Catching Up

Boy, oh boy, have I missed blogging. I went back to work and it seems like my free time has gone down to zero. I’ll report on what’s been going on with me.

School
This year has been busy. My classes are great, except for one. At least all of the behavior problems are in one class, that way I can enjoy four classes and dread only one. There are two girls in that class who are terrible. They are the nastiest, rudest two that I have ever taught. On the bright side, the other 118 that I teach are enjoyable.

Fitness
I’ve got a lot of fun events coming up.

Our USTA mixed doubles season starts next weekend, although our team doesn’t have a match until Sep. 21. I’ll be playing with Mr. SP.

Next weekend our club is having a fun “Club Championship” tournament. I’ll play doubles with my friend on Saturday and then mixed doubles with Mr. SP on Sunday.

Sep. 20 is the singles day for the club championship. I just hope that I don’t end up in last place.

Sep. 27 is The Virginia Ten Miler here in Lynchburg. I haven’t run this race in years and decided that it would be a good challenge. Plus, it will force me to keep up with my running since I know that it is coming up. The race is very hilly and probably is one of the toughest ten miler courses in VA. Neighbors line the streets to watch and cheer, so it is actually fun to run and look for people you know.

The following weekend, we will go to Duck, NC for a tennis tournament. Mr. SP is playing with his old boss and I’ll play with his wife. The tournament is a benefit for Hospice. It is a fun excuse to take a Friday off from school and head to the beach.

We’ll go back to the Outer Banks for Veteren’s Day weekend to run the OBX 1/2 Marathon.

Fashion
I have not had any time to shop for fall clothing, but I did spy this VT shirt and had to have it. I don’t go to games, but I do have a lot of opportunities to wear team type clothing at school. I thought that this shirt was really unique, then Mr. SP got a flyer from University of Wisconsin and the same shirt was on the cover with a badger instead of the Hokie bird. I like that this shirt has 3/4 sleeves.

Gardening
My vegetable garden was a total disaster this year. The deer tore my fence down over and over and I finally gave up on it. Next year I’ll either go back to an electric fence or put up a tall woven wire fence with a couple of strands of electric wire over the woven part. Deer netting is just not strong enough to keep them out.

We had 3 1/2 inches of rain this past week and it was much needed. My flower beds still have big cracks in them, so I hope some more moisture will come our way.

I saved this gladiola from the deer and enjoyed it for about a week.

Technology
Mr. SP surprised me with one of these…

I love it!! There’s a lot about it that I need to figure out, but talk about a fun toy!

Movies
I finally went to “Sex and the City.” I loved every minute of it and will probably have to buy it when it comes out in DVD.

We rented this movie last night:

It was exactly what you’d expect from Larry. I think he is SO funny and I like that he isn’t dirty with his jokes. I thought that I would fall off of my sofa a few times last night from laughing so hard.

Reading
I’m reading this now:

It’s really good!

A student loaned me this book to read next:

Labor Day Weekend
This weekend has been fabulous. After work on Friday, Mr. SP and I played tennis and then we went to “Friday Cheers.” This was the last Friday Cheers of the year. I hadn’t been to one of these in over ten years and I was surprised how much I enjoyed it. The band was an Eagles tribute band, there was beer and wine, and the crowd was interesting to watch. My friend and I decided that it is like going Walmart, only it is outside and there’s alcohol.

The weather was beautiful on Saturday. We played tennis and then spent the rest of the day at the lake.

Sunday was cloudy. I ran and then we played tennis. I spent the afternoon in the yard. It felt good to work outside and get things looking nice again. I mowed the grass, pruned some bushes, and tidied up one of my flower beds.

It is so nice to have a Monday off from work. I’m going to run, tidy up the house, go to the grocery store, and hopefully, spend the afternoon at the pool. Today is the last day that the pool is open. I hate to see it close for the season.

That’s about it for me. I hope that everyone has enjoyed their weekend!