Wisconsin, the teaser trailer

How do you know you are in Wisconsin?

a) The restaurant has placemats that describe fish

b) The same restaurant has a shower in the women's restroom
c) Food is described with sounds (onomatopoeia).
d) The fish museum is actually made to look like a fish. If you look closely you can see people in it's mouth.
e) Lumberjacks!and f) Your cousin gets married on a fishing boat.
More to come later!

Sunfires are mom-mobiles, right?

Included in the upcoming lifestyle changes in our household will be a new car. While my Sunfire does have all of the necessary attachments for baby seats, I will not be attempting to use them. So we've started to explore our options.

Chris and I did try several basic 4-door varieties, but I seem to like the small wagons better. Yikes, I blanch a little just typing that. Growing up we had a few station wagons, including the lovely brown one with wood trim. With 4 kids, my parents would be up front and the rest of us would fight over where to sit, either the 'middle' or the 'far back.' And of course everyone wanted to sit in the same place. We'd also take the station wagon on the yearly trip to Wisconsin. This was fun because my parents would sometimes put down all the seats and lay out sleeping bags and we'd have a big area to play in. This was way before child safety laws were invented, obviously.

Anyway, I've looked at the following so far:

Malibu Maxx: This was fun to drive, easy to maneuver and it had plenty of room in the back seat so I don't bump my head all of the time and tall people fit in there too. The ones I drove even had window roofing for the back seat.The downside seems to be it has a bigger engine than I would need, so it would use lots of gas.Pontiac Vibe: I drove this one a couple of days ago and loved it. Again, easy to handle, gas and brakes were great. Again, lots of head room and leg room in the back seat. And the engine is actually smaller than what I am used to but it still worked great for me. It's not like I'm going to be hot rodding with Peanut in the back seat. Unless some punk is just needing a beat down.I would still like to try a Mazda Protege5 and a Toyota Matrix.

And for some reason people keep pointing out Ford Taurus wagons to me. I shudder. I think it's just too wagon-esque and I'd feel like I was in 1985 again.

The tough part is that the cars I like are just a bit out of price range. But since we don't need it for a couple of months yet, I have local used car lots bookmarked and will be keeping an eagle eye out for a good deal. Hopefully it will all work out.

Suggestions and input welcome in the comments!

Vacation is over

I had a great weekend to end my vacation before becoming acting CFO. Friday night we went to see an improv show with Ikkin and Ukie (thanks for the tickets, Ikkin). The show was called FFN in Space at Madlab Theater. It was improv meets sci-fi, so I was amused the whole time, especially by Ikkin's friend Josh who got to wear the red t-shirt (Star Trek fans know what that's about). The only thing I didn't care for was whoever suggested the hero's power be a Bill Cosby impersonation. Because no one does a good Bill Cosby impersonation.

Sunday we had a little cookout here for Father's Day. My parents, grandma and siblings made the trip as well as Chris's grandmother and the Ukie. My brothers pointed at me and laughed, my dad had to take pictures of me to show my other grandma and it got really hot out. But it was an awesome time and we ended up with lots of leftovers, most of which are cookies and cake.

Today I woke up fully prepared to start CFOing and impressing everyone with my housewife abilities. That lasted all of 10 minutes because someone forgot to wash jeans for her kind and understanding husband. So I told Chris to wear a pleated skirt and tell everyone it was a kilt and the breeze was a blessing in the heat. He didn't go for it.

But after that I went for a brisk 30 minute walk and lifted weights. I also ran errands in the truck. Did I mention sitting in my car for more then 15 minutes causes my back to spaz out? Yeah. So I drove his truck downtown and registered us for our new church and inadvertently volunteered Chris to mulch later this week. Then I went to the library and registered there. They have a coffee shop attached to the library! And a really good selection; I was nervous about that since it is a smaller town not affiliated with the Columbus library. In fact I found Buffy season 7 on DVD and had to restrain myself a little. Then it was off to the Post Office to buy stamps and send a package. Then back home for lunch and laundry.

I'm off to get more done!

Shots!

I'm enjoying my 'vacation' and to share in that enjoyment, here is a variety of movie screen shots. Begin the guessing, let's see how smart you are!

1)
2)
3)
4)

Hammer Time

For those of you who have not glanced at the calender recently, Father's day is coming up. I saw this commercial today and thought it was hilarious.



School is now done, finished, complete, stick a fork in it. I will now assume the position CFO (Chief Family Officer) of the household. I was actually interviewed for this position, so you know it must be serious. While this includes things like budgets, cleaning and cooking, I'm actually on a power trip and keep telling Chris how things are going to be around here. Because I say so.

But first I get a one week vacation.

I did sign up for class at Jo-Ann Fabric called 'Getting to Know Your Sewing Machine'. I was all excited and bought thread and a magnetic pin cushion. But they canceled it due to low registration. Apparently I am the only person in northern Columbus who does not know my sewing machine. A friendly teacher at school did offer to teach me, so I'll be giving her a call. After vacation.

Our Yard, Illustrated

First, it did occur to me to just put all of these pictures in an on-line photo album and post a link. But I like to do things the hard way, what can I say. So our new home was professionally landscaped by the gardener who originally lived here and maintained by the previous occupants. Now that spring is here, we get to see what surprises there are growing in our yard. There will be more and I will update, so don't be surprised and bear with me as I struggle with what plant is what.

First, on the side of our house are three bushes. If you look closely you can see they are flowering bushes of some type. The bushes are fairly dense so the flowers are just kind of peeking out in little bunches.

