Note to those of you who subscribe: Sorry about the blooper half-post! Arrived home later than I’d anticipated. Here’s the real thing:

Over a week ago,  I wrote about the necessity of organizing my blog life. Ever-awesome website designer Natalie Jost linked Fictionary, my blog tour/book review/author interview blog, to this site. That smoothed another wrinkle in my needs-to-be-ironed life.

The new line-up will begin Sunday. Like everything else in my life, of course, it’s subject to change. But for now, here’s what it looks like:

Saving Grace Sunday Exploring my relationship as a child of God who sometimes pouts, has temper tantrums, is stuck in the terrible twos, but has the potential for being a truly nice kid.

Maternal Musings Monday Insights and outsights of being a wife of one, mother of five, grandmother of two, sister, aunt, mother-in-law, daughter-in-law, sister-in-law, and that’s it for now.

Naked Teaching Tuesday This title by popular vote, though I may need to change if salacious spam clogs the blog wheels.  My goal here is to be “transparent” as a teacher, which some days may actually mean being trans (as prefix) parent, but most days sharing teacherly things.

Word Game Wednesday Any of you eleven or so people who read my blog on a regular basis are welcome to send in word games!

Think or Thwim Thursday I have no idea what that means…

Fiction on my Fanny Friday The ongoing saga of Christa in Writer Land seeking publication plus writer musings.

Sashay on Saturday I had to find a way to include sashay!  Lagniappe.

Yesterday  I met one of my BTFF (T is for teacher, of course!) Shelley at school because, even though it doesn’t start until next week, we’re getting ready to get ready. She’s a princess in the Nerd Kingdom. It’s her own fault, really. She’s as excited about pens as I am, and our idea of the edge of nirvana is planning a lesson on writing introductions to essays.

Thursday, though, we met so I could help her paint a wall in her classroom. Notice, WE are painting the walls. I’m not sure how many of you corporate types paint the walls in your office because they’re dingy. We teach in modular classrooms. When you link to the site, you’ll see a picture of one. Our classrooms resembled those pictured for about five weeks and two days.  If you imagine our school as a neighborhood, our classrooms would be considered the low rent/subsidized housing area. The actual brick and mortar building houses the high rent district.  The modulars are supported by concrete blocks and are basically squares with three windows and a door.  “Walls” is a terms we use loosely for the plastic pebbled surface that separates us from the outside.  The faux-walls were originally white. Now they’re just gross.

Shelley used a paint that actually transforms the wall into a chalkboard. Very HGTV. We’ll attack my wall later.

I spent the rest of the morning schlepping across campus to carry empty boxes to my room to pack 150 textbooks. Since only six books fit in a book, you do the math. And don’t underestimate the logistics of a 59″ tall person carrying empty book boxes in 200 degree heat.

After packing all the books, I vacuumed the “carpet” (think thick felt, with a design of sorts) with the vacuum I brought from my house so I could use the hose and suck up the two million staples on the floor and all the little creatures in the corners.

Then, I put up temporary blinds because, otherwise, there’s nothing to cover the windows.

Monday and Tuesday I’m going back to dust, rearrange desks, clean the walls, hang up some artsy/motivational stuff, and pray my computer and printer still work.

Isn’t this how every professional prepares for a new year?