Catching up

It seems that I have been neglecting things over here at the blog. It was a combination of lack of inclination and a lack of things happening in life right now. Now that things have perked up a bit, the inclination to write has reappeared.

1. I really need a reason to wear this hat again:

...and I'll insert a picture of my new straw hat with the big-honking flower as soon as I find the camera cord but in the meantime, just know that it is quite faboo...

It is from a Derby party hosted by a friend in Ft. Worth. It is a fabulous hat but I didn't quite think it through before I bought it that I would have to get it back home (I did, however, plan for the several pairs of shoes I bought and the couple of new outfits and left room in the suitcase). I kept telling people at the airport that it made more sense on Saturday when I had on the floral dress, drinking a mint julep, and chatting about the horse race while wearing the hat. And the fact that there were other people doing the same thing also helped (although I have been known to just slap on various head gear because it's entertaining, such as the obnoxious birthday tiara I wore around work on my 30th birthday). But the hat and I made it home unscathed, much to my delight and the amusement of my fellow flyers.

I was in D/FW for a long weekend--one I try to take every Spring to visit my sister and the variety of friends in the Metroplex. It seems that the number of friends is growing as is the number of small children I see each time. It is telling that I am of That Age because two of my friends were pregnant on this visit. I'm always a bit melancholy upon arrival back in ABQ--I miss being in Texas with all of the people I know there. I know that there are negatives to living there, just as there are positives to being here. But that is home and it always will be no matter how long I live in the Land of Enchantment.

2. Yearbook distribution was today. For all the weeks I've had of doing not much at work--this was the chance to make up for it all. It is a super busy morning. I was greeted by about 10 people waiting to purchase yearbooks at 8:00 a.m. and the line didn't shorten again until midway through the morning. I've had stragglers coming in throughout the day to purchase yearbooks, including several parents who were told by their children that they had to buy the yearbook RIGHT THEN or they would all be sold. I'm not sure my mother would have left work RIGHT THEN to come buy something as frivolous as a yearbook for me. A kidney, perhaps. But not a yearbook.

I was a little irritated with this year's yearbook staff not doing quite as much work as they should have done (and I'm much too nice to kick them off the staff because of it). I completed several of the pages myself and had to edit many more because! there! were! lots! and lots! of exclamation! points! on! them!!!! The staff all did show up to help with the distribution this morning though, which was a very good thing because we might have seen the librarian's head explode if they hadn't. But the end result seems to be well received and I've heard good things from staff and students (with a few sour comments thrown in just because someone has to be a sour puss). A favorite page is the one with various teachers' pictures from middle school, including that wonderful version of me in 1987. The students don't realize that in 20 years, they'll be trying to figure out what the heck they were thinking as well.

3. School lets out in two weeks. Hard to believe it's almost summer. The library renovation will continue into the summer. Originally, we'd been told they would finish in May. Of course, we were also told it would start last July so I knew not to believe them when the May date was given. The renovation will be finished during the summer, and I'll be into that new space in August. August 8, to be exact. But I'm not thinking about that right now. Instead, I'm concentrating on there are only being nine more mornings that I have to get up at 6:00 a.m. Or at least that the alarm goes off that early because I can't honestly say I've been out of bed at that early in a long time.

4. And in anticipation of summer, I've started planning out a variety of projects to accomplish in the next two months. One is to continue organizing those Fibber McGee closets in our house and also break out the knitting how-to and finally get that learned. We're not planning any long vacations this year (or next or the year after that thanks to the new company) but have made some tentative plans to take a few long weekends to see MLB games. We decided to extend the trip KS that we'll be taking in June for Paul's grandparents' 70th wedding anniversary to include a Royals game. So far on the Tour Of MLB Teams, we've seen the Cubs (2003), Rockies (2003), Astros (2004), Orioles (2004), Braves (2004), and the Mariners (2005). Looking at that list, one would think I like baseball but I don't really. But I do like my husband who does like baseball.