The Deal with Friday Fragments

I'm linking up with Traci at A Star in my Own Universe for Friday Fragments.

* You know what stresses me out? Those comment verification "I'm not a robot" thingies. You know the ones: the ones where you have to click on all of the pictures that have a certain picture. What if I think there are mountains in the background? Am I supposed to click on that? There are 6 pictures and they aren't very big, so what if what I see isn't really what it is? Who came up with this idea, anyway???

* I love Will & Jada (as in Smith), I really, really do. But...when I saw her speech about the Oscars, I thought "she's asking people to segregate themselves." Then, a family member basically said the same thing. She said something to the effect that MLK, Jr. wanted everyone to be treated the same, regardless of their color. As she said, maybe their performance wasn't up to par. I don't know that much about the Oscars, and I certainly don't take much stock in it.

* Speaking of big deals: Why is it such a big deal that a former VP candidate is endorsing a certain person who is running to be a candidate for President? I just don't get it.

* What is the deal with school superintendents "stepping down" and getting a buy-out? A near-by superintendent is  stepping down resigning (let's call it what it is) at the end of the year, and he's going to get paid. Seriously? If someone wants to pay me that kind of money, I'd "step down", too. I think he's been offered a job somewhere else...maybe not in education.

* Looks like it's another snow day for me today. Having a 1-day work-week isn't bad! I've got some things on my to-do list today, so I'm glad to have 1 more day to get it done.

* I'm trying to compartmentalize my life. From Bloglovin' to emails, I'm going to try this and see if I can get some organization in my home life. I'll keep you posted on how that goes!

Want to see what little clips other people are fragging about? Click here to visit Traci and link up.

Friday Fragments

I'm joining Traci at A Star in My Own Universe for Friday Fragments. At least I think I am. I mean, I will if I remember to actually link up! :)

*This was a crazy week, for sure. Work-wise, Monday & Tuesday were "Free days" (days without the kids)...it's almost like a day off! Yep, my job would be great if it weren't for all those kids! (I'm just kidding...I really love my job. I don't know what I'd do if I wasn't a Speech/Language Pathologist.)

* I had something going on every night: Monday was CCW Officers' Meeting, Tuesday was Epiphany Dinner at Church, Wednesday CH & I met some of my siblings and their spouses for dinner. (Sorry...no pictures of any of this.) Thursday I got home and put my pj bottoms and a long sleeved t-shirt on with full intentions of going to bed early. It's almost 9:00 pm and I'm not in bed yet. I'm tired, y'all. 

*Tuesday the daughter of a woman that I went to high school with passed away. She was diagnosed with kidney cancer 14 months ago, right during her senior year in high school. She spent a lot of time at St. Jude's but was able to go to her prom. Wednesday night, there was going to be a vigil at the bridge but it turned into a memorial. I took a couple of quick pictures of "the bridge":

Her mom is an amazing woman: She was quoted in our local paper as saying “Through her illness, I drew my strength from Hannah,” she said. “She was an amazing person... I’m grateful to God that he gave me Hannah for 19 years.”

I didn't personally know Hannah, but the times I saw her, she was smiling. I ran into them going through airport security in November, and she was smiling then. 

* I'm off to bed to watch 1 episode of "Mozart in the Jungle". Just one (they're only 30 minutes long) and then I've gotta get my beauty sleep!

Happy Friday!!!  :)

Another Friday Frags

 WOW! I'm on a roll: 2 Friday Frags in a row! (Although last week I completely forgot to link up!)

 Nothing much happened this week, just the usual. The Small Town had their Christmas Tree Lighting in the park on Tues. It was originally scheduled for last week, but we had a lot of rain at the beginning of the week so it was rescheduled. They really do a good job with it; they have luminaries lighting the sidewalks & 1 of the roads is blocked for the "train rides". I wanted to take some pictures, but Tues. was a Holy Day of Obligation so I went to Mass. Maybe next year. 

 I don't know how  you people who live in warm weather get in the Christmas Spirit. Our temps are supposed to be in the 70's this weekend, and it just doesn't feel like Christmas. Our family get-together is this weekend, so the windows will be open and the little ones will be playing outside.

 Wed. we had our quarterly SLP (Speech Language Pathologist) meeting, followed by our Christmas party at a local restaurant. Our Speech Coordinator printed out Christmas rhymes and taped the answers on the ornaments that we brought in for the ornament swap. It was a great idea! I ended up getting the ornament that the person sitting beside me brought, and she got the one I brought, AND the same ornament as another SLP!

