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28.9.09

chuck realization

Didn't think too much about dinner and drinks with an ex last week, I stay friends with almost all of my exes...I guess I'm just that girl. I knew that my ex was still dating the girl he met right after we broke up (um about 2.5 years ago) and I assumed he was planning on telling me they lived together.

After about an hour long conversation...just catching up here's how the conversation went:


A-So are you living with new girlfriend now?

C-Oh yeah, it's been a while.

A-Wow, that's great! I will forever live with a boyfriend before marriage chuckle under breath

C-Yeah, marriage. Did I tell you that my brother and his longtime girlfriend are getting married?

A-Actually you did mention that...that's amazing, she is such a great girl.

C-They are getting married next June when she graduates from Vet school.

A-And you? You have been with your girl now for, what is it now, 2.5 years? Are you engaged yet?

C-Oh, haha, yeah.

A-big smile Really!?! That's awesome! When are you getting married?

C-Two weeks, October 10...

A-did not hear anything for about 5 minutes after that because the shock had set in...

C-I'm surprised mutual friend didn't tell you...

A-I guess it wasn't on her priority list...she does have two small ones now and you're not the center of her world


This was all the confirmation I needed to know and believe that I am officially "Good Luck Chuck" but for guys. Almost every boyfriend that I have had since sophomore year of college and one even before that have married the girl they dated after me...well, the ones that believe in marriage anyway.

Yep...went through the list again...still true.

With that being said...the streak stops now! From this point forward, I will no longer be "Good Luck Chuck." Instead, roles will be reversed and I am passing the torch to the last guy I dated and no, we are actually not friends...which is why this works really well...he will now be Good Luck Chuck...mwahahaha

If you would like to join me...I am getting together with a group of friends on this wonderful day of October 10...downtown Chicago...to celebrate the passing of the torch. Good-bye Good Luck Chuck status...bring on the Mrs. degree. :)

13.9.09

back to school

School is back in session (not the cause of my lack of blogging however). This begins year number five at the same school and I can honestly say that I did miss the students. Things have gotten off to a really great start but if I blogged about how perfect everything was, well, that would get quite boring. Instead, I choose to tell you two stories...


...one...


It is my fifth year at the same school so one might think that I know the students really well. I do. Usually I only need to meet and learn the names of both incoming kindergarten classes as well as a handful of new students, possibly one or two per class/grade. Sixty plus kids to meet and learn...piece of cake. We also have many, many siblings at the school which also makes learning names really easy.

While teaching sixth grade, I had asked the students what they knew about Pop Art. Show off that I am, I didn't use my grade book or a list of student names to call on students to answer questions. Confidently I called on Maria. "Yes Maria..." Maria looked at me funny and said "Juan." Only about two seconds later did it register and I realized that I had called sixth grade Juan by his third grade sister's name, Maria. Yikes, how embarrassing...for both. It was an honest mistake...Maria and Juan both look very similar in the face (you can tell they are related) and for some unknown reason, they both have the same haircut. Maria's is very short for a girl and Juan's is very long for a boy :)


...two...


In fifth grade, we have started making our mixed media me books. In these books, I require students to have an acrostic poem...something they have been doing since first grade at this school. Since they have been composing acrostic poems for so long, they basically have memorized which one word answers go with each letter of their name. Boring! For art class, I put a little twist on it. One word answers aren't allowed and students actually have to tell me something about themselves instead of Awesome Nice Neat Elephants. Being the wonderful teacher that I am, I do a think aloud with the students and my name and the end result looks something like this:


Art teacher to elementary students
Neat and ALWAYS organized
Never one to let someone down
Excellent tennis player
Believes in fairy tales
Elephants are my favorite because they never forget
Literary lover and avid reader
Lucky to have such wonderful friends and family


Of course with the fifth grade boys B had to be pointed out. "Ms. Bell, what do you mean you believe in fairy tales? Aren't you a little old for that?" Me "Prince Charming is on his way...he's just not here yet." Girls in unison "awe *sigh*."

25.6.09

what if...

Again with Memoirs of a Geisha...


From this experience I understood the danger of focusing my life on what isn't there. What if I came to the end of my life and realized that I'd spent every day watching for a man who would never come to me? What an unbearable sorrow it would be, to realize I'd never really tasted the things I'd eaten, or seen the places I'd been, because I'd thought of nothing but the Chairman even while my life was drifting away from me. And yet if I drew my thoughts back from him, what life would I have? I would be like a dancer who had practiced since childhood for a performance she would never give.


