Accepted!

Just a quick note, because I'm bursting ...

DD got her acceptance letter from the school we wanted her to go to for high school!!

They said just lovely things like:

"You have done well with your schooling, and I believe you are well prepared."

We had to provide at least three letters of recommendation, and they mentioned a bit from those (as we didn't see them).  They said, in part:

"(DD) is highly motivated and attempts to excel in all of her assigned work."

And our agility instructor mentioned DD's "...committment to excellence and her joy in working with new handlers."

So we're going to have a new adventure ahead of us come August.  We're both excited and a little nervous. 

Cool school!

What an amazing and very different school we visited yesterday. They actually own the entire little residential street they're on and the classes are held in different houses. Two of the houses are HUGE because of additions they students built (not the current students -- though, they're doing building as well, an addition for another private school in a different town). There are a few outbuildings they built, too, all post and beam and stained glass (beautiful pieces also created by the students, who apparently also make it for various other schools, churches and other buildings).

Everything is very casual, possibly due to the "home" feel of the place and the fact they have to walk outside from place to place (it's quite rural). There's a dress code, but it's not strict. Jeans are allowed and T-shirts, but nothing too short, too tight or too skimpy which works for me. The "feel" is sort of a cross between regular school and homeschool. Class size will be bigger there, but not a lot. Her current school's high school classes run 3 - 5 students. This place averages 10 - 12, a good size.

DD is excited about much of it. Nervous, too, but she's not really super happy where she is, has struggled to make friends (most of the kids there have gone to school together for years) and is pretty sold on the new school. I told her SHE needed to decide what was going to work best for her.

Dru had asked yesterday if she has to test, etc. to be enrolled or if they'll automatically take her. We have to fill out the application, get copies of her report card and references from teachers and mentors and she'll have to shadow a day there (thankfully they're in sessions when DD is off on spring break in a few weeks, so we'll do it then). Her current school required her to test to make sure she could do the work for the grade we wanted her enrolled in. I imagine this one will, too.

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In other news, I swear winter has returned. We had 30 - 50 MPH all day yesterday, so bad it grabbed my storm door last evening and flung it open, hard. Didn't break the glass, or the door itself, but yanked the bottom whoosie-whatsit (the thing that controls how fast it closes) right out of the frame and bent it neatly in half, breaking the plastic cover and twisting the metal.

We had to chase down our lawn chairs and garbage can (why is it always windy on garbage day?) as well as my pooper scooper and some other things that stay outside. It's bitterly cold, impossible to walk in or even stay out in for more than a couple minutes. And it's just as cold and windy today. It's supposed to rain tomorrow, so I'm guessing this wind is blowing in that front. Hopefully then it will stop. But my dog is bouncing off the walls.

The joy of New Hampshire.

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School Choices

This morning we're checking out a new high school as a potential landing place for DD. Yes, her current school has a high school and, yes, we've been invited to return next year but I'm not sure it's a perfect fit for her. It's a very, very small school with few extracurricular opportunities. We found that out in spades this year as the canceled middle school basketball because enough people weren't participating -- and the high school is even smaller.

The school we're looking at is closer, very rural and rustic (it's held in a huge old house/barn) and has about 50 students in the high school. DD's current school has about 15.

They really celebrate what it is to live in NH -- with lots of outdoor activities like hiking, canoeing, mountain biking, etc. plus their girl's basketball team won their division this year, so clearly there are enough students. They offer project-based learning (last year the kids built a post and beam house and held a miniture victorian faire, for instance).

We'll see how the meeting goes, but it feels right so far and DD is sort of excited, too. It helps that her BFF is probably going to be going back into homeschooling next year, so she isn't a factor as to where DD goes.

Other than that, our weather is back to normal for this time of year... COLD. Highs in the low 50s, lows in the 20s with light frost. *sigh* Those 80 degree temps spoiled me rotten.

Hope you had a good weekend! Trying to get to blogs ... visited a few this morning and will try to hit a few more this afternoon.

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Warning: Sleep Deprived Rambling

Spent the night coughing, so if my post sounds a little like I've lost a few brain cells, that's why.

The good news is that coughing is the final phaze of a cold for me, so after today, I should be pretty well done. Yay.

