It was time once again for the selection of the eighth grade verse. As always, there were some pretty strange suggestions. But also as always, the kids ended up choosing a great verse. They voted for Philippians 4:13 – “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” The person who suggested the verse wrote this version of it, which happens to be the New King James Version. All the other versions say “…Him who strengthens me.” I like that this says “Christ”.
Unlike 2008 and 2007, I didn’t come in on the weekend to do the bulletin board in the hallway. I did it after school on Monday and before school yesterday. It was done in time for the kids to see it when they came in at 7:30am.
Today I’ll be doing a chapel based on their verse. I’m going to talk about various superheroes (with pictures) and where they get their powers and what their weaknesses are. I’ll compare them to us and where we get our power and what our weaknesses are.
Yesterday morning at around 7:55am, I was in the hallway sharing interesting “This Day in History” facts with my colleagues. (Happy Belated Birthday, Hillary Duff!) When I got back to my room, there was a small bucket of candy on my desk.
I was a little confused since there was no note, but there was a really cool skull ring in it, so I figured it must not be a mistake: it must be for me. I left it alone all day, thinking the person responsible would tell me. After asking everyone in the building, I suspected Peggy. She said she didn’t do it. But she likes to mess with my head, so I wasn’t so sure.
After school I dumped the container out. I found an eyeball and another skull. And a death threat. That had to be Peggy. Who else do I know that would threaten my life with candy?
I helped some co-workers move a week ago, and the new house had the most wonderful strawberry scent in it. Upon inspection, it was one of those car air fresheners that looks like a tiny tuna can. I even remembered the brand name: California Scents. I resolved to get one for my house.
This past week, I’ve driven past auto parts stores I don’t know how many times, and never stopped. The best I could do was Target, where I found a little Christmas tree air freshener that was strawberry flavored. It’s hanging in my entryway now. At first, I took it completely out of the bag, but the strong scent was giving me coughing fits. I put the bag back on to control the scent. But it doesn’t smell as good as that can.
Maybe some day I’ll stop at the auto parts store. Some day.
Years ago I went to the annual Home and Garden Show at the Maryland State Fairgrounds and bought a cactus. The booth I got it from had tons of really cool specimens. This was long enough ago that money was tight for me, so I had to choose only one. I chose a perfectly round ball of a cactus. In fact, it was called a Baseball Cactus, or Euphorbia obesa. Besides being cool looking, it was also a Euphorbia, which meant it was in the same family as poinsettias (Euphorbia pulcherrima).
Over the years, it has had a place of honor on my kitchen windowsill. It has bloomed many times. It also elongated a little, so it looked more like a pear than a baseball. This is natural, I’m told.
A couple of weeks ago, a blotch appeared on the side of the cactus. Over time, the blotch turned into a dead spot and slowly spread. Yesterday I noticed there was only a small part that was still green. The cactus is dead. It’s been a good eight(?) years.
But how exciting! Now I get to shop for a new windowsill plant! Woo hoo!
Last night I was really craving spaghetti. But not just any spaghetti. I wanted the simple, no fancy crap, kind of spaghetti our family likes. Beth talks about it HERE. I went to the scary grocery store a block from my house and got the ingredients. The spaghetti was ready in a jiffy.
It was really good and tasted just like it should. I had a little trouble chewing it because my tooth and gums still hurt. But it was still very satisfying.
It’s the first time I’ve cooked dinner for myself in as long as I can remember. I’ve grilled meat or made a bowl of cereal or microwaved a frozen dinner… But cooking on the stove? I never do that anymore. It’s easier (and cheaper) to ask the nice people at restaurants to do that for me.