Next in the front of our house, but kind of hidden behind everything is azaleas. It didn't come in too well this year, likely due to the late frost, but I do like azaleas :)

This is one tree in the front of the house, I think my knowledgeable husband said it was a weeping cherry tree. I'm not posting the picture of it, but from one angle you could see a broken limb with cherry-size gray pods growing on it. Chris managed to cut it out yesterday. Also notice all of the shrubbery. Shrubbery, I tell you! The bald patch was where some plant was but it apparently died because it was not growing back in.


Here's the other tree in front of our house. This has since been trimmed because it hangs right in your face as you walk up the sidewalk. Not good for us tall-ies. The bush on the right somehow offended Chris and he chopped off at least half of it. Actually, he thinks it's supposed to trimmed and it was hanging on the driveway scratching up my car, so it deserved to get whacked.


This tall grass in the backyard turned out to be some type of orchid. At least it had this nice purple orchid-like blooms. Unfortunately they have already died, so no pictures.


The coniferous trees along the back fence. They make a nice barrier so it doesn't feel like we are sharing our yard with the whole neighborhood. But they do have a LOT of pine cones. I will have to find some craft that incorporates pine cones so I can make money off of this. Or at least put peanut butter on them and use them as bird feeders.


I'm not sure what kind of tree this is, it has mystified both myself and my mom. It started out with pods like it was a magnolia, then it spread out like a regular tree, then it got all of these beautiful pink flowers on it (see next picture) and now that the flowers have died it has developed what I think look the beginnings of buckeyes. Clueless I tell you.

The backyard has more ornamental shrubbery. We aren't sure what they all are, but the first one has mini pine cones, the second is slightly lopsided and the last is apparently expensive to buy.



And there is a lilac bush/tree! It smelled great and it's right by the kitchen window. But alas, it has lost its blooms.


We also have irises, some type of bushy wildflower that came out of nowhere and is bigger than the bushes, lazy eyed suzannes, some other type of weedy looking thing that is growing small but tall flowers, chickpeas, vines (that I am trying to pull up because they are already killing two plants), a holly bush, more coniferous pine-cone-bearing trees and a rose bush.

Tag, I'm it

Julie has decided to tag me for a meme. So I get to give you random bits of information about myself. At first I was going to totally steal her idea and write about my scars, but I realized I only have stories for the four huge ugly ones. The rest are random bumps and scratches.

So I bring you Hugs' list of random stuff:

1) One of my proudest moments was during the 8th grade graduation. I won the science award, which was totally unexpected. I beat the valedictorian and salutatorian. I kind of hoped for the math one, but didn't get it. It was based on a test we had taken, not based on teacher's feeling bad for me, so I was thrilled.

2) My second proudest moment was getting a 3 on the AP Calculus test. Not the best score of the class or anything, but I was impressed with it. Of course now I can't remember Calculus....

3) My biggest regret is not trying out for track. Running bored me to tears. But at recess I was one of the best Jail-Break players. Now I'm always struggling to run at a decent speed. Well, I've taken about 9 months off for now....

4) My biggest fear is that I will be forgotten. Most people would say drowning or something like that. I'm afraid that I'll die won't make any kind of impact in the world. I realize this is totally irrational and that I have wonderful family and friends. But most fears are irrational.

5) This news clip makes me cry every time.

6) More often than not, I type my name "Amadna" then have to go back and correct it.

7) I am malignant hyperthermia susceptible. In my terminology, I am allergic to general anesthesia. This was discovered when in kindergarten I went to get my tonsils removed (I had strep throat a lot as a kid) and things went very wrong. This led to a muscle biopsy on my left thigh that left a nice 4"+ scar.

8) My picture was in the National Enquirer. Ok, so it was me and 300+ of my relatives and I was like 12, but people can still pick me out of the crowd. It was for the world's largest family reunion. We'd have been in Guinness too, but no one felt like looking up that many birth certificates and wedding licenses.

Not much new but...

... by request is here the ole "Guess the Screenshot" game!

I think it might be a toughie, but I could be wrong.

Flurry of information

Today I will begin by discussing my tv shows.

RIP Gilmore Girls. I found out today that the last episode will be on May 15. I just really enjoy this show and would love to live in Stars Hollow. I can't put my finger on exactly why. And Chris would cause me serious bodily harm before he lets that happen. There will be parties and sadness on May 15.

I don't know if any of you watch Heroes, no one seems to besides myself. But I watched Monday's episode online and was so shocked and awed I nearly cursed at the screen twice. And anyone who knows me knows that is saying something. Possible future time line? Peter kicking butt? Sylar?!?!?

So while my Girls will leave me, I will at least continue to get my super hero fix next fall. After of course the bomb goes off and they leave a huge cliffhanger that will make me swear like a sailor and lay awake at night wondering how to get Chris to name our kid Milo.

In other news, D is a female. I asked. Not her. One of the bosses. While we were alone. And apparently the bosses have to correct the kids. Often.

More news, guess what I found out today. That my license expired on my birthday of 2007. I am such a rebel driving around with an expired license. Even if I was unaware of this transgression, I'm still a rebel right? Of course tonight I will lay awake wondering if they'll make me retake the written test since I've let my license lapse for so long.

Catch up time

So since I have posted last I have:

1) Gotten my hair cut. Thanks for the compliment on it Mandy! There was over 3 inches hacked off, more around my face. However, my family did not notice. That or it really doesn't look that great and no one wants to mention it.

