Petland

Every year in the Spring the kindergarten classes in my school get newts. They're slimey & they smell bad. Plus they're boring (students & teachers agree). This year I told the curriculum coach (person in charge of newt distribution) that our class would not be participating , instead I went to the local pet store and picked out a new class pet.

I picked a cute yellow teddy bear hamster. She only cost .99cents, but then we needed a cage, cedar shavings for the bedding, hamster food & dish, exercise wheel, water bottle and plastic ball for hamster to roll around on the floor. When the whole shopping experience was completed I had spent close to $45!!!!

I took the hamster to school last Wednesday & the kids fell in love with her immediately. One little boy brought her a carrot stick the next day. They actually try to be quiet when she's asleep.

On the second day of being a class mascot, the hamster "Lolita" bit the teacher & she had to go get a tetanus shot.

St. Patrick's Day

Yes, I actually went to work like this. The kids thought it was hysterical.

My Buddy Oscar

I did it again .... stayed up too late on "Oscar Night"... can't help it, I love movies, old ones, new ones, mysteries, comedies & love stories. It doesn't matter if I watch them at home on a DVD, on HBO or at the local multiplex ... I'm addicted. I'll yell at the bad guys , cheer for the good guys and go through a box of kleenex if it's a tear jerker. For most of my favorites I can still remember where I saw it & who I was with that first time. Here are just a few of my favorites, with a few honorable mentions too.

1. The Godfather 2. Godfather Part 2
Great cast & few movies that are as good if not better than the book.... by the way Mario Puzo wrote both the screenplay & the book.

3. Gone With the Wind (I loved when Scarlett O'Hara makes herself a dress out of a pair of curtains when she was looking for a new man!)
4. A Few Good Men (while many will argue that 12 Angry Men was a better courtroom drama, I enjoyed Jack Nickelson's performance)
5. My Big Fat Greek Wedding ( ok, I know sappy, romantic comedy... but I never laughed so much in my life.
6. Casablanca ( oooh, black & white movies Bogie & Bergman... enough said! )
7. The Man Who Knew Too Much (Alfred Hitchcock was a genious!!! 8. Rear Window (another Hitchcock film... always watched these with mom)
9. Titanic ( before I ever saw this film my grandfather had taught me everything there was to know about the sinking of the real titanic... he would've found too many flaws in this film , but I enjoyed it anyway.)
10. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (this is a must see for anyone who must endure a house full of crazy relatives during the holidays... laugh 'til you cry)

Honorable Mentions:
11. Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (a remarkable performance by my mom's favorite actor Jimmy Stewart)
12. Cat On a Hot Tin Roof ( the chemistry between Paul Newman & Elizabeth Taylor... outstanding)
13. American Graffitti ( cool cars and an awesome soundtrack)

To all the Steven Spielberg & George Lucas fans...sorry I didn't include any of your movies on my list.

More about winter

Ok, so winter isn't all bad... those mid-winter sales at the mall are terrific. While the sales people are setting up displays of cruise wear and bathing suits, I'm in the discount rack looking for sweaters that have been marked down by 60%. Now that's a bargain.

My biggest problem is getting from my nice warm house to the car. Today it was 11 degrees when I left for work. Than goodness for heated seats! The person that invented those was a life saver!!!!

In a slump

Everyone who knows me can attest to one thing... I HATE WINTER!!!! It bothers me that i have to wear so many layers of clothing in addition to a hat, gloves, scarf & boots every time I have to leave the house. Besides that, do you realize how long it takes to help a room full of 5 year olds get their coats zipped so they can make it to the bus on time.

Maybe I'm just getting cranky in my middle age (had a birthday this week), but I really think it's more than just the winter blues. It bothers me that I have 29 kids in my class.... I'm annoyed that my kindergarteners have to go up & down 3 flights of stairs every time I take my class to the cafeteria or to P.E.

OK enough of my whining! Most people would say "Be grateful you have a job when so many are unemployed"!

WTF?

At the beginning of this school year the staff received a memo stating that all electrical appliances were banned from the classrooms. Of course that meant my little fridge had to go.... so I hauled it down the hall to the "room" (oversized closet) where the teacher's eat lunch and set it up on a small table and plugged it in.

For the past 5 months I've been brown bagging lunch from Monday to Thursday , then eating out with my colleagues on Fridays. Every morning before going to my classroom I leave my lunch & 1 or 2 bottles of water in the fridge. Well at lunchtime yesterday I made a shocking discovery... my water bottles were in the fridge but my lunch was missing.... at first I started second guessing myself....did I forget it at home? or did I leave it in my car?....no, the bag I brought the lunch in was sitting on the table next to the fridge! No lunch in sight.....

I've lost faith in humanity.... who would take someone else's lunch?

A Year in Review

Since today is the last day of the year, I thought it might be a good time to reflect on the journey that was 2008. The first six months of the year went by quicker than I could have imagined.... the "teenaged one" got accepted to all the colleges that he applied to.... my sweetie & I spent all our free time planning a wedding.... by the time summer came life was a great big blur... in the span of 4 weeks we had graduation, a wedding & college orientation.... the last week of summer was probably the most stressful part of this year... we moved to a new house & took the "teenaged one" to college... saying good-bye & untying those apron strings was not easy.

Life slowed down in the Fall... we were getting used to our new home ( still have some boxes to unpack)... I grew up in this house, so it feels familiar but at the same time it looks totally different from the way it looked when I was a kid.... we didn't get our Christmas tree this year until 2 days before Christmas... spending time with family & friends made us remember what Christmas is all about.... giving & receiving the most most precious gift.... LOVE.... I am truly blessed!