WNBP: Where We Left Off...

When last we left our intrepid Sheepie, she was suffering from the world's worst cold ever in the history of viral infections, had been strongly advised to take a pass on the two days of teacher workshops and the holidays were looming.

Did Sheepie take the days off when they were kindly offered?  Has she been lost in a pile of used tissues and has she been missed yet?  Did she make it to Christmas dinner with wrapped presents in hand?  Did she have enough of a voice to cry out, "God bless us, every one?"

These questions and many others will be answered in this week's installment of The Wednesday Night Bullet Post!!

*I did, in fact, take both workshop days off as my director instructed.


*I thought about going in for the Friday session, but I was still blowing solid matter from my nostrils so it seemed like a bad idea.


*Plus there was some "weather" going on.  Not much, but enough to justify staying home in bed.


*I'm feeling much better now.


*My voice is back and I hardly blew my nose at all whilst wrapping Christmas presents.


*I did not cry out God bless us every one at any point during Christmas dinner, but I could have should I so desired.


*Still sneezing every now and again and I'm tired beyond all reason, but that is about it.


*Finally realized what a toll the whole thing took on me when I went to a post holiday sale and forgot my purse in the Walmart parking lot.


*The parking lot!  Like...right there in the cart!


*How does one forget one's purse in the cart?????


*I mean, I can see leaving it in a dressing room or on the roof of the car.


*I'm not saying I've done that or anything.  I'm just saying it seems like something someone MIGHT do, is all...


*I got my purse back, thankfully.  But I'd driven all the way home before I realized that it was sitting in the Walmart parking lot.


*I used a gift certificate from my parents to go out and buy a couple of new purses.


*The kind with a long strap that you can hang across your shoulder and never take off.  You can even sleep whilst wearing your purse.


*That way you will never leave it in the Walmart parking lot.


*One of my greatest joys in life is visiting with people who have young children and gifting their offspring with the loudest toys I can find.


*I stay long enough to teach the little bundles of joy how to use the new device and spend some quality time observing just how much noise it can make.


*Then I go home.


*That is a very mean thing to do, but I can't help myself.  It is my only vice.


*Karma came to visit for Christmas this year.  Mommy Sheep gave Da Boyz a new cat cave.


*The Absurdly Gi-normous Kitty loves cat caves.  They are his favorite thing.  And the new one is no exception.


*Love, love, love!!!


*But it is the crinkly kind.  Sometimes I hear it rustling and that is OK.


*However, the AGK has learned that if you hit it juuuuust right and with juuuuust enough force...


*You can make it go, "BAP!!!!!"


*"BAP!!!!!" is the loudest noise in the history of forever.  It is even louder at 2:30 in the morning or when you are settling in for a nice afternoon nap because you are tired from the 2:30, "BAP!!!"


*I'd take it away, but I'm feeling like this is the universe's way of paying me back for all the drum sets I've bought for kids that aren't mine over the years.

I also don't really have the heart...

*He doesn't always make it go "BAP!!!!", after all.


*Is it weird that one of my most favoritest Christmas gifts is a kitchen scrubby brush shaped like a skull?


*It seems kind of weird to me, but what do I know?  I do know that I've been scrubbing stuff in the kitchen with it and that is kind of weird...


*I'm not really much of a scrubber.


*Now that the holiday is behind me, I can get down to the business of vacationing in earnest.  I got the napping thing down pretty good today.


*I thought about scrubbing something but figured I'd done enough of that for a while.  The skull seemed kind of sad about it.


*I've also gotten in some really good reading time.


*I kicked some serious book butt with the Elemental Assassin series.


*If you recall, I started with Spider's Bite (Elemental Assassin, Book 1)


*Worked my way through everything up to Spider's Revenge (Elemental Assassin Books)


*Lots and lots of virtual pages were flipped in between sneezing and wrapping and the big, loud BAPs!!


*As so often happens, I was at a loss after that.  So I went back to an author I knew I liked.


*Ended up with Skin Deep (Laura Blackstone, Book 1)


*Quite good.  Not a favorite, but quite good.


*Enough that I picked up the sequel.


*Face Off (Laura Blackstone, Book 2)


*I generally don't like to read the things that other people are reading.


*The very idea that I am part of the masses is just painful for me.


*But I'm starting to think it might be time to break down and read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Movie Tie-in Edition) (Vintage Crime/Black Lizard)




*It seems like the right thing to do.


*Plus I've got the time right now what with being on vacation and all...


*And I don't want to resort to scrubbing again.


*And there is every reason to believe that I will be awoken by a hearty, "BAP!" tonight anyway.


*Before I go, I want to wish Daddy Sheep a good night while he recovers from today's procedure.


*We'll be very, very glad to have you back home tomorrow, Dad.  I'm glad it went well for you today.


*Meanwhile, rest up and enjoy all that nice jello!



I think that catches you up.  I'm recovered from the horrific cold, tired enough from the whole experience to forget my purse in weird places and the Christmas Cat Cave is louder than anything I've ever heard in my life.  Now I'm going to head into the kitchen to see about rustling up some dinner.  I'm thinking hot dogs.  The pan I like to cook them in is dirty, but that's OK.  I can scrub it.  I have a scrubber.  And the time.

It's vacation, after all.

SA

WNBP: You've Been Trapped.

I'm certain that, by now, there are very few people out there who wish to continue hearing about my sickly state of being.  That's fair.  I understand.  Frankly, I'm getting pretty sick of the sick myself, but I don't have the luxury of ignoring my texts or faking a seizure whenever I see me.  I sort of have to live with it and just keep trying to snare innocent passersby into conversation so I can whine about my affliction.

Like with Wednesday Night Bullet Posts and such...

*Da Boyz are thrilled with the current state of affairs.  They like that the bed is piled high with extra blankets and that one of them is of the electric variety.


*Between all that extra bedding and the huddled feline bodies, I'm rather snug 'n cozy when I go to bed.


*Of course, when I wake up at midnight with the hacking and wheezing, I am generally sweating to the point of electrocuting myself with the electric blanket, but that is sometimes the price you have to pay.


*I've been going to school for a week with this hideous nasal affliction.  


*No choice.  Other staff people have needed to take sick days and the kids are not doing well.  Not well at all.


*Today was the last day of school for the students.


*Teachers have two days of mandatory workshops.


*They call it The Winter Forum and there are usually ice sculptures involved.


*This makes us feel special because ice sculptures from the Culinary Arts class looming outside the high school doors are really quite distracting.


*Until you get inside and are trapped in your respective workshops and realize that you have been duped into entering the building by the shiny, sparkly things.


