The ever amazing Eli ...

Just a few things before I hit the hay ...

One, I wanted to share Eli's newest phrase (from where he picked this up, I do not know). He uses it appropriately and his timing is impeccable. It goes like this ...

Me: "Eli, your room is a mess! Pick up your baseball gloves, your movies, your boots ... everything! ... pick them up!"

Eli: "For crying out loud ..."

:)

Secondly, tonight he and I were flipping back and forth between the Braves v. Mets (we won 7 - 3), and the Yankees v. Red Sox (Sox won although A-Rod hit two jacks) games. Eli is very familiar with the two men who call the games for the Braves ... he recognizes their faces immediately ... and he may say at some point "Mommy, that's Chip Caray." No big deal, right? Well ... as I switched from TBS to ESPN tonight for a quick peek at the Yankees at bat, Eli says, "That's John Kruk, mommy." He actually knew that John Kruk was one of the announcers calling the game!

Those of you who do not watch Baseball Tonight ... which is probably all of you reading this, except Will ... do not recognize the name. The amazing element of this story is that John Kruk's face was not showing ... his name was not there on the screen ... and the other announcers never said his name ... Eli recognized his voice. Some may disagree, but I don't find John Kruk's voice as a recognizable voice. He LOOKS very different from others (he's the one who recently did the Jenny Craig diet and stated, "My wife finds me less disgusting now." - use your imagination).

That kid of mine is so cool ...

Okay, I'm going to bed now ... oh wait, one last thing ... this will go into the "awwww, that's so cute" file ...

Eli and I have this favorite phrase ... goes like this ...

Me: "Eli, who loves you more than me?"

Eli: "No one!"

BBQ Weekend

Well, I am officially exhausted. Today I had most of the peer tutors I supervise over to our home for an annual end of year bar-b-que. A few could not attend, but most did (plus a couple of colleagues and my boss!). We had a great time ... grilled smoked pork chops, chicken, hamburgers, hotdogs ... baked potatoes, garlic bread, baked beans ... blackberry cobbler, key lime pie ... Coors Lite and Budweiser! After all the eating most of the tutors decided to transform our picnic table into a Las Vegas poker table!

I didn't play (mainly because I don't know how to play poker!), but I surely enjoyed watching my tutors at play. I am going to miss a few of them so much (4 are graduating in 2 weeks) ... these next 2 weeks are going to be painful.

Ugh.

The BBQ weekend is not over yet ... tomorrow Ron and I are going to ANOTHER bar-b-que. Good friends of ours (and business partners) are celebrating the impending college graduation of the female counterpart of this busy couple. I will try and post some photos from that event this weekend, too.

Red Rock Amphitheater

Of course I had to post some photos of my trip ... I took 142 pics, so some of 'em have GOT to be shared! Enjoy the Red Rock Amphitheater ...

I'm baaaaaaack!!

And boy oh boy, am I glad to be home! Not only did my family miss me (oooh, coming-back-home hugs are the best!), but my students and co-workers did, too. I should leave more often! A dear friend of mine, Dr. Bonnie Woodbery (English prof), wrote a "story" about my absence ... here's an excerpt:

Dateline: April 18, 2007: TU Suffers from Nojen Syndrome

TU Officials late today confirmed that much of the TU student body, staff,and faculty are suffering from the little known Nojen syndrome. The outbreak began on Monday when several students after going to Student SupportServices reported feeling "glum" and "blue." In fact, several students were taken to the ER at Archbold after actually turning blue from over exposure to what we have now confirmed is the worst outbreak of Nojen in the entire southeastern region.

This little known syndrome is caused by the absence of "Jennifer" in the environment. Once gone from the environment, a general malaise, depression,and feeling of low-self esteem besets all the people in the vicinity, in this case the population of TU. When interviewed after suffering so badly from the blues that she had to go to the ER for happy pills, a faculty member, asking to be identified only as "B" reported that this was absolutely the worst case of Nojen that she has experienced in her four years at TU. She also said that several students had simply walked out of classes, eyes glazed over, repeating, "Where is Jennifer?" "Where is Jennifer?" as a sort of mantra. A psychologist on the scene remarked on the low levels of joke e-mail found after testing various subject's computers."With such low levels, few can make it through the day," Dr.D. is reported to have stated.Only those immune from Nojen have remained working on the TU campus.

One such stalwart older gentleman felt that many were simply using Nojen as an excuse to slack off their usual work load. "It's a pity," he said, "that TU has so many who seem to thrive on the odd joke. It's certainly no way to run a business."

Another employee who was planning on leaving simply said that now there was no way she would ever leave TU, not after suffering her worst bout of Nojen ever. She stated that "a day without 'Jennifer' is a day without a laugh, and what afterall is a day then?" Lady, we could not agree more!!

With friends like this ... and the best damn hugs found below the Mason-Dixon line ... I feel purty darn good. Like I said ... I should go out of town more often!!!

I'm leaving on a jet plane ...

... but I know when I'll be back again :)

I leave Saturday morning for Denver, Colorado. I'm headed to the national conference for the NTA (National Tutoring Association). Sounds like a whole lotta fun, eh? Well, if you're an academic specialist/coordinator it actually is. Hard to believe ... this I know.

Anyway, my friend Angela is going with me ... we've arranged for a rental car, printed out an itinerary of sorts ... and we are more than hyped about going. I've had a rough two weeks at work (which is why, Mr. Johnson, I've not posted). We are 3 weeks from graduation and that means ABSOLUTE HELL ... at least for me. One of my four jobs on campus includes monitoring 49 high school kids who are dual-enrolled (taking college classes while still in high school). Ohhhhhh the drama! I know now why I chose NOT to teach K-12. So needless to say, the "kids" have kept me on my toes. Prom is tomorrow night ... and one of my dual-enrolled students (Mindy) brought by her prom dress so I could see it. It is absolutely stunning ... but so is the pricetag = $600. As Eli says, "For crying out loud ..." ... eeeeeee-gad! I remember buying my prom dress off the rack at Sears for $40. Times are-a-changin' ...

Many other things have happened which have kept me from posting ... and I'll get to all of that in due time. For now, enjoy the photos of Rocky Mountain National Park ... and remember that I am gonna be parked on one of these mountains this weekend. Believe me when I say ... "I need this break." Work has loaded me down ... and I need a breather.

Ta ta!!!

J :)