We started the week with a late start on Monday and a snow day on Tuesday. I was glad to get in as much rehearsal as I could with the kids. Their show is coming up on the 25th & 26th, and well, let's just say the snow days have left us with quite a challenge in front of us. I hope they're all working on their lines (that should have been learned aver 2 weeks ago!). We finally finished up Iowa Tests of Basic Skills, just in time to have this week's schedule all messed up with parent/teacher conferences. It's going to be a crazy couple of weeks, that's for sure.
The FACT show opened this weekend. It's called Have a Nice Day, and it's a 1960's & 1970's musical revue... a spoof of Up With People-like groups. I was unexpectedly laughing my butt off when I saw it on Friday night. On Saturday night, Andrew and I went together, and he didn't find it nearly as funny as I did. I'm not sure he found it funny at all, when it gets right down to it. We rarely have a culture gap, but this was definitely one of those times. He didn't recognize most of the music, and he just didn't relate to the humor at all. I'm going again tomorrow to help as a FACT board member. I'm looking forward to it, and I think Andrew will be glad to stay at home. Maybe it IS an American thing. It might be a swing choir thing though too... it's like the characters stayed in swing choir for 30 years. My ultimate job!
Yesterday, my book club discussed The Hunger Games. It was a great discussion, and it was funny because 4 of the 6 of us had Kindles! The paper page turners were in the minority. That's never happened before. It was nice because Kindles don't have page numbers; they just have "locations." It was very easy to communicate passages of interest to the Kindle group yesterday. Now, if Amazon (or the publishers) would get it together and get the sequel on Kindle too, we'd all be happy campers.
Today, I'm taking it easy. I just finished up Andrew's V-Day present. I'm watching the Olympics. I'm enjoying this day of calm before the storm of the upcoming week. Hope you're all enjoying a calm Saturday too!
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
The Help
I stayed up until 2:00 a.m. this morning because I HAD to finish my book. It's called The Help by Kathryn Stockett. Someone in my book club suggested this as a selection for this year. I'd seen it in the bookstores, and I have to be honest, I wasn't interested at all. The title made me think it was some kind of self-help book... something like The Secret, maybe (nothing against that book... I own it too). I could not have been more mistaken. This is a tale told by three different women in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1962. Two are black maids, and one is a young white woman. Their stories are knotted with connections. I laughed, I cried, I dreaded, I hoped, I anticipated, and I felt right along with the characters. I absolutely couldn't put it down. I'm so glad I read it, and I'll recommend it to others. Wow. The Help is something really special. Read it!!!
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Goosebump Alert
Get ready for some major goosebumps...
Britain's Got Talent Andrew Johnston - Watch more Funny Videos
Britain's Got Talent Andrew Johnston - Watch more Funny Videos
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
The Last 2 Weeks
School started up again, and we promptly had two snow days at the end of the week. It was like an extended vacation. Well, an extended vacation that we'll have to make up in June. Our last day of school is now June 10, with the teacher work day on June 11. And, that's if we have no more snow days. Oh well. I love my snow days. I don't mind being in school that long if I have snow days to enjoy.
Andrew's daughter made it home safely from Taiwan. Andrew's son was home for Christmas vacation. I'm not used to sharing him, but it's been fun to get to know his kids better. Zach is now back at Iowa, and Holly is researching jobs teaching English in Japan. She hopes to spend a year there, leaving sometime in the next 3-4 months.
My Hawkeyes kicked some Georgia Tech butt in the Orange Bowl! It was so fun to watch, and my #94, Adrian Clayborn, was a complete animal! I wish I could have been there in person, enjoying the game with the Hawkeye Mornin' Crew, but Andrew and I had fun watching ti on TV. Holly didn't quite know what to think of her dad, the new football fan!
I'm busy with rehearsals for the middle school play. It's been hard with snow days and kids having detentions and suspensions and everything else, but I think we're getting into the swing of things.
