I Live...Therefore I Am?

I live! Yes, I survived this past week, and I can now dread those days ahead that lead to the next two parent-teacher conferences. The crazy part about these conferences is that they completely wipe you out! After that long Wednesday, which included a pretty basic threat that since I'm in the "3 Year" group of hires at my school, that I am due to be cut when the high school splits into the new one. Between the stress of now knowing my life can be thrown back into chaos again by a move to a school that's almost twice as far from my home, and the stress of the 13 hour day we'd all had, I just was left a wet noodle for the rest of this past week. Oh, and let me top it off with me staying up until 2 a.m. on the following night so that I could finish grading AP response papers to hand back on Friday. Sigh... Tonight? Well, I'm alive and kicking. :) My good friends Jessica and Irene came last night to spend the night, and then to head to Women's Conference tonight. It was a lot of fun laughing and visiting with them, and Sari and I tortured them with a re-broadcasting of the Presidential Debates last night. :) I can't wait to vote this year!!!


As for other news...I did a bit of shopping today and bought some new clothes. I kept thinking I'd wait to buy clothes for when I lost weight, but who am I kidding? That will take a miracle! Oh...and guess what? My doctor's office sent me a letter on Thursday to tell me that not only does my blood work show a horrid lack of basic vitamins, but that my vitamin D was "very low." When I was at the docs office, she had asked me if I get enough sun. Hello...I spent my summer in HAWAII. Need I say more about sunshine? I still have the tan marks to show for it, so this news was pretty frustrating. I was on the phone with my mom at the time, and I just started cussing. Yes, not the best reaction, but I was tired and SO ANGRY considering how fanatic I've been about eating like a freaking health nut...oatmeal and flax meal, fiber one bars, organic fruit, salads, quinoa, soups, etc. All I heard on the other end was the clickety-click of my mom's work keyboard as she searched google for Vitamin D deficiencies. Guess what they call it? Rickets! :)


That made me laugh though, so I guess that's good. No, I don't think I have rickets (my legs are still relatively straight), but we did read a bit about how pancreatic issues can lead to this deficiency. Who knows. Maybe all this is a good thing, as I now can have a few more answers for all the hideous fatigue I've had since this summer. I joked with Sari that I probably would have been just as well off if I filled my diet with things like nachos, tater tots, cheeseburgers, oreos, and more! Well, if my "rickets" get the better of me, I'll let you all know! :) Besides, maybe rickets will keep me from buying these beautiful Jimmy Choos that I've been daydreaming about...yes...I know I'm a walking cliche of single women everywhere...


Having griped about my exhausting week, rickety health (ha, ha...), and limited budget for random shopping,...I have little to share in the way of reading. I honestly DIDN'T read. I got through the Prologue and "The Knight's Tale" in Canterbury Tales, but that's about it. Let me report on a few things that I checked out this week. First off, the last installment of "Lost in Austen" was on this week. Pious Janeites are slamming it all over the place, but I happened to really enjoy the escape. I'm not really sure why Jane Austen fans are so uptight about the "purity" of the story. It's not as if readers can't tell the difference between the original and a modern, fantasy version of it! Nevertheless, the four part series is over now, and I happened to find it pretty fun and relaxing to watch.

I also have been rewatching the PBS House Series as of late. About a month ago I watched "1900's House," and currently, I'm rewatching "Manor House."


If you haven't seen any of these series, and you like history or reality television, then you might enjoy these as much as I do. They take a family or groups of people and have them live the lifestyle of a certain era. In Manor House, they are living the Edwardian period (early 1900s), and all the social hob snobbery that the time period entailed. They are all really interesting social experiments, and really show how desperate we are as human beings to gain status, often at the expense of someone else.

Well, to end my randomness this week, I thought I would plug a book that I did get a chance to check out of our local library here, and that I think is sweet, quaint, and makes me want to pick up a book and read for days, The Book Lover's Cookbook.


In this beautiful little cookbook, the authors have compiled food references from various novels and poems, and included recipes for the foods mentioned. Scattered throughout, you also find lovely little quotes on the power of reading, writing, and books. It's really beautiful, and it just made me want to bake some scones and sit down in a comfy chair with a good book in hand to while away the hours. It may not be a story to tell, but if you enjoy cooking AND reading, then this little cookbook is at least fun to flip through.

This brings me to the end of my ramblings. I suppose I'll take my ricket-ridden self to bed and see if I can't lose myself in a good book before nodding off! Right now I have about six books that I just can't seem to get into, but would like one of them to grab me so that I could snuggle down and enjoy. I suppose that getting off of here would help, so until next time, Adieu! Oh, and if you should try those recipes...good eating!

Oh...a new Coach bag that once again makes me wish I had millions so that I could buy this at random!