I've Been Bad

Yep, I've been bad again.  I have not been a good blogger.  Sorry, Stephen!  :)

Here are some good things that have been happening lately (always best to focus on the good... yes?):

1.  Baby Simon fell asleep in my arms last night.

2.  Baby Simon fell asleep in my arms last night during a very fun party at the Hucke house.  We were celebrating Sue passing a super hard test for her work, and we all just enjoyed each other's company.  Good food and good friends.

3.  Did I mention that Baby Simon fell asleep in my arms last night?

4.  I got very cute jewelry for 50% off at Coldwater Creek a couple of weeks ago.  Not that that's a huge thing, but I'm wearing it right now, and it's pretty!  :)  I'm such a girl sometimes.

5.  That jewelry purchase happened in the middle of a very nice getaway Andrew and I had on my long weekend after parent/teacher conferences.  In the Des Moines area, we saw the Hubble IMAX movie, ate at Zombie Burger, tried out the draught cider & British food at Royal Mile, stayed at Wildwood Lodge, breakfasted at The Machine Shed, shopped at Jordan Creek, rode the train on the Boone Scenic Railroad, and experienced the delightful Hotel Pattee in Perry.  Lovely mini-break.  Lovely and NEEDED.

6.  We had the pre-op appointments for Andrew's knee replacement surgery, coming up on November 26.  That will be a huge event.  We're feeling lots of different emotions about it, but overwhelmingly, we're looking forward to Andrew not being in so much pain with his knee.

OK.  That's life in a nutshell right now.  This blog needs more nutshells!

Fairfield Middle School Rabid Readers Book Club

Our Fairfield Middle School Rabid Readers Book Club met today after school to discuss the book The Tiger's Curse by Colleen Houck.  This meeting was the perfect illustration of why I love middle school kids.  The Tiger's Curse was highly recommended to me last year by several students.  So highly that I put it on our book club reading list without reading it myself (also evidence how much I trust these particular kids).

Every kid at the meeting tonight loved the action parts.  But, this book was a romance. There was no sugar-coating it... definitely a romance.  But I couldn't believe how many of the kids, especially the boys stuck it out.  We had 32 kids at our discussion tonight, and we broke them into groups: liked the book, didn't like the book, and indifferent.  There were a few kids in the indifferent group, but the majority of the group was split pretty evenly between the "liked" and "didn't like" groups.  We ended our meeting with a heated discussion about why it was a good book or not.  They gave examples from the text with their opinions, and it was FUN!

My personal opinion was that I liked the book (the action reminded me a lot of Indiana Jones adventures), but I could have done without the teen angst romance.  It made it a little like Twilight with tigers to me.  But I digress...

My favorite part of tonight's meeting was the food.  The main character in the book went to India for the first time and tried many new foods.  I wanted the kids in book club to try some flavors of India as well.  I worked out a small menu of chicken tikka masala and chicken saag with some pappadums and some naan.  I also cut up 6 mangoes at lunch for them to try as well.  For the less adventurous, we had animal crackers (tigers?), and we had lemonade.  I wanted to make a lemon drink in the book called jal jeera, but lemonade is the closest we got there.

I was so proud of the kids.  Almost every single one of them wanted to at least try the Indian food.  And most of them actually liked it!  Honestly, saag is one of the grossest looking things I've ever seen, but it's also one of my favorites.  I don't think I would have put it in my mouth when I was 12.  I screwed up a little by not having a vegetarian dish for a couple of my kids (I felt so bad), but I let them have the rice that I wasn't really serving anyone else.

It was a great afternoon of discussion and trying new things.  I love it when that happens.  We laughed and talked about books.  32 kids getting involved in school and having fun doing it.  Sigh.  :)

Jiro Dreams of Sushi

Jiro Ono: "Once you decide on your occupation... you must immerse yourself in your work. You have to fall in love with your work. Never complain about your job. You must dedicate your life to mastering your skill. That's the secret of success... and is the key to being regarded honorably."

This quote comes from a wonderful documentary I saw called Jiro Dreams of Sushi. Check out the trailer here: 

The quote above from Jiro really hit me. I'm torn between believing it and feeling like I need to be the squeaky wheel. I'm concerned in so many ways about where American public education is going. Maybe there's a way to stand up for what's right without just complaining. That sounds honorable, right?

Well, enough about me. See this movie. Added bonus if you love sushi.

