i'm coming home!

jc and i are patiently waiting for our delayed flight from AMA to DAL. we had a big fun time at my parents' house hanging with my fam. we still have lots to do this afternoon when we get back to prepare for more christmas festivities at jon's dad's house tomorrow. the fun just keeps on coming! 

highlights of christmas include getting a wii fit from my parents (shocker! my mom is so persevering!), getting a cool photo album from jc with pics from our nyc trip, playing and playing and playing with sweet anna, and receiving sweet, thoughtful gifts from j and s. we also got to have 3 christmases in one day, celebrating with about 60 of my closest family members. thankfully it was all drama free. whew. in all i had a great and relaxing week, and i can't wait to get home and bust out the wii.

merry christmas.

sick of toilet woes? me too. i'm back. i'm just sitting here relaxing enjoying the 2nd best day of the school year...the day we get out for christmas break. it's such a joyous feeling. this week has been the longest week ever...capped off with my class party which is always a beating. it's only 30 minutes long, but it feels like forever. my favorite part was when i looked over only to see one of my students chugging a plastic thing of juice as the others were standing around him chanting "go! go! go!" he polished it off and let out the hugest burp i've ever heard from a child, which happened to be the 3rd burp of the party. being the grown up in the room, i had to let them know the rudeness of belching, especially when others were trying to enjoy their ever so tasty grocery store cupcakes. yuck. quick side note...i've noticed this year that kids aren't embarrassed (at least mine aren't) when they burp or pass gas in class. it's like a game or a way to get attention with them. i remember people getting ridiculed and laughed at, but now kids don't even laugh. they just keep about their business and hold their noses. i've had to give a lecture on this as well. i did receive the best christmas present i've ever gotten from a student this year...a twenty dollar bill. i almost gave it back because i thought it must have been a mistake. another girl brought me a stuffed animal that had its nose chewed off...that's more like it. my sweet kids...those are really the best gifts.

on the homefront, i've been busy preparing for the holidays. i've thawed out two cheesecakes for holiday parties, done lots of online shopping, downloaded the original super mario bros. on wii, and even decorated my place. i only decorate every other year, so it happened to be this one. i always have to weigh the pro's and cons of putting up a tree to make sure it's really worth the effort. as i pulled out my junk this year, i decided that the table cloth that had served as my tree skirt since '01 would have to go. i made my own tree skirt out of felt and glue. it's alright. i had some leftover materials, so i decided to make stockings for jon and myself. those are real cute. they are pictured here.

i'm all packed and ready to go home. i'm excited to see my fam...especially little anna. in case i don't blog before then (highly likely), merry christmas!

toilet woes

i can't imagine any dirtier job than being a plumber. i truly admire plumbers for what they do...rootin' around in other people's toilets...ugh. currently, one is in my bathroom taking care of a problem i've been having. you can refer to my previous bathroom post. that was my first overflow of what has turned out to be many. a couple of nights ago it overflowed for the 5th time after jon flushed. he assured me he didn't "do anything" which i know he didn't because it usually happens the second time after someone "does something." the plumber just had to call my landlord's wife because the 6 foot snake wasn't doing its job, and he is currently pulling the toilet because there is something blocking a pipe or something. umm...seriously, would you ever want to find out what that something is? i am so embarrassed that i even have to be here right now. now he's looking for the hole in the floor to crawl under the house. oh my gosh. this is turning out to be a much bigger thing than i had thought...probably than my landlord had thought too. it was already like $125 for the 6 foot snake, who knows how much it is for "pulling a toilet" and crawling under a house. i guess plumbers are well compensated for the job they must do.

happy birthday anna!

one year ago today we eagerly awaited the arrival of my niece anna kate. it's so weird that it's already been a year. she has grown and changed so much. she is so precious, and i miss her greatly! she is currently celebrating with a cupcake party a million miles away in california. i'm so sad i couldn't be there. she did receive her card from me that had a recording of my sweet voice. i know she'll play it over and over and probably have to sleep with it every night. that was the goal at least. anyway, happy birthday, anna. your aunt chichi loves you.

nice faux hawk

so sweet.

thirty, flirty, and thriving/ENGAGED!

it's true. except for the flirty part. i got the best post birthday present EVER! i'll start at the beginning...

this week marks the 30th anniversary of my birth. thursday was it actually, but the week began with severe back pains that made me dread hitting 30 even more. i felt like my body was falling apart. i'm much better now, thank you.

