Christmas Day Part 1

So far so good. Christmas seems to get better every year. For the first time in my life I was able to afford to give my parents a nice gift. My sister and I pitched and gave them money to take a trip to Toronto for a long weekend ...and included a case of Labatt Blue and a really pretty ornament with the skyline of Toronto. I got a kickass coffee pot from my sister that grinds for each pot. A Brighton breast cancer awareness bracelet and the Until There's a Cure bracelet from my mom (am I the walking charity??) and an iriver from my dad which totally rocks. (Similar to iPod, but it can hold pictures, files yada, yada, yada ...and no extra software to install with it.) Off to my grandparents. I will update more later.

Who's having the best Christmas ever?? Me.

Christmas Break Is Here!!

Hooray! Christmas Break is here!! Not a minute too soon either. It's actually amazing how fast the school year goes. Today was day 76. Only 104 to go. Being that we test pretty much the middle of March through April there aren't that many more good instruction days left. I'm making a New Year's resolution to not stick to my manuals and to not be the ordinary teacher. I let go of my manuals the last two weeks and got so much more accomplished. I had hard time giving my kids the benefit of the doubt that they could learn in other ways. I guess I felt that because their behavior was so bad...that they needed more work. Not the truth. I got so much more out of them by having them write one paper. (Yes, 4th grade CAN do this.) I also had a lot less stress trying to cover every page. And, I'm actually covering more material. Anyway...I'm glad to have this break to look back to see what I've accomplished and also to relax.

I am in the Christmas spirit because it was snowing and cold (the other day) and today we also sang Christmas carols. We teachers did the motions to the Twelve Days of Christmas. So funny. Even the men (or boys) got into it. I think it's nice when the kids see teachers being crazier than they are. In any sense, we had a good time. I even brought Neville to school today. By the looks of him now, he had a good time. I know though he's glad to be home, too. They broke into his daytime nap.

Well, now off to my union party and to celebrate and let loose. I'm sure there will be much more consitent blogging now that I'm out of WallyWorld.

Deep Creek

Went to Deep Creek, MD this past weekend. Our condo, Caddyshack was absolutely beautiful. It was really nice to get away and to be with friends. Because there had been no snow (except for the blast we got Sunday) a few of us girls opted for the spa treatment instead of the ski treatment. I chose to indulge and schedule a facial and a hot stone massage. The facial was okay...I've had better. The hot stone was just what I needed. I serioulsy started drooling and at that point I was laying on my back. At the end the only concern I had was whether or not I was going to be able to actually get up and get dressed. I had almost wished I would have scheduled this women to come to the condo so I could have just rolled over and gone back to bed. I'm definitely going to have to indulge again.
The rest of the weekend was filled with some partying and game playing: wine, food (lots of it...ugh!) poker, trivia, euchre and scrabble ->in which I so nobly fell asleep during. The wine just hit me too hard.
In any sense it was a great weekend with great friends. I even ended up with a 2-hour delay on Monday. Perfect! I would love to tell you more about it, but I have been so freakin' busy I don't even know what to do first. However, I am in the Christmas spirit more so and I did buy a piney-Christmasy scented candle. (Thanks Robin!)

I'm So Lame

I wish I had time to blog, but I'm lame. I just can't seem to find the time. Yet, I'm not doing anything productive either. Busy at school, but also can't get motivated. I cannot wait for the lovely Christmas break that teachers get. Honestly, we totally need it. I'm fucking whooped.

Looking forward to the weekend. I'm heading to Deep Creek with some friends and I've even managed to schedule a massage and facial. I haven't had either in over 6 years, so I felt the need to splurge.

Anyone not in the Christmas mood? I just can't seem to get there this year. I also sympathize with Robin this year for New Years. I never usually dread New Years, but this year I am. I'm looking forward to being with friends but the whole anticipation of it....what to wear, where to go and who to go with (i.e. will I have a date?)

My Christmas cards are pissing me off, too. I've spent literally the past month trying to get a good picture of my dog. That fucker...I swear he knows exactly when to turn his head!

Well...if anyone has any Christmas mood elevators, let me know.

