because we generally talk every couple of weeks, but with the high water at their house last week, I want to make sure they aren't flooded again this week. I haven't seen Landen since school started in August and i'm missing him, so I hope to maybe have him spend the night this weekend. Mack is still too much for me to keep for a long time, but I will try to get him to come over for a few hours or something! Landen is like my kids always were. They would play quiet and entertain themselves or sit with you and read books, etc. Mack is a fitting name for Mack! He is like a Mac Truck!!!

Well, nothing much else is going on. I hope you all had a nice Monday!

Blogging from boredom

There isn't much to do over here other than play on my computer, so you're in luck! You get another post today! Who knew it was your lucky day. We ventured out of the house today and went to a small convenience store a few miles away that opened on generator power and got a few 12 packs of soft drinks and some chips. We are ok for another day or two with food, so no worries there. A major grocery store opened up about 20 miles from us and has power (so you can use a debit card!!), so we will probably go there tomorrow or the next day, if we can.

Here is my hurricane posse - Bryce, Cameron, & Bradley:

Walter & I got the boys out in the yard today and we cleaned up all the branches, sticks, and junk that landed in our yard. Cameron & Bradley even went into the boat slip and the dock and dislodged some plants/weeds that have been growing under there for a couple of months, so they really cleared the place out!!

Our propane company brought their truck out today and topped off our propane tank, which is great. They have assured their customers that they will be out and getting the propane to us. I wont even tell you how much it is costing to run our generator, but it's worth it not to be sitting here in the dark, sweating, and worrying about losing everything in our refrigerator/freezer. Well, ok, maybe I will tell you since i'm looking at the bill - $50/day! Our neighbors have the whole house generator that runs everything in their house (A/C included) and theirs is costing $100 day! FEMA may reimburse these expenses, I'm told. Also, our mail and garbage service came today! How people get out and work in all this mess, not to mention the fact that their families probably have needs that aren't being met right now, is beyond me, but it was nice to see some normalness going on.

There is supposed to be a site set up a few miles from us where you can get MRE's, ice, water, etc. We went to see if they were giving anything out yet, but so far the "pods" haven't shown up yet. If we can get over to the grocery store, we wont need anything from the site, but it's nice to know that is an option. It's scary when you can't buy gas to get to wherever you need to go to shop for supplies.

I mentioned yesterday that the condo where we lived before moving to our house a year ago (where we lived during Katrina) lost it's chimney and has a gaping hole in the roof. Well, someone told us last night that the townhouse where we lived before that in Baton Rouge lost part of its roof during the storm!! So, the last 2 places we've been during hurricanes both had the roof damaged during the storm! That really seems like some kind of sign to me!!

Pre-Gustav

Here is a cute picture I have to share from Hurricane Lily in 2002. Walter doctored the scene a little bit and created this shot, mostly to amuse Cameron, who was quite amused! We emailed it to our friends and family to let them know we were doing ok during the storm!

And speaking of storms, New Orleans' mayor called for the evacuation of New Orleans yesterday and called Hurricane Gustav "the mother of all storms." Alrighty then. It does seem to be coming straight at us and there is an air of nervous excitement all around. No matter where you go, you hear people talking to friends and strangers about their plans. "Are y'all leaving?" "Is your area under evacuation?" "Where will y'all go?" I heard this morning that our Walmarts are shutting down as of this morning. I guess their employees need to be making plans and evacuating like everyone else. My next door neighbor is taking pictures of all the rooms in her house incase she needs them for insurance purposes. Not a bad idea. Some of her relatives came by on their way out of state this morning due to their home being in a low lying area and the guy said he already applied with FEMA this morning because he knows he will lose everything. And I am worried about one of my friends who is in an area that is under a mandatory evacuation, and she is not leaving. For those of you who know me in real life, I'm talking about Valarie. She was in danger during Katrina and this storm is going to hit her area harder and I'm very concerned about her. I asked her to come here, but she is staying where she's at.

