I think that had my darling husband realized that my innocent visit to South Carolina would lead to my renewed addictions to anime and sci-fi fiction and a severe reduction in his spare time, he might not have been so quick to agree to my little vacation. Then again, he has known me 9 years now, during which he's held my hand and rolled his eyes and tossed me a few verbal barbs about my various obsessions with Robert Downey, Jr., The Matrix, medieval literature, and Mexican culture. And those were just the ones that made the most sense to him. This trip was an adventure for me because it was the first time I have ever ridden on a train (except for the Metro in D.C., but I don't count that). Let's just say that I am now a walking Amtrak commercial. The ride was comfortable. The crew was a delight. The food was better than a school cafeteria. The price was unbeatable. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with my family, and I am still processing each moment as they become part of my ...

When I go to bed tonight, I'm still setting my alarm clock for 5:15 a.m. For one thing, June 2 means no more to the dogs in this house than October 15. For another, just because I'm not driving 24 miles to my classroom, doesn't mean I don't have work to do. No one tells you when you go into teaching that you have no real life from August to June. None. Being gone from 6:20-6:00 each day doesn't leave much time for scrubbing the kitchen sink (sorry Flylady ) or putting away clothes. And let's just stay away from the topic of closet space. Rest assured that I'm not a clean freak or anything (far from it). It's just that I won't be able to cook a full meal or critique Einstein's theory of relativity until I've moved the assorted boxes and crates filled with young adult novels and paper trays to somewhere other than the middle of my guest room. So even though I'm on "vacation", I already have a schedule for the week that includes ti...