note to self...

put in contacts prior to cutting up chilli peppers and onions.

a joke from my brother

A magician was driving down the street, and then he turned into a driveway.

this i know for sure...

If someone is watching a t.v. show on the "play all" option, there is no need for a "previously on.." Who do they have designing these things, anyway?

why do i let this happen?

I stayed up until 5 in the morning last night watching Dexter. I'm ruined for the day! Ruined. Ugh. Damn you, C. Michael Hall, for being so irresistible!

it's awesome

I got a hula-hoop for Christmas from my future bro-in-law. Hula-hoop? Yeah, that's right. Adult sized. My socks are officially rocked off.

starting the day off right

I've decided to start drinking V8 juice. I hate it. I love tomatoes, but I've always hated tomato soup and V8, but it is so darn good for you! Last night I went to the store and I bought spicy V8; it does add some kick to it and so far I've managed to get down a glass with my morning vitamins. V8 will not best me! I will drink the whole bottle!

In related news: I have accepted that cranberry juice is not something I can introduce into my diet. Kidney's be damned.

keep those cookies moist!

Just a reminder to put a piece of bread in with your chocolate chip cookies so they stay nice and moist!

christmas is almost here!

People who buy ornaments for full price are suckers. I say this as someone who's been a sucker all of her adult life. Today, however, that has changed. Today, I went to K-mart to pick up some wrapping paper, and I noticed that all the Christmas stuff was on clearance. In and of itself this is not exciting, but couple that with the fact that my Christmas tree was sitting at my apartment with only a handful of hand-crafted sculpie ornaments, and you have reason to jump for joy. So now my tree, although still without adequate lighting, is very merry with all its ornaments and even has an Angel sitting atop and a tree skirt dressing the bottom. Horray!

my computer is kaput

Here Lies George, the computer. He was a good laptop.

snow day!

I added a link to my friend Pete's website on the side bar. He does website design and he is also the author of Stuporheroes, for those of you who remember reading that. On his site, you can read the Stuporhero archives as well as reach his movie podcast, R-rated popcorn.

a list of things

A list of things that I own that are breaking down at a rate faster than my ability to replace them:

• my computer
• my car
• my phone
• my crockpot
• my hairdryer

Fan-flipin'-tastic.

fall tv, how I miss you...

Shows I would watch if I got any channels:

How I Met Your Mother
Grey's Anatomy
Heroes
Ugly Betty
the Office
My name is Earl
Pushing Daisies

There are probably others, but for the first time in my life I don't know what the new shows are. I ususally have spreadsheets and highlighted schedules. This year I have nothing. I have no television, and am therefore denied access to the world! This sucks. I need a better antenna or cable or something. I can't live like this! I'm not an animal!!!

stop concussing...it's not very ladylike

Last week I bounced off my friend's trampoline. Apparently, I fell and smacked my head on the concrete. I say "apparently" because I still have no memory of the events between, "I wonder how I high I can jump!" and "Fuzzy, this is the third time we've had this conversation. You bounced off my trampoline and hit your head on the concrete. Hard."

I seem to be fine now, but my head still hurts to touch, and I was pretty darn concussed there for a while. It was scary. I think the look of sheer terror on my friend's face scared me enough to knock me back to reality. Unfortunately, that's also when the nausea and pain registered. I must have looked like hell, even the next day, because my kids were SUPER nice to me all day Friday.

I imagine this is how it all went down:



Fortunately, no permanent damage seems to have been done; I'm not even afraid of trampolines because of it (weary, maybe, but not afraid). I just need a net, that's all.

and so i cry a little...

I still have students who think Britain won the Revolutionary War. Some of these students are taking my class (Am. Gov't) and U.S. history at the same time. And yet...

can orthopedic shoes be stylish?

Nurse Ratchett thought so. I just bought two pairs of shoes, and to look at them you would think they binded (bounded?) feet - they are that stylish, but I'll be damned, they are so well cushioned my grandma would wear them.

Other ramblings...

* Intrinsic rewards are for hippies. I'm moving to external rewards to keep my two hell hours on track. I had to give them the "respect" speech today. Not a good day.

*I had a craving for hostess cupcakes. Normally this craving is followed by buying said cupcakes, eating them, and finally, by regret and an upset stomach. Today, however, the "light" box caught my eye, and I took a chance. I'm pretty happy with the results. The light cupcakes are not nearly as sickening as the regular kind.

* One of my friends used to freeze her hostess cupcakes - who was it??? Anyway, I've followed her lead and tomorrow will have me a frozen treat!

*Running through my head today, "Word to your mops." It's for when you want to give a shout out to both your mom and your pops.

*I am in love with this weather!! It is perfect fall weather. Yesterday I would have given anything for a bonfire. Only the smell of fire smoking could have made the day better.

*I used to have spell-check on my google tool bar. What happened to it?

movie podcast

My friend Pete has a movie review podcast, and I thought I'd get the word out. It's pretty entertaining; it's just a couple of guys sitting around talking about the movies they've seen.

