The world looks brighter from behind a smile.

This iz GenRal.  Mom seid I could writ on the blogg for a minut.  I luv toys!  I have ducks, chrismases things, rope, alkehol, bones, soccur ball, and stuff.  Im spoiled.  I lik when they chew and squeek.  Mom is werking on my spelling. General's father has been gone this week, and his mother is a workaholic.  Even though she feels guilty for leaving him alone all day, she has a lot of stuff to do and wants to stay completely up to date before progress reports are due at the end of the week.  General is mildly disappointed to spend more time alone than usual, and he misses running his dad around the neighborhood.  It's not quite the same with Mom because she walks and doesn't let him pee on the neighbor's mailbox. The good news is that General is an imaginative pup, and he can entertain himself for hours.  His mother, ridden with guilt at her increased absence from the home this week while Father was gone, w...

I have finally just reached the finish line of a marathon grading session.  I think I've done enough writing for the day :).  Ahhh... time for my pillow!! Thank you, finish line, you made my day.

I'm not usually one for quiet time.  Shocking, I know.  I'm either chatting with someone about something, talking at someone with glazed over eyes, or sleeping.  In order to share silence with someone, I must be incredibly comfortable.  It is rare. I also tell everyone everything.  This probably comes from that talking thing.  I wear my heart and my mind on my sleeve and my blog.  When something or someone is wonderful, I want to shout it to the world.  When I want to speak my mind, I usually do.  That's just the way it works. I shared some special moments with a special someone today.  Quiet moments.  That's all I have to say about that. It's rare to have something so special and special to have something so rare. Thank you, quiet moments, you made my day.

Dear DVR, Thank you for collecting the things I like and for storing them in a little box.  It's very kind of you to look out for me in this way.  While I know I could do better things than watch television, your assistance in my mindless entertainment really means the world to me. I also wanted to let you know how much I appreciate your support of my laziness today.  I have been so insanely busy these past few weeks, and you understand.  You understand that I don't always have time to hang out with you, but you find all my favorite shows and record them anyway.  You let me save time and blow by commercials.  You don't judge me when I sit on the couch with you all day.  Rather, you simply cue up my shows and provide me with entertainment for as long as I need.  When I fall asleep on the couch, you let me rewind and start over without complaint.  You allowed me a simple sense of accomplishment today when I worked through your shows and inc...

"Sit up straight and smile big, honey!" With that, my day was off and away.  The photographer let me see my picture right away and asked me if it I liked it or if I'd like to try again.  I assured her that it was probably the best we would get, waited for my ID to print (the key to many teacher clothing discounts!), and carried on my merry way. I will be forever immortalized in this year's yearbook just the way I am... a few drops of awkward with a touch of twinkle in the eye.  As cheesy as it sounds, the whole thing just made me think about how I am in a job where how I look in this photo is probably about the least significant thing.  Sure, I still fuss over what I want to wear in the morning, and I still brush my hair (most days, not all).  However, I don't keep a mirror in my classroom, and none of that ends up really mattering anyway once my students and I are working to achieve something together.  I try to live each and ever...

My 4th hour is not a gifted class.  They are a chatty class full of kids with tons of personality.  They definitely have that going for them, bless their hearts.  However, they do not seem to be the hardest workers.  They try to ask questions to delay getting to the real work (unsuccessfully, I might add).  I repeat directions for them many times and make sure to give them a lot of extra attention when they're working independently.  They keep me on my feet and bustling around at all times.  I have been collecting and grading a bunch of work and homework over the past couple of days.  I've been disappointed with the quality of work turned in by many of my students thus far, and I had to have a chat with all of my classes today about my expectations.  I let them know (firmly but kindly, of course) that I would not lower my expectations to the level of their work.  Rather, they are bright young students who will need to raise their work ...

Let me tell you something now and let me tell you sweetly That one of the sweetest gifts at school is when a paper's turned in neatly... and done completely. Many papers I saw today I must admit were lacking With all they lacked, I wondered  are they really trying or are they slacking? In each class, thank goodness, there's at least one bright spot A bright student with good habits who gives it all she's (he's) got. Today that kid was "Anna," who hands beautiful work in. She beautifully finishes when I finish and begins when I begin. She talks when I want talking and respects all of her peers. She keeps her lips zipped when it's quiet time and smiles from ear to ear. Beyond all of these wonderful things, all there's really left to say is thank you... Thank you, Anna, you made my day.

