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.

So Far, So Good

Well, I'm blogging every day, just like I promised. Now, if only I could think of something fascinating to write here!

• I saw Sweet Land yesterday which was indeed sweet and about land.
• I'm half-way done with my second blanket for charity. My mom seems to think I will be making about 20 (eek). We'll see how far I get before school starts back up.
• I haven't figured out what to do tonight to celebrate the yearly transition.
• I probably won't make any resolutions this year. Maybe I should resolve not to make any resolutions. Hmmm.....

Happy New Year!

Christmas Lights, A-Flamin'

Oh, interesting story from Christmas Day: My mom and I both have these tea-light tower things that I found one year. She only uses hers at Christmas and mine sits out in my office, but I never light it. Any way, I'm sure you can guess where this is going... I go to switch out the tea lights around lunch time on Christmas and one of them is really, really flaming and the fire is sort of rolling around the tin. I try blowing it out a couple times and it doesn't work. On the last try, it flies OUT of the tower and behind my mom's sewing machine! I'm screaming "OH MY GOD" and trying to move the machine and make sure the flame is out. The wall is doused in wax and the linoleum is singed. Ufff. Most of it came off/out and the machine covers the burns, but I was freaked. Yep, I will be getting rid of my tower now. If it had been in my office, the carpet would have caught fire?

Yesterday, I left my house a couple times to check my mailbox. Does stepping on the porch count as "leaving the house"? Maybe not. Any way, the rest of the day, I finished a blanket (green with white trim) and watched two movies: Thumbsucker (good) and Birth (decent).

We'll see what kind of mischief I get into today....

Vacation

Greetings, all! I am gloriously on vacation for the next week and have decided to make it a goal to blog every day.

This afternoon, my plan is to work on sewing a fleece blanket and watch one of the movies that I bought without actually haven't seen it. Yes, I know it's crazy, but at the time, I thought it made more sense to buy them when it was cheaper to buy than to rent. Now, I realize that this means I have movies on my hands. So, I will watch them and then decide if I should keep them or pass them along.

However, I would like some ideas of new movies or documentaries that you've enjoyed. So, if you would like to leave a comment with suggestions, that would rock!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Give Me Back My Week, Please.

We had a snow day last Monday. And then, we had a "if you can't get to school, you are excused" day which most of our kids took to mean a snow day. That takes care of Monday and Tuesday. Then, I went on a retreat with the ninth graders on Wednesday. Then, I missed half of Thursday for an appointment. Uff. Friday, I was able to see all of my classes for the first time all week.

Now, we have two more days of school and then we can relax a bit. Unfortunately, I'm going to be trying to cram a lot of math into these last two days when the students are perhaps a bit less focused than usual. Ha ha. I'll try.

Movie: Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day. Sweet.

Christmas Lights

Over the years, I've tried to put up Christmas lights in my yard. I think they're pretty and fight depression. Unfortunately, in the last year, I seem to have lost almost all of the inanimate objects that I've ever decorated! The only thing that I can reach without a serious ladder (and an acrophobia trigger) is my front steps' railing. That just doesn't seem like enough. I've actually thought of asking my neighbor if I can light her fence. I wonder if she'd let me.

Movie of the Day (or week/month since I'm so slow at blogging these days): The Dark Knight. He could have used a little light.

Early, Even For Me

I'm awake and ready for the day ridiculously early. This means I was wide awake at 4:30, ready to attack the day. I have to WAIT to eat breakfast simply so I'm not crabby with hunger by 9:00. It's silly.

I'm excited to start my long weekend. I decided to take tomorrow off from work and I'm finding that a two-day work week is really quite manageable! I wonder if I could live off 40% of my income?

Any way, it's glorious and I'm excited to get the relaxing started!

I hope everyone has a lovely Thanksgiving (or weekend if you are reading this outside of the US).

Movie of the Day: Dream For an Insomniac

A Poem

I ran across a poem that I wrote. I'm not sure when it was written.

A Prayer

May you find kindness and love.
May you be safe and warm.
May you find home, laughter, and joy.
May you find someone to share your sorrow
and someone to lift you up.
May you find peace within your heart
and light within your soul.

I'm a Slug

I have down time tonight and dreams of mustering up the energy to clean my house. In reality, all I want to do is curl up with my book and try to fight my adult-onset ADD. Can I read more than 5 pages in one sitting? I'm not sure.

I'll go give it a try.

Movie of the Day: Herbie the Love Bug. Slug Bug White!

Stream of Consciousness: Let It Flow

It's Tuesday. It's dark out way too early for my taste. My driveway is like semi-set cement and my cute decorative flag ripped off my garage this weekend in the wind. Tore the holder off too. Sheesh. It's like the wind doesn't want any fun. Yesterday, I drove behind a truck that had two American flags on sticks attached to the windows. All I could think of was the drag and how much gas they would save by taking them down. No offense, Flag. I'm in the mood to make jewelry, but I'm antsy too. Then, I feel groggy and like "Hey, maybe 8:00 is an acceptable bedtime." I'm starting to act old or 4. Oy. I have some plants in my livingroom that are getting out of control! They're snaking along the carpet and having a grand ol' time. I suppose the people with green thumbs would suggest splitting them and getting bigger pots and such so they can propagate even more. Might be good. I glanced at an article in Sunday's paper about having plants at work to help with the air quality. I've had plants at school before. I wonder if the kids would leave them alone. Maybe. They don't seem to mess with much this year, though I have gotten rid of some of the distractions: cartoon calendars and the cd player, to be specific. How much fun can they really have with a plant? Well, a legal plant.