They Make Me Want to Go Postal

Our school building got air-conditioning this summer.  It's fantastic.  We're still trying to put things back together and get rewired for our technology, but the changes are fantastic.  Except for one thing.  I HATE the motion sensor-controlled lights.  I HATE THEM.  Yes, there are times in the day when I sit at my desk working on things for 14 minutes at a time.  14 minutes is the magic number.  I'll be planning or grading or researching, and the lights go off.  I have to stand up and do this crazy flailing dance, trying to get them back on, and my concentration is blown.  I can't stand those things.  They really make me want to hurt someone.

But I won't give up my air-conditioning for anything.  Maybe I'll just get a headlamp and work in the dark.

Arghhhh!  They just went off again.  Not kidding.  >:O

Anne LaMott

I just started another Anne LaMott book.  I just cannot describe how much I love this woman.  When I read her books, I feel like being imperfect me is perfectly OK.  I feel normal.  She's just so real.  I know I've talked about her before, but I can't help it.  She's my therapy!  Her faith and her attitude about life  and her humor just make me feel like doing the Nestea Plunge of relief.  I'm OK.  I'm a mess, but I'm OK.

Why? Well, I Don't Really Know...

My dear friend Jeff asked recently if I was ever going to post again. Why haven't I been posting in the past few months?  Meh.  I guess I don't have a good reason.

I've had the blues is probably the biggest reason.  Most of my friends know I filter here.  I'm honest, but I don't let the bad and the ugly show.  I keep a private journal for that.  I'm a teacher, and that's a very public job.  I don't write anything here that I'd be embarrassed to have students or parents quote back to me later.

But, I need to write more.  I know it.

I've just been overwhelmed with a lot of crap lately, and lately, when I send the bucket down the well to pull up some material for writing, I usually just end up bawling.  I'm bawling right now, as a matter of fact.  I'm just trying to find the happy again, and my blog isn't always the place to do that.

But, who knows?  Maybe a little discipline about writing more can help.

I haven't had a blessings blog in awhile.  It always makes me feel better to count my blessings.  Maybe I'll start there.

Today, I'm thankful for:

* making the decision to go back to church.  I don't wear my religion on my sleeve, and I have a lot of philosophical issues with organized religion, but the truth of the matter is, I feel better when I go to church.  It makes me feel not so alone in the world and that there is something bigger than me.  It helps me focus on something bigger in the universe than my little measly problems.  I didn't leave my church last spring on the best of terms, and I was quite disillusioned with church in general.  But I bit the bullet and started going to choir practice at my Mom's & Grandma's church, the First United Methodist Church in Fairfield.  It's always been like my second church, and I know a lot of people there.  The choir welcomed me with open arms, and I sang with them this Sunday.  Tears were on the surface the whole time (it's sort of like a regular state of being for me these days), but it felt good.  Really good.

* books.  My book club met for the first time last Friday, and today I finalized our booklist for this year, based on the suggestions from Friday's meeting.  The list is at the bottom of this blog, if you're interested.  We talk about books a little and life a lot, and we have a lot of fun.  We're small but mighty, and through our love of the written word, we try to solve the problems of the world.  And we laugh drink a beverage and surround ourselves in the used books of Revelations while we do it.  It makes me happy.

* fall.  I can smell it coming, kids.  Today, it's raining that chilly fall kind of rain, and tonight, it's supposed to be down maybe in the 30's.  I love fall so freaking much.  It's almost here.

OK.  Have to admit.  I feel better after writing.  I'll have to do it more often.  Thanks for the kick in the pants, Jeff.  Love you.

Loving Life

This is actually a post from Friday, June 29, that wouldn't load from my iPhone when we were on vacation.

Highlights of the day:

Eating dim sum in Chinatown

Hugging a redwood

Going over the Golden Gate Bridge in a Mustang convertible with the top down

Getting Away

It's been too long since my last post, but life has been crazy. Today is the first day I feel relaxed in months, and here's the reason why. Look at that view!

Early Birthday Celebration

I have to be in Des Moines for school on my birthday. This turned into Andrew & I getting away for a night. This turned into Jason and Suzanne meeting us for dinner. This turned into Tracy and Steve driving over to join us all.

We had a wonderful evening at the Court Avenue Brewing Company. I had prime rib and bread pudding for dessert. It was low key and fun... Exactly what I wanted for my birthday celebration!

RIP, Ching Dow

I still can't believe it, but it's true.  Ching Dow is no more.  There are other Asian restaurants in Fairfield, but Ching Dow is (WAS... sigh) the only place to really order off-a-menu-takeout-in-little-boxes Chinese food.  How am I going to live without my broccoli chicken or my moo shu vegetables?  I NEED THEM!

