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.