*It would be easy to try to get out of the workshops.  Many have tried, but The Very Big Bosses take workshops seriously.  We don't have many whole district training days.  The Very Big Bosses take it personally when people try to get a few extra vacation days in by skipping workshops.


*I have been mentally preparing myself for the sparkly ice sculptures and how I might sneeze upon them without getting caught.


*I have several Bosses Of Me.  They are generally of differing minds and I often get confused as to which one is handing me the best possible direction in any given situation.


*Today my director (sort of an off-site boss) came in to the classroom to visit.  She said three things.


*Well...four things.  The first thing she said upon seeing me was, "Oh my..."

*Understandable.  Lots of people say that to me these days.


*The second thing she said was, "I wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas and a nice vacation in case I didn't see you."

*The third thing she said was, "I'm sorry you missed our meeting today but your colleagues picked out an ornament for you from the basket I brought.  You know, it is kind of a bad sign when they say they have to find the one that doesn't have any sharp edges."

*Then she had to say, "bless you," because I sort of sneezed in her face a little bit but she was very gracious about it.  I'm not counting that as part of what she said because I don't think it is the most important thing.

*The fourth thing she said was the Most Important Thing.  That went like this:

"I have never done this in my time with this district, but I am doing it now.  You are not coming to the teacher workshops.  There is nothing in these workshops that is so important as to drag you in for them.  You are staying home."

*I'm glad to be given a pass so I can wallow in my snotty state at home in peace, but I was a little disappointed to know that the four hours of sleep I scored last night didn't take.


*I'm guessing I didn't look so good today.


*Also haven't had a voice of any real strength since last Friday.


*Any thoughts on who might have clawed through half a roll of toilet paper while I was at work today?


*I'm pretty sure I've narrowed down my suspect list to two.


*Both feline.


*But I still feel like I should ask for your thoughts on the matter since I can't help but feel that I am engaging in Species Profiling.


*It seems kind of wrong to do that...


*The Kobo app on my iPad is kind of a disaster, but I've still managed to get some reading done.


*I finished Hammered (The Iron Druid Chronicles, Book Three), thus catching up with all that's going on in the world of the druids.


*Then I downloaded a copy of Spider's Bite (Elemental Assassin, Book 1).


*That's another one that kept coming up as a recommendation whenever I browsed books so I figured it was fated.


*Or something like that.


*Wouldn't think I'd find an assassin to be a sympathetic character, but Gin really is.  In her way.


*Plus, it is nice when a book doesn't feel the need for a lot of set up.  This is the world we are in, this is the way it goes, now play along!  You'll catch up soon enough!  


*That's what I like!


*Now I'm working on Web of Lies (Elemental Assassin, Book 2).


*Still good.  


*Plus there are quite a few of these so I should be able to keep myself entertained for at least a part of school vacation.


*I hadn't planned on the two extra days, of course.  But I'm not complaining.  I'll find a way to make it work.


*The plan for now is to hide under five million pounds of bedding and sneeze with wild abandon until the evil virus is expelled.


*Or at least until my nose is a little less scarlet...


I think that does it for tonight.  Unless, of course, you want to hear more about how utterly delightful I look right now.  Yeah...that's what I thought.  You'd like to wriggle free of my trap and run as far away as you can lest the sickness envelope you, too.  I don't blame you one little bit.  Consider yourself freed.

For now.  I can't promise what will happen tomorrow once I've managed to get a little rest.

SA

WNBP: Watching The Attitude.

I am unwell.  I want to get that out of the way straight off because, in my opinion, the entire world will soon be coming to a screeching halt.  It will then proceed to revolve around a newer and far more appropriate target:

Me.

I am something of a baby when I don't feel well.  I should probably also apologize for the statements I shall be making and the attitude I shall likely display.  I will be glad of it later when I realize how badly I've behaved.  With that, let's hit them Wednesday Night Bullet Points!!!

*I am glad to be communicating via keyboard.  That is about all I am good for right now.


*I am sick.


*I was not sick yesterday.  At least not until 8:37 pm.


*Then I was sick.  It was just that fast.


*Now my throat is very, very sore and my joints feel like tiny, angry little elves are hammering away at them as punishment for something I may or may not have done to slight them.


*Tiny, imaginary elves often have issues...


*The students in my class do not care that I am sickly.  Most of them are also sickly.


*As is The Organized Teaching Assistant.


*And The Cheerful Teaching Assistant.


*The ones that aren't sickly are just, plain grumpy these days because the holidays aren't always what the television commercials imply they should be.


*My throat hurts and I wanted to tell everyone about the world revolving around me, but I couldn't talk loudly enough to be heard and no one wanted to read what I was typing.


*The World's Greatest Stylist And Life Coach suggested that I needed to eat dinner with her.


*She is not the sort of person with whom you argue about things like dinner.


*Nor do I want to.  I like dinner and I wasn't sickly on Sunday. 


*And she was offering me things like lobster and cheesecake.  So I went.


*Yes.  I tip my hairdresser very well.  Maybe not "lobster" well, but I'm thinking of working my way up to that.


*She ordered a lot of lobster for us.  And sent me home with leftovers.


*No cheesecake was left over, though.


*Which is sad, because I am very hungry right now and cannot swallow.


*Cheesecake would be nice for someone as sickly as myself.


*Did I mention the sickness?  I can't remember if I did...


*I feel like poopy-yucky-ickiness.


*Soup would probably be better for me than cheesecake but I honestly don't think that anyone really checks on that sort of thing.


*I think there is some "weather" in the near future.


*Cats have lost their tiny, freakin' minds and are cavorting about in a way that is not good for a sickly person.


*There is little dignity in running around one's house trying to scream, "SANTA DOES NOT COME TO HOUSES WHERE BAD KITTIES LIVE!!!"


*I say, "trying" because I am too sickly to really get up much of a good scream.


*Could account for the lack of cooperation, now that I think of it.


*And all the refrigerator magnets suddenly being under the Christmas tree...


*I finally decided to read Ghost Story.


*I have no idea if that link will work.  Linking to my Amazon stuff is still not going well and no one seems to care that I am too sickly to be dealing with this nonsense.


*And my internet connection is fuzzy.


*Again with the lack of caring for my sickliness!!!!


*Universe!  I ask you...WHY????


*Where was I?


*Oh, yes.  The book.  I liked it.  It is actually a book where Harry seems kind of happy if you don't focus on the part where he's dead.


*Don't worry.  Happy never lasts for Harry Dresden.


*Which is probably why I haven't read anything from the Dresden Files in a while and cannot really remember just where it was that we left off...


*That isn't helping much with the comprehension, but I still like the book.


*And in the car, I am listening to Enchantment.