My principal and department head observed me teaching for the first time today.  A coworker asked me if I was nervous when they showed up and snuck into the back of my classroom.  I can honestly say that I wasn't.  As cheesy as it sounds, I was excited to have them see me in action.  If I was doing well, it would be nice to hear that from someone else.  If there were things I could be doing better, it would be great to get that kind of feedback too.  Either way, I could work on becoming a better and more confident teacher. I was absolutely delighted to receive an e-mail detailing what a positive experience this observation was.  I am lucky to have fabulous students, and I just want to do right by them.  It is wonderful to hear that I am on the right track and that my administration agrees with me that I am in the right place.  I have heard the same piece of career advice many times and from many different mouths.  Find something you ...

Heavily made up women prancing around in bikinis and stilettos are against many of the things I stand for, but I just can't help it.  Ever since I was a little girl, I have had a fascination with beauty pageants.  It's time for me to take a turn at a game I played with my students recently.  Two Truths and a Lie... can you guess which is which?  Yes, probably. I spent (wasted?) two hours of my life today completely caught up in the Miss Universe Pageant. I'll never watch another pageant again. I have perfected my own pageant wave. The stunning Miss Mexico was crowned the 2010 queen.  While she was not from the "beautiful island paradise of Puerto Ricoooooooo" (inside family joke), she was spectacular looking and one of my favorites from the beginning.    I'm not exactly sure what she'll do for the next year, but I know where I'll be sitting a year from today, anxiously awaiting the next round. Thank you, Miss Universe Pageant, you made m...

After a fun-filled weekend with my girls, I was absolutely exhausted.  I couldn't wait to take a nap on the plane ride home.  I settled into my window seat, ready for some excellent open-mouthed sleep.  Then, it happened.  A woman with a baby stopped at my row.  "Is this seat taken," she asked, pointing at the seat next to me.  No, no it wasn't.  Uh oh. The little girl was screaming already, and I was asking myself how I always seemed to get stuck next to the talkers, the screamers, and the stinkers.  However, I took one look at the poor mom's frazzled face and realized that I needed an attitude adjustment.  I could see that she had brought snacks and toys and everything she could think of to make it easier.  The little 14-month-old girl had her own backpack full of stuff, for heaven's sake.  As I chatted with the woman, I discovered that she was on her second of three flights for the day, and she was fully aware that she was...

My Arbor ladies are three of my most favorite people in the whole world.  We had so much fun being reunited today... so much fun.  In fact, because of this fun, I feel that the most appropriate thing to do at this point in time is to end the blog here. I was promised a dance party.  Thank you, Arbor Girls Reunion, you made my day.

"Are you ready for your fun weekend," asked Cathy. "Yes!  Yes!  I'm excited." "Are you leaving straight from school?" "No, I have to go to a doctor's appointment after school to have my tb test read for my health form.  Then, I'll stop at home for a minute to pick up my stuff.  It's going to be crazy." "Why don't you just have the nurse upstairs read it?  She can do that." "Really?  Really?  Awesome." And with that, I gained an extra hour I didn't think I would have, I get to spend some extra time with my boys, and my stress level is no longer at a code orange.  Oh... and I found out I don't have tb... woo hoo!  I'm off to Kansas City to reunite with my girls :). Thank you, Cathy, you made my day.

When I went to Hallmark this evening, I bought the cards I needed, paid, and left.  That's how exhausted I was after a long, fulfilling day at work.  I was tired just thinking about all of the things I had to do when I got home. The outstanding news is that I had a million things to do because I will be gone all weekend... in KC... with my Arbor girls... woo hoo :).  My packed suitcase means: 1. I don't have to pack in a rush in the 20 minutes I have at home after my appointment (after school) and before I have to leave for the airport. 2. I am less than 24 hrs from "reunited and it feels so good." 3. I tamed my chronic overpacking tendencies and squeezed everything into our smallest bag. 4. After seemingly devoting my whole life to my job (which I LOVE, by the way) for the past few weeks, I am forcing myself to take some time off for some good old-fashioned fun with my ladies. 5.  Did I mention that I am less than 24 hours from our roomie reunion?!?!?! ...