thursday was a pretty good day. i got a lot of the standard notebook paper cards from my students and promises of a gift that they "left at home." i hold to those promises very loosely. i had lots of messages from sweet friends wishing me happy birthday. jon came and picked me up for dinner and gave me my gift...an anthropologie gift card. coincidentally, my brother and sister-in-law and my bff gave me the same thing. they all know me too well. deep deep down i was hoping he was going to propose for my birthday, so i just told myself it wasn't going to happen. maybe christmas? we had a lovely dinner at texas de brazil which should be renamed "see how much meat you can shove in your stomach." i guess that's kind of a long name for the sign. everything there is sooo good. i was trying so hard not to fill up with the incredible salad bar, but it's just so delicious with so many things to choose from. after passing on viewing the dessert tray, jc reminded me that it was my birthday and i unpassed. my poor stomach.

on friday there was a b-day party at darrah and michael's house. darrah, karis, and i had been planning it for a while. michael set up the wii outside on a big screen to play. i got the american idol game which is for a whole other post. anyway, we had lots of food and chocolate items and such. it was going well. then karis brought out the cupcakes on a plate with candles and everyone sang happy birthday and i blew out my candles. backing up just a little- karis said, "make a wish" right before i blew them out and i literally wished that we would get engaged. push play...two seconds later, jon stopped traffic with an announcement where he asked me to MARRY him in front of EVERYONE! not even kidding. i never use all caps and i've done it like four times in this post. i of course said yes through my shock. he told me to put my cupcake down so he could put on the ring. it's beautiful...i LOVE it. (5 times). i had to squeeze it on my finger (they're enormous. one thing i love about jon is that his hands are really big...not in a bad way, but they make mine look smaller.) jon is by far the last person i would ever think would propose in front of a lot of people. it was kind of convenient for me though, because i didn't have to call a bunch of people...they were all there. he was definitely going for shock value. he had had the ring for a while and had snuck my cell phone to get my dad's phone number. another shocker is that my parents didn't give me any clue. they don't keep things in very well. my very fun party instantly got a million times better. i'm still kind of dazed.

i went to get my ring sized today, and i already got it back. it looks perfect. darrah also came with me to borders so we could look at and buy many wedding magazines. it's so weird to legally be able to purchase such items and seriously contemplate the things in them. wow. anyway, i am so excited and can't wait to spend the rest of my life with jonathan andrew cook! here are some pics.

pre-engaged. yes, he's that much taller than me.

putting down the cupcake (and drink)

we're engaged!

some of my sweet friends

i heart ny

i really do. i've always wanted to live there...i'm still concocting ways to do it. anyway, jc and i took a quick trip to nyc this past weekend. it was my fifth time to go. it really never gets old. it was jon's first time. our reasons for going were two-fold. one-one of us is a hardcore baseball fan and really wanted to see yankee stadium before it got torn down at the end of this season. and two-one of us is a mere few days away from turning 30. i'll let you guess which reason was whose. anyway, we decided a few weeks ago we wanted to go, so we just did it. i think that's what you have to do when you have semi-far fetched ideas...just buy the tickets. once you do that, there's no turning back. 

my uncle (tio juan) was gracious enough to allow us to stay at his apartment in queens. it was a somewhat short subway ride into manhattan, so quite convenient. we had grand plans of the things we were going to do for the two full days we were there. we were somewhat faithful to get up at the crack, but even with that some of our plans had to go out the window. everything took longer than we thought it would. we went to ellis island and planned on going to a museum and then tkts to get half-price tickets to a show for that evening. ellis island cut into museum time, so that was out and by the time we got to the ticket place, it was out of control. people everywhere! we had no idea about any of the plays and were going to have to choose at random (after we stood in a huge line), so we took a girl's advice and bought tickets to this play called "perfect crime" at the actual box office. no line there, and also cheaper. she made it out to be like law and order or c.s.i...a real thriller.

that night we went to the play (at jerry orbach theater...no lie). it is the longest running play in nyc at 21 years. the main character, a woman playing a psychiatrist who may or may not have killed her husband, has been in the play for 21 years. she has missed a grand total of 4 performances in those 21 years. yeah, it was pretty obvious. she needs to move on. it was pretty terrible. it's like she was just itching to get off stage saying all of her lines in fast forward. i don't really understand what even happened in the play, nor do i wish to. it was still a fun experience that we could laugh at.

next day was harlem for brunch. chicken and waffles. sounds strange, but it's so good...thanks d and m for the suggestion. we then caught the subway to yankee stadium. we sat in the section where the "bleacher creatures" are. very interesting. let's just say they love them some yankees. it was a lot of fun but kind of a bummer because we were quarantined to the bleacher section and couldn't explore the whole stadium. the atmosphere was great though. the yanks aren't doing so hot lately, and sunday's game wasn't any different. so after the 7th inning, the most unlikely thing of the trip happened...we left the game early. i was fully prepared to stay at the game for its entirety, but we decided to beat the subway traffic.

