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Friday, October 30, 2009

Talladega Bound!

By this time tomorrow, I will be somewhere on the road between home and Talladega...well, actually between home and the hotel outside of Atlanta but close enough. It is Dega race weekend and I do love Talladega--not the just the race but the entire experience. It is...an interesting experience to say the least and it is not for everyone. Small children...actually anyone under the age of 18 does not need to attend this particular race. You see things at Dega that the young ones do not need to witness but that's a topic for another blog.

I know some people still think that NASCAR is just a bunch of drunk rednecks especially at Dega and there are some of those people there but most of the fans are just average people. The same people that you see at work or the mall or even church. There is a sense camaraderie among the majority of the race fans. We're all there for a common goal--to see our driver win the race and to have fun while doing it.

I have a feeling that this year's race weekend will be even more interesting and entertaining because it is Halloween. The track seems to be going all out to celebrate the holiday. I have a feeling that I'm going to have a lot to blog about when I return. I'm rather looking forward to that too!

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

TIme Wastin'.

I'm on fall break. I had been counting down to fall break for weeks. This year our fall break is a week shorter than it has been in the past and it is two weeks later than it normally is. Those shortcoming aside, I was so eager for it. I had plans. I had to-do lists. I was going to be productive. What is that saying about the good intentions....

Needless to say I have not followed through on most of those plans. It feels like all I have done is sleep. Granted I have managed to make a sizable dent in the laundry and the roommate cleaned the kitchen. Grocery shopping and bill paying is off the list but other than that...nope.

The pup and I took a nice long nap today. I had a migraine and his mama had taken him to have his nails trimmed--a traumatic experience and one for which he must be sedated. This may have been why he preferred to nap with his auntie instead of staying up with his mama. However, cuddle time with the pup was not on the list. Maybe the list is the problem.

I always have this mental and sometimes physical list of things that I need to do when I have time. A list of things that I just do not have time to do during the work week--between teaching, coaching, grading, cleaning, etc. A list of things that I'll do during fall break, Christmas break, spring break. Maybe I need to just plan on relaxing on breaks and do the chores when I get to them...or maybe I need a cleaning service. Might as well dream:).

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Dust mites are the devil...

I hate dust mites. They are the devil.

I learned this year that I am highly allergic to dust mites. I had never really thought about dust mites before. I knew they were disgusting little vermin but beyond that, I didn't really consider them...until my sister and a friend convinced me to get allergy tested.

When I was a little kid, my allergies weren't that bad; at least, I don't remember them being bad. I played outside all the time and my sister was the queen of the allergies but not me.

However, since college, my allergies have worsened. My college roommate used to tease me that I was allergic to the air. I should have went in for allergy testing then but as a poor college student, I had no health insurance. Plus I hate needles. The thought of being stuck for the scratch test was bad enough but the thought of getting allergy shots...paralyzing.

Even after I became a teacher and had decent health insurance, I was still too chicken to face the shots. Then I just kept getting sick--round after round of bronchitis. A friend who is a nurse practitioner suggested that I be tested for asthma because that would make me more prone to bronchitis. I must admit that I had wondered about.

Yet my seasonal allergies seemed to be the root of most of my problems. If I went off the Clarinex, then I quickly went from feeling yucky to sinus infection to bronchitis. Eventually, I surrendered to the allergy testing.

The stick test made me understand why dogs roll around on their backs on the ground. That's what I wanted to do. I just itched so much that rolling on the carpet really sounded like a good idea. Don't worry; I refrained...barely.

After what seemed like forever, the door opened and I heard, "Wow, you're really allergic to dust mites." Not what you want to hear from your allergy doctor.

So began the rounds of allergy shots and so far I've been a brave little girl. I must admit it's not as bad as I thought it would be.

Unfortunately the dust mite and ragweed serums are reacting a bit too much. At first those two serums were in one injection...then I had a particularly ugly reaction and they decided to split it into two injections. Still having ugly reactions...it sucks. I think the injection site that is a ugly red whelp is the dust mite one. I'll have to call the shot nurse tomorrow to tell her what this one looks like this time. Dr. B will have to come up with another plan.

Sigh, dust mites are the devil.

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Blogging: Take 1

This is my first venture into the wonderful world of blogs, at least as a writer of a blog, so please be kind and patient. I greatly enjoy reading other people's blogs and I like to write. However, as an English teacher, I do not seem to have time to write anything other than writing prompts. How's that for irony?

Lack of time (after all I do have a stack of papers to grade) and a general uneasiness about blogging has prevented me from attempting this before but I kept coming back to the idea. I mean I do preach the value of writing to the children and this relatively new world of blogs allows everyone a chance to be writers. We'll see how this goes.