Fun stuff

"As we cruise down the highway of life we come across many metaphorical destinations, some good some bad. Our individual personalities lead us all down a different path. Let this magical personality test tell you where you are headed! Just punch in your name and soon you will be rolling past the roadsign of your life. Don't forget to drive carefully!"

Jennifer Highway Lake Love 9 Bewilderment Avenue 21 Tower of Commitment 33 Bog of Eternal Marriage 105 Family Farm 279 Please Drive Carefully

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Where are you on the highway of life?

From Go-Quiz.com

Two more days....

Till the best EVER, aka the opening of Sex and the City: The Movie.

Fans have been waiting for years--literally, YEARS--for this. Tickets are ALREADY selling out. I'm watching 2 local theatres very closely, as each have sold out many of the earlier showtimes. Shawn and I (and I barely even had to twist his arm; he watched the show and liked it, too. I now have his Man Card in my purse, LOL) are going on Friday night, and I'm ready to buy tickets online tomorrow, if necessary.

I CANNOT WAIT. If I had realized that there was an 11:59 showing on Thursday night, I would have saved my last day off for that. You know how the dorks lined up for days for Harry Potter, Star Wars, etc? That would've been me for SATC, cosmo firmly in hand.

I know Anna's with me on this one. Does anyone else plan on seeing this on opening day? Does anyone else even care?

You have to have sound to truly appreciate this...

Indoctrination

After months of talking about New Kids on the Block to my students, I finally played their new song, Summertime, in class this week. The boys, of course, professed to hating it, but most of the girls liked it.

Then, on Friday, just to "compare and contrast" (see? It was educational, too!), I played The Right Stuff. I figured they would mock it mercilessly but, to my surprise, a lot of them really liked it. "It's got a good beat," one of them explained, bobbing her head.

That's what I'M talking about. Bringing in a whole new generation of fans, one Florida classroom at a time.

Busch Gardens
aka Yes, I'm Alive

The trip was great. I had a blast and, of course, so did the kids. Some highlights:

* I had to be at the school at 6. Although the kids' official arrival time was 6:30, many of them were already waiting when I pulled up. And by "many," I mean almost half. LOL.

* They were almost more excited about the bus ride than the trip. We had charter buses with TVs and bathrooms and overhead bins. (Shit, *I* still get excited about riding a charter bus.) I tricked the kids into playing educational games for part of the way, such as alphabet games and my personal favorite, The Grammar Game (I gave them a word and they had to tell me if it was a noun, verb, etc. Yeah, I know--I'm a dork. But they liked it because their competitive asses will play anything and I scored points with the parent chaperones).

* My group had 12 kids. I had an official parent chaperone, Steve, and a couple parents who kind of tagged along. My kids were, truly, great. I had 2 ADHD kids who bounce off the walls on a NORMAL day, so you can imagine trying to keep an eye on them on Wednesday. Let's say that I was doing silent headcounts every 10 steps, and about half of them ended with a "Wait. Where's A.?" "Oh, she's climbing that tree/bench/roller coaster/dolphin/utility pole, Miss K" was the inevitable answer. But as long as she was within 20 feet, I didn't care.

* Steve and I basically agreed to follow the kids and let them call the shots. It was their trip so they got to pick the rides. So they got a map, gathered around it, and planned our route with military precision--which, of course, went to shit the second we actually ENTERED the park and they were overcome with giddiness, running around and swooning. We ended up wandering around and just riding any scary-looking roller coaster that crossed our path.

* I thought I was going to cry as we began the ascent (the steepest and highest motherf*ckin ascent I've ever experienced in my life, including those on Nothwest airliners). It was even worse knowing that the first vertical drop was directly on the other side. And, of course, they hung us there before the dropped us. I was terrified. I'll never forget the feeling of freefalling like that.

Needless to say, it was the best ride EVER.

* We lucked out with the crowds. The longest waits were like 10 minutes. Most rides, we just walked right up to. (That sentence does not seem grammatically correct.) That's the benefit to going on a Wednesday before school gets out.

* The water rides were awesome, too. At one point, Steve and I were still waiting to get on a log ride when we heard one of the employees say over the soundspeaker: "Please do not rock the boats." I muttered under my breath, "$10 says that was one of our little angels." Sure enough, it was. For one ride, if you stood on the bridge directly above it, you were soaked with a spray of water so massive that you had to hold on the railing to keep your balance. It was SWEET.

* All in all, I had a great time. I bought a year pass, even. It's only 2 hours away and it is SO FUN. My pass includes Islands of Adventure, too. SO GEEKED.

This is definitely one of the perks to being a 5th grade teacher at our school. =-)

Wish us luck

Tomorrow, we're taking 80 5th graders on a 2-hour bus ride to Busch Gardens.

