And Saturday morning

Didn't go to Sherman yesterday; was tired, also they promised heavy rain (which we got, and I'm glad I wasn't out driving in). Also, today, even waiting until after New Pony, I will still get there an hour earlier than I could have yesterday.

I need to get chicken breasts and a couple lemons and some cans of water chestnuts (= replacement for celery, which I am allergic to) and some sliced almonds so I can make the chicken salad for Monday night's salad supper. I am happy now to have decided on this. For one thing, I can poach the chicken breasts tomorrow, and then just quickly assemble everything Monday and take it down there to bake while I am in bell choir. It also means a main dish type thing I can eat even if I can't eat anything else (allergies - can't have celery or melon or peanuts or cucumber, and I prefer to avoid raw broccoli and cauliflower because of the digestive challenges they pose)

I graded the first exams in one class yesterday afternoon and I'll just note, without too much detail, that a couple people I perceived as not taking the class seriously will probably need to buckle down after this if they wish to earn an acceptable grade. I am wondering based on the major they are in and their particular gender if maybe there's a little not-taking-me-seriously going on. I know I present as a very traditionally feminine - perhaps even a little kooky-feminine*- with my bright colored dresses and offbeat jewelry and the fact that I tell stories about things like having been terrified of bees as a kid (and that's why I paid attention to the news about the March of the Killer Bees that took place in the 1970s).

And sometimes, the stuff you learn in college isn't JUST the class material, and maybe there are a few people here who need to learn that a woman who maybe LOOKS a little ditsy, actually isn't. (And no, I DON'T have a Judy Holliday voice. God forbid. I sound more like a newscaster or maybe a lowlevel female policy wonk. But still sometimes I DO wonder if there are some people who take me insufficiently seriously)

(*Not QUITE Manic Pixie Dream Girl - I am too old and too organized for that - but maybe something more like "hippie earth mama")

It's funny though. Some students respond very positively to me (often the serious ones, or the incoming freshmen who are a little scared of everything, and sometimes the students who are themselves a little bit outside of the norm for my campus) but some don't. One of the hard lessons of my life is: you can do everything "right" and there will be still people who dislike you for irrational reasons.

But anyway. I can pack those concerns away for a couple days. (People at church love and respect me; they know what I am capable of. And I think a lot of it boils down to just that: when people learn what I am capable of, most of them at least, come to respect me, and the ones that don't, I can only assume are either jealous or don't like the idea of a capable woman. I think that's why the woman at AAUW made such a positive comment - she is the new president and is concerned about it and I told her I had been president years ago and just to call me if she ever needed help)

As much as I complain about "I wish I hadn't positioned myself as the Strong Tough One," really, most of the time it serves me well, and I do have people's respect as a result.  And in some cases, love. I think being willing to help people out rather than being the Distant Expert Who Merely Makes Pronouncements goes a long way towards that. A friend of mine also once told me "you wear your learning lightly," meaning, I presume, I don't beat people over the head with I Am A Ph.D. and I also tend to take the attitude of "I could be wrong" (with things I don't know 100%) or "you may have experience more relevant than mine" (and I even say that in class, and once, one of the more-mature students kind of chuckled and said, "I doubt any of us know more than you" but I have had cases where there were people like vet-techs who had real-world experience and could verify the truth of something I'd just read about, and that's always cool)

But anyway. After finishing grading I decided to make a bit of a Weekend of Self Care - I cleared the Tourmaline polish off my toenails and replaced it with Red Velvet (another Pacifica color and one I really love - a strong bright red with a slightly metallic tone to it). And I did a mud masque because I've been breaking out a bit. (Humidity? Stress? Allergies? Who knows.)

And today, plans are to go to JoAnn's and maybe get a little fabric (because I've told myself it's okay even though I have a lot to begin with, and sometimes i should restart that hexagon quilt, which can use small amounts of random fabrics) or some yarn for more amigurumi (I bought a panda pattern this morning that calls for chunky-weight fluffy white, along with thinner black and white for the legs, ears, and nose), and to go to Ulta even though I don't particularly *need* anything, and to look for the new issues of the Brit-Knit magazines I buy. And to get groceries.

If I'm really ambitious and feel like I have time once I've done all the pre-groceries stuff (have to do them last because spoilage), I MIGHT run to the yarn shop in Sherman, though again I don't need anything.

And likely grab lunch out, as I'll be out over the lunch hour. Probably go to my favorite barbecue place, it's been a while since I've been there.

And tomorrow after church, I don't know. All I know is I have zero meetings and zero places I have to be so I will probably either knit or crochet. Maybe start that new project I was wanting to start....