Andrew and I had our 1 year anniversary last weekend. I can't believe it's been a whole year. We celebrated by having dinner Saturday night at Cafe Dodici in Washington. It was LOVELY! (It was also a good thing because Sunday night I had a terrible stomach bug and threw up about 40 times... NOT an exaggeration) I can't believe it's been a whole year. I'm a very lucky girl to have such a wonderful, caring, intelligent, good man in my life. I'm blessed!
Yesterday was a work day at school with no students. Following the work day, our middle school staff had another meeting from 5pm - 8pm with a speaker named Monte Selby. He infused humor, music, and experience into a very inspiring evening. He is a former teacher and principal, and his message was about giving our very best to kids, understanding our students' points of view, and a general reminder of why we've chosen a career with middle school kids. It's messy, true... but, it's wonderful too. It was a long day, but it was a day that was very fulfilling. We all need to reboot the system once in awhile, to refill the cups that run dry occasionally with all the demands put upon us. Good day.
Hope you're all having good days where you are too!
Andrew's daughter made it home safely from Taiwan. Andrew's son was home for Christmas vacation. I'm not used to sharing him, but it's been fun to get to know his kids better. Zach is now back at Iowa, and Holly is researching jobs teaching English in Japan. She hopes to spend a year there, leaving sometime in the next 3-4 months.
My Hawkeyes kicked some Georgia Tech butt in the Orange Bowl! It was so fun to watch, and my #94, Adrian Clayborn, was a complete animal! I wish I could have been there in person, enjoying the game with the Hawkeye Mornin' Crew, but Andrew and I had fun watching ti on TV. Holly didn't quite know what to think of her dad, the new football fan!
I'm busy with rehearsals for the middle school play. It's been hard with snow days and kids having detentions and suspensions and everything else, but I think we're getting into the swing of things.
Andrew and I had our 1 year anniversary last weekend. I can't believe it's been a whole year. We celebrated by having dinner Saturday night at Cafe Dodici in Washington. It was LOVELY! (It was also a good thing because Sunday night I had a terrible stomach bug and threw up about 40 times... NOT an exaggeration) I can't believe it's been a whole year. I'm a very lucky girl to have such a wonderful, caring, intelligent, good man in my life. I'm blessed!
Yesterday was a work day at school with no students. Following the work day, our middle school staff had another meeting from 5pm - 8pm with a speaker named Monte Selby. He infused humor, music, and experience into a very inspiring evening. He is a former teacher and principal, and his message was about giving our very best to kids, understanding our students' points of view, and a general reminder of why we've chosen a career with middle school kids. It's messy, true... but, it's wonderful too. It was a long day, but it was a day that was very fulfilling. We all need to reboot the system once in awhile, to refill the cups that run dry occasionally with all the demands put upon us. Good day.
Hope you're all having good days where you are too!
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Angels All Around
Happy New Year, everyone!
I had a break of total peaks and valleys.
Peak: I got a Wii! Thanks, Matt & Omara!
Peak: I got to go to Council Bluffs to see Tracy, Steve, & the girls.
Valley: I went in the ditch because the roads were so crummy, and a semi wouldn't stay in his own lane.
Peak: I wasn't in the ditch long before a very nice State Patrolman stopped to make sure I was OK. He gave me a lift into the nearest town.
Valley: There was a tow ban on the highway due to high winds and terrible conditions.
Peak: I met another fantastic State Patrolman named B. S. Cubit (great name, eh?) who got the tow-ban lifted for me so I could get on my way. Hewitt's in Monroe was on the scene in no time. Thanks, guys!
Peak: I stopped to see my stepdad, Mike, and my stepstepmom, Betty, on the way. I'd never been to their place on the lake in Dexter, so it was nice to see them!
Valley: Tracy was recovering from surgery, so she was dealing with pain, but she's getting better and better every day (as long as she doesn't overdo!!!).
PEAK: It was wonderful seeing her and spending time with her family. The girls are an absolute joy. We saw great movies, ate great food, had great laughs... it was a GREAT time! I haven't spent New Year's with Trace in ages... it was wonderful!