These are my "Speech Besties" (at least the one on the right is 1...after she knows I included this picture she may disown me!):

I told the one on the right to "elongate her neck" (which is what I tell myself these days when I'm in a picture!) and this is what happened! The lady in the middle is my "presenting buddy": we've presented a poster at the national convention and spoke at the state convention in Oct. These are amazing ladies & SLPs!

 Lastly...an impromptu selfie with CH:

 If you've participated in Friday Frags with Mrs. 4444, link up with Traci at A Star in my Own Universe. She's picked up the torch and is trying to get this thing back up off the ground!

Has anything exciting happened in your neck of the woods this week?

Friday Fragments...Back at it Again!

I'm linking up with Traci for Friday Frags & trying very hard not to ignore this blog too much!

 Being the parent of adult children is hard. You can't just kiss the boo-boo and make the hurt go away. It's hard standing back and letting them figure things out for themselves. And, I think I worry more about them now than I did when they were little. At least then I could kind of control things...now it's out of my hands. (Yes, I'm a bit of a control-freak!) I know all of my boys are going to be fine. They've all 3 grown up to be amazing men. 

 Have you started decorating for Christmas? I'm thinking I'll probably start this weekend. I've been thinking about it...does that count?

 My next-door-neighbors returned their Christmas tin and tray over Thanksgiving...along with a couple of packages of pecans. Just in case you don't know what that means: They're ready for their Christmas candy & cookies that I make every year! I keep telling the wife that she doesn't have to return them, but she said she wants to make sure she gets them! I've gotta get my list ready and get supplies. 

 Is is just me, or does it not seem like we should be preparing for Christmas already? Maybe I'm just getting old, but it seems like this past year absolutely flew by. 

Hop over to Traci's and see what's going on in the Frag World!

So Long October Friday Frags

 I don't know about you, but I am SO glad to see October on its way out. I have been swamped with meetings the past couple of weeks. (Mental note: Have my Oct. meetings in Sept. next year.)

 This week has been especially hectic. We had Family Fun Night at 1 of my schools on Tuesday, and tonight is our Fall Festival at the other. I usually wouldn't do go to evening functions if both have it on the same week, but the Fun Night was one of our mandatory nights, and the Fall Festival only comes around once a year. AND, it's a way to make a little bit of money for my room.

 Next week, 2 coworkers & I are presenting at our state conference. This will be my first time presenting, so I'm just a little nervous. I don't expect very many people to be listening to us since the conference is rather small.

 I spent a couple of hours last night making a business card. It was super-easy and rather fun! Here's a sneak peek:

Since I use the same Instagram & Twitter account for personal & business, you now know where to follow me!

 I've lost 9 lbs. so far...without walking. I know it's mostly/all water, and I know it's time to do some walking along with it. I just haven't had time with everything else I feel I need to do (like make business cards!) to pull the treadmill down. Maybe when I do I'll get around to catching up with everybody's blogs!

 Have a fantastic weekend! Don't forget to check out Traci at A Star in my Own Universe to link up with your frags!

Friday Fragments: It's Been a Long Time!

 It's been a long time since I've participated in Friday Fragments (hosted by A Star in My Own Universe), but I have a little bit of free time since it's the end of Fall Break.

 I've been catching up on The Blacklist. I watched it pretty faithfully the first season, but I guess I forgot when it was on last year.

 Speaking of tv shows: there are some OMG! shows this fall: Blindspot and Quantico top the list. 

 Thinking about SC and all the rain they've had this past week. The town where we lived is okay; that area escaped the flooding. 

 I had a doctor's appointment and lab done this week. Time to eat like a grown-up and take better care of myself. Yuck. 

 After running over a wooden pallet in the middle of a highway on Wednesday, I have 4 new wheels & tires. Luckily, the only thing that happened to my car was a bent rim. It made me waste the good part of an afternoon & CH missed a half-day of work. 

 I saw these shirts on Love Denmark Facebook Page the other day. It says it all!

 I'm ready for more fall-like weather! This is my favorite time of the year: cool nights, warm days, colorful leaves. There's just something special about Fall!

Friday Fragments

I'm linking up today with A Star in My Own Universe  for Friday Fragments.

Today is the last day of my summer break.  Boo! Doesn't it seem ironic that our summer break ends in the middle of summer?

