Spreading the Holiday Cheer

I love my group of first grade students! I know that Thanksgiving has already passed for this year, but their turkey writing was too cute to not share with you. Such creative little minds! This was a writing lesson that I had the students do. After reading a story to the class about a freindly little turkey that did not want to be eaten for a Thanksgiving meal, I had the students pretend that they were turkeys and they had to write why I should not eat them for Thanksgiving dinner. Here are a few of their stories.....

Hi, my name is Zack. You should not eat me for Thanksgiving dinner because I am too sweet. You don't want to eat me. I will make you too wild and crazy. Your teeth will rot out. Do not ever eat a sweet turkey again! By: Katie

Hi, my name is Plump. You should not eat me for Thanksgiving dinner because I am too juicy. If you eat me the juice will make you messy. Then you will have to change your clothes. Eat fruit instead. Fruit is good for you and not messy. Please don't pick me again! By: Allen

Hi, my name is Alexa. You should not eat me for Thanksgiving dinner becasue I am too cute. Eat a snake or something else. Don't eat me because I am a little cute turkey. I will call the turkey police! I am the littlest turkey in the barn. So please don't eat me! The other turkeys would be sad. By: Elise

Hi, my name is Marisa. You should not eat me for Thanksgiving dinner because I cough and scream and yell. I will run away! I will chase you and peck you on the head. I will call the turkey police. I am also too small. I would not have enough meat on me. Please eat something else! By: Marisa

Prada

She is a handful…in every sense of the word. It definitely takes two hands to carry her. It also takes two hands, legs, feet, and/or full body to push her off your face in the wee hours of the morning. I swear she has an internal alarm clock that goes off every morning around 4 a.m. No matter how much I want to snuggle with her when I go to bed, she always ignores me and snootily plops herself as far from me as possible. However, at 4 am, right around the time I am dreaming about prince charming and winning the lottery, I find my air supply suddenly being cut off. Either that or my pillow is getting fluffed. It takes her an hour to find just the right angle to settle in on my pillow and if she can’t find a comfy spot there she then climbs onto my chest and snuggles in the crook of my neck. It is during this time that I sleepily shove her over the side of the bed! Once I finally fall back into a relatively relaxing sleep I am once again awoken by loud “meow, meow, meow, meow’s” and open my eyes to see her big cat eyes staring into mine. Well screw it now! I may as well get up and feed the pain in my arse since I have to be up in ½ an hour anyway.

It may seem like I don’t love her, but the opposite is true. I knew from the moment that they set her down in the “meeting room” that I would be taking her home. She was visibly overweight and an older/oldest cat at the Humane Society that day, but she immediately jumped up on the ledge and arched her body against my arm and torso and began to purr. She found her home. She is a bit of a queen and expects things to go as she wants them…hence the name Prada. She has a snooty air about her while still being able to melt people’s hearts with her slow waddle and talent for fitting her girth perfectly in your lap. What else can I say, I love the little fatty!

Roommates

We pretend that we get along. We can actually do it pretty well. Let me tell you what I know about them. The one in the teal blue shirt with the red hooker shoes thinks that she has some kind of skills on the dance floor. She is constantly busting out her moves, mostly in the kitchen where there is wide open space. She calls them things like “pop and lock” or ballet with “attitude” or “arabesque.” What? Frickin’ A, just get out of me and my sandwiches way! Oh yah and she thinks she knows how to make pastry type “stuff.” Caramel (pronounced: care uh mel) de leche’ bon-bons and four tiered cakes (with raspberry filling!). Yah -snort- like…who can’t do that?

The other one, with the creamy yellowish colored shirt….she seems to think that she is a cougar. Ha! Whatever does that mean? Just because she has no waist and, how shall I say it, a lovely upper body, this does not automatically make her a cougar. I think what they really want are good teeth. Oh…wait. She does have NICE teeth! She also seems to think that she knows her way around the kitchen. She can whip out a nine course meal with a package of ramen noodles, and a can of beans. Yah -snort- like….who can’t do that?

The girl in the middle, that’s me. I just sit on the couch and eat their gross food and watch re-runs of Dancing with the Stars and Next Top Model. Ahhh, I love having roommates. They keep life so interesting!

Fantasy, Surrealist, or Symbolic Art

Ava Showing Off the "Art"

I'm a little scarecrow,

Raggedy and worn.

I wear a hat, And a shirt that's torn.

When the crows come,

I wave and shout,

"Away from my garden ----

Get on out!"