It seems that a lot of the time we are waiting for things to happen. Everything from waiting to go to the gym, waiting until Friday night, waiting until the next paycheck, waiting for...well, you name it...we are always waiting for something. I'm using this passage as a little reminder...mainly to myself...to stop waiting for whatever it is I am waiting for and to experience life now...as it comes...no matter what. Time to stop worrying about what might happen...about the what ifs. No one needs the what ifs. They are what ifs because it didn't happen.

24.6.09

an en

An en is a karmic bond lasting a lifetime. Nowadays many people seem to believe their lives are entirely a matter of choice; but in my day we viewed ourselves as pieces of clay that forever show the fingerprints of everyone who has touched them. Nobu's touch had made a deeper impression on me than most. No one had always sensed the en between us. Somewhere in the landscape of my life Nobu would always be present. But could it really be that of all the lessons I'd learned, the hardest one lay just ahead of me? Would I really have to take each of my hopes and put them away where no one would ever see them again, where not even I would ever see them?


I am currently reading...eh em...listening to Memoirs of a Geisha and have found quite a few of Sayuri's views of life to be touching, thought provoking, and well...meaningful. Take the passage above for example. We always hear, and many of us use, the cliche of being touched by someone...in the metaphorical sense of course. But the visual of us being made of clay and that everyone we meet has placed at least a fingerprint upon us is quite powerful. Sayuri mentions that we now think that it is the choices we make that shape us...but couldn't it, very well, be a combination of the two? I have made plenty of choices in my life that have lead me to one place or another but it is the people I have met that have shaped my experiences. I would even go so far as to say that it is the people I have met who have shaped me...my personality, my future choices, my reactions to life's happenings, etc. Good or bad, I believe that the choices we make happen to be part of our destiny (another term used quite frequently in the book)...we will experience the same events and meet the same people along our given path but because of our choices, it is up to us to decide when these encounters will actually occur.

Speaking of destiny...

Neither you nor I can know your destiny. You may never know it! Destiny isn't always like a party at the end of the evening. Sometimes it's nothing more than struggling through life from day to day.
Again, it has to be our choices in life that help shape our destiny...maybe we won't always get the party...and what if it is a daily struggle?...but that just means we need to slightly change or rather make more careful decisions regarding our choices. On the other hand...sometimes the careful decisions are what's creating life's little difficulties. In that respect, maybe it is good to make decisions in a fly by the seat of your pants mode every once in a while...keep destiny on her toes :)

Back to the first passage where Sayuri mentions hope...
Would I really have to take each of my hopes and put them away where no one would ever see them again, where not even I would ever see them?
In life, I don't think it is ever about hiding your hopes but instead...as said by Dave Matthews in the song Ants Marching...Take these chances, place them in a box until a quieter time, lights down you up and die. It is your responsibility to remember your hopes and to bring them out of hiding when the chance presents itself. If it looks like the time will not come...make the time happen by changing your choices and therefore rerouting your destiny. It is only if you have forgotten your hopes and keep them locked away in a secret place that they will ever become lost.

6.5.09

one...two...


three...rrrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiiiiiiiippppppppppppppppp

The day my pants had a civil war and the right successfully split from the left.

Background: Friday...beautiful outside...playing around with kindergarteners before class...wearing old comfortable pants that couldn't bear to take the strain of one more squat...

Favorite kindergartener this year, Milton, jumped into my arms as soon as I walked in the door to kindergarten. Javier, refused to get up from nap...so the only logical thing to do was to fake drop Milton onto Javier...one...two...three...rrrrrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiiiiipppppppppppp.

After quickly backing into the kindergarten girls bathroom, Ms. Rodriguez my hero came back with a pair of kid pants that happened to be too wide and too short. Thank goodness I was able to roll the top twice then keep the pants up with a scarf that had been draped as decoration around my neck. Some might say that I looked like I was ready for a walk down the beach. Sometimes you have to roll with the punches...laugh at yourself...then share the laughter with everyone you know!

a little of this and that

On my quest/search for my perfect match, I have come to realize that Mr. Whomever-He-Might-Be has got some pretty big shoes to fill. Not because my past boyfriends have been so extremely wonderful...there is a reason they carry the ex title...but because I see such wonderfulness in my friends boyfriends, fiancés, and husbands. Please don't take this the wrong way, the men in my friends' lives are perfect fits for each of my friends...not me...however, each one of these men have qualities that I am wishing to find in my Mr. Right.


