Zap

Do you ever find things that just zap right to your soul? Maybe it's a song that you instantly love. Maybe it's a movie that hits you just the right way at just the moment you needed to hear it's message. Maybe it's a character in a book who you just know is a kindred spirit.

One in a Million Saras has a talent for finding new music and then keeping me in the loop. She gives me tours on her ikpod. I had a tour on Friday and fell in love with a couple songs.

OMS also rented the movie Once, which I knew I needed to own within about 10 minutes of starting it. It's one of those movies that makes you believe in real people again.

The book character that is a kindred spirit is from Inkheart. I haven't even read the book yet, though I've been meaning to do so, and I know that the main character is a like soul. She and her father live in a house full of books. She has books as friends. Rory Gilmore (Gilmore Girls) was like that, too. She would take a book with her in case she got bored. I have a friend like that, too. I've started hauling a book around and felt lonely when I was waiting for my family today at a restaurant and had left my book in the car. If my house were smaller, the walls would be lined with books.

Movie of the Day: Once.

What Day Is It?

Hi. My name is Becca and I have a calendar problem. I buy too many of them. I'm fascinated by the pictures, the quotes, the comics, the idea of being organized.

Up until this minute, I have only purchased one 2008 calendar: Live With Intention. It has beautiful artwork and lovely quotes.

Today, I brave the mall and try to only buy the calendars I need/will use immediately at school.

Wish me luck!

Movie of the Day: Calendar Girls. You'll laugh. You'll cry. You'll laugh again.

Quality Time with the Folks

It's a quiet week in Lake Woebe- Wait. I'm in Duluth. Yep. It's a quiet week at my folks' house. My brother is stuck in Fargo and One in a Million Saras and her husband are here and there with multiple family gatherings. This leaves me with my folks. Not the critical mass one may expect for the holidays. We're all kind of quiet revelers, so, we rented movies.

Last night, we watched Elling, a Norwegian movie recommended by a friend of mine. It was funny, quirky, sad, and sweet. Maybe not what you would expect to watch on Christmas Eve, but still fun.

Right now, we are taking a break from watching Meet Me in St. Louis so my mom can make another layer of Jell-O. Yep, she's multi-tasking on a holiday.

Movie(s) of the Day: Elling and Meet Me in St. Louis. Good, clean fun. Sorta.

Free Time- So Weird

I have the week off. A whole week. It's lovely to have time off. Saturday, I attacked my To Do list with so much vigor that I nearly wiped it out! So, I am looking for activity recommendations from y' all: tdeas for things to do in Duluth, ideas for things to do sitting around a quiet house, ideas for mini road trips. I'm open.

Movie of the Day: Well, I just went nuts at Blockbuster, but haven't watched any of them yet. I did watch some of Home Alone last weekend, which is a cute Christmas movie.

Merry Christmas!

I Llama You!

I used to have a Christmas party. You know, the kind where people linger around eating and drinking and chatting. Only, mine didn't have any alcohol and somehow, that affected the lingering and chatting. People were nervous. Didn't know what to do with out a buzz. The party happened a couple years and then the crappy one. So, since then, I've decided to put the party budget towards something a little more altruistic. Yes, that's right, it's Heifer Time!

Each December for three years now, I have purchased an animal for a person in a third world country. I will spare you the details, but if you're interested, the website is www.heifer.org. If you see me driving around town, you'll notice a leaping cow decal on my car. I'm not into cows, but it's the sticker for Heifer.

This year, I bought a llama for Peru. I hear they're good climbers. And spitters?

Movie of the Day: The Emperor's New Groove. Funny llama.

Woo Hoo

Yes!!!!! It is finally winter break. Ah! Eleven days off (counting weekends). Whatever shall I do? I'm going to start with sleeping in!

Movie of the Day: Mystic Pizza. Yum.

Diversion

Yippe skippy hippie whip-y blippy dippy flippy lippy nippy sippy tippy zippy

bog blog cog dog fog flog hog jog log pog sog

and bland band brand grand hand land sand stand

bore snore door pour core store more snore fore for gore whore lore nor pore roar soar tore wore abhore

Mecca Becca

Movie of the Day: Hokus Pokus.

If You Can't Beat `Em...

No, I'm not talking about corporal punishment. I'm talking about just how silly my students are going to be this week. There's going to be a lot of sugar in their systems and the thrill of over a week off of school. Some might be afraid to lose the structure of school and that's going to throw them out of wack too.

