happy halloween!

pictures of our pumpkins (as promised):


We had a handful of trick-or-treaters tonight, but not very many. I don't think a lot of people in my neighborhood pass out candy, and we are the only ones with pumpkins that I can see. Still, the kids who came were really cute. We had pirates, witches, ballerinas, star wars thing, and even a muggle (one of the little kid's older brothers was not dressed up, but when I asked him what he was supposed to be he said he was a muggle. I gave him candy for that!)

my organized office!

The bookcase on the right is the one I just bought. You can't see it, but there is also a little cove area for Lucy's stuff.

why does organizing create such a big mess?

Today I am organizing all my school stuff. I have an office, and up until now it has been filled with boxes of my school stuff, my craft stuff, and my mailing stuff. Try as I might, I could not get organized, and I finally determined the reason why was because I had no place to put anything that was in said boxes. So, last night I went to target and bought shelves. First off, let me say I cannot believe how cheap they were! Only 20bucks for a 3 shelf (fake) cherry bookcase. I was pleasantly surprised as I had intended on just buying some ultra cheap plastic shelves. Secondly, they were so easy to put together and I didn't even need a hammer. Nice.

So, now I'm organizing. I'm going through class binders and throwing out the useless information and creating new binders that are more user-friendly because they are organized by resource-type (lesson planning materials, behavior management, etc). As a result, there are papers strewn all about my room, much to Lucy's delight. I think this reminds her of Panda's final season study mess, and she likes it because she has much paper to pounce on and destroy.

are you freaking kidding me?

There is now bottled water being marketed specifically for dogs. It's called "woof-woof" water.

INSANE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

beth orton

Listen to her, and love her. I've been listening to her all day, and I can't get enough! I thank Panda for introducing me to her on my 26th birthday when she put the song Stolen Car on my birthday mix.

bedazzle

I enjoy being bedazzled and being found to be bedazzling.

I am also fond of saying, "I am bewitched, bewildered, and bedazzled;" although, the occasion to say such a thing is rare, indeed.

pumpkins!

My room-mate and I carved pumpkins tonight! It was so much fun, and I will post pictures tomorrow (my camera batteries died, so pictures must wait). Live in anticipation!!!

cute kid story

I lunched with my old co-workers today (and yes, I said "lunched"), and my one co-worker who has a 5 year old told this story: Every day she asks her son to tell her something good about his day at school. The other day she asked him this question, and he responded by saying, "do you want the good or the accidentally bad?" Heehee. The next time I do something wrong, I'm going to refer to it as the "accidentally bad" thing I did.

it's a wonder I've made it this long

with out killing myself (accidentally, of course).

Today I almost killed myself twice. I blame my super cute Halloween slipper-socks and my stairs. The first time, I ran down my steps and when my slipper-sock covered foot hit the hardwood floor at the bottom of the stairs, it went flying up, and the rest of my body went flying backwards. Luckily, I grabbed the doorknob in time to catch myself. The second time, I ran down the steps and my slipper sock slipped and I went sliding down the steps until my bum finally stopped me. It hurt. A lot. My back still hurts actually. And yet...I'm still wearing my slipper socks. Their cute; they are red and black stripped, and they have a pumpkin on them.

one day someone will call me...

macushla - a term of endearment (from the Irish words "mo" and "cuisle" meaning "my" and "pulse" respectively).

I came across this word in a book I recently bought from the used bookstore that has a bunch of words that have all but died out from the English language. This word should not die. It is very sweet and pretty. I love it so much that I've been trying to find a way to introduce it into my daily vocabulary, but sadly I don't have a macushla to call my own. Yesterday, as I watched The Office, Micheal greeted Pam as his "macushla." Apparently, this word is also used in Million Dollar baby. Clearly it is not as uncommon as I thought, and to that I say, "horay! for it is an awesome word!"

This blog post brought to you by "she actually blogging again! day" and the book, Weird and Wonderful Words, by Erin McKean

lets face it...

I'm never going to deal with that last word box. I'm sure there are some fantastic words in there, but I'm just plum done with the word box. I'm lame. Sorry.

Instead, I will find cool words to share with you as I see fit. Take it or leave it.

duwayne wayne is alive and well

My morning was made a little brighter this Monday when I went to my school and saw this kid who was dressed just like Duwayne Wayne! It's safe to say, I'm glad I got out bed this morning.

myth!

You get to eat ice cream when you have your tonsils taken out.

Not only is it not true that you get to eat all the ice cream you want, but you cannot eat ANY ice cream. Apparently, the dairy in the ice cream leaves a coating on your throat that impedes the healing process. So, if you are going to have your tonsils out, be prepared: it's just popsicals and ice chips for you...sucker

as you wish

A few weeks ago I went camping with a few friends. We had a blast; my friends do car camping up right, and we played games, cards, boccie ball, and croquet. Yes, I said "croquet." Croquet is actually quite fun. I didn't believe it either, but it is true. I dare you not to have fun while playing croquet; I double dog dare you!