Movie of the Day: High School Musical 3. Cheesy goodness. The previews made me laugh out loud.

Uber Fun on a Sunday

I spent the evening with my friends L, G, Goofy Boy, and Wee One. They were in town for a little R & R before L goes back to work in a week.

It's amazing how a person can be friends with someone for 24 years (Crap, that makes me feel old) and maybe not see them for years and years, but just fall right back into place like it's been a week since the two of you hung out. It's very, very nice.

We laughed. We giggled. We gossiped. We remembered lots of random stuff from junior high and even some stuff that I forgot about. G wanted to know what L said about him when they started dating in 1989. Unfortunately, I don't remember much beyond the general drama of it all.

Now, they have Goofy Boy and Wee One, both delightful young men.

Movie of the Day: The Edge. A creepy movie. A nice hotel water park.

Linger

It's raining and really all I want to do is curl up with a book, a movie, a blanket, and some loved ones. It's the perfect day to hunker down, to gather in the warmth and linger.

Argh

Raise your hand if you're stressed out. I've been the kid in the back waving her hand vigorously for weeks now and I finally couldn't take it any more yesterday. Things at work are overwhelming. The election, the economy, the weather are looming. Luckily, things with my family and friends are good, or I'd be in the loonie bin for sure.

On a lighter note, here's a shout-out to little Baby M, who was nearly born in my livingroom last week! M and her mom L are going great!

Movie of the Day: Water.

Mix Tape

Remember mix tapes? For the young ones out there, it's like a mix cd only on a tape cassette. Instead of drag-clicking a playlist and burning the cd, you sit and switch either tapes or cds for each song and then wait while it plays and records. You have to plan the songs so you don't run out of time on one side before the song finishes. It's a serious labor of love.

I ran across a mix tape that my friend K made for me in December of 1991. I know she reads this blog, so I'd like to thank her and find out if she remembers it. For everyone else, count up how many of the following songs you know and feel free to drop a comment....

"Tape for Becca Dec. - 1991 'A Collective Accumulation of Classics' - Love K..

Side A

Tocata and Fuge in Dm- J.S. Bach
Up the Ladder to the Roof- The Nylons
The Obvious Child- Paul Simon
Under the Sea-The Little Mermaid (Sebastian)
Donna- Ritchie Valens
From a Distance- Bette Midler
Feelin' Groovy- Simon & Garfunkel
The Sound of Silence- S & G
Juke Box Hero- Foreigner
Ballads + Blues- George Winston
Loud/Soft- Bert (Sesame Street)

Side B

"W" Lovers- Bert again
Mack the Knife- Louis Armstrong
Penniwhistle Jig- Jamse Galway
Otto Titsling- Bette Midler
Hotel California- Eagles
Piano Man- Billy Joel
Duelin' Banjos- James Galway
Bert's Girlfriend- Bert (SS)
Bop `Til You Drop- The Nylons
Sabre Dance- James Galway
The Friendship Theme (From Beaches)

Nice mix, eh?

Movie of the Day: Made of Honor. Fluffy, but okay.

Community Ed Classes

Okay, I'm sorry it's been so long since I've blogged. Let's blame school starting, shall we?

Every Fall, I look forward to getting the Community Ed Classes flier in the newspaper. Over the years, I've taken quite a few classes: Joy of Soy, self-defence, photography, Norwegian, and even bellydancing. I haven't seen any in recent years that have just jumped out at me and made me want to rearrange my life to attend. So, I've decided to create a dream list of classes that I would enjoy:

Classes Becca Would Like To Attend Through Community Ed.
How to Introduce Yourself to a Neighbor Six Years After Becoming Neighbors.
How to Get Your Contractor to Do His/Her Job.
How to Cook Without Getting Injured.
How to Map Routes Through Duluth to Optimize Gas Usage.
How to Stop Drinking Pop: You Can Do It! Or Not Do It!
How to Find Organic Fair Trade Clothing That You Can Try On Before Buying.
How to Make World Peace a Reality.

Yep, that's my list. Now, I know I've been AWOL blogging. Please forgive me. What Classes would YOU like to see offered through Community Ed?

Movie of the Day: Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day. I didn't think this movie would hit me just as deeply as it did. I really liked it!

Here We Go

Yesterday was the first official day back for teachers. It's a time for staff development, catching up with friends, hauling books from the bookroom to my room (on whatever cart I can find), and pretty much trying to get as much squared away as possible.

Today, we have a two hour staff meeting at 10, with room prep before and afterwards. Some years, it's enough time and other years I'm scrambling to finish things up as the kids are coming in the door on Thursday morning. This year, I think I'll be okay.

Movie of the Day: What Happens in Vegas. It's silly and doesn't have a lot to do with Vegas and more to do with learning to get along with people.

One Minor Step

The foundation of my house needs redoing, as I may have mentioned in JUNE. It has yet to get started, except that an electrician has moved my powerline to a better entry spot. That's it.

My theory is that the contractor will want to start on the first day of school, because that will add just the right amount of stress to land me in a padded room.

Movie of the Day: Persepolis. A grown up cartoon. It's in French with subtitles. Be able to read quickly. It's about a girl growing up in Iran. It's very good!

Okay, Okay. I Won't Travel.

