dear bethany,

I made giant home-made oreos the other day. Thought of you. Wish you were here.

Love,
Poodle

3 weeks

Only 3 weeks of summer left. I can't say I'm ready for it to end.

But tomorrow I leave for Nashville to spend the weekend playing with Bexie and her kids. And hopefully taking in some good country music.

And then I get to dog-sit for my coworker. He thinks I'm doing him a huge favor, but really I get to spend 5 days playing with his dog, eating his food, and watching his TV (and scooping up a little bit of dog turd along the way). (He thinks I need to be a live-in dog sitter. People around here love their dogs. Fine by me.)

And everybody keep your fingers crossed that I will find a place to live by the 15th. Please, I would rather not sleep in my car.

Right now....

I am wishing summer would move just a little bit slower. I am really enjoying this whole no work and all play thing. Just over a month left.

I am looking forward to a trip to the rodeo this weekend. Nothing beats bull riding, mutton busting, and fair food.

On a more serious note, I am making steps towards buying both a bike and a house. I think the house is a slightly bigger deal than a bike, but both are stressful. I have a hard time with large purchases, in case you didn't know. But if I'm ever going to do a triathlon, I need a bike. And if I'm ever going to feel like a real grown-up, I need a house. (or condo. whatever.)

brother

I have recently been informed that I never talk about my brother. Apparently a few people thought I didn't have one.

I do. I like him.

We were totally partners in crime when we were little. Then I turned into a poodle, and as it turns out, poodles do not make the best partners in crime.

But now he has what might be the cutest child on the planet.

summertime!

Summer is finally here. All I can say is, it's a good thing May went by so fast. Otherwise I would have been royally annoyed by the fact that I was still in school on June 11. As it were, I thought it was still May, and being in school during the month of May is nothing to be annoyed by.

I am already on my summer schedule of staying up until 3 am. I am not, however, sleeping this summer away. Instead, I have all kinds of plans.

I am going to become a better tennis player. I have been practicing for a few weeks with my coworkers after school, and am already light years ahead of where I was before. Which still does not mean that I am particularly good, but I'm getting there.

I am going to read a LOT of books. I've already finished a couple, and started a new one called The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake. So far, so good.

I am going to start a new blog. One all about teaching. It's already started, actually, but is not ready for public viewing. (Don't worry, this one is not going anywhere.)

I will find a new item to grill every week. Today it was strawberry shortcake. It is true that everything tastes better off the grill.

Best of all, I am going to spend as much time as possible out in the sunshine. (Most likely reading books in the sunshine.)

Oh. And I am not going to hate girl's camp. I'm convinced of it.

Dear Bexar,

How am I supposed to be your favorite sister when you never answer your phone?

Love,
Poodle

okay, okay. here i am.

Just in case you were wondering, I am still alive. And doing well, thank you very much. My days are filling up nicely, which means that I will thoroughly enjoy the end of the school year. (Which is coming up in exactly 5 days. Not that I'm counting....)

Weekly routine:
Monday: Tutoring, followed by the latest episode of The Bachelorette and grilling anything and everything that can be grilled. (bananas, pineapple, stuffed peppers, corn, and the list goes on.)

Tuesday: Tennis Tuesday! I am getting SO good. (As long as you're okay with having a flexible definition of "good".)

Wednesday: more tutoring and being Ashley's personal shopper.

Thursday: more tutoring

Friday: take a nap.

dearest may,

No offense, but I don't really remember much about you.

I hope I get along a little better with June.

Regretfully,
Poodle

dear ashley,

your job sucks.

but i still love you.

your favorite sister,

poodle

books. (surprise, surprise)

Now that I am officially done teaching seniors I have all kinds of time on my hands. Which means a book order from Amazon.

I am currently reading The Space Between Us, which is taking me forever. (Mainly because it's not as great as I want it to be. Okay, but not great.)

So I went ahead and ordered Physics of the Impossible (physics that could theoretically explain invisibility cloaks and other such things. awesome.) Ella Minnow Pea (I have no idea what this book is about, but it's been on my amazon wish list for forever) and Let the Great World Spin (I hear it's excellent. I hope it doesn't disappoint.)

Anyone have any other recommendations? It seems I've hit a rut.

good news bad news

Okay, so I have some good news and I have some bad news.