You can go to the website, r-ratedpopcorn ,or subscribe from iTunes

my life...

My life has become little more than a pile of papers to grade.

Is there a way I can get around this? Could the kids peer grade everything? Could I just stop assigning work? Think people, how can we make this happen?

update

yes, Panda, it's been a while since I've blogged. I apologize, but I must say I've had a busy month! I just moved to a new part of town (hooray!) and I started my new teaching job (double hooray!). I'll be teaching civics and American government. I could not be happier. This was my first pick (minus the econ part of civics...heh,heh...that should be interesting) of subjects to teach! I also would be happy teaching American History, but after my practicum last fall in an Am. Gov't class, I've really been hoping for this placement. :)

Anyway, sorry for the boring blog post. I leave you with this picture of a red panda in honor of our favorite panda who is moving home soon (triple hooray!).

0 for 3...

My movie outings have not been very successful lately. Tonight I saw The Happening. It just so happens that this movie sucks! It was ridiculously cheesy, but there were also some good laughs to be had (some intentional, others not so much), so it might be worth renting and watching in a group. It is not worth 8 bucks to see it in the theater, however, and there is really no action, so seeing it on "the big screen" should not be a high priority.

I can't wait for the new Batman and James Bond movies to come out. I need to see something Awesome! before I loose my faith in movies.

unicorns do exist!

Read about it here.

worth reading

A friend of mine linked to an article called Two Phrases That Destroyed American Culture. I quite enjoyed the article, and I agree with the author's point whole-heartedly. Enjoy.

the wonders - and pitfalls- of spellcheck

I always misspell "cinnamon," and the spell check never gives me the correct spelling.

• cinneman generates: lineman's, lineman, cinema, Annamarie, and cinemas
• cinamman generates: Chinaman's, Chinaman, Tammany's, Tammany, and commanding
  

I just discovered that if you misspell cinnamon as cinnamen, it will give you the correct word. So, please, misspell your words wisely (apparently I don't).

from ho-hum to ho-ray!

While I was at Walgreen's looking for band-aids to address my battle wound, I came across cinnamon twizzlers! They kind of taste like those giant cinnamon gummy bears. As cinnamon is one of my favorite spices, this makes me exclaim, "horray!"

we can do it! ... think again, rosie. think again

Recently, my car (Orion) has had some trouble. His hubcaps came off, his driver side mirror broke, his check engine light came on, and his headlight burnt out. To combat Orion's demise, a friend of mine has been helping me with my car. Watching him change the oil and work on other things under the hood, saying things like "EGR Valve!" lead me to believe that with a little help from my owner's manual, I could do stuff to fix Orion, too.

Today I put on new hubcaps - whoo-hoo! We'll see how secure they are after I take my car for a spin. After accomplishing that feat, I decided to tackle the burnt out head light. Although I successfully changed the bulbs, I ended up taking a huge hunk out of my finger and breaking what we think is the wiring harness. It looks complicated, and possibly expensive. Wires are involved! I hope Orion (and my bank account) come through this in one piece. Stay tuned for updates on the Orion saga...

**Update** my handy friend fixed the wiring harness by removing something that looked important. My headlight works now and my car didn't explode or implode! From this I learned, if it's broken, break it more! Aces!!

a swing and a miss

A couple of my friends play on a co-ed softball team, and occasionally they ask me to sub in for someone to avoid forfeiting a game. As I am a good friend, I am always happy to oblige. Happy, but not without some trepidation because I haven't played softball in 20 years. Last night was the second time I played for them; I play catcher because that way I don't actually have to catch the ball (I'm required to let the pitched ball bounce). Last night I was happy because I actually threw the ball as far as the pitcher's mound (well, almost).

When it was my turn to bat, I trotted up to the plate. I was feeling pretty good because last game I swung thrice, hitting the ball every time. Last night, however, all my swings were ill-timed and ill-advised. At my second time up to bat, the other team's catcher actually asked me, "Have you ever played softball before?" I was flabbergasted! We're playing on a recreational softball team! I could not believe she asked that. It's fine for me to be self-deprecating about by softball skillz, but the other team? My response: "Not since the 4th grade."

friends, shoes, and good times...

My friend Irene is visiting from Phoenix for the week, and tonight we hit the town! By the end of a night of bowling, bar hopping, and walking the 10 blocks back to my car, our feet were tired. But our shoes? Our shoes still looked fabulous!

indiana jones and the kingdom of the crystal skull

Not worth the price of a movie ticket. So disappointing... on so many levels.

Thoughts after leaving the theater:

• it is overly sentimental and cheesy
  
• animals are used comically - not in a good way, but in a Failure to Launch - eye-roll inducing way
• the premise is ridiculous
• it is predictable

i'm a teacher!... with a job!!!

I've finally completed all the steps necessary to be a certified teacher, and while I'm awaiting approval from the state, that is really a formality at this point (albeit a very important formality). With all my certification classes finished, it seemed the proper thing to do was interview for some teaching positions. So, Thursday I interviewed with a couple of districts, and on Friday I was offered a job!! I feel so lucky to have found a job so quickly. I'm not sure what grade(s) or subject(s) I'll be teaching come August, but I should find out in a few weeks after I sign my contract.

