OK.... So I know it's been over a
month since I last blogged, and I apologize! There was a rumor going around that the end of the school year took it's toll on me, and I had shriveled up and died. Don't believe it! Here's what
really happened...
As part of our commitment to protect our marriage, Lee and I had decided to purchase an internet filter through a Christian company called CloudCare to put on our home computers. During that time, I created my blog and all was well. A few months ago, our laptop was infected with a virus, and we had to do a complete system reboot. As you can guess, that meant we had to reinstall most of our programs, including CloudCare. The next time I went to blog...the site was blocked! I couldn't believe it. The worst part? I couldn't even override it. We have the system set up so that neither of us knows the password. If we think something has been blocked incorrectly, we have to put in a request for the people at CloudCare to look at the site and make an override decision. (Ok, I guess that's actually a good thing, but not in this case!)
As soon as I found out my blog was blocked, I put in a request for an override. In the meantime, Lee and I were trying to figure out
why it was blocked. We thought that maybe it was because on blogspot.com you can basically go to anyone's blog, and not all of them are appropriate. I tried finding Jackie's blog to see if it would block that too. Nope. It opened fine and I enjoyed catching up on her last few posts. But I still couldn't log on mine.
I came to the conclusion that my blog was blogged because of (*tear*) my name. Yes, my decision to name my blog "
Hooker Texas Ranger" was the reason it was flagged by the filter. I put in a few more requests for it to be overridden; then all I could do was wait. It took over a month, but as of a few days ago, I finally have access once again! (obviously)
So here's what I'm going to do... I'm not going to pressure myself to blog too much about the past month and a half. My memory isn't what it used to be, and now that we're in New York for the summer, there are lots of other exciting things to blog about. I don't want to feel like I have to wait on that stuff until I do the old stuff. So with the disclaimer that this might be all you get, here's what our last couple months have looked like, in short:
- In May we basically finished up the school year. It was a whirlwind those last few weeks - tons of paperwork, checklists, and cleaning to do. It was a little surreal that I had actually made it through my first year of teaching. On my last day, I was basically done with my classroom (everything cleaned and packed into my little closet...hard to believe it all fit in there!), and I had gotten most of the signatures I needed to be "checked out" for the summer. I watched the Big Bang Theory through my projector and helped my department chair do some stuff in her room. The last thing I did was proof sheets (verifying final grades for each student), and then I left. It was a lot more bittersweet than I had expected. I thought I would be
racing out the door to be done, but I was a little sad when I walked
out the door that last time. Luckily, my friend Christina and I went out with a few other coworkers to Papasito's after work as a last hoorah. It was a nice transition into summer, and a good way to say our goodbye's for the summer.
- The Monday after school was over, Becca came over with the kids and we all went to the pool. We had lunch there, then Lee took Caleb back to our apartment for a nap. Becca and I stayed longer with the two older kids. When we were finished and Caleb was up, we went out for ice cream. (The first time since we'd been in Texas! There are practically no ice cream stands there, I guess because it melts too fast?)
- On Tuesday, we had a Lord of the Rings marathon with Helen and Caleb. They came over around 9 in the morning, and we didn't finish until 10 pm. It was a long day, but fun. Helen made us breakfast tacos when they first got to our place, and they were SO good. Then we started the movies. I got a couple shots of what Caleb and Helen were doing most of the time...
Caught!
And both at once!
This is what Caleb's dog, Pepper Ann, did most of the time.
Pepper Ann agreed to play with Caleb to help him get some energy out. She won.
Hotdogs for lunch. I am pretty much a pro at putting on condiments. Thanks, Winner's Circle!
Caleb dropped a Sour Patch Kid behind the couch. We didn't want bugs (duh) so we made him get it. He had to use the broom...haha.
Love him. :)
Male bonding. (Wait, are they playing footsie??)
Who doesn't love a good LOTR marathon!
- On Wednesday we packed for our trip to NY. We left on Thursday, headed to North Carolina to visit my grandmother and her husband. But that's another post...
More to come! For now, I'm signing off. Becca,
no more threats to boycott! ;)
~Hooks
