Yummy

Possible cure for grouchiness? Trader Joe's Salsa Tortilla Chips. They are a mix of Dorito's and chips 'n salsa. A delicious mix at that!

I'm not cured from my grump stage, but a phone call from a friend from college, the chips, and the phone call saying my glasses and contacts are in, all seem to help.

One thing that doesn't help? All the freakin' money I owe my mother. I hate being in debt to her. I suppose it's better than having to owe the bank because they charge interest. But the thought that I owe her really makes me cringe, probably more than the thought if interest.

Back to eating my weight in Trader Joe's Salsa Tortilla Chips.

Uck.

I am one major grump right now. I don't know why. Perhaps because it's cloudy and super hot outside... or because I have to clean my entire house... or because I'm PMS-ing... or because summer school is over (yes, I know I thought I'd be super-happy about this.. but I think it's causing my funk!). Regardless, I AM A GROUCH!

Ugh. I hope it clears up before hubby comes home. He doesn't really like grumpy me.

An Open Letter to Television

Dear TV execs,

Please find something that is at least mildly entertaining. Right now I'm not-so-much entertained by what you have to offer. In fact, I'd rather watch paint dry than the television shows you are offering me right now (with the exception of Project Runway).

Sincerely,
Me

Aerobics

I LOVED the aerobics class! The neighbor and I headed over to the gym to try a half/half class. It was half aerobics and half muscle conditioning. It kicked my butt, but it was totally fun! I have never done aerobics and kind of thought it was reserved for the *ahem* elderly. Turns out, it's not! It was quite a work out. Plus, we finished up with sit-ups, push-ups, and some leg work outs. I totally got my cardio and strength training done in one session. Awesome for me!

On the other hand... I went with cute little neighbor girl who doesn't sweat and looks fabulous doing all the moves. Me? I look stupid and sweat like a fat cow.

To prove my point? Hubby rolled by the studio to check in on me (he was worried about the knee...) and when he came home he was like, "I saw you in class! You looked a little confused... Has C done it before? She looked like she had it under control." Nice. Ah well... so I looked a little stupid, at least I wasn't barfing in the corner. Maybe next week I'll actually figure out the moves that confused me.

The good news? I found something I liked... which means maybe now I'll shed some of the pounds I've packed on. Next up? Tai Chi tomorrow with the hubby. He's going to put me to shame, too. He's all super-athletic boy in everything he does. I'm just athletic girl in basketball, volleyball, and softball. Him? Everything he tries. Damn.

Breaks my heart...

Today I had two heart breaking moments. The first was when I got to school. There was a cute little dog who clearly was not where he was supposed to be. Mind you, there was a very busy highway not even 100 yards from where he was. I called the number on his tag and there was no answer. So I left a message and called my mom (moms ALWAYS know what to do in every situation) and she suggested taking the little fella to his house to see if the neighbors knew anything. Of course, the neighbors knew of the dog because he was always out of his yard. I put the little guy back in his yard, after questioning the minds of the stupid owners who apparently don't care their beloved furry friend gets out of their yard. Not even 30 minutes later, the little guy was spotted across the way. Seriously, if you own a pet.. take care of the darn thing! If little fella can escape multiple times a day (I later heard from the school secretary that he frequents the school almost daily) and you don't care, find someone who does care. What is wrong with people?

Then as I was working with a little guy on subtraction (we've been working on it for four weeks and he still can't do it..) he broke down. Tears streaming down his face, shaking miserably. He looks up at me and says, "I don't want to be dumb my whole life!". I told him he wasn't dumb and that math can be hard. He told me his mom says he's dumb and his friends think he's dumb. Seriously, if you have children DO NOT EVER tell them they are dumb. Especially because, more than likely, you had some contributing factor (genes) to their intelligence. Even if your child is not the brightest crayon in the box, you should never sell them short because they have talents in one area or another. Children do not deserve to be told they cannot do anything. Seriously, what is wrong with people?

