The World According to Leslie

While Tony and I were in town, just chilling out (aka making a list of things Chasity needed before we left Asheville), last week, we rode over to Black Mountain.  I can't wait to go to the Black Mountain Arts Center and some of the shops there. It really is a great little place. We came upon a BBQ place called Phil's Bar-B-Que Pit .  We both like BBQ, so we thought we'd try it. We got a plate of pulled pork, pulled chicken, chips, mac and cheese, and hushpuppies to share.  We both preferred the pork, but it was all delicious. So much so that this past Thursday, when Mom, Dad, and I were in town to pick Chasity up to come home for the weekend, we went there to eat! My parents liked it too!  One really unique thing about this restaurant is that there are stickers on the metal bar where you order your food. There are license plates from just about everywhere on the walls. And...there are hats! There are hats hung on the ceiling.  This isn't remotely close to all of them.

  It's move-in day! I can now say that (well, write that) without tears.  Over the past couple of weeks, I have cried a lot because my baby was leaving for college. Today, we officially moved her in.  Her room is beautiful. Her roommate seems nice; we only got to talk to her for a little while as we moved Chasity in and set her stuff up.  She has already started EmBark Orientation to get used to campus and get ready for the semester!  We drove up to Asheville last night. Our van was a little  packed when we left home.  It took us two hotel carts to get all her stuff up to her room. She's on the 7th floor and has an amazing view of the mountains!  Naturally, we had to make a trip to Wal-Mart for things we forgot. We still forgot masks, even though they have been on the lists the past 3 weeks. Who would have guessed that we'd forget that!  She has her room all set up. She has 4 pillows and 3 blankets (not counting her comforter). One of the blankets is a glow-in-the-dark blan

Junior Gold National Tournament, 2021 Indianapolis, IN In 2019, we went to Detroit, MI, for almost two weeks so that Chasity could compete in the Junior Gold National Championships. She qualified in May of that year, we we took off to Michigan in July.  This year, 2021, we took off on July 8 to Indiana. We drove through a few states to get there. On the way back, we stopped in Kentucky (to see Church Hill Downs) and Pigeon Forge (just because).  On the way to Indiana, we saw a lot of rain, but we saw some beautiful clouds after it.  After one of Chasity's practice sessions, we went to downtown Indianapolis. We found Lucas Oil Stadium where the Indianapolis Colts play. We did not go for a tour, but we did drive around and take a lot of pictures. Chasity took pictures on my phone. I used my camera.  Between her 2nd and 3rd practice sessions, we went to the Indianapolis State Fairgrounds . That place is H.U.G.E! We had to do registration so she could get her badge and bag of goodies. 

This past school year, many (or most) of our classrooms across the country (and the world) sat empty. Students are being required to stay home to work. As the title suggests (Virtual, In-Person, or Hybrid: Oh My!) this is about the options and how I see them. First a little about me. I am a licensed high school English teacher. I hold a Master's degree in Teaching. I have been in the classroom for 5 years, but last year (2019-2020) and this year (2020-2021) I have been at home. Before becoming a teacher, I was a Sign Language interpreter for four years. These years in the education system were NOT consecutive, but, total, I have 9 full time years. I also have about 5-6 years of substitute teaching. I have a year of teaching English at a community college, and I have worked in a daycare as well.   I have been on most sides of the education system. I have been a student, and I still am (master's degree). I have been a teacher, interpreter, and substitute. I have been a parent, bu