Valley: I had to come home.
Peak: I got to see Andrew!
Valley: My friend Suzanne lost her very best friend and first cousin Paula to a brain aneurysm on New Year's Eve. My prayers go out to Suzanne and all the Koehler and Deisley families. The first funeral is just a couple of hours away. They're going to have two very hard days ahead of them... well, not just two days...
Valley: I almost burned my house down with a candle that had been lit for over a week. I don't know how I missed it before I left, but let's just say that my house should not be standing right now. I have quite a scorched entertainment center, a charred black basement ceiling, a melted Wii CD, and ashes where a crocheted doily used to be, but my house is still standing. I don't know how or why, but all is well, and I'm thankful.
Tomorrow is the first day back to school, and I'm glad. I'm ready to get back to things. 3rd quarter is always my busiest time of year, but I'm ready to dig in.
Are you setting any New Year's resolutions this year? Mine are always the same. I need to eat better and exercise more. Hopefully the Wii will help with that. It's so much fun! But I do have a unique resolution this year. I want to accept and love my life's path. My life has many blessings in it, and even though I imagined my life much differently, it's full of joy and love. I need to be content with my path, even though it's not the path I thought I'd be walking. Otherwise, I'm going to waste the wonderful while I'm wishing for the what-might-have-been. Every day is a blessing and a gift. I hope to do a better job of remembering that this year.
I had a break of total peaks and valleys.
Peak: I got a Wii! Thanks, Matt & Omara!
Peak: I got to go to Council Bluffs to see Tracy, Steve, & the girls.
Valley: I went in the ditch because the roads were so crummy, and a semi wouldn't stay in his own lane.
Peak: I wasn't in the ditch long before a very nice State Patrolman stopped to make sure I was OK. He gave me a lift into the nearest town.
Valley: There was a tow ban on the highway due to high winds and terrible conditions.
Peak: I met another fantastic State Patrolman named B. S. Cubit (great name, eh?) who got the tow-ban lifted for me so I could get on my way. Hewitt's in Monroe was on the scene in no time. Thanks, guys!
Peak: I stopped to see my stepdad, Mike, and my stepstepmom, Betty, on the way. I'd never been to their place on the lake in Dexter, so it was nice to see them!
Valley: Tracy was recovering from surgery, so she was dealing with pain, but she's getting better and better every day (as long as she doesn't overdo!!!).
PEAK: It was wonderful seeing her and spending time with her family. The girls are an absolute joy. We saw great movies, ate great food, had great laughs... it was a GREAT time! I haven't spent New Year's with Trace in ages... it was wonderful!
Valley: I had to come home.
Peak: I got to see Andrew!
Valley: My friend Suzanne lost her very best friend and first cousin Paula to a brain aneurysm on New Year's Eve. My prayers go out to Suzanne and all the Koehler and Deisley families. The first funeral is just a couple of hours away. They're going to have two very hard days ahead of them... well, not just two days...
Valley: I almost burned my house down with a candle that had been lit for over a week. I don't know how I missed it before I left, but let's just say that my house should not be standing right now. I have quite a scorched entertainment center, a charred black basement ceiling, a melted Wii CD, and ashes where a crocheted doily used to be, but my house is still standing. I don't know how or why, but all is well, and I'm thankful.
Tomorrow is the first day back to school, and I'm glad. I'm ready to get back to things. 3rd quarter is always my busiest time of year, but I'm ready to dig in.
Are you setting any New Year's resolutions this year? Mine are always the same. I need to eat better and exercise more. Hopefully the Wii will help with that. It's so much fun! But I do have a unique resolution this year. I want to accept and love my life's path. My life has many blessings in it, and even though I imagined my life much differently, it's full of joy and love. I need to be content with my path, even though it's not the path I thought I'd be walking. Otherwise, I'm going to waste the wonderful while I'm wishing for the what-might-have-been. Every day is a blessing and a gift. I hope to do a better job of remembering that this year.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
