Dog day afternoons

(Sorry for the length, but I haven't talked much since my June voice treatment. )
What am I doing for my last few weeks of leisure? (We start official business August 3; students come Aug 7.) I am still enjoying my mornings: sleeping in until 6:30 or so, drinking coffee, watering tomatoes and plants; hanging with Greg, Pele (back to normal, thank goodness), and Tina; and sweating it out at the gym. The weather's been pretty good, actually. We've had just enough rain to keep the grass alive, and the humidity has varied. Last weekend I visited Boog in Meridian. I miss Tracey and Marin, but we were somewhat entertained by cousins Pele and Muzzy. The picture is not good, but you try to capture a rambunctious, large puppy and a somewhat tolerant, middle-aged chihuahua mix on film! Muzzy seemed to think it was her job to keep Pele "down" as she demonstrated multiple times, including once at the dinner table. It was very funny! Greg and I golfed again yesterday, with about the same result. I'm not keeping score, but hit enough decent shots to enjoy it.
The rest of my time has been somewhat consumed with work-related projects. I'm taking advantage of summer vacation to familiarize myself wth the technology I'll be using for our new reading program and for my NBPTS (National Board Certification) work. My mentor, Brandi, has introduced me to many things. I'm using a new blog site for my classroom and grade level teachers. I'm also using Google docs instead of Microsoft. We're using a communication site called Skype, so if anyone wants to instant message let me know! We'll be getting headsets and possibly cameras so we can meet online instead of in person. It's neat, but I have to figure out how to use it effectively - and efficiently. I'm also going through the 300 pages of information that will guide the process of putting together the 4 portfolios. I hope I'm not a basket case this year!

Calm before the storm...

Yum - the first 2 tomaters! It will be a while for the rest, but they are growing like crazy! The picture of the walkway is to show off Doug's wood work; I did the walkway but that wasn't as much trouble, and the flowers are blooming now.

Well, I'm enjoying my final days of leisure. Greg got me on the golf course on the 4th, and we played for almost 7 hours in the hot sun. I loved it! My iron game is much better than when I stopped playing a couple years ago, strangely. I have an itch to continue, but after watching Wimbledon I want to play tennis again, too!

Pele is doing much better. He had a final check up today and all is well. The picture is bad, but he was begging for food on Greg's shoulder - back to normal!

The reason for the title of this blog is that I'm already stressing about school. I attended my first meeting as a candidate for National Board Certification and it scared the daylights out of me. I'm still very excited that I was chosen for the $2600 grant from St. Clair County, but wow is it a lot of work. I'll need lots of prayers! Only 40% of candidates pass everything in the first year, so it could be a long haul. I'm also meeting with the outgoing president of my teacher sorority, Delta Eta, so that I"ll know what to expect this year. I'm not too worried; she'll be VERY helpful. It's sad that it's July 10 and I couldn't sleep last night. I do love my job! Anyway, I hope everyone is having a great summer also!