I'm less than impressed with the dog owners and the parents of this child. If you are a pet owner or a parent, please tell them how much they mean to you. Hug them. Love them. Please.

On a lighter note, I'm headed to an aerobics class tonight. I'm hoping it will spark some interest in working out again. I need to lose weight, pronto!

Sunday

So today has been your typical lazy Sunday, which is my favorite thing about Sundays. Today hubby and I had to run to the mall to pick up a gift certificate for one of the little kiddos I used to babysit and he wanted to check out new cell phones. We left for the mall at 10:00 and arrived about 10:10. We walked up to the JCPenney entrance only to find a locked door. I swear the mall used to open at 10:00. Nope, not this one. 11:00 on Sundays. So we walked around a bit.

We wandered around and decided that we should look at glasses. It's been about three years since I've gotten glasses. In fact, it might be closer to four years. Definitely time to get new glasses, considering big dog ate them when we moved to Maryland two years ago. I found a pair that hubby loves, two random people in the store loved, and I think I love. I'm just not quite sure. Of course, it doesn't help that I'm so indecisive about EVERYTHING. I mean, how can I possibly pick out a pair to wear everyday? What if I get a new outfit and they don't match? Not that I wear them everyday because I always throw my contacts in, but what if I wanted to? What if I woke up one day with the perfect outfit in mind and I had an eye infection and was forced to wear my glasses and they didn't match? Seriously. This is a huge decision.

Oh well. Hubby loves them. He's the one who has to look at me in them every night. It's probably best that he likes them.

Kayaking..

Wow.. yesterday was an active day! Hubby woke me up and asked if I wanted to ride my bike while he ran. Reluctantly, I agreed. Had a nice 6 mile bike ride and came home to get ready to go kayaking.

The neighbors invited us to go kayaking with them on one of LL Bean's Outdoor Adventures. It was such a fun time! For $15 we had two hours of fun in the sun on the lake near our house. We're thinking of taking it up a notch and heading to Annapolis to do it on the Bay. It's supposed to teach you more things and you get to be in a larger body of water with some waves. AND they teaching you water exits-- you know, falling out and getting back in.

That means for the past three weekends, I've done something that was a) outdoors, b) involved water, and c) a little active! If only I could lose weight doing those activities.

Which reminds me... anyone have suggestions for fun things to do to exercise? I despise running. I hate the gym. And I'm pretty sure I'm allergic to anything that feels like working out. I need kayaking, playing basketball, you know.. fun things! I'll take ANY suggestions... as I'm quickly turning into quite the fatty and the option of cutting back food isn't really an option. I love food.

Ahh.. I guess I'll go make breakfast now! =)

What the heck?!

Okay, so I was on my way to class today... driving approximately 75 mph on a pretty busy highway in the area (aren't they all busy in these parts?) when this car in front of me was veering to the left, then the right, and basically just annoying me. So I passed her. When I looked over at her (don't we all look to see who it is we're passing?) I notice she's reading. Not reading a map, not reading a recipe.. reading a freaking book! Seriously. I wanted to punch her. Who reads a freaking book while they are driving? What is wrong with people.

If I could see that woman now, I'd punch her. Twice. Just for being stupid.

And.. seriously, no Danielle Steele book is more important than my life. You know, the life she's putting in danger because she's an idiot who is driving a car while reading. Dumb.

Pictures

Semi-Homemade Cinnamon Rolls (before they were baked). They were AMAZING! And definitely didn't last long in this household! =)

Flowers from my parents. They have to be on the TV because Leila LOVES to eat living things. When I put them on the table, she ate a leaf... so I had to put them out of her reach. I love this picture because it has the pups in it.

A close up of the flowers. Aren't they just lovely? I sure think so.

Huh?

Today in class a little fella told my aide, "I'm gonna pimp slap my mama!". Um, what?

