chicago raindrop

Millennium Park is awesome and gorgeous. While we were there, we stumbled upon a group of about 200 people doing zumba (not pictured). It was amazingly awesome - and free! Chicago is cool. Crowded, but cool.

chairs about town

My cat, Lucy, sitting anywhere but in one of the 300 chairs in this room.

In other news, I will be out of town this weekend, so while my posting will be suspended, hopefully I'll snap some cool photos. I'll post when I get back.

rainy day croquet

Today I tried to take pictures of ordinary objects.

I thought about cropping this a little differently, but kept going back and forth. I'm still not 100% sure I made the right choices, but I cropped it with a little more on the sides than I originally wanted because I've made the mistake in the past of cropping without taking into account the amount of space mats take up and have been screwed when going to frame something.

happy national s'more day!

I did not mean to have two S'more related posts so close together, but it was brought to my attention that today is National S'more Day. How could I let that go with out a word?

yeah, i'll keep him

This is photographic evidence of one of the rare instances in which Cooper is worn out.

summer morning on the farm

sprouts of happiness

While it's no Central Park, St. Louis' City Garden is a bright spot downtown, and a promise of how vibrant and inviting St. Louis could become if we commit to its development.

two guesses as to how i'm spending my saturday night...

Laundry sucks. Here's why:

• The one good thing that can be said for doing laundry might be the fact that while it's washing and drying, you don't have to actually do anything. But you do. You have to wait. You can't leave the house - it might burn down! (that happened to a friend of mine) Sure you can do other things around the house, but you are still at the machine's beck and call. You are its bitch.
• The washer and dryer do not take the same amount of time. It just seems so inefficient. I could wash two loads in the time it takes to dry one, but then I'd have wet piles of laundry hanging around, so there's no point.
  
• The dryer buzzes and you are elated, then you remember you still have to fold/hang the clothes and put them away. Or: dryer buzzes, no elation, decide you'll get laundry at the next commercial break, forget about it, later find all your dry clothes wrinkled and your wet clothes mildewy, curse yourself for not just pressing "pause" on your TiVo, decide to rewash everything because you don't own an iron. This process may or may not repeat.
  
• The dryer is now empty, everything is clean, put away, and your bed sheets smell like linen breeze (or fragrance free in my case), and you think "This was worth it," and you change into your pajamas, dropping the clothes you were wearing into the f'ing laundry basket; it's a viscous cycle.
  

toaster oven s'more

You all know how I feel about s'mores (I love them), but it's been too hot to even consider going camping around here, so I haven't had any all summer. Last night I decided to try to make a s'more in the toaster oven. While better than most people's attempts to make the treat, it still was not perfect, but it did satisfy my craving.

water plants

Last night I went for a nighttime stroll around my neighborhood, and I stopped off at the farmer's market. I know they'd go out of business if it was vacant all the time (which would be bad), but it was really peaceful to be there alone at night.

I really like taking photos at night, but I don't really know how to do it well. They usually are out of focus, and lighting is problematic. I'm still learning how to use my camera, and I'm sure there are better settings I could use to get better shots, but I still need to figure that out. Any pointers?

the lucky duck

if you take my cell phone, you will kill my child!

Last night I had the opportunity to see an advanced screening of the movie 30 Minutes or Less. I get these passes occasionally through a pretty awesome website (gofobo); it's a great way to see movies for free if you are willing to put up with some inconveniences (like arriving at the movie nearly an hour early to ensure your seat). I am willing to put up with minor inconveniences because I love movies, and I am cheap.

Another inconvenience that free moviegoers sometimes have to endure is giving up their cell phones. The studio of the movie makes this decision, and it is a preventative measure against piracy attempts. When faced with this, you have three choices: you can either leave your phone in the car, check it (like a coat check for phones), or decide not to see the movie. Whenever this happens, people grumble. I can understand a little grumbling, especially if you are there alone and you have an hour's sit awaiting you before the movie, but what I can not understand is the sky is falling mentality that the world is going to end if you don't have your cell phone on you for 2 hours; that's insane. But what I cannot stand for is people being rude about it and acting as though saying "no cell phones allowed" is somehow taking away one of their inalienable rights. Last time I checked, the Constitution didn't say anything about cell phones. Unfortunately rudeness abounds, and last night was no different.

