Year 2 - Day 242 - August 31

My first day of teaching Children's Lit was last night. I think it went well, and hopefully I keep feeling that way. Our first novel of the semester is Charlotte's Web. Have you read it as a grownup? It's so different!!

Year 2 - Day 241 - August 30

My room at school didn't fare nearly as well as my house did. There's a seam in the (flat) roof that goes across the library, and it leaks often. However, it's never been THIS bad before. We got an email recently saying they were going to stop just replacing the tiles and start fixing the root causes. I'm glad, cause this is yucky.

Many of the stuffed animals at work are mine from childhood. The dog with the sock in his mouth was a gift from my mom's friend that she grew up with and the dark one in the middle is a chimp from my friend in high school. The other two (orangutang & horse) were there when I got there, however the horse is currently sporting a purple scarf from my "$50 Boardwalk Bear." The kids play with the animals all the time and I never know which animals will be wearing which accessories. :)

Year 2 - Day 240 - August 29

This is the current BGE outage dot map for our area (2:46pm). We, luckily, are that white space where there is no outage dot. However, most of the lights are still out in our area and driving is a pain in the butt. I am curious to see what the power is like in Cecil County so they can hurry up and make a decision about school tomorrow. I am happy to go to work, but I would be unhappy if I have to find out about NOT going at 5am!

Year 2 - Day 239 - August 28

We survived Hurricane Irene with just some leaves and puddles. A neighbor lost a branch but it wasn't too big. Our backyard is a swamp right now, and it was very windy all night.

Lots of people have no power today, but our neighborhood is one of the lucky ones. We were out for a couple hours this morning, but it was quickly restored. Hopefully it stays that way because our chest freezer is housing the cold items from a few friends homes. :)

Year 2 - Day 238 - August 27

Usually I visit my favorite pharmacist when I need a prescription filled, but with the storm coming I just went to the closest Rite Aid. While waiting in the drive through line, I noticed the top credit card picture in this line of cards - it's a JCPenney card. What?! Rite Aid takes Penneys credit cards?! That didn't make any sense to me. Wikipedia explained the chain of command to me. At one point, JCPenneys owned Eckerd Drugs. Then Rite Aid bought Eckerd so they just continued to take the cards. Random!

I'm sitting here waiting for Hurricane Irene to finish doing her thing. Mike's at work keeping the computers going and I'm taking a break from lesson planning to watch some GH. Hopefully the power keeps on chugging!

Year 2 - Day 237 - August 26

D batteries from Rite Aid (purchased yesterday, before the world went crazy), a big 6 volt battery for the lantern, and a bunch of water carried up from the basement that I got for cheap back in the spring. We're all ready for the storm!

Year 2 - Day 236 - August 25

I'm going to be teaching a section of Children's Literature at a local community college this fall. It's exciting, but I'm a little nervous too! I just got hired in the last 24 hours, and class starts on Tuesday. I have materials from a previous instructor and everyone has been MORE than helpful and encouraging which is wonderful! I spent this evening at a meeting for adjunct professors learning all about the ins and outs of the school. I'm on brain overload! I'm going to spend the next several days working non-stop to get ready. This is a good stress though, because I know I can do it, it's just going to take a lot of work. That's the kind of stress I can live with!