*Not one of your more popular Orson Scott Card offerings and I'm not even going to pretend it's my favorite.


*But still pretty good.  Better than listening to the news.


*Especially since they have yet to report on my illness and I'm a bit miffed about it.


*Cats just freaked out and moved the recliner.  Which hit the Christmas tree.


*I don't even care anymore.  I am sick.


*I am making pasta for dinner since I still haven't resolved the cheesecake issue.


*Best line of the day Courtesy of Little Einstein who couldn't quite place the relaxing music we were playing in the classroom today in a futile attempt at settling the seething mass of tension:

"What is that...yoga noise?"

*Yes.  It was, in fact Yoga Noise.


*It just wasn't quite so soothing once we got to giggling over it.


*Sore throats and all.

I am going to stop there.  I think I have done remarkably well with the attitude and I fear a trip over to the dark side should I carry on much further.  As proof, I point out that I have not yet begun my rant against the person I met today who believes my decision to say, "happy holidays" is somehow proof that I am anti-American, anti-Christmas and a threat to life as we know it unless I am put down immediately.  Apparently all that is good in this world is now threatened by that seemingly simply sentiment and I probably should be thinking about moving out of this great nation before I am driven

Yeah.  I'm just gonna wrap this up before I get to that.  Maybe I'll save it for another day, one where I'm more light of heart and free of germ.  I wish you all a very Happy Wednesday and hope that you are doing better with the lightheartedness than I tonight.

SA

WNBP: Where's That Bunny?

My dependence upon the Wednesday Night Bullet Post format seems to be continuing.  As it looks to be the only way I can post anymore, I say let's just go with it!  It's kind of like Tweeting with a singular timestamp, right?

*I stand firm in my contention that this 60 degrees in December nonsense is not helping with my holiday spirit.


*Don't get me wrong.  I'm not looking to freeze solid or anything.


*However, I do not feel that I am being unreasonable when expressing concern.


*Shouldn't I have donned a turtleneck by now?  Or a jaunty scarf?  Maybe even a nice pair of mittens?


*I keep looking for the Easter Bunny...


*Most disturbing interaction of my week thus far:

Ms. Sheep: ...and that, my dear Mr. Assistant Principal, is the latest crisis in my classroom and reason why you should shower me with vacation days.  Or free sticky notes.  I like those, too.

Mr. Assistant Principal:  What?  Oh, I'm sorry.  I wasn't listening.  NO!  You don't need to repeat it.  I'm sure it's nothing I haven't heard before.  Besides, I'm distracted.  I can't seem to find my phone...

MS:  You have an iPhone, right?  Why don't you go look in the iCloud?

MAP:  Pardon?

MS:  It's true!  There is a cloud and it wants to help you find your phone.

MAP:  Is this something for everyone or just something in...your world?


*I then spent ten minutes trying to explain the concept of digital clouds.  I sort of didn't end up looking any less crazy.


*Note to self:  Yelling, "It's a THING!  An actual THING!!!  Stop looking at me like I don't know the difference between pretend THINGS and actual THINGS!!!" is probably not the best strategy under these kinds of circumstances.


*Good news!  I managed to get the tree up for Christmas this year.

Cats have commenced nibbling upon it.

* I didn't put up a tree last year for a variety of reasons.  I almost didn't this year.


*But I am not quite ready to be That Person.  The Kind Who Doesn't Bother With The Tree Anymore.


*I like having a tree up for Christmas.  It's festive and I think the Easter Bunny will like it.


*Might even leave me a nice Cadbury Egg or something...


*I think I might have a hair appointment this weekend, but I'll probably have to cancel it.


*According to my car, we need an oil change.


*The car is often overly anxious about this sort of stuff, but I don't have anything knit for The World's Greatest Stylist And Life Coach so I should probably give myself some wiggle room anyway.


*Not everyone is celebrating Easter like me right now.  Some people are on a more December-ish holiday track.


*I've had a rough couple of weeks over at the Learn-A-Matorium.


*Last Friday, I was driving home and thinking that I really deserved to pick up one of those nice foot baths I saw on sale while I was meandering about the Internet.  The store was right on the way home.


*And I am a gal with pretty bad feet these days.


*A nice soothing foot bath would be just the thing to ease the aches 'n pains.  Not to mention reward me for sticking with the whole job deal and not sending the students out to play in traffic.


*Perfectly reasonable.


*Hence, you can imagine my shock when I somehow ended up standing in the parking lot of the local electronics store with a brand new iPad in my hand.


*I honestly don't know how that happened.  I do seem to recall talking to a nice young salesman and explaining why I had to have the orange smart cover.


*No one has the orange smart cover.  I am the only person I know who got the orange smart cover.  I am cool and sort of a rebel now that I have an orange smart cover.


*I am very seriously not kidding when I say that this was not my intention when I headed out to buy my discounted foot bath last Friday.


*I also feel very weird about it and haven't told very many people.  It's an extravagance and one I have denied myself for a couple of years now.


*For what it's worth, not a single person to whom I've confessed has suggested that I return it.  All have allowed that it was high time I did something nice for myself.


*Spunky Girl, all of twelve years old, saw me covertly showing it to the Cheerful Teaching Assistant.


*"Ms Sheep!  You finally got it!  You've been saving up for that for a really long time.  You must be very happy now!!"


*SG is right.  I am kind of happy in a weirdly self-conscious sort of way.


*I can read from my Kobo library on the iPad, too.


*For years, whenever I bought a book online, I would get a certain recommendation.


*I did not act on this suggestion because it did not seem like anything I would ever really enjoy.


*Never question the electronically generated recommendations.


* Hounded (Name Your Link) was awesome!


*So much so that I quickly snagged Hexed (Name Your Link)


*BTW:  the whole Name Your Link business is related to Blogger's apparent hatred of Amazon Associate links.  Just click on that and it should work for you.


*I am continuing to find creative ways to work around this bias.


*It entertains me in this holiday season.


*I think the Easter Bunny will be impressed by it, too.


*If it was really December and Santa was coming that might be a different story but Bunnies are less strict about ethical behavior and all.


And that, dear friends, about covers it.  I still don't have a cheap foot bath, but I guess that will have to wait a bit longer.  I'm just going to kick back with the ice packs 'n pain killers while I play on the iPad.

Maybe the Easter Bunny will take care of it...

SA

WNBP: Not December.

Seriously, you guys.  This isn't funny.  I mean it.  If you return it, I won't get mad.  I just want it back, is all.

Although, I don't think anyone would blame me for being upset about the theft of November.  And half of October.  Frankly, it was kind of cheeky of someone to up and steal all that from me when I wasn't looking.