I'm in line relinquishing my cell phone, and the woman in front of me becomes irate, yelling at the young phone check girl that, "It is absurd that you are taking people's cellphones when they have children at home with the babysitter. Something could happen!" To which I jumped in and said, "You know, there was a time when we didn't all have cell phones on us all the time." I'd like to think several people said, "YEAH! You tell her!," but really it was only one guy. She stormed off.

Look lady, you are seeing a movie for free. It is your choice to be here, and if you really don't want to turn over your cell phone, go buy a ticket to see one of the other 16 movies playing at this theater. Do not take out your crazy sense of phone entitlement on this poor 19 year old who is just doing her job.

Okay, so here's where all the parents chime in, "But what if there IS an emergency!?! This is crazy! I have to have my cell phone for my KIIIIIDS!" To that I say: hogwash!

It shouldn't surprise you that not so long ago people went places - out to dinner, to a movie, to a play - without cell phones even though they had kids! Egads! How reckless! So, what did people do in these olden times (10 years ago)? Well, they hired reliable and responsible babysitters, and they left the location and phone number to the place they were going, as well as 1 or 2 other emergency contact numbers with that babysitter. If there was an emergency (a REAL emergency), then the babysitter would call 911 and then get a hold of the parents. As hard as this may be to believe, businesses still have phone numbers, and babysitters can still call these numbers in an emergency. This is exactly what your parents did when you were a kid, and somehow you are still alive to disregard the tale.

Look, cellphones are great; I love mine, but the crazed dependence on them is getting out of hand. Everyone needs to chill out and learn to disconnect every once and a while. The world will not end, nothing will explode, and your heart will not stop when you hit the "power off" button on your phone. Try it; I dare you.

sunflower surprise

Yesterday as I headed home from my downtown photo adventure, I was feeling somewhat defeated. Although I did take some pictures that ended up being not terrible (which I'll post at some point), I wasn't really happy with any of them; none of them were of something I loved. And then BAM! sunflowers. Seriously, I was taking a shortcut home, and what do I see but a gorgeous patch of sunflowers. A small patch in someone's yard, but sunflowers just the same. I love sunflowers! Naturally, I stopped the car and promptly trespassed to get some photos. I was really annoyed that sun was behind them, and vowed to go back at another time of day to have some better luck (which I still may do), but I actually kind of like this picture all the same.

missoula path, 2010

This photo makes me happy, so you all get a bonus picture! Missoula Path, 2010

I was looking through old photos that I like to figure out what it was that liked about them, so as to capitalize on that, but I realize it may just be the subject material and not actually that there is anything special about them beyond that. Anyway, this photo is from a path that I spent a lot of time on when I lived (or now visit) Missoula. I would ride my bike on this path to reach tennis courts, or take it to reach the Mountain in the background so I could hike up to the M. So, I'm going to list some of the things I like about it, and I welcome you to tell me what you like about it and/or give me suggestions 0n how it could have been better.

What I like about it:
I tend to like paths, roads, train-tracks, etc, and they are prominent in many of my photos; this may stem from my love of travel, or I just like the lines, or both. Anyway, I like the path, and the idea of where it might lead. I also like the colors; the sky is a beautiful blue, and I love that the shades of green add dimension without being "showy." The benches, streetlamp, and the people on the path gives this place a sense of community and makes it feel alive. So Of course, I feel this way -in part- because of the memories affiliated with this photo; in other words, I'm biased.

Summer Bay Resort

My friend Billy said, "Take pictures of what you love," Well, most of the pictures I've taken and loved have either been taken in the wild or in Missoula, MT (otherwise known as the place wherein my heart lives), but today I could get to neither of those places,so I tried to love downtown St. Louis during a heat-wave. I headed downtown to walk around, and I stumbled upon this:

This photo, admittedly, has problems. I'm not at all experienced at taking photos of urban landscapes, and hopefully I'll get better, but this was just too hilarious for me not to post. "Summer Bay Resort" in downtown St. Louis, um... what? Not surprisingly, it appears to be out of business.