Anyone know what a pimp slap is?

This was, of course, after he was making pelvic thrusts and singing "... shorty got low, low, low, low, low..."

Wow. What wonderful little ones I teach.

Busy, busy..

Okay, I'll admit. I've been a pretty bad blogger. In my defense though.. I don't really think anyone is reading, so I'm pretty sure nobody noticed. (Hubby I know you read... but I tell you all of this anyway so you don't really count) AND I've been super busy with grad classes winding down. Last class is tomorrow! WOO HOO! Then I'm 8 classes away from my M.Ed. =)

I'm going to do a little list of what's going on around here:

• The cuz left today with her mom in tow. We didn't even say goodbye for fear that we'd bawl like babies. We didn't want to risk humiliation- I frickin' had to go to work!
• Grad classes are done for a few weeks in t minus 1 day.
• I'm stuck working on a 14 page final exam full of crazy school law BS. Even though Professor Lawyer Man said he didn't write any of them to trick us, I've been cursing at him in my head- more than one tricked me.
• We lost power for a few hours today-- doing a final exam on the computer in the dark (it was cloudy and then a thunderstorm rushed through) isn't very easy.
• I had to eat a lunch that consisted of fast food (the power was out! I couldn't heat anything up OR open the fridge!) and I loved every second of it.
• Hubby is TOTALLY awesome and got me a gift certificate to The Limited (my fav.) and Victoria's Secret. He loves me.
• Mom and Dad sent flowers today because they were thinking of me. Yay!

School today was pretty uneventful. The terror has moved to a different school but another one has taken over for him. Seriously, who teaches their kid to bite? Bites suck. Thankfully I got to teach today and my aide took care of the biter.

And... one more school story. So.. this little one of mine (who isn't so little...) has a really sub-average IQ. We're working on the alphabet. I presented her with the letter c. I told her repeatedly, "This is the letter C! Say C!" She repeated, "C". I asked, "What letter?" She replied, "A!" This went on for some time. I'd tell her it was C, she'd repeat C, and then I'd ask her what it was... always A. Never C. Today was the same story. Only we were working on O. She loves to say "Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh!" We made it totally fun and even acted out making the letter O (yeah, we're fun) and everyone loved it. Home girl still called it A. Even after all the motions.

Damn. Hope this doesn't mean I suck at teaching.

The weekend..

... was AWESOME! We went whitewater rafting and had a blast! We didn't lose anyone over board, which was our goal. We had lots of laughs and a few times when we thought we were going to lose someone. The weather was awesome and camping was fun.

I have lots to say... but I'm not feeling very witty. Tonight is my last night with the cuz. She's leaving Wednesday morning, but I have class until way late tomorrow so I won't get to see her. I'm very, very, very sad. So sad that I can't even tell a witty story to save my life.

ants

Okay, it's official: I hate ants. Seriously, they are everywhere. It all started on 4th of July when I was practically eaten alive by those suckers. They were out for blood. My blood. I had no less than fifty ant bites. Each and every one of them itched like crazy. Now they are in my classroom at summer school and the kids are walking around saying, "Is there one on me? I'm getting eaten by ants!". Okay, no they are not on you and no they are not eating you. To add fuel to the fire, they are now crawling over my spot on campus. I sat in them the other day and vowed to move spots. I moved today and they are here, too. Uck.

Funny little side story about summer school... I have a little guy in my class who doesn't talk much. He giggles a lot, but the little man doesn't have a whole lot to say. And, with the behaviors I have in my class, there's not a whole lot of time for me to listen to him talk. He's not a behavior problem. I have to spend time with the six other little guys who have a lot to say, most of which is not very nice and usually involves a curse word or ten.

