A Field

Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I will meet you there.

~ Rumi

What if we all lived in this field?
Movie of the Day: Field of Dreams. tee hee.

In Honor of Winter Soltice

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

Seriously?

I was at Michael's the craft store today with my mom. The checkout lines were very long. As I'm about it get in one line, I notice that there is another one that is only 2 people deep. I ask the person ahead of me if the other line is actually open. She says "Yes." I said, "You don't want it?" "No."

I go to the new line and proceed to wait as a woman is correcting an error on her receipt or whatever. I stand. I stand.

Then, the lady from the other line, walks by, done checking out. She stares at me and smirks with a "ha ha, that's why I didn't go in that line" kind of look on her face.

Now, she could have said "That line isn't moving." "That lady is taking a long time." "You're better off here." or whatever. No, she let me go to the other line. Grrrrrrrrr!!!!!!! So, I decide to switch lines and notice that the next person is finally up in the "short" line. I also notice her basket is full of tiny stuff. Lots of tiny stuff. And, the aisle my mom and I switched to was now about to be empty. So, I went to the new lady behind the basket lady and told her that our line was about to be open. She gave me a huge smile and hopped to the other lane.

Whew. What's the reverse of paying it forward? Absorb, don't deflect? I don't know.

Karma, baby. Karma.

Movie of the Day: The Shop Around the Corner.

Inbox (1)

If you have an email account, you know that when you get a new email, a message appears somewhere on the screen that says "Inbox (1)." Every time I see that message, I get a rush of endorphins. Am I waiting for a specific email? Sometimes. Am I a little let down if it's some sort of "Your cellphone bill is ready online" type email? Yes. Usually, I'm happy enough just to see "Inbox (1)". I guess it's the little pleasures that we need to enjoy, right?

Thankful

What I'm Thankful For:

friends who are willing to let me ramble on and on about my life
family who connect me to the past and future
things that strike me funny JUST when I need a good laugh
little kids who like to give hugs
being able to take a trip to a warm place in February
vibrant colors
almond M & M's
sappy songs and silly songs
authors who write and feel like my new best friend
my house
students who push me to be a better teacher
quotations
fuzzy blankets
the public library
supportive coworkers
my covenant group

Movie of the Day: A Christmas Carol. I'm going today with friends. "God bless us, every one!"

One in a Million

It's my little sister's birthday today. For the next two weeks, her age looks like she's gaining on me. I remember standing at the top of the basement stairs when I was little (like 5?), trying to understand why her birthday came first even though I'M the oldest. I have no idea how my dad explained it or if he just tried to distract me. My grandma was nice and gave us both gifts for both birthdays (at least something little to open). That was sweet!

Movie of the Day: Two Weeks' Notice.

Wake Up!

I read some scary medical stuff this weekend and it's sort of snapped me awake. I need to make some changes in how I'm spending my time and what I'm shoveling into my mouth.

I feel like I'm in quicksand and I've finally grabbed a stable branch.

Movie of the Day: August Rush. We watched it at Movie Night last night and it's such a good movie.

A Reason to Smile

Okay, maybe it's just me (and my coworkers), but we are all smiling now that our four nights of conferences are over! WOO HOO!!!!!! No more 13 hour days until the Spring!

I'm in the mood to see some plays and take in some live music. Am I finally resurfacing from the chaos of the beginning of the school year? Oh, please say it's so!

Movie of the Day: Away We Go. Such an endearing movie. I want to be friends with this couple, well, one of their sane friends, at least.

Oh, I Get It!

I went to a training for three days this week and while it was tough to be out of school that long (I dealt with it better than the kids), I learned a lot. One thing that our presenter talked about was the Zeigarnik Effect. It's the phenomena when you can't quite remember something and then it suddenly comes to you. Your brain works on it "behind the scenes" until it figures out what you were forgetting. That takes energy that you might not know you're spending.

Well, I had a moment this week when many of my stressors suddenly made sense. "Oh, I get it!" All at once, so many things clicked. The sad thing is that it took me a LONG time to figure it out and quite a bit of energy. What a relief! I'm being deliberately vague, but if you want more details, I'll tell you individually.

Movie of the Day: Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Civic Stuff

I just heard of an interesting seminar that I can't go to because of conferences, but wanted to let people know about: Being Web Wise: Helping Keep Kids Safe in the Internet Age. It's a seminar from 6 - 8 PM on Thursday, October 29th at the Inn on Lake Superior. You have to be 18 + to attend because of the appropriateness of the content. The presenters are Detective Thomas Champaigne and Sergeant Nicholas Alexander. It looks really good.

Also, if anyone would like me to give them my opinions about who to vote for in the school board election, let me know. I was at a forum this summer and interviewed the candidates that attended.

Movie of the Day: The Net.

One Good Thing

Well, one good thing about having so much homework every night is that a night of conferences didn't seem out of the ordinary. Usually, I'm dragging after each night of working a 12 hour day, but this morning feels like any other day. Weird.

We have Friday off for MEA which really means they compensate us for working conferences. I am super pumped and looking for ideas of how to spend my day off.

Some options:

SLEEP
massage
make jewelry
go to a museum or two
read for fun!
go to a movie
teach my friend Kim how to Skype and then talk to her and her sweet sons (Kim, are you reading this!?!?!)

Anyone else on Skype?

Movie of the Day: My Life in Ruins. Funny, funny movie. Motivating me to plan my trip to Europe!

Fortune Cookies

I brought fortune cookies to a potluck on Wednesday and they had really cheesy fortunes. I think the boxes should have categories: Cruel, Silly, Gross, etc. Use your imagination.