You may recall that I was whining about not getting out of town much this summer. It's true. After blogging, I thought of one trip to the Cities in June and then did make a day trip to Little Fork, MN.

Then, planning as all good planners do, I plotted out a nice little two-day trip to Mankato and the surrounding region starting tomorrow. Nothing too wild, but at least a little bit of a trip.

All of that is tossed out the window. Why? Why would Becca cancel her chance to see new horizons? Pneumonia! Yes, that's right. I have pneumonia. Crazy, huh? My highest fever went up to 104.6, but has broken now. Whew. I spent Monday afternoon in the Emergency Room getting poked and prodded. I was so sick that I didn't even bother showering before going there (it's significant). Yesterday, I realized I hadn't brushed my teeth in over two days.

It's been a rough week. Luckily, I'm on the upswing.

Movie of the Day: Wit. Very good. Sad. Funny. Kept running through my head as I sat in the hospital.

Clean Drugs

In an effort to sort out some of the junk in my house, I decided to take advantage of the up-coming "Drug Recycling Event" that WLSSD is putting on next week. They are collecting and disposing of old medications instead of letting people flush them, pour them down the sink, or throw them away!

When was the last time you cleaned out your medicine cabinet?

Movie of the Day: How to Deal. ha ha ha.

Hurricane Becca

I am in this bizarre mood to just cull out so much stuff at my house that I'm opening closets and drawers and then just pulling out stuff I don't want any more. Then, I leave it in the middle of the floor and keep moving on. I'm not doing it consciously, but the place is starting to look like a storm has been through the house.

I better go start clean-up efforts.

Movie of the Day: Dark Knight. It was very dark, but good. Not as violent as I feared, but still pretty bad.

Must Travel. Now.

Okay, I'm the last one to eagerly admit that school is starting soon. "Soon" is a relative term, I keep telling myself. If it were March and someone said, "I'm gonna give you 3.5 weeks off right now" I would do a happy dance. So, I should be thrilled to still have 3.5 weeks of vacation and not focus on all that will happen at the end of those 3.5 weeks, right? I mean, there's preparing, but not worrying....

Any way, I haven't done a very good job of getting my carcass out of Duluth this summer. I went an hour and a half away. Once. For an afternoon. That doesn't count for much.

Therefore, I am hoping to make a couple short trips around the state in my 3.5 weeks: 1) Twin Cities, or "The Cities," 2) Up North to see relatives, & 3) Mankato to see friends (and Belle Plaine, L.).

Any suggestions on what to see when I'm in any of these three places?

Movie of the Day: Nancy Drew. Very cute movie.

Books

I have recently been invited to join two "informal book clubs." Really, this means two friends thought about how much I like to read and would maybe like to get more books in the mail. These were chain letters. I'm not good at chain letters. I just never send them and used to get freaked out by the gloom and doom of what would happen if I didn't pass them along.

So, since I do like books and I do like my friends, I thought I would just give my friends six of my books. Yes, I have that many I can spare. I met one of them for dinner last week and it had been a couple months since I received her "club invitation" so I surprised her with a huge bag of books and asked her to give one of them to the one person I was supposed to send a book to (her coworker). Technically, she got more than six books, but I don't care.

It was liberating to get rid of some of the books that I've either read or don't think I'm going to read any time soon. Ah....

What else can I cull out?

Movie of the Day: Mamma Mia! Good, silly fun!

Vampires

I try to stay up on what the kids are watching, reading, and listening to these days. I don't watch horror movies and only like music whose lyrics are decipherable, but I try to know the names of things, what slang means, and read the books that seem interesting.

This year, I noticed that a wide variety of kids were reading Twilight. It's the first book of a f0ur-book series by Stephenie Meyer. It's about a teenage girl who moves to Washington and meets an interesting boy at school. He happens to be a vampire and she happens to smell delectable to him. Hmmmm.... It's a four-book series, so I'm guessing she doesn't bite it any time soon. (He doesn't bite her any time soon??? Tee hee.)

If you like vampires and chaste reading, check it out.

Movie of the Day: Wall-E. No vamires, just robots.

Summer

I've been thinking about my favorite Summertime activities. There are a lot of things I still need to do to feel like I've experienced "Summer."

Star-gazing
Eating lots of watermelon
A picnic on the shore
Gooseberry Falls
Walking the Boardwalk (I haven't done this yet this summer. What is wrong with me?)
Visiting Portland Malt Shoppe
Playing with sidewalk chalk and bubbles


There are other things that I'd like to try this Summer or try again this Summer.

Rock climbing (indoor for starters)
Kayaking
Biking (It's been so long, but I hear it's "like riding a bike")

I'm forgetting stuff. Help me out? What am I missing?

Movie of the Day: Touch the Sound. A woman goes deaf as a kid, but can still feel the vibrations of different percussion instruments and be able to tell the difference between the notes. The music is beautiful and haunting. It's maybe not something you would play at a dinner party, but definitely wonderful.

Bugs, Tar, and a Pale World

One of my friends has been talking about red food lately. Not a lot of food is bright red, at least not naturally. So, to make it so, people add dyes. The problem is you either go synthetic or natural. Synthetic is stuff like Red 40 and Red 3, which I guess involves tar. Natural really means bug parts.

I'm a vegetarian. Does that include bugs? I thought so, but it might be harder than I thought to avoid tar AND bugs.

