it's impossible to be unhappy in a poncho

So, Mom, Dad, Megan, Katy, Mike, and AJ were all here sometime between the 15th and the 21st. Whew!

What we did:
-Ate at Retro's, Blue Talon, the Cheese Shop, Chik-Fil-A (there are none in Michigan), California Pizza Kitchen... I can't remember where else. LOTS of good food.
-Gave dad his Father's Day gift (Tiger Woods Golf for Wii--he loved it)
-Went to the Sunday night movie on Price George St.
-Went to Macarthur Center for Body Shop and H&M goodness (oh my, do I love H&M--that was my bday present from my parents)
-Played mini golf while mom got her Mother's Day massage (she said it was the best ever)
-Went to Jamestown
-Went to Richmond
-Went to Busch Gardens (David and I now have a Fun Pass and we're looking forward to going back again and again and again... and again...), but sadly, the rides were shut down about an hour and a half early due to a storm, so we left.
-Tried out new recipes, made by master chefs Megan and Ruth (mom).
-Drank St Julian wine and lots of good beer. Also, had a pomegranate margarita. Deeelicious.
-Played Things (Dad wanted to know what the Canadians sent me for Xmas-- looove it) and introduced AJ to Apples to Apples
-Played Wii!! OMG. They brought down everything, including Mario Kart and Wii Fit, as well as this other game full of carnival games (difficult, but addicting). David and I have been thinking more and more seriously about getting a Wii, mostly for Mario and Wii Fit.
-Went swimming, scared Megan by floating up beside her in the pool.
-Made lots of Mighty Boosh references and sang many of the songs.
-Laughed until our stomachs and cheeks ached over the Creepy Traveler.
-Counted quilted bags and the amount quilted bag conventions (when 2 or more women in a group of women have a quilted bag).
-Saw The Happening-- HORRIBLE! What the hell M. Night Shamalan?!

Did I forget something? Probably. I think I got it all though.

My birthday was absolutely wonderful because they were here, there was lots of good food, lots of laughter and lots of new clothes.

do some jimmy flips!

It's David's birthday today! We went out to eat last night and hung out with a few friends. I got him lots of stuff (In Rainbows by Radiohead, slippers, a laptop desk, 2 Adbusters issues, new earbuds that hook on the back of your ear and books by Obama, Soros and C. West) and I think he likes it all. I listened closely and well.

Today we went to see Atonement since I finished reading the book yesterday. It was a pretty good adaptation of a book that involved a lot of description and characters thinking more than doing. I can see why it's nominated during this award season, it was a beautiful movie and pretty well acted.

The weather recently and the fact that we're nearing the end of February means that spring is almost here! I feel like making some mix CDs, especially since the Talk of the Nation on Valentine's was all about making mixes, so if you would like a spring-themed mix CD-- let me know!

birthday madness!

Happy Birthday, David!

This is a quick blog to not only say happy birthday to David, but also to point out that flickr apparently got hacked. Please do not go to my flickr site unless you want to see some thumbnails of pictures that do not belong to me randomly placed throughout my photostream. Some of them are porn, which is why I would like to shield your eyes from the reaction I had earlier when I was looking for a picture of David to post; it was a complete WTF?! moment. I was worried I was the only one that got hacked, but then I looked on flickrs forums, which were full of "me too! that's on my site!" and "whose penis is on in my thumbnails?!?!" It's kind of funny, but kind of not. I really don't want anyone from school to see that and think I would upload that kind of stuff. If you click on the thumbnail, however, the original picture shows up, which is nice... I guess. Anyway, it should be fixed soon. Hopefully.
For David's birthday, we're going to breakfast, going out for an Indian dinner and then going to Pints and Pipes to meet up with some people. This week has been incredibly tiring for the both of us, but today's his birthday and the start of my three day weekend!
By the way, my kids were really flattered that you guys liked their poems. This week, we finished typing up their poetry portfolios-- some of them have some true talent! I have a few aspiring MCs in my classes who came up with some stuff on the spot.
Also, only 2 weeks until Megan/Mike/Amanda madness! Awesomeeeee!

keep it goin'

First thing first: HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMANDA MARIE!

Now. How's life? Life's okay. Life is life. Life goes on. This week drags on forever. The past week and a half all I've talked about is appositives and participles and the phrases they make. Let me tell you, that is some exciting stuff. I've cracked some of the corniest jokes I've ever thought up in my whole life this past week and a half. I became a cheerleader for appositives and participles, the whole time thinking to myself: And why do they need to know this? They don't read enough yet to even give a crap! They don't need to know the names! They just need to be able to write and read and like to do both! I would be happy with that. (And also knowing the basics of language, sentence structure and where to put those pesky punctuation marks) I mean, really, how many of you have ever been asked to pull apart all your sentences and label every. single. thing. you did. NO ONE DOES THAT! Raaaar. Other English teachers must think I am horrible for saying that. But I ask them: Who the hell needs this shit? What I keep telling my students that ask is that it will help them improve their writing, they'll feel smart and accomplished and they'll wow crowds of people at cocktail parties.
...Which brings me to the tea party. I came up with an idea to help review ideas and concepts for their semester exam: a tea party. I thought thinking about bringing in some articles and having them highlight and color and circle and stuff (they love that stuff!) to review grammar stuff was fun, but man! I blew my own mind with the idea of the tea party! They must "dress to impress", they have to try and use adjective clauses, appositives and participial phrases in their speech, they have to only talk about what we need to review: short story elements, Catcher in the Rye, grammar, and essay writing. They'll have a cheat sheet with topics to discuss and also a collection card to fill out, describing who they talked to, what they talked about and the clauses and phrases mentioned above used. So far, the kids seem to be interested/intrigued about the idea and a good chunk of them are excited about dressing up. Amazing.
Also, I read a part of Days of War, Nights of Love to two of my blocks and my 5th block LOVED it. You could hear the change in the room, all of a sudden it got really quiet and you could feel them listening. When I was done, they didn't really move and a few of them added, "I liked that. That made me think." That's why my 5th bell is really growing on me.
Other than all of that, nothing too exciting. I've been trying to find the good things in this small town and I've been trying to finish books and write more, generally keeping myself busy.