So little man was outside waiting for the bus when he started giggling profusely. I asked him what was so funny. He pointed to the boy next to him in a pink Ohio shirt. I said, "Ohio? Is that what's so funny? It is a funny name for a state, isn't it?" To which he replied, "No, silly! Pink! Boys don't wear pink!" Of course the boy who was wearing the shirt had no idea that he shouldn't be wearing pink (it matched the Winnie the Pooh socks his mom made him wear, duh!) and little guy said, "My dad says boys don't wear pink. It's a girl color!" Now I had no idea this kid had that much language, let alone an opinion about colors boys shouldn't be wearing. Apparently his dad doesn't think boys should be in pink and it's pretty funny to some boy wearing pink. My thought? Why isn't he laughing about the Pooh socks?

I just don't understand why parents of kids with disabilities think it's a good idea to show that their kid has a sub-par IQ by dressing them in Pooh socks, fanny packs, or any other identifying factor that proves they didn't pick out their clothes (or they have bad taste in clothes). Yes, I've actually had a little one wearing a fanny pack. I had to tell his mother that he was getting made fun of for his fanny pack. She told me she wears a fanny pack. I had to stifle my laughter because she clearly had a warped sense of fashion. He showed up the next day sans fanny pack.

And one more t-shirt for the day: A little boy with autism (who was shouting obscenities at my aide and saying,"NO! NO! NO! I will not. Unless I blow you up with my TNT. Even then, you can't make me do it, TNT is more powerful than you!") that explained he was autistic and said something about having tantrums and not being spoiled, but being autistic. What a great shirt. However, I think it's a bit ironic that he's wearing it while he's having a tantrum.

Delish.

I had my first taste of the garden today! One cucumber was ready to be picked, so I pulled it and immediately chopped it up to get a taste. D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S! I was a little nervous, as it was not near as green as the cucumbers I buy at the store, but it tasted just as good. I think it tasted even better because I knew we had worked hard for it!

Today was a pretty blah day. I'm just not quite feeling like myself. I think it has a lot to do with S leaving in a few days. It's been so nice having her around. I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do when she's gone! I mean, who else will tag-team the dishes with me? =(

Cancelled, garden, dogs...

My "favorite" class was cancelled today. I can't say that I was terribly disappointed... it was nice to get home at a reasonable time AND eat dinner before 9:30 pm.

On another note... I think it's probably time that I give a shout out to the hubby for his work with the garden. While it was my idea to start the garden and I had to convince him that it was worth the money we spent, he's really done most of the work (after the planting...) and has been diligent about watering the garden daily. It's probably because of him the plants aren't dead, yet. As you may know.. I don't have a green thumb. I've killed lots of plants. Lots of them.

So yeah, thanks hubby for keeping the garden alive.

And, just for fun.. because they are so cute.. here are some pictures of the pups playing in the yard. Aren't they just daaaaaaarling?! =)

Little Dog hanging out, watching me.
Big Dog, wondering if that bird is going to fly into her turf.

And, typical Big Dog, can't take a nice picture. She is just too busy being busy to stop for a cute picture, unlike the Little Dog who thinks the camera is always there for her. Silly dogs.

What's for Dinner?

Here's what we're having for dinner tonight...

Check out those shish kabobs!
Yummy! Chicken, green peppers, tomatoes, onions, and pineapple.

Sooooooo simple! Can't wait to fire up the grill. Perhaps I'll post an "after" shot of the kabobs. Can't guarantee I can scoot in there to take the picture before they get eaten! =)

Lovin' Life!

Today has been a WONDERFUL day and it's only 1:30! =) Here's why my day is so great....

1. The summer school kiddos were wonderful. We had a fun day and one little boy said to me, "I hope you're my teacher next year in 3rd grade!".. I didn't have the heart to tell him it wasn't happening.


2. The garden is REALLY growing! Check it out...

The garden from afar....
Heirloom tomatoes that have just shot up in the past few days. The guy at the farmer's market said these are really picky and difficult to grow. I think we've done well so far!
Check out this happy pair! These are the regular tomatoes. You can't tell in the picture, but they are HUGE! Can't wait for them to change color.
And there's one of the cukes. Again, the picture doesn't do it justice. It's about 5 inches long.
And there's the squash! We're going to have a lot of squash. They just keep flowering and growing!