2) Gone to Charleston. My prompt husband has already posted about that on his blog. We had an awesome time. I totally love getting spring break! And Charleston was great because there weren't any spring-breakers around. It also was the cleanest city I have been to. I saw a fair amount of people smoking, but nary a cigarette butt could I find.

3) Had a game night. Well, there were only 4 of us and only one game of Clue was played (Sergey won, but I let him. really). Instead we spent lots of time chatting about such topics as gun control and feet issues. Ikkin left Cranium with us for next time, and I am not reading through the cards getting ideas for how to win.

4) Visited hubby's grandma. We got to do some landscaping by transplanting some irises. I really miss doing my little bit of gardening here, but since we're moving soon there is no sense in planting flowers. She also gave us a couple of pamphlets on infant care which are very entertaining, but I'll post them on the baby blog. She also gave Peanut some flowers that we can plant at the new house, so thanks Marie!

5) We also visited hubby's uncle and family. His cousins are just getting to their teens and we see them only a couple of times a year, so its scary how tall they are now.

6) Bought maternity clothes, which can be viewed at the baby blog. I'm not gaining a lot of weight, but my belly just doesn't fit my clothes anymore. However it's not big enough for the shirts. So I just look funny no matter what I wear.

So none of that is new, most of it has been covered in other blogs, so I figured I can fill in some space by talking about one of my filler subjects: today's topic is androgyny.

So there is a coworker I have at my tutoring job who I will call D. D is heavy set with short, spiky hair and glasses. D wears a hoop earring in the left ear. D seems to be somewhat endowed in the upper chest reason. When I first started I believe my bosses referred to D as 'she'. Ok, no problem. However, I had a student refer to D as 'he'. Hmmm, better to trust the bosses. Then two weeks ago D came in with facial hair under the chin. Oh! Ok! Then last week I was talking to the boss and (not feeling well and not with it at all) referred to D as 'she'. The boss used the term 'her'.

So now I'm all confused. Any thoughts?

I'm still here

Sorry I've been away. Life has been hectic and then I get really tired. I'm always thinking of things I want to blog about (note to self: personalized license plates, superstitions, more Min stories) but never finding the time or motivation.

But now I'm on Spring Break! Oh, the joys of being a teacher. Over a week without classes or papers to grade or lessons to plan. I just want to curl up on the couch in a blissful ball. But alas, I have to work at my tutoring job tonight.

By the way, you know that saying in Ohio "if you don't like the weather, just wait 15 minutes"? Well on Tuesday we had a record high of 81 degrees. On Wednesday it snowed. Despite it being April, spring is nowhere in sight. I'm not complaining, just wanted to share the joy with you who are not here to enjoy the endless flurries today.

And because my prompt husband already posted about our house and said I'd post about the borders, I should probably do that. So this house has border in several rooms. The kitchen/dining area has a dark neutral border that looks like wheat and names spices. The one bedroom upstairs has a watercolor flower border at about waist height. Then there are the bathroom borders.Why yes, that sheep on the left is wearing a tie.

Outhouses in the bathroom, how original.

It wouldn't be so bad except our current bathrooms contain
Pastels and purples mixed with sheep and outhouses. I don't see this going well.

Panic at the Disco!

So we are looking at this house and were going to look at it one more time tomorrow and put in an offer. But we get a call this afternoon saying someone else put in a bid.

Mad panic ensues. We can still put in an offer but it needs to be immediately. We'll have to up what we originally planned to offer too.

You know, I was getting cold feet about this too. Mostly because buying a house is a lot of money and I do not like spending lots of money. An occasional spree of a shirt and pants satisfies my spending desires. And coming this fall we'll have an extra mouth to feed and only one income.

But as soon as I hear that someone else put in an offer I thought "Someone's trying to take our house." So I guess I do want it.

Back to the story. I run out to Hubby's work (were he is) and we open up the documents we need to sign to put in the offer. And the computer laughs at us. So we try a couple of different ways of getting the documents to open. The computer rolls around on the ground clutching its sides. This is a computer at a high tech radar and signal place, but we can't read a simple document. Finally, the real estate agent emails .pdf versions that we sign and fax back. After several hours we found out that our offer was better but the seller was making a counter offer. Bear in mind that the price we did offer was about as high as I (as financial manager of the household) was comfortable going. And I am severely hormonal and prone to spats of crying.

The counter offer was for $250 more than we offered. We're getting a house!

You're just jealous

Days off of school are just awesome. Today I slept in till almost 8, despite my well-meaning husband trying to get me up for school. I was able to get to the gym for a good workout. I had time to shave my legs (I know you wonder about my leg shaving habits). I went to the library and to the book store. I watched some Gilmore Girls and got groceries. And then it was 3 and everything after 3 doesn't matter because I would be out of school anyway.

The internet here has a habit of randomly stopping. You'll be on a website and then the next one won't work. You'll be watching a video and it stops loading. Even my laptop, which connects to a neighbor's wireless network, won't work. All signs look like the internet is on, but nothing will work. Fortunately, it's working right now, but the problem seems to have narrowed it's target. I can't get to my email. I had every intention of catching up on my email today and reading messages from people getting the news, and now I can't. Bitterness.

Handsome Hubby owes me Steak'n'Shake for a lost bet and we can't because it's Friday in Lent! Man, it sounds good too.

Oh, he owes me because he was wrong about what my Valentine's gift looked like. That's right, he orders me this ring from Wal-Mart using their website and customizing it, and he didn't realize that two of the stones were cut like hearts. I got the ring on Wednesday and it is great. :)

And in case anyone hasn't gotten the announcement in the mail, Hubby and I are having a baby! Most people know this and have seen our new blog, but I'll add it to the links here too. I'll try to keep all the pregnancy-related topics there.