30 day photography challenge

I had the idea that I should post a photo everyday. I am not a professional photographer, but occasionally I do take some pretty cool photos. I definitely need to get better, so I thought this would be a good way to motivate myself to try to take one interesting photo a day.

I decided I needed a theme, and immediately the idea of "Place" popped into my head. I am generally drawn to photos that evoke feelings of time and place (great photos also hint at a deeper story that one has only glimpsed), so it seems natural that I should try to capture that with my own lens. Of course, when I say "place," that could mean a specific place, but it could also just mean a sense of place, so don't look for pictures of landmarks everyday (although there may be landmarks sometimes), and I can only hope that a few of my photos conjure up stories for people as they look at them; we'll see what success I have.

Constructive criticism of the photos is welcome as I am learning, but please keep in mind: I'm learning. I'm not proclaiming that I am a great photographer or that I am a better photographer than you or anyone else. I just like photos, and would like to better be able to express myself through photography in a way that ends up being pleasing to the eye.

I am not going to use PhotoShop or any other kind of photo-manipulation, aside from turning a photo black and white (I'd switch film, but we're in the digital age and I don't have film). Why no manipulations? Well, on Google+ I follow several photographers, and this has caused me to give quite a bit of thought to photo-manipulation lately. Is a photograph really a photograph once it has been manipulated with PhotoShop to get ride of "blemishes" in the landscape or to make colors more vibrant - or different all together? It's artistry, but is is photography? For me, it's no longer true photography. A photograph is a snapshot of time, place, emotions, etc, and as such is raw and truthful. Once manipulated, that truth is gone.

I'm not saying there isn't a time and place for photo manipulation; there is, and those images can be breathtakingly beautiful (or just good fun if you want to make a photo look "retro" for a Facebook post), but they aren't really photographs anymore. Art, potentially, but not photography.

Anyway, those are just some thoughts that have been going through my head lately. You may agree or not, but right now it's my story and I'm sticking to it. Meanwhile, I'm off to take a photo.

beat the heat

It's been so hot in St. Louis lately, so I thought Cooper could use some time at a lake. He loves to swim. I just wish the lakes around my house were as inviting to me as they are to my dog.

warm fuzzy shout-out

Today I stumbled upon a kindred spirit at Warm Fuzzies.

my new obsession

is this guy's photography blog, called Stuck in Customs. I can't get enough. Seriously. Check it out.

i am from poem

I just started my LAST master's class. I took a couple years off (that is to say the class I needed to graduate took a couple of years off), but I'm finally finishing up. Today in class our teacher had us write a poem, and as this was not an English class, I was a little perturbed. But as it turns out, it was actually pretty cool (albeit also a little cheesy), and although I by no means think I'm a poet, I thought I'd share the poem here. She got the idea from Mary Pipher's I Am From, and modified it a bit. Anyway, it was kind of cool, and I might actually try something like this with my kids as we embark on our immigration unit. Here is my I Am From poem:

I Am From (as inspired by Mary Pipher)

I Am From Tim, Jackie, Ester, Andy, Mildred, and Leo

I Am From Ireland, Germany, and the farmland of Illinois

I Am From Grandma G----'s rolls, lasagna, sweet corn, the perfect s'more, pizza, Dr. Pepper, Chinese take out, mashed potatoes & roast.

I Am From trust that everyone is doing their best; see the world, but always come home; people in hell want ice water, but they don't get it; tell the truth; catch ‘em doing something good, and we love you.

I Am From Christmas mornings, Easter egg hunts, and all the Sundays in between.

I Am From teachers, farmers, and small business owners

I Am From the Monster at the End of this Book, the Princess Bride, 500, Le Mutt, movies during thunderstorms, playing Tetrus until my eyes water, and Free to Be You and Me.

I Am From hikes through the mountains; treks through the cities; I can’t believe we ended up at the beach, and mom told us not to pack a swimsuit; songs sung on road trips; and wait, wasn't that our exit?

I Am From the Pride and Prejudice, Ishmael, and the Delicacy and Strength of Lace.