we met my uncle in chelsea for dinner and then decided to do the next thing on our list...go to the top of the empire state building. it costs something like $32 to do this...a little ridiculous, but that was a thing we wanted to do, so we were going to suck it up and do it. when we got there, the line was crazy long. it was going to be 2 hours. we still weren't ready to call it quits (i have no idea why not), so we went to the security line. we were taking some photos of the line when my camera decided to die. of course i didn't have extra batteries, so we bailed. a little disappointing, but really a blessing. we saved $64 and 2 hours. we'll go back. when it's not a holiday hopefully.

ok, so this is getting really long, and i haven't even put pictures yet. here they are.

jc and lady liberty

at the yankees w/ the crazies

in the line that killed my camera at the esb

(i never realized how crooked my teeth are)

i want to go home

here's me right now...on my way home from san diego. i'm at the airport in albuquerque waiting for my flight home. what is it that makes it so stinky to wait around when you're going back? my flight is slightly delayed which makes the layover slightly more annoying. thankfully i don't have to be at work or anything tomorrow, so i'm trying to be as patient as possible. being by myself makes me antsier though. i've finished my people's, not in the mood for my book, and i'm missing the olympics! i want to see michael phelps swim (even though i keep accidentally finding out the results beforehand.) that's why i started taking pictures of myself with my computer in the airport and blogging. thank you albuquerque airport for the free wi-fi. all airports should have it. by the way, i learned on the plane today that southwest is going to start having wi-fi on airplanes in september. it's going to be $10. i wonder how many people will actually use it. so, when buying the ticket for this flight i had some factors to consider. first of all, it was about $100 more than when i went in march. dang gas. i could have had a non-stop flight on american for only $3 more-pro. would have had to pay $15 to check my bag-con. would have had to have someone take me to and pick me up from dfw-con. were i to get thirsty and want a little something to drink in flight e.g. water, would have had to pay for it-con. therefore, i wait.

the last hoorah

i'm currently on my big trip for the summer. chillin' with the fam in san diegs. i go back to work pretty much as soon as i get back. boo. the weather here is such a refreshing break from the hundreds in dallas. it's so pleasant to just sit outside and read or eat or whatever your heart desires...you can do it without getting the sweats.

when i got here i was so excited to see my niece. she was napping when i was being picked up from the airport, so when i arrived at the house she and jonathan met me at the door. she saw me, squenched up her face, and started bawling. i think she was just so excited to see me that she got overwhelmed and couldn't take it anymore. she got better quickly, and we are getting along quite well. here's us playing on my computer.

so today we went to the beach.  my only requirement for things to do here. i love the ocean so much. i really could be there all day and be fine. apparently the only person more excited about the beach and the ocean was anna. she loved it. she went straight for the sand, so of course the sand hand went straight for her mouth. we thought that she would figure out that it was nasty and stop, but apparently it was a good snack. she also loved the ocean and the waves. she was so cute and excited about everything. this is turning into a mom (aunt) blog now, but oh well. i don't get much time with her, so i'm enjoying every second.

there's a zoo trip in the works for tomorrow, so i'm sure there will be more updates to come. i know i have come out against zoos in a previous post, but it was more about one specific zoo. we'll see if the sdz is all it's cracked up to be...really i'm kind of excited.

burnt poo

so tonight i decided i would cook. i don't cook a lot, and i started feeling a little badly that i've had so much free time this summer and still haven't cooked much. last weekend i actually went and bought a cookbook. my first such purchase. i guess a lot of people get them as gifts as well, but i'm not a person they think to give them to for some reason.  anyway, i got the sandra lee semi-homemade cookbook. sounds easy. i've been perusing the recipes for a few days and thought i'd try one out before i head out to cali. i went by the store to get the ingredients. first thing i learned was that not all stores have the things you need for semi-homemade cooking. i had to improvise. second thing i learned was that contrary to what people say to make you feel guilty about not cooking, it's cheaper to eat out. we could have gone to two semi-decent meals for the price i paid for the ingredients of this one. maybe cookbooks are supposed to be used only for guests? i don't know.

for my first attempt with this particular book, i chose the recipe entitled "steak pinwheels with sun-dried tomato stuffing and rosemary mashed potatoes." it sounds daunting, but how can it be when it's semi-homemade? prep time 12 minutes. simple. i got everything put together and in the oven and went out to my yard to water while it cooked. so easy i can multi-task. jon got to my place, i finished the potatoes with his help, the dinger went off, and i opened the oven to pull out the main course...burnt poo. here is what dinner was supposed to look like:

this was my version of the dish...

not even close. i couldn't believe it when i saw it...my stomach sank. we laughed and ate it anyway and will be eating it tomorrow for dinner as well. i decided that i'm going to have my own cooking show where i try people's recipes from cooking shows and cookbooks and show viewers what it's really going to turn out like. or maybe others can make it look like the beautiful photograph, and i'm just cooking impaired. i don't know. next time i'm trying something from the "cocktails" chapter. that could be a little harder to mess up.