Sorry I've been gone

I've been pretty busy with two jobs and some other stuff (more about that tomorrow).

Friday night was game night. It didn't have a great turnout, but the few of us here had a great time. We played Scattergories this time, which I love. It was particularly fun during the first round because we overly explained the rules to Ukie, but is was Chicks who didn't understand them. Scattergories was one of my favorite games as a kid, so I loved playing and eeked out a win. We only played for a while and then sat around chatting. Also, the Donato's veggie pizza (due to Lent) was a huge hit. Everyone who ate it raved about it. Obviously, I neither ate it nor raved about it.

Saturday was chore day, but of course I didn't get as much as I wanted done. Sometimes I get annoyed and want to clean. Most of the time I just get annoyed that I need to clean. It was finally warm enough to get the grill out and cook some pork chops. Then we headed out to Ikkin's birthday party. It was at Gameworks, which I knew about but hadn't been to. It's all sorts of games, from shooting to racing to skee ball, plus food and drinks. It was hugely crowded at first, but after 10 pm it became 18 and up. There was a point that Chicks heard some kids point me out as a teacher, so I know I'll hear about that on Monday at school. But a good time was had by all.

Today my parents visited and we took a second look at a house we liked. We still like it, but thanks to Mom and Dad and the real estate agent, we did find some areas of concern that need to be addressed. Well, Mom's concern was the lurid yellow paint and green carpet in the bedrooms. Every room had some green and it drove her nuts, but apparently the yellow and green combo was the worst. So we'll let you know what happens with the house. Afterwards they took us to Graeter's for ice cream! Chris and I shared a Killer Cardinal sundae (chocolate ice cream with strawberries) which was suprisingly good.

I'm off to grade papers and make my lesson plans. I am seriously behind for some reason and it won't help that I have to help proctor the OGT this week. Ah, well.

Toilet paper just doesn't taste as good

So Min has learned a new trick. She goes up to the closet door and lays down and, prying with her front paws and clawing with her back paws, she slides it open a couple of inches.

Neat, huh? I beg to differ.

She does this because she has discovered something in the closet. Something thats chewy and easy to carry. Something that smells vaguely of feet. See, two weeks ago Hubby shut her in the closet for a few hours. So she explored. And she found a shoe box. And in that shoe box? Apparently the world's greatest cat toy. My knee high pantyhose and footies.

So today I come home and find a footie on the living room floor. And a knee high on the stairs. Then a trail going around the corner into the bedroom. And the closet door is open slightly. And the box lid is lying next to the box. And the box is empty. The hose I already found is definitely not all of it, so I'm trying to keep my eye out for where she is stashing the rest.

The bright side is at least she isn't chewing on the toilet paper anymore. Wait, no, I'm wrong. She's still chewing on that too.

They made me work four whole days this week

It was rough, let me tell you. And I'm being serious because I had tests and quizzes and reviews to get ready as well as some projects for next week to prepare for. Plus many of these students actually care about their grades and are coming in to retake tests and study for the upcoming ones.

Although I really didn't care for being lectured about how many points the students have right now. Especially since I've heard other teachers discussing how few points they have. I've been doing this for over five years, I think I have some idea how to handle grades.

I did have a great time last night. Five of my coworkers for my previous school in Cincinnati were in town for a conference. It was fun to hang out with people who a) already like me, b) actually care about teaching and c) know how to hang out and have a good time.

We went to Brio at Easton for dinner. Expensive, but they all got to eat on the company dime. So I mooched dessert from them. There was a game of "Would you rather" and gossip of course.

Um, lets see, what else. Tomorrow Handsome Hubby and I are looking for houses and then I may go to the knitting bee at the library. Then grade, laundry, groceries, workout, etc.

Soooo. I feel like I should have more to report since I haven't been posting much. But I don't.

A great week

So I finally got snow days. Three of them, one last week and two this week. I have become used to sleeping in until 8 and it is cruel punishment when my alarm goes off at 5:45.

But I had an awesome time off this week because my charming husband also got two days off this week. He did go in on Tuesday and called an hour later to tell me to get ready for sledding. Read his blog for more about that. The link is --------->

Not much else going on here. I did make my first snow angel of the season, which was promptly snowed all over. Ummm, yeah, that's about it.

Job is still going well. Here's a little known secret. Every school I've worked at has had a teacher hangout for Friday's after school. It's always a place to get drinks and it's always a select group - not everyone knows where it is. At Live Oaks I got the invite in the first few months. I almost blew it though because another new guy was asking if I knew any hangouts and I almost told him. Needless to say, he was NOT on the invite list. Anyway, I did get the invite at my new job. So I am in! They like me! Granted, I haven't gone yet, but still!

On a side note, it's weird to think my teachers in high school might have gotten together to drink and discuss students.

And I didn't even wear my pajamas inside out

This school year I have not yet had a snow day. However, I have had:

1 no-electirity day
1 one-crack-head-bus-driver-means-they-all-need-background-checks day
2 its-too-cold-to-make-the-little-darlings-wait-for-buses days

Columbus public held out on the last cold day. Seriously, every other school had called off already and finally at the very end of the 6:30 news last night they called in.

So I've had two surprise days off in a row. Of course I spent them making up for lost time on the house-wifery front. *snickers* Ok, really I did make up some lost time. Then I knitted and watched tv. Today I went over to Ukie's apartment to give his cat attention and ended up playing Mortal Kombat for an hour.