Color Personality Test

Here's a fun test. It's a color personality test. It tells you what colors you should use to decorate your home and there is a section where you can use your color palate to virtually decorate your room. Fun stuff...and if there is a test on the net, I will take it. Thanks to Robin for the test!
You set yourself high standards, driving yourself hard to achieve your goals but at the end of a hard day, you need to retreat to a place where you can reflect and re-energise. That place is always home. Your look is pale, modern and relaxing, a gentle setting in which you can rediscover your equilibrium. You love the simplicity of contemporary design but by adding luxurious textiles from curtains and cushions to bedding and throws you can soften the edges of your modern look to create a true haven of tranquility.

I know I've been pretty boring and lax on my blog, but I've been so busy!!

New Year's Resolution: More Blogging...and more writing in general.

Flu Attack of the Mac

Friday I got the flu. Gross. That's what I get though. Thursday in school I had a mini barf-o-rama. One student threw up, then another, then another. The initiator of the puking (started during lunch) is a chronic puker. I was tired of sending him home as I had done 3 times in the week prior. And, the other is a repeat offender of "I don't feel good. Can I call home?" Such drama for 4th grade boys. (I know this sounds cruel, but if you are a teacher you'll understand.) Anyway...I gave out the "You know what? I'm not going with this puking crap again. You're going to stick it out today. Get your book out." Now truthfully, I don't believe they were sick. However, the flu is fying around school -as always. Yes, at 4:30 AM I woke up with horrible stomach cramps and by 7:20 I was puking. Damn kharma!. I did go to school at 8:00 to get some things ready for a sub and was out the door by 8:50 to puke some more and literally sleep all day. I'm still recovering today. I seriously dont think I've had the flu since 5th grade. I certainly haven't thrown up since then....well at least a non-alcohol induced boot.
The good thing about being sick is that no one will bother to ask you to do things like clean or move and you also get to catch up on some random movies. I got to see LOTR: Return of the King again, Goodfellas for the first time (I know, pathetic) some other random shit and my second Macaulay Culkin movie of the week. Yes, of the week. Over Thanksgiving break -Deer Monday to be exact- I watched Saved and then today I watched Party Monster. Both pretty good. Saved was hysterical and Party Monster was pretty good as well. Could the Mac be back?
In any sense, I'm semi back to normal. I did manage to put the Christmas trees up today though I didn't decorate them. I was/am most concerned with saving my strength for brunch tomorrow at the Cheesecake Factory with the girls. Can't miss my gossip time!

Why Are You Still Single? Test: Tickle.com

So I'm bored and took another Tickle.com test. If you're single, take this one.

Molly, you're single because you don't want to commit

Once the blush of first love wears off with your partners, do you get a little antsy? You probably crave excitement in all realms of your life, and you need a relationship to keep you filled with possibilities. Let us guess: Someone has probably told you that you haven't quite grown up yet, that you're still holding out for the perfect "whatevers" (job, car, home, date) in your life to come a knockin'. Or perhaps you're just having a difficult time accepting that your comfortable little place in this world is always growing, always evolving — and that means you have to be willing to accept big life changes, too. Not that there's anything wrong with that. After all, you're probably a lot of fun to be around and may be the life of the party.
But when it comes to settling down, you leave without looking back twice. Now's the time to ask yourself: Why? What's holding you back? Maybe you don't want someone to get to know you fully? Perhaps by saying "yes" to someone, you're afraid you'll lose yourself, or the possibility of something better coming along. Just remember that the best relationships are those that never stop growing. That's something you can identify with, right? So keep that in mind next time you find someone you're really comfortable with. You never know, it may prove even more exciting once you really get to know each other, teensy flaws and all.

Are you kidding? Maybe I was onto something in a prior entry. I am ...

Poll For the Day-Part Deux

I like the "Poll for the Day" idea- especially since I had such a good response. Therefore I will try to continue the idea daily...well at least once or twice a week.

Poll for the Day!
Julia Roberts twins names "Hazel" and "Phinneas" Yay or Nay? What would you have named them?
(I'll post my answer in the comment section.)

*Side note. Where my links are posted are other blogs from friends of mine. Most of them too have links of other blogs. Take a chance and read some of their links. You might find something interesting. I would like to link some of the ones I read to my blog, but I feel like I would blog stalking or "blalking." (Did I just make up a new internet lingo term?? Oxford's Dictionary, here I come!!)

**Ken is no longer on Jeopardy. Once again we can wonder who will win.