A Catchall Catch Up

It has been far too long since I have posted. This morning, I took my PPR exam. I think I drove myself nuts on several of the questions, pretty much overthinking them until I was ready to just click on an answer already so I could go home. I finished the 90-question test in about an hour, but made myself mark questions to be reviewed if I had even the slightest doubt as to the correct answer. Then I went back and reviewed the marked questions and made sure I had read each question carefully and selected the best possible answer, sometimes rereading the question four or five times. Generally, this is not how I take tests, but I also sometimes make careless mistakes this way. As there is a lot riding on my score on this test, I felt I owed it to myself and to Jamie to do my best, ergo I took more care.(For those of you not in the know, if I don't get a passing score on the PPR exam, my teaching contract gets revoked. My replacement at my current job has already been hired, so I wouldn't have that job to fall back on, either. Can we say, "Screwedsville?") Oh, and the state won't allow me to retake the test until 60 days have passed - well after the school year has started. Again, big fat mess if it doesn't go well. Do you see why I took more care than usual?

School starts back in session down here Aug. 22. I start in-service training Aug. 9 (provided.... see above). I have already begun getting up at 5:30 every morning in anticipation of my school schedule. Jamie is forced out of bed at 6:30. We follow this schedule on weekends also. The main reason for this is because my neurologist has stated that people who get migraines need to have a schedule and stick to it regardless of holidays or weekends. Since Jamie gets migraines, too, he is being put on a strict schedule, as well. My last day in the school year will be May 26, 2012 (I think), Jamie's last day of school will be after Memorial Day - a fact that has left him none too pleased but tickles me mightily. :-)

We continue to make progress in organizing the house and purging it of outgrown/broken/unneeded stuff. It's amazing how much crap we've accumulated over the years. Of course, we aren't progressing nearly as quickly as I would like us to, but still I guess some progress is better than no progress.