Now it is snowing! It's so pretty! I'm totally aware that it will be plowed and I'll have school tomorrow. And I'm ok with that.

One New Year's resolution down!

My week without my husband draws to a close. I kept busy, but also didn't get chores done. So my approval ratings as a house wife are in danger. I'm getting laundry and dishes done, as well as picking up a few piles that developed. Really, he has spent years trying to break my pile habit. He leaves for a few days and they just appear! It's like the piles are paying me visits because they know they are not welcome while he's here.

My Monday activity was going to a little workshop at the library to Learn to Knit. Success! I can knit! Proof:
After spending many more hours working, it now looks like this:


What IS it, you ask? Well, the reason the library had this workshop is to support Warm Up America. There is a local chapter, Warm Up Worthington, and everyone knits (or crochets) rectangles. Then the rectangles are joined together to make afghans. There is a knitting bee today, but I have chores. Later in February the library is having a finishing bee to put the rectangles together. A patron even donated a ton of yarn (which is what you see above).

The day of the workshop I went to Joann's Fabric and bought needles and yarn. The directions said I should get 'chunky' yarn. I asked a lady and she walked me around and apparently of the two aisles of yarn, they only had four colors of chunky yarn. It even said chunky on the wrapper. Then I went to buy the needles, the directions said size 10. So grabbed those and ran. I only found out later that there is the size and then there is the length. I bought 10mm, which is the length. The size was actually 15. So mine was looking all strung out and had big loops. So the next day I ran and bought new needles (the ones you see above).

Fatality!

It's been many years, but my love of video games has not been sated. We visited Ukie Friday and played Guitar Hero. It's fun, but you really have to practice to get good. I was on the easy level and tried one one the medium level and it was mass hysteria. They added in a fourth chord!

Today Ukie brought the games to us. He bought some racing games and a fighting game. I'm just not a big fan of racing games (or sports games) but it was fun to watch. Then we played Mortal Kombat! The makers really upped the gore factor, but it was still a blast to play. It still has the classic characters that I liked, I kicked butt with Sonya Blade!

My amusing husband is off to California bright and early tomorrow. Well, he'll leave at 5am, so I doubt it will be that bright. Somehow I will make it through without him. Fortunately, I happen to have plans for most of the week. Monday night I'm going to learn to knit at a workshop at the library. Tuesday I'm going to a friend's house to watch Gilmore Girls. Wednesday I have the 'Protecting God's Children' workshop (required for my new job). Thursday night I tutor. Finally, I'm free on Friday. I was thinking of calling friends for a girl's night, but after a busy week I may just want to chill. Plus I tutor Saturday morning.

Wheeeeeeee!

Two weeks done at the new school and so far things are good. Yesterday was especially good because school was canceled! It was not for snow but because on Tuesday a bus driver was pulled over and they found a needle with cocaine on the bus. Turns out the driver had a history of tickets and DUIs. Apparently the company contracted to do the bussing never did a background check! So all of the buses were grounded on Thursday so emergency background checks could be done. I guess five other drivers were zapped, but there were enough that passed that we did have school today.

Oh, and today when I was walking out, a group of freshman girls all waved and wished me a good weekend. They like me, they really like me. Now if I can only get this one punk in 4th to simmer down.

In other news, there is no other news. My life once again revolves around school.

This next week will be interesting though. My fabulous spouse is abandoning me to go out to California again. So what if it's work related? I'll have to feed myself! And do my own laundry! And clean! Oh, wait, I do that anyway. But I'll be darned if I do the dishes. Hello, dishwasher!

A great day after a great week

So my new job rocks! The lessons are going well, students are following directions, I have a routine going. I have two study halls plus a conference period, so I am getting almost everything done at school as opposed to grading in front of the tv (which my darling husband despises). There are two large Algebra 2 classes and two small Basic Algebra classes.

After the lesson on Thursday I asked the A2 class if everything looked familiar (it is review from before break) and they said yes. Then I asked if it was helping that I was going over it again and they replied YES. The math department head also told me some of the students were commenting to her about being happier.

The BA classes are squirrely and I've scared the daylights out of two students already. Friday was partner work day. I saw a boy across the room lean over and drop some pieces of paper in a girl's hair. After I finished answering a question I just walked over, leaned in and looked him in the eye as I quietly said "if I ever see you put paper in someone's hair again, you'll be spending detention with me after school." He totally had the deer-caught-in-headlights look. Later I saw two girls trade papers. When I walked up, one girl was doing a lot of writing. I asked who's paper it was and she pointed at the other girl. I asked why she was writing on her paper and she replied that she was explaining the work (*snort*). Then I calmly pointed out that the other girl was in another group and I took both of their papers. I heard her in the hallway later saying "I had my paper taken away" in a totally incredulous voice.

Yeah, it's good to be the teacher.

Today has totally rocked. I woke up at 7:30 and looked out the window and it just looked dreary (of course everything looks dreary without my contacts). Went back to bed. At 8:30 got up and there was SNOW!! Finally!!! So my talented husband cooked us an omlette and toast for breakfast. He then celebrated the snow by tossing the cats into it. Min took to it, Ainsley just stayed by the door making pitiful cat noises. Then off to church, which we were late to because apparently Worthington doesn't believe in plowing snow until after 10 am.


On the way home from church we saw a house that has been for sale having an open house. So we stopped. It was pretty cool, too expensive to buy or even to heat. Oh well. So then we went to a neighborhood where we saw a house previously that we liked and was more our price. We wandered and found one for sale and with an open house that started at 1. So we went to lunch and went back. It was -exactly- like the first house in that neighborhood that we'd liked. Except with paint colors that we didn't like. Too bad we aren't planning on buying for 4 more months.

