Tales of the Lawn Mower Queen

I know it's been forever since I posted, but if anyone is still following and would like my new blog address, please send me an email at lawnqueen[at]gmail[dot]com.

I swear this is the last move.

No really, I mean it this time.  :)

We just returned from a rushed trip to the beach. We had a great time and agreed 2 days is NOT enough time to truly enjoy the beach - I didn't even get sun burnt!

However, we did get to see Le Grand Cirque (Cirque De Soleil). SO. COOL. Even my FIL was impressed. LMK had to admit as we left that he didn't think it would be good and it was fantastic.

We spent some time walking on the beach (2 miles in 2 days) - that's a lot for me. To increase my exercise I've decided we're just going to have to move to the beach. I could walk along the beach for hours.

Also, we brought Socks a present. Well, actually, they're for my classroom, but he loves them almost as much as Phoebe (LMP's hamster). I'm still trying to decide on names.

I'm toying with the following:
Lucy and Ethel (tribute to Twin and I)
Mickey and Minnie
Spongebob and Patrick
Hannah and Miley
Hannah and Montana
Barbie and Ken
2 names of LMK's former soccer kids

Suggestions? Votes?

We're essentially packed here.

I know I always seem to come back when bad things happen. I know. I'm sorry.

However, this time is no different. One of my favorite `08 graduates (and one of LMK's soccer kids) is missing. He and some of his cousins jumped into the Potomac Sunday to cool off after hiking and he never came out.

Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers. He's only 20 years old and a good kid. We're all praying for a miracle over here.

So. He got the job. We're moving to NC in less than a month. Ack! I'm still waiting to see if I have a job there too.

More importantly.

Please keep Twin and new hubby, Stilts in your prayers. She delivered yesterday at 22 weeks. Baby Boy didn't make it. My heart is breaking for them.

We leave Friday to go see her and try to provide some sort of comfort. What do you say in the face of such profound loss?

So. I keep sitting down at the computer to write a post but I never make myself do it. Things here are chaotic. Why you ask?

LMK is being laid off. I can finally type it and say it without bursting into tears. It's taken me almost a month to be able to do that.

• It's not just the fact that he's being laid off that upsets me.
• It's that we have to move out of our house by June 30th.
• It's that he's being laid off instead of other people who are less senior than him.
• It's that the Dean took him to lunch two days before they dropped the bombshell and told while they were going to be going in a different direction for the soccer coaching position next year, but not to worry he would be getting a contract for next year.
• It's not that now they're sending "spies" and making him submit practice plans to rationalize their decision to lay him off.
• It's that they sabotaged not one, but TWO potential jobs for him in December because they wouldn't let him out of his contract (as they told the perspective employers).
• It's that they have the nerve to offer him the assistant athletic director job two weeks after telling him he won't be working there next year in exchange for us being able to stay in our house (that's working for $9,000 a year).

Needless to say, my grapes, they are sour.

In other news, Twin is getting married this weekend. She's also pregnant. I'm thrilled for her, but it's also depressing. I try not to dwell on it. Being an "aunt" is better than nothing.

The good news? He just got off the phone with a school in North Carolina. He has a interview a week from Friday. It's a job we both really want. Cross everything!

It's 80° outside. Forgive me for not hanging out in the house on my computer. Hmm...I could take the laptop outside. What a novel idea!

How old do you look?
As a teenager, I looked older than my age. Now, I'm hoping I look younger.

Where do you live?
Northern Virginia

Are you waiting for something?
Yep - for my life to start. It seems like I'm just maintaining

What’s one pet peeve of yours that is not common?
Sniffling. You know when a kid at school has a runny nose and they won't blow it so they sniff snot all. day. long.

Last text message you received, what’d it say?
“Downstairs”

Can you handle the truth?
I prefer the truth actually. If you lie to me, you lose any trust I may have had for you. It's not easy to regain that trust.

Did you cry today?
Ew...why would I do that?

Do you hate the last person you had a conversation with?
Uh, no. Pretty much the opposite.

Do you want kids?
In addition to the loud teenager that lives with us? If they're all like her?

Yeah. :o)

Have you ever thought about converting your religion?
Not really.

Last shocking news you heard?
Boyfriend's mom is drunk. I need to take her home.

Ex-squeeze me?

What was the last thing you drank?
Diet Pepsi

Last person you hugged?
A sobbing teenager being screwed out of playing soccer her senior year while watching

Whom do you most look like in your family?
Everyone tells me I look like my father, but I don't see it. Maybe my brother? I think we look alike.

Did you dream last night?
Yes! One of the medications I'm one gives me really crazy dreams. It makes things interesting. Last night had something to do with cereal. It was so "real" that I asked LMK if I had mentioned anything about cereal to him recently. When he looked at me like I was crazy, I knew it was a dream.

How many piercings do you have?
2 — 1 in each ear

If you could have something right now, anything, what would it be?
A good paying job (that we like) for both LMK and I in Ohio.

Does anyone call you babe?
Not if they want to live.

Where does most of your family live?
Ohio and Missouri

Where did you grow up?
Ohio

Where do you want to go on vacation?
Would you like a list? I want to see every state. I want to go back to Spain. I would love to see more of Europe. I would like to go on a cruise. Go back to Disney World.

Have you broken a bone?
Yep, arm and ankle.

What did you receive for Valentine’s Day?
Um....lots of Valentine's from my rug rats.