I went to DD's school last night for a meeting about entering high school -- how did my kidlet become an almost highschooler so quickly?? They talked about expectations (they do four years of the core subjects instead of fewer like most schools... for instance, when I was in high school we were only required to take two years of math). She'll have four years of Spanish when she's done (which is wonderful). They have a work experience program set up to help the kids earn money for tuition (it's with a nearby credit union and their pay is automatically set up to deduct 30% for a tuition account). It sounds wonderful. I admit, I've been looking at another private high school that's about ten minutes from my house (they're high school ONLY so I couldn't put her there for this year). It's slightly less expensive and SO much closer. But DD melts down if I so much as talk about it.

I bought three turkeys yesterday. Then I discovered I already had five in my freezer (yes, I have a huge chest freezer). When I posted about having eight turkeys in my freezer on Facebook I was surprised at the responses. Folks seemed surprised that I had bought three turkeys in the first place, never mind the other five. I can't be the only person in the world who stocks up on things when they're on sale, can I? I've also bought a TON of gravy and canned vegetables. There are times of the year when different things go on sale -- so why not buy a TON if you have the room to store them? I'm giving serious thought to buying more turkeys, actually, because I can use them for Dakota's food and I can donate some to the local food pantry. A fifteen pound turkey is only $5 right now ... it's crazy to not buy as many as I can keep.

Still waiting to hear from Samhain ... two more weeks will be twelve weeks. See what happens when you don't have a contract in two years? Would have been nice to have my old editor back (though, to be honest, my actual editor left Samhain and I'd been reassigned to someone who never contracted anything I sent, so maybe this is a blessing in disguise -- perhaps my submission will be sent to someone who has a better appreciation for what I write, as my last editor was looking for erotic romance, primarily M/M).

No big plans for the weekend. I imagine we might take down one more tree at my SIL's house, but otherwise, it should be fairly quiet (:::fingers crossed:::). Anyone have any news? Plans? Silly jokes?

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You Are Ready to Take on the World

You are clear-minded and bright. You think through things well. Your personality is extra spicy and larger than life. You love to have fun, and you are passionate about everything you do. You are inspired and energized by so many things. You've got a natural high going on. You tend to have a fast paced, busy lifestyle. Not a lot of people can keep up with you.

The Crayon Test

About 75% right.

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Attack of the Killer Pollen

“I used to wake up at 4 A.M. and start sneezing, sometimes for five hours. I tried to find out what sort of allergy I had but finally came to the conclusion that it must be an allergy to consciousness.”
James Thurber

I'm so incredibly glad I don't suffer from allergies, because the pollen lately has been nuts! A heavy layer of yellow coats everything, indoors and out. On Sunday, I'd mopped upstairs in the schoolroom (DD had spilled some grape juice and tried to get it up, but had missed some spots) and expected the mop to come up purple or brownish ... but it was bright yellow.

I swore right then to declare war, because while I may not have allergies, my DH does and DD has been complaining of severely itchy eyes the past few days.

Yesterday I spent hours and hours: sweeping, mopping, dusting, wiping things down. I did the entire downstairs, moving EVERYTHING and even wiping the tops of the cupboards. I shook out and washed all the throw rugs, vacuuming the furniture and lampshades and blinds. The saddest thing, though, is that it doesn't LOOK all that different. After so much work, I wish I could sit back and SEE the change.

Still, based on the number of rags I went through and pads for my Steam Shark (all of which were YELLOW) and how many times I dumped dustlike particles out of the vacuum, I know I accomplished a lot.

Now, if I could just get the car to stay clean for more than five minutes ... it's wearing a coat of yellow dust, too.

Ugh.

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I was going through some old pictures yesterday and stumbled across my drama ones. Here's a funny for you -- me at seventeen (and the guy from whom I'd get my first onstage kiss)!



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You Are Civilized

You are mild mannered and even a bit shy at first. It takes a while for you to come out of your shell. You are conscientious and savvy. You enjoy the healthy things in life. You are a person of complex taste. You like how different elements go together. No one would describe you as boring. You have a fresh and interesting outlook.

The Taco Test

Blogthings: Cheaper Than a Therapist

Pretty close!

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