This weekend, my new dual monitor set up has proven its worth.  I have spent most of the day doing the final edit on the new literary magazine for the middle school.  Can we say “tedious”?  Clearly, we need to teach those students how to punctuate dialog…. and spell.  At any rate, it was awesome to be able to use the bigger monitor and see several pages at one time.  I will give it one final read in the morning, then it is off to the publisher.  It is so cool that we can simply upload the files to the publisher and have our magazine, glossy covers and all, in a little over a week.

As a treat for all my persnickety work, I spent some time looking photos from the Ottobre group on Flickr.  What a treat to be able to see them in such great resolution.  Wow.  I am truly spoiled and never want to go back to a normal monitor again. 

My boys are not perfect, but, some days, they come awfully close.  Today is my birthday.  Since we had a delayed opening for school, the boys made breakfast for me.  Cinnamon rolls.  No, not from scratch, but they were still awfully yummy.  They made their own lunches and cleaned up the kitchen. 

For some inane reason, I accepted a subbing assignment for today, 8th grade science.  They were beyond horrible.  Okay, not all of them, not even most of them.  During the last month of school, some 8th graders totally lose their minds.  Even though I went postal on almost every class, there were a couple of bright spots.  One girl gave me hug after class.  She said, “You look like you need one today.”  Another girl said, “Thanks for being such a good sub.  They really deserved being yelled at.”  I hate yelling, but sometimes it is the only thing that works. 

After school, the boys resumed treating my like royalty.  They listened to my tales of woe for the day.  They prepared snacks and cleaned up.  They started their homework without being asked.  We planned to go out for dinner, but homework got in the way.  J had a paper to finish up and a cooking project for Health class.  Tonight, going out to dinner seemed like more work than it was worth.  I would rather wait until the weekend when we can all relax and really enjoy it. 

The geeking out of my sewing room was a combined Mother’s Day and birthday gift.  However, this morning, the boys and Hubski promised to help me with a couple of intensive cleaning/organizing projects weekend.  Crossing some onerous items off my To Do List is the best gift of all. 

With both Mother’s Day and my birthday in the same week, the guys have been fishing for gift ideas.  In reality, I am a low maintenance girl.  Lots of things catch my fancy, but I am too practical to seriously entertain the thought of ownership. 

There was lots of brainstorming.  The guys wanted to get me something really good this year.  At the electronics store, we were all salivating over the giant monitors.  J teased me that my Mr MaGoo vision makes a bigger monitor a necessity.  Thus, the idea was born.  I had no idea just how big that idea that would get. 

We looked at bigger monitors.  Hubski chimes in that I could set up my computer to have two monitors running simultaneously.  Sweet!  No more minimizing windows to work on two applications at once.  As a joke, I said our 42″ TV would make a wicked monitor.  Hubski got that glint in his eye again.  There are TV’s that can be used as computer monitors.  It is easy to switch back and forth between the two functions.  Totally sweet!

My head was spinning at this point.  I don’t even remember how it entered the conversation, but the option of a second DVR was now on the table.  Somehow we went from simply getting a larger monitor to a really big monitor/TV with a DVR.  Of course, I had to get a new graphics card to support the dual monitors.  The new graphics card is freakishly amazing.  It is dangerous to let our family loose in an electronics store. 

My old 19″ monitor is now dwarfed by an awesomely swank 23″ Sony LCD TV which is hooked up to my very own DVR.  I can tape all the craft, DIY, and sewing shows I want.  Hubski was all set to get the 32″ TV, but I just don’t have the room.  It is so cool to drag windows from one monitor to another.  Looking at Flickr photos is seriously fun on the Sony.  The resolution….there are not the words to describe it. 

I have seriously geeked out sewing room now.  I guess I owe the guys a few new shirts.

We have started using reusable shopping bags.  No, I did not make them.  Why would I when the grocery store sells them for $1 a piece?  Anyway, today I needed several plastic bags to separate some books.  Lo and behold, there were hardly any bags under the kitchen sink.  Those plastic bags come in handy once in a while.  Does it mean I’m not “green” if I occasionally “forget” my canvas bags just to replenish my supply of plastic bags?  Besides, what am I suppose to use to  line my wastebaskets? 

This green thing can be confusing at times.

On Tuesday I fussed at a girl for wearing microscopic shorts.  Today, she was wearing a microscopic skirt.  (I did not have her in a class yesterday, so who knows what she was wearing.) 

Me:  The skirt….way too short.  I’ve already spoken to you about the shorts.  What’s the deal?

Her: What?!?!!  It’s not that short.

I ask her to stand up and do the fingertip test.  She pulls her shoulders up to her ears and curls her fingers under.

Her:  See, it reaches my fingertips.

I tell her to drop her shoulders and flatten her hands.  Hmmm, the skirt barely reaches her wrists.

Her:  Well, it was long enough this morning.

Me:  Darling, you didn’t grow 3 inches in the last 4 hours.  Call your mom.  She needs to bring you another outfit.