Things I Don't Usually See

1) A baby in a bar (a la the movie Sweet Home Alabama). Granted, there was no smoking in the pub we were at. But still, after 9 there should be an age limit enforced.

2) A man in church with an extra pair of underwear hanging out of his back pocket. At first I thought I must need new contacts, but then I realized I could read 'fruit of the loom'. Fortunately the lady behind him alerted him to this right away. I think they might have been for his son.

3) A little background first. I'm very nosy and am always looking out the window at what the neighbors are doing. The other day an ambulance pulled in, so I had to go look. There was no lights or sirens. When the medics jumped out, they didn't seem in any particular hurry. They pull out a gurney and start to walk and I think 'gee, don't those usually have wheels? Then I realize they are carrying a kayak. Then a guy jumps out wearing only a towel. He's carrying his clothes and even walking barefoot. The medics put down the kayak in the yard and towel boy runs to the door to realize its locked. He runs back to the ambulance and the next time I look out he's at his door with another towel around his shoulders and unlocking the door.

Usually I come up with little stories about these things. My darling husband has heard many conspiracy theories from me. However kayaking in January and having to be brought home by an ambulance is theory enough.

Tomorrow is my first day - teacher inservice. I'll let you know how it goes!

But who will make sure the cats get their naps?

So, its time for the Happy Snoopy Dance!

I am an employed math teacher! And not a sub, but a real teacher!

Last Thursday I went and applied and was put in one school system as a substitute teacher. I even had an ID tag complete with picture made up (note to self: call and quit). Then Friday afternoon I received a call from another school checking on if I was still available. They called Sunday and I had an interview on Monday. Today I went in and talked to the principal. I got the job and start teaching on Tuesday!

It's a Catholic high school. I will be teaching 4 math classes, have 2 study halls as well as lunch and planning period. I was warned that the students in the classes need some discipline and I should start out by keeping my thumb on them. (note to self: don't smile until March). I'll go in Friday at noon to do more paperwork and Monday is an in-service day (not a 3 day weekend after all).

Yeah!

Movies I am looking forward to

I don't need a deep and meaningful storyline. I don't need convincing acting. I just want good special effects and characters from my childhood.

Fantastic Four - Rise of the Silver Surfer


Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles


Transformers


Live Free or Die Hard

The return of Yoga

Back in the days of teaching at Live Oaks, twice a week a handful of teachers would gather and gripe and complain. Then they would breath deeply, stretch, balance and pretend to be a corpse. After that, everything was right in the world (at least for the rest of the evening).

But seriously, there were about five teachers who would do yoga after school. The instructor, Heather, was the daughter of a teacher who was trying to get her certificate and had to teach. So we were her lucky students. It was beginners yoga, basic poses and salutations. And over time I did get stretchier and more balanced. It even had the power to get rid of developing migraines. When Heather received her certification we wooed her back with money (and I think she thought we were entertaining). She had a soothing voice and would walk around and help us with our positions. I was forever tensing my shoulders and she would just walk by and put a hand on one and I would immediately drop them into a more comfortable position.

Alas, Columbus has yet to yield such a great instructor. I went to a Yoga class at the gym and it was crazy. The instructor was shouting out positions like an enthusiastic aerobics instructor. There was no pausing and breathing. And there were mirrors, so I could see just how bad I looked trying to keep up with sweat dripping down my knees. I was just happy I hadn't tried the Power Yoga class. And it really didn't help that the instructor had an obvious boob job. There is something just wrong about a yoga instructor with a boob job.

Last week I tried Yoga 101, for beginners. It is back to soothing music and slow positions and a small group of people. There are still the mirrors. The instructor is amazingly in shape, but no implants so I'm more motivated then annoyed. Anyway, it's not what I had before but I like it and will stick with it (pending a teacher position that may come up, I'll tell you about it when I hear more).

Namaste

The gifts!

Well, after Christmas I am no longer the Crazy Cat Lady, I am now the Sweater Lady! But I do like the sweaters, they are all cute and comfy. And best, no teacher themed sweaters in sight (insert shudder here). Now if the weather would only cooperate....

I also received a sewing machine! I have absolutely no idea what to do with it and the book my mom got me to accompany it is only making me more confused. Tomorrow or Friday I will pull it out and play with it. If worse comes to worse I'll just have to visit my mom more so she can teach me.

Of course the best part of the holidays is giving. I told you back in November about painting pottery at Marcy's Clayground. Behold below the wonders I created. And by create, I mean paint.

First is a dragon for my mother-in-law. It's much cooler in person because the green paints have little flecks and makes him look kind of warty. It turned out better than I'd hoped. When I went in to pick it up, I told the salesperson I was there to pick up a dragon thinking 'how many dragons could there be'. Roughly around ten, most of them with obvious child painting on it (one red wing, one purple wing, etc). Anyway, MiL liked it and that is what counts.