3. I just made a loaf of semi-homemade bread... I thawed the dough, let it rise, and baked away! It smells just like Grandma's house. In fact, when I came in from taking the pictures of the garden... I smiled to myself because it smelled just like her house does when she makes homemade bread AND I had sunless tanner on, so it smelled like sun tan lotion... so it REALLY smelled like Grandma's Florida house when she would bake bread. YUMMY!

Hope your day is just as great! =)

WV or bust?!

Yesterday the cuz and I headed out to West Virginia with a friend of hers in tow to go whitewater tubing. It was such a blast! We went over class I and class II rapids, saw some wildlife, and caught some rays. It was a load of fun.

Funny little tidbit. The cuz took a little bit of a tumble out of her tube, capsizing while flowing over a rapid. It was hilarious. I saw the whole thing happen... the look on her face going over the rapid, the bumping over in the tube, and the look on her face when she realized she wasn't on her tube anymore. I about died laughing. What a sight! She wasn't quite as thrilled with the results, as it's difficult to get back on a tube when you're still floating along in swiftly moving water that is over your head.

Bottom line? If you live near anywhere you can white water tube-- it's worth it! Lots of fun (and a little bit of work-- how do you think you paddle without oars? Those things attached to your shoulders-- yup, your arms!) and a great adventure!

One more thing..

Is it crazy that I get so happy when I press spell check and nothing comes up? I seriously smile. I am so proud of myself. Then I get angry when it says I spelled some slang term wrong. I didn't spell it wrong, you just don't know how to spell stupid spell check.

I also laugh when people spell something on an assignment wrong. I'm like, well.. guess you should have listened better when your teacher was teaching you English! I mean seriously, you're in college. You're taking grad classes. LEARN HOW TO SPELL! Especially when it's the your/you're.. or they're/there/their.. I cringe at their usage and then giggle because I know I'm smarter than they are.

Of course, it's only with adults. Never with children.

Ah.. the little things in life.

Don't worry. When I pressed spellcheck-- zip, zero, zilch errors. "No misspellings found!" Duh! I'm a freaking genius!

computer

ew. So my computer is broken. I cannot connect to the internet. So yesterday I spent an hour on the phone with HP and the bottom line? I may need a new motherboard. A $400 motherboard. And... they don't know for sure if it's under warranty. (Ashley... thanks for spreading the love) The irony of all of it? The guy said I could buy an extended warranty for about $400. And my computer would be covered for four years. Isn't it a little strange that the part costs as much as the warranty? Interesting.

So.. we shall see. In the meantime, I'm stuck using hubby's computer. It's all fine and dandy when he's not home.. but it may not work when he's home. We stink at sharing a computer, which is why we each have our own.

Hubby, the computer guy who likes to say he's not a computer guy, hasn't had a chance to look at it. Hopefully he can work his magic and she'll be good as new. If not, we will have to check our Best Buy warranty. Hopefully that one is longer.

On a different note... I'm done with week one of summer school! That means only three left! Of course, this week seemed like a month... so that may mean the next three weeks feels like three months! I'm hoping that when my classes are done (in less than two weeks!) I'll feel a little less stress. Isn't summer for a teacher supposed to be relaxing?

No big plans for the weekend. We talked about going tubing in Harper's Ferry. We'll see. The cuz has a friend in town, so it will depend on what they want to do. Hopefully I can be outside a bit. I'm one pale gal.

Puppy Love

Okay, so today hubby took the dogs for a run... well, big dog stopped for a drink of water and decided to lay down in the disgusting lake water. Serioulsy, this water is so gross-- I'm surprised she didn't come out with an extra limb or something. It's pretty to look at, but the lake is man made and the water just doesn't move so it's mostly green.