I thought the best solution was to Boycott RED! But on further inspection, that is going to take a lot of work. It's in ice cream, popsicles, lipstick (I'll have to investigate further), and other random things that I hadn't thought of before devising a boycott. Oy.

Bugs or tar? Bugs or tar? I'm leaning towards bugs, I guess.

You?

Movie of the Day: Penelope. Sooooo cute. Lots of vibrant colors. Even red.

Podlet Podlet

When I was in college, I lived with 9 other girls with a total of 6 rooms around a common room. These living quarters were called "pods" and we called ourselves Podlets. (Go figure.) Any way, the 12 years since graduation has produced at least 14 kids (I've lost touch with a few podlets and I'm not sure just how many kids they have, sad but true.)

Our newest Podlet podlet is R., the son of J. Here are the cutest shoes ever that R. will get in the mail shortly.

10 Cards

Last Thursday, I bought a box of 10 beautiful notecards. My goal is to send all 10 of the cards within the following week. It's now Tuesday evening and I haven't written even one. I have two days, eh?

Now, please don't feel bad if you do not receive one of the cards in the mail. I'm trying to send them to people that I don't hear from very often. If you DO get one, it means you have been radio-silent too long!!!

Anyone else up for The Notecard Challenge?

Movie of the Day: Postcards From the Edge. Tee hee.

Garden

Each year, right about this time (I checked), I blog about wanting to buy flowers for my yard. This year, I have tried and tried to drive past the greenhouses and just look, just peek in and not stop. My yard is about to be torn up to within an inch of its life and the last thing I should be doing is buying more plants to make refugees to the "Becca Bayou" as my friends call it (the swamp behind my house).

The past two days have seen weakness. I bought: two basil plants, one tomoato plant, one hanging purple plant, and a huge, sprawling purple plant. This is added to the three petunias that my folks bought me (purple. See a theme?) and a mini azalea that I couldn't resist last week. They are all sitting outside my door, in the driveway. Yes, I need psychiatric help. Oh well.

Movie of the Day: Je Crois Que Je L'Aime. I saw the poster for this movie in Paris and my friends wouldn't go see it. (Just because half of us wouldn't understand a word of it...). Any way, I bought it online and can't wait to watch it (with subtitles, of course).

Grandma's Running By

Grandma's Marathon was yesterday and I've been prepping for it all week. No, not running, Goof. My family and I have been making gift baskets since Tuesday (approx. 160) and then helped with a waterstation yesterday morning. Ironically, I didn't hand out a single cup of Ultima (energy drink). I took care of the cups after they served their purpose. Yes, I put myself on road clean up. It's probably the worst possible job, but the compulsive in me can't handle the road getting all littered and "trip-able." So, I raked and shoveled up cups. Before this started, though, I did nab a couple of fun "location" pictures of the lake, which I will share.

Two Movies

I saw two movies yesterday: The Bucket List and Jesus Camp.

The Bucket List was all about living life to its fullest and dreaming beyond your ordinary routine. It was funny, sad, and sweet.

Jesus Camp was scary. I don't watch horror movies because I don't need those images in my head, so this was as scary as I get. Watching children writhe and speak in tongues and sob over their sins was really tough. It was an interesting glimpse into an Evangelical culture I don't really understand.

De-Decked

I used to have a deck on my house, this morning. Now, I have a muddy, mucky open space, ready for the contractor to arrive and fix my house's foundation. Ah, the joys of summer. Lots of wonderful people came over to help with the destruction. My job was to either remove or bend over the nails from the boards after removal. If you see me with a burly right arm, you'll know my exercise secret: hammer, hammer, hammer, haul to another pile. Yep, if I were ambidextrous, I wouldn't look so lopsided or fall over nearly so much.

Movie of the Day: Ed Wood.

That's a Wrap

It's over. No more school for three months. I can wander the globe and seek adventure. Ah....

If you were given an all-expense paid trip to anywhere of your choosing, where would you go?

Movie of the Day: The Jane Austen Book Club. A good book and a good movie.

Finals Week/Final Week

The seniors are done. We will be at 75% capacity this week and for some reason, it makes the school so much quieter. It's a bit like the building sighs, just a little.

Tomorrow, the final exams begin and it's a race to Thursday at 12:35. Wow!

Movie of the Day: Summer School (where some of my students will be spending their "free" time).

Games

I've been thinking about games a lot lately and now I'm wondering how the games we play as kids shape who we are as adults.

Games I Liked to Play as a Kid:
Chutes and Ladders
Aggravation
Hungry, Hungry Hippos
Kings in the Corner
Life
Rummikub
(I'm sure there were others that I'm spacing out.)

Games I Like to Play Now:
Apples to Apples
Taboo
Scattergories
Mind Trap
Mad Gab

Games I'm Learning:
Carcassonne
Ticket To Ride
Rummy

What about you? What games did you like to play and which ones do you still play?

Movie of the Day: The Game Plan. :)

Not So Fun

People should really avoid me right now, if they can. Seriously. My family considers this a time to tread lightly and watch for signs that I might be losing it. "We'll talk about it later" is a common mid-sentence phrase that they use.

The weird thing is to watch myself while it's happening. I know that I'm running on the fumes of what used to be a bucket of patience. I know this. Telling people to avoid me is just really a public service announcement. I'll be better in two weeks. Honest.

