From the dark recesses of a pit known as my desk hutch: This one’s for Tilly

Tilly Bud, you won’t believe this.

Last winter (January maybe?) I found Maltesers in the ethnic foods section for Great Brittan in the huge supermarket in the Big City.  So, I dutifully bought a package because, well, I just had to know what a Malteser of Laughing Housewife fame tasted like.

Now what you really won’t believe is that it made it all the way home (a 90+ minute drive) and into the house unopened.

Even more unbelievable, and down right sacrilegious I’m sure, is that it got put in my candy dish on the top shelf of my desk hutch (out of sight of the spud, who can sniff out candy from a block away) then buried under mail, spud artwork, homework and other flotsam for some 4 or 5 months until today, in cleaning off the desk and hutch, I unearthed the candy dish and rediscovered the existence of said Malteser packet.

Well, never fear.  This time I wasted no time in tearing into the packet and having a taste.  Good.  Very good.  Laced with a highly addictive substance, too.  Very like the Whoppers Malted Milk Balls they sell in the U.S., but not quite so sweet and somehow, lighter, less dense and the chocolate creamier, fudgier and less artificial tasting.  Eating a Malteser is kind of like eating a crispy chocolate cloud.  Eating a Whopper is like eating a chocolate-like substance covered pumice stone.  And, I used to like Whoppers.  But, once you’ve gone Malteser, you will never go Whopper again.

So, one of life’s more delicious mysteries solved.

A big day at the Jones residence

The spud is off for her last day of First Grade.  Uncle Leif was up early to make her bacon and eggs.  She left on time (miracle that!) with flowers for the teacher in hand.  I don’t know precisely what she’s more excited about, finishing the school year or being off to see Daddy for the summer.  Either way, it’s all good.  She’s too young to know yet what her mother is going through today.

Task Mistress Day 51; Task 8 out of 101/1001

8. Get at least a B on all my finals. (5/3/12; 5/11/12)

Mission accomplished!!  Grades are in.  Janie is sporting a 4.0.  There were times where I didn’t think I could do it, but then, I’m tenacious and a perfectionist.  Now we’ll see if it can last when I starts me maths classes…

Well, Sun, is that really you? Hello, Darling! Where have you been?

This is a photo of a sunbathing Colobus Monkey.  I took this photo in March.

One may wonder why I’m sharing a photo of a sunbathing Colobus Monkey with you.  Well, several reasons I suppose.

First, because it’s silly, and my soul felt the need for some silly this morning.

Second, because I wanted some color on my blog.  I know, a black and white monkey on dead grass is not very colorful, but at least there’s something to break up all the text.

Third, I was getting tired of reading my own 101/1001 updates, aren’t you?  I’m almost caught up, so please bear with me.

Fourth, and foremost, because I envy this monkey his ability to just lay back in the sun and chill.  I want to follow his (her?) example.  Unfortunately the weather, my illness, my duties as a mother, and my idiotic need to earn money is putting a serious crimp in my ability to copy cat sunbathing monkeys.  However, my cold is gone, the spud leaves for her dad’s on Friday, I have just two more weeks of work left this summer and, it can’t rain forever.  After all, I don’t live in Seattle.

In anticipation of impending monkey business, I splurged and treated myself to a folding chaise-lounge (unlike the monkey shown, I am not so fond of lying directly in the grass, itchy!).  I can hear it calling me:

“Janie…  Oh, Janie!  Come, unfold me.  Sit on me.  Relax and sip rum punch and read Darcy romances.  Have no cares.  I’m waiting, Janie!”

Oh, Mr. Chaise-Lounge, make a monkey out of me!

So, now you know I have monkey envy don’t go sharing these de-tails on the ‘apevine.

Task Mistress Day 50; Task 9 out of 101/1001

9.  Figure out how to sit for two finals 75 miles apart at the same time on the same day. (4/11/12; 5/1/12)

This turned out to be easier than I thought, as the two finals in question were for Spanish and Anthropology, and being as my Spanish class consisted of just 4 students the teacher let us pick a different date that was preferable to everyone.  So one problem solved, but it turned out to be even less necessary because after we picked the new date for the Spanish final, the teacher announced that she would exempt anyone with an A in the class and perfect attendance from the final.  I didn’t think I was going to be able to make an A this semester, but between my fantastic chicken tacos with mole and an extra credit project I did on double negatives I managed to have a 93.79% which she rounded up to the cut off of 94% for an A.  I thought it was very nice of her to round up, don’t you?

Tuesday Titters: Week 22, skinny dipping

Did you hear the one about the two elephants that came to the bank of a river and couldn’t swim cross?  They only had one pair of trunks between them.

Task Mistress Day 49; Tasks 5 and 6 out of 101/1001

I’m combining these tasks because they relate to pretty much the same thing, my anthropology class.

5.  Read remaining 3 chapters for anthropology class. (4/11/12; 5/7/12)

6.  Refrain from throwing my text book at my anthropology teacher who writes the worst tests known to man and is planning a cumulative final. (4/11/12; 5/8/12)

I was really disappointed with my anthropology class over all.  My professor was very nice, and extremely knowledgeable, but I felt the class was not what it was advertised to be and despite being an accomplished anthropologist my professor was not a great teacher.

Anyway, I got the reading done, which was kind of interesting; the last 3 chapters were about the Homo genus, which is what I was looking forward to in the class.  I just wish it wasn’t crammed into the last 3 weeks.

The final wasn’t too bad, despite being cumulative, and compared to previous tests it was down right easy.  But, then, under student pressure he sent us a study guide which listed all the specific pages he was drawing from for test questions.  So, if you bothered to study those specific pages you, in theory, should have been able to do well.  I think, however, that most students are stupid and didn’t trouble themselves to do even that little bit.  When final grades were posted it was obvious he had to put a healthy curve on the grades.  How do I know?  I scored 117.25%  Even if I got every answer correct, which I know is not the case because I looked up a few questions I was stumped on and got at least one of them wrong, that means there was at least an 18% curve.

*Sigh*

Well, I am glad I controlled my urge to pitch my book at him.  He’s a nice guy really.  Just, he shouldn’t write tests.