Today = *New* Best Day Ever

When I was 17, my best friend at the time and I decided that we had experienced "the best day ever." After about 4pm on that wonderful summer day, we repeated the phrase countless times. Our primary qualifier was that we had done nothing but fun, happy things from the time we woke up to the time we went to bed. Although the two of us are no longer friends, I have occasionally reminsced about that super fun day. After 10 years, the only things I remember are swimming in Lake Harriet with all of our clothes on, driving home--soaking wet--in my 1987 Ford Pony Escort, eating ice cream, feeling as though everything was right in the world, and laughing...a lot.

Sometimes I get sad that he and I are no longer friends....how many more "best days ever" could we have had?

Well, no matter. TODAY I HAD A NEW BEST DAY EVER! From the time I woke up to the time I go to bed--which will be a few hours from now, and barring any major disaster...--I have done nothing but those things that bring me joy. Upon waking, I got ready for the annual Women's Brunch at church. As I was showering, my lovely hubby made me a yummy cup of coffee! I even had a good hair day! I remembered to bring out things needing to be returned to Mom's house when she picked me up. Then, we ate yummy brunch, listened to an inspiring speaker, and conversated with a new friend. Seeing as how neither of us had any pressing plans for the afternoon, mom and I decided to have a day of fun. We drove by the new Twins stadium and proceeded to garage sale our way through south Minneapolis, including a FABULOUS sale in newly-discovered-to-me Tangletown (a quaint little neighborhood that's been hiding right under my nose!). It was honestly the first time I have EVER enjoyed garage saling. My fave finds=a battery operated air mattress pump, a periwinkle handbag, Mom's new bedroom picture, a *free* plant stand that was tied into the trunk with Mom's belt and cute rainbow-colored juice cups. We bargained a lot, smiled a ton, and laughed even more.

When I met up with my hubby, we decided to enjoy some TACOS at the Cinco de Mayo celebration in St. Paul. YUMMY! On the way home, Tim and I enjoyed an unexpected and beautiful motorcycle ride along the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers!

Tonight, Tim is at a stump-burning bonfire with some guy friends while I am enjoying a lovely ladies' night with my favorite hamster ever: Olive. I've watched one of my favorite shows, cleaned up the apartment, and made pretty much the BEST FRUIT SMOOTHIES EVER on the Magic Bullet. I truly can't imagine a better day.

Thank you, God! My heart desired this :)

Okay, so what are you going to do about it?

One of my most beloved and dreaded times of the day is when a student comes up to me with some "emergency" that must be solved. I can spot them coming a mile away. As soon as there is one second of transition time between activities, and especially when they are supposed to be getting something out to turn-in, they make a bee-line directly to me from across the room. Their eyes have this strange glint in them and their jaw line is especially taught. Usually their shoulders are slumped and they look at me with this, "Oh my gosh. My life is so difficult" expression. Mostly, they are stressed because they don't have their assignment to turn in or they are not ready for the quiz. Each and every time, the ensuing (this week's vocab word...nice!) conversation usually goes something like this:

Student: reveals excuse for ___________ (see below for examples)
Mrs. McW (AKA me): Okay, so what are you going to do about it?
Student: I don't know, looking shocked that THEY would need to solve this problem, not me
Mrs. McW: What's your plan? How are you going to solve this?
Student: Um, uh...hmmm....maybe I could turn it in tomorrow.
Mrs. McW: Okay. It will be late, though.
Student: Hmmm...maybe I'll look for it one more time.
Mrs. McW: That sounds like a good idea.

The student NEVER FAILS to seem surprised that I will not come up with their solution for them. Do other teachers do that? When a kid tells you that they forgot that _______ was due today, do other teachers really tell them what to do about it?

Here are some of my favorite pleas:

• I forgot my stuff at school last night and couldn't do the assignment. (sorry, kid, that's just called being irresponsible)
• I didn't do it because my mom was at the hospital all weekend. (When asked if she was doing okay, the student told me that his mom was not the patient; his grandpa was and he's doing fine. The student never even went to the hospital.)
• My dog chewed it up. No, really, you can call my mom and ask her. (Just for giggles, I did call the mom and she verified the story...not sure if I really believed her, though)
• I think it's in my locker. (doi, use your hall pass, then)
• My math teacher made me put it away, so I didn't finish. (Are you supposed to work on other homework during math class? No. Shouldn't you have had this finished when you came to school this morning and not rushed through it during a different class? Yes.

Here's my all time favorite. You need a little background to understand this one.

On Friday, the 9th grade student asked if she could take the reading quiz the following week. She had been really busy with basketball the night before and didn't get home until 10:30pm. Feeling gracious and a little sorry for her busy life, I agreed to the extension. The VERY NEXT FRIDAY this conversation ensued (ha! I used it again!):

Student: Um. I had a band concert last night and a basketball game. I'm kind of behind on the reading. Do you think I could take the quiz next week?

