"Mele Kalikimake"

Let's back up a little--slow down a bit, and pause to celebrate the good times that roll by so quickly they should be given a speeding ticket!  1:44 A.M. here in Brrrrrrrrrr Lake.  I've had 5 hours of good sleep already--you do the math.  Sometimes our good intentions walk boldly up to us and poke us in the shoulder.  "Hey Buddy!!!!  Get it together!" they say as they begin to lightly manhandle us in an attempt to jar us into some kind of action.  Such is the case with this blog.  I had high visions of documenting my last year of teaching here--a thorough chronicle.  The reality is not quite so stellar.  I somewhat resemble Quick Draw McGraw chasing after the car full of his fellow cartoon characters yelling, "I'm coming Babba Louie!!!" as he races after the car.  Or more aptly, a slapstick character who has just barely managed to grab hold of the car and is flying straight back, coat flapping, one hand trying to keep a hat in place.  I barely keep up.  Each day comes fast and furiously.  Sometimes I succeed in taking care of the business of the day; more often it spills over, accumulating into a pile that I untangle on a weekend.  On the homefront, we've been living in chaos--living room full of former loft contents, garage piled with yarn boxes and furniture, sewing room buried.  FIVE long long months of this attic renovation...stay tuned for more of that if intimate pictures and descriptions of slow insanity are your thing.

• Our class hedgehog, Rosie, continues to delight daily.  She rolls around in a large clear plastic ball, a natural part of our day.
• We're writing persuasive essays describing changes we'd like to see in our education program.  Radical, subversive.
• Our biggest accomplishment seems to be our complete, utter, and glorious ability to keep healthy!!!!!  Nary a sniffle--knock on wood...
• Upcoming events--snowshoeing excursion, double Dutch jump rope, juggling, talent show, Utah State University visit, an old Tarzan movie marathon etc. etc. etc.
• I'm caving into a proposal that we transform our desks into independent cardboard huts!  Doesn't that sound so cool?
• We're on the brink of the Civil War.  Our project will be to create a newspaper together.
• PetSmart awarded me a Gecko Grant.  Two unsuccessful attempts to redeem that because of lack of habitat availability.  Frustrating.
• Weekly 15 minute spelling bee tradition continues.  I wonder if anyone else in the world still indulges.

I'm feeling a little better.  The good intentions hit man is backing off somewhat.