Now I am really done...

Everything is DONE... all comment letters, exams, grading! Hooray! I am back at my parents' house in CT.

My dinner date was very nice. He cooked a three course meal with wine pairings (in the proper glasses, too!) from his latest trip to California. The Chilean sea bass was amazing! I made him some chocolate truffle brownies-- he loved them. We played Scrabble and Boggle. I beat him in Scrabble and he blew me away in Boggle. Overall, it was a good night and I can't believe how much he did for me.

I am off to Maine tomorrow morning for a relaxing Thanksgiving! Of course, we will stop at LL Bean and J. Crew in Freeport... I hope I can be good.

First Day of Vacation

I got the last two girls in a car to JFK this morning at 6:30 AM. I was ready for a Power Yoga class. I am going to be SO sore tomorrow from all the one legged squats and headstands! I feel unreasonably great after a long term, usually by Thanksgiving Vacation I am about to collapse and can't get out of bed for a few days. I am muddling through comment letters (one paragraph comments I write about each student I teach) and hope to get half done (26) by the time I go on my fourth date with the guy I have been hanging out with since September. He is cooking me dinner at his house! Enjoy the weekend!

Lilly sale update...

I did not go bananas at the Lilly sale as I did last time.

I did end up with a few cute things...

The choice of the day was skirt! This skirt looked cute and it is definitely an appropriate length for teaching.

These capris looked really fun.

I also got a cute ribbon headband.

After the sale, I ran to Trader Joe's and then got back on the highway to come home to put the girls who have flights tomorrow morning to bed.

Sorry these are not my own pictures. I am tired tonight... All the exams are corrected... Comments are being written and I will be off for 10 days!

Dreams of Lilly are dancing in my head!

I am ALMOST done correcting my exams and then I will be off to the Lilly sale tomorrow... I can't wait until my big decisions will not be how much credit I should give to Student X on his or her essay on the exam, but whether or not I should get the wonderful navy and white horse print in capris or a skirt- or both!

KitchenAid Mixer?

I have so many things and am not desperate for any one thing for Christmas. I was considering asking for this:

Does any one have one? Do you like it? What do you make? I love to bake and think it would be a perfect piece to add to my kitchen gadgets. I also thought about a food processor--any suggestions???

Procrastination or not?

Well, I have been procrastinating by doing things I have been putting off for awhile.

What I was supposed to do today:
1) Write exams
2) Write exams
3) Write exams

What I did
1) Submitted medical receipts for reimbursement
2) Cleaned out my car-- the beach bag, bike helmet, tennis racquet, and swimsuit do not need to be in at the same time as the skis, ski boots, and snow shoes
3) Organized all my receipts from my wallet and cleaned out my purses
4) E-mailed someone I have wanted to e-mail since May
5) Organized my pantry- I found 5 each of the following: onion soup mixes, diet peach iced tea mix, white beans, boxes of spaghetti, and artichoke hearts (note to self: check before I grocery shop and I am not going to need to go shopping for awhile)

Now, I am going to really write my exams, which are due first thing on Monday!!!

Note from a student

Ms. LPP- I'm so sorry for my test, and I know it's really not happy and shiny, I will study much harder, I'll promise.

Ah... this week has been crazy getting my little munchkins ready for their exams. The student who wrote me the e-mail is just learning English and is so funny. I felt so bad that he failed his test, but I need to get them to study hard for the exams. I had such an amazing victory today--the student who barely could pass any of my tests early on got a 90% on a really challenging test! I immediately dialed his mom's cell phone so excited to tell her that I FINALLY had some good news for her! I am off to see a Yale acapella group with my charges... should be fun!

Pulled it off

I ran an election for the entire school yesterday and 83.45% of the students participated. It was a lot of work to put together, but we had so much fun making posters and ballot boxes. I also got a bonus shout out from the headmaster thanking me for all my efforts!

Now, everyone should get out to vote today! I am walking with my 7th graders today (and then stopping by DD to get them hot chocolate to reward them for all their hard work).

I had some favorite election videos, but this one (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgEGtYWonds) has quickly jumped to the top.