Oooh I am lucky.  I have lots of things to choose from today.  Tom is home-- yay!  I got to see the Goo Goo Dolls in concert tonight-- yay!  My boy Johnny is as cool as ever, and he is an incredible musician.  I had a great day at school-- yay!  All of these things are absolutely wonderful and made for a happy me. When we got to the Goo Goo Dolls concert, I just wanted them to come out and play right away.  Tom and I have both been insanely busy this week, and we were hoping for a nice, long Dolls set followed by a good night's sleep.  When we found out that there was not one-- but two!-- opening acts, we saw our dreams of an early bedtime slipping away.  The second opening act was a band called Switchfoot.  I recognized a few of their songs and realized that they've had a few hits over the past year or two.  While we found the music to be semi-entertaining, we found the lead singer to be incredibly entertaining.  He jumped...

Tom usually gets the mail.  He likes doing it, and it is a part of his routine, so I have to leave it alone.  Otherwise, he finds himself standing at an empty mailbox scratching his head and acting all confused.  He's been out of town this week, though, which means I get the excitement of the mail.  I'm not being sarcastic.  I thoroughly enjoy getting the mail too. I had a marathon day, with school all day and a parent open house tonight that took me back to school for a few more hours.  I came home in between to eat and let poor General out... and, of course... to get the mail.  Since I met a bunch of parents today, I debuted a lovely new black dress.  My feet are still rebelling against anything that is not flip flops, and I tend to agree with them.  We compromised on some decent looking black wedge heels and added a bracelet and a necklace to complete the look.  Why is this important? Well, thanks for asking.  This is ...

A love letter... rough draft style Dear Keith, I was so excited when I found out that there would be a bonus Dateline NBC on tonight.  I sat down to frost a couple dozen cupcakes and watch my stories, and I was saddened to see that my bonus show was about a case I had already seen covered.  I almost changed the channel, but then I heard your voice.  I love you.  Too soon?   I love your voice, Keith.  I could listen to you narrate just about anything.  If you read books on tape, I would buy them all and drive to the ends of earth just to spend more time in the car listening to you.  I love how you somehow end up posing beside a tree in each episode of Dateline, your leather jacket casually tossed over one shoulder.  I love how even though you cover horrible people doing horrible things, you make my stories interesting, and you are the bright shining spot of each episode.  I like how you cover all sides of an issue, but you send me...

I found a new favorite American Hasidic Jewish reggae musician.  His name is Matthew Paul Miller, but he goes by the Hebrew name Matisyahu.  Yes, he beats out all of the other American Hasidic Jewish reggae musicians in the world to be my favorite.  That's big stuff. The actual music that he makes is outstanding.  It's hard to describe the blend because there are so many different things going on to make it unique and wonderful.  Wikipedia calls it "the contemporary styles of rap, beatboxing, and hip-hop in general, with the more traditional vocal disciplines of jazz's scat singing and Judaism's hazzan style of songful prayer—more often than not all rolled into a dominant background of reggae music."  Hmm.  Yeah.  I don't know what it is, but I like it.  It's as simple as that. I'm also a sucker for some good lyrics, and the lyrics to this strange yet awesome mishmash of styles are meaninful and inspirational.  They re...

biscuit dough + hands rolling with love + hot oil + assorted sugars and cinnamon = Saturday morning breakfast balls of heaven Thank you, homemade donut holes, you made my day.

After an extremely fun and exhausting week, I wanted a lovely dinner with my husband and the subsequent food coma that went with it on the couch.  Someone must have waved a magic Ferri wand because I got my wish :). Tom and I had a tasty dinner at our favorite hole-in-the-wall Italian place, Fratteli's.  He got the ravioli with extra large meatballs.  It was so plentiful and delicious that he sheepishly admitted halfway through the meal, "Wow, I think one ball is enough.  I'm going to have leftovers!"  I, of course, had the roasted chicken canneloni.  I always think that I should try something else, but this stuff is so rich and wonderful that I can't bring myself to order anything else.  The canneloni are topped with both red and white sauce, and there's always enough of this creamy goodness left for me to circle the plate a few times with a piece of bread (and a few inappropriate finger swipes, perhaps). I just woke up from my...