I'll just be over here doing my Wednesday Night Bullet Post and when I get back, I fully expect that the lost time will have been put right back where I left it.


*Hey, here's some big news!


*I knit something.


*Try to not fall over in a faint or anything.


*I haven't knit anything in a while.  I wasn't planning to, if the truth be told.


*But then someone mentioned to me how they would really like some new dishcloths for Christmas this year and I decided to just do it.


*I did not take a picture of the dishcloth because it is a gift and we all know the rules that bind us in that area.


*But I did knit something and if our relationship hasn't progressed to the point where we can trust each other on that kind of thing then there isn't much hope for us, is there?


*Now I'm knitting another one.  This could be the beginning of a whole knitting resurgence and a justification of my blog title!!!


*Or it's just a couple of dishcloths and I'm putting way more pressure on them than they deserve...


*I am not finished with my Christmas shopping.


*I have barely started my Christmas shopping.


*It is still mid-October by my internal clock so I can't see why everyone is getting all stressed about a holiday that is still waaaaay far away.


*The leftover turkey I have been eating for almost a week now means nothing.


*Don't try to tell me it's December.


*It's been 65 degrees here in the wilds of Maine.


*We had a snowstorm in October and now I'm basking in the glow of an early spring.


*Best Student Line Of The Week (courtesy of The Siren):

"Today has been a very long week."

*The fact that she did not mean to say exactly that only made it funnier to me.


*I have taken the phrase as my own and announced my intention to make t-shirts.


*I'll be a ga-jillionare before you know it and napping comfortably on a pile of money.


*My feet hurt.  My feet hurt a lot lately.


*No real story there.  Just thought you'd want to know how things were going foot-wise.


*It's an ongoing drama with the feet here...


*Today, my wrists decided to join the party.  Soon I might be able to complain about that, too.


*Most ridiculous question asked of me this week by a student:

"Which do you like better?  Cannoli or cherry cookies?"

*I'm sorry?  Have we met?  I think we all know the answer to that.


*I like both better.


*Especially when I know that this is a Teacher Christmas Present Related Query.


*If pushed on the subject and forced into choosing, I am leaning towards the cannoli.


*But I really do hate to discriminate against any baked good.


*The Absurdly Gi-normous Kitty is pretending it's December and cuddled up to me like a good kitty does in the winter.


*The Very Complicated Kitty is eating a plastic coat hanger.


*Yes.  I realize that he shouldn't do that, but I've tried taking it away and he isn't really "open" to that at the moment.


*I've been listening to a couple of audio books in the car lately.


*The Lost Gate (Mithermages) is really quite good.


*And, after taking a break from this series for a while, I decided it was time to give Side Jobs: Stories from the Dresden Files a try.


*I had to stop reading these because Harry Dresden brings out my maternal side and, let's face it.  No one wants that.


*I'm probably not the best person to try and re-parent this poor guy...


*Now, however, I think I am ready to catch up with the series.


*In actual "word-based" reading, I finished The Grimrose Path (Trickster, Book 2)


*Delightful!!!


*There are no new offerings in this series.


*So I found something else. And I should be very up front about this book.


*It has magical powers. That or the government really doesn't want you to read it.


*While I'm engaged in it, I love it. I am engrossed. I chuckle sometimes, even snort a little bit. I've been known to gasp once or twice when some truly shocking thing happens.


*Then, when I'm done, I can't remember a thing I've read. Not even the title.


*Which made telling the Cheerful Teaching Assistant about it very tricky today...


*If you want to try it, I'd be curious to see if it works the same way for you.


*Wait a minute...I need to get my reader. I don't remember what it's called. Hold on.


*OK. Got it. It's The Atrocity Archives.


*I am pretty sure I like it, but who knows?  Maybe it is a government plot to make me think I like it while it erases my frontal lobe.


*Although why the government has such a marked dislike of my frontal lobe, I know not.


*This could also help to explain my having misplaced many, many weeks and thinking that it isn't really the day before December.


*But I still think someone took my days or that it's some sort of government plot...


I think I'm going to call it a night.  I hear tell we might have some chilly weather moving in now that it is possibly early autumn (or spring...maybe winter...who knows?)  I should really be wandering about the manse and looking for any open windows.  If it does actually dip into the low 30's, I might wish I'd done that.  I don't want to get sick, after all.

It might be almost December, and I might need to do some shopping or knit something else at some point...

SA

Saying Thank You

As a way of saying Thank You For The Many Hours Dedicated To Parent/Teacher Conferences (and please don't sue us for making you work five billion hours), my school district closes early for Thanksgiving.  All I have to do is survive two days and then it's all about me not being at work.  That is a fair exchange except for the times when it's not.  But I am choosing to ignore the crazy that makes up my working life these days and enjoy my extra-long Thanksgiving Break.

Let's kick it off with the Wednesday Night Bullet Points!

*Last week was not a great week at the Learn-a-matorium.


*It was, in fact, a horrible week.


*At least up to the part where I took Friday off and then things got quite delightful.


*Doctor's appointment.


*It was awesome!!!


*I mentioned my overwhelming obsession with pandemic disease and the impending horror that is the coming apocalypse.


*Like I do every time I go see Dr. Judy.


*She then spent half an hour drawing charts and graphs based on the workshops she's attended that support my predictions of doom 'n gloom.


*We get our respective giddy-girl-giggles on as we revel in how "right" we are about what's really lurking out there in the world of germs.


*We do this every third appointment or so and it soothes me.


*This time, she even let me take home the graphs she drew that show the patterns of pandemics since the Spanish Flu outbreak of 1917.


*Then she scheduled way more blood work than I really think is necessary given my current symptoms and gave me a flu shot.


*The latter made sense after the graph presentation.


*It also gave me a rash, but that is a small price to pay...


*Thankful to have a doctor who indulges (and maybe even shares) my occasional paranoia.


*Although the suggestion that I consider taking a little something for the anxiety seemed a bit presumptuous.


*Wanna hear something funny?


*I started this last night.


*I could lie and say I was being proactive, but I was really just confused about what day it was.


*Thank heavens for TV.  TV tells me what day it is before I post the WNBP on a Tuesday.


*Today is really Wednesday and I've been baking.


*I started baking last night and maybe that is where I got confused.

Evidence of oven usage.

*I am very thankful that the cheesy bread has not collapsed in upon itself yet.


*I'm sure it will since this is what the last few loaves have done, but I got a picture first so that makes me look good.


*I found some other pictures on the camera, too!

*Apparently, everyone likes napping on the back of the recliner these days...


*Can't honestly say when I took these, though.