The hard part is that I can't avoid myself. Being able to step back enough and tell myself to chill about things is tough. I try to tell myself that I'm just stressed about the end of the year and I should just ride it out. It's that feeling of wanting to cry but knowing that you're being irrational in wanting to cry.

It's a pain in the butt. Avoid Becca if you can. "Summer Becca" (the one who is relaxed (or as relaxed as Becca can get)) will be here shortly. Until then, talk amongst yourselves.

Movie of the Day: Leviathan. I'm not quite THAT bad. Yet.

A Weird Time

There are 13 days left of school for the year and we are in a crazy/emotional/long-stretching yet flying-by kind of state. The crazy comes from trying to cram in as many "year end" activities as any school can: prom, music department concerts, awards ceremonies, banquets, class trips, senior assemblies, etc. Add in distributing yearbooks, meetings with seniors who may or may not graduate, and delivering grad party announcements. Then, because Duluth Spring is so fickle, our sports teams have had horrible luck with postponements and are trying to make up games/meets. There are kids missing 4 days of class a week for their sports (don't get me started).

Finally, after all of this, we get to the main point of going to school: learning. Yes, socialization is important, but so is knowledge. Tomorrow, I start to teach logarithms. Happily, it is the last chapter we will do for the year and I will try my best to teach it as efficiently and quickly for the kids who are 1) in attendance and 2) able to focus for just a bit long- just a little bit longer.

Movie of the Day: Golden Compass. Watched it this weekend while "enjoying" the flu.

Card From The Past

In the middle of class yesterday, a student said "Look what I just found in my book!"

It was a sealed card, with a boy's name on it. The whole class looked and suddenly we're watching her open someone else's card. Inside, a birthday wish and 10 dollar bills!

I have a hunch about who the card belongs to and I had that student two years ago! So, now I need to find him and see if it is possibly his card. Then, I'll need to try to get the $10 back, unless he doesn't mind it being gone.

Weird things happen, even in math class.

Movie of the Day: Millions. I haven't seen it yet, but these kids find some serious cash.

Jewelry

I like making jewelry and for some reason, I've been getting more compliments lately on my necklaces. For the first time, I've had people ask me to make the exact one that I'm wearing for them. Now, this poses a problem. If I start mass producing jewelry and giving them to friends/coworkers, then they lose their uniqueness.

How do you tactfully say, "I can make something like it, but this is mine." Is that tactful enough?

Movie of the Day: Jewel of the Nile

Dear Deer

Dear Deer,
Welcome to the neighborhood. Yes, we see you. Sometimes. Yes, the neighbor's dogs see you all the time, and make it quite clear to the rest of us that they are unhappy with the fence confining them. So, if you would kindly nibble a little bit on the neighbor's grass, and then take your cute little white tails back to the forest where I am sure not to crash my car into you, that would be much appreciated.

Sincerely,
Becca Who Doesn't Wanna Hit You

Movie of the Day: Bambi, which I don't know if I've ever seen

Mothers' Day

Mothers' Day is a week away and I'm trying to think of something unique and amazing to get my mom. It's not an easy task.

So, I ask all you readers out there who are moms or have moms, what do you suggest?

Movie of the Day: Mother. :)

Nerd Fest

This weekend is the Minnesota State High School Math Teachers' Conference and I'm goin'! I've decided to dub it "Nerd Fest." There will be math games, math books, math jewelry, and math clothing for sale. There will be people calculating things, discussing things way over other people's heads, and pretty much a bunch of teachers walking around thinking "Whew, this is a nice little break from the daily routine." There will be first grade teachers, special ed teachers, middle school teachers, high school teachers, college professors, college students who want to be math teachers, state math administrators and book vendors attending.

Try not to be envious. We can't all be math nerds.

(tee hee).

Movie of the Day: Juno. Jocks like nerds. You should too.

Gooseberry Falls (Two Weeks Ago)

There's a lotta water goin' on...

Oh, Georgia!

A few years ago, I went to Santa Fe and wandered the Georgia O'Keefe Museum. It's small, but nice. My favorite painting there was an abstract of the New York City sky. You couldn't really tell it was NYC or even really buildings. I loved that. Unfortunately, the gift shop did not have a print of the painting and while I searched nearby shops, I still couldn't find it. So, I gave up.

Then, this week, I had the chance to wander the Tweed Museum at UMD and started thinking about the ever elusive O'Keefe painting. My fear was that I had idealized it in my head after so many years that it would be a letdown if I ever found it.

I went home and googled away, finding her complete works on Wiki almost immediately. Not only was I right about the letdown, but I had a hard time even figuring out which painting I had loved! How awful!!!

It could have been this one, or this one, but I don't think it was this one.

My new favorites:

It Was Blue and Green 1960
Red Canna 1915
Maple and Cedar 1922
From the Lake no 1 1924

Movie of the Day: Carolina. She had a state name too.

Dreary

The weather is trying to dampen my Spring Break joy. The clouds engulf the city and sprinkle, then splatter it with their tears, or perhaps it's their snot. Either way, we are wet. Wet and cold. Blankets, candles, thoughts of beaches, and hugs can try to warm the chill that runs bone-deep, but the only thing that might save us is the thought that Spring must come. Eventually.

Very, Very Close

Can you sense the change in the air? Hear birds chirping and suddenly realize that the silence is over? Notice that the sun is setting and you ate dinner hours ago? Smell the air and realize it isn't stinging your nose? Look at your students and realize soon they won't be yours any more and feel sadness with a twinge of relief?