I made up a game to play with my classes that I was all kinds of proud of today.  It was kind of like a human version of mouse trap, with each student triggering the next one into action all around the room.  Every single student in every single class participated, and they all survived.  I got them to read poetry and shout out rules and look things up in books and figure out where everything was in the room.  What's more, they were attentive, the volume level was low, and they actually enjoyed themselves.  Yesterday, I promised each of them at least thirty seconds of fun in Comm. Arts this year, and many of them shared with me that they got their thirty seconds in today.  To this I replied, "Wow, you got your thirty seconds already?  I may be able to deliver you double the fun then!  Let's try for a minute."  I sure do hope I can come through on this promise. The best part-- well, the second best part because this post is titled "Phil" aft...

I've had a lot of "first day of the rest of my life"s.  Today was another one for the recordbooks, as it was my very first day with my very own students and my very own classroom.  They're mine... all mine! I had a really great day. My lessons went well.  I'm pretty sure that my first hour was a bit too tired for my perkiness and that they may think I'm crazy.  I'm totally okay with that.  It happens.  Plus, I am kind of crazy.  All in all, I had heard that we have a wonderful group of kids coming through this year, and I believe it.  I'm sure that a few times a few of them will be less than wonderful, but I'm okay with that too.  It's all part of the experience. I thoroughly enjoy my coworkers.  I feel as if I have known many of them for years already, and I really think that I belong to this crazy, quirky, fun group of people.  They have showered me with multiple welcome bags of goodies and supplies, answ...

In some ways, it feels like the night before my wedding.  The stressful stuff is behind me... the planning, the decision making, the whole finding the right one for me thing.  When I woke up on my wedding day, I wasn't nervous or scared or stressed.  Sure, I felt a few little butterflies, but that was not the feeling that took over me.  On my wedding day, I was pure excitement and happiness.  I've put in the work for this whole teaching business.  I've planned and organized and decorated and spent countless extra hours in my room.  Much like my wedding, the planning has really been taking place my whole life.  The only thing that was stressing me out today was that two of my classes were not showing up at all in the new gradebook program.  I had no rosters and no idea whatsoever how many kids I had in my third hour or my ac lab.  This led me to wonder how I would take attendance and get organized and make it through the first class wit...

The saga of our "child rearing" practice continues... It turns out that Tom and I are really great "parents."  Our dog is bilingual.  Yup, we're pretty pleased with ourselves about this one. Our General LOVES to talk walks.  He loves them so much that sometimes he'll run into the kitchen and tug at his leash in the hopes that we will get with the program and take him out for a walk.  When Tom turns to him and says one of his most favorite phrases in the whole world, "Wanna go for a walk," he explodes with happiness.  This is funny and cute... but it can get a little out of hand at times.  If you ask that dog if he wants to go for a walk, you better mean it. In order to avoid issues and false alarms, Tom has started spelling out the word as if we have a toddler on our hands.  He'll casually say, "I think maybe General and I will go for a W-A-L-K later."  We share a secret smile and look at our silly clueless puppy.  Well, we used...

Oooh!  Haiku! Perfect pasta pal Oh, great balls made out of meat The cherry on top All covered with cheese On top of spaghettiiiii.... mmm I found my meatballs Shaped by my own hands Baked to a perfect brown crisp Meat art on a plate Thank you, meatballs, you made my day.

This is not about politics.  This is not about status or celebrity. This is not even about a Vera Wang dress (although it was stunning ). This is about the lovely Chelsea Clinton and the fact that mentioning "lovely" and "Chelsea Clinton" in the same sentence used to make people smirk.  It used to.  This is about a girl who went through the most awkward of phases coming out on the other side of things.  Score one for those of us who had braces or glasses or wore really high waisted pants or had big frizzy hair or were too skinny or too fat or too short or too tall or were told that we were too something or too everything. I read this week's People today with a cover story about "Chelsea's Dream Wedding!"  In the article, I was reminded of Chelsea's formidable years through a series of pictures of her life.  The poor girl lived out her most awkard years in front of a merciless, looks-obsessed country.  Acc...