Anyway... we didn't want her on the couch being wet, disgusting, and smelly to no end. So S and I gave her a bath. I forgot how obnoxious she is when she is getting a bath (thus the reason I haven't given her one in months!). I ended up soaking wet, S ended up soaking wet, and my bathroom was just a disaster! That wasn't quite the annoying part. She then decided to act like a 12 week old puppy and tear around the upstairs and running away from me as I tried to dry her off! It was quite hysterical! I wish I would have had the camera to take some video.

So I had a nice chuckle and the dog smells so fresh! Little dog might be next...

... on second thought, she whines like a baby the whole time and it makes my ears hurt. She doesn't stink, so I think she's okay! =)

Mary, Mary, quite contrary...

... how does your garden grow?

We've got tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, and some peppers! I really have to admit, I didn't think this garden thing was going to work out in our favor. I have never had a green thumb. I'm pretty sure I've even killed plants that people told me were indestructible. Looks like that's not the case anymore! I cannot be more excited! I'm just thinking of all the wonderful veggies we're going to have soon. Of course, I'm a little sad the cantaloupe and the watermelon didn't work out. I just don't think the garden was big enough and it turned into survival of the fittest. The veggies won.

Seriously, the tomatoes are almost baseball-size. The cucumbers are about six inches long and still growing. The peppers are done flowering and you can actually see that there are more than just green leaves. This is just too exciting!

Yay, yay, yay! Looks like we really will be able to expand the garden next year and maybe throw in some other veggies and try the fruit again.

hits, slaps, hair pulls.. oh my!

And it continues.... but today's M.O.? Hair pulling. I was smart enough to not let his mouth near any part of my body, but apparently I forgot how much fun it is to pull hair. Ha.

Ugh. Big dog just got something out of my bag. Gotta go chase her. (are you noticing a theme in my life?!)

a day in the life...

Todays tally? Hits=2 Bites=1. That means little kid 3, Lori 0.

After the bite one of the other kiddos (who often says things I'm thinking but can't say out loud because I'm an adult and I'd get fired) says, "Dang! If I did that my mom would whoop my @$$!" Yes, he used the naughty word.

Oh boy, I love summer school!

On a lighter note... anyone watch "The Bachelorette"? Ew. I didn't want her to pick Jesse. But I saw it coming (mainly because I wasted far too much time on the message boards and someone leaked the ending...) and I don't really believe in finding love on tv that quickly, but I'm glad it's over so now I don't waste my time on the message boards reading and analyzing everything that is said. Whew. Now I can actually work on those grad papers.

Happy Tuesday.

Just Another Manic Monday...

I heard that song today on my way home... how fitting?!

Today was day one of summer school and it was a crazy one! First of all, the class I'm in has two classes combined.. so we have 13 students in K-2. That's a lot of kids in one room. Add in four adults and it's certifiably crazy in there.

Well, I have one runner (who also loves to touch electronics/kids/adults and enjoys putting things in his mouth including electronics/kids/adults), one screamer (at decibels I didn't think kids could reach...), and two completely non-verbal students. Plus, two kids almost at grade level (usually that's a nice thing.. in this case, it's not...). And a smattering of other kids who I can't even think of right now because they were nowhere near as needy as the previously mentioned kids. Oh, and I had half the class absent today.

And to top it off? A grad paper that is looming over my head and tonight is the season finale of "The Bachelorette"... so you know how well that paper is going to go.

Next year when I say I'm taking two grad classes AND teaching summer school... remind me that I'm crazy.

I figured it out!

I do know how to put pictures up and it doesn't involve writing a code! YESSSSSS! So I'll leave you with a few puppy pictures because those dogs are just too darn cute.

