Meet my Pups

I've mentioned them before, but here are my two pups: Buffy and Baxter. =) They're a fun pair, even if they do shed a lot. Buffy is the yellow lab mix, and Baxter is the black lab mix. I took that pic of Buffy today when I was trying to get one of my son; she just sat in front of me and posed.

Grading, grading, grading... and listening to Christmas Music

It's that time of semester where you guys are either done or finishing finals... and I'm grading my eyes out! LOL. I'm trying to get everything done so that you guys can have your final grades via Blackboard soon. I must say, though, I'm actually enjoying this. :) While it is work, I love reading what you guys have to say, whether it's in the essays or in the blogs. Look out for my comments. :) I'm glad no one's around right now because I'd look rather silly - I laugh out loud, talk to the screen, and make hand gestures while I'm reading/grading. Yea, I'll be okay. ;)

While I'm grading, my son is sleeping and I'm listening to the Holly channel on the XM radio (via TV). I love this time of the year and I can't wait to really be able to enjoy it. Our house is decorated (mostly thanks to my hubby), our Christmas tree is up, our nativity set is up, our gazillion stuffed Santa Mickey's and parachuting Santa's are up, our stockings are up, and our advent "house" is up. Oh yea, our countdown to Christmas is also up along with an array of light-up musical toys that my son loves to press all at once, leading to a disjointed chorus of Christmas carols.

I also FINALLY got a semi-decent picture of my son by the tree so I can send out Christmas cards. Of course, my son looks rather gaunt since this stomach bug that hit him this week left him some three pounds lighter. He wasn't much in the mood to smile, but I was able to get a cute one out of some fifty-some pics I took. Thank goodness for digital cameras! (Ah, technology). I wanted a pic with Santa (those have been the pics for the last two years), but unfortunately, health and time haven't been on my side.

I'm not complaining though. I have had a wonderful semester thanks to all of you. I wish you all so much luck and success in every aspect of your lives. If you'd like to stay in touch, by all means, please do! And in the manner of Hamlet's ghost: "Adieu, adieu, adieu. Remember me."

Final Topic: ALL CLASSES

How was your semester? What new things did you learn (either in my class or in any other class)? Was there a particularly good or funny moment? Was there a particularly challenging moment? Share your final thoughts in a paragraph.

Deadline for ALL BLOGS

Well guys, it's been fun. The semester is quickly coming to a close. Next week is the last week of classes. By Thursday of next week (12/10), you should have a total of 16 blog posts. Because there has been a lack of posts, commenting has been difficult; therefore, I have shortened the comments requirement to 8 replies. Any posts and/or replies posted AFTER Thurs 12/10 will NOT be considered.

Here is a breakdown of the points assigned:

• Creating and setting up blog = 10 pts
• 8 replies = 1o pts
• 16 posts @ 5 pts each = 80 pts

The total you can earn in the above is 100 pts. HOWEVER, if you go over the 16 posts, you will earn 5 pts extra per post. That translates to extra credit.