GRADEGATE KEEPS THE WEEK BUSY

My, my, my it’s been a busy week. I actually have the weekend off (the training manager is off and had a wedding to go to so she, no doubt, didn’t know what to do with me… we both win) and plan on finishing up a few gardening items. We’ve got baby gourd plants coming out of our ears, both of our grape arbors are full of baby grapes, our roses are lovin’ this heat, and we have been completely invaded by mint. I’m thinkin’ the first point of order should be to make some tea out of that mint.

I’ve had the usual crazy Google hits. Even Google, Inc. came by several times. Now, what’s up with that? The searches have been wacky such as: dog-crap-neighbor (Bummer, dude. I guess we’ve all got ‘em.), transition-lenses-refrigerator-upstart (What one has to do with the other is your guess as good as mine.), she-very-beautiful-mule-sandals (oh, those wacky New Delhians), are-Pisces-somewhat-sane (hahahahaha, um, no), french-alien-petroglyh (Merging croissants with Petroglyphs is day-old, if you ask me.), Bichon-cough-throwing-up (Been there; done that.). I did get several icky searches and wanna know what is up with those Pakistani’s and people from Saudi Arabia. Gross.

The really crazy thing is I’m getting lots and lots and lots of searches for this “GradeGate” issue going on with Albuquerque Public Schools. Yes, I’m getting them here versus -> there on my other blog. I’ve had no less than ten hits with “GradeGate” in the text, four with “APS changed grade mother who is she”, and several searches for “teachers drinking while on fieldtrip.” The media is covering this story all over the place. KRQE news seems to have a pretty good assessment. I’m getting tons of hits on the GradeGate post I did on the APS blog and the number of Google searches is astounding. I sense a huge changing coming to Albuquerque Public Schools. I haven’t seen this much traffic on any of the other issues combined. Yowzer. If you actually took the time to click on any of those links, you can see what a big deal this is and how upset people are over the whole debacle.

The boys are doing well although our youngest child’s’ allergies have finally turned into a full-blown summer cold. Poor little guy; he’s miserable and cranky and therefore we are, too. We survive through the art of subtle Gameboy threats.

S entered a photo of Lulu in a contest and she won! Isn’t that cool? We will be receiving packages of doggy treats with her photo on them. Lulu is coming to a store near you-you. Not only is this a testament to S’ talent but it’s also an affirmation that we have one (actually two) adorable dog(s).

I had an espresso con panna last night. I have to say that I actually liked it. Although I still prefer a dry cappuccino (and, yes, I put tons of sugar in it so it’s kind of “Spanish-style”) because I love a good froth. There, I’ve said it: I love a good froth. Makes me think of Devo and “Whip it! Whip it realllllllllll good!”

My pick for a pound of coffee this week is Ethiopian Sidamo. From the Starbucks website: From the birthplace of coffee, Sidamo is highly prized by coffee buyers from around the world. It features a fleeting, floral aroma with a bright yet soft finish and, like the best Sidamo coffees, a wonderful hint of lemon.

It does have a lovely floral aroma and goes really well with lemon pound cake. Coffee tastings are really great. They are brewed in a French Press (my favorite way to brew) and, when paired with the right pastry, I just cannot believe how much flavor you can get out of a cuppa joe.

God bless coffee. It giveths life where there once was sluggdom.

Have a great weekend and I highly suggest you try that Ethiopian Sidamo. Go Bold!