happy birthday!

yesterday was big jc's birthday, so yes this post is a bit late. he's the big 2-9...such a youngster. we had a weekend full of out of control heat and sweets, and don't forget the baseball.  jc is off sweets, but he made an exception for birthday weekend; therefore, i made an exception for his birthday weekend (not that i'm usually off sugar, but i was extremely on sugar this weekend.)  i think i've only eaten sugar since friday topped off with a late night real dr. pepper last night. we had a texas rangers party on saturday.  jon loves the rangers (esp. josh h.) so what better way to celebrate?  it was only about 150 degrees on saturday, but no worries...it got down to about 130 by the time the game started and 129 by the time it ended.  i brought my camera to take pictures, but i don't think anyone would have appreciated them being taken or posted with sweat pouring down our faces.  all i could think of the whole game was a cold swimming pool and how i would just jump in it clothes and all if i saw one.  maybe i should always go to rangers games in extreme heat because i ate about a tenth of what i usually do there.  i got the usual garlic fries, but only ate a few before i completely lost my appetite. we were all a little lethargic and dehydrated on the drive home.

yesterday the moose (the church softball team) were supposed to play at 5.  brutal. yesterday was the most intense heat day of the summer. jon said it was ok if i didn't go since he knew i was completely dreading it, but i had decided that i should since it was his b-day.  thankfully coach casey had mercy on us all, and they forfeited the game.  seriously, that's got to be on some kind of top list of best decisions ever made. it was a special birthday treat for jc because the softball game was replaced by intense sunday napping.  we finished the weekend off with the deluxe 57 at mi cocina (aka a lot o food) and some cookie cake. such a fun weekend!  i hope it was for him as well. happy birthday jon!

final cut 2.1

addendum to yesterday's post.

here is my actual hair portfolio pic.  although they look eerily similar, he's way hotter than batman!

three things

i have three things to post about today.  i guess i could have done three separate posts, but i'll combine them into one superpost.  hopefully you'll make it all the way through.  i know when things get long, sometimes it's hard to persevere.

one.  i got my free video camera today.  i think i've been waiting for it since around april sometime.  i had given up completely on getting it.  how did i get a free video camera?  well, you know those offers people send you saying if you sign up for something you get something free?  i actually signed up for one because i wanted a video camera.  it was some kind of travel service.  i got tired of waiting for the camera, so i cancelled the travel service the other day thinking it was a lost cause.  well, let me tell you, it may as well have been one.  this thing is junk.  it's a well-known brand called mustek.  it looks like something you win with tickets at showbiz pizza, or something you talk your mom into giving you money for at the book fair (like the piece of junk microscope set i got from a book order...just a hunk of plastic.)  i took some video footage (it only takes 2 minutes until i get a memory card) and thought i would post it.  well, after review the audio is terrible (my digital camera takes MUCH better footage), and i can't figure out how to get it on my computer.  it came with a c.d. but of course it only works with windows not mac.  i went to the mustek website where this camera does not even exist.  it's a specially made give-away camera.  oh well.  maybe jon can figure it out better.  

two.  i painted with karis yesterday.  every few months we bust out the paints being the fabulous artists that we are.  we're pretty hard core with our set-up.  actual real artist darrah came over to watch/give pointers.  i kept thinking she was like tim gunn on project runway...kind of a mentor.  it makes me laugh when she watches us paint...i mean she's so good, but she'll still be so encouraging to our attempts.  she would tell me some things i could do, and i would just nod like i could just do what she was saying and then chuckle knowing it was going to be a tad bootleg.  here is my painting.  thanks d and k for the suggestions.

three.  i cut jon's hair again last night.  i love cutting hair.  sometimes i dream about ways to do it better.  i really want to go to hair school one day and make the career switch.  i like teaching, but if i decide it's time to get out, i will be opening my shop "the clip and curl."  i have been eyeing jon's hair for a while now because it's been needing to be cut.  he wants me to shave it again, but i like cutting not buzzing.  here is the process from last night.

before...

during...

and after!

yes, i'm that good!

woo wii!

so as i stated in my last post, i got the wii.  all i can say is fun...loads.  still looking for the wii fit. i feel like such a dork every day calling my list of game stops asking for it.  i sometimes disguise my voice just in case they recognize it from the day before.  i kind of thought that if i looked in the hood, i might have more success, but it's more of the same there...we're sold out.  although i did buy a controller at the one in the hood and they had like 5 wii's.  if anyone's looking, let me know...i'll give them the dL.

