What's Up Wednesday....

I don't usually have specific days for specific posts, but I found a "What's Up" post over at Jeanne's Life or Something Like It and decided to create my own version of a What's Up list. I added a little alliteration, renaming it "What's Up Wednesday...." and turned it into a quick summary of what's been going on in my life. So, just so you know...

1. I've seen several movies lately... Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Public Enemies, and Pelham 1-2-3. All of them were good; of course, I had been waiting for Harry Potter to come along since last November when the movie was first scheduled to be released. Johnny Depp was in Public Enemies, and John Travolta was in Pelham 1-2-3. Enough said!

2. Since May, I've had three cases of poison ivy, and I don't even garden! Go figure. I think one my dogs must be rolling around in it, and she must have the plant's oil on her when I pet her. (I'm thinking it's mischievous Maggie's fault.... I've never had it until now, and she's the newest addition to the family.)

3. I realized the importance of wearing good exercise clothes last week. I have a fondness for tennis skirts and have been wearing the skirts while walking. Underneath, I wear fitted shorts that come down on my thighs. One day, I wore a pair of shorts that had ripped in the inseam. Chaffing began to occur when I was still more than a mile from home. I couldn't walk or jog for several days. For that matter, I could barely walk at all!

4. I'm better now, thank you. I logged four miles Monday morning and another 1.5 miles with Maggie Monday evening. On Tuesday, I only did 1.5 miles... more on that later.

5. I'm having an extra long summer this year. Our school district pushed our start date to mid-August. Now our governor has asked us to stay home three more days (without pay) to help with budget issues. Although I prefer getting paid for all 190 days of my contract, there's a bright side.... I get to take Hannah to her first day of school for the first time in five years, and I have an extra day of Christmas break to look forward to.

6. It's easier to walk four miles than to walk the 1.5 miles around my block. When I get to the bottom of one long, steep hill and am facing the climb up the other side, I start looking up for a helicopter to come lower a rope to me. I even daydream about telling my underage daughter to carefully, carefully, drive the car to get me.

7. Maggie, our mixed-breed dog, may be part human. Yesterday, she was on her back legs with her front paws on the kitchen island. She "cruised" from one end to the other just like babies do when they're learning to walk.

8. My dining room is still full of boxes, folders, papers, and books from my classroom. I've organized one of our new units into a binder. What in the world am I going to do with all the other stuff? Load it back into my car and take it back to school in a few weeks? Without even going through it? "I pledge to never bring home tons of work to go through during my summer break ever again." And I mean that.

9. I have two painting projects to take care of within the next couple of weeks.... Our back stairway doesn't match the newly-painted kitchen, and it's supposed to. Hannah wants her bathroom painted. I know it will be worth it in the end.... It's just that whole procrastination thing....

10. Even though we're being furloughed for a couple of days at the beginning of the school year, I'll probably go in one day to arrange my room. i love getting it organized and ready for that first day. I would have done that anyway....

So, what's up with you these days?