*While the pix were uploading, I did a very scientific test of the cheesy bread.


*The family will have to be thankful for two loaves tomorrow.


*I need to keep "testing" the third.


*Here's the email I really wish I'd sent yesterday:


Dear Person Who Is So Totally Not The Boss Of Me,

I have received your latest message and would like to respond with a hearty, "you're welcome!"  I'm certain that, in spite of the actual wording, what you really meant to say was something along the lines of the following:

 "Thank you so very much for all the work you put in yesterday fixing the five million mistakes that were not yours.  You have successfully resolve the situation as best as was possible and I can't help but think it was rather nice of you to give up a day of teaching to do that.  You and everyone else to whom I have cc'd this message are a credit to the profession and I am certainly not trying to absolve my utter blame for this horrific incident in any way by sending out an email demanding information one hour before the end of school and the holiday break.  Your having already spent four hours taking care of this situation on my behalf was plenty."

Yes.  That is surely what you meant.  So, again, you are most welcome.

Sincerely,

A Very Tired Ms. Sheep




*That is not the email I sent.


*Instead, I sent one off to the person who really is the boss of me asking if she might address the situation instead.


*She is a tad more diplomatic than I.


*Thank you, Actual Boss Of Me!


*I'd save her some of the bread, but that is looking less and less likely at this point.


*I got a late start with the baking today.  Not my fault.


*Computer games and reading got the better of me until the afternoon rolled around.


*I finished Toil And Trouble: Book 2 of the Jolie Wilkins Series (Volume 2)


*Can never remember just where I left off on the book reports so forgive me if I already said that.


*Then I downloaded To Kill A Warlock: Dulcie O'Neil Series


*And A Tale of Two Goblins: A Paranormal Romance/ Urban Fantasy (Dulcie O'Neil Series #2) (Volume 2)


*Fun reads, if not exactly fine literature. Also good for lighthearted weekend story-time.


*Now I'm reading Trick of the Light (Trickster, Book 1).


*Not lighthearted reading.


*Darker.  Much darker.


*Good for a rainy day before Thanksgiving when you are trying to avoid baking bread.


*Also good for reading after you've baked bread and don't care if you get cheesy smears all over your ereader.


*Thankful for instant reading gratification!


*And for not having anyone around to witness me licking cheese off the ereader.



So, to recap, it seems that I've gotten my sense of time back, not to mention the will to bake.  Furthermore, I am prepared for any and all pandemic outbreaks that might occur in the next few days and did not send any emails that might get me fired should that apocalyptic scenario fail to manifest itself.  I think I'm in pretty good shape over here!  I've got my Thankful Hat on and am wearing it proudly!

For those of you celebrating along with me tomorrow, I wish you a wonderful Thanksgiving and an extra helping of whatever you find pleasing upon your table of plenty!

SA

WNBP: Embracing The Bullets

Well, here we are.  I've somehow managed to forget to post until Wednesday in spite of multiple promises to write a proper blog missive.  I think I'm just going to accept that, for now anyway, I'm the Wednesday Night Bullet Post Gal and cut myself some slack.  I've got a lot going on over here, after all.

Bullet Points seem to be about all I can muster with any degree of mastery these days...

*I am going to learn to nurture my inner bullet points.


*They will, in turn, serve me well.


*This is turning out to be The Year Where Teaching Leads To Tears.


*Not mine.  I'm tough.  I can catch bullet points in my teeth, by God!!


*Have to be tough since I am the leader in my classroom and someone has to be there to mop up the puddles of sadness.


*I am getting to be quite the dab hand and passing round the tissues.


*Came home today and made a phone call:

"Hello?  Department of Very Naughty Kitties?  Good.  I'd like to report a missing package of hot dog rolls and schedule an immediate in-home intervention.  When can you send a representative?"

*The DOVNK is crazy busy right now.  It'll be well into the new year before I see anyone.


*I'm thinking I should just call Santa and request coal-filled stockings for certain resident felines.


*Meanwhile, it's probably faster to buy new hot dog rolls and learn now to not leave them out on the counter.


*Got me some carb lovin' kitties...


*That part is true, but I lied about calling the kitty people.  They aren't real.


*What I actually found upon arriving home was a message from Mr. Assistant Principal.


*When faced with a sobbing colleague and no idea how to solve her crisis, I kind of panicked and called MAP to beg for inspiration.


*He wasn't there.  I left a message.


*I may or may not have sounded a little desperate at that point.


*MAP has never called me at home.  MAP probably also doesn't realize that I live about five million miles from school and that I'm always "in transit."


*Kind of wishing I'd not called MAP.  Might have let myself get a little overwhelmed by the sobbing and whatnot.


*I don't do well with weepy women-folk...


*Why I thought MAP would be any better, I don't know but it seemed like a good idea at the time.


*Best classroom line of the day:

The Anti-Bieber:  Wow.  It's really hot in this classroom.

The Siren (who leads all pre-teen boys to their ultimate doom):  Yup.  It's crazy hot.  That's because me 'n Ms. Sheep are in here!

*Funny on many levels.


*Probably inappropriate on more, but I still laughed.


*There aren't too many giggle-worthy moments this year, I'm afraid.


*Two cats howling for food at my feet.


*Note:  cats who nosh on hot dog rolls all day do not get their usual afternoon snack.


*No guilt.  None whatsoever.


*Reading is a good thing.


*I've been merrily working my way through a new-to-me series of late.


*The Monstrumologist


*And The Curse of the Wendigo (Monstrumologist)


*Then The Isle of Blood (Monstrumologist)


*These are considered YA by most, but very good adult reading.


*Fair warning:  They are rather "literary" in tone and there's a bit of the saucy language at points.


*Nothing really bad, but adult-types might want to consider it before handing the books off to middle grade kidlets.


*I also sometimes felt that the books were running just the teeniest bit long for the story at points.


*Still didn't stop me from plowing through all three books at a speedy pace.


*Who doesn't love a good monster story?  Or seeing great figures in history romping around amidst all the gory ickiness?


*I needed a time-filler once those were done.


*Trying Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble: The Jolie Wilkins Series, Book 1 next.


*Cheap download.


*Perhaps not as high-toned as what I've been reading, but sounds like great fun!


*Which I kind of need right now.


*Supposed to be out of school for a doctor's appointment on Friday and all the weeping is making that look like a pipe dream.


*Kind of think I should be in school to leap into action should tears be shed.


*Which does not make my doctor very happy.  Or the weeping colleagues who don't want to feel guilty when I stay in school.  And Mr. Assistant Principal who now thinks I'm in dire distress and in need of reassuring phone calls at my home.