I think they're almost more excited about riding the "fancy" charter buses.

I'm in charge of the Wild and Wet group, which isn't as dirty as it sounds. It just means that this group is focusing it's time on the wildest, most extreme rides (like The Sheikra or something. The kids keep talking about it. I really need to look it up, since I already promised them I'd go on it) and the water rides.

One of the kids was babbling this morning as I walked in the door about how a live jaguar escaped from one of the rides/attractions a few days ago....blah blah blah. It was 7:30 am so I wasn't really listening. Perhaps it would behoove me to research that, as well.

The kids are just shocked and amazed that Miss K. is going on all of "their" rides and not standing there and watching like other chaperones. It's yet another reminder that they see me as 50 while I see myself more as 23. (I offered them this challenge: I have NEVER found a ride/roller coaster that I won't go on, and it won't happen tomorrow, either.)

Quickie

I stayed up all night reading James Patterson's new book, Quickie. Literally, I couldn't put it down till I finished it. (And it's not a little book, either--it weighs in at a respectable 357 pages.) It's about Lauren, who had one of those blissfully happy marriages with her husband--until, on her way to surprise him at the office one day, she caught him having an affair. So she decides to have a revenge-fling of her own (hence the title). Well, everything quickly spins out of control; there's a murder involved but I don't want to give away too much of the plot.

If you're a fan of Patterson's books (and this is his best to date)--or even a thriller/mystery enthusiast--I HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend this book. You might be tired the next day, but you'll thank me.

Just to show you what I'm dealing with...

AS many of you know, I am teaching the low 5th grade reading group. In answer to the question "What might Ochoa's example communicate to young girls of today?", I received this answer (typed exactly as it was written):

"u can bo inething if u sate are mand to it!"

The translation: "You can be anything if you set your mind to it!"

(Yes, this is a special ed student; the problem is that so is a third of my class. The rest are just regular ol' struggling readers.)

What your car color says about you

People whose car is:
Black, dark blue, or silver
Experience:
Consistent moods

White, sunny yellow, or bright blue
Experience:
Modest mood swings

Orange, red, bright yellow, or emerald green
Experience:
The most pronounced mood swings

I find it hysterical that pre-medication I drove a red car, and a few months after starting medication I traded it in for a dark blue car.

For more, go here. What do we think? Is it on-target for you?

http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/105057/What-Your-Car-Color-Reveals-About-Your-Psyche

*Dreamy sigh*

SO freakin' hot. And even if this whole thing is "sad," they drew one of the biggest crowds in Today show history--almost as many as Bruce Springsteen.

I've played that video from my last post so often that I almost have the song memorized.

I *heart* New Kids on the Block!

New Kids are officially back

And say what you will...they look damn good.

That's bull!

Shawn and I went to his boss's house (he lived on a farm) for a BBQ-type thing--you know, your general schmooze-with-the-boss-and-look-like-a-team-player event. We were sitting on a wooden porch, relaxing, when all of a suddent a BULL headed our way--walking, but at a decent rate of speed.

"Can bulls climb?" I half-jokingly asked Shawn (the porch was raised a little bit).

Suddenly, the bull used his horns to break through the wooden railings and started to climb up on the platform.

"Shit, I guess so!" Shawn yelled as we jumped out of our chairs and started running.

However, we had no where to go. There was a door to the house but by the time we stopped and pulled it open, we would have been gored.

"We're going to have to jump!" he shouted.

I looked down (suddenly, the porch was raised wayyyyy up in the sky) but realized we had no choice. So we took a deep breath and went running off the porch (Thelma and Louise style, but without the cute convertable) with the bull right behind us.

We somehow propelled ourselves higher into the air so that bull fell and and landed first (cuz otherwise, you know, he could fall on us, DUH). We screamed as we fell and waited for the impact.

"Don't die or break anything Don't die or break anything Don't die or break anything," I very vividly remember thinking.

We hit the ground. I broke something. Shawn barely had a scratch. (Which, as I retype this, is pretty much symbolic of the end of all my relationships, LOL.)

And then I woke up.

Damn nicotine patches.

Note: I looked up "bulls" in the dream dictionary.

To see a bull in your dream, symbolizes stubbornness, strong will, strength, and power. It is time to take some action and be more assertive. Alternatively, it indicates rich, prosperous, and abundant life. Consider the pun, "being bull-headed". Maybe you need to have a little compromise in a situation.

Bulls are also symbolic of repressed sexual energies, fertility and virility. To see an untamed, raging bull represents that your passions may be out of control.

So basically, I'm a stubborn nympho? Tell me something I DON'T know, dream dictionary.

Oops, I did it again

Just a few minutes ago, a burning smell once again permeated our condo.

