More renovation pictures

Here's the dining room: before, during and after.

Those Crazy Catholics!

I swear there is a saint for EVERYTHING! I'm very thankful for my buddy D who brought this to me on his last trip to town. You KNOW how I feel about bacon. (If you don't, re-read this post. It's a long, long story.

Feast of Love

You can count on Bing to watch movies that nobody else has ever heard of, and then to quote them here. Latest entry comes from Feast of Love

There is a story about the Greek gods. They were bored so they invented human beings, but they were still bored so they invented love. Then they weren’t bored any longer, so they decided to try love for themselves. And finally they invented laughter, so they could stand it.

---
Harry: God is either dead or He despises us….

Bradley: God doesn’t hate us, Harry. If he did, he wouldn’t have made our hearts so brave.
---
The unexpected is always upon us. And of all the gifts arrayed before me, this one thought at this moment in my life is the most precious. And so, we begin again.

The living room

So here are the first of the home renovation photos: The living room - Before, during and after.

Rediscovering Saturday mornings

One of the added "benefits" of planning the huge convention in March is that I now get to visit a chiropractor 3 times/week to fix all the stress that has been building up in my neck and shoulders. Luckily, his office is right next to one of my favorite Starbucks, so Saturday mornings for the next 6 weeks will start with a little "snap, crackle, pop" action followed by a tasty (non-alcoholic) beverage, some internet access and general people watching. I've forgotten that Saturday mornings can be quite productive.

A new "must-read" blog!

I'm not sure if I'm able to take credit for this or not, but a frequent "Bing Blog" reader has started one of her own. It's based on her life as a substitute teacher, and although it's relatively new, the few posts have all made me laugh!

Be sure to check it out!

Finally filed!

I filed my tax return tonight. It took me this long because.....who knows? I started in early February before the convention and then one thing led to another. But tonight at Starbucks, I filed my taxes, placed a vitamin order and updated my queue at Blockbuster.com. ALL of the movies that are on the AFI Top 100 list AND available from Blockbuster are now officially checked off or in my queue. What a long time THAT has taken.

Move that Bus!

So if you are a fan of Extreme Home Makeover, you understand "the Big Reveal" and how they hide the front of the new house from the owners by parking a bus in front of it and then having everyone yell "MOVE THAT BUS!" so that the bus will roll away and the new owners will pass out from excitement. Well, now that the renovations are done, we had a "Big Reveal" Bing Style - I put a Pez truck on the front step and everyone yelled "MOVE THAT TRUCK." It wasn't quite as effective, but quite appropriate given the owner.

I'M BORED!

So, the convention is over. Concert Evaluations are over. Spring Break is over. My home renovations are over. I'M BORED!

Since I have no pressing deadlines, I've been doing a lot of NOTHING. Seriously. I can't focus on anything. I have this constant feeling of "I'll do it tomorrow." I don't handle free time well at all. I need soomething to keep me occupied. Since there is no relationship on the immediate horizon, I guess it's back to the blog. I'll try to catch up on the last month or so. I'll try to do a better job of being more regular as well (we're still talking blogging, here) but it's hard since the school has blocked ALL the great websites and blogging by phone is kind of tough. Luckily I have wireless and there are about 4 Starbucks (and a few other hotspots) within a mile or so. No excuses.

BACK in business

Long story short...Starbucks is closing in 5 minutes....

Convention is over. I survived.
Buster was broken (I thought) I fixed him.
ALL the good websites are now blocked at school.
I'll be living at Starbucks from now on.

Gotta run! Oh, and SAN FRANCISCO in 5 days! WAHOOOOO Spring Break!

Convention update

and then...the thing was done.

March is NOT my favorite month

March 2006 - my 15 year old Sheltie Mingus fell in the swimming pool and drowned.

March 2007 - While on spring break to San Fran with school, I got a call from the dog sitter that my 15 year old terrier died in her sleep.

