SCHOOL'S OUT FOR THE SUMMER!

Birthday Boy
Jonathan...amazingly...has turned 22. What happened? No matter what I say, he keeps getting older! That means I am, too!

Ken grilled some beef for him and I made homemade rolls and a Dr. Pepper Cherry cake. Even Analiese liked it!

Birthday Boy models his new t-shirt

Ooo! Cherry Dr. Pepper cake.

Frenzy!
I open up booking for VIPKid classes two weeks in advance, usually on Saturday evening. The big "frenzy" comes Sunday at 11 p.m., 12 noon in Beijing. I generally don't see who's booked me until Monday morning. This Saturday, I opened the week after Seminary ends...and added weekday mornings to take the place of Seminary. This Monday, I turned on my phone to find...17 bookings for that week! Talk about an explosion! Yet, that wasn't it...by the end of the day, I was at 25 bookings for that week. That was a new record!

Most are new bookings, though a few of my regulars have signed on, too. I knew this would happen. I don't know if things will slow down in summer, the schools have different schedules in different locations, just like here in the USA. I've heard that July and August are more of their summer holidays. We shall see. I would love to keep this up all summer. Momma needs more dental work!

I already have a couple of Voice of VIPKid lessons. Those are where I teach the child songs. It also teaches vocabulary and pronunciation in a more relaxed atmosphere. When the child has finished learning the song (over several lessons), they can go to a special spot on the website, record themselves singing the song, and it becomes a video that they can share with family and friends. I hear it is very popular with the little ones during the summer and holiday breaks. I'm excited to do it... it seems fun!

Each day this week has brought MORE bookings! And not just next week, but also for this weekend. They seem to be coming out of the woodwork. Can they sense my schedule has opened up?

Grubbin'
So we've reached that point in the weather where it's not too cold to plant and not to hot to plant. It's a very short window, so I took advantage of it. The ground is hard, red clay and I rent the house, so I didn't feel like I could should or could put things directly into the ground. Instead, I bought a bunch o' buckets, had Ken poke holes in them, and I planted peppers and tomatoes in them. Big deep buckets, mind, tomato's roots go down deep! It's probably not even enough. Oh well, we do what we can.

The herbs are looking pretty good...the onions and chives look fabulous, and the rosemary isn't far behind them The basil still seems on the fence, the dill is trying, and the cilantro.... Well, I keep praying for the cilantro. It's one herb I use a lot - I WANT it to thrive!

The biggest trick has been getting them in full sun. Tomatoes & peppers love it and can't get enough. My yard's perimeter is lined with some good-sized trees, including the Grand Old Oak (that's it's name). They're kind of in the middle of the yard and get some shade. Oh well. Again.

We had a pretty strong storm come up Saturday morning (I was in the middle of teaching and panicked at the thought of losing power!). The plants all got a good watering and the hail was minimal and small. We came out okay.

Bill of Health
I went to back to the doctor and the allergist this week (same office). I'm starting my second regimen of shots. We're back to injections every other day. Oh joy. But, they work!

Good news from the doctor, though. I had blood work done and things are looking better: cholesterol, liver, etc. I'm supposedly on a severe low - almost no - carbohydrate diet. Yeah, the Carbohydrate Devil gets the irony of the situation! I've not really done great, but have been trying and it showed in my tests! Not perfect, I have to try HARDER now, but at least I've seen some results to keep me going!

Sidebar: I could kind of tell there'd been a little change the other day when I had to keep pulling up my slipping pants while out in the garden!

Class of 2019
We finished our last three lessons early in the week, did our assessment on Thursday, and Friday was auction time! Now, I don't intend to do this auction every again for many reasons, but this has been a tradition in Seminary, I guess. Members of the Branch donate items (slightly used things, etc.) and the kids, who've been earning points in Seminary all year for doing things (prayer, devotional, listening to conference), bid on the stuff.

This year, I had purchased a couple of fast food GCs and another sister donated three Walmart ones. Another sister gave a bunch of movie candy boxes. One sister in the Branch decorates insulated metal cups and usually sells them at craft fairs. She donated two blank ones and said the kids who got them could come to her and have them decorated however they wanted. Cool idea!

After settling down to doughnuts and juice, the kids got crazy.The competition was fierce for the cups, food, and GCs. Knowing it would be that way, I saved those for last.  It was a silly, fun romp and everyone went home with something they wanted.

All good things must come to an end. SIGH. The end of the school/Seminary year is always bittersweet, especially when I have seniors leaving! My seniors had high school graduation on Friday and Seminary graduation on Sunday. Our dynamics will change again come fall; it is the cycle of life.

Three seniors...

Class Valedictorians!

Proud graduates (with English teacher who is also in the Branch)

BTW...at Stake Conference on Sunday, SIX Seminary teachers were released. I was not one of them. Ken laughed at that, calling Seminary my eternal calling. Trust me, I didn't want to be one of them. As it was, a sister who was released was crying...a lot. That would have been me.