Like in the movie Practical Magic I wish I could take a little bit of this and a little bit of that from each of my friends' perfect partners to make mine.


Young Sally: He will hear my call a mile away, he will whistle my favorite song, he can ride a pony backwards-

Young Gilly: What are you doing?

Young Sally: I'm summoning up a true love spell called amas veritas, he can flip pancakes in the air, he will be marvelously kind, and his favorite shape will be a star. And he'll have one green eye, one blue.

Young Gilly: I thought you never wanted to fall in love.

Young Sally: That's the point. The guy I dreamed up doesn't exist, and if he doesn't exist, I'll never die of a broken heart.


The only difference being that I do want to fall in love...the really good kind...which reminds me of another Practical Magic quote...


Do you ever put your arms out and spin and spin and spin? Well, that's what love is like. Makes your heart race, turns your world upside down. But if you're not careful, if you don't keep your eyes on something still, you can lose your balance. You can't see what's happening to the people around you...you can't see that you're about to fall...


I want...a husband I can't stop kissing. Btw, my favorite about all of these quotes is that Sally Sandra Bullock does meet this man that she didn't think existed and fell head over heels in love. It will happen to me too...it's just not quite ready to happen...yet.


With that nice long intro...here are the qualities that I would like to put together to make my impossible man. Note to friends: don't worry if your boyfriend, fiancés, or husband is not mentioned...I probably forgot how amazing they are :)


...a little of this...and a little of that...


Neal-not only his incredible Cubs season tickets which he so generously allows me to purchase occasionally but his overall love for sports and ability to care about his wife's friends and his sense of humor


Ted-not afraid to take on a project or to share his hobbies with the woman he loves


Dan-wanting for nothing more than to reflect on old memories and make new...better ones


Braun-the need to have his fiancé with him in any event whether it is trying a new experience or repeating the same mundane tasks of everyday life...needing her almost like air to breathe


Adam-the ability to switch gears in a second from sports crazy maniac to gentle compassionate friend


Ben-the security of who he is which allows for his wife to be secure in herself and her decisions...the ability to be independent with someone you love


Will-his dedication and loyalty to everyone he cares about...friends, family, etc. also his inability to lie


Tony-the comfort of knowing you are everything to your wife and she is everything to you...oh yeah, and his raunchy sense of humor which turns you beet red while laughing your pants off


Kevin-sharing the love of a hobby like camping, hiking, training for a half marathon so completely with his wife that the two are essentially one


Matt-having fun at every turn, letting things roll off his back with the greatest of ease, and his patience with kids


The men in my friend's lives have made them incredibly happy. It seems that I am always building my friends up...now it's time to thank their better halves for my friends have only gotten better, more complete since these men have come into their lives. Thank you...now it's my turn :)

27.4.09

tomato tomato

what is maturity exactly? who decides what is mature? are there different levels of maturity depending on your age or should it be based on your experience?


after discussing this topic with some peers, they say that maturity is...


-patience


-humility


-perseverance


-confidence


-making a decision and standing by it


-making informed decisions


-direct communication (actual face to face or phone call instead of e-mail or text)


-facing challenges without complaint


-thinking about others more than yourself


-taking care of the things one is responsible for


-self-awarenss and reflection



however, as of late, I have been witness to particular situations in which grown mature adults either define maturity in different ways or have forgotten that they are/or should be practicing mature things...maturity to them could be any number of things. Maturity could be...

-throwing the clear celophane and silver wrapper of a cigarette pack on the ground and stating that someone better clean up this mess


-or-


-texting information that is essential to someone else's life such as I'm moving out and infering that texting is a clean break or a sufficient way to establish a dialogThese fantastic bouts of maturity allow me to think about myself not that hard as an only child but to also reflect on how my decisions are affecting myself and the people around me? What actually separates us from animals...relationships, empathy, memory? But within the questions, I find answers to other life follies such as why the kids of today are so extremely rude and disrespectful.

11.4.09

shoes...the latest

if you're interested...here are my newest pieces...you think I would have done more with a week off...