The process was similar to the Great Electrocuted Fish fiasco from a couple of weeks ago. Brad and I met in the hallway, saying "What the hell IS that smell?" Then we split up and began sniffing like bloodhounds, trying to figure out what was on fire THIS time.

I found it. In the kitchen. In the dishwasher, to be exact.

I found THESE piled on the bottom of the dishwasher. (Turn your head. I still don't know how to rotate pics on here.)

"What the f---?" he asked, looking at me? (Dishes are my job. Garbage is his.)

"I've been washing them," I explained. "To save money."

(What's even funnier is that I've only been washing a couple at a time, so these have been piling up for several months before they finally started melting.)

I peeked up at him. He looked incredulous.

"You'll spend $20 on a hairbrush but you re-use plastic silverware?! A-dollar-a-box plastic CUTLERY?"

I nodded and looked down at the floor. I tried to look cute.

It must have worked, because he started laughing until tears came to his eyes. "You're a freak," he said.

"Do you want to reuse these?" I called as he walked away.

I am SO Polish.

Congrats, Patti!

I don't know how many of you caught the America's Favorite Mom special on NBC tonight, but the grand prize winner was none other than Patti Patton-Bader, the founder of Soldiers' Angels!!!!! (She also one her sub-category, America's Favorite Military Mom.) She won $250,000 (holy crap), a vacation and some other prizes. She deserves it. Thanks, Patti, for all the heroes you've helped!

Scent-sational

In honor of stimulating the economy (Go USA!), I used part of my bonus check buying some new perfume. (As many of you know, I'll skimp on clothes--Penney's is about as "high brow" as I get--but perfume is where I like to splurge.) I had been wearing a lot of Ralph Lauren's Rocks and also his Romance (I highly recommend the former if you like fruity scents, as I do). Still, I wanted something new for the summer and I had the cash to do it. So I swung by the perfume counter at Saks' Fifth Avenue. (Why there? Because I had never done so in my life. MAN, it's fancy in there.)

After testing several different scents (including something by Cartier, which made me nervous just holding the scent strip), I finally settled on Dolce and Gabbana's Light Blue, which I had remembered smelling in Cosmo and had made a mental note of. (However, they put a sample of Bright Crystal by Versace in my bag and holy shit, that stuff is damn good too.) They were really nice to me there; still, Saks' is the kind of place that can make you feel ghetto for "only" spending $68 on perfume (I DID get the set with the lotion...what more do they want? LOL).

My point? I was just wondering what perfumes you all wear. Do you have one you've stuck with over the years or do change about once a year like I do? What scents do you recommend?

The devil wears JC Penney

My face is burned today--which, oddly, is highlighting two symmetrical bumps I have on my forehead (I have a lumpy head--what can I say). No one has ever said anything about it in my 2 years of teaching--but today, I had several students ask what happened to my head and how I got those "knots". The redness must be reflecting light or some crap.

Anyway, today in class, someone else mentioned it again. I explained that no, I didn't bump my head, I just had these 2 lumps and yes, I happened to have one on each side.

And X., the little shit, leans over to his neighbor and stage-whispers,

"I think that is where the horns grow."

Perhaps I should have gotten on him for being disrespectful, but I have to tell you, I howled just as loud as the rest of the class. It was funny enough to start with, and hearing it in his adorable accent just made it even more hilarious. (In all fairness, although I do have a soft spot for him, I WOULD have laughed even if it had come from another student.)

Checking in

After an "are you alive?" email from Renee, I figured I'd better write a quick post. Things are great, I've just been crazy busy with work and school. (I, of course, procrastinated on this class I'm taking, and now I have to get everything done by May 15.) Today, Shawn took me out to Sanibel and Captiva islands (the ritzy islands right off Ft. Myers--SO incredibly beautiful). We had a bonding day (and night--and no, I don't mean that in the dirty way). Things are really going well. He started making little comments EMPLOYING the L word, such as, "You know what I love the most about you?" Shit like that. So we'll see how it goes. We're coming up on four months--whoo hooo!

All in all, I'm okay. Getting VERY tired and counting down to the end of school (5 weeks).

My crazy doc put me on a new med that's not supposed to have any weight gain the way lithium did, but it's making me break out like crazy. Of course, so did lithium at first so I'm trying to at least give it a chance. No change in weight yet, because I'm still on the lithium (I have to kind of wean off of that). I really did like the lith., though. I mean, hell, it kept me episode-free for almost a full year. This new stuff was making me a little bitchy this week, but I went online and most people also say that that goes away after a while, too (they call it "breakthrough irritability").

So yeah, lots going on. =-)

Oh, and for those who haven't seen on the other blog--Carolicious is pregnant again! Pretty cool.

May is SUCH a big month. New Kids performing on the Today show, Sex and the City movie, my field trip to Busch Gardens.....lots of good stuff coming up.