as for my skills...i've got some.  at first i wasn't the best, but with some practice i've got some moves down.  at least for tennis and bowling.  i don't play ALL the time, but enough on the first night that my arm, shoulder, and back were completely sore the next day.  all i have to say is you don't want me to punch you with my right arm.  if it was my left arm, you'd be fine. anyway, i picked up some tricks in tennis.  enough to where i was consistently beating a certain male friend of mine.  i could tell he didn't enjoy being beaten by a girl one bit.  i'm not very competitive...i mean i like to win, but i'm used to losing.  well, one night after we played one last game about 7 times, he started catching on to the trick.  we decided it's a glitch in the game where it is impossible to hit the ball when the opposite person hits it in a certain place.  and it's not very hard to hit it in that certain place.  that's how i had been beating him the whole time. he caught on, and started beating me.  this was fine with me, but i was kind of liking that feeling of being better than a guy at a sport.  even if it is a video game sport.  i began to feel like i may never win again.

i practiced yesterday, and last night we played again, and guess what?  i don't suck.  neither does he.  we kind of go back and forth with winning now.  as it should be.  

since i've been gone

only from blogging.  i've certainly been home.  i'm so used to traveling and doing tons of things in the summer...hasn't happened this summer (yet).  i'm trying not to use the b word.  i told myself i never would.  i'm trying to take advantage of so much time.  so, since my last blog here is what has happened.

i attended a party for a 1 year old where everyone either had kids, was pregnant, or had kids and was pregnant.  i couldn't add much to the conversations.

c and e let me be their 3rd wheel for a couple of days.  it was awfully nice of them to invite me to places.  i didn't even have to ask (i would have, but they're so nice that i didn't have to.)  we had some ritas and gelato, went swimming for the 4th and took in a good fireworks show at fair park.  on a side note, fair park was pretty nuts.  there were tons of people in the fountains.  i'm pretty sure they weren't made for swimmers, but whatev.  in all, it was a fun time and i didn't feel all by myself.  thanks guys.

saturday was uneventful...went shopping with jen, so that was good.  she's a good shopping buddy.  jc got back from illinois on sunday morning, and i was glad of that.  monday we celebrated 2 years of happy happiness together.  we went to ali baba for dinner, which was tasty, but i have to agree w/ friends that the service wasn't so awesome.  we waited for our check for a while as we looked around at the 5 other tables waiting for their check for a while while our waiter was chatting it up.  it was still good though...and really sweet of jc to take me there because he's not really into food from the med.  wish i had pictures, but oh well.

i'll fast forward to today.  i was up at the crack to wait for the cable guy (cable and net down for the last 2 days...boo.)  i did my usual, went to the y, ate some lunch, took a shower, yada yada.  i decided i would resume my quest for the wii.  apparently gamestop gets random shipments of one or two during the week.  i decided to look up the phone number and give them a call.  as i was looking it up, the fedex woman came with a delivery.  it was a check from vw (long story, but the short of it is that it was a settlement because i kind of threatened legal action after the 7th time my headlight went out...it's fixed now, but they still gave me some money.)  anyway, i got the check, called gamestop, and they had one!  it was perfect timing!   i am now the proud owner of a video game system.  never thought i would say that.  i haven't been one since back in the early 90's when my brother and i pooled our christmas money together to buy a sega. (we didn't even have enough for an extra controller, but mom was nice enough to spring for it.)  i am still in search of a wii fit though.  with all of my extra time, i could get really fit!  i just made myself laugh a little.  

we are now in real time, and i am blogging...going to play golf soon.

shapes stars make

shapes stars make (the band my bf is in) is on tour this week.  they are playing at cornerstone festival in middle of nowhere, illinois for the next 3 days.  it's a dead zone as they say in the verizon commercials.  jc definitely doesn't have the network there with him.  you can go here to listen to their music, and if you like it (which i'm sure you will because it really is great, and i'm not just saying that because i'm a band-aid) you can find it on itunes.

jc is the one on the left.  i like this picture because they look so happy.

as for my week, it's writing workshop by day, netflix by night.  oh, and i got to play a wii with a friend from work.  my "wii me" on the wii fit was made to look a little disturbing (its work out suit didn't even fit), but it was still pretty fun.  i kind of want one, but don't really want to put out the effort to find one in stock.  why do they have to make it so hard?  if you ever see one at a store somewhere, you can let me know.

the results are in...

with all votes tallied (all 7) the side for enchiladas that received the most votes was chips.  "no side necessary" received two votes.  mine of course and my boyfriend's.  he's easy to please in the dinner cooking area...i like that.

the other thing i learned from my first poll ever is that exactly 7 people read my blog (including myself.)  either that or people just don't want to vote.  i don't know.  you tell me.  i have another poll to test it out.

