cranky and lovin' it

I am not a morning person. This is most obvious to poor Kevin. I am the type of person who, upon waking, does not want to be spoken to, does not like any noise whatsoever, does not like any interruption to my careful morning routine, and above all, does not like to be forced awake by any other method than the slow crescendo of the voices of Steve Inskeep and Renee Montagne on NPR on our Bose radio. Wake me up by any other method, and truly incur my wrath and horrid crankiness.

Poor, poor Kevin.

Ironically, my most favorite time of the week is Sunday mornings. Yes, mornings. Despite the monster that I am to anyone in my path who disturbs my peaceful morning time, I absolutely adore being awake (not being awakened - don't get the two confused) on Sunday mornings. There is nothing more soothing and soul-nourishing than padding into the kitchen, making the coffee while blankly staring out the kitchen window into the neighbors' yards, padding back into the living room, turning on public radio and listening to classical guitar and Sunday baroque and then just enjoying existing. It's simply great. I highly recommend it. Just don't call me and wake me up in the morning to tell me about it.

:)

PS. I just had to put the link to Sunday Baroque and Classical Guitar Alive! for those of you who wish to experience the musical joy I feel on Sundays.

you know you love your dog when...

* you clean up his barf multiple times a day and can still eat your dinner
* your carpet is covered in fur, you can see it, and you still lay on it to pet your dogs
* you hand-feed your dog so he won't eat his food too fast
* you save up money to buy a several-hundred-dollar brace so your dog won't be in pain when she walks
* you build your dog a custom high chair and line in it soft cushions so his butt won't hurt
* you set up a swimming pool so your dog can do no-impact aerobics to stay fit and protect her joints
* you clean up diarrhea off the carpet - three times - and manage not to kill him afterwards
* you join an online support group for dogs with a special disease and you think this is a completely normal thing to do
* you say "yes" when people ask if you have kids and you haven't ever given birth to anything
* 75% of your photos have at least one dog in them

the elusiveness of teaching

In case some of you didn't know, I've switched gears pursuing careers and I'm now on a quest to find a teaching position. I have spent the past year and several months spending time, effort, and money to get professionally certified to teach in Florida. Well, in March I finally earned my certificate. Low and behold, there are no teaching jobs in this county. Across the country the teacher shortage is nationally renown with states offering signing bonuses and competitive salaries. Alas, I live in the one county in all of the USA with a surplus of teachers and the lowest salary in all of Florida. Isn't it ironic, don't cha think?
It's been one crazy roller coaster. One minute they tell you there are plenty of positions; next they fire 153 teachers due to budget cuts; then they say they'll hire 90 for this coming academic year. It completely toys with my emotions.
I'm thinking professional housewife is sounding pretty tempting right about now...

the answer is yes

In regards to the question in the post prior to this one, the answer is yes, procreating must be the new popular pastime.

I just found out someone else I know is pregnant. That makes 8 and apparently we're not done counting.