3.4.09

one last hurrah

what would the last day before spring break be if...


high school students didn't come back to play basketball in the gym for the last hour until school lets out for the day


7th grade behaves themselves for once and actually get involved in their art projects


exhaustion and overeating overcome everyone at lunch


and Edgar in first grade telling the class that dad has hair on his butt?


Take time to enjoy the moment. Take time to enjoy the second, the minute, the hour, the day, the night. Just take the time.

2.4.09

books to read

Looking for books to read? Check out my book club blog to view and review past and current reads...

http://wbbookclubbers.blogspot.com/

a picture

Journaling yesterday in sixth grade, students were asked:


Explain why you do or do not agree with this quotation: "A picture is worth a thousand words."


Personally, I completely agree or so I thought for potentially no other reason than the scrabble word game in which you rearrange letters of a word to see how many other words you can make. With all of the words/phrases that a picture inspires you to think or say aloud it is almost impossible for those words/phrases not to spark another set of words/phrases therefore technically allowing one picture to be worth a googolplex words. However, when you take all of those words and begin to create new words from those, the words eventually reduce to two...I and a...so then is a picture only worth two words?


On another thought wave, when I see a picture with let's say a lemon, the word lemon doesn't come to mind but rather pictorial references to other lemons I have encountered. The same thing happens when I see the color yellow...instead of clearly viewing the word yellow I tend to reference other things that are yellow. If this is the case with most everyone else, shouldn't the phrase become:


A picture is worth a thousand images?

31.3.09

cast in green tights

Green tights...green tights...

...the hideous kelly green running leggings that we were forced to wear all four years of high school cheerleading under our skirts if it was even remotely cold outside.

Green tights...green tights...

...the hideous kelly green running leggings that have now repurposed themselves in my running wardrobe after, do I say it, thirteen years. Now serving the purpose they were initially created for.

Green tights...green tights...

...to limp/run the 2009 Shamrock Shuffle in 1:00:39 (yes, embarrassing...but injury is my excuse) and meet up with high school friends to celebrate a mini "before the ten year reunion" hang out, dinner and wine session.

Green tights...green tights...

...my kryptonite, the essential downfall that was needed to let my body heal in order to become healthy again.

Green tights...green tights...

...currently replaced by a soft walking cast.

25.3.09

...thoughts...

Why is it that our students can spell masturbation correctly but not dided died?

lyrics

dashboard confessional
as lovers go

let's just put it this way...if anyone were this passionate about me...I would fall instantly head over stilletos

She said, "I've got to be honest, You're wasting your time if you're fishin' around here." And I said, "You must be mistaken, I'm not foolin', this feelin' is real." She said, "You've gotta be crazy! What do you take me for? Some kinda of easy mark?" "You've got wits, You've got looks, You've got passion, But I swear that you've got me all wrong."


I said, "I've got to be honest, I've been waiting for you all of my life." For so long I thought I was asylum bound, But just seeing you makes me think twice. And being with you here makes me sane. I fear I'll go crazy if you leave my side. "You've got wits, You've got looks, You've got passion,But are you brave enough to leave with me tonight?"


mrs. potter's lullaby
counting crows

very difficult for me to narrow down my favorite part(s) but I tried to keep in the lyrics that spoke the strongest to me...including visualizations

Well I woke in mid-afternoon cause that's when it all hurts the most. I dream I never know anyone at the party and I'm always the host. If dreams are like movies, then memories are films about ghosts. You can never escape, you can only move south down the coast.

Well, I am an idiot walking a tightrope of fortune and fame. I am an acrobat swinging trapezes through circles of flame. If you've never stared off in the distance, then your life is a shame. And though I'll never forget your face, sometimes i can't remember my name. favorite lyric of all time that reminds me of teaching


...And the price of a memory is the memory of the sorrow it brings. And there is always one last light to turn out and one last bell to ring. And the last one out of the circus has to lock up everything. Or the elephants will get out and forget to remember what you said. And the ghosts of the tilt-a-whirl will linger inside your head. And the ferris wheel junkies will spin there forever instead. When I see you a blanket of stars covers me in my bed.


...You can see a million miles tonight But you can't get very far. Oh, you can see a million miles tonight But you can't get very far.

getting through

Getting through what you might ask?