A few I've thought of this morning:

Watch your back.

You will have a booger incident in the next three days.

You and chopsticks will never mix.

Your car is about to run out of gas.

Duck!



Any more you would add?

Movie of the Day: Only You. She went to a fortune teller and then quite a trip.

Bewitched

Remember the show Bewitched? I'm sure I've discussed it before, but I'm back to wishing I could wiggle my nose and freeze time for everyone else. Just for about 15 minutes a few times a day so I could catch my breath, run to the school office, do a little meditation, and then hop back into the fray. Is that so much to ask?

I was also thinking about Napping Centers. Not hotels where you stay all night and have a TV, etc. Just a clean, safe environment to get a quick nap. I wonder what would be a reasonable price to charge.

Movie of the Day: Point Break. In honor of Patrick Swayze. I could use a break. Maybe not a breaking wave...maybe that's what this feels like....

Do You Hear the Bells?

Wedding bells are in the air. My friends M & S are getting married today at Gooseberry Falls. It looks like it's going to be lovely weather and a great day! I hope things go off WITH a hitch.

Congratulations, M & S!

Movie of the Day: The Proposal

Energy Rollercoaster

I have been riding the energy rollercoaster this week. I'm rested. I'm comatose. I'm hyper. I'm accidentally falling asleep on my couch for 2.5 hours. Last night, I had a "Third Wind" and cleaned my kitchen at 9 PM. What the heck?

Today, I woke up wide awake at 6:15 AM and walked 2 miles on my treadmill. One hour later, I'm ready for a nap. I hope things even out soon or I'm going to get whiplash.

Movie of the Day: Adventureland. Theme park. Not for everyone.

Oh, boy!

Well, it's the final evening of my summer and, of course, the weather is lovely. I have a workshop all day tomorrow and then I'll hit the ground running on Wednesday to finish up all of my prepping. I might sneak in a little work tonight, just to get a bit ahead.

I'm envious of the kids who have just a few more days of vacation. When I was a kid, our youth group leader took us to Valley Fair the Saturday after school started. It was perfect because I could survive two days of school, knowing the fun was right around the corner.

Maybe I should gather up some friends and go!

Movie of the Day: The Reader. Intense.

Snakker du norsk?

I've decided I want to learn Norwegian. I took a community ed class in 1999 and then let it fade away. Now, I'm excited to pick it up again.

Quite a few words are the same or close, which is convenient!

Anyone out there "snakker du norsk?"

Movie of the Day: Kitchen Stories. Swedish scientists observing the cooking habits of Norwegian bachelors. Subtitles.

Warm

So, it's a wee bit warm out lately and I'm ready for some cooler temperatures. There is a reason I live here: it's cold or cool most of the time! I did some digging/hauling/dumping of clay (aka "my yard") today and it doesn't matter how breezy it is, it's still nasty out. My dad came over at 6:54 AM to start our last day of digging and it wasn't SOOOO hot. Luckily, we were done before it really heated up outside.

Do I need to move farther North? Become a snowbird who flies "south" to Duluth for the winter? Weird.

Movie of the Day: I've actually seen quite a few lately. (They have air conditioning and I do not.) Julie and Julia, Aliens in the Attic, and (500) Days of Summer. 500 was my favorite, but J & J was good too. Aliens had it's moments: Ninja kicks from Doris Roberts (the grandma on Everybody Loves Raymond) and a rotary phone (raise your hand if you remember those).

Two in One Evening!

If you scroll down a bit, you will notice my list of things I'd like to try. Tonight, I went kayaking AND geocaching!!!!!! Both were great!

The kayaking was a Wednesday Women's Kayaking on Fredenberg Lake. There was a little training and then we just paddled around the lake. So beautiful and relaxing. We saw two adult loons and two baby loons.

Then, on the way home, we looked for AND found a geocache. It was in the woods off of a gravel road. Very interesting. I was with experienced geocachers, so that helped. Now, I'll need to see if I can borrow my folks' GPS equipment. Very cool.

Time to try rock climbing....

Movie of the Day: Paul Blart: Mall Cop. Silly. Funny. Sometimes it's okay to check your brain at the door. He drives a Segway. I should try one of those too!

Grrr.....

So, I have a few magazines that arrive at my home periodically. During the school year, I will breeze through the stack and rip out articles that I would like to read at a later date. Just now, I had the second incident of only ripping out half of the article! Grrr...I hope I can find the second halves online later. That'll teach me!

Movie of the Day: How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days. They worked for a magazine.

To Do List- Scribble Scribble

I'm having one of those weeks where you accomplish a lot of things on your To Do list. You know what I mean.

To Do
Call to make doctor appointment
get hair cut
exchange some purchases
go to library
call _____, _____, & _______

It's a good feeling. There are things that I've been meaning to try for years. Things that don't necessarily get on a To Do list: try geocaching, try kayaking, try rock-climbing, hunt for agates.

Yesterday, I went agate hunting and found 20. Yes, 20. In a brief amount of time. If you want in on any of the "Things to Try" activities, let me know.

Movie of the Day: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. SOOOOOOOOO good.

Livin' the High Life

Here are a few photos from the Becca Lift. I'm sorry some of them are blurry. It was windy that day. Swaying.....Swaying....



Nice purple plant (neighbor's).

The upper window was the room I shared with One in a Million Saras.

Need a Lift?