Next is a water bowl for TooTall's cat, Pedro. I was going to do stripes but realized that would take skill to get tape to make stripes on the bowl surface, so just used round sponges instead. The dark spots were supposed to be gray, I guess I added to many layers. TooTall looked at me like I was nuts when he opened it....
And finally a water bowl for my sister T's cat, Baby. The background was supposed to be a little more pink and the white flowers were supposed to stand out more. She hasn't opened it yet, but I don't think she reads this so I should be ok posting it.
Also, my New Year's Resolutions:

1) Learn to sew
2) Learn to knit (found a great website with video for this and there will be a class at the library)
3) I forget....
4) Write things down so I don't forget
5) The usual jazz about eating better and exercising
6) Read more non-fiction

Let's do this again next year

My husband, Chicks, had this crazy idea to have a New Year's party. At first I was hesitant due to various issues like the pressure of making it a good party. But we had a good number of people show up and most had a great time. The theme was "Bring your own six pack of something unique to share" which went over very well. Chicks again had the brilliant idea to tape the holders to the wall so our guests could see the selections. We did have a great variety, though there was panic when people saw two containers of Trader Joe's Winterfest taped up. But one of them was filled with several different beers, so chaos was avoided. Also, it was widely agreed that the Berry Weiz beer was foul and people were actually sneaking off the the bathroom to pour it down the drain.

To be original and funny, at least I thought it was funny, one person even brought a six pack of peach mango applesauce. After most of the guests left and there was little beer left, my Brother (TooTall), Dandy's husband (Schemer) and Chicks drank them as shots.


Overall, there was little damage. We had to take plastic off the windows because at 50 degrees outside and we weren't about to turn on the air conditioner. There were three party fouls, all easily cleaned. TooTall and I were the darts champs. And the Spouses of Lehman Alumnus Club was officially begun.

Although I will forever think of Macaroni Grill as Macaroni Penguin Grill, not that I'm saying anything about the meat there. I just found out that there are such things as Macaroni Penguins and one of my friends thought that was where the name came from.

And I saved the best for last - Chicks and I might get to meet Robert Jordan! Granted it is a slim but still realistic possibility. I was sitting talking with my friend Sean about our cats' names. The second one is Min which I explained was a character from the Wheel of Time books by Robert Jordan and Sean says "Oh yeah, he's related to Elizabeth" (his fiancee). I said something along the way of "You're joking, shut up" and he said "Wanna bet" and stuck his hand out. I just knocked him out of the way and went screeching through the apartment for Elizabeth. I asked her if it was true and she said yeah and was about to explain when I left her standing there and went screeching again for Chicks. I then dragged him back to Elizabeth and told him. I think we scared her a little. It turns out that her mother's cousin is Harriet and is married to R.J. So depending on where the wedding is and R.J.'s health, he'll be there! But of course we'll be going to celebrate the wedding of a near and dear friend, really.

Merry Christmas! (belated)

I hope everyone has had a great holiday and all of your Christmas wishes have come true!

My holiday is great, but flying by. My Mother-in-Law is visiting and we went to her brother's house for the big day. Very fun. Hubby's cousins got Guitar Hero 2, which is an awesome game.

We got back yesterday and hung out. Last night we played Monopoly. But not any Monopoly.... Star Wars Episode 1 Monopoly. The board comes with this plastic edge for the property cards and apartment buildings to fit into. I lost horribly due to the yellow and red properties that I did not own. I referred to it as 'the Guantlet' and made it through a couple of times with no hits, but then hit both on one turn.


We own at least 4 versions of Star Wars version games - 2 different Star Wars Monopolies, Star Wars Trivial Pursuit and Star Wars Battleship. The Trivial Pursuit is rarely played and Hubby is always the overwhelming winner.

I am in the mood to add to our board game collection. I love Apples to Apples and Cranium, but they are only fun with five or more people. So I'm thinking I might splurge on SceneIt, probably the TV version or the Friends version. I saw a Marvel Comics version, but no one would want to play that with me.

And for anyone interested, our NEW YEAR'S EVE PARTY is still a go! Hope to see you there :)

Well, here we are again

I'm at home and hubby up and leaves me the week before Christmas to travel for his job. That's ok though, because it is not a regular thing, like him leaving all week for four months. And it is worth it because he likes his job and his job seems to like him. People have even been complimenting his work!

My job situation on the other hand is still looking sad. My tutoring job is ok. I get one or two students an hour (soon to be three students) and just follow the prearranged outline. But I have to say that I am really missing teaching. I want my own classroom and my own students and to work with great teachers. I checked and the one math teacher position that was open was filled. And the library position was also filled. As a side not, way too many of you commented about how I would be perfect in a library. Why did no one mention this when I was in college?

So, I am looking into substitute teaching. I called one district today and a lady took my name and said she was going to pull my file and 'call me back in a few minutes.' She seemed pretty excited that I had a teaching license. Well, two hours later I called to check and this lady left for the day. Hm......

A big thank you to Ikkin for inviting me along to see the Nutcracker. I have never seen it, except for brief glimpses on PBS. I absolutely LOVED it, the scenery, the costumes, the music, the dancing.... I would love to take dance classes again, but have been to lazy to look up adult beginners dance in the area. Although I did see a ballroom dancing studio! And it's good excercise!

Now I have to question my whole life

So here is another quiz. I really thought I would come out geek. I mean between the x-men, Buffy, WOT and now Heroes, I definitely have some geeknees.But I'm normal.... I have to say I'm a little disappointed. And there were questioned I felt were skewed a little. Like asking about attending ComicCon, they didn't have an option of "No, but I'd love to go". And asking about for graphic novels there was no "Library" option. I think the kicker was saying I had a lot of friends. That was a reflection on all of the Christmas cards that need signed.

On a side note, I went to this site looking for the Pirate/Ninja quiz. Maybe I'll post that one tomorrow. Let me know how your quizzes look! The accent one is short, today's quiz is a little longer.