I am me and those before me.

website plug

check out my friend's blog. He has some cool artwork and stuff.

netflix instant!

I lived in darkness, but now there is light.

Percy Jackson V Clash

I saw both Percy Jackson and the Lightning Bolt Thief and Clash of the Titans, and I prefer the kids' movie. Although there were flaws with Percy Jackson, I was highly entertained throughout the movie and would happily watch it again. Clash left me totally underwhelmed, and I can't recommend anyone pay full price to see it.

The two movies are the same basic story of Perseus' heroic quest, and the movies both hit the highlights of the Greek myth. Percy Jackson, however, is set in modern times, and I guess this is one of the reasons why I like it more. I love the idea of the Greek Gods being real, but forgotten.

One big difference in the movies is that in Percy Jackson, Percy (Perseus) is said to be the son of Posiedon. Now, this makes for some pretty awesome abilities of Percy's, thereby giving us some pretty awesome fight scenes using water, but the problem is that according to Greek mythology Perseus is Zeus' son. I'm not sure why they made this switch, and I'm not sure I completely care. It just seems an unnecessary choice.

can it be done?

My to-do list:

• dishes
• mop floors
• laundry
• grade tests
• grade late binders
  
• lesson plans
• baby blanket
• walk Cooper
• work out
• make dinner
• pick up baby stuff from Beth
• pick up dog stuff from Laura
• buy pet shampoo
• bathe Cooper
• change cat litter

sherlock holmes

I saw it. I liked it. I recommend it.

adventures in leash training

So Cooper is a really well behaved dog. He knows several commands, such as "leave it, stay, come and off." He can also play fetch. What he cannot do is walk on a leash. This is problematic because he is extremely strong. So today we started leash training. I used the "180 technique."

The 180 Technique goes like this: you walk with your dog, if he pulls on the leash, you turn around an walk the other direction. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat...

It took us over an hour to go approximately 2 blocks, but he is improving. Sadly, whenever I praise him for doing a good job, he gets excited and starts to run, and in turn pulls on the leash (oy!). It was frustrating, but Cooper began to get the hang of it by the end of the walk. Tomorrow I'm going to play fetch with him prior to the walk, so he is already a little tuckered out when we start.

I got a dog!

Today I adopted a dog. He is a lab/golden retriever mix, but is all black. He is 14 months old, and is already really well trained & a gentle, sweet dog. He and Lucy got along instantly(bonus!). :) YAY! His birthday is October 26, 2008, and I'm hoping his name will soon be Cooper (his previous owners called him "Man-doggie.")

movie recommendations

I've rented a few good movies lately, and most of them have been pretty good. I recommend these:

• The Nanny Diaries (this seems to be one of the few movies in which I don't hate Scarlett Johnasson's character/face)
• Slumedog Millionaire - awesome
• Sunshine Cleaning - funny and sweet
• Star Trek

At the theater, I recommend:

• Avatar - epic, and way way way better than I expected
• Up in the Air - funny and interestibg. I loved it, and not just because it was shot in STL & my friend was in it for a split second.

heating pads are wonderful

My back recently went out, and I attribute my ability to walk, bend, stretch, and lift entirely to the heating pad.

Need a heating pad on the go? I used Wal-green's heat pads and they worked wonders! They stayed warm long past the 8 hour mark.

score!

Hercules: The Legendary Journeys was at my local used record store for only 15 buckaroos. Jealous? It's okay, you can admit to it.

best movies of summer 2009

I do a movie podcast each week, and as a result, I see a lot of movies. It's awesome. This summer has been exceptionally great for movies. Below is a list (in no order) of 5 of the best movies I saw this season; there were many great movies, and there were probably other movies that would be on this list if only I'd seen them (it seems even 1 movie a week is not enough!).

Star Trek
Inglorious Bastards
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
The Hangover
Julie & Julia

Also of note...17 Again. It's better than you think it is. So is Bandslam.

also worthy of note

advent - a good word, and not just for the holidays

social networking has rotted my brain

Right now I am watching a fantastic movie. Correction: right now I have a fantastic movie playing while I hit "refresh" on my e-mail and facebook pages.

