O, How Shall Summer's Honey Breath Hold Out?

To say I'm not much of a camper is an understatement. I camp where there are showers. Pools. And room service. My poor boys. This summer they've had to improvise and end up "camping out" in the living room most nights. It can't be comfortable sleeping on that hard floor with it's smelly carpet, but they return night after night with their gear, looking for a campfire and marshmallows to toast. So be it.

They figure it's just part of the long hot days of pools, Minecraft, books, and paint.

We wake up in the morning. We eat. We play. We hit the pool until lunch time. We grub. We clean. We read our books. We eat again (do you see a pattern?) and that's about it. Isn't that what summer is supposed to be, though?

It's extra special because we never ever ever get our Boy Wonder for the summer. He's always whoopin' it up in El Paso with his dad, so this summer I'm letting him "chillax" (as Boo likes to say). I do annoy him from time to time with math work and writing stuff, but that's because 4th Grade is supposed to start at a run and I don't need him forgetting all those multiplication facts we forced into his head last month.

But mostly? We've been lazy. Yay for that.

Next week starts a creative writing summer camp for me at a school in Sugar Land. Unlike my year-long assignment in Cy-Fair, I'm matched with a teacher for the next two weeks and we'll lead a group of 18 soon-to-be third graders through all sorts of creative writing shenanigans.

The teacher, Mrs. K and I, met yesterday. Is it too soon to say that I love her? Maybe, but I do. If there were ever a reason for me to whole-heartedly pursue my emergency teaching certification this year, she might be it. I'm looking forward to our two weeks together and hope the kids have a blast writing their little hearts out.

When there's time (you know, when I'm not putting out student loan, insurance, financial, or work fires....they're endless lately) I've been working on embroidery and mixed media needlepoint projects. It's so much easier for me than counted cross stitch because, well, I'm me. I'm pretty lousy at counting Xs and rows and embroidery lets me sort of sketch my own thing on the fabric and needle and thread away. Hooray!

What are you working on lately?