So, I've been sitting here, thinking about what to write and an idea hit me. Smack! If I can't come up with a sugar neutralizer (that I'm allowed to administer to minors) by tomorrow, maybe I should just give in and be silly with them. I'll try to stuff some math in there too and cross my fingers.

Here's where you come in: I need ideas. I'm thinking a theme each day. Perhaps Accent Day. Short Sentences Day. Count How Many Times Ms. _____ Says "Okay" Day (It's a lot.).

Ideas???? Please share. I LOVE getting comments. Love. Love. Love them.

Movie of the Day: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Antidote Please!!!!

Neighbors

An ambulance and fire truck pulled up to a house across the street from school yesterday. My classroom windows faced the house and most of my students started out curious and ended up worried about our neighbor. The medics went inside with a gurney and a black bag. Our experience watching crime shows would tell us that the bag was a bad sign. After the gurney was inside, I told the students next to the window to tell us when it was leaving the house and until then to try to do some homework. We all expected that someone had passed away.

A few minutes later, the kids said that the medics were coming out of the house and the guy was sitting up on the gurney! The bag was for warmth!

Thank God! There was so much relief in the room.

Movie of the Day: Love Actually. Some people like this movie, some people I know, not-so-much.

Right Where You Are Supposed To Be

Do you ever think about what is happening in your life and how that plays out in the grand scheme of your whole life? Maybe you have a crummy job. Maybe your cat is sick. Maybe your big toe hurts. Or maybe something really bad has happened or is happening.

When I'm in these situations, the big ones, I have a hard time looking at them as opportunities for growth. It's hard to avoid "Why Me?" thinking. Of course, I think this is natural.

This Fall, I found out I have d..... and fell into a major "Why Me?" funk. You may have noticed the drop off of blogs and the general "Life Sucks" attitude when I did blog. Or did I hide it well?

Things are better now. I feel rational again. I'm getting my act together. I'm finding joy in big and little things.

My hope is that everyone can find a way through their hard times to glimpse joy.

Movie of the Day: The Addams Family. They found joy in creepy things.

I'm Cold.

In college, I used to make fun of my skinny, skinny friends because they were always cold. I told them that I was from Duluth and there you needed a little extra insulation on your bones to stay warm in the Winter.

Well, since this October, I've lost 20 lbs of my insulation and I'm freezing!!!! It's so weird. I mean, it's not like I didn't get cold in the past, just not so frequently or so extremely. Oy.

Movie of the Day: The Saint. She was working on cold fusion to bring heat to everyone.

Whoosh!!!!

Any one else feel like December is going to fly by way too quickly? Eek.

What's weird is that I'm not chomping at the bit to get my tree up.

The calendar in my office says "May this year bring all the blessings our heart can hold" and for once I think it just might.

Movie of the Day: Where the Heart Is.

ARGH!!!

I spent most of the day teaching and catching glimpses of the snow falling outside. Then, at 3:45, I went out to my car in an attempt to go home. Fifteen minutes and three friends later, my little car was moving and I started home.

My usual trip takes about 15 minutes. Today, it took 2.5 hours. Yes, hours. You see, we had 17 inches of snow at school. Cars crept (if that) across town trying to get home without getting stuck or crunched.

I made it, mostly because I had snacks, used the washroom before I left school, and decided to have an impromptu photo shoot while I was sitting listening to a new mix cd. These are some of the pictures:

The official City of Duluth Christmas tree...

For the record, I took these lovely shots by sticking my hand out the window and getting whatever I could find. Not a lot of composition, but also much safer.

Movie of the Day: Traffic.

Recommendations

It's that time of year when I am asked to write recommendations for some of my students. Usually they are for scholarships and occasionally for colleges.

The tricky part is knowing what to say and understanding how I say it affects things. This year, I have three to write which is nothing compared to what the English teachers are hit with, but more than ideal.

The issue: I know that I'm expected to write a glowing, touching, heart-felt letter that will make people what to shower my students with money. I know this. The problem comes when I can't whole-heartedly nominate the kid for a Nobel Prize. How do I find comfortable ground? Are they the best students I've ever had? Nope. Will I try my best? Yes.

Movie of the Day: Election. That girl needed to chill.

Snow Day-Saturday Style

I may have mentioned this before, but teachers love snow days. A lot.

When a storm hits on a Saturday, like today, we lament that it couldn't wait just a bit longer or arrive just a bit sooner. It's such a waste of good snow. Once we accept that we will on get any time off, we plan our "holing up" like everyone else. This involved an emergency run to the grocery store for caffeine. After a two hour nap, I'm now ready to settle in, plunk in a Christmas movie or two, and face my homework.

Movie of the Day: White Christmas.