In case I have a whole lot of fun  and don't post later... (which better be the case --haha) I'm going out with some Bwell beauties (boys banned) for a buh-bye summer Back to School Bash.  Boy oh boy I can't wait for a boisterous and bouncy bee boppin' time.  Surely this will be the highlight of my day. Thank you, Back to School Bash, you made my day.

That burning smell in the kitchen saved the day. That burning smell in the kitchen alerted me when the smoke detector did not. That burning smell in the kitchen kept a little oops from becoming a big oops. Tom was away tonight for a work event.  I realized when I got home that I had forgotten to get out the hamburger to thaw, and I would have to wait a while to make my sloppy joes.  I made myself a little snack in the oven to hold me over, and then I went about my business. Later, it was time for dinner.  While I was making my joes extra schloppy, I threw some sweet potato fries in the oven.  I used the same pan that I had used earlier in order to save dishes.  I ventured into the living room while everything was cooking, but I was soon bewildered by a burning smell coming from the kitchen.  I checked the joes.  They were fine.  I checked the fries.  They looked fine too.  I decided that maybe there was something stuck on the pan from ...

"A true friend reaches for your hand and touches your heart." That's true.  It's nice.  However, I believe this statement can be revised to fit me better.  For me, a true friend is someone who knows me well enough to surprise me with steak.  I adore my friend Lisa for a number of reasons, and I have outlined some of these on this very blog.  She is truly a gem.   The most recent reason for my adoration of Miss Lisa came in the form of a box of Omaha steaks on my doorstep this afternoon.  There are bacon wrapped filets and green beans and potatoes and apple desserts.  She sent this amazing gift to congratulate me and send her best wishes for the school year.  Silly girl... doesn't she realize her friendship is the gift?  Cheesy, I know. Don't get me wrong.  I sure do appreciate those steaks.  I can't wait to enjoy them :).  Tom thoroughly enjoyed playing with the dry ice from the shipping cooler in...

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm not a big fan of milk.  I wish I liked it, but I just don't.  I hope one of these days I can get over that and start drinking it and grow nice strong bones.  I've heard it does a body good.  Until then, I eat as much cheese and yogurt and dairy stuff as possible and hope for the best as far as the bones are concerned. Anyone who knows me definitely knows that I have a phobia of expired foods.  I think this can be traced back to one incident in particular.  I was sitting in my closet eating cinnamon swirl toast and playing Barbies (at a somewhat embarrassing age).  The toast tasted a little funny, but I was preoccupied.  After 1 1/2 pieces, I decided that something was definitely wrong and could not be ignored any longer.  My fears were confirmed when I actually looked at the toast and discovered mold.  I was horrified.  And there you have it... the birth story of my phobia. When you put these t...

Staplers and tape and paper, oh my! Markers for $1?  What a steal! A fairy (Ferri) wand, oh yes! A desk organizer?  What fun that will be! Scissors, let's run! Clock radio/cd player/radio?  Just dance! An apple paper tray, I die! A label maker?  The possibilities! Color coded carts, roll on! Target Target Target-- Supermarket Sweep! I didn't take a picture, but I would imagine I looked something like this. Ok, ok, maybe it was more like this.                                The exclamations are what they really should have printed on my receipt.  It's a good thing my grin is as big as the bill :). Thank you, school supplies, you made my day.

I have been getting a bit frustrated lately because my computer has developed a habit of spontaneously shutting down.  This often happens when I am right in the middle of doing something, and that is just no fun.  I suppose I should admit that the reason it does this is because I accidentally pushed it off the couch a few months ago, and it got a little banged up.  Oops.  The fact that this is totally and completely my fault makes the total shutdowns irk me that much more.  I might not always react in the most pleasant ways. I have had quite a bit of practice dealing with this occurence, as the restarts are happening more and more frequently.  I finally decided I needed an attitude adjustment today.  When the computer failed me in the middle of an e-mail, I knew it was the perfect opportunity.  Instead of whining, I wined. Yes, that's right.  I set down the computer gently.  It has been through a lot since the Humpty Dumpty inci...