My list:
typing lesson plans
grading all projects
creating decorations for the book fair
entering grades
writing a teacher manipulatives book
running 8 miles (supposedly)
reading Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
checking summer school boxes for reading and math teacher resource books and student editions
drawing shoes
ordering summer school supplies
ordering art supplies

While working through my list yesterday...and many of these things stay on my list from day to day until I can check them off...I happened upon an amazing visual image from Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close:

I hid behind a mound of earth that had been dug up to make a grave for some books, literature was the only religion her father practiced, when a book fell on the floor he kissed it, when he was done with a book he tried to give it away to someone who would love it, and if he couldn't find a worthy recipient, he buried it...

...The books had been buried, so I hid this time behind a group of trees, I imagined their roots wrapped around the books, pulling nourishment from the pages, I imagined rings of letters in their trunks...

Since the reading of this passage I just keep trying to find a way to visually represent this...a way in which to represent this without screwing it up...without making it seem/look/feel trivial. This passage sums up the way I think about, look at, react to books. This passage sums up the way my parents and family think about, look at, react to books. If only the artwork in my mind could be extracted for the enlightenment of others...but then again, isn't that what every artist wants to accomplish?

24.3.09

training schmaining

After virtually no training for the past 3 weeks...and a night out...I went ahead and hopped back on the training wagon for the Kentucky Derby Half Marathon and ran 7 miles.

Wow! Was that real?


Yep.


For the first time in a long time, I amazed myself. In this fresh amazement and with a little help from a popular tv show called The Biggest Loser, the decision has been made to fully train and participate in the Louisville Half marathon in exactly 1 month from today. However wrong it may be...if the fatties on The Biggest Loser can run an entire half marathon without walking...I can too.

18.3.09

the wiz

On Friday morning I was handed a note...the kind of note that kids pass to each other in the halls...from a former student's younger sibling.

The note stated that quite a few former WB students were performing in the musical The Wiz at their high school...great heads up. Thank goodness I leave most Friday nights free. After hearing about the performance, another teacher was more than happy to attend the $5.00 performance with me.

Amazed. Rewarded. Proud.

Watching these students sing and dance in front of a room full of people maybe around 150 was amazing. Some of the students even had primary roles. Needless to say, I am incredibly proud of all of them...even the students that weren't on stage but who helped paint the set and make the props and costumes. There were times in which I had taught more than half of the performers.

After the show, I made my appearance known to the girls. One response...since the note was only from one student and the rest had no idea I would come or have even thought of me since they left was

Um, hi...You look really familiar...confused look lasting about .2 seconds...Oh my God!...Ms. Bell!?! Followed with the world's strongest hug, screeches, and more hugs competing for a title...then pictures.

It's always nice to know that you have made a difference in someone's life...no matter how insignificant...and even if it is only a few years after they've left that they remember you.

Also, a BIG thank you to the teacher who braved a long drive, off-key and sometimes non-existent lyrics to go along with kid choreographed dances, and for assisting me to an utterly rewarding experience.

16.3.09

dieter not dieter

Funny since they are spelled the same but the reading goes as such (dee-ter not diet-er).

What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.

Dieter. The name of my mother's family. The name of my Grammy. The name of fat, little, blond German boys in cartoons like PepperAnn. My middle name. A name of which I am forever proud...a name of which will be forever strong.

Dieter. Comfortably fitting since I believe I have tried every diet at least once. If only there were one in which the dieter (haha) would get to eat nothing but doritos, pizza and chocolate. If only I needed one...it might stick.

12.3.09

level two

Only 5 personal training sessions left and I have to say that having Veller train with me is the best decision I could have made. After getting ditched for her free personal training session I asked my trainer if she could just come with us...thinking that it would only be for a day. Within 10 minutes I realized how amazing personal training could be...as long as you are laughing the entire time. Clearing it with David first, I invited Veller to be my training buddy. Fitting since I convinced her to sign up at the gym so I could selfishly have a work out partner. Best thing I have done and all in the name of fitness.

The good thing about my workout buddy is that she is a little less experienced with some of the techniques being introduced and therefore helps me improve my techniques while correcting hers. As Veller said when asked if she would like to pay for personal training sessions no thanks, I took health class in high school. Fortunately or unfortunately working out and fitness in general has changed since that time.

She keeps me motivated...the best thing about a work out buddy. There are times during the personal training session in which I have to set the weight I am lifting down so I don't do damage to myself or anyone around because I am laughing sooo hard. That should be a prerequisite for any work out session...laughter must be involved.

