This and That....

Good morning - I can't believe it's already Thursday. I'm excited about the weekend. I think Gary and I are going to have a date night tomorrow night, so I'm looking forward to that. We're cooking chili Saturday and I hope to plant more veggies, herbs and bulbs around the house on Sunday. The weather better cooperate.

Sooo.....my kid came home with a black eye yesterday. Yes, someone hit the Juicy of Love and Deliciousness. Mommy here flipped out, of course...but I'm glad I dialed it down when I went in to talk to her teacher this morning. Apparently, it did not go down as Paige explained it to us. A little boy did not double up his fist and punch her. This was an accident during P.E. and one of her friends socked her in the eye. There was no malice intended; it just happened. Her teacher is getting the whole story today and sending a note home. Paige has quite an imagination and this story is no exception. While speaking to the teacher about my kid's shiner, we discussed first grade and whether or not I think Paige is ready. Her teacher and I agree that Paige is one smart little kid. What she isn't, though, is mature. She has some self confidence issues and she doesn't think she can do her work on her own. First Grade at St. Joseph is pretty tough. Hell, Paige is already doing addition and subtraction; she reads and spells. She can count to 1000 and count money. She's getting an amazing education. She's surrounded by people who love her and want what's best for her. If an extra year of kindergarten will help boost her confidence and self esteem, I'm all for it. You can't make a kid have self confidence. They have to learn it for themselves. If an extra year will give her that, I'm all for it. Think of the thousands of dollars in therapy it'll save me in 10 years :)

In the future, CASI will make an announcement regarding the Balance Sheet and Income Statement. Since tax returns for charitable organizations are not due until May 15th, the Board will let the membership know that the financial information will be available after that date. It is my understanding that after this year, drafts will no longer be posted in the interim. Everyone will have to wait for the final statement. I think this is a good idea. I think it's important that the Board make this announcement to the cooks up front rather than fielding emails (with a suspicious tone) from cooks wanting to know why the information is not available and why there is hesitation to share it. Perception is everything, folks. And if you aren't up front with information that is the cooks' right to see, then you are going to be perceived as having something to hide. Am I right?

Gary and I are headed to Tyler this weekend to cook at the Elks Lodge. I know Blu Daniels will be busy, but I'm looking forward to visiting with her about RR issues and regional boundaries. I hope we have some time to visit. I'm pretty good at multi-tasking...I can talk and cook chili AND cook beans. Look out Blu - here comes Ellis Co!!! (Kidding, kidding!!)