Summertime, Summertime, Sum-Sum-Summertime

Technically, Summer break doesn't begin until tomorrow because this is just a regular Sunday, but in my mind, now that I've got my grades put away (not counting answering student questions about their grades), my Summer has started.

It's weird. I wasn't such a fan of summer break when I was a kid. It meant I had to work more. But now, as a teacher, I love it. It's a time to rejuvenate, which is really necessary. The school year is incredibly intense mentally and emotionally. There simply is no down time. It's just a matter of juggling the fires that need to be put out.

The only bad thing about the summer is that I have to get by with fewer funds. We have our contract hours and then we can get additional overload hours on top of that. If my fast track had had enough students to go, it would be a lot more comfortable. And I always spend more during the summer. Undoubtedly, that's because I have the opportunity. So I have to come up with ways to cut back.

I could go broke buying nothing but dog treats. So, today, I started making my own dog treats. They're made with simple, cheap ingredients. The "cookies" pictured above are my dog treats. They both have peanut butter in them. And the dogs seem to like them equally well. I also like them because I like to have whole wheat around, but I never can use it all. This way, I can have it for myself, but it won't go to waist because I'll put it in the dog biscuits. I won't bore you with the recipe, but if you really want it, just drop me a line, and I'll include it. I've been thinking about giving a biscuit to Ken for a joke. Actually, he might like it. He's very fond of peanut butter, but there is no sugar in these things. I probably shouldn't. He might not think it was too funny.

The dogs got me up early again today. I'm sure we'll gradually make our way to a more slovenly and reasonable waking hour as the summer progresses. But it's given me time to get things done. Besides making cookies...err dog biscuits, I've taken both dogs for a good long walk Each one separately. I doubt I'll ever be able to walk the dogs together. And when I'm done writing here, I have to get that disreputable looking lawn mowed.

And now that it's summer, I'll be able to get back to the diet in earnest, and I'll probably try more than one new recipe a week. I can't wait to get going. :)