My folks are painting their house this week and their wonderful daughters are helping them. My dad isn't allowed to use a ladder any more (he's not allowed to fall). So, Sara joked about renting a "man lift" for the project. Well, my dad jumped at the idea and suddenly there is heavy equipment in their yard.

So, we started calling it the Chick Lift. Then, since it made Sara sick to be up there, I've started calling it the Becca Lift. Yes, that's right. I'm up there the whole time. Driving the little bucket thing and painting in the sky. And yes, I'm the one who freaks out walking down the stairs at Dewitt-Seitz because you can see through on the vertical parts of each step.

Any way, it's great fun. I'm getting proficient at maneuvering the bucket and only hit the house once (just a little dirt smudge on a part I needed to paint any way).

If you're in town and wanna check it out, stop on over.

Movie of the Day: Knowing. I liked it. Everyone else in the room didn't. (Two other people) There were lots of numbers and puzzles, but some creepy stuff too.

Weird

A few years ago, I signed up to sponsor a kid in Haiti. When I got the material, it was anti-gay and that really didn't sit well with me. It said that the family pictures could not depict a gay couple and had to support "Christian" beliefs. Well, I couldn't decide what to do. Do I quit and not let this kid go to school, get books, etc. or do I "let it go."

Well, a few months ago, they upped the monthly price again (a second time). I was horrible about writing her letters (worse than my driest blogging spell), and since she's "in" the program once she really started and it was still bugging me about their hate tactics, I decided to cancel my sponsorship. It was remarkably easy and they didn't ask why. I should have told them that I can afford the $38 a month (up from $32 recently and like $28 when I started), but didn't like their philosophy.

Since then, I have gotten multiple mailings as if I'm still a sponsor and then yesterday, received a letter saying my sponsored kid was dropped from the program for non-participation. WHAT?!?! The letter was written in April. So, where did May and June's money go? Grrr.... So, now I don't feel bad at all about stopping except now I'm worried about the kid. Now, I feel compelled to write. Weird. I guess I pray for her and hope she's okay.

Art Day

I've decided to give myself a day to futz around with some of my art supplies and see what happens. Mainly it means I flit from one thing to another and nothing actually gets done.

However..... for months I've had a project in mind that involves using a coconut shell (auditions for Monty Python?). This meant buying a coconut and figuring out how to open it. So, the coconut sat and sat and then, finally I decided today was the day.

I went to YouTube to see what to do. I tried what the dude did. Didn't work. Maybe my knife was too small? Any way, I switched to a hammer, but my hammer is old and the head likes to fall off. So, I had to be careful not to whack more than just the coconut. Then, a chunk flew up at my eye. Not good. There might be a bruise tomorrow. I made a hole, but it wasn't splitting like the video guy's example.

I needed better tools. So, I headed to the garage and finally won the Becca vs. Coconut battle. The innards were not-so-fresh, so I left them for stray animals and then tried to get the shell into pieces (by smashing it with my hammer).

The process would make a good tension reliever, with the proper safety gear.

Now to clean the hammer and work with the shell....

Movie of the Day: Beaches.

Inspiration

One of my earliest friends was instant messaging me this evening and has inspired me to blog. It was essentially like she was saying "hop to it." She also gave me some topics to pursue. However, this evening, my brain is too wonky and tired to focus on one topic, so I shall give you some random snippets and think more clearly at another point in the near future.

So, let the randomness begin:

1) What's with the Chicken Dance at wedding receptions? Is it just that anyone who doesn't even like to dance will do it? (Think Becca).

2) Why are directions from internet sites so wrong sometimes? I was 40 minutes late for the Chicken Dance event because of my directions. Okay, I was only 30 minutes late because of them, the rest was my fault, but still....

3) What's a good thing to do when there are couples' dances and you're there alone? Hit the washroom, pretend to look at the art on the wall (that's what I did)? Suggestions?

4) Why is my desk at school spotless and my desk at home looks like an aisle from Target exploded on it?

5) Why am I addicted to Cherry Coke Zero?

6) What's the best way to encourage a friend to write a book when they have a good idea for one?

7) My neighbor is trying to sell her house, but I don't want her to leave. Do you think it would be evil to add a couple marks to the "handouts" on the sign and make it look like she wants $80,000 more than she really wants???? (I wouldn't do it, but I have thought of chasing some people away. Tee hee.)

8) Eight (8) is a nice number because it's 2 cubed (2 x 2 x 2) and it's a good age, too.

Movie of the Day: The Hangover. Saw it Friday night. Dumb humor. Funny, but dumb.

Stuff

I have too much stuff. So, in an effort to lighten my "load," I'm going through cabinets, closets, and shelves. This is Round 1. I think Round 2 will be more cutthroat, but for now I just want to get rid of some things that I KNOW I don't use.

There have been some surprises too! I found a little coffee pot that I forgot I had. All the people who had to drink instant coffee at my house, I'm sorry! I've also found quite a few new journals. Now, I used to write in journals every day for years, but stopped for some reason a few years ago. Is it my subconscious trying to tell me to pick up the pen again? Maybe. Or, am I a compulsive journal collector?

I'm going to visit some college friends (and other good friends) in a couple of weeks, so they will be getting a few random things too. I don't plan to dump all my junk on them or they'll never invite me back! T, don't worry, it's mostly kid stuff.

Movie of the Week: The Proposal. Saw it last night. Good movie! Very sweet and funny.

Crud

I started feeling the sore throat coming on last night. I woke up this morning with the pain. Do you ever get a sore throat and then you're so happy when it moves into your nose or your lungs, just so you can swallow again? Mine is starting to move to my nose. Annoying!

