Life Among The Savages

I don’t understand how people can sign up to do something and then not do it. Oh wait....

Sat, 19 Mar 2011 02:56:55 -0400

I don’t understand how people can sign up to do something and then not do it. Oh wait. Because I end up having to do it. Hey, we don’t need to sign up to be cookie manager. We’ll just leave that for Tempe. We don’t need to sign up for camp certification. We’ll just leave that for Tempe. Nevermind that I ask other people to do these things and say that I can’t do it all. Too bad. And I keep having girls ask me when they will go camping. Lovely. No pressure there.

I had two other people to run the Spring Book Fair with me. They both had sick kids during the week of the book fair. I worked every single day. I did all the reorders. I restocked the drawers. I handled the money. Which, by the way, I can’t get PTO to take off my hands and deposit. And hey, they don’t need to get back to me. Because the only person running under deadlines is me.

And I’m missing those deadlines. I input the incentive order for the troop for the cookie orders on time, but I had a question and the cookie chair undid my input and now it’s past the due date and I can’t do it. I only hope she will fix it. They wouldn’t punish the scouts for the cookie person, would they?

After last year doing the Art Appreciation Night I asked for a co-chair so it wouldn’t be all me. Literally, the volunteers only had to show up for the evening. I had everything purchased, prepped and there. Someone signed up and told me that I had only to tell them what to do and they would do it.

I find out this month that the person is well-intentioned but unreliable. She seems to have forgotten that she signed up as a co-chair and is only planning to show up to volunteer that night. I keep reminding her, but it isn’t getting anywhere. So this will be all me as well. While I am trying to straighten out the cookie mess, get the money out of my house, finish up the credit to the teachers, take the camp training, which I still have to sign up for, plan scout meetings, handle Easter, summer school and basic life.

I’m drowning. I took myself out of art appreciation for next year. I will tell the parents next year that if they don’t sign up for cookie manager there will be no cookie sales, therefore no activities. I will not be doing soup labels, which I haven’t finished any of this year so far. It doesn’t look like I will be doing the spring book fair. I made it quite clear that I don’t want to do it for cash for PTO, just credit for the school. The PTO president won’t let me do a presentation to the PTO to set up a modest budget to cover the costs with the book fair so there will be more credit, because how many books do we need to buy anyhow? They might want to do it for cash. It won’t be me. I’m not rearranging my family’s life for over two weeks for what comes down to the president and the vice-president making decisions on the money. They can do the work. Yes, stuff is voted on by everyone present at a meeting, but it has been made clear to me that they block presentations, much less getting something on the table for voting. Essentially, they control it.

Which will leave me with the troop. Really, if you get the same training manual that I do and I say there is a class that we must take to go camping, look it up! I don’t have time to sign myself up, much less tell you when to do it. I didn’t want to be leader in the first place. I wanted to be co-leader.

Three weeks from now and I will be down to just scouts.

So e

+6 miles 106 miles no change

Mon, 07 Feb 2011 04:16:39 -0500

+6 miles

106 miles

no change

+2 100 miles Day 6 Leave Tom’s house and climb zig-zag path to brow of hill on west side of...

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 12:08:30 -0400

100 miles

Day 6

Leave Tom’s house and climb zig-zag path to brow of hill on west side of Barrow-downs (ca. 9 a.m.). On ponies go up steep slopes and down long limbs. No trees or water. Turn more east than they intend and enter the Barrow-downs, a place of great dread: inhabited by evil Barrow-wights from Angmar (R. Foster)

I haven’t added in any of my miles from Fit Club. Shame on me. It’s easily 20,...

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 11:27:00 -0400

I haven’t added in any of my miles from Fit Club. Shame on me. It’s easily 20, probably more like 30, but I will use the 20 to be on the safe side.

+20

98 miles

Reach Tom Bombadil’s house. Stars are out (ca. 7 p.m.).

I rather like the running. I should try to do a better job of sticking with it. It’s just so hot out!

+1.5 78 miles The Bonfire Glade - clear path beyond. Sunny, but not yet in clearing (ca. 8 a.m.).

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 15:02:25 -0400

+1.5

78 miles

The Bonfire Glade - clear path beyond. Sunny, but not yet in clearing (ca. 8 a.m.).

+1 76.5 miles No change

Fri, 16 Apr 2010 09:39:55 -0400

76.5 miles

No change

+5 miles 75.5 miles Day 4 Enter tunnel under Hedge to reach The Old Forest. Path disappears (ca....

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 00:43:56 -0500

+5 miles

75.5 miles

Day 4 Enter tunnel under Hedge to reach The Old Forest. Path disappears (ca. 7:15 a.m.).

+ 3 miles 70.5 Taking the main road north from the Ferry, Buck Hill is on the left and Buckleberry...

Sat, 16 Jan 2010 22:35:04 -0500

+ 3 miles

70.5

Taking the main road north from the Ferry, Buck Hill is on the left and Buckleberry on the right. They take a lane to the right, and climb up and down into the country.

Finally made it past the ferry.

+ 2.5 67.5 miles No change

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 14:00:51 -0500

+ 2.5

67.5 miles

No change

+ 2.5 65 miles Farmer Maggot’s lane meets the Causeway to Buckleberry Ferry. Ride in...

Thu, 31 Dec 2009 17:00:26 -0500

+ 2.5

65 miles

Farmer Maggot’s lane meets the Causeway to Buckleberry Ferry. Ride in wagon.