This has become increasingly problematic. I used to be able to give a t.v. show or movie my complete, undivided attention; in fact, I used to demand that I do so. But since the advent of myspace, facebook, and wireless internet on my laptop, I find that I cannot tear myself from the computer. And I don't even particularly like the computer. What's worse is that I'm not doing anything productive. Nothing at all. I'm literally hitting refresh to see if someone has uploaded a new picture or taken the latest arrested development quiz. As a result, I miss out on good storytelling, waste my time, and generally feel "ugh" at the end of the night. It's a problem.
To combat this, I'm limiting my Internet usage. Beginning tomorrow, I'm allowing myself 1 hour internet (non-school related) time a day. I will allow social networking to cut into my enjoyment of television no more!

true story

I have a kid in my class who looks exactly like The Greatest American Hero.

a pleasent suprise

I have not had Hardee's (known as Carl's Jr in other parts of the country) in about 15 years, but yesterday I was out and about, and it was the nearest fast food joint around, so I got myself a burger and fries. It was delicious. It was also so big that I couldn't finish it. While I'm not a huge burger fan, I've got to tell you, I would eat this again. And again. If you are going to go fast-food for a burger, there can be no other option.

This blog brought to you by "Food Fridays, albeit a day early"

books: new low

I can't even get through Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility. It is boring. I've moved on to Persuasion, and already things are looking up.

This blog post brought to you by "Belated Wordy Wednesdays"

top 20 shows (of my time)

It's hard to rank sitcoms and dramas together...the criteria for judging them is a bit different, so I made two top ten lists. They are not perfect, but here they are:

Top Ten Sitcoms:

10. Corner Gas
9. Ellen (also called These Friends of Mine)
8. Family Ties
7. The Office
6. Scrubs (season 1-4)
5.How I met Your Mother
4. The Simpsons
3. Sienfeld
2. The Golden Girls
1. Soap

** edited because I can't count, and had 12 sitcoms not 10. And because of the omission of the G-girls, which I thought I put in my list.
(removed: Sports Night, Two Guys and a Girl, and Malcolm in the Middle...that last one was particularly hard to remove from the list.)**

Top Ten Drama/Action

10.Lois & Clark: The Adventures of Superman
9. Veronica Mars (especially season 1, which is sheer perfection...television at its best)
8. Dexter
7. The Wire
6. Picket Fences
5. La Femme Nikita
4. The X-Files
3. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
2. West Wing
1. Twin Peaks

This blog post brought to you by "T.V. Tuesdays"

excitment!

I'm seeing Harry Potter tomorrow! I can not wait!

This blog post brought to you by, "I forgot to blog yesterday on Movie Mondays"

i guess this is why i get paid the big bucks. oh wait...

planning is fun.
organizing is fun.
organizing my lesson plans for the entire year for two classes is a bit overwhelming.

I know I will be happy when it is all done, but man oh man! a lot must happen before that time comes.

This blogpost brought to you by "Fiesty Fridays"

Haiku

Diet Cherry Coke
Refreshingly smooth you are
I can't get enough

This blogpost brought to you by "Thirsty Thursdays"

The power of construction paper

Construction paper will trick almost any student into doing work. Only the most dedicated slacker can resist its call. I love construction paper.

books: high and low

My favorite Jane Austin book to date: Pride and Prejudice

• I just reread it for the 3rd or 4th time. Just as the first time I read it, too much did I care about the fate of Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy to be tempted to do anything in my spare time but devour the book. I love this book and the Colin Firth BBC miniseries version of it. Both are sheer perfection.

My least favorite Jane Austin book to date: Mansfield Park

• It's fine, but it doesn't captivate me the way some of her other stories do. The main character is meek and ultimately falls in love with her first cousin, which might be overlooked if she hadn't also been raised practically as the sister of this first cousin. That, however, I could get over if I felt a sense of true love between them, but I did not. Additionally, the other characters were not very likable either, and I found that I had no one to root for. That said, I found the book interesting enough to finish, but one I will likely never pick up again.