Joe Normal 30 % Nerd, 43% Geek, 26% Dork

For The Record: A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia. A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one. A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions. You scored less than half in all three, earning you the title of: Joe Normal. This is not to say that you don't have some Nerd, Geek or Dork inside of you--we all do, and you can see the percentages you have right above. This is just to say that none of those qualities stand out so much as to define you. Sure, you enjoy an episode of Star Trek now and again, and yeah, you kinda enjoyed a few classes back in the day. And, once in a while, you stumble while walking down the street even though there was nothing there to cause you to trip. But, for the most part, you look and act fairly typically, and aren't much of an outcast. I'd say there's a fair chance someone asked you to take this test. In any event, fairly normal. Congratulations! Thanks Again! -- THE NERD? GEEK? OR DORK? TEST

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 99% on nerdiness You scored higher than 99% on geekosity You scored higher than 99% on dork points

Link: The Nerd? Geek? or Dork? Test written by donathos on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

No accents here, buddy

What American Accent Do You Have?



















I've always wondered about my accent since I grew up in small town mid-Ohio, lived in northern Ohio for about 8 years then moved to southern Ohio. I heard a segment on NPR once from some smart people at OSU studying accents and they said Ohio really varies from the northern to southern section.

There was a bunch of code next to my results, but I haven't figured out how to use it here, so I copied and pasted my results above. If anyone knows what I should do with this code, please leave me a comment.

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Midland "You have a Midland accent" is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent." You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio.
The Inland North
The Northeast
Philadelphia
Boston
The West
The South
North Central
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

And in other news

Fashion News: Apparently this season, short nails with a dark red/purple color are in. And since nail polish is cheap and not an investment that will plummet to the depths of my closet (such as gauchos), I figured I would try it. And it looks good! I am in fashion! Of course, there is always the backlash. My backlash was last night while Hubby and I were putting up plastic on the windows and I had the darnedest time trying to get the backing off of the double sided tape. Stupid short nail fashions.....

Music News: My amazingly talented husband does the best cover of "SexyBack". I'm telling you, he has a knack. And he's only heard about a ten second clip of the song. And the dancing, oooooooh the dancing.

Literary News: I have been reading the Confessions of a Shopaholic series by Sophie Kinsella, so far the first two. I like them, they are funny and zany. I did however spend most of the first book exclaiming to Hubby about how moronic it was to just keep lying and spending money. I think it was mostly jealousy because I don't know half of the designers that are mentioned and I am somehow missing out because I don't understand the joy that a Denny and George scarf can bring me. The third book is apparently about her wedding, so I'm sure more mayhem will ensue.

Holiday News: I swear, the Christmas tree is going up tonight! And I'll do more shopping this week. But NOT this weekend, because just trying to drive by the mall is nuts.

Cooking News: Last night I made chili. This is the only food I have ever made without a recipe. I am usually absolutely paranoid about measuring and times and all that jazz. But that marvelous man I call mine taught me how to make chili and how to improvise. I throw stuff in, I shake the seasonings until I'm content, I look at how soupy it is rather than the time on the clock! And! It's edible! The Jiffy Corn Muffins I measure and timed to a tee though.

Unexcitement

The last two times I have been to the gym, there have been women in the locker room on their cell phones. This used to never bother me (except the time at UT where someone was swearing obscenities at the top of her lungs and there were kids in the locker room). However at this gym there is a sign saying 'Cell Phones Prohibited in the Area.' And today the lady turned down the tv so she could continue her conversation. The tv is right above this sign.

So it's not really a problem, I'm just spoiled and it's a small locker room. I'm used to some casual conversation, but not one-sided, loud conversation. Then the lady followed me out of the locker room up to the cardio equipment still talking away. Fortunately she went to the bicycles, otherwise I would have had to have strong words for her. And I would have tossed her phone off the second floor landing. Really, I would have.

That is about as exciting as my life gets.

Game night tonight! My marvelous husband has arranged for people to come over and even hinted that I can pick the game! He actually phrased it as "we'll let Hugs pick which game she wants to win tonight." ......so true.....

Hugs, Illustrated

So here is what I spent the noon hour doing today.


This was actually much more difficult than it looks. Especially without my fabulously tall spouse. I had put some of this garland up over the weekend, but it was half-hearted and slumped by the next morning. So today I went out armed with a hammer and nails. Then I had to lay four garlands out because they were all different lengths and find the two long ones. And due to the lack of spousal height, I had to bring out a chair and then had to wear my Birkenstocks so I could kick them off every time I stepped on the chair. I'm sure the neighbors were entertained. It looks really pretty with the lights on it though!

And because Dandy asked, here are picutres of our new bedroom set.



Huge! And still very Orange! But I do like all of the space in my dresser.

And for those of you who read my manly husband's blog, here is the Flying Monkey meeting Min and Ainsley.




Min totally freaked out and tried to kill Flying Monkey. Ainsley, being more used to these hijinks, simply glared and then curled up and went to sleep with her new friend.

As for the last ScreenCap, Hubby's officemate figured it out by following the clues. The show is Misfits of Science, on tv when I was in 2nd grade. I don't remember much of it except that this is where my super hero obsession began. I think it was Courtney Cox's character (who I didn't realize was in it until I got the picture) was telekinetic and my mom explained how it was moving things with your mind. I sat at the dining room table for at least 25 minutes staring at a pen willing it to move. I gave up on have tk power pretty quick, but I'm still confident that something else will develop. I'm well past the age of getting Slayer powers, but I did have a serious case of precognition the other day. I'll let you know if it develops into anything.

And so here is today's screencap. Much easier, I know someone will get this pretty quick.


note to self: to make illustrated blogs easier, load pictures then type