Have you ever had a panic attack?
Not yet

Can you sleep in jeans?
I can, but why would I want to?

What can’t you wait for?
Summer! Job stuff should be decided by then. I hope.

Knock on wood.

When’s the last time you told someone you loved them and meant it?
Everyday

Have your parents ever smoked pot?
That'd be a no.

Want someone back in your life?
Um...thanks to Facebook I've seen a lot more of those people I've lost touch with.

Do you live near your most recent ex?
No

Are you good at giving directions?
Yep. I can Rand McNally with the best of them.

What do you order at the bar?
Diet Pepsi. Maybe if I feel saucy a strawberry daiquiri. I don't care much for alcohol.

When was the last time you cried really, really hard?
Within the last year I suppose.

Whom was your last text from?
LMK

Ever licked someone’s cheek?
Mwahahahaha, yes.

What is your favorite thing to eat with peanut butter?
Chocolate - as in peanut butter cups

Where were you on July 4th, 2008?
The in-laws. Getting ready for the beach.

What body part(s) do you wash first in the shower?
Hair

Have you ever kissed anyone who’s name started with a D?
Dude, my husband?

Do you prefer warm or cold weather?
Cold — Hot weather sucks. Big bowls of soup. Cuddling.

What do you currently hear right now?
Secret Life of the American Teenager - love this show.

Does someone like you right now?
I would hope so

Could you go out in public looking like you do now?
Can. Have. Should. Weeeeeeeeeeeeell

What are your nicknames?
Mom, My Mommy, otherwise my name is too short to really have a nickname

On the opposite sex,where do you like them to have piercings?
Nowhere

If you could go any place in the world right now, where would you go?
I want to see every state. I want to go back to Spain. I would love to see more of Europe. I would like to go on a cruise. Go back to Disney World. Haven't we already covered this?

Have you ever made someone so mad that they broke something?
No. At least I don't think so.

What is your favorite color?
Blue, blue, blue!

If you could go back in time, how far back would you go?
I'd get my Virginia teaching license when I graduated from college then I wouldn't be stuck taking the VRA now.

Enjoy your day!

Well, I did better than last year with 45 books this year. I think there are a couple of trashy romance novels I forgot to add, but I'm ok with that.

That being said they weren't exactly scholarly books - hey, I like to relax when I read, not get smarter. Some books I included twice because, well, I read them twice once to last year's class and once to this year's class. Anyway...

Trashy Harlequin Romance Novels

1. Agent -in- Charge by Leigh Riker

2. Camouflage Heart by Dana Marton

3. A Clandestine Affair by Joanna Wayne

4. Going to Extremes: Big Sky, Bounty Hunters by Amanda Stevens

5. In Love With Her Boss (Montana Mavericks) by Christie Ridgeway

6. Kansas City's Bravest (The Taylor Clan) by Julie Miller

7. Man of Her Dreams (The Enforcers, Book 3) by Debra Webb

8. Operation: Midnight Rendezvous by Linda Castillo

9. The Other Brother: The Men of Cherokee Rose by Janis Reams Hudson

10. The Tempted (Eden's Children) (Intrigue, 626) by Amanda Stevens

Not Harlequin, but Romances Nonetheless

11. Fools Rush In by Kristan Higgins

12. Foul Play by Janet Evanovich

13. Getting Rid of Bradley by Jennifer Crusie

14. Here Comes the Bride by Whitney Lyles

15. Last Bite: A Novel of Culinary Romance by Nancy Verde Barr

16. Naughty Neighbor by Janet Evanovich

Children's Books

17. Ida B: . . . and Her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster, and (Possibly) Save the World by Katherine Hannigan

18. Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli

19 & 20. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume

21. The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread by Kate DiCamillo

22 & 23. Superfudge by Judy Blume

24. Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary

25 & 26. Nim's Island by Wendy Orr

27. Westminster Abby (S.A.S.S.) by Micol Ostow

Favorite Authors

28. Big Boned (Heather Wells Mysteries) by Meg Cabot

29. The Princess Diaries, Volume IX: Princess Mia (Princess Diaries) by Meg Cabot

30. Queen of Babble by Meg Cabot

31. Queen of Babble in the Big City (Queen of Babble) by Meg Cabot

32 & 33. Metro Girl (Alex Barnaby Series, No. 1) by Janet Evanovich

34 & 35. Motor Mouth (Alex Barnaby Series #2) by Janet Evanovich

36. Plum Lucky (Stephanie Plum Novels) by Janet Evanovich

37. Jemima J: A Novel About Ugly Ducklings and Swans by Jane Green

38. New Moon (The Twilight Saga, Book 2) by Stephanie Meyer

39. Eclipse (The Twilight Saga, Book 3) by Stephanie Meyer

40. Breaking Dawn (The Twilight Saga, Book 4) by Stephanie Meyer

41. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7) by J.K. Rowling

42. Certain Girls: A Novel by Jennifer Weiner

Absolute Favorites - Can't Wait to Read Again

43. Fearless Fourteen (Stephanie Plum, No. 14) by Janet Evanovich

44. Lean Mean Thirteen (Stephanie Plum, No. 13) by Janet Evanovich

45. Twilight (The Twilight Saga, Book 1) by Stephanie Meyer

Books I want to read this year include:

• The 39 Clues books (the 3rd come out in March)
  
• The next Janet Evanovich books
• The new Princess Diaries book

Any other suggestions?