Movie of the Day: The Matrix. Talk about changing a perspective!

Favorite Books

I've been digging around in my memory to make a list of my favorite books as a kid. I've started to reread one and have found that it holds the test of time. I'm laughing out loud while reading it 25 years after I first read it and caught myself recapping it for a friend last night. How weird is that?!?

The book: Anastasia Krupnik. A 10-year-old smartie who makes lists, writes poetry, and thinks a lot (a.k.a. Becca at 10).

Movie of the Day: Wuthering Heights. Another book I love is Katie John and Heathcliff. She is a tomboy who falls for the fictional character. Can you say "melodrama?"

Archeology of a Yard

The snow is melting, piling up, and then remelting again around town and I've started to notice the "unearthing" or "unsnowing," I guess, of lots of Christmas yard decorations and outdated political signs. There are wisemen, wreaths, John Edwards signs, and garden decorations starting to peek through their frozen prison bars.

A true sign of Spring.

Movie of the Day: National Treasure. You never know what you'll find.

Three Questions

If you had to write the three most important questions you can think of, what would they be?

Carol Burnett

Carol Burnett is one of my favorite actresses. I am so pumped to hear her in Horton Hears a Who! I watched her variety show on cable every day as a kid. I read her biography for a school book report in junior high. I would happily buy the seasons of her show, if I could find them. Just imagine coming home from a long day in the mine (Oops, I mean at school) and popping in an episode of The Carol Burnett Show and decompressing! Doesn't that sound awesome?

Movie of the Day: Horton Hears A Who (I haven't seen it yet, but I will).

Pi

Happy Pi Day, Everyone!

Pi is the ratio between a circle's circumference and it's diameter. So, the distance around it divided by the distance straight through it. The number is irrational, which means we don't know where its decimal places end or repeat (at least we don't know yet, big computers are working on it).

I only have 3.1415962 memorized, but some of my students memorized up to 100 digits in middle school.

One might think that I would buy pie for my classes today, but I think that might be over the top. I did tell them that they could bring in pies if they liked.

Movie of the Day: Pi. It's disturbing, so be forewarned.

Glacier: Kinda

A glacier in Duluth? Huh? The above picture was, indeed, taken in Duluth, MN. Some might think this is normal in the Frozen North, but actually, it's rare. So rare, in fact, that it's human-made. Yes, I felt dooped. I thought maybe something amazing had happened, but it was just someone with a hose. Nonetheless, it is beautiful, cold, crackly, and an amazing shade of blue. If you are in town, check it out.

Movie of the Day: Ice Age 2: The Meltdown. This might melt too. Eventually.

What's On My Computer

For years, I had one picture on the background of my computer. One. Ever After's Dougray Scott and Drew Barrymore. It was in color (not like below) and was a bit bigger, centered in the middle. Now, I like to switch things up every so often. I'll pick pictures I've taken like the ones below. Or, I will put up pictures of friends or relatives. To protect the people stuck being near and dear to me, I'll leave those off. All of them are clean; well sometimes T. has booggers, but otherwise, clean, clean, clean. Once in a while, I'll like a picture enough to even put it on there in spite of me being in the picture. It's weird to go to your computer and find your own face looking back.

This picture below was on my school computer's background for eons. Now, I have a stormy picture of the Boundary Waters. Sometimes, I think it's too gloomy. It might be time to switch things up again.
Movie of the Day: Ever After. If I can look at that picture every day for years, it's definitely worth watching the movie.

Soul-Laughter, Please.

Sometimes, I feel like I'm just grazing the surface of my life. I wake up. Drive to work. Teach. Drive home. Wander my lamp-lit house, waiting for Spring. Sleep. Wake. Drive to work. Teach. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Until the weekend when I can goof off a bit. Then, it starts again.

I want to be present, but sometimes I wonder if my grazing is self-protection. When I do dig deeper, especially at work, it hurts. I dig up old wounds or find out new, shocking things about my students that send me out wondering how on Earth I think I can make a difference. Twice in the past month, students have said things that have left me speechless.

Movie of the Day: Martian Child. This is a wonderful movie. He made a difference in this kid's life.

Zion

We just had a week off of school and I escaped Duluth! The coolest place I went was Zion National Park. I saw Bryce Canyon also, but the fog made "seeing it" a little tough.

Here are some pictures. The stone structures jutting up are called Hoodoos (who do-s).

Pretty, eh?

Movie of the Day: The House of Sand and Fog.

Dump the Junk

A friend of mine told me about a website that allows you to take your name off of catalog mailing lists. It was very liberating! If you have catalogs littering your house and you don't order from them (or you like to order online now), please consider following the steps below:

1. Go to www.catalogchoice.org
2. Create an account (your name, a password, an email address, and then the address you get the catalogs at).
3. Search for the catalogs you want to quit receiving.
4. Tell them why you are removing your name (or you can say "No comment.").
5. Hit "Decline".
6. Log off.

It's super duper easy.

Movie of the Day: You've Got Mail. Lots of it. Most of it junk. :)

Very Classy

I tried to have a classy Valentine's dinner last night. With my parents and my sister. Yes, I know that sounds very Valentine-y/romantic, but if you really think about it, if Valentine's is about love, then who better to share it with than family? Any way, we tried to go to Scenic Cafe, a lovely establishment with interesting/funky food for a 4:45 reservation.