Leaving Farmer Maggot’s for Buckleberry Ferry.

+2.5 62.5 miles After a turnip field there is a stout gate to a rutted lane, edged by hedges. I...

Thu, 31 Dec 2009 01:13:09 -0500

+2.5

62.5 miles

After a turnip field there is a stout gate to a rutted lane, edged by hedges.

I am in the fields of Farmer Maggot. A mere 10.5 miles until I reach Crickhollow. I haven’t even left the Shire! Drat these sturdy, fast hobbits.

+ 2 miles 60 miles No change

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 01:06:35 -0500

+ 2 miles 60 miles No change

Holiday Lists

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 19:57:00 -0500

Tempe’s Amazon Wishlist: http://www.amazon.com/wishlist/117WBUTEBYCDG/ref=cm_wl_rlist_go

Rebecca’s Amazon Wishlist: http://www.amazon.com/wishlist/1ZSOLUARGFOXO/ref=cm_wl_rlist_go

Magnus’s Amazon Wishlist: http://www.amazon.com/wishlist/1PJEOZ5MU5QMW/ref=cm_wl_rlist_go

Douglas’s Amazon Wishlist: http://www.amazon.com/wishlist/AF2AWOJWWU5V/ref=cm_wl_rlist_go

Tempe

Something to store puzzles while working on them so kids don’t destroy them

Lord of the Rings stuff

Risk 1959 collector’s edition

Rebecca

~~Super Princess Peach DS game. (it’s at Toys R Us. I can’t find it online.)~~

~~Barbie style salon play set (beauty parlor for barbies)~~

~~Musical instruments. Becca loves to make music.~~

~~Magic AND Science? No way!~~

~~walkie-talkies~~

Mindflex

~~Blokus~~

Qwirkle

~~Rush Hour game~~

Drum set

The boys are mostly interchangeable. They’re interested in the same things for the most part. That said, make sure you put a specific name on the gift.

Batman anything. They have nothing so far. They want both bad guys and good guys as well. Regular Batman toys and Imaginext. Either will work for them.

Magnus

~~Both boys like both of the Imaginext castles. Magnus seemed to home in on this one more than the other.~~

~~Magnus loved the big dinosaur (requires imagination, not batteries).~~

~~This is a game Magnus gets to play periodically on Daddy’s phone. The prospect of playing it anytime on his own DS got him excited.~~

~~He went nuts in the store over the Hulk fists.~~

Daddy admits that this might have been one of those cases where he was projecting his kid-wishlist onto the kids. Read his expression and decide for yourself. Does he want it or is he just trying to please his Dad? It is a yellow sports car.

More DS games!

Clearly we need a new shirt … and a Scooby Doo Wii game.

Ooooh look at that expression. Sonic and the Secret Rings Wii.

Magnus says we need more bad guys. Specifically this one.

Douglas

~~Douglas honed in on this Imaginext castle more than the other but both boys liked both castles.~~

~~Douglas pulled nearly every Batman toy off the shelf and demanded it be added to the list.~~

~~More Batman …~~

~~And more …~~

Clone Wars Wii game.

Douglas wants his own hockey gear.

Everyone

Both boys were diggin the Lego Star Wars kits.

Remember those toys we had when we were kids that you’d put water into then press the button make the water swish around and you’d try to get the rings on the pegs or the balls in the buckets or whatever? They have those again. We think all 3 kids would like these.

~~All 3 of them went nuts in the store with the Nerf Swords.~~

+7 miles 58 miles Reach area of the Marish with fields, meadows, hedges, gates, and drainage dikes.

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 18:50:26 -0500

+7 miles

58 miles

Reach area of the Marish with fields, meadows, hedges, gates, and drainage dikes.

Plus 14 51 miles Day 3 They reach a belt of trees, mostly oaks with a few elms and ash. Drops of...

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 00:56:40 -0400

Plus 14

51 miles

Day 3 They reach a belt of trees, mostly oaks with a few elms and ash. Drops of rain fall.

Plus 12.5 37 miles Day 2. Road splits. Road to Stock bends left and goes down into the...

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 18:14:05 -0400

Plus 12.5

37 miles

Day 2. Road splits. Road to Stock bends left and goes down into the lowlands. They take a lane which branches to the right, winding through a wood of ancient Oaks. Sun down and evening coming on. (ca 6:30 pm) Quite close to the road-meeting they climb inside a huge tree. Eat and rest.

plus 2 24.5 miles same as before

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 15:12:50 -0400

plus 2

24.5 miles same as before

6 more miles 22.5 miles I’ve made it to Day 2 Road rolls up and down. This lasts for 8...

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 22:05:09 -0400

6 more miles

22.5 miles I’ve made it to Day 2

Road rolls up and down.

This lasts for 8 miles so don’t expect much of a change anytime soon.

I'm very slow

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 13:24:51 -0400

16.5 miles Begin to sing. Walk through a deeply cloven track between tall trees.

Events have conspired to keep my progress slow. 2 more miles. 14.5 total Reach Stock Road A...

Sun, 03 May 2009 22:25:18 -0400

Events have conspired to keep my progress slow.

2 more miles.

14.5 total Reach Stock Road

A mere 3.5 miles to get me out of the first day. And it’s only a total of 485 miles from Hobbiton to Rivendell. I should be there in a couple of years.