Happy Birthday sister of me! Toast to 21 years of life on the earth. Toast to all that we learn in 21 years. Toast to all that we will learn in the next approximately 60 years. Toast to having 1/4 of life's toils over. Toast to experiencing 21 years of joys. As you begin your 22nd year, remember that in the past 21 I have been there, and I plan on being there in the next 60.
Jen
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Friday, February 22, 2008
Was that a Joke?
Today in one of my third grade classes I asked the students... (while pointing to a metalliphone)
"This is a metalliphone, and why do you suppose it is called a metalliphone?
"Because it is made out of metal" Kid says
"That's right, because it is made out of metal. (pointing to a xylophone) This is a Xylophone, and why do you suppose it is called a xylophone,"
"Because it is made of wood" Alvaro piped up
"That's right, because it is made of Xylo" I replied...
"Ooooo... what is xylo?" asked Alvaro...
"It's a joke... Duh" Anna Said
"Miss hope... was that a joke?" Alvaro...
"Yes."
Oooo. Alvaro nodded his head as a glimmer of understanding blinked in the distance.
Is it Friday yet?
"This is a metalliphone, and why do you suppose it is called a metalliphone?
"Because it is made out of metal" Kid says
"That's right, because it is made out of metal. (pointing to a xylophone) This is a Xylophone, and why do you suppose it is called a xylophone,"
"Because it is made of wood" Alvaro piped up
"That's right, because it is made of Xylo" I replied...
"Ooooo... what is xylo?" asked Alvaro...
"It's a joke... Duh" Anna Said
"Miss hope... was that a joke?" Alvaro...
"Yes."
Oooo. Alvaro nodded his head as a glimmer of understanding blinked in the distance.
Is it Friday yet?
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
The Man on the Other End of the Line
Today I talked with a man on the other side of the USA. It was a simple conversation about the whats and what nots of reserving a short term apartment in Boston for this summer. His web page was down, and I needed to get the reserving done, so we resorted to the good old telephone.
We were both on cell phones, but he hung up and called back on a land line... I don't know why. He told me, but I couldn't hear through the thick accent.
He seemed like a nice guy. He was genuinely interested in the fact that his web page was down, and he kindly took care of my need to plan things MONTHS in advance.
Speaking of planning things months in advance... I am convinced that I could plan a wedding in 1 month. Yes mam/sir I could do it, and probably even work a full time job while doing so. The hardest part of it would be the invitations, because it takes some effort to gather the address of EVERYONE significant from your ENTIRE life. But other than that, it can be done.
The problem is the rest of the world. Can you believe these people who think that one must plan their wedding a year to two years in advance? I have 6 months, and people make comments to me about having a "short" engagement. Who do they think I am Droopy the slow moving detective cartoon who chugs out 5 words a minute? No, I am an efficient, determined, task oriented, exhausted woman of 24 who is out to make some progress. That is why I glued ribbon to paper for 2 HOURS last night. It is the fault of those people who book their whoever (cake, photo, church, pastor, dress, meal) 16 months in advance that those of us are FORCED to be engaged for 6 months when we just want to get married YESTERDAY.
This post went in a totally different direction than I was planning. Heh, kind of like life sometimes right?
I am out.
We were both on cell phones, but he hung up and called back on a land line... I don't know why. He told me, but I couldn't hear through the thick accent.
He seemed like a nice guy. He was genuinely interested in the fact that his web page was down, and he kindly took care of my need to plan things MONTHS in advance.
Speaking of planning things months in advance... I am convinced that I could plan a wedding in 1 month. Yes mam/sir I could do it, and probably even work a full time job while doing so. The hardest part of it would be the invitations, because it takes some effort to gather the address of EVERYONE significant from your ENTIRE life. But other than that, it can be done.
The problem is the rest of the world. Can you believe these people who think that one must plan their wedding a year to two years in advance? I have 6 months, and people make comments to me about having a "short" engagement. Who do they think I am Droopy the slow moving detective cartoon who chugs out 5 words a minute? No, I am an efficient, determined, task oriented, exhausted woman of 24 who is out to make some progress. That is why I glued ribbon to paper for 2 HOURS last night. It is the fault of those people who book their whoever (cake, photo, church, pastor, dress, meal) 16 months in advance that those of us are FORCED to be engaged for 6 months when we just want to get married YESTERDAY.
This post went in a totally different direction than I was planning. Heh, kind of like life sometimes right?
I am out.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Don't Let Tere Come For You
Set up the scene:
It is February 13th, the day before parent teacher conferences and a four day weekend for students. The temperature in the room is on the warm side because these students know that the weekend is coming tomorrow and they only have one hour left of the school day. We are working on program music so all students have come to their seating arrangements and are, for the most part, ready to work. I attain quiet in the room, point out our agenda, and start our first song.