Well, it turns out Valentine's Day is a day for VERY interesting and VERY funky food. Also, steep prices. As we looked at the special menu for the day, everyone kind of cringed. I'm sure the food was lovely, but just not our style. My mom didn't want quail, duck, or whatever else. I had a hard time finding something vegetarian that sounded like food.

So, before the waters arrived, we decided to bail, and head up the road to Two Harbors. Yes, we ended up at Culvers. I know. I know. Classy, eh? Well, the whole thing came to 1.5 meals at Scenic and we still spent time together (and had dessert too)!

Movie of the Day: Scenes from a Mall.

Mush and Guts

Happy Valentine's Day, Everyone! I look at today as a day to avoid a sugar coma, a day to watch for signs of teenage depression in my students, a day to wish I had a sugar antidote, and a day to figure out how to discreetly hand out the val-o-grams in class when only certain kids will get them (sent by friends as a fundraiser). All of these things are resistant, huh?

On a happier note, we have all of next week off of school and I am PSYCHED!!!!

Some favorite mushy movies in case you are so inclined: The Notebook. When Harry Met Sally. Ever After. Meet Joe Black. Harry and the Hendersons (j/k).

Morning Blogging

You may have noticed a drop off in my blogging. I would like to blame my treadmill. Mr. Treadmill has been taking up 31.5 minutes of my usual morning routine and that pretty much deletes all blogging time before school. Sadly, that is when I'm the most inclined to write (like now). I didn't walk today because my newly-acquired cold is making me a wimp. I know it's a lame excuse, but it's my excuse.

Any way, sorry.

Movie of the day: Walk the Line. I will, again. Eventually.

Not So Deep

I wanted to write something deep and meaningful, but decided to show you my penguins instead:

Could Be a Miracle

I was a little hyper on Thursday at school. I don't know why. I was just in a goofy mood, I guess. So, I told my 3rd hour math class that I thought we should all wear the same color Friday. We decided on blue. One kid kept saying "I pity the fool who don't wear blue."

As the kids walked into class yesterday, they congratulated everyone who wore blue. We allowed blue jeans to count, which seems fair. EVERY SINGLE PERSON WORE BLUE!!!! Yes, this is shocking. The emo kids, the jocks, the nerds, the preps, the teacher, the special ed assistant. Everyone wore blue. We don't even get this much participation for Homecoming! One girl had to hide blue under her dance uniform!

It was awesome!

Movie of the Day: The Hunt For Red October. Or Blue February.

Somber

Yesterday was Fat Tuesday. I celebrated. Yep. I had a chocolate chip cookie. From a gas station. I am wild!!!!

Today, is Ash Wednesday, which means I have a big decision. Ashes on the forehead and get a zit or ashes on my hand and look like a wimp. Anyone have a strong opinion?

Movie of the Day: Come Early Morning. Ashley Judd is in it. Tee hee.

That's Just Scary

Okay, I've been in a church group for over two years now and each week we talk about Spiritual Promptings that we've had. Ideas or nudges from God. This is my favorite part of our list of things to focus on and this week, I had a doosy.

Duluth had two days off of school due to weather and by the evening of the second day, I was pretty bored with my own company. So, I decided to light a candle, turn off all of the lights in my house and pray/meditate.

While praying, I had the idea of gathering my coworkers to go out after work to socialize. We like to go to a restaurant a little distance from school so that we don't run into too many parents/kids/alums. It's easier to talk freely.

It was Wednesday and I thought I could maybe pull things together for Friday, but once I got back to school, it slipped my mind until Friday. I figured maybe NEXT Friday would be good.

Any way, my 4th hour routine is to check my mailbox and buy a bottle of pop (I know, it's bad.) I went to the machine and our phy. ed. teacher walked out of the gym and said, "Becca, were you thinking of getting people together to go to Blackwoods some time after school?"

Freaky!!!! "Yes, that is so weird. I thought of doing that for today. How about next Friday?"

I'm still a little freaked out just thinking about it now. I did not tell a SOUL about my idea. Not one person! However, when I got back to my room, I sent out a quick email to a couple friends to see if that seemed like a good idea and they all said "Yes." Crazy!!!!

Guess where I'll be after school on Friday?

Movie of the Day: Whale Rider. If you haven't seen this, go. Rent. Enjoy.

Movie Soundtracks

I have a thing for movie soundtracks. I love how eclectic they are, how I can discover new artists, and relive a movie's plot. Some soundtracks are better than the movies themselves, which is funny. Here are a few of my favorite soundtracks:

Garden State: Zach Braff has amazing taste in music and he picked every song on this album. It's mellow and great when you want to chill.

Never Been Kissed: This is a spunky album that always takes me back to each scene of the movie. The ballpark scene is spectacular.

Little Women: A great Christmas album or just something sweet and mellow. Safe for all ages.

Walk the Line: The only Johnny Cash that I have and he isn't even doing the singing. Lots of good rhythms. Go Joaquin and Reese!

Love Actually: Another good Christmas album, silly, mushy.

You've Got Mail: Cheery. Great "Somewhere Over the Rainbow."

Ten Things I Hate About You: Rebellious music. Gotta love it.

Next Stop Wonderland: Lots of amazing Brazilian music.

Empire Records: A movie about people you just want to be friends with. Sort of. Punk music.

Strictly Ballroom: Ballroom dancing music. Super fun.

Music And Lyrics: Great faux 80's music, mushy. Just plain good.