Add another movie to the WWII list: Valkyrie. It was pretty good. Intense, again. I really need to go to the library and get something about mammals or physics or filling out your tax return. Well, that's a bit extreme!

Intense

So, I'm obsessed with World War II movies right now. Not the fighting so much, though. Maybe it's the D-Day celebration or my planned trip to Normandy that has me so focused, I don't know.

I've seen two intense movies in the last 5 days:

1) The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. The family of a Nazi commandant moves near a concentration camp and their son befriends a boy on the other side of the electrified wire fence.

2) Defiance. Four Jewish brothers hide in the woods in Belorussia and eventually a community of refugees comes together. This movie has much more overt violence than the one above.

Both movies were excellent and I would recommend them to most adults and the first one to teens. Neither are for kids. They're the kinds of movies that stick with you for days after watching them.

Walker

When I was a kid, there were "walkers" and "bussers" at school. The bussers got to leave early and the walkers had to wait until the last moment of school before we lined up and walked to the door of the building. I think it's still mostly the same, but since I don't work in an elementary school, I'm not 100% positive.

I was a "walker" because I lived two blocks from school. Down hill one way... :)

Now, I'm trying to be a "walker" again, though not as the main mode of my transportation. This morning, I walked two miles on my treadmill. Quickly. Or, at least as quickly as I can handle without face-planting on the floor.

Movie of the Day: A Walk to Remember.

Weird

I was just on a search engine and saw a few pictures of famous women on the main page. I wonder what it would be like to search for something online and keep running across your own face? Does that happen? Would I want to have my own personal "Google User" so I wouldn't have to look at silly publicity shots of myself?

Famous readers out there, what is your strategy?

Movie of the Day: I've Loved You So Long. Such a good movie! You either need to know French or be able to read subtitles, though. Warning: kind of heavy subject matter.

What Would You Do?

Life is a great big canvas;

throw all the paint on it you can.

- Danny Kaye

Time

Today is the first day of the last grading period of the school year. Usually they are 6 weeks long, but this one is shorter because of finals, etc.

I was driving home after school and suddenly I had a flashback to all the past graduations I've attended as a teacher. It seems like it was just June a few minutes ago. Of course, I snap out of that "time flies" mentality when I think of all the lessons I've taught this year and all the papers I've graded. Then, it seems like June was a LONG time ago.

Movie of the Day: Junebug. Amy Adams is hilarious.

Clean

I have the urge to clean the freeway exit that I use each morning on the way to work. It's full of the garbage left after the snow melts. There is a fence between the exit and the freeway below and all the garbage collects in the grass right there. It wouldn't take me too long. Maybe I could recruit someone with a weed-whacker to clean up the remnants of last year's overgrowth. It could be beautiful. I don't think I'd plant flowers or anything that extravagant (I do NOT want to drive back each day in the summer to water them). However, a little tidying up would do an exit good.

I own an orange vest (don't ask), garbage bags, and gloves (for doing gross chores around the house). All I need is the picker (the grabby stick thing). Hmmmm......

Movie of the Day: 17 Again. He was very helpful.

Cheery Muppet Joy

One theory to my good mood as of late is the "wearing off of Seasonal Affect Disorder," i.e. the sun is out and I'm out of the winter funk. WOO HOO!!!!!! Another theory could be that I've been exercising.

Any way, I'm in a group at church that prays for individual member's requests. Mine this week is for "Cheery Muppet Joy." I made up the phrase yesterday and it refers to the "WAH HA" sort of excitement that Muppets have. So, that's what I'd like to feel right now. Care to join me?

Pause

When I was growing up, I would watch I Dream of Jeannie and Bewitched in the morning while we were getting ready for school. Every so often, I wish I could be like Samantha on Bewitched and twinkle my nose and make things pause. It would give me a couple minutes to collect my thoughts or a couple hours to catch up on some work/chores/napping.

I suppose it would become addictive, eh? Plus, someone would catch on that I'm either way more put together than I should be or that things change instantly. Hmmmm.....

Movie of the Day: Bewitched. Not nearly as cool as the TV show.

Slacker

Becca, the blogging slacker, would like to wish you a Happy Easter. Or a good Passover. Or.... happy Spring!

She apologizes for her lack of blogging the past 11 days. There is no excuse.

Highlights of this time: hanging out with people she cares about (in person or online), reading, seeing Monsters vs. Aliens in 3-D, ordering new glasses, and sleeping in a bit. Overall, a nice way to spend Spring Break.

Movie of the Day: See above.

Books

It's winter and I've been reading a lot of books lately. In reverse order:

Just a Couple of Days by Tony Vigorito (just started).
Darcy's Story by Janet Aylmer
Malinche by Laura Esquivel
Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man by Steve Harvey
American Nerd: The Story of My People by Ben Nugent
When the Heart Waits by Sue Monk Kidd

That takes us back about a month.

Spring Break is three, count them, three days away and I'm looking forward to more reading, maybe a little jewelry-making, and some well-deserved sleeping in late!

Movie of the Day: The Jane Austen Book Club. Movie about readers. :)

Silly

I like paper chains. I don't know if it's the counting or the visual aspect of it, but I just really like to make them and use them when I'm getting close to either Spring Break or the end of the school year. So, Friday, I was at school late, helping kids sporadically as they caught up on their homework and decided to make a paper chain for the five, yes five, days left until Spring Break! Usually, I use pretty colored paper, but this time, I used a piece of graph paper!!!! How very nerdy of me, eh?

