A whole mess of stuff.

Well, I didn't post after our big camping adventure last weekend. I wrote it all up and put it on Facebook, and then I just ran out of steam. Long story short, we really didn't expect snow and really weren't prepared for snow, and we woke up in six inches of it. We bailed but not before some wrong directions, some roads that had to be plowed, some inexperience with driving in the snow (I seriously almost took us off the side of a cliff), some luggage flying off the top of vehicles, a set of lost keys, a bear, three collapsed tents and a pile of wet wood. Oh, and twenty teenagers in canvas shoes and sweatshirts.

Honestly, despite all that, it wasn't that bad. In fact, it was kind of fun. And what I didn't mention in the original story is that there were some things I experienced that I never had before. First, although it's possible that I have been in falling snow, I do not remember it at all. I have been to the snow several times, but generally it's old snow that has formed a dirty, icy crust on top. To actually have snowflakes falling on you is pretty cool. I actually got to stick my tongue out and catch snowflakes, and so did Z. I threw a powdery, lightly packed snowball. The kids made snowmen. You know how, when you grow up in one kind of place, you just don't really understand the weather of other places? I had seen, in movies, people taking snowballs and rolling them around to collect more snow and make the balls bigger. I honestly did not think that worked. I thought it was a movies-only thing. But the kids were trying it, and it worked! Brand-new fresh snow actually turns out to be much more fun than that icy crusty stuff.

Okay, moving on... I still have hives. It's awful. My skin is super-duper sensitive and I still itch ALL THE TIME. I'm hoping that whatever it is goes away soon.

We've got a good garden in this year. I added some planting space to the front yard and put in a kumquat, a blueberry, strawberries, and raspberries. Everything is looking good. And in the back we have tomatoes, basil, many peppers, some pumpkins, tomatillos, and cucumbers, plus some herbs. The peppers don't like this cool weather, and the basil has been pretty well eaten by bugs. We have grubworms, and Sweetie is subjecting them to torture on an individual basis.

Zadie's going through some stuff. She needs to make all the decisions for herself all the time, and if she changes her mind twelve seconds later, her only question is why we didn't KNOW what she meant. Ugh. But time-wise, we have a lot more fun times than awful times. It's just that the awful times are pretty awful. But she's a good and weird and interesting individual, and I know we're going to get through it all relatively unscathed.

Today we were at the park and ran into some kids that we know pretty well. The girl is 5 1/2, and I told her mom she's a "leader." She thanked me for using such a positive euphemism for "bossy." Okay, she's bossy. But what I liked about Z is that she would play their game, whatever it was, for a while, and then go do something else. She was perfectly capable of following and getting along and being part of a group, but she wasn't tied to the group thing, and was totally independent about doing what she wanted to do. A couple times, I heard the group calling "Zadie! Zadie! We're over here!" and then I'd see them running to where she was to follow her onto the spongy climbing thing. She's pretty awesome.

I'm sucked into the third Steig Larsson book. I kind of hate myself for it, but when a book's engaging, it's engaging.

This is Mexico week. Viva Mexican food! Yes, that is the main reason we're doing Mexico this week. I will throw in some educational stuff, but... tamales!!

Zadie is now almost 38" tall. I can't believe how fast she grows.

My stress at work is easing off. Most of the high-pressure stuff is over, but there's still a lot of time-consuming stuff. This week alone, I have two events after school that will take a total of almost 8 hours. For one, I'll have to go home and come back, so add 40 minutes of driving. The other, I may not leave at all, so add a couple hours of hanging out after school doing catch-up work and packing. But it's always like this at this time of year. Final potlucks. Awards ceremonies. Graduation. Meetings.

My kids are more attached to me than I thought. I mentioned that I was moving to the other learning community, and you'd think I'd hit them with shock and awe. Plus, they're asking when they can add me on Facebook. Graduation day? Before or after graduation? What about the day they check out? Can they do it before they've gotten my signature on the check-out paper? Can they do it from their phone in class that day? Dorks. I'm going to miss them.