*Tomorrow promises to be a very busy day what with restoring my tough girl reputation and readying the classroom for my possible absence.


*Maybe I should have downloaded the entire series of "fun" books...



It's true.  Bullet points are remarkably soothing after a convoluted day of hyped up children and frantic colleagues.  There is a nice rhythm to bullet points.  I might even be able to make some sense out of tomorrow if I can just keep the zen-thing going.

Or I will spend the day banging my head against the wall while the Assistant Principal tries to think of calming things to say.  It will be one of those...

SA

WNBP: Let's Talk

This is the week that makes a grown Sheepie want to curl up in a ball and weep.  It is one of two weeks that leave me very tired and wondering if I might have to consider napping under my desk during the school day.  Yes, you know what I mean.

It's Parent/Teacher Conference Week!  Also known as The Week Where I Have To Stay Late On Two Nights And Wonder Why I Am So Very Alone In This World.

Often, I am at school on Wednesday night when the conferences roll around.  This time, however, I am home all snug as a bug in a rug and looking forward to a long Thursday Night At School With No One To Talk To.

That leaves me free to toss out a few of the Wednesday Night Bullet Points without wondering if it is ethical to use the school's bandwidth for such frivolity.  And here they be:

*I voted yesterday because I am a good citizen.


*I also like seeing everyone gathered at the high school gym.


*It never ceases to amuse me that we can all fit in there.


*I feel that I should get extra credit for voting this year because there were five ballots, two of which were double sided.


*That was a lot of work and took the nice lady at the check-in desk a while to explain.


*She took the time because she's worked every election since the Lincoln administration and she still screwed up her five billion ballots by not checking for double-sided situations.


*I appreciated the heads up.  I am the type to ignore the B-side.


*Sorry, had to leave you there for a second.


*Absurdly Gi-normous Kitty on the kitchen counter.


*Normally, I don't even bother with that because, really, what can I do?


*But he has an Absurdly G-normous cold at the moment and is sneezing vast amounts of kitty snot all over the place with wild abandon.


*Hence, I think it prudent to wave my arms in the kitchen until he gets off the counters.


*AGK just sneezed all over my foot because that is simply how these things work.


*The kids have a half day of school tomorrow.  I have to stay until 8:00.


*I don't have any parent/teacher conferences scheduled, but we all have to be team players.


*I've packed up lots of yarn and whatnot.


*I also had conferences on Monday night.  One parent showed up.


*Last scheduled slot of the night and they stayed late.


*That's OK.  I was just giddy with having someone to talk to.


*It's been crazy warm here.


*Can't shut off the heat in my classroom.  Easily 90 degrees in there.


*In the words of The Future Farmer:

"Prob'ly shouldn'ta worn m' long johns today..."

*Insightful.  And impressive self-awareness were it not for the fact that has worn them three days in a row as temps soar into the high 60s...

*Yesterday was Evacuation Drill Day.


*That's when we get 400 or so people out of the building, into the parking lot and down the street to the elementary school.


*Then we line them up and walk them back.


*Because it really wasn't enough for us to have Parent/Teacher Conferences until 7:00 on Monday without having something extra super fun to do on Tuesday.


*Seriously.  Can you think of anything MORE fun that trooping an entire middle school half a mile or so down the road?


*Today was not a good day at the Learn-A-Ma-Torium but not because we didn't have anyplace to walk to.


*There was just a whole lotta crazy going on.


*Makes a girl want to be home where her gi-normous kitty sneezes on her.


*I finished The Hour of Dust and Ashes (Charlie Madigan, Book 3)


*Still rather pleased with myself for stumbling across this series.


*Suddenly, I remembered something!


*Goliath (Leviathan) came out this fall!!!


*Silly Sheepie, letting herself forget such an important thing!


*Read that one in a day over the weekend.  One of the best YA series out there, kids!


*School book fair is always a nice way to break up a long night of (only one) parent/teacher conferences.


*Guess who snagged a copy of Rot & Ruin?


*Yeah...that'd be me!


*Not fine literature, but a very interesting take on The Coming Zombie Apocalypse.


*Always good to be reminded that every zombie was once somebody's somebody.


*Before you KILL THEM!!!!


*I'm sorry, but that is just my personal prejudice when it comes to the undead.  I can be respectful about it.


*Still gonna smoosh 'em right in the brain stem and that is that!!!


*Got a little sidetracked from The Monstrumologist, though.


*Need to get back to it once I'm done watching Benny and his brother deal with the shambling horde.


*I am trying to pace myself, though.


*Might have already mentioned that tomorrow promises to be a long night with no one around to keep me company.


*Books, computer and perhaps a bit of knitting.  That should be enough to keep me from resorting to doing actual work whilst I wait out the long and grueling hours at Parent/Teacher Conferences!



You're not going to believe this, but I just sneezed.  I'm certain that one can't catch a kitty kold, but it still seems kind of ironic.  I suppose it is for the best that no parents plan on conferencing with me tomorrow night.  I'm probably getting the plague and who wants to talk to someone who has the plague?

I might just go out and find someone to talk to just to share the wealth!  And to stay awake...



SA

WNBP: Searching For The Pause

The start of the new school year is always kind of interesting.  The way the holidays work in these here parts, it seems as though we are always cruising towards a break of some sort, at least for the first few months.  That is nice and all, but it also means that we are always trying to recover from a long weekend or vacation and that is never easy.

It's like there's a big, ol' pause button just out of reach at all times...

Most of the time, the kids have figured out that a long weekend is lurking somewhere and they won't rest until they've nailed it down.  I guess it doesn't help when the teacher suddenly realizes that parent/teacher conferences are next week and that the Veteran's Day observance can't be far behind.

Maybe I shouldn't have said that out loud.  At full volume.  Whilst doing a funky little dance.  That might have set things off to some degree.  I take full responsibility even if I don't feel all that much in the way of remorse.

Here's tonight's Wednesday Night Bullet Post.  I'll try to leave out the long pauses.

*If someone wants to tell me why Li'l Einstein showed up wearing a paintball mask today, I'd love to hear it.


*We do not generally have random paintball battles breaking out in the classroom.


*Maybe we should.


*Things have been pretty tense lately and I can't help but wonder if shooting one another in a non-lethal manner might take some of the edge off...


*It snowed here.


*It snows here a lot but I can honestly say I have never experienced a blizzard in October.


*Trick-or-Treaters had to stumble over snowbanks in order to get their candy.


*They did not stumble to my house.


*They never do.


*I pretend to be disappointed, but I'm not really.


*I get the candy and can pretend that I didn't want it.


*That is hard to do with the half-priced stuff I've been buying since November 1st.  I'm obviously feeling the want for that.