I don't really know why they closed down on April 1, but I'm guessing their business was hurting from the new Hy-Vee store's Chinese food and also the Chinese buffet place that Andrew and I call "The Trough."  Both of those are OK.  But they AREN'T Ching Dow!  I can only hope something even more wonderful will come into town in its place.

Why Literature Matters

My friend Kevin gets a daily poem in April (National Poetry Month), and he sent me today's.  It really touched my heart.

Because of Libraries We Can Say These Things

She is holding the book close to her body,

carrying it home on the cracked sidewalk,

down the tangled hill.

If a dog runs at her again, she will use the book as a shield.

She looked hard among the long lines

of books to find this one.

When they start talking about money,

when the day contains such long and hot places,

she will go inside.

An orange bed is waiting.

Story without corners.

She will have two families.

They will eat at different hours.

She is carrying a book past the fire station

and the five-and-dime.

What  this town has not given her

the book will provide; a sheep,

a wilderness of new solutions.

The book has already lived through its troubles.

The book has a calm cover, a straight spine.

When  the step returns to itself

as the best place for sitting,

and the old men up and down the street

are latching  their clippers,

she will not be alone.

She will have a book to open

and open and open.

Her life starts here.

                   Naomi Shihab Nye

This is a picture of part of our new Fairfield Middle School Rabid Readers Book Club.  These kids are amazing, and we meet once a month to talk about a certain book.  The picture comes from an article that ran in the Fairfield Ledger last week.

This month it was The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness.  The poem Kevin sent me really made me think of our book club and of the opportunity it gives kids to get lost in literature.  We have wanted to start a book club for many years, but this is the first year we have made it happen.  4 of us teachers and a spectacular parent volunteer make the group happen, and it's awesome.  What they discuss blows our minds every single time... how deeply they analyze and think... the connections they make.  Reading literature is so important.  Even though our club isn't huge, I'm so glad we're giving kids one more chance to connect at school and with books and with each other.  And this poem reminds me why it all matters.

A Past & Present Post

I started the following on Friday:

Wow.  I'm posting for the first time on the new blogger.  It looks weird.  Anyway, enough of that... ;)

I have three shows left of Forbidden Broadway.  The costume changes are a nightmare, but it's a very fun show to do.  I have fun every night, and the cast is very talented.  Theatre is such a cool family that grows every time you do a show.  New friends are always good!  It's fun doing shows with Way Off Broadway because you work really hard for a couple of weeks, then you perform for a couple of weeks, and then you're done.  I love the quick process of it all.

Emma & Suzanne are coming down this weekend.  This is the first time they've ever stayed with me.  They're coming to my show tonight, and then they're going to Wizard of Oz at the high school tomorrow night.  Luckily, it runs for two weekends, so I'll get to see it next Saturday, I hope.

I'm trying AGAIN to refinance my house.  I had the papers all signed today.  I need to get a few documents rounded up to take in to them on Monday, and then the waiting game begins.  I'm not optimistic after the debacle this summer, but it's worth trying.

Then, I got busy, and I never finished the post.

So, NOW, I can write about how the weekend actually went!

It was GREAT having Emma & Suzanne here.  Emma and I cleaned out all the stuff in my Barbie house, and she reorganized the whole thing as only an 8-year-old can.  I loved having them stay with me.

We had the best show on Saturday night.  It was electric.  It's such a funny show.  Every show was good, but the houses were disappointing.  I'm choosing to remember Saturday night the most because the crowd made it so fun.

 Finally in the Annie dress after 30 years of waiting!

 I Dreamed a Dream parody

 Mamma Mia parody

Rent parody

One very cool thing happened on the Sunday matinee, our closing show.  One of my mom's best friends drove down from Iowa City to see me.  It was awesome seeing her again after all these years, and in a way, it felt like a little piece of my mom was there at the show.  There's a part of my mom that lives in her friends.  That part is not easily accessible to me, so when I see them, I can feel her there.  I think it's that way with all of us.  I think there would be part of me that would live on in Tracy, Jeff, Suzanne, Andrew, and others who really know me.  It made me so happy, and hugging her, well... it was a little like hugging my mom.  Thank you, Kaye!

Great Blog Post

Food + Sound of Music? Could be my favorite blog post ever on Delicious Delicious Delicious.

Click here for bundt cakes and Captain von Trapp.