Ironically, this game of croquet came exactly one day after my dad told me he was giving our crochet set to good will. We've had a croquet set in our garage since my grandma died 7 years ago, and before that it sat in her storage room. I told my dad that I had never played and never would play croquet, so he should go ahead and give it away. Oh, how I was kicking myself the next day! You mean I had this game at my fingertips my whole life and never played it, only now (once it's been given away) to learn how wonderful it is? Luckily, when I arrived home from camping, I discovered that my dad had not yet made the trip to goodwill, so the croquet set is still safely stowed in our garage. YAY!

happy birthday!

Happy Birthday, Panda!!!

finally, the secrets of my personality are revealed!

My friend gave me a meyers-briggs test, and I came out as:

ISFJ
Introverted(56)/Sensing(1)/
Feeling(38)/Judging(78)

I am the "Protector Guardian"

This means...

The primary desire of the Protector Guardian is to be of service to others, but here "service" means not so much furnishing others with the necessities of life (the Provider's concern), as guarding others against life's pitfalls and perils, that is, seeing to their safety and security. There is a large proportion of Protectors in the population, perhaps as much as ten percent. And a good thing, because they are steadfast in their protecting, and seem fulfilled in the degree they can insure the safekeeping of those in their family, their circle of friends, or their place of business.

Protectors find great satisfaction in assisting the downtrodden and can deal with disability and neediness in others better than any other type. They go about their task of caretaking modestly, unassumingly, and because of this their efforts are not sometimes fully appreciated. They are not as outgoing and talkative as the Providers, except with close friends and relatives. With these they can chat tirelessly about the ups and downs in their lives, moving (like all the Guardians) from topic to topic as they talk over their everyday concerns. However, their shyness with strangers is often misjudged as stiffness, even coldness, when in truth these Protectors are warm-hearted and sympathetic, giving happily of themselves to those in need.

Their quietness ought really to be seen as an expression, not of coldness, but of their sincerity and seriousness of purpose. Like all the Guardians, Protectors have a highly developed puritan work ethic, which tells them that work is good, and that play must be earned-if indulged in at all. The least hedonic of all types, Protectors are willing to work long, long hours doing all the thankless jobs the other types seem content to ignore. Thoroughness and frugality are also virtues for Protectors. When they undertake a task, they will complete it if at all humanly possible; and they know the value of material resources and abhor the squandering or misuse of these resources. Protectors are quite content to work alone; indeed, they may experience some discomfort when placed in positions of authority, and may try to do everything themselves rather than insist that others do their jobs.

With their extraordinary commitment to security, and with their unusual talent for executing routines, Protectors do well in many careers that have to do with conservation: curators, private secretaries, librarians, middle-managers, police officers, and especially general medical practitioners. To be sure, the hospital is a natural haven for them; it is home to the family doctor, preserver of life and limb, and to the registered nurse, or licensed practical nurse, truly the angels of mercy. The insurance industry is also a good fit for Protectors. To save, to put something aside against an unpredictable future, to prepare for emergencies-these are important actions to Protectors, who as insurance agents want to see their clients in good hands, sheltered and protected.

President George HW Bush and Mother Teresa are examples of Protector Guardian style.

Take it!

word box

The word box will be open until Tuesday at 10a.m.
Happy Wording!

lucy and the dogs

Lucy and I have moved into our new digs, and all in all we like it. But...Lucy met the dogs today, and let me tell ya, it did not go over well. Sounds of hissing and growling could be heard throughout the land, and much blood was shed. Well, only my blood, but still. The problem was simple: the puppy is huge and wanted to play with Lucy. Lucy was completely freaked out. She did well once we were both on the couch and I could shoo away the dogs, so I am hoping she grows to deal with them as it is much nicer for me to enjoy the amenities of the main floor without worrying that I am neglecting my kitty upstairs.

The picture of the mountain goat is just for your enjoyment; there are no mountain goats in my house.

silly grocer

Today I went to the grocery store, and I handed the bagger my tote and mesh bags. I said, "the mesh bags hold a surprising amount of stuff, so you can fill them up." We proceeded to have a conversation about how much they could hold wherein I relayed to the bagger that I used to put all my groceries in two mesh bags and walk four blocks home. "The bags never broke?," she asked. I replied that they had not, and that they could hold quite a bit of weight.

After all that, the bagger still did not want to fill up the bags to the brim, and whipped out some plastic bad boys. I had to intervene (nicely), and low and behold, everything fit in my three bags. I didn't even have that much stuff; I can't imagine why she thought I needed more bags.

Anyway, I really am not going for "world's most boring blog," but bear with me, I did have a fainting spell yesterday. :) No, really I'm just trying to get back in the habit of blogging regularly so my devoted readers are not left hanging.

today, a pretty good day

I got up, pet Lucy, and headed to my parents where Gridiron Gang was on the Tivo. As I watched it, I pretended I was climbing the M, but really I was on the treadmill. While the scenery was not as pretty (The Rock not withstanding), the air conditioning was appreciated. Then, I headed to the tennis courts. I miss my tennis instructor, but it wasn't too hot in the park; there was plenty of shade. Also, I got called to sub, and I'm looking forward to being back in the schools and laughing at (err, with) the kids. Tonight I have class, and hopefully the professor will let me add in even though the class is full.

Tomorrow: Cheerios's for breakfast!