The wind is starting to pick up here which is our first real sign that this thing is coming. The trees are all swaying and before long will be bending a bit as they sway. An evacuation has been suggested for our area of the river for low lying homes, but we are not low lying and feel safe to stay. None of my neighbors are leaving, so I think it's ok. I do think we will be flooded in due to the roads around us flooding, but we'll be fine here at home. If we do get flooded in, I would worry about my neighbors who are in their 70s and in poor health if their family couldn't get to them, so all in all, we'll stay here and look out for each other. Walter & I have done all of our hurricane supply shopping, which somehow ends up being a huge junk food festival, and now went back today for our final few items:

I have been really impressed with Cameron's maturity in the last few days. He talked to me when our New York trip was still planned to let me know that we would have trouble getting home on Monday due to the storm, and then today, he voluntarily went outside and helped Walter secure the boat and all of the plants & things in the back yard. I hope this is a new stage he is going through! Hurricane Katrina was stressful on us, and i'm guessing he's remembering that.

Now, I have a couple of awards that I've gotten lately that I need to pass on! Nik at Exceptional Voyage and Veggie Mom gave me the "You're looking at a kick-ass blogger" award! Woohoo!!! And I have to pass it on to 5 bloggers who are as kick-ass as me! Woohoo! Thank you ladies!!!

I am going to have to cheat this one time and just pass it on later due to my hurricane status!!!

And my real life friend, Chelle at Chelle's" World gave me the "I Love Your Blog" award!!

The rules of this award are:

1. The winner can put the logo on his/her blog.
2. Link the person you received your award from.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4. Put links of those blogs on yours.
5. Leave a message on the blogs of the people you’ve nominated

And again, I will pass this on later! But just wanted to say thank you to all 3 of these ladies and show off my awards!!

I found these cute pictures of JJ when he was little and had to post it! He was so tiny, so we aren't sure how he grew to be so gigantic!!

A year or two later, I tried to put him back in my overalls, but I wasn't very successful.

And here is Cameron a few years ago with his big baby.

And then JP's coke problem started:

And while I'm on the subject of cats, my scaredy cat, Nadda, has odd habits that usually involve him leaving treasures for me in his food bowl. I haven't shared any stories lately because he hasn't really done anything, but this morning I recognized a clear pattern. Every morning when I have gone to feed him for the last 4 mornings, I've found my pink pony tail holder in the food bowl. I'm not sure what he's trying to tell me, but he doesn't take it back out and play with it. He leaves it there for me to find. Sometimes I find socks and shoes in there, but not lately.

We went to an Italian restaurant called "The Little Village" with Cathy & Brent tonight. Cathy reasoned that we don't know if we'll be able to eat out next week due to power outages, etc., so we went. We are really starting to eat out too much again.

Ok, well pray for us that Hurricane Gustav will weaken and go easy on us! I'll keep you posted as to how we are doing when I can! I really appreciate all the support and prayers from my blogger friends!

And the winner is.......ME!!

Yay! I received not one, but TWO awards from a new friend, Maricris at Zen Ventures! The first award is the "I LOVE YOUR BLOG" award! What a cute award it is too!

The rules of this award are:

1. The winner can put the logo on his/her blog.
2. Link the person you received your award from.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4. Put links of those blogs on yours.
5. Leave a message on the blogs of the people you’ve nominated

I just have to go with the first blogs I look for every day, cause I LOVE their blogs! But, there are plenty more I love too!!! I had to pick 7!
Lizzy at Journey to the Hot Tub
Lesley at Na-Na's Cozy Kitchen
Tam at Momma Song
Kelley at My Life With my Love
Susie at Bienvenue
Joe Joe at Bella's Daddy
Amy at Escape into my Thoughts
I would put my friend Chelle, but her blog is private and nobody can see it!!! But I love your blog too, Chelle!

Half of them are my real life friends, so i'm a little partial!! Enjoy the award!!

The second award is the Brillante Weblog award that doesn't include any rules, but if it's name speaks for itself, it is for brilliant blogs!! I will nominate 3 people for their brillaint blogs and hope they will pass it on too!

Blogstalker
Crazy Life of Mine
40 Shades of Pink

Work was busy yesterday, then I had my supervision meeting yesterday afternoon. We had group supervision with my friends, Courtney & Christine, so that was fun and different! I got home around 6pm and my step-son, Sean, brought his girlfriend, Kristen over to meet us and to show us his new car. It's actually a 1994 Mitsubishi Miata (sp) and get this....it's a bright red convertible just like my new Mustang!!! It's a cute car and I hope it holds up for him. He has recently gotten a good job as a computer technician/networker, so we're really crossing our fingers and praying that this works out for him. He's a great employee; he just is habitually late and usually loses jobs because of it. And his girlfriend is nice. We liked her.

