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?