THANKS, Matt!!! - You Rock!

So, I have friends. Yeah, really, I do. Honest. Real friends that I can go horseback riding with, and walking with, and can call up if I feel like it (which I don't, because I have a general phone phobia and really HATE talking on the phone, except sometimes to my sister, with whom I can pass an hour or more before I know it, but yeah, she's about the only one I ever call or answer on purpose. No one who REALLY knows me takes it personally - I'm just afraid I sound dumb, or won't be able to carry on any witty reparte, and if you WANT something, ok, call me, but if you just want to pass the time... yeah, I'm not so good with that) SO, anyhoo, I really do have friends. But I don't spend a lot of time with them, because in general, I PREFER solitude, and I'm not a terribly social person. I love to read, and write, and think and just "BE." It's hard to do those things in tandem with someone else. But I also have "blog friends," and sometimes I think those friends are actually better, closer, friends than the people here in my life. No, they are actually just EASIER friends - that's really it, I think. Not better. That's not fair. The expectations are less. That's easier. And we share similar characteristics, or at least with the few blogs I follow regularly, I feel like I have something in common with each person behind the blog. Some more than others, that's true enough, but enough of something important to me to keep me coming back.And, luckily, thankfully, I feel like I have some really good friends in cool places these days. ANYWAY (god, does it take ANYONE longer to get to the point than it does me???) - one of these good friends (thanks, Matt!!!) fed my coffee (cup) addiction, and sent me this awesome, awesome Denver coffee mug. It is now my mug of choice at my desk every morning before classes. I get to slink off into my Rocky Mountain reverie, and think of a good, good friend at the same time, AND stoke up on my favorite hot,caffieinated beverage in a sweet mountainy mug before facing my horde of monsters class of delightful students.

Again, thank you friend.

Along with my coffee, I finished the first book in the Suzanne Collins trilogy, Hunger Games, this morning. (And THAT would be why I have to spend this upcoming weekend correcting a month's worth of ELA papers and noteboks - I am the QUEEN of procrastination, always choosing a good book over correcting papers, until the weekend before report cards are due...)  But it really WAS a good book. Can't wait to dig into the second  and third volumes, except I've heard the third is just so-so.  But it will have to wait a couple of days...

because

"Christmas" came to me at school today, again via my wonderful librarian!  The first four books, out of another pile I asked her to  inter-library loan for me, arrived. This batch is the perfect mix.  The Hundred Dollar Holiday (my distaste for what Christmas is these days, and distaste is putting it mildly, could fill a hundred blog entries in and of itself...and probably will, the closer I get to the dreaded holiday) will hopefully give me some ideas of how to DE-emphasize the commercialism of Christmas in order to allow me to regain some joy in the holiday.  A Writer's Notebook I ordered to get some ideas for how better to have my students use and keep THEIR writing notebooks. Angels in the Wilderness, which I started last evening and will likely finish tonight, is a quick read about a woman hiking alone in the Siera Nevadas who fell and broke both legs, a hip, etc. in a remote, untraveled area, and her unlikely rescue. And last, Sew What! Fleece,  a sewing book with super easy patterns for things like mittens, hats, vests, etc. made out of fleece. It's not awesome, so I'm glad I didn't buy it, but does have a couple quick patterns I will copy and hang on to for future use.  It really does always feel like Christmas to me, the BEST part of Christmas, not the commercialism and grinchy parts, when the librarian dumps a new pile of books on my desk that I am allowed to read, and absorb, and use, but didn't have to purchase.

And tomorrow is a day off, so I can spend it with my hot coffee, new coffee mug, and new books. Ahhhhhhh. THANK you, Matt!  :)