Lots of sulking and glaring followed.

Ok, I took more than a 5 minute break…more like 30 minutes.  I reminded myself that a large chunk of sewing time is not simply going to fall from the sky into my lap.  I need to get back to sewing a few minutes every day, or at least mostly every day.  After dinner, I threw in a load of laundry to assuage my housekeeping guilt, then headed to the sewing room. 

I am working on a pair of longer shorts.  The school administration is finally cracking down on the dress code.  (Hallelujah!)  While I don’t wear super short shorts, mine wouldn’t make dress code.  They are using the standard “finger tip” rule.  Well, my really long arms put me at a distinct disadvantage.  There are a few end of the year events for which shorts would be the optimal choice.  I want to set a good example.  Besides, my legs are getting a wee bit old for prancing around in shorter shorts.  They are fine for times when I am doing something remotely active and need the freedom of movement.  However, for hanging out at a picnic, a little extra length is more age appropriate. 

A student started to snark at me today.  His friend leans over to whisper, “Dude, don’t go there.  Big mistake.” 

See, they can learn!   

This week is Spanish Spirit Week at school.  The students are encouraged to dress in the flag colors of various Spanish speaking countries.  There is a different color scheme for each day.  Yes, we had to take inventory of the wardrobes to make sure the boys were set for the week.  There is a wonderful friendly rivalry between the various world language classes.  The boys are a bit torn because they take both Spanish and Latin.  Tomorrow is the annual World Language Soccer Match.  The classes play against each other, no one really keeps score, no one really knows who won, but they have a lot of fun. 

The boys asked me to customize their shirts for tomorrow’s big game.  It was not as hard as I thought, but it was more labor intensive than I thought.  I could have just programmed it all into my embroidery machine, but the boys liked the more “artsy” feel of the appliquéd letters.  I drew the letters by hand, then traced over them with a Sharpie.  I pinned the applique fabric to the front of the shirt and pinned the paper to the inside of the shirt.  Since I traced the letters with a Sharpie, I could easily see the reverse side. I stitched the outline of the letters from the inside.  It took some time and patience to stitch around each letter, lots of lifting the pressure foot and turning.  Once it was all stitched, I trimmed the applique fabric from the front about an eighth inch from the stitching lines.  Yeah, cutting out the inside of those little e’s and o’s was lots of fun.  Pulling the paper off the inside was just as bad.  I used regular computer paper.  If I had been smart, I would have used a thin tear away stabilizer.  Nonetheless, the boys are pleased and it gave me something to do while we watched television. 

Sitting Practice

by Caroline Adderson

The novel opens with a horrific car accident that leaves a brand new bride paralyzed from the waist down. The husband is unsure of how to help. This is not the marriage he signed up for. Turn the page and the reader is hurtled forward in time. The couple has relocated, opened a cafe, and seems to have accepted life with a wheelchair.

The plot eventually picks up again. The couple still has issues to work out. Life in the cafe includes some mildly interesting and quirky characters. I was grateful that the story was brought to a conclusion, wrapping up quite a few loose ends.

After the last page, I felt those characters still had more to say. That is an indication of good character development. I wanted to know if the sister ever found a satisfying, healthy relationship. Did the couple ever have a child of their own? Did the little boy outgrow his quirkiness or was it symptomatic of a mental disorder? I like a book that ties up the plot line, but leaves me curious about what happened next.

Sitting Practice was not the most gripping book I have ever read, but it was certainly better than most I have read for as an early reviewer.

It is time to finally admit that I am not a “stay at home” mom.  I work.  I have a job.  There, I said it.

The substitute teaching began as a “once in a while” thing.  A teacher was out for a few weeks due to surgery.  I agreed to cover her classes since the schedule could be arranged so I only worked half days.  The teacher never returned.  The school year ended and my name was on the sub list.

The plan was to work perhaps one or two days a week.  It would be a nice way to spend time in a classroom without the pressure of a full time job.  The extra money would be fun, too.  One or two days a week turned into three or four. 

The tipping point was the district’s decision to use a web based program for scheduling subs.  Previously, teachers had to call in requests for subs.  Requesting a particular sub was cumbersome, if not impossible.  With the new program, a teacher can see if her favorite sub is available and simply click on the sub’s name to request.  Suddenly, I was getting called every day.  Now I have teachers stopping me in the hall and requesting me weeks in advance. 

I have been in denial about my working status.  I have been trying to run the house as though I were still at home every day.  My volunteer activities have reduced only slightly.  I am operating under the premise of “Oh, I can do that tomorrow when I am not working.”  Tomorrow comes, I am working, and nothing gets done at home. 

As of Monday, I am already booked to work half of May.  It is time to adopt a new mind set.  I am a working mother.  At times, I am a working single mother thanks to Hubski’s travel schedule.  It is time reprioritize some things and rework my schedule.  I need operate under the assumption that I will be working every day.  The days that I don’t get called to work will be a bonus.