Confession: these are the only two Jane Austin books I've read. I just started Emma. I love the movie, so we'll see if I love the book. Already I enjoy it more than Mansfield Park.

This blog post brought to you by "Wordy Wednesdays"

website plug

I really like the site Livestrong.com On it you can track all the foods you eat & exercise you do while it calculates your calories and all other nutritional information. If you become a paid member, they'll even make a nutritional label for you. I'm not a paid member, and the site still suits me fine, for I already know I'm made of sugar, spice, and everything nice.

new shows during rerun season

Oh how I love you. You are the only thing keeping my Tivo alive in these horrid summer months. Here' s my take a on a couple of shows:

Mental - this show is about the patients and doctors in a psychiatric hospital. Basically, a cute eccentric doctor becomes head of this psychiatric hospital and shakes things up. He humanizes the patents where others tend to think of them as lab specimens. Of course not all the old doctors act like that, some of them are just stuck in their conventional ways. So far, I kind of like this show. With each episode we learn a little more about the doctor and his sister, who - suffering from a mental illness (schizophrenia?) - is living on the streets, but calls into her brother every so often. He is desperately trying to find her. Anyway, it's not the best, but it has potential. I think I would watch it even if there were something else on.
Stars: lots of people, but you know Annabella Sciora. The main guy is played by Chris Vance. (Airs Fridays at 9/8C)

The Philanthropist - this show is about this rich dude who had a bit of a breakdown in the first episode after witnessing a horrible flood in Nigeria wherein he and a little boy (and surely many other people) almost died. He now tries to do good works. I assume (if other episodes are like the first) that he often faces challenges to be overcome, and he does so in a mildly amusing and heartfelt manner. Oh, and he had a son who died, so that adds to the drama. I've only seen the first episode, and although it stars James Purfoy (Marc Anotny from Rome) , Michael K Williams (Omar from the Wire) , my attention could not adequately be held, and I started doing laundry and cleaning the kitchen while it was on. Not a good sign as I can sit through most shows, and I am loath to ever do laundry.
Also stars: Neve Campbell and Jesse L. Green (Airs Wednesdays at 10/9C)

This blog post brought to you by "TV Tuesdays"

cutest new feature ever!

I added a new feature: the Daily Puppy. Check it out, it will make you go, "awwww! that is so cute!" And then you will explode because brains are not meant to process so much cuteness.

movies: high and low

My favorite Clive Owen movie to date is "Shoot 'Em Up"
My least favorite Clive Owen movie to date is "Closer."This blog post has been brought to you by "Movie Mondays"

salsa

I love salsa. I love both chunky salsa and salsa that is less chunky. Salsa is good.

A few weeks ago, I visited my friend Frog (not to be confused with my other friends froggy or fishfrog) and she made salsa right in front of my eyes! It was wonderful and delicious! This is a fresh chunky salsa, with not much of a tomato base (in case that is what you prefer). It was a hit, and between Frog, Mr. Frog, Tadpole and me, the whole batch was gone by the end of the night.

Super simple, here's how you make it:

Cut up peppers (red, green, orange, yellow, whatever)
Cut up tomatoes
Cut up a jalapeno pepper (use as much as desired)
Cut up onion (I used green onions, Frog did not use any)
Chop up cilantro
Squeeze a lime's worth of lime juice into the bowl
Mix it all up with a tablespoon or two of sugar

Best if left to sit over night, but can be served right away.

You may have noticed that beyond the sugar and lime, I don't give any hard and fast rules over the amount of each ingredient. Sorry, folks, it's an eyeball it kind of thing. Don't let that scare you. Let that free you!

Hint: to make it less runny (from the juices), you can strain the salsa - or at least the tomatoes - before putting in the lime juice.

oh the irony...

Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia
is the fear of long words

soap survey

soap opera fans, check out this survey. Data is being collected to study soap opera viewing habits.

one of the few short stories i love

John Cheever's Enormous Radio

staying toasty warm while eating my words

I recently gave panda a lot of trouble for ordering Snuggies: then blankets with sleeves off the t.v. I hereby rescind my previous statements against Snuggies. I was blinded. I was mistaken. I was a fool.