At one point during a session we were in a triangle formation using our core muscles to bounce pass a large exercise ball to the next person. If we all passed at the same speed at the same time the exercise would have worked. We must have started speeding up before Veller got the hang of it because numerous times she would have all of the exercise balls in her corner of the room. In her I'm about to give up on the world voice she insisted this sucks! It's like I'm in a video game on level two when I haven't passed level one.

Isn't that the truth...

another free day!?!

It's amazing how behavior instantly improves when rewarding students with a movie after 10 classes of good behavior. Not that I am upset at these behavioral improvements...it is just that I am bored...hence the blogging. While watching Wall-E for the umpteenth time, it is in my best interest to journal then record my findings. Here they are...


smack that-or-not quite christmas


I was reminded while listening to a light music station the other day about a kid story from my first year at the WB.


Kindergarten student, Justin, called me over and motioned for me to lean in so that he could whisper his favorite Christmas song to me. Silly of me to expect something like Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer or I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas, even something a little more on the serious side of things like Silent Night, etc. Nope. All expectations flew out the window when I heard Justin whisper


smack that, all on the floor
smack that, give me some more
smack that, 'til you get sore
smack that, oh ooh


A little disturbed that a kindergartener just whispered these lyrics into my ear, I quickly explained that this was definitely not a Christmas song. Justin replied with but Ms. Bell, it's on the radio all the time and it's Christmas. Makes sense...I guess.


bc and ad for 2nd grade


Wednesday classes are my days to teach art history to 2nd, 4th, and 6th grades. Yesterday in 2nd grade, I read aloud an artist biography of Pablo Picasso in preparation of making our Picasso people. While discussing the important and interesting information about Picasso, one student asked about the difference between BC and AD. Since I have been teaching cave art to 1st graders, I have a pretty politically correct way to explain the difference and felt comfortable doing so. For the life of me, I cannot recall how this topic even got brought up.


Upon hearing the BC and AD terms, more students became interested in what each meant and with 5 minutes left in class...we discussed. Ms. Bell is a real person...right? Ok, now some people might believe that Ms. Bell has magical powers while some people don't. Either way, Ms. Bell is still a person. Ok now some of us may have heard of this guy called Jesus Christ. Whether you believe in his stories or not, he was still a real person. He is actually a person that our calendar years are based upon...

After that riveting discussion we began to do math to figure out how old Picasso would be if he were still alive today 128. We also did the math to figure out how many years Picasso died before Ms. Bell was born 8. Anytime a year was mentioned, Carl would shout out either BC or AD with his newfound knowledge. When he saw how old Picasso would be if he were still living, he exclaimed Wow! He has got to be dead! then he looked at me and said You're not dead...I can tell.


Just another day at the WB.

11.3.09

sunshine & rabies

Oh how I've missed Trivia Tuesdays! It was a nice relief to eat and drink with friends while showing off our trivia knowledge of trivial things...or lack thereof.


One of my dear friends (can you tell I have been reading Dracula lately?), one who hasn't seen me since my 160lb weight loss Tim, wanted a little insight to how I have been doing and dealing with what happened...the regular inquiring questions. In the process of my explanation that I am doing surprisingly well (in case you were wondering too), I happened to mention that in our happy oblivion, one of us thought that once the move happened everything would be sunshine and rainbows.


Upon hearing this, Tyler leaned over and said "more like sunshine and rabies." Quite funny and clever, I have found Tyler's comment to be one with much truth. In relationships isn't it always the case that we take the good and the bad?* Yes, relationships, the good ones anyway, are supposed to be easy...but even the easy ones take work. The good sunshine is what helps us through the bad rabies. When the rabies overtake the sunshine, you realize that it is time for the vaccine...even if it stings for a little bit.


*You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have The Facts of Life, the Facts of Life.

thank god for office mates

Here's a shout-out to my favorite office mates of all time...Team MAGIC (Music, Art, Gym, Informational sciences and Computers), the FAT (Fine Arts Team) or shall I just say the specials teachers at the WB...mainly speaking about gym and music...not that library isn't included but I do share my office with the former.


