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.