http://www.pleonast.com/user/doxiemom recent pleonast.com entries by user doxiemom en-us http://www.pleonast.com/user/doxiemom?l=5&entryID=589806 she's not good with pictures yet... so, i do them for her.. ttfn katherine 2008-10-21 http://www.pleonast.com/user/doxiemom?l=5&entryID=589678 Saturday was awesome. Duke, Duchess and I went to the Sacred Selections fund raiser event. Duke and Duchess were the petting zoo. I don't know about anyone else, but they were happy and loved all the attention. When they got home they slept! They haven't had that much excitement in a long time! It was so good to see friends all gathered together for a wonderful cause. Really good to see Warren and Paula there. Warren and I looked for Le-a but didn't find her. (If lost on that read post below.) Kudos to Carol on a well organized event. Many, many thanks to the Murffs for offering their home to all of us. The weather cooperated and you couldn't have asked for a better day. Yes, as Jen stated in her wonderful post, I did win the bid for a beautiful, hand-stitched quilt. What can I say, I have a weakness for hand-stitched quilts. I truly appreciate the art. I consider it to be a work of love and devotion. To me a hand-stitched quilt is a thing of beauty to be treasured an... 2008-10-20 http://www.pleonast.com/user/doxiemom?l=5&entryID=587545 This year I have seen some names that even I could not pronounce at school. I have been teaching phonics for 27 years and have a pretty good command of the English language...or so I thought. How would you pronounce this child's name: "Le-a" ??? Leah?? NO Lee - A?? NOPE Lay - a?? NO Lei?? Guess Again. It's pronounced "Ledasha" Oh yes...you read it right. This child attends a school in Livingston Parish, LA. Her mother is irate because everyone is getting her name wrong. SO if you see something come across your desk like this, please remember to pronounce it correctly. When the mother was asked about the pronunciation of the name, she said "the dash don't be silent." 2008-10-14 http://www.pleonast.com/user/doxiemom?l=5&entryID=582047 It has been forever since my last post. What a crazy month it has been. School got started and my assistant for the past two years decided to take a new job offer with a significant pay raise so I ended up getting a new assistant. Fortunately for me she is a wonderful lady that I have known and worked with. Upon entering my lab she decided to help me go through the things that had been left from it's previous inhabitants. I can't begin to tell you how much we cleaned up but now the lab looks great and our kids love it. Now on to the really yucky news! IKE!!!!! FUnny how one word can cause so much emotion for soooo many folks. We were truly blessed and I really do mean that. Out properties were left in good shape considering what they endured. We were all safe and out of harm's way during the hurricane. We got our power back after 13 days and our phones back after 17 days. Our internet service came back within about 15 days. The grocery stores are still trying to stock up ... 2008-09-30 http://www.pleonast.com/user/doxiemom?l=5&entryID=563534 The cry from every teacher can be heard throughout the land....School is starting back up. Some districts are already back in the saddle. I go back on Monday morning....uuggghhhh!! Reflections: Where did my summer go??? recap - Taught summer school: month of June 1st trip - Spokane to visit family 10 days: family in hospital for five days of that trip Home - 1 1/2 weeks: finished July, VBS, and had dad in hospital 2nd trip - Richmond, VA to see Josh and April for 11 days: good trip, traveled a lot to PA, NC, and TN. Home - 1 week: olympic watching is a must Now it is the middle of August and my summer just ended. Looking back over my summer it was busy, packed totally full, and went by really, really fast. Maybe I do need to go back to work so I can rest.....What a horrible thought!!!! I need a vacation, from my vacation!!!!! Side note: Please continue to keep April's Aunt Pat in your prayers. She has been moved into the bigger hospital in Tampa and will have to h... 2008-08-16 http://www.pleonast.com/user/doxiemom?l=5&entryID=561890 We are finally heading home today. We catch the big bird and fly in tonight. It has been a whirlwind trip for us as we have tried to take in quite a bit of sight-seeing and lots