Even though I am not happy about being displaced from my fabulous art room this year, I am happy that I have been relocated to the gym office...the back of the gym where three of us are squished a little bit like sardines. While I might not sound so grateful, in all honesty, I truly am. Grateful that everyday I come to work...good or bad...I get to be myself, laugh out loud, speak my mind, speak the truth, ask for guidance, etc...and my office mates think no less (or more) of me for it. In truth, I consider them to be great friends...especially since they know some of my secrets;) God knows that office holds its fair share of them.


I thank Matt for his fake surly attitude, your mom jokes, and for his ability to tune me out when necessary.


I thank Molly for her encouragement, inspiration and guidance/advice.


I couldn't imagine this year without the two of them. As for the WB...I don't think they will be trimming the FAT anytime soon. We are all too knowledgeable about our subjects and too good at what we do :)

9.3.09

insight from a sixth grade perspective

The past couple of weeks have been a time for me to look at relationships in a whole new way.

What makes them work? What makes them strong? How do you make them last if only one person is committed to making it work? How could a relationship even work if one of the people involved thinks of nothing but themself all the time?

Well, I'm sure by this point you can sense my frustrations. Don't worry, I have more but will save you the pain of reading them...(pain like is she really recording these thoughts, not pain like ouch.)

This morning two things happened:

1) I finished Breaking Dawn, the last in the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer and

2) I confiscated an art journal that was being used to pass notes

In regards to #1, I loved this series and if there is an Edward out there for me (someone who cares about me/loves me so unconditionally) I can't wait to meet/realize/find him. Wow! What a passionate love story....however, one for fiction :( Finishing this book and therefore the series has blinded me a little and confused my positive thoughts about relationships in general. Confused because as much as I would love to have an Edward (or Jacob) of my own they are completely fictional and therefore do not exist...does that mean that my Prince Charming (as the Disney movies promised) does not exist? "Some day my prince will come. Some day I'll find my love. Though he's far away, I'll find my love someday. Some day when my dreams come true."

In regards to #2, the sixth grade girls have interesting take on things...like sixth grade boys
(written by 6th grade girls...complete with their punctuation, spelling, grammar, etc)

*how they are?*

-When they say sorry they don't mean it.
-they treat you like garbage when they are with their friends.
-they never think aboute you & you are thinking of them all day.
-they don't listen to you
-they hang around with the girl you hate the most
-they make your relashionship not work
-they want you to do what they say but they don't want to do what you say
-they are the reason is over
-they make you sad

*how to 4get aboute someone (asap)*

intro-when you like someone and they don't like you you try your best to stop thinking aboute them

I know that things will always work out for the best. Everything happens for a reason. Blah, blah, blah. Yes, these are phrases that I have hear before and in light of certain recent events have heard about a thousand more times than necessary. Thank you all for the kind words...however, please note that I am a very impatient person and want to know...NOW!!!...what the future holds for me.

2.3.09

the best friends indeed

Thank God for good friends in not so good situations. I feel that it is my turn to say thank you to my very nearest and dearest for dropping everything and to reach out to a friend in need this weekend...me.

After a snag in the fabric I like to call...my life, I have been able to rejoice in the fact that my good friends are, just that. Friends that are new and friends that are old both came out to show support and love whether in the form of a 27 hour time period with your's truly or through lunch and mani/pedis, or comfort through familiar places and some bloody mary's or through text messages and phone calls or through a fabulous journal and kind words. All were presented and all were appreciated.

I am extrememly hopeful that good things will come my way. In fact, I know they are. What they are and in what form, I am not quite clear...but good things are coming!

Make new friends but keep the old, one is silver and the other's gold.

26.2.09

blogging for the sake of it

Ok...ok...ok...finally following in the footsteps of the rest of the world, I have officially started a blog. My online, for the world to see, personal diary. Exciting! As my first official blog, I have to say that the artistic side of me has taken over and I will forever be playing with and changing the colors of my blogspot page.

I am quite looking forward to sharing my life, adventures, thoughts, feelings, and stories with all. Read, enjoy, and don't forget to leave a comment if you feel moved (in one way or another :)

to alaska without a jacket

While picking my club kids up from the cafeteria Monday afternoon, Neyda, a girl whos quirky spirit makes her quite awkward, preceeded to tell me her solution to the attack on 9-11.

I think that we should send all the guys who took down the World Trade Center to Alaska...yeah...with no jackets.

Interesting solution however, I'm not quite sure how Palin would handle that (probably send them to Russia)...