Me: When did you know about the band concert?

Student: blank stare

Me: Was it scheduled a while ago, or was it a surprise to you that you had it last night?

Student: I guess I knew about a long time ago.

Me: Okay, how long have you known that you had to go to basketball last night?

Student: blank stare

Me: Was the game scheduled a while ago?

Student: Yeah, I guess.

Me: How long have you known that we have a quiz in here every Friday?

Student: A while ago. (ah, she's getting the hang of this)

Me: Uh huh. So none of it was a surprise. Do you think it's fair to have another extension?

Student: No, I guess not.

Me: Okay, go get ready for the quiz.

Call me callous, but I really believe that even--or especially--busy students need to figure this out. I was a CRAZY BUSY student during high school and had to figure out early on how to deal with it and manage my time. Maybe that's why I'm unsympathetic. I don't know. Either way, she did fine on the quiz.

"All I need"

This song by Sara Groves reminds me so much that sometimes I just need to get over myself and remember what life is all about.

I heart Mr. Morton

I have this Reading Workshop training to attend next week, and I've been racking my brain about what to do with my classes while I am gone. We are sort of in between units right now in both my 8th and 9th grade classes, so there really isn't any "plan" that I need to follow. My solution? School House Rock: Grammar Rock. Oh, yes. They will be rocking out to "Conjunction Junction," "Verb: It's What's Happening," "Rufus Xavier Sarsparilla" and the rest of the gang. As I have been creating the worksheet and subsequent class activities, I have been delving into my beloved past time of cherishing all--errr....most--of these songs. There are a few that I am less than fond of, such as "Verb: It's What's Happening" and "Lolly, Lolly, Lolly Get Your Adverbs Here," but overall it's great set. It's a classic. Just to show you what a TOTAL nerd I am, when I was in high school I would *literally* rock out in my 1987 Ford Escort Pony to the soundtrack.

One of my VERY FAVORITES is "The Tale of Mr. Morton," which is pretty much the cutest, most romantic, and wittiest grammar songs ever written. I love it! And I would like to share it's awesomeness with you:



My favorite quotes:

• Mr. Morton talked to his cat. Mr. Morton talked: "Hello cat, you look good."
• Mr. Morton wrote Perl a poem. Mr. Morton wrote.
• The cat stretched. The sun beat down. The neighbor chased his kid: "Come here kid! Come on!"
• Mr. Morton was a nervous man. When she opened up the door, he ran.
• ...until Perl showed up with a single rose. Who says women can't propose?!?
• Mr. Morton is happy. Perl and the cat are, too!

Financial Peace...I'm on my way!

My hubby and I have been taking this class called Financial Peace University at a local church. It is a 13-week course that goes over topics like developing a financial plan, setting up a budget, investing, real estate, and much more. Although I was somewhat--okay, a lot--dreading it at the beginning, I am starting to actually (dare I say it?) ENJOY IT! Tonight we talked about "cash flow planning," which I gather is supposed to be a more user-friendly term than budgeting. During the lesson, Dave Ramsey (the main guy) walked through about 5 or 6 different forms/worksheets to complete each month (at least at first) for your budget. This is something that I have been feeling like I wanted to try for quite some time but didn't really know how to begin. As he was going through the sheets, explaining what numbers to put in which line, and how to manage the whole darn thing, this giddy grin spread across my face. I even whispered to my hubby, "I'm so excited to fill these out!" Yep. I'm a nerd. I can't wait. I have only a loose grasp on how we will manage it once it is put into place, but we're taking baby steps. Even my budget-reluctant husband is starting to come around. We are going to work at finding a system that works for our personalities and marriage. We even have our first "Budget Committee" meeting (i.e. where we sit down and hammer out the details, doing our best to avoid a fight) set up for this Saturday. It's certainly going to be a long, bumpy process, but I am really excited about it!

The power of music

Ever since I can remember, music has had amazing power over my emotions. Although I do not keep up with the local music seen, what's new, or much of anything like that, when I hear good music it really speaks to me. Also, I'm a lyric person. Discovering this caused me to realize why my hubby and I have such different musical tastes. He is able to hear instrumental nuances and amazing bass beats that go right over my head; simultaneously, I am broken apart by powerful words, even if the instrumental part is less than exciting. Generally speaking, I like "chill" music. You know the type: acoustic, calm, with a lead singer that potentially hasn't bathed in a week... I also like female artists, who generally do bathe on a regular basis. For some reason, God has recently been laying on my heart the importance of music in my life. I love it. I am energized by it. I am touched by it. I am challenged by it. The timing of this couldn't be better (God kinda works that way) since I got a new car stereo system for Christmas; I can plug my iPod into it and jam to whatever I have on there. Thus, I am also figuring out this whole iTunes site and realizing that whatever kind of music I like is right at my fingertips.