Snuggies are the best things ever. Everyone should have one!

i *heart* scott jagow

If you listen to NPR in the morning, you've no doubt heard the host of Marketplace, Scott Jagow. If you don't know of him, you should. I love him. He did something no one has been able to do, make me pay attention to economics. I actually looked forward to hearing him each day on my way into work. Sadly, he is no longer the host, but he does have a blog on the Marketplace site (see his link under "fellow passengers on the blogwagon") and a weekly podcast. I would recommend the podcast so you can so your ears can be delighted by the sound of his voice.

i could take it no more

Yesterday I heard "Running Down a dream" by Tom Petty on my "oldies" station. I could idly stand by no more.

For years, this station has been an "oldies" station, with music primarily from the 50's and 60's. Now, when I turn to ###.#, I hear the same stuff I hear on all the other stations in [city name]. There is nothing that sets you apart, and you have left void a niche that you alone have filled in the [city name] area. As someone who loves oldies, this is severely disappointing, and I think that the change in your music selection is a mistake that will cost you listeners. I hope you will reconsider the change you've made and go back to doing what you do best: playing great songs from the 50's and 60's.

pickles. really?

how this singelton is spending her valentine's day

1. clean my cat's cat cove
2. lunch with a friend
3. plan my spring break trip (yay!)
4. pay bills
5. rethink my spring break trip and come up with an itinerary that fits my tiny budget
6. go grocery shopping
7. see if Dexter season 3 is out and purchase it with gift card
8. purchase Supernatural season 3
9. clean my apartment
10. make dinner and watch Supernatural

Happy Valentine's Day!

has boredom hit an all new level?

Sunday I was watching a show I'd seen a million times on T.V., and I found myself getting bored. Yes, bored while watching T.V. (crazy talk). But what's more is that I decided what would make me no longer bored was to go to the gym. Yes, the gym seemed like a fun alternative to T.V. I scarcely believe it myself!

kansas's wayward son?

awesome song.

not an oldie.

excite.com can kiss my a**

I've had an excite e-mail account for 8 years, and now - POOF! it's gone. They have deactivated my account. Fortunately, it was not my primary account anymore, but I still used it for one-line sites and other information. And now, with out any warning, all of that is gone. Motherf*ckers!

i object!

U2's With or Without You may be a goodie, but it is most definitely not an "oldie!" They played this on my oldies station yesterday. "Oldies" means songs from the 50's and 60's, not any song that is old!

thumbs up!

My principal popped in my room today to observed for about 15 minutes. When he left he gave me a thumbs up, and said "great lesson." That was validating.

I've also been thinking lately that the "thumbs up" sign is underused. Everyone loves a good thumbs up and an Agent Cooper "Aces!" to go along with it. Get on the bandwagon, people! When properly used, I guarantee a thumbs up will make someone's day.

ms. meanie, reporting for duty...

This morning one of my new kids referred to me as a "Nazi" to another teacher. It's bizarre.* He's never even been in trouble with me (in fact, no one has this semester), and I haven't raised my voice in class once. Okay, so sure, I made three kids cry last semester, but not because I was mean; it was because I told them I believed in them. Does that sound like a Nazi to you?

Admittedly, I've laid down the law and am much more stern this semester, but still I find myself shocked by the fact that all my kids appear to be afraid of me. Afraid. Of me! I don't get it...but I kind of like it.

* And also a bit ironic as I had just given a lecture on hate speech and made clear, in no uncertain terms, that hate speech of any kind would be met with the highest consequences.

i look around and all i see are aliens!

School started up this week, and there are so many new faces in my class. They are weird alien children who I do not yet know. It's like the first day all over again! Oh, I miss my disruptive students of yesteryear...

back to the grind

Tomorrow I head back to work after my nice (but not long enough) break. About half of my kids left me at semester, so I'll have a bunch of new names to learn.

Also, twice today I've gotten the hiccups. I never get the hiccups!

the problem, as i see it

The problem with eating Fritos with one's chilli is that then there is a bag of Fritos in the house.

happy new year!

I hope every one has a wonderful 2009. :)

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.