Movie of the Day: Ghost. Remember when Unchained Melody was ALL the rage (think 1988-ish)?

Rain

Personally, I like the sound of rain on my window, especially when I'm on the dry side of the window.

For the past few years, rain has meant a little river of water starts to flow in my basement. Not this year! Nope. No river. However, since the fixing of my foundation meant the destruction of my driveway until later this Spring, the river, or more the swamp, has moved to the driveway area. Muck. Muck. Muckity. Muck. Here are a few photos:


Do you see the boards on the left side of the above picture? That's how I walk between the house and the garage. They get slippery, but at least they spare my shoes.

This is where the driveway meets the garage. You can see what the tires track in each day.

Movie of the Day: Drives Me Crazy.

Uh Oh

Um, what do you think it means when my lucky bamboo dies?

On a happier note, parent conferences are done for the year! This is a major sign of Spring and more importantly, SUMMER!!!!

Movie of the Day: Twilight. I'm going to try to see it this weekend.

WeLF

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Your only obligation is to enjoy Friday. Make it special. Be cheerful. Smile at a stranger. Bring chocolate to work. Wear silly socks or a wacky tie. Skip down the hall. Do whatever it takes for people to think "Why is he/she so cheerful?"

Please share your Friday stories with our PR Dept. right here on this blog:

Movie of the Day: Freaky Friday. (Okay, try not to have one of those!)

A Fun Word

I was reading a quote book yesterday and stumbled on a new fun word. Of course, I've heard it before, but just never realized how fun it is to say:

plump

The quote: The future was plump with promise. ~ Maya Angelou

Isn't it a great word to say? Say out loud a couple times and just listen to the pop of the last "p."

Movie of the Day: What's Eating Gilbert Grape.

Sneak In Some Learning

It appears we have school today. As soon as it starts snowing, we will all have one eye out the window. Makes for some interesting learning...

Last year, Duluth had a freak storm that dropped 17 inches of snow on one part of town (where my little car and I were parked) and left the other part of town nearly snow-free! It took me a LONG time to get home (2.5 hours, I just checked my Dec. 4, 2007 entry) and I couldn't understand why my loved ones didn't seem concerned for my safety. They were in the snowless section.

Let's hope things are better today.

Movie of the Day: Mystic Pizza. (No connection to above; I'm just hungry.)

Daylight Savings + 1

Have you noticed that the Sunday of Daylight Savings Time isn't as brutal as the Monday after the Sunday of Daylight Savings Time (well, at least in the Spring when we "lose" an hour)?

I wasn't thinking clearly and decided to stay up late Saturday night and do homework/laundry/cleaning, just to get it over with. Then, as I'm putting clothes away, it hits me that it's Daylight Savings and that meant it was really "midnight." ARGH!

Movie of the Day: The Secret of NIMH. A cartoon movie from my youth that I'd never seen until this weekend. Scientists save the day.

The Grand Canyon

Here are some pictures from the Grand Canyon, South Rim in Arizona.

This is a a warning sign at a rest area between Sedona and Phoenix (Southbound). It's on the edges of the pet-walking area. Not so restful, eh?

Uff

It's all about personalities. My health insurance has this deal where if you go through their programs (walking, counseling, whatever) you get a lower rate. So, last year, I did the stress program (can't you tell that I'm so much more chill now than I was a year ago?). This year, I'm working on the eating better and exercising thing. Both programs involve reading some material, trying some activities, and then talking with a person on the phone.

Maybe it was because it was a stress thing or something, but last year's lady was way more chill than this year's lady. I talked to her for the first time tonight and she gave me a TON of homework. Now, I can deal with it, but it was a minor shock to the system. I guess I should have expected it. Too funny.

I'm going to go eat another serving of fruit now...

Movie of the Day: Hanging Up. Stressful movie.

On the Road

Here are a few pictures of the drive to Sedona and then the sunset in Sedona itself:

Movie of the Day: Australia. Good movie. Long, so pace yourself on the beverages.

Dang Nabbit!

I bought a lovely cowboy hat while I was at the Grand Canyon. I didn't really decide if it was for me or to be a souvenir, but as I was wearing it last night while correcting quizzes (I'm weird.), I found out that I'm allergic to the hat! Dang Nabbit!

It makes me itch. My sister is allergic to all things hemp, so I guess it isn't too weird that I'm allergic to straw. It's too back because it's cute! I will be looking for a good home for the lovely hat.

Here's a picture:

Cacti

Desert Botanical Garden ~ Art

I was in Phoenix the past week and was able to take in the Desert Botanical Garden last Monday. Dale Chihuly has an art exhibit there until May 31st and it's beautiful! His glass sculptures are mingled with the cacti and so spectacular that I started forgetting to look at the plants! Here are a few pictures:

Stay tuned for cacti pictures!

Movie of the Day: Slumdog Millionaire. I was able to see it while I was gone and it really did deserve an Oscar.

Greetings From AZ!!!

It's a sunny, yet chilly, day in Sedona. The rock formations, cacti, and hills make me feel like I'm far, far away from home. Ah.... nothing like a vacation! Well, not just a vacation, but one with funky jewelry to find, interesting art, and fun cultural events to attend.

I'll have heaps of pictures to share when I get back.

Movie of the Day: The Sandlot. And the cacti lot.

Soon

Tonight, I head South. I will not think about recent plane crashes. I will not think about the new kidnapping capital of the U.S. I will think about being warm and away from homework. I will remember my icy driveway and how it is far, far away.