Hope Community Church--where you can find me most Sunday mornings--has an amazing worship band. They often try new things and play songs that I am unfamiliar with. When I hear something that speaks to me, I make a note of it in my cell phone. Over the past year or so, these little notes have been piling up and generally ignored. So, today, I am sifting through them and finding the ones that I really like on iTunes. One that I find absolutely incredible is a song called "Ten Dead Dogs" by Wild Sweet Orange. The lyrics are below the video, since the words are AMAZING.



Lyrics to "Ten Dead Dogs"
I saw ten dead dogs on the side of the road
driving late last night to your apartment
and I thought it was an omen
so I headed on back home and
walked in circles 'round my room
alone.

And Oh my God, is this really what you want?
Would you tell us if it's not?
And could you rewrite the plot
and come and get us?
Yeah, come and get us.

Shivering cold, I woke up in water
and wrapped myself around the toilet seat.
I spoke in tongues and took all my clothes off.
The tops of my fingers
touched the tops of my toes

And Oh my God, is this really what you want?
Would you tell us if it's not?
And could you rewrite the plot
and come and get us?
Cause we can't stop doing
what we think we want,
even though we know it's not.
This place is merely a subplot
to come and get us.

I've never felt this way before.
Am I running away from what
I've always been running towards.
Belief, believe in me, cause I don't know
if reason's ever gonna see why love
would come to die,
to leave.

Oh my God, is this really what you want?
Would you tell us if it's not?
And could you rewrite the plot
and come and get us?
Cause we can't stop doing
what we think we want,
even though we know it's not.
This place is merely a subplot
to come and get us.

I watched the sky turn from blue
to black to red and yellow too
before the purple dawn was filling up my room.
And for a brief moment,
I heard the whole earth groaning
like there was something
that it needed me to do

[ Ten Dead Dogs Lyrics on http://www.lyricsmania.com/ ]

Dreaming of a house

We are sort of in the market for a house right now; we are in the very baby stages of figuring out what we want, what we can afford, and how to go about getting a home of our own. In the past I have not been known for my tremendous patience, and I don't anticipate that being one of my strong suits anytime soon. That said, I am already dreaming of what said house might look like and contain. Here is my wish list:

• A dishwasher whose name does not start with "Lisa"
• His and hers bathroom sinks
• More than one toilet
• A shower and bathtub
• A nice view
• Big windows
• Lots of sunshine for my plants
• A separate dining room--screw this "Great Room" crap...there's nothing great about it
• Space for a guest bedroom
• Space for an office
• Room for multiple gardens: vegetable, floral, and fruit
• My own washer and dryer, front loading would be ideal
• Lots and lots of storage space
• A 2-3 car garage (I'm dreaming, remember?)
• A patio
• Kitchen and bathroom drawers that slide smoothly and are clean
• NOT a tiled bathroom floor or shower
• NOT a pedistal sink
• A finished basement
• A good space to take off shoes and coats when you walk in

It's all relative

Today marks the first day in...5?...that the air temperature will be above zero for a full 24 hours! I can't help but laugh at myself at how gosh darn excited I am for that :) I think it will be in the thirties later this week, and that seems downright tropical! I can pretty much guarantee you that people in the Twin Cities will be out and about wearing only a t-shirt and maybe a sweatshirt on that day. It's so funny to me that people freak out every November when the temps hit the teens and twenties but get absolutely THRILLED when we have those temperatures in Janurary and February.

If you have ever seen the movie Grumpy Old Men (if you haven't, shame on you!), then you probably remember the part when one of the guys is walking out to his car on a day just like this. He was singing along to the radio: We're having a heat wave....a tropical heat wave... that song will probably be stuck in my head for at least the next 24 hours :)

Lamentations

As we were discussing the upcoming summer break (yes, I know it is 6 months away, but I'M REALLY EXCITED FOR IT!!!), my husband had the following to say about it:

Oh, great. I'm going to come home everyday to find something else has been reorganized!

He knows me oh-so-well. :)

Why I love my job

Some are a bit sarcastic, others are sincere. You decide which is which.

1. I get to/have to tell kids when it's okay to go to the bathroom.


2. I daily receive the, "Are you serious? Whatever. You're the dumbest thing on the planet" look from about four dozen teenagers.


3. I get to/have to schedule my bathroom breaks.


4. I eat lunch at 10:40am...in 22 minutes.


5. I get to be a part of students *literally* learning what the word "courtesy" means. Honestly, many of them didn't know. So, when you tell your cousins or neices to "be courteous" they might have no idea what you mean.


6. For some reason, I still sweat like a mo-fo when I'm teaching...even if I'm cold. Now I know why all my teachers had pit stains.
7. I spend time everyday with people who WILL change the world.