Little dog taking a little snooze on the couch. Note: cuddling with a blanket. And, check out those floppy ears! Big dog sleeping on the other end of the couch! You can't tell from the angle, but she's leaning on the arm rest of the couch. And, of course she has to use a pillow because she thinks she's human.

insert witty title here

Talk about stylish! I LOVE the new face of the blog. I sometimes just go to look at it. Yes, I'm lame.

Can you believe tomorrow is Monday already? Tomorrow is my first day of summer school and I'm not really looking forward to it. Mainly because I have a million and one things going on with grad classes and I really got used to having all day to prepare/read/write my papers. Now I actually have to manage my time. What a shame.

I was really beginning to get super excited about the garden we planted this year. Until we went to our bbq yesterday. The neighbor's had such glorious gardens. Complete with lettuce and LOTS of squash. Now I'm really holding out hope on our squash and cucumbers because man have those things flowered. But the pride and joy all along has been the tomatoes. Except they've really not grown in a few weeks and there's only three of them. This house? They had tons of tomatoes. Guess that means I'm really going to have to expand next year. I was thinking.. the entire fence line in the back. Right now it's just 1/3 of it... and the grass next to it is pretty bad, so instead of putting in grass seed.. we should do a bigger garden! Yes, I'm so lame I want a garden-- who would have thought?!

As soon as I figure out how to post pictures (it's not easy when the entire page is written in code and I can't update to the new version of blogspot or my formatting gets all jacked up... guess I'll have to ask hubby about that one) I'll put up the garden and some cute puppy pics I have.

I'm sorry I don't have anything witty to say today... I think working on the case brief for my school law class took all of the humor out of me. Stupid school law.

It's working!

First off, I must say THANK YOU so very much to the hubby. He is so awesome for enduring my whining (gasp!) about the blog and all the ignoring I did. He's the one for making this look so good. He did all the hard work. I just picked it out.

We had a wonderful 4th with friends and fireworks! A few showers, but they went away rather quickly and we were able to enjoy the fireworks without getting wet.

a little makeover..

Okay, so I had this great idea to do a little makeover. Keep in mind that hubby went to college for computer science. But, I wanted to do it all myself to show that I could do it. Anyway.. I couldn't. Still can't. And the formatting is weird.. so hubby and I are going to try and figure it out. Maybe mostly he is going to try and figure it out.

In the meantime, don't judge me if you come and it looks weird. Thankfully it's a holiday.. so maybe you won't even notice! =)

ick.

When you think of 4th of July, what do you usually think of? BBQ's and fireworks? Yup, me too. Well, I may or may not be doing either of them this year...

First of all, let me tell you that fireworks are my ALL TIME FAVORITE THING. Seriously, I would drive a thousand miles just to see fireworks. I love them. I'm pretty sure I'm the most annoying person to watch fireworks with, but I love them. Yes, I scream and point to each of them and proudly proclaim, "That was my favorite!" or "Did you see that one?" and the occasional "OOOOH, AHHHHH, WOW!". I love them.

Last year for one reason or another we didn't get to the fireworks. Mainly because hubby and the neighbor had a little too much fun the night before and I couldn't motivate either of them to go. So, hubby and I watched them on HD on the new big screen. He claims it was even better than the real thing. I think he's wrong.

This year? It's supposed to storm. Seriously? The one night a year I get to see fireworks and it storms? Ugh.

Now on to the grill. Oh how I love to grill! Once it stops snowing and I can stand to be outside for more than two minutes without freezing to death, I'm ready to throw anyting and everything on the grill. Well last night the cuz and I were going to make some lovely grilled chicken sandwiches (I was inspired by the lunch I had with Ashley). So I ran out to fire up the grill with the girls (they LOVE the deck) and opened the grill top and noticed there was something white and fuzzy in the grill. Odd. I don't remember putting a bunch of string in the grill. Something moved. Scurried. It was a mouse. An effing mouse in my grill! SICK!

