Wednesday, November 25, 2009

A Lot to Be Thankful For...

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When grumpy, it's really easy for me to forget to be thankful. As my hubster is so glad to remind me, I have a lot to be thankful for. Here are just a few things...

My Parents: For helping me to become the person I am today. I am a mini combo version of my parents right down to my need to take care of every stray animal and my unfaltering sweet tooth.

My Hubster: For pushing me to be a better person and carrying me through those very gray days. Even after 11 years of being together, I love him more every day.

Our Kitties and Water Babies: For providing endless hours of entertainment and love.

My Friends: For revealing the humor in life, especially when I need it the most. Most importantly, sharing their ever changing life stories with me.


Tuesday, November 24, 2009

"Adventure is Out There!"

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We recently watched Up a couple of days ago. I had been so excited to watch it because I loved Wall-E. I was hoping for another unexpected surprise storyline to capture my imagination once again. Unfortunately, I was a bit disappointed. It wasn't terrible. It's definitely at the bottom of my Pixar list along with Ratatouille and and Chicken Little. The old man explorer who was about the same age as Carl was a bit too much even for me. The creepy dog army made the movie even less appealing. I thought I would love Russell would be endearing but he was a little too annoying. Dug was one of my favorite characters, and I loved the short about him in the extras. Maybe, I would have been more taken with it if I watched in 3-D.

Our Kind of Bubbly


Throwback Tuesday: Tell Me - Groove Theory

Monday, November 23, 2009

Friday, November 20, 2009

Finally!

I've been searching for bottes de pluie. I haven't found a pair that I loved until now. These will be mine soon enough. :)

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Thursday, November 19, 2009

It's Like Looking Into the Future...Eeerie

Ageless Stars: Did You Know They Were That Old?


Keiko Agena
Real Age: 36
Our Age: 15

Seriously, the 'Gilmore Girls' star does not look like she's really older than Angelina, does she? more>>

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Nobody Knows This Little Rose...

I had lots of time to kill today while waiting for my hubster to get off from work. I spent part of it in the rose garden in front of the mission. I learned that some of the common names for roses are really fun such as iceberg and pillow fight.






Throwback Tuesday: Come On Over - Christina Aguilera

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Candy or Poop?

While we were hiking, my hubster found an interesting thing on the trail. He insisted that I put on my blog that he found dog shaped doggy poo poo. Upon closer inspection, I think it could be one of those licorice doggies. The question still remains, candy or poop?





Real Camping, Not Cabin Camping

My hubster has been trying to get me to go camping for quite some time. I told him that I had been cabin, but he didn't believe me. He would further inquire by asking questions like, "In a tent? Without a real toilet?" I told him that I had been camping in a cabin. According to him, sixth grade camp doesn't count as camping either even though "camp" is in the phrase.

This weekend, we went camping at Montana de Oro. You can't reserve a campsite. You just show up at 2 and hope for the best. To kill sometime, we went on this really intense hike up Madonna Peak and stopped at High St Deli for a delicious California Turkey Sandwich. Now, I can say that I've been real camping (earned a little street cred with the hubster) and am looking forward to more camping trips.











Friday, November 13, 2009

Did You Know BSB Still Makes Music?

The video below is for Backstreet Boys latest song. It's actually pretty good. I can't believe that I like it.


This Week's Sub Highlights

Highlight #1:

As the regular teacher is giving me the rundown about her class, she mentions that they've had everything go through her room including lice. She jokingly says, "You might want to tie your hair back. (laughs) Just make sure your pretty hair doesn't drape close to any of the kids' heads while you're helping them." Thanks, my paranoia caused me to slightly scratch my head ALL day!

Highlight #2:

Getting fourth graders to walk in a beautiful straight line all the way to the auditorium while in boy girl order.

She Lies...He Lies...

Kate DiCamillo is one of my favorite children's books authors. Her stories are enchanting and often carry themes such as love, determination, and patience. When I learned that she had a new book out, I immediately bought it even though it was only available in hardcover. (I'm not a big fan of hardcover books because of the slippery sleeves.) The new tale is called The Magician's Elephant. It's definitely darker than her other stories including the Tale of Desperaux. It seemed to have a mood that resembles that of The Illusionist. The illustrations resemble those found in Hugo Cabret. It's definitely a read that can be completed in one day and should be read in one day because of the rhythm of the story.



Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Patio Series: One



Fountain-tastic!

My parents thought we needed a fountain to add to our patio.
Here it is. Ta-da!



Now, all we need is a mini sailboat and a rubber ducky to place inside.


Doing Better

I thought it was only fair to do this post since I already made this post. Post-grad school re-entrance into the real world has been everything but what I expected it to be. Rather than having my own brood of booger eaters to teach, I'm one of the many under appreciated traveling teachers known as substitute teachers. I fought being a sub for about two months, calling it not-even-being-really-employed (I work at least two to three days a week), waking up beyond stressed out two hours before I really needed to wake up, and feeling defeated at the end of the day because I didn't get everything done that was listed in the sub plans.

Flash forward to now, I've learned to: expect the unexpected; I can still teach with an open heart; and I am appreciated. There are so many great things about not having my own classroom just yet. No report cards to write. No parent conferences to prepare for. No papers to grade.