*Spent ten minutes giggling with the lady behind me in line at the store because we were both so thrilled with our respective candy hauls


*I've got me a candy filled freezer!!!!!


*I am pleased to report that the chai latte k-cups are as delightful as anything I've experienced of late.


* Café Escapes Chai Latte K-Cups for Keurig Brewers, 24-Count


*Much more delightful than snowstorms and kids doing their math in paintball masks.


*The hot apple cider ones are also really good, but they upset my stomach sometimes.


*We have a keurig at school.  I bring chai latte k-cups and brew them whenever the stress gets to me and I start thinking about firing paintballs at recalcitrant kidlets.


*Did anyone see The Walking Dead on Sunday?


*Note:  the site is a little wonky right now so I'm not linking.  I figure you either know it or you don't at this point anyway...


*If you did watch it, did you totally and completely freak out in the last five minutes?  Huh?  Didja-didja?


*Lost.  My.  Mind.


*That, kids, is what we call an Emmy Moment.


*Brilliantly written, stunning direction and amazing execution.  Hit every single note perfectly.


*And, when I arrived at school on Monday, not a single soul had seen it yet.  I had no one with which to process.


*Mrs. Secretary Who Sits At The Back Desk rushed off to watch it that night and now we just keep saying, "I'm sorry" to each other.


*Then we fire!


*And in bookish news...


*I discovered The Better Part of Darkness (Charlie Madigan, Book 1)


*These are really quite good and a wonderful way to kill time until some of the books I'm waiting for appear on shelves.


*Moved on to The Darkest Edge of Dawn (Charlie Madigan, Book 2) pretty quickly.


*Kind of wish I'd gone right to The Hour of Dust and Ashes (Charlie Madigan, Book 3) but I got distracted.


*I'm going to finish up with Heart of a Dragon (The DeChance Chronicles) and get right back on track.


*Oh, by the way!  I forgot to mention Max Quick: The Pocket and the Pendant!


*A fun YA/Middle Grade read if you like that sort of thing.  And it's a series which, as we all know, makes me giddy with joy.





I just remembered that I need to pull together a social studies lesson before tomorrow.  I sent myself an email reminder from school so I wouldn't forget and then I read my email before I left school so I ended up forgetting again by the time I landed at the home front.  Now it is getting late and good TV is almost upon me.  If I don't come up with some sort of brilliant learning experience in the next hour, I fail to see how I am going to manage it at all.

There are no pauses this week, I'm afraid.  Probably should get on that teaching-as-a-priority thing.  I trust that your Wednesday ran smoothly and that any breaks in the pace were the good kind that allowed you to breathe for a minute.

Or that you had a paintball mask because I am starting to think that isn't really such a bad thing...

SA

WNBP: Tales From The Line

I'm pretty sure that my entire life can be reduced to a line right now.  I'm spending a lot of time waiting for stuff and a great deal of it involves standing in a row with other people who may or may not be as excited about the situation as I.  I'm also filling out a whole bunch of paperwork and signing on dotted lines, not to mention trying to toe the line in order that I don't get into trouble for ranting and railing against lines.

Lines are oppressive.  They are meant to create order, but I am kind of tired of them.  I'm looking forward to doing the Wednesday Night Bullet Post where I can happily meander from topic to topic and where the lines are only there for mocking.


*Today was the Cheerful Teaching Assistant's birthday.  She is learning that time marches forward in a somewhat linear fashion and that one's twenties are not an eternal sort of thing.


*Hence, it was really in my best interest to go buy her a cake.  A chocolate cake that is in total defiance of any and all dietary restrictions.


*I found a doozy.


*It was the envy of all the ladies on line at the Wal-Mart.


*I know this because they told me so.  We discussed this cake in depth.


*Using the wisdom of a cashier, three total strangers and my own input, it was decided that this cake needed to remain in my car for the night.


*None of us believed for one minute that it would last until morning if I brought it into my house.


*Seriously.  This cake was like a chick magnet!!!


*They are talking snow soon.  Like...really soon.


*Not a lot and it's probably not even going to happen, but it is making me think I should really finish those socks from five or six months ago.


*It's just that I don't want to do the heel.  If I could just cross that line, I'd be fine.


*Maybe when my feet get cold enough...


*Although I don't know why I bother.  My feet have started to puff up again in response to the last few nights of popcorn snacking.


*Swollen feet are a new phenomenon in my life and I am ill prepared for them.  I question whether my bloated hooves will cause my socks to explode in a shower of woolly bits.


*Any thoughts?  I'm genuinely curious about it.  If I am going to be known forever as She Of The Elephantine Tootsies, I'd like to dress part.


*Even if that means wearing duct tape socks.


*I could also probably just lay off the salty snacks but I don't want to do anything too drastic...


*The book situation has gotten a little off-track lately.


*I was reading some of the D. D. Barant books and thought I'd move on to Killing Rocks (The Bloodhound Files)


*But then I didn't feel like it.  I sort of wanted something different.


*Mrs. Secretary Who Sits At The Back Desk (and who also likes a lot of the same stuff I do) mentioned Zone One: A Novel


*So I bought it.  It's not bad.  A bit over-written for my taste, but a kind of interesting take on the whole Zombie Apocalypse.


*It's fair to say that some people really are going to find their true calling during the coming dark and very stinky days.


*I also started The Kingdom of Fear.


*It's too early to give an opinion on this one, but it's a cheap download.  Even if it ends up not being a favorite, I won't cry too hard.


*Oh, I forgot to mention Aloha from Hell (Sandman Slim)!


*Or did I do that last week?  I can't remember...


*I love this series.  Even if this one didn't end the way I wanted.


*I want the poor guy to finally realize that it's not his fault he's a monster and that he doesn't have to be in The Very Bad Place!


*Fair Warning:  If you have strong feelings regarding the nature of good and evil, this is not the book for you.  You kind of have to be flexible about who is a good guy and who is a bad guy to appreciate The Sandman.


*Most of the series I'm interested in right now aren't boasting anything new and I'm casting my lines far and wide.  


*I'll keep you posted!


*And from the classroom...


*The Siren is officially dating The Anti-Bieber.


*They require a great deal of monitoring because I am honestly not interested in being a godparent right now.


*Their love is the stuff of legends.  Epic poems will be penned.


*For now, though, they are content with gooey messages left on the last line of a math page.


*Today, I found ILY scrawled on the bottom of the multiplication review paper.


*Best Conversation Of The Day:

Ms. Sheep:  Why look at this!  Thank you, Anti-Bieber!  I had no idea you loved me!!!

Anti-Bieber:  Er...what?

