Actuarial Club

I get the weekly activity update from a local university, mostly so that I am aware of the different speakers who will be on campus.

This week, I saw a notice to inform me that on Thursday evening the university is organizing an Actuarial Club. Pizza will be served at the first meeting.

Is this what college has come to? Actuarial club meetings on Thursday night? Back when I was in college, Thursday was the party night. But now it's an evening reserved for calculating your risk of heart disease. Can you hook up at an actuarial meeting? What are the odds on that? I figure these folks will know.

Forewarned is Forearmed

I lived in Tennessee for 5 years and it remains my favorite place in the U.S. Quite naturally, my boy has been exposed to my affections for the Volunteer state. He recognizes Smoky, the Tennessee mascot; he knows the words to "Rocky Top", and has generally drunk the pro-Volunteer Koolaid served up by his mama. So we are big fans of the Lady Vols (the winningest team in women's basketball!).

In the championship game of the women's Final Four, the Lady Vols were facing off against the Cardinal (Stan to those of you on a first-name basis). JT wore his new Tennessee t-shirt to school yesterday and discovered that his beloved teacher, Mrs. W, would be rooting for Stan. Troubling.
The boy was allowed to stay up and watch the women's championship game last night (though he did fall asleep for most of the second half). I nudged him awake for the last minute of the game and he watched the victory, then announced, "Take that, Mrs. W" before stumbling to his bed with his blankies.

This morning we will have a discussion about being a sportsmanlike fan. But I suspect that Mrs. W may have a long day.

Free Prayer

I see from their newsletter that the local university is hosting a free prayer day later this week. What a refreshing break from those costly, over-priced prayer vigils. Nice of God and his crew to be listening for free on one day this week.

On a First-Name Basis

JT and I have been watching a whole lot of basketball in the past few weeks. Last night, while watching the Stanford – UConn game, he repeatedly referred to Stanford as Stan. When I asked why, he pointed out that on the ESPN scoreboard, Stanford was identified as Stan, and the boy was just calling it as he saw it.

Adding Injury to Insult

It's a grading day here at Sassafras House and Tiger is unhappy that I won't let him sit on my lap. Since mega-grading days aren't exactly my favorite way to spend Sunday, I can sympathize. But it's difficult to grade while petting a cat, so a cat-on-the-lap ban was issued. Tiger was insulted and after a few minutes of plaintive meowing at my feet, he decided to fight the ban. So he attempted to jump into my lap. When it was clear that the table was in the way of my lap, he grabbed hold of me with his claws.

I screamed, he yeowed, Lucy cleared out. So now I am grading ----- sans the company of cats ---- but with some lovely claw marks on my chest. Grading + cat scratches = not so much fun.

Flor!

I've been reading about flor rugs for a while. Finally, I ordered some samples and then I took the plunge. My new rug is a style called Home Movie, in a color called salsa. It looks great, is made for high traffic areas, is environmentally friendly, was amazingly easy to put together, and it can be easily cleaned. For a woman with two cats and one very messy little boy, this is as close to a miracle as it gets.

Check them out at their website. You'll be impressed by the rugs, though I am honor-bound to point out that you can only get a carpet there. You'll have to supply your own little kid.

Aphrodite Pink

That would be the name of the color my toes are sporting for the first toenail polish of the season.

April 1st

We had ourselves a warm April Fool's Day here in our corner of New Jersey. For most of the day, it was a bit damp (even humid) and then the sky cleared in the afternoon. JT and I hurried home to take advantage of the opportunity to be outside under the blue sky. After the boy conquered all of the bad guys in our yard, we went for a bike ride. During that ride we saw plenty of other kids riding bikes, playing basketball, and hitting some baseballs. It seemed like everyone was outside to turn a face up for the warmth.

And my backyard tree is also turning its branches up to the sun, just starting to bloom.

It seems that Spring has arrived.

Books-a-Plenty

Though I have been watching hours and hours of basketball in the last two weeks, I did manage to read some good books in the past month. The list is decent enough, when you consider that my idea of free time is to bake a batch of cookies while starting the laundry and supervising second grade homework (if second grade had been that hard when I was enrolled in school, there is no way I would have passed). Conveniently, we've reached the half point in the UNC-LSU game. So, with no further ado, here is the list of books I read this past month:

Greg Mortenson & David Oliver Relin: Three Cups of Tea
Lillian Jackson Braun: The Cat Who Had 60 Whiskers
Frances Hodgeson Burnett: The Secret Garden
Miss Read: Farewell to Fairacre
John Mortimer: Rumpole and the Penge Bungalow Murder
Kirby Larson: Hattie Big Sky

As the Quakers would say, Miss Read speaks my mind and I am always charmed by her tales of Fairacre, so I think that was my favorite for the month. But Rumpole was a very close second. They have in common a certain snide tone and their very British-ness. There is no comfort like a good story.

Real Life Conversations with JT: Boys Will Be Boys Edition

The backstory: A loud crashing sound is heard upstairs. Seconds later, the following conversation occurs.

JT: Mama?

Mama: Yeah?

JT: Did you hear that loud crashing sound?

Mama: Yes.

JT: Well, I just want you to know that I am okay.

Mama: Gotcha. Did you want to tell me what made that sound?

JT: Not really.

I always say: no blood, no foul. Some questions might be better left unanswered.