Shopping Therapy

August 21, 2015 by ramblingsofaperforatedmind in Twists and Turns and tagged big girl shopping, mall, Maurice's, new clothes, shopping therapy | Leave a comment

I normally hate shopping for clothes. I go when I have to, but tonight was one of those rare happy shopping trips. I guess I should explain.

Every since the love of my life was murdered in March, I have felt like I’ve been waiting to die. I haven’t wanted to shop or do much of anything. Every day I just do what is necessary and no more. Shopping is usually on the back burner. I’ve never really liked shopping for clothes because I feel so fat. It’s not the clothes I’m unhappy with; I don’t like my body type. I have a healthy food baby. 🙂

Today I figured that my body is not likely to change since I’m lazy, so I might as well get some nice duds anyway. I also realized that my dear Arold would have wanted me to have nice clothes no matter what. He loved me fat or thin, and he never complained about spending money on food and clothes.

Lucky for me that Michaela, a former student, now works at Maurice’s, my absolute favorite store in the mall. I was double lucky because many cool items were on clearance for 75% off! (Ysabela, my daughter, even got a few things tonight.) I felt better about spending the money when I got home and totaled up what I would have paid if things had not been on clearance. I saved a whopping $260.

Michaela sent me this pic to use. Isn’t she adorable?

I’ll post some pictures of the outfits Michaela helped me pick out. I think those Maurice’s girls should get commissions because they are awesome. Having a “personal shopping assistant” is like hitting the lottery for me since I have absolutely no sense of style!

Ready, Set, Go (to School)

August 19, 2015 by ramblingsofaperforatedmind in Teaching and tagged back to school, classroom, cluttered desk, patio table | 2 Comments

Yesterday was our school’s first teacher work day. Most of us are almost ready for things to get rolling again. I am trying to get in the right frame of mind, but it has been a struggle. The day went pretty fast due to the meetings we had.

Today’s schedule gave us more time to work in our rooms, which was exactly what I needed! I tried to eliminate some clutter from my desks—yes, plural. I have a teacher desk and two tables where I pile my books and papers. It’s a process for sure!

This is the view from my desk. I am still loving my patio table.

This is the view from the door.

Students are coming tomorrow—ready or not!

Water Battles!

August 16, 2015 by ramblingsofaperforatedmind in Twists and Turns and tagged firefighters, Hyannis, Mullen VFD, water fights | Leave a comment

In spite of the temperature today (almost 100 degrees), firefighters spent the afternoon in gear for some good, clean fun.

Checking things out before the battles begin….

Time to gear up!

Mullen won their first two water fights.

The Spider Saga

August 14, 2015 by ramblingsofaperforatedmind in Twists and Turns and tagged bedtime, Claude, spider saga, spiders | Leave a comment

Last night Ysabela and I went to bed way later than normal. She was online, and I was reading a book. She finally took her meds and shut down her computer. I assured her I’d be heading to bed soon.

She claimed she called for me twice, but with the TV, iPad and fan noise, I didn’t hear her. I went into my room and turned on the light. Soon after, we went in search of the fly swatter. Bela had noticed a black spot on the ceiling. Yes, it was a spider…no, we couldn’t determine what kind. The only kind of spider I want to see is dead.

Bela must be a spider magnet. It took a lot of convincing, but Bela agreed to be spider bait. As soon as she gingerly crawled back in bed and I turned off the light, “Claude” the spider made his appearance again. I called him Jean Claude van DAMN where did he go. 🙂

I could see Claude in the flickering light of the iPad movie we were trying to watch. I made the mistake of telling Bela to get up, get up, get up! As soon as she started scrambling out of the bed, I flipped on the light and made a grab for the fly swatter. When Bela moved, Claude did a stage exit (and so did Bela!). Claude’s exit was between the bed and the wall, and Bela’s was to the living room. The score was then Claude 2, Humans 0. Sad day for humanity, I know.

Bela made herself comfy in the living room chair. By this time, it was after three, so I was more than willing to have a truce for the night. It was up to Claude. I got snuggled in bed, movie playing and two dogs close. Chance was strategically located between me and the edge of the bed. He was perfectly positioned to keep me in when I needed to be out. The moment I was drifting off to sleep, I spotted movement on the wall. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Claude was on the move!

Chance nearly got squished when he refused to move out of my way. In spite of floundering around like a beached whale, I was, amazingly, able to grab the fly swatter in time to…deal with Claude. I had finally won.