Hi Dear Colleages,

As it is holiday time for most of us teachers in this part of the hemisphere I have decided to "cut back" on the amount of time that I have been spending in ESL. I �do not mean to leave ESL for good but just to refrain from posting too much during the summer break. Well to my amazement I found that in trying to do so, I began to get restless and �very moody when I stopped posting. It was hard not to respond to some posts. This worried me as I soon realized that ESL was causing withdrawal symptoms. �It was no different than getting off of a drug to me. So I have had to take a good look at myself. I would hate to be a "slave" to any forum. It took my hubby to point out to me how many hours I was spending in ESL. It was a ridiculous amount of time and then I had wondered why I was so tired!!!� Now do not get me wrong! �I truly love this forum. I have received so much help here and have made new friends. I have got some wonderful material that I can use in class but I also have become a little lazy in creating my OWN material for use with my students. That annoys me a lot as I always loved doing that. I have now made a promise to myself to try to keep a healthy balance between the two. �Btw...I argued with my hubby and gave to him so many silly excuses in my own defense as to why I needed to be in ESL so much. �But in the end I had to admit that he had a very valid point. I was getting addicted. Have any of you experienced anything like this?

While looking at some of the more recent posts a few thoughts came to mind. We now have (thanks to Victor), got the "Teachers Cafe" in which we are able to discuss things outside the realms of teaching. A place where we can relax and have a bit of a laugh. But is the limit of 30 posts enough? �Maybe Victor will increase it a little more. The reason I ask this is because we still find material on the Message Board which really should (in my opinion) be entered on� the Cafe Board . I think that initially Victor created the Cafe for such posts. �What I am referring to of course are the big Birthday Greeting cards and such stuff that push valuable teaching posts out of Message Board too quickly. I find that a pity. Again I would like other opinions on this. Maybe i am wrong? I could be an "odd-ball"

And finally a very serious thought! I wonder if Victor could possibly give us another section in ESL. It could be called "Veterinary Corner". It could be a special haven for all the cat and dog lovers in the forum. Not all members here are interested in the size, shape or number of� pictures of feline and canine "friends" . So I am sure that those who do like such pictures would be more than pleased to have their own special niche here. Woof -woff Meow -meow.

Would love to hear the views of others. Huggs to all,

Caroline