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"