March 2008 - While on my way to our opening convention concerts at 7 pm tonight, my neighbor called to tell me that my cat is laying dead in her front yard. It's now 1:15 AM and I'm finally headed home to deal with that.

YES, Virginia - there still is a Bing Blog

I've received some frantic e-mails and phone calls because it's been over two weeks since my last entry. The "Big Dog" convention has started and life has been a bit crazy. Pretty much every day has started off with me getting news about some snafu that results in my now-standard response: "Are you freaking KIDDING me?!" which then results in me running around picking up balls that someone else has dropped and then calling The Silver Fox's office (he's our host) to tell them "It's all good! Problem solved."

Love knows no boundaries.....

....except for the LAST loser from the MoneySucker dating service I joined awhile back. Talked to this guy around the first of the year...yada yada..."I'm really ready to be serious about finding a relationship...yada yada...Are you busy on Saturday?...yada yada..."Great! I'll call you?"...yada yada....

Three weeks later, I call HIM to ask "Hey! What's up? Hadn't heard from you? He tells me that he called MoneySucker right after talking to me. I sound like a really great person, but I live too far away (20 miles.) So much for being "serious." Oh, MS was supposed to call me and tell me that so he wouldn't have to (translation: be a man and tell me himself.) That was 6 weeks ago. Haven't heard from them.

We're in the "documentation before asking for a refund" stage. That comes right before the "uhh...would you rather give me a refund or go to small claims court stage?"

More "True Love" observations

My friend Panda told me last night that this guy hit on her at work (she works in a restaurant/bar) the other night, and the ended up exchanging phone numbers. The next day she got a sheepish call from him. Seems his FIANCEE found Panda's number in his phone filed under "Hot Chick from the Bar." He had to call (with his fiancee on speakerphone) to explain himself. Panda's take on it: "Uh....YEA! Good luck with THAT relationship!"

She's such a smart little cookie!

Observations of "True Love"

I stopped by Walgreen's last night to look for some things for the convention. Well, at least I TRIED to stop by. It was so freakin' packed with cars that I couldn't find a parking space. Then I realized that it was 9:30 PM on February 13. The day before Valentine's Day. And of course, everyone was in a frenzy to buy the "perfect, well-thought out" gift for their soulmate.

Things that make you go "hmmmmm....."

Weather discussions in class

Day: Wednesday
Time: 8th period concert band

PA announcement: "Water polo has been cancelled due to the rain."

Teacher: "Yes, because we wouldn't actually want to get WET during water polo."
Student #1: "Well, it might be because of lightening."
Teacher: "Yeah, I know. But it's still funny if you think about it."
Student #2: "Do you think lacrosse will be cancelled?"
Teacher: "Of course not! If there is LIGHTNING, we WANT you running around the field holding metal poles!"

Weather or Not

It's been a bit stormy here in South Florida this week. Tuesday night was especially so. I walked to school because it was Grandparent's Day and we aren't allowed to use the parking lot during the day. There are valets who park the visitor's cars in the lot, about 20 feet from the valet station, while the teachers have to park on a remote lot two properties away. Go figure! Anyway, as I was walking HOME that night (LATE - 10:30 PM due to convention madness) the sky opened up and it started to pour. So I hid under a very big tree, knowing it would die down soon. Until I saw lightning. Then I called Lamburrito, who lives close by. He came and got me and took me home. Of course, in the 10 minutes it took for him to get there, it had stopped raining.

Ahhhh....life in the Tropics.

Hell Week

It wouldn’t be so bad if I didn’t have to TEACH as well. This week, interim grades were due (9 AM today) AND the jazz band performed today for Grandparents Day (also at 9 AM).

I was at school until 11:30 PM last night. Probably will be every night this week!

My "favorite" thing is when people comment "Well, at least you don't have a family to worry about."

Yeah....at least I have THAT going for me. Thanks for reminding me!

Amazing Grace

Found this link in my "inbox". You need to click on it.