Cameron is gone to his dad's this week, so that is always an adjustment for me. You'd think after 12 years, it would seem normal, but it's different. It's ok with me now that he likes going over there, but there were step-mother issues for several years that created serious problems, but things have been good for awhile now.

My brother, Kenny, posted some new pictures of my cute little niece, Daphne. Here you can see her with the giant Elmo her favorite aunt (yes, that would be me) gave her for her first birthday. Now, while I would like to take credit for the idea, Elmo was on Daphne's Amazon.com wishlist (who knew she was so smart!) and I just bought it, but still, it's her favorite toy. Kenny said that in the first picture, Daphne was bringing Elmo to take a bath with her and that when he reads books to Daphne, she sits on one knee and wants Elmo on his other knee!

Have a nice Tuesday!!!

Sunday

Walter came home around 4pm from his "brothers weekend" in Mississippi. I sent my camera with him and like a good husband, he took some pictures!! They caught/cooked fish yesterday and checked their crab traps today and boiled crabs for lunch. Boiled crabs are one of my favorite things to eat and yes, you know he loves me, because he brought some home for me! Yay!! That will be my after dinner snack!



In the picture above, from left to right - Walter, Brien, Ed, Rickey, & Tommy.

I haven't done much today. I took Cameron & Bryce to Taco Bell for lunch today - their choice! It's amazing to me that they'll pass up some really good eating for Taco Bell! Tropical storm Fay is passing through our area for a visit. It's been raining since I got up this morning and I guess that is what I can expect for the whole day! I don't mind though. It is pretty relaxing to sit and listen to the rain, especially on the metal roof. I am cooking the cajun crawfish casserole AGAIN tonight, but using shrimp instead of crawfish. Walter will love this casserole and it came out SO good, so I decided to make it again and show off my great cooking skills, since he missed it Friday night!

After having so much fun with my post last night, I couldn't help but "yearbook" my sister and brother-in-law and email them the pictures! Did they think it was as funny as I did? Probably not, but I got a good chuckle out of it!!

Questions & Comments:

MBKimmy asked if JP was older than Elizabeth - no, I sometimes confuse people because I call JP my older son, but that is just to distinguish him from my younger son, Cameron. Elizabeth was born 2 years before JP. Also, she asked if Elizabeth has said she had a good life - yes. She is very different from her adoptive parents. They are very quiet, sort of non-social people and Elizabeth's personality is just like mine - outgoing, loud, center of attention kind of girl. They have been very good to her and she was raised in a happy, stable, loving home. I think meeting me and my family helped her to see "the other side" and it's a good fit for her. Here is a picture of both of our families during Christmas the year after we met.

From left to right: Elizabeth, me, my sister Donna, my mom, a family friend, Elizabeth's mom, & Landen.

That's all I've got for now! Have a good rest of your weekend!!

Just One Word...

I was tagged by Veggie Mom over at Eat Your Veggies! for a "meme." Nonna, the proprietress at Nonna's News, has a super "meme" out there. I am supposed to answer these questions with One Word. It's not as easy as you think!

1. Where is your cell phone? Table

2. Where is your significant other? Work

3. Your hair color? Brown

4. Your mother? Cute

5. Your father? Not

6. Your favorite thing? Restaurants

7. Your dream last night? Erased

8. Your dream/goal? Happiness

9. The room you're in? Den

10. Your hobby? Computer

11. Your fear? Snakes

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Here

13. Where were you last night? Home

14. What you're not? Quiet

15. One of your wish-list items? JP

16. Where you grew up? Louisiana

17. The last thing you did? Study

18. What are you wearing? Clothes

19. Your TV? Off

20. Your pet? Big

21. Your computer? Laptop

22. Your mood? Good

23. Missing someone? JP

24. Your car? FUN!!

25. Something you're not wearing? Jewelry

26. Favorite store? Cato

27. Your summer? OFF

28. Love someone? Yes

29. Your favorite color? Blue

30. When is the last time you laughed? Today

31. Last time you cried? Unsure

32. Who do you want to tag?

Mere The Babblings of Mere

Kelley My Life With My Love

Lizzy The Journey to the Hot Tub

Susie Bienvenue

Tam Momma Song

Today was a better day with Cameron. We talked last night about how we can compromise with the computer/grades/social issues and we came up with some ideas of how we could work together. I am going to let him use the computer when he wants to use it, as long as he's done his "hour of homework" at a set time, eats dinner with us (and pretends he likes us), and makes efforts to be out of his room doing other things. So far, so good today. Bryce came over after school and they asked me to help them study for a Biology test tomorrow, so we spent some time doing that. They both ate dinner with Walter & I (we used to ALWAYS do this - not sure what happened), and now they are both down at Bryce's house. And tonight was taco night, so everyone enjoyed that!