***********************************************************

(You can sing this song to the tune of "I'm a Little Teapot!)

***********************************************************

I love spending time with my beautiful nieces! On this particular evening, I decided that Ava and I should make something fun out of construction paper. Since it is the season of Autumn, what better than scarecrows? I had so much fun and got a kick out of watching Ava construct and create her very own! I love her wobbly name written on his sleeve, her uneven cuts, and her lopsided arms! This piece of art is truly a gem!

********************************************

Happy Autumn my friends, Happy Autumn!

LIFE

Here is an example of what Miss Delicious makes on a daily basis. Yum!

________________________________________________________

What…Who’s there? Hello……??

Wait, I think I got it! Let me brush away the cobwebs from the screen.

Oh, there you are! Still patiently waiting I see.

I am so sorry for skipping out on all of you for so long. Let’s see, what have you missed?

Well, it has been over two months. Much has happened. I have begun student teaching, moved into a new place, bought a nine year old cat, and still been dating unsuccessfully. I am sure the latter is my entire fault, as I tend to be a bit picky. I’m sorry, but if he has bad shoes it is all over for me. Okay, so I am not quite that picky….but I have had to work on that. I don’t delude myself into thinking that I am some spring chicken, and believe me, I am not all diamonds and pearls either! Let’s just say that I know what I want and what I don’t want!

So, I have moved. Yep, you read that right. Within a 3 year period I have moved four times. Cute little apartment to brother number 1 and his family, brother 1’s family to brother number 2 and his (expanding) family, brother 2 to brother number 3 and his family, to my final resting place from brother 3 to a house with two roommates! Whew…I am tired just writing about it. I do have to say, I am loving my new arrangement with my two new roomies. What stunning and refreshing young women I live with. Did I mention that they are chefs? No? Well, they are. One of them does pastry and we call her Miss Delicious, because everything she bakes is DELICIOUS! My other roommate cooks “real” food, and she loves meat! And let me tell you…she can cook it! No vegetarians in my house! Boy oh boy, did I hit the jackpot! Now I can have our family Thanksgiving or Christmas, because our house is certainly large enough to fit everyone and I have two wonderful friends who can cook the meals!

Miss Prada, ah yes…my cute, sweet, cuddly and old housecat. I couldn’t love her more! I fell in love the instant I saw her lounging lazily in her glass home at the humane society. She barely fit, and she had these eyes that seemed to sparkle! We met one another and instantly hit it off; she also wooed one of my roommates who said I couldn’t leave without her! It didn’t matter that she was old and slow and overweight. Her sweet nature, along with her love bites won us over. We brought her home and continue to spoil her daily!

And now….to the most important part of the past few months; my student teaching experience. The months of worry and stress that I went through about this part of my education has been such a great waste of time. From the moment I stepped into the classroom and struck up a relationship with my cooperating teacher and our students, my life was forever changed! There is no better preparation for teaching than actually teaching! I can undoubtedly say that I have the best to learn from. I have no doubts that this was what I was meant to do, and that I have a natural talent for creating a positive environment and relationships with children. I also know that I would not feel so ready to have my own classroom if it were not for the outstanding role model that I have found in my cooperating teacher. What a dynamic person to watch and learn from! Her positive attitude and constructive criticism have done wonders in helping me to gain the confidence that I need to truly make a difference and become a great teacher.

Okay…so I am done catching you up! I promise, my next blog will be about the crazy antics of my students, and believe me…you don’t want to miss those!

Pottery with the Girls!

Here are some photos from our "girl's weekend" when we were at The Pottery Place. What fun we had, and what creative little minds!

Before the firing. The artists behind these beautiful pieces of art are, clockwise: niece Janelle, niece Regan, niece Nikki, niece Alayna, niece Ava, sister-in-love Tiffany, sister Mary, and sister Jane!

Regan's Piece

Jane's Piece

Alayna's Piece Mary's Piece

Nikki's Piece

Ava's Piece Tiffany's Piece Janelle's Piece

The Artists

Top Ten List of Reasons Why I Will Not Date You

10.) Stank-Breath and jacked up teeth.
9.) Stupidity
8.) If “Bro” and “Dude” are part of your vocabulary
7.) Thinking that because you have money you must be “hot”
6.) No, I am NOT interested in “swinging”
5.) Your Married
4.) Your Lesbian
3.) You do not have a job
2.) You live with your mom

And the #1 reason I will not date you is…………………….

1.) A hairdo that screams “business in the front and party in the back!”