These Is My Words

“Sometimes I feel like a tree on a hill, at the place where all the wind blows and the hail hits the tree the hardest. All the people I love are down the side aways, sheltered under a great rock, and I am out of the fold, standing alone in the sun and the snow. I feel like I am not part of the rest somehow, although they welcome me and are kind. I see my family as they sit together and it is like they have a certain way between them that is beyond me. I wonder if other folks ever feel included yet alone.”
― Nancy E. Turner, These Is My Words: The Diary of Sarah Agnes Prine, 1881-1901

The One-Week Countdown

The end of my craziest school month is in sight. I can almost taste it. Tuesday is History Day. The kids have been working hard, and I think the projects are pretty good. Hopefully, someone will get to go to State for their efforts.

The 7th grade language arts research papers are due (Have you ever thought about teaching 7th graders how to write research papers? Just ponder about that activity for awhile. Are you pondering? Are you scared yet? Aren't I a superhero?). Guess what I get to check over spring break! Actually, they've been working so hard on them, I'm excited to read them. It's fun to see them all come together.

Images of Greatness is Thursday. Today I saw the kids' costumes, and their display boards are really coming together. I think it's going to be a great night.

Then... if I can make it through Friday... SPRING BREAK!!! I will be having rehearsal, a house appraisal, and a doctor's appointment over spring break, but I will also be having a lot of sleeping and a lot of reading.

Speaking of reading, we had 39 kids at our Fairfield Middle School Rabid Readers Book Club meeting yesterday. 39! WOW, it was fun. The level of discussion always blows me away at these meetings. I so look forward to it every month. Our next book is called The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness. It comes highly recommended for anyone who liked The Hunger Games. I can't wait to start reading it. My grown-up (?) book club is reading The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver, and my Professional Development group at school is reading a book in our assessment strand called Fair Isn't Always Equal by Rick Wormeli. I have a lot of reading to do to get these done in time for discussions, but that's what spring break is for, right? :)

Hope you all have a respite in sight as well!

Missing Winter...

I don't know what happened to my winter. 70's this week? 80's next week? I got robbed. Plain and simple. Today, I'm clinging to hope in a sweatshirt as the middle school kids are in shorts and t-shirts. I'm not ready for shorts and t-shirts yet. UGH!

What am I doing?

I'm rambling.

What it comes down to is that I have the weight of the world on my shoulders today. If you could throw an extra prayer or thought for me into the universe, I'd appreciate it. That's what I really wanted to say. Guess I had to work up to it.

Weekly Update

Can you really call it a weekly update if it's been months since you've actually had a post called "Weekly Update?" Enquiring/Inquiring minds want to know.

March is the month of the big 3 for me: middle school play, History Day, and Images of Greatness. I have the first one checked off, as of last weekend. The middle school play went very well. I was so proud of the kids, and really, the only hitch was a early dismissal on Friday, the second night of our show. We had a bizarre snow shower, and to be safe, they let the kids out of school at 1:30. When that happens, all evening activities are canceled too. After some frantic running around like a chicken with my head cut off, we got things rescheduled for Saturday night. Never mind that by 3:00, it had stopped snowing, and by showtime, the streets were dry and there was barely a dusting on the ground. Oh well. :P

We did a play adaptation of the book Number the Stars (Have I written about this before? I feel like I'm losing my mind...) and the kids really took the drama aspect seriously. I was so proud of their growth & work. They had fun at their cast party on Saturday night (so did I). I'm so lucky to have parents who volunteer space, time, and money to that adventure.

Now, we're in the middle of prepping for History Day & Images of Greatness. They will be the the week before spring break, which is also the last week of the quarter. Busy, busy.

Andrew and I got our plane tickets for the Sutherlin family reunion which will be at my California cousins' ranch in California, right in the heart of gold mine country. We're spending a couple of days in San Francisco before, because I've never been there. I'm also on a mission to hug a redwood tree. I can't explain this need in me, but I must see and hug a redwood tree during this trip. I want to feel tiny and young... maybe that's it. LOL

I'm also working on several upcoming shows. Tonight I'm singing in a benefit for Way Off Broadway. Robby Benson & his wife Karla DeVito will be there to sign things and lead our auction. Margaret Clair & I are singing a selection from Forbidden Broadway. It's a spoof of "Mamma Mia," and it's pretty funny. Forbidden Broadway is the show I'm getting ready for in April. In June, I'll be playing Mrs. Shinn, the Mayor's wife, in WOB's Music Man, and then I can focus on playing Goneril in Andrew's production of King Lear. Whew! I'm going to be ready for a break when school starts. Ha ha.

