Baking...FAIL

I had to give timed writing assessments last week. It is a nice opportunity to see how my kids write on demand. However, grading them all at once is a chore. And it's a chore that I don't always like to do all on one day, the last possible day to get them in the computer. That day was today. I'm up to 31 students in each class, so with my three classes, yup, that's 93 essays. In one day. 

My usual "I have a lot of papers to grade and I don't want to do it right now" method is to clean the house. However, I had some friends over last night for a thirty-one gifts party, so the house was spanking clean. Darn it. And I've done five loads of laundry since Friday. So, what to do to avoid the grading?

Several things as it turned out. I've been debating the whole iPad2 vs Kindle issue for a while, and had already decided on an iPad, so I browsed the Apple store, and looked at all the options and out of curiosity, added things to my cart. Then I ordered it. Yup, engraved (which is free, btw) and all. I was a little surprised at myself actually, I hadn't made a big impulse purchase in a while. 

Then I helped Trent do some research for his reports that are due this week - on James Madison and the Mayflower Compact. Did you know James Madison was the shortest president? Yeah, I learn stuff. 

Then I graded a set of papers about littering.

None of my friends who came over eat Paleo, so I made food for them, with wheat. Which means I couldn't really eat any of the leftover snacks, so I decided to bake. I worked with this recipe for Paleo vanilla cupcakes and added some cinnamon, chopped Hazelnuts, and dried cherries. I played with some of the quantities, and FAILED. I totally decided to use more coconut flour than almond flour, and they are so dry! It didn't work out at all. I finally managed to eat one, in a bowl, with pumpkin butter on top. I also read 75 pages of Looking for Alaska by John Green.

Then I made myself grade a set of papers about littering.

Then I decided to shop on Amazon for some iPad accessories. Cause, you know, you need those! Screen protectors and all that kind of stuff. I also checked on my pampered chef stuff, checked my work email, hung out with my husband, and generally avoided grading papers. I updated my Green BEAN delivery, and tried to do lots of things on the internet. 

Then I finally graded papers. The last set. Done. To comfort myself, I reminded myself that I won't have to do it again until after Christmas! Which is fast approaching...

Additionally, I had tons of things to do last week - like Halloween, seeing John Green, Coaches Night, Soccer party, Trivia Night, and a thirty-one party. So I missed lots of tv this week - and it was USA season openers. Here's my week in tv highlights:

Big Bang Theory - awesome as usual! The New Girl made me laugh so hard, I thought I was going to pee my pants. Bones - David Boreanaz  was wearing a shirt, boxers,and socks! Joey McIntyre was a guest star on Psych, and I still love Nathan Fillion. I mean Castle.