I will return in about a week. I will not have a computer with me at all times. I will try to find a way to blog at least once.

Movie of the Day: Raising Arizona. :)

Mucky

Last Fall, I had work done to fix the foundation of my house. The contractor said that the paving of my driveway (which needed tearing up in order to do the foundation and needed replacing eventually), should be done in the Spring, when the rock they laid down settled.

I followed his advice. So, all last Fall, my driveway was a mess. White muck. Now, after two days of rain, the snow is gone and the muck is back! Ugh. Maybe I could put down a nice big tarp?

Movie of the Day: Uncle Buck. Buck rhymes with Muck. This reminds me of the cartoon Rhymes with Orange, which was hilarious.

Languages

I'm always in awe of people who speak many, many languages. Anything more than three counts in my book. There are so many that I'd like to learn:

French
Norwegian
Italian
more fluent Spanish
Finnish

I like accents too.

Movie of the Day: Cinema Paradiso. Cute.

Snakes

I told a kid that I was going somewhere that had a lot of snakes and they wanted me to bring back one for them. Well, they didn't verbalize the request, but I'm sure it was bouncing around in their mind. Now, as much as I'd like to fulfill this request, I don't think the airport security would like me to even attempt to bring a snake on a plane.

This reminds me of a student who tried to bring a turtle home from Florida. He was busted too.

So, for now, I will focus on some sort of snake souvenir.

Movie of the Day: Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. It has nothing to do with snakes, but is a great movie.

Books

I need to decide which books to take on my trip. I will be heading South, by plane, so the books need to be somewhat light and perhaps not about Alaska.

So, I sift through my pile of books and try to predict what I will be in the mood to read in a week.

It's all about variety, I think.

Movie of the Day: MILK. Saw it last night with some friends. Very good movie. Ironically, there was a long National Guard commercial beforehand. Does that seem weird to anyone else?

One Week

We have one week and one day left until February Break. The nice thing about this week off is that there aren't any major holidays to work into the schedule. We can all just relax, leave town, or catch up on some sleep.

I am leaving town. I will be warm. I am psyched!!!!

Movie of the Day: The Breakfast Club.

Middle Names

I've been paying attention to middle names a lot lately. I have no clue why that is, though.

Do you think parents worry the most about first names and then just sort of default middle names? "What sounds good with Oscar?" type stuff? I've never named a kid, so I don't know.

So, I would like to take a survey:

1) What is your middle name?
2) Do you like your middle name?

Movie of the Day: The Namesake. Such a good movie about a young man named Gogol, not to be confused with Google.

Art

I'm in the mood to wander art museums today. I don't think it'll be happening today, but I thought I would gather some data.

What museums do you like? They can be anywhere in the world. I can't promise I'll get to each one, but I'd like to hear about them.

Are there places that have cool art that aren't exactly museums?

Movie of the Day: Where the HeArt Is. Sweet.

Mismatch. Miss Mismatch?

I've decided not to match my clothes today. I don't know why. I guess my socks and shirt match, but I don't know if that will count. Am I just being weird and trying to get comments? Maybe. Am I just in the mood to wear specific clothes? Maybe. Am I mixing patterns? No.

What I am wearing:

Black socks
Brown pants
Blue tanktop that shows around the waist
Black t-shirt
Purple sweater
Silver jewelry
Red shoes

I also have a light blue button on my sweater that says "I can explain" which I thought was good for a teacher. A little funny.

Yes, I'm a nerd. Who isn't going to match today. :)

Movie of the Day: The Matchmaker. So sweet.

Lost:

Lost:

One Weekend

Last seen Friday January 30th at 3:45 PM

Description: Wide open span of time designated for relaxing and accomplishing all of the tasks I never finish during the week.

Reward Offered

Contact: Becca at this Blog if you have any relevant information

10 Days & A Break

So, I went 10 days without having pop. Then, I had some last night at dinner. It didn't even taste good. I don't know why, but I'm happy it happened that way. I have been getting caffeine, so I didn't get a huge buzz off of it, which is good because it's the buzz that I crave. So, I'm back on the tea this morning and kind of happy to not have urgent rushes to the grocery store to buy pop.

Movie of the Day: Dr. T and the Women (Awful movie, don't go rent it. It just sounded funny with T and tea.)

I Am Blessed

I read an Elizabeth Berg book a couple years ago about a nurse who does home visits and one woman that she visited was very sick, but repeatedly said "I am blessed." I loved that so much that I typed up "I am blessed." as big as my computer would let me and then hung it on my fridge.

It's true. And it's also true that I sometimes forget that I'm blessed and just focus on the things in my life that I would like to change.

I am blessed to have caring family and friends.
I am blessed to have a job indoors that does not involve anything too gross.
I am blessed to have good health care.
I am blessed to have more than enough food everyday.
I am blessed to have a roof over my head and shoes on my feet.

Movie of the Day: It's actually a BBC tv show that I found at the library on Wednesday called The Vicar of Dibley. My former pastor Michelle introduced me to it a couple of years ago. It's hilarious. Right before the closing credits, it says: Bless you for watching.... Cracks me up!

Slowly

I'm the kind of person who will see something in a store, think it's awesome, and then buy it. Well, at least I'm like this about craft items, maybe not about other things as much any more. However, when I see some stickers, or pipecleaners, or paint, or whatever else seems cool, I buy it. I don't have any clue what I'll use it for, but when the creative idea strikes, I'll be ready.