Bad news: I am not going to Singapore, Vietnam, and Indonesia this summer like I had planned.

Good news: I am going go Singapore, Vietnam, and Indonesia next summer! Why? Because I think I can get my school to pay for it. Sometimes they're nice like that.

Bad news: I do not have a summer job.

Good news: I have been tutoring for the past few months, which pays WAY better than summer school does and is tax-free. So don't you worry, I can still afford to go to Italy and Greece this summer. And visit Bexar. And spend a lot of time reading books by the pool.

Bad news: I am out of bad news. Turns out being me is pretty easy these days.

pictures

I finally found my camera cord in a trunk of clothes.

The race ended on the beach at Dana Point. We would have been smiling even if it had ended in a junkyard. We were just happy to see each other.

And Ashley and January made friends with a guy named Johann. He liked us because we filled his water bottle for him so he wouldn't die. What can I say, we are good people.

my pants ARE on fire

You're right. I said I would post pictures, and I have not.

I can't find my camera cord. I'm still looking.

But in the meantime, if you want to read a really depressing book, read The Weight of Heaven. So well written but seriously so depressing. And I rarely find books depressing. Sad, yes. Depressing, no.

If you want to read a really excellent book, read Sold. It's about a girl who is sold into prostitution, so you would think that it would be depressing, but it's not. It is excellent. Love it.

The end.

socal ragnar

For those of you who were wondering, california was lots of fun.

even though our team captain did not like me, ashley was there, so how could i NOT have fun? seriously.

i did very little sleeping, lots of running, and lots of sister time. exactly what i needed out of my weekend.

i will post pictures tomorrow. i promise.

teenagers are funny

In the middle of class last week, (while I was wearing my favorite, very large necklace) one of my students raised his hand:

"Ms. Reed, what would happen if you fell over and couldn't get up because your necklace was too heavy?"

good news, guys

in case you were worried that i might be running out of things to do, i am flying to california next weekend to run ragnar with ashley. luckily my principal thinks running is awesome and will give me a day off of school. sometimes i love him.

born to run

has anyone read it? if not, you should. it'll make you love running.

now, maybe this means that i'm easily swayed, but after reading it all day long saturday (while sitting on my porch basking in the sun) i decided to get up and run 8 miles. it turned out to be the fastest 8 miles i have ever run. (i know because i have the awesome garmin wristwatch. it told me how fast i was. i wanted to hug it.)

then today, after my regular run, i ran 1.5 miles barefoot through the grass. it just might have loved that 1.5 miles more than any other 1.5 miles i've ever run.

now, i know i say this a lot, but this book just might change your life. seriously.

2010 books

As you know, when I turned 29, I made a list of 30 things I wanted to accomplish before I turn 30, including reading at least 30 books this year. Easy.

So far I have read:

1. Into Thin Air

2. Rules of Survival (kind of heartbreaking)

3. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

4. The Girl who Played with Fire

5. I am the Messenger (one of my favorite books EVER)

6. Ender's Game (also one of my favorite books ever)

7. The Maze Runner

8. Eat, Pray, Love (delightful)

9. The Glass Castle (fantastic)

10. Left Behind (surprisingly good, considering it's a "Christian Lit" novel. It's the only book my co-worker has read cover to cover, so I obviously had to read it out of curiosity)

11. The Great Gatsby (again)

12. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet (not as good as I had wanted it to be)

13. Catching Fire? (maybe... I can't remember when I read this one)

up next:

Born to Run. Everybody at work has been talking about it, and I feel left out. Especially since I run. Supposedly this book says it's okay (in fact, preferable) to not spend a lot of money on running shoes, which is awesome because, let's face it, I don't like spending a lot of money on anything.

Utah

Besides the fact that it snowed, Utah was awesome.

I played with Violet every day, securing my spot as favorite aunt. Brandon thinks that she loves me more than she loves him, which might be true. I mean, I don't want to brag or anything, but I am a pretty awesome aunt.

I consumed all-you-can-eat french toast from Magelby's Fresh, had dinner with some old friends, and took a nap pretty much every day.

correction

For those of you who read Ashley's blog, "extremely high grooming standards" is not a downfall.

And yes, having a poodle as your best friend is SO totally worth it.