of activities, as well as lots of visiting. We have caught up on our long-distance friendships and do hate to leave our friends and family here but we know that we must return to our friends, family, and jobs back home. There will be no slowing down once we land in Houston as Ed returns to work the following day and I go back to a full docket of appointments before starting back to work on Monday. No rest for the weary. We have had a wonderful trip filled with memories to share. Our son and daughter-in-law have been gracious hosts and have allowed us to invade their new home. We feel special as we are their first house guests. I think we are allowed to come back..... Please keep April's aunt Pat in your prayers. We found out this morning that she has been admitted into the hospital. I don't know any... 2008-08-12 http://www.pleonast.com/user/doxiemom?l=5&entryID=561309 We absolutely loved the shows in Lancaster and highly recommend both of them. After purchasing two quilts, peaches, corn, and a watermelon, we headed back to Richmond to pick up the kids and head out towards Tennessee. We stopped over at the Biltmore for a great tour. The house is only 175,000 square feet....yep, you read it right. It is a must see if you are ever in the area. The gardens were beautiful. After our tour we went to our final destination....Pigeon Forge. Our cabin rocked!!! We couldn't have been more pleased: wood floors, stone fireplace, hot tub, pool table, jacuzzi tubs in both baths, wrap around porch, full kitchen, washer and dryer, and our resort had a putt-putt course, golf course, four fishing ponds, and swimming pool. We were just a few miles from Cades Cove where we went and saw the deer, bears, and beautiful scenery. We even experienced some local wildlife up close and personal when our daughter-in-law April found a live scorpion in her bathroom sink.... 2008-08-11 http://www.pleonast.com/user/doxiemom?l=5&entryID=559395 Ed and I are sitting in Lancaster, Pa. We were just in Richmond, Va visiting the kids and I have to tell you that Josh and April have a really nice new townhome. They have it fixed up soooooo cute and we found April to be quite the cook in her totally new kitchen!!!! Poor Josh.....he will have to be really careful or else he will put on wayyyyyyy to much weight! Ed and I went to see Abraham and Sarah at the Sight and Sound Theatre today. It was totally awesome!!! Tomorrow we go to see In the Beginning. Ed was feeling soooo good that he bought me two....count them, TWO quilts! I have wanted one for years, but now I have two!!!!! I am so overwhelmed. I think my hubby really does luv me!!! When we get home I will get Kat to help me post pictures of them. Well, I can honestly say that I have never seen so many fields of corn. We have been driving around and looking at the farms in the area. They are really nice with the rolling hills. Back to VA tomorrow to meet back up with... 2008-08-06 http://www.pleonast.com/user/doxiemom?l=5&entryID=556889 My week has been different!!! I began my week thinking that I was going to co-teach VBS @ Eastside. I woke up Monday morning to a phone call telling me that my dad had just had a stroke. Not quite the wake-up call I had in mind that morning. After many, many tests we found out that it was not a stroke but something called TIA which mimics strokes. He still has numbness and weakness on his right side. His right ear still has ringing in it. Anyone who knows my father knows how stubborn he can be. He finally agreed to use a cane...for the time being. He actually told me that he thought he could drive today!!!! He is home and appears to be doing well. Thank you for the visits at the hospital, calls, and prayers on his behalf and ours too. Please know that they have all been appreciated. 2008-07-30 http://www.pleonast.com/user/doxiemom?l=5&entryID=554214 Okay all you Wii folks::::: I found the Wii Fit bundles at Gamestop online for pre-order. They are the entire bundle for $149.99. Go to Gamestop.com and click on their Wii game tab. Scroll down to the Wii Fit bundle. It includes;This Wii Fit Bundle includes the following items: Wii Fit with Balance Board Wii Fit Silicone Cover Wii Fit Rechargeable Battery Wii Fit Travel and Storage Case They will ship on August 4th. I couldn't find any promos or coupons to use but did try. Hope this is helpful. 2008-07-24