Sometimes, I do things that don't totally make sense, but just feel right. Then, eventually everything comes together and it all does make sense. The stars align or whatever cheesy thing you want to say.

I think and think and think about stuff (obsess, if you will) and then suddenly make a decision and follow through.

Right now, I'm wondering what I'm working on in the back of my mind, what stars are slowly making their way into alignment.

Movie of the Day: Stargate.

Babies Galore!

(This is not the deep topic I alluded to yesterday. That's still marinating in my head. However...)

There has been an influx of children in my friends' lives lately! Granted, some of them are Facebook friends who I haven't talked to in eons, but I'm countin' it. It's so many people that I have to write them down to keep track. In the last year, 9 (Nine) of my friends have had children and two more are on the way.

Movie of the Day: Babe

Getting Ready

I've started writing this post a couple of times now. What I want to say is deeply profound (ha ha) and meaningful, I'm just tripping over my words to try to explain it.

I have been sitting here for at least 5 minutes since writing the above and I guess I need more time to figure it out before I can pass it along. Drat. It's deep, too. Perhaps tomorrow.

For now, I leave you with a movie that I watched last night: The Go-Getter. It's a little edgy, so if you prefer movies like The Parent Trap or Little Lord Fauntleroy, this one might not be for you.

Day 7

Today is the start of the 7th day that I have not had any pop (soda, soda pop). This is a huge deal for me. I'm actually shocked that I've made it this long without cracking. I've been getting some caffeine from green tea, just to keep the people around me safe. The headaches haven't been too bad.

Movie of the Day: The Outsiders. Ponyboy and Soda Pop...

Things On My Desk

The items on my desk right now:

• a Van Gogh mug steeping mixed berry green tea
• my cellphone
• a plate I painted that has rocks and a candle on it
• a piece of amethyst
• my watch
• a coaster
• my horoscope from last weekend (it was good)
• cut up chunks of an old credit card
• a bead that might be too big for a necklace
• The Suicide Collectors by David Oppegaard
• a mini Etch-A-Sketch
• a lanyard I won't use because it promotes the Army
• a Scrabble dictionary
• the information to write the kid I sponsor in Haiti
• a partial list of the 2009 Sundance movies I want to see when they are in general release
• a container of pennies that I used to use for probability units at school
• a maze thingy that is impossible to do (silver balls in corners, etc. Ugh)
• a toothbrush (new)
• a stack of reward cards for ninth graders from about 5 years ago. I should give them to myself.

That's not even all of it, but you don't want a list of lists.

Movie of the Day: The Tao of Steve. Funny and mildly offensive. I should watch it again.

One Foot

Today, we will have one foot in Semester 1 and one foot in Semester 2. Yes, we have ONE final left to give in order to complete Semester 1 (and make up for two cancelled days last week). Then, we have a brief homeroom and leap into Semester 2.

Movie of the Day: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. He had to make a step of faith (to get the grail).

Comfort

I'm looking for comfort. It's January. It's cold. There aren't a lot of things on my calendar and what I would like is a mix of exciting things to do and warm cozy blankets on my couch. Is that weird? Do other people feel like this too?

I felt like I should blog about the inauguration today, but everyone is inundated with it right now. So, I'll leave you with: Let's hope things get better. Let's help things get better.

Movie of the Day: Gran Torino. I haven't seen it yet, but MANY people have been suggesting it to me.

Ritual Continues

If you follow this blog regularly, you will recall that last October, Little Baby M was nearly born in my livingroom. M's mom L and I have a ritual of ordering Sammy's pizza (usually with pineapple) and watching a movie. Little M interrupted our last attempt at watching a movie, but tonight, she joined in the fun and survived the whole evening! No rushing off to the hospital this time!

Food: Sammy's Pizza with pineapple. Cherry Coke Zero.
Movie: Lars and the Real Girl

Little M is one of the girls now.

On a side note, Sundance 2009 is going on right now and L (mother of M) and I were in Park City for Sundance 2006. Things sure have changed!

A Wee Bit of Snow

Okay, I think I've gone crazy. Why? After finally being able to leave the house without packing a spare blanket and checking in after every stop, I was so happy to be outside that I offered to help my folks clear snow off of their deck. It's been on there for over a month, so it's not like it was an urgent task. Yep, I'm nuts.

Then, I went inside and finished sewing a blanket (third? fourth? I've lost track.). There are 10 blankets nearly ready for donation now. My mom has done most of them. I'll use the "She's retired" excuse.

Now, I'm home and ready to tackle a few more projects. Uff. I've gone crazy.

Movie of the Day: Anything cheesy on Hallmark. My mom is addicted and she's dragging me down that slippery slope with her!

Chef Becca HA HA HA

Okay, I tried cooking again. Let's just say the final line of this little episode was my mom on the phone saying, "Try again. Well, not today, but..."





What I've learned:

• The battery on my smoke detector is functioning.


• It's really cold airing out a house when it's -20 F.


• Omelets can burn very, very quickly.


• My career at Perkins is on hold.


• Salad and pasta make a nice lunch.

Here's a picture for posterity:

Will They? Won't They?

It's cold out. Really cold out. We trudged to school through two cold days and they have announced that it's closed for tomorrow! Now, as a teacher, I am an advocate of education. I also like to sleep in. It's a conundrum some times. Tomorrow, sleeping in wins out. Unfortunately, it is a Final Exam Day that will need to be rescheduled, pushing back the start of the next semester. Uff. Oh well.

For now, I'll just be happy to be snug as a bug in a rug.

Movie of the Day: Junebug. A bug in June would be warm. Hmmmm....