Work was busy but good today. I went to my smallest school to get the schedule of the only student I have to see there currently, then I went to my bigger school where my office is and got it looking good and got the computer hooked up, except it is missing 1 power cord that I will bring from my house. I am really going to like having an office with a computer in the school where I will spend 4 - 5 days. I met with 4 of my new students today and have to work out my schedule to see them.

It is still raining non-stop here. I don't think we've had a day without rain in weeks. I am ready for a few dry days!!!

Do you know these people? They are the Imagination Movers - a phenomenal kids band who are from New Orleans AND I have to say, personal friends of mine! Well, ok, I don't know 3 of them, but I grew up with Mover Dave. He & my brother have been best friends since elementary school. I am so proud of the Imagination Movers, and if you haven't exposed your young children to them, you should! They have recently gotten a DISNEY SHOW and will be premiering 2 new consecutive episodes on Saturday, September 6(10/9c) during Disney Channel's learning-focused Playhouse Disney programming block. It is filmed entirely in New Orleans and the series introduces preschoolers to the Imagination Movers' energetic rock and roll music while emphasizing creative problem solving skills. You gotta see them!

And while I'm advertising...stop by a participating Burger King in Alexandria, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Monroe, and New Orleans to pick up a free LSU Football Fan Card featuring the 2008 LSU Football Schedule. Burger King is the only place to get it. It has a beautiful photo of Tiger Stadium as well as valuable WHOPPER sandwich coupons. So, go get em! Walter's niece helped design and implement the promotion!

I've got so many new blogs to read, so I'm going to spend some time tonight doing that! I have really enjoyed meeting so many new people this week!!

Monday

I really had fun with the Blog Around the World post and am excited to see where we go next! I added a bunch of blogs to my blog roll to have a chance to read and get to know some new people. I usually keep the ones who comment back & forth and then slowly lose the others, but hopefully, I will meet and keep some new friends! I am a little disapointed that over 50 people visited my blog, but less than half left a comment. That's the point people!! Leave a comment so the people you visit can visit you!

Work was good today. I am trying to put together 2 "Why Try" groups and have been getting names from teachers of students that might benefit from the program. It is a program to help kids overcome their challenges and improve their outcomes in the areas of truancy, behavior, and academics. If I sound like i'm reading that straight off of the WhyTry.org website, it's because I am! I have never actually done a Why Try group, but one of my co-workers has been trained in it and is doing some groups on the west side with me, so I am going to just do what she does after she does it with me! I am excited to learn more about it because it does seem to be an effective program.

Cameron is home from his dad's, and as I thought, he's still pretty ticked off at me over the computer restrictions! I am willing to talk about it and what he can do to have more freedom with the computer, such as being nice when people talk to him, actually talking to people, using words instead of grunts when asked to do something, etc. The current rule is no computer until after 8. He came in from school and pouted awhile, told me how mad he is, and when Bryce came over, he said he wanted to go to Bryce's to do his homework. I said that is fine as long as he shows me what he worked on when he gets back. As they were going out the door, I said, "what time will you be home??" He said, "AFTER 8!" LOL...I was too tickled to argue and let him go. I called his dad to see what they worked out and I will talk to Cameron and see what we can come up with. His dad did make him do homework at a set time every night, which is going to help Cameron keep up with everything.

Here are some pictures of the completed screen porch project now that all of the tools are put away:

Our friend, Brent, works for a demolition company and had asked Walter if he wanted some lights from an old building to put on our boat slip. I think he is still waiting to get one more, then will put them up. Walter cleaned them up real good and they should look nice!

Here are some pictures of the pier with the swing, dock box (for the swing cushion), and bench.

And this is a project that Walter & our neighbor, Leon are working on...to catch the racoon(s) that keep pooping on our piers at night! I have not gone to see the poop, but apparently, it is a daily problem!

These are the lights that Walter put on the pier. They are really cool looking at night and light the place up nicely!

And this is just a cool view of the river from our pier. I love the way the lights look up & down the river.

That's all for tonight! I hope you all have a great night!