Thank Goodness It's (Almost) Monday!

The best way, I think, to describe the weekend I had is painful.  Pair a 'get 'er done' Mom with an 'I can do it later' son, and throw in a science project, and it's simply inevitable.  My son's work strategy is as follows:

1.  Chug through one step in the process of finishing a science project due on Monday (this may take anywhere from 5-30 minutes).
2.  Breathe a sigh of relief.
3.  Congratulate oneself.
4.  Inform Mom that you're taking a 5-30 minute break, depending on what you think you can get away with.
5.  Indulge oneself in a well-deserved break.
6.  Repeat steps 1-5 about 50 times while Mom seethes with frustration.

My headache has been steadily building since Friday afternoon, and right now it's a colossus.  Luckily, the project was just finished (with just enough time to shower and brush teeth before bed), so I'm hoping the headache will start to subside any time now.

Two highlights:  The Doris Day movie my boys watched with me Friday night (a much-needed break from The Project), which they LOVED...you still got it, Doris! And Secretariat, which we saw at the dollar theater today because Grandma and Grandpa came down to visit.  Really good movie.  I recommend.  It probably would have been even better without the headache.

Said or Not

I was up at my sons' school today to volunteer in the library and I passed the Literacy Coach (whom I just met a couple of weeks ago and who LOVES my new glasses) in the hall. She backtracked when she saw me and handed me a sheet of paper with the words, 'Said is Dead' written out in permanent market beside a two-column list of alternates to the much-used verb 'said'. It was a good list, with lots of interesting words for kids to try out, like whined, 'chuckled', 'exclaimed', etc. When I showed it to my son, he glanced over it and added, 'chimed in', which I thought was awesome.

Being involved (somewhat) in the publishing world, I find it interesting that they are encouraging students to avoid the old 'said' standby. Although I personally am a big fan of these interesting verbal verbs, I have heard it said that they are typically frowned upon and that publishers tend to prefer 'said' as it's relatively transparent to the reader (less jarring but also much less interesting). But I say--rather, I exclaim--jazz up those essays with 'hinted', 'mentioned' and 'wondered', kids! Said has had its day.

Recent signage in the school hall:
'Don't break a heat, buy a Valentine gram.' Is that like breaking a sweat? Kidding.