I have no idea how this happened:

Photo by Wendy Tittsworth

My cousin posted this on FB. Interesting read. I saw several companies on the list that we do business with on a daily basis. Meet the 39 Companies that Donate Directly to Planned Parenthood.

 Is anybody using Periscope? I had heard of a it a few months ago while listening to The Busted Halo Show, but didn't really look into it. Now it's all the rage among Speech Pathologists that I follow on FB, blogs, and IG. I've mostly been stalking. It just seems that it's taking up quite a bit of time. I guess I need to be more selective about the ones I'm watching. If you're on there, I'm @tnslp29. I was really nervous, but I did a first "scope" yesterday morning:

I was really surprised to see this guy on the Today Show yesterday. He doesn't look anything like I expected him to!

Love that song!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Friday Fragments

Traci at A Star in My Own Universe is the new hostess for Friday Frags. Short, to the point frags...just little remnants that aren't enough for a whole post.

~ Yesterday was a very strange day. It started out at 3:00 a.m. I had set a reminder to call my daddy, but forgot to specify p.m. I'm pretty sure that was what woke me up; then I couldn't go back to sleep. I finally got up around 4:00 and turned on the news to find out this had happened:

(Picture courtesy of WBIR.com)
(If you're really curious and want to read the story, click on the picture.)

If the train had derailed just a fraction of a mile before it did, we would have been evacuated. 5000 people were, though; I think one of my sisters may have been one of them, although the barricades to her neighborhood were lifted around 2:00 in the afternoon. The people who lived right in the area of the derailment/fire didn't go home last night. CSX rented out a hotel for those who didn't have anywhere to go; they also are reimbursing them for a change of clothes, toiletry items, and food.

Then, it rained. Hard. For hours. It turned out to be a beautiful day by mid-afternoon. Very strange indeed.

~ I got my laptop back last night. They cleaned it up, got rid of some viruses & malware that either may have been on before I started using Norton...or Norton didn't catch. They also streamed video for 18 straight hours and it didn't shut down.

The price was right. When he gave me the laptop, I signed the papers & he said I was good to go. I told him I needed to pay, but apparently someone didn't put in any charges. He said that since we had already signed the papers he was going with what was on there. I didn't argue!

~ My last photography class was Wednesday. We didn't get to look over the pictures from the week before due to some issues with the computer. 

~ Thanks to Auburn Chick, I am now hooked on The Paradise. I'm bummed that there are only 2 seasons. I tried watching Mr. Selfridge when it was on PBS, but just couldn't get into it.

~ I'm taking next week off. I do have one post that I will schedule for one day, but that's it. Hope everyone has a wonderful 4th of July!

Fragmented Friday

Weeeell, I was planning on doing a "Friday Fragment" post, but it appears that Mrs. 4444 has decided not to continue this series. Funny, her reasons for not blogging mirror mine!

Nobody has offered to pick the series up, so I'm on my own!

~ There's a lot of controversy over this new logo for the state of Tennessee:

It took somebody 9 months to come up with this, and the state paid $46,000 for it. Honestly???  I'm no graphic designer, but I could've done better than that using Word, I could've done it an hour, and I wouldn't have charged anything for it! The Tennesseean (Nashville newspaper) is conducting a poll: 94% thus far have said they don't like it. They pretty much paid a teacher's yearly salary for this monstrosity.

~ The Small Town High School will open a new high school next month. It's pretty, but...I still don't think it was necessary. {{cough, cough...tuition students...cough, cough}}

~ There has been a change at the swimming pool.  This is what it looked like when the pool first came into being:

(For photo credit, link on the pictures)

This is what it looked like a few weeks ago:

It's so sad to drive by and see "the tower" gone, but apparently the concrete had eroded to the point of not being safe, and it would cost too much to repair. 

~ Orange is the New Black is on Netflix starting today! Yeah, looks like not a lot is going to be accomplished today!

~ I read another book yesterday. This one is actually in the "YA/Middle Grade" genre. The librarian at one of my schools said that that genre was good to read because of the restrictions that are put on those authors. Caught is the 5th book in The Missing series by Margaret Peterson Haddix. When MS was in elementary school, he got hooked on The Magic Tree House series. I sat down one day with one to see what was so fascinating about it, and I ended up not moving until I had finished it. The Missing is along those same lines, just for an older audience. It was actually quite good, once I got into it. Reading the first 4 probably would've helped, but it's not necessary! Now I'm on to the next book!

Hope everyone has an awesome weekend!