Hooray!!!

baby momma

This probably won't come as a big shock to anyone, but I just thought I'd send out a PSA anyway:

Baby Momma is not a funny movie.

simply delicious

Tonight I had vanilla ice cream and strawberries for dessert. It was delectable, and yet...so simple.

in the home stretch

In less than two weeks I will be finished with my student teaching! Now, I just have to make sure I pass my teacher-test and get a job! Hurray. :)

let me take a moment to say, "I was right!"

For years I have been saying that the law in Law and Order equals the police, and the order equals the lawyers. For years, I have been told I am wrong; I have been told that the police keep the order and the lawyers keep the law. I maintained that the police enforce the law and the lawyers enforce the order to the law. Well, ladies and gentleman, I am right! Yesterday I saw a commercial for Law and Order that identified the police as the law part of law and order. So there! This should be particularly interesting to a particular reader who was on the wrong side of this argument...

how quickly idealism fades...

After grading packets full of summaries, graphic organizers, and poster projects all night, the idea of assigning nothing but multiple choice tests has become very appealing. Creativity and alternate ways of expressing learned information are highly over-rated.

i just

• ate a gigantic bowl of chocolate ice-cream.
• found a copy of my undergrad transcript (that I thought I'd lost).
• applied for some teaching jobs.
• turned on the air conditioner. After the ice cream, this is the best decision I've made all day.
• came to terms with the fact that I do not have a head for lyrics. I had to admit this after hearing (and singing along to) Little Boxes all day only to still mess up the words when I tried to sing it on my own. It's a very short and simple song.
• wondered why a student would ask me if I am "goth." Goth, really?
• realized the bag of papers I have to grade is still in my car...
• brought up my bag of papers and remembered that at the beginning of my stew-tea I promised myself never to bring home papers to grade. So much for that.

Tomorrow is SUPER TUESDAY!

I just went to electoralcompass.com and I scored closest to Obama and furthest from Huckabee. I'm really looking forward to voting tomorrow in my bell-weather state of MO! On a similar note, I got the chance to hear Obama speak last Saturday when he was in town. It was just amazing! He was so inspiring and so hopeful. I really feel that that he can make some positive things happen for this country. I, of course, was also happy to hear his plan to retain teachers and change No Child Left Behind.

Be my Guiding Light

Student teaching is exhausting. I spend most of my time planning lessons (and trying to learn all I can about each lesson so I don't teach misinformation or look like an idiot in front of my students). But the one thing that brings a bright-spot to my day is Guiding Light. There are some pretty good story-lines at the moment, and while they are somewhat botching the romance I'm interested in, I have faith the story will go the way I want it to.

rice crispie treats

Right now I'm munching on a rice crispie treat. It is perfect - not too much marshmallow, not too little. I expect the pan to be empty in a matter of hours, not days.

This stuff's made in New York City??!....get a rope

Last weekend I visited Panda in San Antonio. We mostly just hung out and watched movies, but we also left the house so I could see the sights. I saw the Alamo, walked the River Walk, and ate a breakfast taco or two; I think I took in all that San Antonio had to offer. The churches and missions are really pretty.


As you look at the River Walk, it is hard to imagine the darkness that hovers over you: in every tree top there is a creature waiting for the opportune moment to attack! Birds. This city is filled with hundreds and hundreds of birds, ready to swoop down on you - to eat your chips and salsa, to poo in your hair, to kill you!!! While Panda and I were eating outside on the River Walk, pigeons kept landing on our table and trying to eat our food! It was crazy. Then, at night I walked outside to hear swarms of birds. It was eerie; listen:

Lastly, Panda and I also went to the movies and saw Juno. If you have not seen it, I highly recommend you go do so. It is funny and heartwarming without being sappy. It was one of those movies that just made me happy.

mmm....huckleberries

I am eating a tasty PB and Huckleberry J sandwich right now. Deeeeeelicious!

listen to what i say; it will not be wrong

I spent the last week up at the farm with my folks. As always, I took plenty of tv on dvd to keep me entertained. This is even more important during the winter months when only an insane person would go out side in the blusteringly cold town that houses our family farm than it is in during the warmer (more pleasant) months.

I took with me:
X-Files Season 2
Twin Peaks: the series
Corner Gas Season 2

Despite her best intentions, my mom ended up getting sucked into X-Files. I'm pretty sure she's a Mulder/Scully 'shipper (as all good people are).

Despite his best intentions, my dad is now hooked on Twin Peaks; he actually made me start over from the beginning of the series after seeing about 15 minutes of an episode. We watched 10 episodes, plus the pilot, in 2 days. He now has all sorts of theories about who killed Laura Palmer. He is not going to be happy when the truth comes out!

Finally, it's unanimous: my parents and two sets of aunts and uncles love Corner Gas. They were laughing so hard, and watched a couple of the episodes more than once. They all love Squishy for introducing me (and by extension, them) to this show.