my niece! and some randoms

first of all, i wasn't exactly "feeling" the blog today, but i needed something to do tonight besides watch the bachelorette.  i'm writing this for all of you faithful clickers out there who get a little disappointed when you get through your list of blogs, and there are no new posts.  

first of all, i got to see my anna this weekend...and of course her parents.  just kidding, i was excited to see ALL of them!  i had so been looking forward to their visit from sunny san diego for weeks.  she is the cutest, chubbiest (maybe not chubbiest, but cutely chubby) baby ever.  she didn't quite remember her loving aunt chichi, but by the end of the weekend she finally let me hold her for a few minutes without crying.  i'm going to need a bit more video chat time, jonny and suz...so she can learn my scent.

as for the randoms...i was talking to my good friend darrah this evening.  i'm not quite sure what we were talking about, but at some point i asked the question, "what's up with pineapple from a can?"  i mean it's completely different from pineapple from a pineapple.  different taste, different look, different texture...how do they get real pineapple to turn into that?  i think canned pineapple must be manufactured in some kind of lab.

i cooked my famous enchiladas for dinner tonight.  it's the easiest recipe i know, so it's kind of a default.  i don't know why it is, but i can never come up with anything to make with it. nothing ever sounds good, but then it seems like you need something healthy like a veggie or something to go with it.  then i started thinking that i don't really eat sides at mexican food restaurants.  i always leave the beans and rice.  so, i decided not to stress and just had the enchiladas, and guess what?  it was just fine.  just a warning ...if i ever invite you over for dinner, and i say i'm cooking enchiladas, that's what i mean.  enchiladas.  what do you think about enchi sides?  this poll is for you, d.

it's finished!

after working since february, my big pillow is complete as of 11:55 p.m. on june 11.  although i sometimes put things off, this is proof that when there is a will, i can finish something i begin. now for the puzzle i started a couple of months ago...

bathroom disaster and other summer fun

so this is my first official week off work for the summer.  i haven't done much.  the thing about being off work is that pretty much everyone else is at work.  yesterday i didn't talk to anyone until jc called at 5:45.  having a lot of free time should mean i can be super productive, but it tends to have the opposite effect with me.  always has.  so i just have to stand tall when people ask, "what did you do today?" or a completely fair "what time did you get up?"  i mean i like to sleep.  i also like staying up late when i don't have to be up early.

so today i made a point to get up in time to eat breakfast (yesterday it was more like an early lunch.)  i caught the end of the price is right...

boo-ring, and watched jeopardy which was a rare treat since true geniuses put it on right in the middle of the day.  i even got the final jeopardy question correct.  i worked on my pillow for a while, joined netflix, and also made it a point to actually call someone, so i wouldn't be a complete hermit.  k came over for a healthy lunch of sandwiches and fruit.  we also failed miserably on a mojitoish concoction.  it doesn't help that i don't have ice.  i mean that's somewhat productive. i decided to go to the y, and then some trouble began.  my toilet had been threatening to overflow all afternoon, so being the responsible and proactive tenant that i am, i went to the hardware store before the y to get a plunger.  i also picked up a weed eater...my yard is for a completely different blog altogether.  

when i got home i went directly to the bathroom to take care of the toilet situation.  i stuck in the plunger and did a little plungeage.  nothing seemed to happen, so i thought i probably needed to plunge after i tried to flush.  i did this, and then i experienced something i never witnessed in my life...a total toilet overflow.  luckily i was quick on my feet and got my cute mat out and pushed the shower curtain into the tub.  i wasn't able to save anything else.  i was so disgusted.  there was so much water that it was overwhelming.  thankfully the water started going down right as some other contents were about to come out.  if that hadn't happened, i would have just said forget it...i'm moving.  so gross.  the cleanup process took a while.  i ran to my porch and got the gardening gloves that my neighbor so graciously lent me and began my battle.  i had to totally disinfect everything in the toilet's path.  i don't know if i can ever look at my bathroom the same way again.  it's been tainted.  

tomorrow will be better...or at least just less gross.

hope you're not too disgusted.  stay tuned for more days in the life of a 4th grade teacher on summer break.  i'm sure you can't wait!

