ShenanINGRAMS

The panel discussion went well. I got to hold a microphone. The lady in charge prefaced things with, "These ladies are not experts. They simply want to share what works for their families." The first question came up and none of the other ladies even started, so I took the microphone and said, "I have a microphone. That makes me an expert." Everyone laughed and things went well after that. Sometimes you just need an idiot to make everyone feel better. I don't mind being her on occasion. Both of my girls babysat at the conference and made a whopping $66 EACH! I was impressed. I told them to buy me things and I'd be nicer. They didn't. I guess I'm too nice. I did sell a lot of books and was able to purchase things I need for next year at a significantly reduced price. That always makes a thrifty girl happy. Speaking of thrifty, my friend took me to the German thrift stores. I'm in love. High-end clothing for very little cost. I f...

2 mornings in a row something woke me up at 5am scratching on the rolladen...the German metal blinds that completely block out the sun and roll down outside the window. Well, yesterday during some of my piano kids' lessons, a mom practically yelled, more like exclaimed loudly, "TORI, YOU HAVE A MOUSE." I lifted my feet up like a total girl and got embarrassed at my reaction. I freely admit it. It was instinctual and I can't help that. She said, "NO IT'S OUTSIDE!" It was right outside the door. I went out to hit it with a shoe and it went down the crack, right where I heard the scratching coming from! Today, during some other student's lessons, I saw it again out of the corner of my eye and ran out to get it, but again, it was too quick. The older brother of the girls I was teaching stayed outside a bit to see if he could kill it, but it never came back out. I'm going to buy a mouse trap. It is around 4-5 inches long and dark brown, almost...