So I ran in the house, got the cuz and we admired the rodent's work (hubby named him Fievel from "Fievel Goes West"). Hubby came home and I made him look at the mess in the grill. He was awesome and ran and got the trap and set it, while I looked over his shoulder and jumped every two seconds. I don't deal well with insects or rodents.

Apparently it's dead. Cousin looked this morning. Don't think for a second I'm going to look. I'll trust her.

Now how do I make it so I can grill and not feel like I'm always roasting mouse poop?

Wii

I'll admit it, I'm slightly obsessed with Mario Kart for Wii. And.. by slightly I mean I play it everyday. For hours on end. Multiple times.

Well, tonight we (S & I) decided to play online. Basically it means anyone can be in the same race we're in from all over. Sometimes you'll play with people from all over the world. Tonight? We played with people from all over the US. Kind of neat.

While you are racing you can see the names other people have chosen for their Mii (your character- you can change the eyes, hair color, lips, and even accessories!). Well, the people we played with had some unique names. It wasn't like Joe, Sally and Tom. It was seriously ET, Ju, Daddy, Phildo, Shorty, Bicho, and Chochido. Chochido? Weird. I hope that's a nickname and not a real name. If it is, Choch.. your parents hated you from the moment you were born. And Phildo? Rhymes with.. well.. you get the point. Another one. Your parents doomed you from day one. Sara thought maybe his name was like Phil Dorchester or something and his friends nicknamed him. I prefer to think his real name is Phildo because it makes me laugh.

And that leads into my classroom for summer school. Some of the names? I think the parents were smoking crack. Don't get me wrong, I'm cool with you naming your child something unique. But seriously when I read my class roster I'd like to at least know one name. Is that too hard to ask?

thoughts...

So.. today while I was in class, I did some thinking that was, of course, not related to class in any way. Well, one thought was.. but I wasn't thinking about class like I'm sure the professor wanted me to be. And I may have written down all my thoughts (just so I wouldn't forget by the time I drove home). But for all he knew, I was taking notes. And I was. Just not about what he was saying.

First off.. ants. They are funny little creatures. At the beginning of my class there was just one ant. By the end of class, there were more than fifteen. Seriously, how do ants communicate so quickly? They can't text, email, or call... what do they do to send the message to the others? Weird. I wonder what ants sound like when they "talk".

Next... annoying people. Why do people get into conversations about how their job/school/principal/district/life sucks. And then proceed to compare with others. One says x random item at school sucks, the other has to top it with their sucky-ness. Seriously, if you think it sucks so bad, get a new job/school/principal/district/life. I may have said the second to last one out loud. But without the suck part. I just casually mentioned, "Maybe you should find a new school district to work for". Homegirl shot me a look. In my defense, I spent four hours listening to her and I said the same thing everyone else was thinking.

And the best thinking I did? Better ways to spend any given Tuesday night. Here's what I came up with. I know there are more. I just had to start listening to Mr. Lawyer Man talk about school cases that paved the way for my 1st Amendment Rights. Here's the list: sleeping, tv, mario kart, running (although.. probably I won't), baking, working on summer school stuff (it's actually kind of fun because summer school is way better than regular school), reading, and eating. I was really hungry. Instead? I was listening to Ms. Pity Party talk about why her school sucks.

I.don't.care.

On a lighter note, tomorrow I get to set up my classroom for summer school. I know all teachers can agree with the fun involved in this. Picking just the right bulletin board color, writing names on folders, door tags, name plates, etc, and arranging your classroom so it's just right. So the kiddos know just how fun you are because your room is the coolest. Kind of like a mullet. Business in the front, party in the back. I'm way serious as a professional, but I have a lot of fun and I'm probably the coolest teacher they will encounter. Ever.

Just my luck..

So.. just my luck. I have a kiddo from school in my summer school class. It happens to be the one who poops his pants and loves to smear the poop on the wall. Oh and he ALWAYS has a snotty nose.

Pretty sweet for me.