sunday night blues

you know what i'm talking about.  that depressing feeling you get on sunday knowing that in the morning you get to do it all over again.  work another week.  that feeling you get when you realized that your short weekend break has slipped through your fingers once again.  it really is amazing how quickly two days can disappear.  (sundays disappear especially quickly when you throw in the "nap" that is less a nap and more a midday hibernation, therefore making it impossible to sleep and making monday much worse because you got no sleep the night before.)  tonight is my last sunday night before a monday of work for two months.  that makes it not so bluish knowing that i only have 4 days of work left.  i mean, anyone can get through 4 days, right?  it will probably be the slowest 4 days of the year since we'll be basically doing nothing this week.  we're done.  and it's not like in the good old days when you could pop in a few flix for all to enjoy.  they're taking these public viewing copyright laws a little too far.  did you know there are disney police who are just waiting to catch one of their movies being illegally displayed in a classroom?  i am really curious to know who these traitors are.  i remember in elementary school they would show some super old disney film on projectors with the huge reels that they would have to switch out mid movie.  we would all take our chairs into the gym at the same time.  they always picked some "classic" that nobody liked.  anyway, since i can't show movies i just have to give them some "work" to do.  it's pretty ridiculous because i already turned report card grades in last thursday.  on friday, one of my girls asked, "if we don't finish this (made up social studies project) today do we fail?" to which i replied, "yes."  

anyway, back to the blues.  this year has actually been pretty great, so my blues have been basically contained to some sunday nights.  back when i taught in the hood and at some points since, i had the friday night blues.  no kidding.  there was a certain point on friday night when i would get super sad about having to go to work on monday.  not a good way to live.  last year i actually pinpointed the perfect time of the week.  4:30 p.m. on friday afternoon.  work is over for the week.  i'm at my house chillin' with the whole weekend ahead of me.  a good feeling.

really though i feel super blessed to have had this year.  teaching is such a craps shoot...(or like a box of chocolates) you never know what you're going to get.  i'm not going to think about next year though.  i'm just going to do my darndest to get through this week gracefully.  i'm as bad as the kids when it comes to summer break.  no more sundays.  just days.

zoo...boo

i used to like field trips.  a day out in the world.  a time for kids to be a little crazy.  a break from the ordinary.  i'm finding i like them less and less.  i guess it's certain field trips i'm down on.  i can honestly say that i would be completely fine if i never went to the dallas zoo again.  i went for the 4th time yesterday.  if you live in the area, you'll remember torrential downpours mid afternoon yesterday.  yep, we were there.  thanks for the heads up pete delkus.  imagine jumping into a pool with your clothes on and then having to walk around with them on the rest of the day.  that was me. that's how wet we were.  now imagine you're 10.  you're on the most awesome field trip ever.  my kids were finding the places where the water was pouring off of roofs and standing under them to see exactly how wet they could get.  when we finally made it to the bus, there was no respite as the water blew in through the doors and the cracks in the windows.  it shut a few of them up because they had to hide their faces in the seat the whole trip back.  needless to say, we were quite a sight as we squeaked back into the school, students now whining about being wet.  it was a beating.

apart from that, i'm sure my kids got some good information and carefully observed the animals. not really.  they ran around competing to see who could point out the exhibited animal first since most of them were hiding or semi-camouflaged.  that was really awesome since there were an abnormal amount of families with small children there the same day.  i was a little embarrassed as my kids kept running up to the cages with the families there right as they were trying to snap a picture of their 3 year old with a monkey.  i got lots of looks, and i just had to give the shoulder shrug back.  all i have to say is that if you have a major problem with a group of wild 10 year olds ruining your pics, go to the zoo when school is over.

favorite quotes from the zoo:

student at the reptile exhibit: "i want a pet snake, but my mom says i can't get one until i move out of the house."

man on the intercom on our train ride through the wilds of africa: "we're now in the african lowland area.  they're doing some work right now (as dirt moving tractor machine is doing its job), so if you want to see these animals, you'll have to come back at a future date."

i do have to say, i went on an awesome field trip last week.  i selflessly volunteered to go with the honor choir to a water park.  all i have to say is lazy river.  all day.  now that was nice.

road trip

went home to the big city this past weekend.  got the expanded tour, saw all the sights, soaked in some wind.  thanks mom and dad for a good time.

and the winner is...

DAVID COOK!!!!! woo hoo.  by a whopping 12 million votes!  thanks d and k.  i was so excited that i screamed.  i was watching it on delay and fast forwarded through most of it knowing that the results were already in, and i couldn't wait.  (it was also very painful to sit through all the has beens trying to promote their new albums.)  simon even apologized to dc for last night's thrashing.  i was getting ready for another heartbreak-the cowboys, the mavericks for the past 3 seasons, avery leaving, etc...but for once, all the time spent didn't seem so wasted.  

i have to say that this will likely be the last time anything is written by me about a.i.  even though i said i would quit if archie won, i'm done.  i think the whole show has sold out.  they're always promoting something or someone. there is no consistency in the judging.  if you ever hear me talking about future seasons, feel free to remind me of this.  but for now, i rejoice. 

this is for you, c.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhN1T3pmuIo

a.i. confessions

yes, i'm talking about american idol, and i'm all in.  yes, i even vote.  it's like politics-you can't complain unless you do your part.  i am not a reality t.v. person.  i've never watched idol until this season.  i happened upon it while waiting for the texas primary results.  i saw some of the singers and thought, "wow.  something original."  there were several contestants that i really, really liked: brooke, michael, carly, jason...one by one they got voted off....all but one.  david cook.