Suddenly the door at the back of the room opens. The sound is not loud, but it not soft. It is a firm purposeful opening of a door but also an opening that is not to be disturbing to more than one student. This one student hears the door open and his eyes open just a little bit wider.
I know, but I keep teaching.
Tere enters the room, a wonderful woman full of wisdom, knowledge, and the personality of one who has been teaching in the public school system for 20+ years. She moves with confident strides her magenta and black skirt swishing around her socked and Birkenstocked ankles.
I keep teaching.
Students who were not aware of her presence are now well aware that she is in the room, and that she is coming for someone.... someone who may not know that she is even there for them. But, that someone knows and is desperately trying to concentrate on being the best little musician he can be before being seized by Tere.
I keep teaching.
As Tere reaches her target she touches him on the shoulder. He turns to protest, but is not given the chance. She looks him in the eye with the look that only a Mother can give, takes him by the hand, and commandingly leads him from the room.
I keep teaching.
As the door clicks shut with the quiet loudness of impending doom, students turn to continue singing the song. There is a question in there eyes, "Will we ever see the Target of Tere again?" And the question lingers in the suddenly chilly air.
I keep teaching.
It is February 13th, the day before parent teacher conferences and a four day weekend for students. The temperature in the room is on the warm side because these students know that the weekend is coming tomorrow and they only have one hour left of the school day. We are working on program music so all students have come to their seating arrangements and are, for the most part, ready to work. I attain quiet in the room, point out our agenda, and start our first song.
Suddenly the door at the back of the room opens. The sound is not loud, but it not soft. It is a firm purposeful opening of a door but also an opening that is not to be disturbing to more than one student. This one student hears the door open and his eyes open just a little bit wider.
I know, but I keep teaching.
Tere enters the room, a wonderful woman full of wisdom, knowledge, and the personality of one who has been teaching in the public school system for 20+ years. She moves with confident strides her magenta and black skirt swishing around her socked and Birkenstocked ankles.
I keep teaching.
Students who were not aware of her presence are now well aware that she is in the room, and that she is coming for someone.... someone who may not know that she is even there for them. But, that someone knows and is desperately trying to concentrate on being the best little musician he can be before being seized by Tere.
I keep teaching.
As Tere reaches her target she touches him on the shoulder. He turns to protest, but is not given the chance. She looks him in the eye with the look that only a Mother can give, takes him by the hand, and commandingly leads him from the room.
I keep teaching.
As the door clicks shut with the quiet loudness of impending doom, students turn to continue singing the song. There is a question in there eyes, "Will we ever see the Target of Tere again?" And the question lingers in the suddenly chilly air.
I keep teaching.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Valentines Day
So,
Valentines Day cometh again. It cometh every year; some to haunt, some to encourage, some to fill with emotion, and some to cram a schedule.
I am the later. I am the one who always has some stupid obligation to fulfill on Valentines Day. In fact within the three Valentine Days that I have been with Christopher, every one has been full to the brim with commitments and other such nonsense.
Last year I had the Phonathon, and Christopher had class...
The year before I had class.
You would think that professors of the collegiate world would care about valentines day a little more, since those of us who had someone to "Valentine" with were a little more serious about our valentining than we had been at younger ages. But no, they do not.
I am finding that Elementary schools are a little more forgiving... For the students. Not for the teachers. OR their parents. Yes, we have Parent Teacher Conferences on Valentines day, and in the evening until 7:30.
YUCK!!! Who wants to hear about their child's behavior/misbehavior on VALENTINES DAY!?!?!
No one, that's who, And what teacher even wants to think about their brood of 20-30-425 students on Valentines Day evening
No one, that's who,
But until USD Blankity blank blank can gets their act together... we will have conferences on Valentines day evening, and Christopher will again sit home by him self pining for the sight of my smiling face.
Valentines Day cometh again. It cometh every year; some to haunt, some to encourage, some to fill with emotion, and some to cram a schedule.
I am the later. I am the one who always has some stupid obligation to fulfill on Valentines Day. In fact within the three Valentine Days that I have been with Christopher, every one has been full to the brim with commitments and other such nonsense.
Last year I had the Phonathon, and Christopher had class...
The year before I had class.
You would think that professors of the collegiate world would care about valentines day a little more, since those of us who had someone to "Valentine" with were a little more serious about our valentining than we had been at younger ages. But no, they do not.
I am finding that Elementary schools are a little more forgiving... For the students. Not for the teachers. OR their parents. Yes, we have Parent Teacher Conferences on Valentines day, and in the evening until 7:30.
YUCK!!! Who wants to hear about their child's behavior/misbehavior on VALENTINES DAY!?!?!
