I had a great surprise today... a group of my friends have been scheming behind my back for my birthday. I love how people come out of the woodwork to support you when you need it. So I have been told to keep my birthday night open for these secret plans.

Other happenings:

1. The first daffodils have started blooming in my yard. Yea for spring!

2. A student drew this on a quiz this week... You may be asking yourself, "is that a six-legged octopus wearing a robinhood hat and glasses?" Why, yes, yes I think it is. Perhaps the better question is, what happened to its other legs? Tragic octopus table saw accident? Octopus birth defect? Maybe he gave them to the poor octopuses in the Sherwood Forest? And yes, that is the plural of octopus; I just googled it.

3. Two of my best teacher friends who thought they were not coming back next year have since changed their minds ... I'm so excited to get to teach with them both another year. This makes me more optimistic about my next year.