Singin' In the Rain: "Make `Em Laugh" does me in every time!!!

Catch & Release: Mushy goodness. Love and loss.

Juno: Indy fun, awesome lyrics. Not for your grandma.

Honorable mention:
Mary Poppins
Mansfield Park
Ever After
City of Angels
Reality Bites
Fiddler on the Roof
Spamalot
Chicago

Rain?

I'm sitting at my desk and I hear pings on the window. Yes, rain. In January. Soon, it will be freezing rain. This is fine, except for the fact that it gets my hopes up for a snow day. We haven't had one this year and my brain is already thinking about how to adjust my lesson plans to accommodate Mother Nature. I think I'm up to the task.

Movie of the Day: Singin' In the Rain. Tee hee.

Walking By

Two students in my second hour class decided to draw a book of pictures of the people who walk by the school during their class. They named the people, gave them personalities, and drama. They fabricated scandals.

The kids weren't the "type" of kids you would picture being friends: preppy girl, punk boy. It was fun to watch, until the semester ended and schedules changed. The book is still there, though.

I miss being friends with kids who would do kooky things like that in high school. People who found ways to let out their creativity when it wasn't used enough in our strict classes. How many of us have creativity that isn't being used in our jobs now? Do you let it out?

Movie of the Day: Election. She was a preppy girl. And really annoying.

Wonder

I sit at my computer and wonder and wonder what to write. Do I write about the amazing movie I saw yesterday and how sad it made me afterwards? Do I write about the marathon runner who received one of my gift baskets last June and was killed yesterday by an arrow in the Kenyan unrest? Do I write about my students who are silly, my friends who are goofy, or my toes that are cold? Do I write about the trip I'm planning or the memories of my trips gone by? Do I write something deep and meaningful, or silly and meaningful? Do I write about the people and things that make me beam with joy or the people and things that drain the life out of me? Do I write about how I haven't finished my Christmas card sending and how I'm going to have to draw hearts all over them pretty soon? Do I write about the piles of books in my office, my livingroom, my kitchen and how I just can't decide where to start?

This is what I wonder.

Movie of the Day: Atonement. So beautiful.

Makes Me ThinK

I like movies that make me want to learn more about a culture, an event, or a historical figure. Last night, I saw Charlie Wilson's War. It was an excellent movie and piqued my interest in Afghanistan. I want to learn more. I'm nervous, though, because I don't have a source that I trust completely.

What sources do you trust?

Movie of the Day: Charlie Wilson's War.

Done. Done. Done.

Woo Hoo!!!! Semester I is done!!! The kids are out the door for a four-day weekend and I am done correcting finals. Now, just some loose ends to tidy up and I'll be good for my three-day weekend, homework free!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Can you tell I'm a wee bit happy???

Oh, and we're half-way to Summer- a thought to cling to when it's uber cold out like tonight.

Movie of the Day: Cool Runnings. Brrr...

All That For This

I am cautious. I went to a leadership retreat and learned all about how this cautious, accuracy-focused, perfectionism affects my life. There was validation in this, some new-found work soul-mates and a little insight.

The retreat was at the McCabe Renewal Center, a house run by the Benedictine Sisters from the College of St. Scholastica. It was a fabulous space, very welcoming, and the Sisters were very kind and hospitable (one of their core values).

We sat in a large "circle" in the living room and at one point I noticed a beautiful statue on the mantel. It struck me and it isn't something that I would normally take a second look at, so I decided to take a picture of it (see below).

I wanted to know what it was called and figured a title and artist would be on the bottom of the statue (it was about 8 inches tall). Any way, I lift the statue and suddenly the garland on the mantel slides forward and knocks two candle holders onto the floor with a great SHATTERING sound. Glass, salt, candles, go everywhere. I am mortified!!!!!! I go into panic mode, trying to clean it up. I say "I need a nun!" I need to know how to fix this. How to clean it up, buy new candle holders, and erase the minds of 20 coworkers. I hear people saying "For once it isn't me". I'm trying to keep it together.

A nun arrives with a dust pan and brush. I help her clean it up and try to find out where the candles are from. She says that they are inexpensive. I ask if she has more and she says yes. She will not let me replace them. I feel sooooo bad.

Then, I remembered what it's like when something of mine breaks and how I try to calm down the other person. I really don't care that the item is broken. So, that helped a bit.

Once everything is cleaned up, the break is over and everyone is back in their seats. The pressure releases and I start crying as quietly as I can, mainly because I don't usually break things, especially nuns' things, in front of all of my coworkers.

Now, you would think that this would keep me away from the statue (which didn't break, whew). However, I still want to know what the heck it's called. So, I say "I need help" to a couple friends. They hold back the garland on either side and I take a quick peek at the bottom.

The statue is called "A Quiet Moment" by Timothy Schmalz. I think it's beautiful and worth the chaos it took to figure it out. Sorry, Sister H.

The glass on the left gave it's life for this blogger.

Adventure

I have a hankering for an adventure. I'm not sure what kind of adventure, exactly. I just have a sort of antsy feeling.

Movie of the Day: The Namesake.

Silly Things I Like

Silly Putty
Slinkies
Origami
Paddle balls
Finger Paints
Stickers
Pinwheels
Tops


What silly things do you like?

Movie of the Day: Juno. An amazing movie. Not for kids. FUNNY!!!

To New Beginnings...

Happy New Year, my friends!!!

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.