I also get to shop around for my favorite grade level. Yesterday was a big day because it meant that I have taught at least one class in each grade level. The verdict so far is that first and fifth are still my two favorite grades. I could not be a kinder teacher because I'm totally incapable of singing songs on key. I also don't think I want to be a third grade teacher anymore.

With all of this said, a friend asked me the other day if I could see myself subbing for another year. The butterflies started all over again. My response? Honestly, I've just learned how to deal with it and accept it, but I think it's only enough acceptance to cope with this year. I'm still hoping for my own classroom.

Thanks to my hubster for waiting for this moment. I couldn't have gotten here without you!


Tuesday, November 10, 2009

The Writer Within

Barack Obama's Work in Progress


Photograph by Callie Shell/Aurora
November 2009

Over the past few years, we’ve gotten to know our president as a lot of different things: campaigner, lawyer, father, basketballer. But what if Obama’s first and truest calling—his desire to write—explains more about him than anything else? Robert Draper recounts the untold story of the first man since Teddy Roosevelt to serve as author in chief more>>

Throwback Tuesday: Invisible Man - 98 Degrees

I heard this song while waiting in line at Michael's. The cashier started mumbling the words while she rung up the person in front of me. By the look on her face, you could tell that this song meant something to her some point in time. Gosh, it sent awkward middle school memories flooding into my mind.




Sunday, November 8, 2009

Gearing Up

As my hubster just reminded me, we'll be going on our trip in two months. Eek! So much to do. Realized I don't have enough pairs of shorts for our 10 day trip after my closet purge, so I need to buy a few more pairs. Need to get copies of our passports and other important documents. I also need to learn how to properly use my SLR. In addition to taking photos, I also wanted to take videos on our trip. I didn't want to lug around another large camera though. Then, I remembered the cute Flip cameras that I've seen at Costco. While researching the Flip, I came across the Kodak Zi8. Some more research is definitely needed before any decisions are made, but I am loving the Zi8 for now.

http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2009/07/Kodak_Zi8.jpg

Catch Up: Beach Day

Last weekend, we were able to spend the afternoon at the beach. Surprisingly, we haven't spent that much time at the beach with all of our random weekend trips. We got our feet covered in sand, had the chilly water splash against our ankles, searched for sea glass and other goodies, and tried to get pictures of birdies.






Saturday, November 7, 2009

This Week's Sub Highlights

Highlight #1:

Singing the Benny Bear song. The song is ridiculous. The lyrics include: "Benny Bear/Benny Bear/Please Beware/Please Beware/I see a bee buzzing by a basket of bees...Please don't run/Eat your bun."

Highlight #2:

My hubster coming to school to be my volunteer and hearing the kiddos say, "Good Morning, Mr. T---."

Highlight #3:

Me
: (to Wee One) See you later alligator.

Wee One: In awhile crocodile.
Me: Okie dokie artichokie.
(Twenty wee ones giggle like crazy.)

"Absolutely Redonkulous!'

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We finally got around to watching Bolt since it got placed on our instant queue. Thanks Netflix! We loved it. Before we even watched it, I knew the hamster in the ball was going to be my favorite character. Rhino ended up being even more endearing and adorable!

Sweet Dreams

When I was a wee one, I never fancied Barbie's dream house. Perhaps, it was because I was still in my purple phase and everything was in that awful Pepto-Bismol pink. I always loved the description of the gingerbread house in Hansel and Gretel and wished I could live there (without the witch of course). Last winter, I was searching for a gingerbread picture for a mosaic and stumbled across this picture:


source: flickr

I instantly loved it. Last week, I watched a Rick Steves' episode featuring Barcelona and Catalunya. He featured this beautiful park and buildings designed by the same architect. I'm longing for another trip to Europe. It'll just have to wait its turn after Costa Rica and New York. :)

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Oh Kindergarten!

I have been spending tons of time in kinder. It's even got the first graders thinking that I'm really a kindergarten teacher. Oy. Here are my two favorite highlights from the last two days:

Highlight #1:

The parents were supposed to donate magazines for this shape collage activity. One of the magazines did not have a cover on it, but I thought it looked vaguely familiar. The models looked a bit too glamorous for a regular catalog. Then, I began to flip through it and it was a Victoria's Secret catalog. Just as I suspected! My friend and I deduced that the kids would only be able to find circles and triangles in that magazine.

Highlight #2:

This wee one was rocking out as he did his pattern shape stamping. What was he rocking out to? Not an alphafriend kid friendly song. It was his own rendition of Paparazzi by Lady Gaga. He wasn't just humming. He was singing the words he thought he heard. Too cute! I didn't have the heart to make him stop because it made me giggle inside.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

MTV Generation

I know I'm part of the MTV generation. I totally grew up watching Real World (before it got really slutty), Road Rules, Daria and endless hours of music videos. Ever so often, my restlessness and short attention span will creep up. These sentiments have been creeping up more frequently lately. I haven't been able to stick with one book. How do I manage? Skip between three a-mazing books:

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http://hangproud.com/Files/Articles/grayson.jpg

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"You and Me" - Dave Matthews Band

I have a soft spot for the Dave Matthews Band. I wouldn't say that they're my all time favorite band, but some of their songs are my all time favorite songs. "You and Me" may be the latest addition to my favorite songs list. I can endlessly listen to it. If you want to hear it, click on the image below. :)

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