No one, that's who, And what teacher even wants to think about their brood of 20-30-425 students on Valentines Day evening
No one, that's who,
But until USD Blankity blank blank can gets their act together... we will have conferences on Valentines day evening, and Christopher will again sit home by him self pining for the sight of my smiling face.
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Good things are worth the wait
So,
As I get older, I am really learning that good things are worth the wait. I had to wait till I was an eighth grader to attend a school with more people than just my sister. I had to wait till I was 18 to go to college. That was worth it. I had to wait till I was 22 to start dating, and that was worth it. I had to wait till I was 24 to get my first teaching job, and that was worth it. And so on and so forth goes life.
So why am I all fired up to know what is next when I know that whatever it is will be worth the wait.
At least I won't have to deal with this for the rest of my life...
Oh, wait...
P.S. Congradulations to those of you who have just made it through a LONG wait.
As I get older, I am really learning that good things are worth the wait. I had to wait till I was an eighth grader to attend a school with more people than just my sister. I had to wait till I was 18 to go to college. That was worth it. I had to wait till I was 22 to start dating, and that was worth it. I had to wait till I was 24 to get my first teaching job, and that was worth it. And so on and so forth goes life.
So why am I all fired up to know what is next when I know that whatever it is will be worth the wait.
At least I won't have to deal with this for the rest of my life...
Oh, wait...
P.S. Congradulations to those of you who have just made it through a LONG wait.
Sunday, February 03, 2008
super bowl commericals
Well, I thought that the commercials this year were not as wonderful as they have been in years past. There were some good ones, and there were some that made me want to crawl into a hole and mourn the state of man kind.
Favorites of mine,
Coca Cola where Stewie and Underdog were fighting for the coca cola bottle and the Charlie Brown balloon got it!
The E-trade commercial where the baby hired a clown with his "Extra Cash" but regretted his choice because he underestimated the "creepy factor"
The Budweiser commercial that was a rocky spoof when the Clydsdale doesn't make the team and then trains for the "big league"
I also loved the car commercial where the squirl was about to get run over and the camera panned to all of the screaming annimals. Very good!
Low points:
The Amp Commercial... Need I say more?
The Sales Genie commercials Both of them, but mostly the one with the pandas
Other than that... CRAP the Giants just scored! If they win, I will not be super happy. And you may not hear from me tomorrow, because I will be mourning the loss of the only NFL team that I have cared about since I was in Elementary school and I liked the Bears because my family thought that it was cute that I could talk like Mike Ditka.
Also, overtime would not be good, because I am in The burro right now, and I don't want to have to drive back So late.
Favorites of mine,
Coca Cola where Stewie and Underdog were fighting for the coca cola bottle and the Charlie Brown balloon got it!
The E-trade commercial where the baby hired a clown with his "Extra Cash" but regretted his choice because he underestimated the "creepy factor"
The Budweiser commercial that was a rocky spoof when the Clydsdale doesn't make the team and then trains for the "big league"
I also loved the car commercial where the squirl was about to get run over and the camera panned to all of the screaming annimals. Very good!
Low points:
The Amp Commercial... Need I say more?
The Sales Genie commercials Both of them, but mostly the one with the pandas
Other than that... CRAP the Giants just scored! If they win, I will not be super happy. And you may not hear from me tomorrow, because I will be mourning the loss of the only NFL team that I have cared about since I was in Elementary school and I liked the Bears because my family thought that it was cute that I could talk like Mike Ditka.
Also, overtime would not be good, because I am in The burro right now, and I don't want to have to drive back So late.
Friday, February 01, 2008
Need I say More?
So, I can not campaign any more for the links that I have on my blog. I believe in what these women and men are writing. If you need more proof that they are good writers who deserve a glance then just take a look at this little paragraph straight from the mouth of Big Mama!
"Well, y’all will probably be as relieved as I was to know that according to some “experts” on the internet, my eyelashes should grow back in six to eight weeks. In the meantime I will be walking around with a naked eye because false eyelashes aren’t really in the cards for me due to the fact that I have the manual dexterity of a monkey with oversized hands that has just finished a bottle of cheap tequila."
Her only fault is the frequent use of the word, "Y'all."
Also, check out Antique Mommy’s post Reaching for Angels. It is pretty awesome.
The only thing I have left to say is, Thank God It's Friday!
"Well, y’all will probably be as relieved as I was to know that according to some “experts” on the internet, my eyelashes should grow back in six to eight weeks. In the meantime I will be walking around with a naked eye because false eyelashes aren’t really in the cards for me due to the fact that I have the manual dexterity of a monkey with oversized hands that has just finished a bottle of cheap tequila."
Her only fault is the frequent use of the word, "Y'all."
Also, check out Antique Mommy’s post Reaching for Angels. It is pretty awesome.
The only thing I have left to say is, Thank God It's Friday!
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