WARNING: if you like david archuleta read no further.  omg.  i just finished watching part 1 of the finale.  i literally couldn't finish my dinner because it made me sick.  this show is so rigged that it's not even funny.  here i thought idol was making a turn for the better, but they're not.  they trash anyone who has any kind of talent, but when it comes to archie, he's "the bomb", "could sing the phone book", "is in the house", etc.  the dude drives me nuts.  he sounds the exact same

 every week.  david cook has so much more stage presence, and i feel like he is infinitely more talented.  i really like him.  he just seems so genuine and humble and comfortable.  archie doesn't seem as genuinely humble to me.  he always has the shocked "oh my goodness you like me and i have to act like this because i can't let people figure out that my dad has sent threatening letters to you" look. dc will definitely be successful, but i still feel that an injustice is being done.  i honestly think someone is getting paid off here.  all i have to say is that if archie wins, they just lost one more viewer in their target demographic.  i know one person who will be relieved about that.

this test is ruining my life!

well...that's a bit dramatic, but seriously how can so much depend on one measly test?  if you know anything about elementary education, you know what i'm speaking of.  i stress out from august to april trying to get my kids (who SURPRISE! are all not the exact same) to get to a point where they can pass, just pass is all i ask, this test.  the next few weeks are spent stressing over whether or not they did pass.  the rest of may is spent thinking, maybe if i had just done this or that.  june and july?  intermittent thoughts of the next year.  and round and round it goes.  you may ask, why do you do this to yourself?  many mornings in the spring i ask myself that same question.

today was results day.  just typing that made my stomach clench, and i already know the results and they weren't that bad.  that's how much this affects me.  i got the e-mail saying they were in.  as team leader, i nominated myself to go down and get them.  you should have seen the look of terror in the faces of my fellow teachers when i brought them in.  they actually turned out to be quite good...surprisingly good.  even so, the rest of my day was spent going over and over in my head the "if only's."  if only so and so hadn't been sent home with lice the day before...if only this kid hadn't missed every tuesday this year with a "stomach ache, coughing, fever, runny nose, and (as if those aren't enough) vomiting and diarrhea"...if only another student hadn't moved to mexico for a few weeks and then just kidding he's back.  oh well.  beyond my control.  if only there could be asterisks next to the scores that my job depends on stating "student didn't feel like taking a test that day."  whatev.  i can safely start "freaking out about next year" mode.  sigh.

creating

i am not very creative.  i love making things and doing projects and painting and all kinds of different things, but you ask me to have a new idea and it's pretty tough.  i also tend to go a bit overboard on art projects.  i just keep going and going until it's not at all as it was intended.  i have a painting i did last summer of a bird.  i had a vision of what it would look like, and i worked so hard on it.  it wasn't going as planned, so i just kept painting and painting.  it's pretty crazy looking now, but i put it on the wall in my room anyway.

i moved out of my old apartment recently.  my roommate and i had lived there for almost 5 years!  she got married, so i live by myself now.  once i knew i was moving, i started making and buying all these new things for my place.  i found out that i like decorating, and some creative juices started flowing.  i found a pattern for pillows that i liked, so i bought some fabric and a sewing machine and started sewing.  it was pretty intense.  i tend to get way into things and then just as quickly get out of them.  i'm not the best sewer, so they're a little bootleg, but i like them.  i made 3 pillows and some wall hangings and recovered a chair within a few days, but now the 4th (and final) pillow remains half done.  i'll get to it this summer.  i do love how my living room turned out though.  i still need to get or make curtains which i intended to do a while back.  oh well.  here are some pics (for you steph.)

still trying to figure this whole blog thing out w/ the pictures and everything, so more to come. 

blog 1

i feel a touch strange starting this blog.  i have gotten way into reading people's blogs...it's a little out of control how time just flies on by as i'm clicking away at random people's lives.  i started thinking maybe i should create one.  this is way not me.  i'm not the best at writing my thoughts out or getting things out period.  i've always been a little self conscious...so, i'm going to attempt to write away without caring.  i'm not married, i don't have children, and i have no business to promote, so probably not the most interesting...oh well.

my current title (might switch it later when i can think of something else) i stole from musicians.  hopefully no one comes after me.  i just like the thought of this season of my life being a good and peaceful time.  not that it always is, but i'm realizing more and more that this is the part of my life i should really be taking in and enjoying.  i'll be 30 in 4 months...4 months from tomorrow actually.  this is really kind of scary for me.  i don't feel like i'm 30.  i don't think i look like i'm 30.  i don't act like i'm 30.  i do want it to be swell though.