Slow Start

I've been reading a book for a couple years now. No, I don't mean that I reread it each year. I mean that I started it over two years ago and I'm still reading it. Sure, it's 548 pages, and sure I say I'm a slow reader, but it's not THAT long and I'm not THAT slow of a reader. I just didn't get into it when I started reading it two years ago. I put it down. Then, I started again. Then, I put it down. Then, I started it a third time. Finally, I am on page 418 and I think I'll be able to finish it this year. Perhaps even this month! This deadline coincides with the movie coming out at the end of January. What book you ask? Inkheart.

Care Packages

It was wonderful to receive care packages in the mail while I was in college. I think it would be fun to send care packages to my friends now. Anyone interested in starting a care package revival?

Movie of the Day: Adaptation. Weird movie.

Gingerbread Houses

Okay, they are actually graham cracker houses, but you get the idea. Sugar High!

Snowshoeing

One in a Million Saras took me snowshoeing today in the lovely field near her house. It was my very first snowshoeing experience and I really liked it. I was borrowing my brother-in-law's equipment, which was a bit too big and manly for me, but I feel like I got the gist of it enough to know that I'd like to try it again. Very cool.

Movie of the Day: I will be working on the second half of the blanket I started a week ago and watching Hollywoodland (I believe) tonight. I'll let you know if it's worth a look.

Slang

I pride myself in knowing the meaning of the slang that my students use in class. I don't know all of it, but when I hear something that I don't understand, I try to figure it out or ask. Mostly, it's so I can call them out on it, if it's inappropriate.

My main red flag: someone says something that seems out of context and then usually one gender of students starts giggling.

Oy.

An example: "whale tail" is when a girl's specific type of underwear is showing above the waist of her jeans.

Movie of the Day: The Whale and the Squid. (On my list of movies I want to see)

God Rocked

I saw a movie last night (while ditching choir, "Sorry K."), which was funny and scary in a satirical kind of way. The movie was filmed in Duluth and it was fun to recognize local haunts. It's called God Rocked. I don't think you can rent it locally (which sucks), but it's on NetFlix or you can contact the director and get your own copy!

Wander Lust

The snow is piled high in my yard.
Final exams are next week.
My house is a cool 64 degrees.

And I want to escape!

While pretty much anywhere would be exciting right now, I decided to hit the school library and pick up some books on different countries that might be fun to visit. I started with a few books about the places below.

Places I would love to see:

Scotland (castles!)
Emerald Lake in Canada
Machu Picchu
Egyptian pyramids
Italy
Greek Islands
Israel
Japan
South Africa
Costa Rica
Finland
France (again)
England (again)
Norway
Sweden
Russia

I could keep going.

Huh? What?

Yesterday was a tough day for my ninth graders. I jumped right into the thick of Chapter 6 and all of its equation forms and then reminded them that they have finals next week. Yes, the semester is almost up and they are going to have some serious tests soon. It was like they were blindsided by it. This is the first time in their lives that grades really matter toward graduation. Some of them have messed up their grades beyond repair and are just waiting out the semester. We'll see what we can offer them in the second half of the year for some grade recovery.

As for the rest, good luck!

Magazines

It's good to try new things, right? Usually, I read magazines like Oprah or Real Simple. I used to buy Premiere (how I miss that one) and US Weekly or People. I gave up buying the celebrity stuff when I started getting sick of hearing who was going into rehab and who was wearing what dress. Does it affect my life? No.

However, over break, I've started reading two different magazines that are great! The first one, I found at Northern Lights Bookstore while buying David Oppegaard's debut novel: The Suicide Collectors. Dave is "Blogagaard" in some of my old posts' comments. Any way, while I was checking out, I found the magazine The Sun. It's mainly creative writing on a different topic each month! There are no ads. It's fascinating. I might have to subscribe! It's website is www.thesunmagazine.org

As for the second one, my friend's mom gave me a MAD magazine since she heard I'd never read one. It's hilarious! I've been missing out.

School starts back up today. Wish me luck!

Time for Some Research

It has snowed quite a bit this season and after going outside to assess the shoveling needs, I've decided that I need to do something about my mini wind tunnel of a driveway. I'm not sure what to do or even if there is anything to do to help the huge drifts, but I'm going to start researching it. Some parts have less than an inch of snow on them and others have over a foot.

I've called for a ride to church, which makes me feel wimpy, but I console myself that I didn't just go back to sleep.

Movie of the Day: A Mighty Wind. :)

Button

I saw The Curious Case of Benjamin Button yesterday and it was wonderful! It was so good that I didn't notice it was 2.5 hours long! The movie follows the life of a man who is aging backwards. He's born old, small, but old. Slowly, he loses his arthritis and turns into a young man and then a child. It's fascinating to watch him learn about life in the opposite direction.

And no, I did not have a fleece blanket to sew in the theater. :)

Free Time

So, you would think I could have blogged yesterday, but some how it slipped my mind.

I've been watching a lot of movies and sewing blankets. I'm almost done with my third fleece blanket (trimming the edges by hand) and I've watched the following movies over break:

• Thumbsucker
• Millions
• Birth
• Wild Hogs
• The Duchess
• Marley & Me
• Amazing Grace

I think it is more movies than I've watched the whole first three months of school. I'm sure I'll be seeing at least one more today. (More on that tomorrow!)

DRAT

I missed yesterday. Grrr.....

Happy New Year!

Movie of the Day: Marley & Me. So sweet and sad. Make sure you have tissues with you.