So I haven't posted anything lately because I was waiting for a lot of little news to come in. Now that it has, and now that I'm stuck in a public, wi-fi enabled place with nothing better to do for the next hour or so and no book to read, I suppose it's about time for an update.

Some newsworthy items:

1. Tomorrow and Friday are staff development days, which is sort of like a holiday because we'll get to learn some things and we won't have to see any kids, plus we'll have hour-long lunches and the occasional department meeting where we'll be given a "homework assignment" that entails going to our rooms and doing all the stuff that was just going to keep us late today if we'd stuck around to do it. And they're feeding us breakfast for the next two days, and a "soul food" potluck on Friday. All in all, I could think of worse ways to spend two work days. Sometimes it's nice to hang out with the other grownups.
   
2. I have a half-hour presentation to do tomorrow for the WHOLE STAFF on some of the stuff I learned at the National Reading Conference. It is sort of starting to scare me, and Tyson finds it incredibly amusing since half of our staff has masters degrees or higher and all but a handful or so have been teaching longer than I have.
   
3. Tyson was doubly amused, then, when I was invited to miss a whole day of school last week (with the sub paid for, even!) to a meeting where I told a group of Title I principals about this system we only sort of use at our school. I say "sort of" because we really don't do any paperwork on it or anything, so it can't really be tracked or measured in any significant way, naturally an issue of concern to Title I administrators in the height of testing season.
   
4. I'm being distracted by the pleasantly dorky-looking drummer of a small blues ensemble at the coffee shop.
   
5. I am waiting at this coffee shop because a whole bunch of students from my school are, right this moment, loading up a bus to come to a UNLV basketball game tonight. I haven't been to a real b-ball game in a hundred years and I'm actually really looking forward to it.
   
6. In one of my classes we are drawing comic strips about someone who survives a shipwreck. I wish you could see some of them. They are really, really great.
   
7. On that note, there is a new Scott McCloud book on drawing comics that I would LOVE to have...hint, hint, Tyson....
   
8. I have not made any more bread lately, but I did whip up a nice frozen-box lasagna last night for our Tuesday night date.
   
9. Tyson and I are sharing a classroom bunny. Pics to come. Eat your heart out, Deidre!
   
10. I am taking off next weekend on my first solo trip in a while, probably to Utah, and am really looking forward to it, although secretly I think it would be more satisfying if I were leaving Tyson at home rather than going on a trip to avoid being left at home, myself. Enjoying yourself is always so much easier when you can think about someone you know who isn't.

Finally,

11. It has been around 70 degrees every afternoon for the last few days. The rest of you are having some kind of cold snap, right? How's that working out for you?