Off to practice my choreography for tonight... here I go!

11 Questions

I saw this blog tag questionnaire on a blog I follow called Maybe Matilda. I haven't done one of these in awhile. So, here are my answers to Maybe Matilda's 11 Questions.

1. Celebrity crushes past and present:

Past: There are 2: Rob Lowe and Ricky Schroeder. At our house on Frank Street, I had two window shades at the head of my bed. They were covered with pictures from Teen Beat (and all those similar publications that make me shake my head now) that I'd cut out. One shade had Rob Lowe pictures. The other had ones of Ricky Schroeder. Be still my preteen heart.

Present: Well, I have the freebie list posted on the left side of my blog for a reason. ;) Harrison Ford, Colin Firth, Michael Ball, Alec Baldwin, and Andy Garcia. In that order.

2. Favorite book: My all-time favorite book is To Kill a Mockingbird. I read it to my 8th grade GOAL kids every year, and I have yet to do it without crying. Especially when Scout's innocence singlehandedly diffuses a lynch mob. Powerful stuff.

3. 5 favorite TV shows: I don't watch all that much TV anymore. But some shows I enjoy, both past and present, are:

Smash

Downton Abbey

The Amazing Race

Sex and the City

30 Rock

4. Guilty pleasure: Easy. Cadbury Mini Eggs. It's the danger season, folks. I cannot resist these babies for the life of me.

5. Goals I'm currently working on: Well, I'm very close to having my garage cleaned out. That's a big one. I'm able to park in it which is more than I've been able to say for 10 years. I still have some to do though. My current goal (that kind of goes along with the garage) is to get my house refinanced, and my dear Andrew has been helping me with several projects to make sure that happens.

6. Any trend of style that I've wanted to try, but been scared to: There is a big part of me that wants a tattoo. I think I'll always be too chicken though.

7. A skill that I'd love to learn: I'd love to learn basic carpentry. Watching the guys put in my laminate floor and fix my ceiling... well, I'd love to be able to do some of that myself. I just have no idea where to start. I'd like to be handier around my house, in general.

8. If I had a day with unlimited money to spend and no obligations: Easy. Broadway shows. As many as I could cram into a day. Then, I'd eat in a fancy restaurant and stay in a luxurious hotel.

9. A person (living or dead) I'd love to meet: I'd love to meet Maya Angelou. Her words have had a serious impact on my life, and I'd like to meet the woman behind the words.

10. If I weren't doing the career I'm doing now (teacher), what would I want to be doing instead: Egyptologist or Broadway Diva

11. Names I want/wanted to give my kids: My boy's name is Samuel. Girls' names change, but some names I currently like are: Phoebe, Hope, Elizabeth, Caroline, Joanna, and Harper.

I'm not going to actually tag anyone in this blog. Maybe that's missing the point, but, oh well. If you're so moved, answer these questions on your own blog. Leave me a comment with the link so I can read what you wrote!

And the moral of the story is...

Don't pick a zit. Actually the moral is don't pick at anything above your lip line. Ever. Especially when you still have some infection rolling around your bod from a case of pneumonia. If you pick that zit, and you still have some infection rolling around your bod from a case of pneumonia, guess what happens? Well, first, said zit gets infected. Red and angry and swollen infected. Second, by the time you go to bed that night, your glands & lymph nodes on the zit side of your head and neck will all be swollen. Third, by the time you wake up, you can't even lie on your pillow on that side of your head because the swollen glands by your jaw will be too sore to touch.

Better go to the doctor, right? Not so easy during Iowa standardized tests, but if you have a great principal like I do, you can make it work. Then the doctor will take one look at it and write a prescription of 4 horse pills a day for 10 days (it looks like I buy my antibiotic in bulk at Sam's Club). You then get a lecture about picking stuff on your face. Great. You also are told that if you are not noticeably better in 24 hours, you are to come back for an antibiotic injection, and if that doesn't work, you're getting put in the hospital.

All from picking a zit.

Luckily, I'm better, but take my advice. Don't do it.

Smash

I have a new show. It's called Smash. Have you seen it? It makes me ache and tap my toe and get goosebumps. It touches that musical theatre place inside me, that wild, gypsy place. I love this song from the end of this week's episode. Thank God even crazy dreams come true.

My February Goal

I always have good intentions about writing letters. Now, I'm giving myself more incentive to follow through. I'm joining the Month of Letters Challenge. I will write a letter for every day in February that there is postal service... 24 letters. I'm excited! Want to join me?