MS:  It says so right here! " ILY."  It's as plain as day.  And I'm ever so flattered that you would share your feelings so boldly.

AB:  What is happening?  I don't understand.  And I'm scared.

The Siren:  Hee-hee!  I wrote ILY on your math page and now Ms. Sheep is giving you crap!  This is awesome!!!

(Note:  The Siren is, sadly, inflicted with the exact same sense of humor as I.  It is not looking good for the AB)

MS:  I am sad to tell you AB, that our love can never be.  It is wrong.  We are ships that pass in the night, dear lad.  I can offer you naught but my hand in friendship.

The AB:  Please.  Make it stop.  Please...

MS:  (voice rising as she rides the emotional wave of the moment)  Take heart, Dear AB!  For I promise you that one day the pain you feel shall be a distant memory and that your life will be all the richer for having experienced it!  Please do not despair!  You shall, in fact, find another!  Yes....YOU WILL LOVE AGAIN!!!

*The Siren then spent most of the afternoon harassing her beau about his leaving her for an older woman.


*And yes.  I will probably end up on the news for crossing the line, but there is really only so much of the middle school love stuff a woman can take before cracking up.


*I am pretty sure a good lawyer can get me off on an insanity defense.


Yeah.  So here I am standing in line on my puffy feet and congratulating myself on not eating an entire chocolate fudge cake before leaving the parking lot.  It could be worse.  At least I have the support of the Wal-Mart Women.

And The Siren seems to think I'm kind of amusing, as well...

SA

WNBP: Candy, Weredogs and Zombies!

I am a person who truly wanted to post before Wednesday.  I had very good intentions.  I truly did...

It didn't exactly work out that way, though.  As much as I don't want to be known as The Sheepie That Only Does Wednesday Night Bullet Posts, I guess that is what I'm going to be.  At least for now.  There may be hope for me sometime in the future.  I suppose I can cling to that.

Meanwhile, I will live up to the title and give you the best WNBP a slacker can produce!!!

*I have not had a very good day today.


*It was raining and the students in my class did not like the reduced chances for outside play.


*Hence, they took it upon themselves to make me as miserable as possible because I clearly control all aspects of weather and climate.


*I can't make them finish their math, but I can move the very clouds.  Yeah.  That makes so much sense.


*I was also running short-staffed due to an ill-timed doctor's appointment that I did not know was on the staff docket.


*I missed two meetings today due to the missing staff and weather-related protests.


*At one of them, they decided to place a new student in my class starting on Monday.


*This tends to happen when I don't go to meetings and I generally try to be all places at all times.


*Except when I am preoccupied with making rain.


*Someone thought it would be a nice idea to tell me that it was OK because the kid wanted to learn how to knit.  I would probably get along well with him.  


*This is not enough of an incentive given the rest of the paperwork that came along.


*Little Miss Let's Distract Her With Knitting References has been prohibited from speaking to me until further notice.


*And I will now be attending all gatherings whether they relate to me or not.


*Best Conversation Of The Week Thus Far:

Ms. Sheep:  I am now eating the candy I keep in my desk that is normally designated for student bribes. There is nothing to see here.  Move along and go look out the window for your bus.

Li'l Einstein:  Well, I certainly hope you are not eating the crunchy candies that I like.  That is unacceptable.

Cheerful Teaching Assistant (approaching slowly whilst making soothing gestures):  Er...LE?  I'd just step away now.  She bought the candy.  She can eat it.  I really don't think that now is the best time to debate that.

MS:  Grrrrrr!!!

LE (not really sensing how close he is to being a cautionary tale for future students)  Why are you eating the candy?

CTA:  Seriously, LE.  I'd just drop it.  Ms. Sheep just needs some candy right now is all...

LE:  I think it is emotional.  Let me guess!  You are sad?  Is that it?  Sad?

MS:  (snaps at him, narrowly missing a finger)

LE:  Nope.  Not sad.  How about lonely?

MS:  (Glares at the CTA menacingly, clearly expecting some sort of intervention)

LE:  Hmmm...not lonely.  Let's see.  What else makes the ladies eat sugary snacks...

CTA:  Oh, for crying out loud! I can't take this anymore!  It's ANNOYANCE!!!  And I think we can pinpoint the immediate cause!

LE:  Ah!  Yes!  That makes perfect sense.  Am I annoying you into eating candy, Ms. Sheep?  Is that it?

MS:  Got it in one.  Now go home.

LE:  Can I have some candy?


*He still lives.  But only because there were witnesses.


*I'm reading stuff because I have to.


*If I don't distract myself, things could get dicey.


*I was looking for a new series...something in the urban fantasy genre, if possible.


*Stumbled across Hard Spell (Occult Crimes Unit Investigation)


*Just the one, so far.  But it's a nice read.  Not the best I've ever come across, but very well-developed, methinks!


*Then I thought I'd try Dying Bites: The Bloodhound Files

*Oh, now this is quite the concept, people!  FBI agent transported to a whole 'nother reality because the werewolves and vamps that live there can't profile a certain kind of killer.


*Brilliant!!  And so many details to fiddle with...I couldn't imagine keeping the parallels and whatnot straight!


*I quickly snagged Death Blows: The Bloodhound Files.


*Not quite as good, but still compelling.  And there are weredogs!


*Dogs bit by werewolves.  Think about it.  How might they change once infected?  


*And would they make good pets?


*I'm not going to tell you but it is so funny, I nearly asked the resident felines how they'd feel about a weredog.


*Weredogs can be trained to make coffee.  I like coffee.


*Resident felines do not make coffee so there is not point in trying to train them.  


*Nor will they approve the adoption of a weredog.  The condo association probably won't go for it either...


*Yesterday, the Cheerful Teaching Assistant said, "Now, I keep hearing about this Walking Dead thing. Is that some sort of television special?"


*I had to leave the room and go visit Mrs. Secretary Who Sits At The Back Desk because she understands.


*Season Two.  Not just "some television special."  Season Two.  Which came after the first season.  It is a "thing."  An actual, bona-fide THING!


*Television special...really?  I talk of little else besides zombies and this season 2 premiere was kind of an event in mine eyes.


*The Walking Dead season Two premiere was freakin' amazing.


*Totally, seriously AH.  MAZ.  ING.



And so we come to another one of those "I got nothin' else" moments that brings a WNBP to a shuddering halt.  Also, the cats just careened into the fan and now I have to go pick it up before further damage is done.  It's a lot to deal with after changing the weather, eating all the candy and scheduling my presence at every single meeting that will ever be held.  I'm kind of overwhelmed by it all.

Maybe I should look more seriously into one of those coffee brewing weredogs...

SA