Update: I wrote my first two letters today. The first one was to my church board (more on that later), and the 2nd one was to a cousin in New York. Haven't mailed them yet, but they're written. It didn't take long, and it feels great!

I'm Back!

Well. Have I had an exciting couple of weeks, or not? Definitely NOT. My little sickness turned out to be pneumonia. I ran a fever of over 100 for about 4 days straight, and I didn't get out of bed for about 4 days after that. I only missed 2 days of school, but I probably should have missed more. The land of the living is within my sights now, but I'm still just so darned weak. I'm like a little newborn kitten! I'm sick of being sick, that's for sure!

Last night was the first night I felt like getting out in over a week. Andrew & I went out to eat and then to the Fairfield High School speech team's Night of Theatre, Part I. Part II is next Tuesday, and these nights highlight all the group speech events for the year. I love it because I see a little bit of everything... ensemble acting, choral reading, one act play, mime, musical theatre, reader's theatre, improv... did I forget anything? Whew, that's a lot! I also love it because so many of the kids are my former students. It's just so fun to see them perform at the next level. I had at least 3 parents last night ask me if I'd come to watch "my kids" perform. I had. They're all "my kids," and I was so proud of them. I love seeing kids go out of their comfort zones and try new things, and I love watching the community, their parents, and their peers all come to support them. It brings a smile to my face just thinking about it. I can't wait for Tuesday's show to see the rest of the acts. The team took 19 acts to district competition, and 15 of those are moving on to state. State is in Cedar Rapids on February 4, so they're all working out any last kinks in their entries. Fun times.

The middle school play is going well. It's a drama called Number the Stars, and it's set during World War II. I haven't really asked this much of my middle schoolers before, so they are having to make big leaps to meet my expectations. I know they can do it. I'm seeing a lot of growth from the kids, and I think the show has tons of potential. They're supposed to be off book next week, so we'll see how I feel when that happens!

It's a New Day

As you can tell from yesterday's post, I was not in a good place. It turns out that part of the reason for this funk is that I'm sick. Boo! I should have known my defenses were down by how I felt, physically and emotionally, last night.

Things were not as terrible today as I'd anticipated. It was actually cute because the kids were so afraid I didn't know about the "incident." They were working up to breaking it to me gently. :)

My drama club kids performed a skit for the whole school today for the refresher assembly for our Positive Behavior Strategies program. I was really proud of them. I had lots of compliments today on their behalf, and it was just fun watching their peers appreciate what they did on stage.

Today is Andrew's and my 3rd anniversary. I can't believe it's been 3 years. In some ways, it seems like just yesterday, and in others, it seems like he's always been in my life. He was worth the wait. I've never known love like this, that it could be so safe and unconditional. It's amazing, and I highly recommend it. :)

Disappointment

A student let me down this week. Big time. I'm having difficulty dealing. I'm not even mad, which I should be. I'm just sad. Very, very sad.

I have high expectations of my students, and I know that's a good thing. But, it bit me in the butt this week. I know they're in middle school, and part of being an adolescent is screwing up. I do know that. And if it were only me, maybe it would be another story. But, I have about 30 kids who were also let down. I have to break the news to them all tomorrow and then pick up the pieces. I hope I can do it without crying. Maybe I got the crying out of my system this weekend. When I'm trying to hold off crying, I say things I regret, and I don't want to go there either.

Thank goodness for the long weekend without students for the end of the semester. It helped me get my emotional bunnies in a herd.

How do you deal with disappointment?

The Final Countdown

I can't wait for this movie to come out... I'm as excited as the kids. Maybe even more!

What Happens at Bookstores at Night

I love my Kindle, but I'm a sucker for any bookstore. Something about all those books. Love this film!

Pinterest

Have you played with Pinterest yet? I'm having fun building my pin boards. You can check them out by clicking here. I'm finding tons of ideas for crafts & recipes especially. From what I hear from my Pinterest friends, the biggest challenge is actually DOING some of those ideas instead of just pinning about them. Well, last weekend, I did my first Pinterest project. It came from a site called craftstylish.com and from this post exactly. Since I now have laminate floors (my Christmas present from Andrew along with new vinyl in the kitchen & bathroom), I'm going to be swiffering a lot more than before. This is a cool way to save a little cash on buying those swiffer sheets. My swiffer cover needs a little bit of tweaking to tighten up the top (I'm not great at decreasing yet), but it turned out OK for my first Pinterest project!