Stella LOVES coffee

I love this!

2011-04-05T17:01:00.000-07:00

I really love animated "instructional" videos. Now, to learn how to do something like this...

Oh, brother!

2011-01-10T18:30:00.000-08:00

I am bad with goals. Obviously. I haven't been posting my Project 365 pictures, so I thought I would try and catch up. Although, a couple of days are missing, but I have faith that perhaps I won't let this project completely die...

The first picture was after I came home from Diandra's last week and ate a half a jar of salsa. Crazy? No. Wonderfully delicious. We love Sadie's.

So sad about taking down the tree. Here are the stages of the break down. Thanks, honey, for taking care of this...

The next night, it was too late before Harrison remembered that I hadn't taken my picture. I was already sleeping, so the picture is what the picture is...

On Friday, Michelle and Diandra came over and we watched the "smang" video. I'm not explaining it, but here is Michelle doing it.

Saturday night, no pic, sadly enough. But last night, it was another Lie to Me viewing with a glass of Rex.

I promise, I will try to keep this going. :) Night!

Project 365: I already forgot a day...

2011-01-04T18:33:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, in fact. Thank goodness Harrison partnered with me on this adventure. He snagged some photos that pretty much explained my evening. In this picture, he is displaying the time that he remembered that I didn't take my pictures for the evening. Cutie.

Yummy, yummy falafel for dinner. I highly recommend the Supremely Spicy Hummus from Sabra. It's amazingly wonderful and full of spiciness! (You can find it at your local HEB.)

Then, I sipped on a glass of Procrastinate and watched an episode of Lie to Me. Love that show. If you don't watch it, you absolutely should. I feel like I am better equipped to read people on the spot, especially my students. :)

As for today's picture, I thought I would showcase this clever little safety pin off of my new Vera dress that I got from Kohl's for six whole dollars. (Now, Wendy, I know you were there for this one!) I just thought it was so cute; Harrison held it over his head when I showed it to him and said that he had an idea. :)

That's all folks! I'm gonna try to squeeze in another episode of Lie to Me with my honeybuns before I hit the hay. Gotta faciliate some learnin' tomorrow--bright and early. :)

Project 365: My jewelry steals!

2011-01-02T19:31:00.000-08:00

Michelle, Diandra and I went out shopping today. And it was fabulous and relaxing. We started off the day at How Do You Roll, which is a fast-food sushi place. Not bad at all. Pretty good actually. Every day, they have a happy hour from 4pm-7pm and three of their signature rolls are only $4.99. Score!

For my photo today, I chose to showcase the awesome deal I got at Forever 21. The only thing I didn't like about that place was the mass amount of teenagers in their UGG boots and pseudo-vintage clothing. Teenagers are so silly. And it has everything to do with me not being one anymore. Sigh.

Anyways, on to the jewelry. I got all this for $20. Score again!

Love it all!

Everybody needs a butterfly necklace. $5.89

These were too cute to pass up. $2.80

This I will wear with the pearl necklace that I got from Wendy. $4.80

How can you pass these up for $1.50??

My model. Looks good on him, right?

Another round of photos tomorrow. Good night! Have to prepare for staff development. Lucky kids...

Project 365: My stocking messed up the surround sound!

2011-01-01T14:48:00.000-08:00

Harrison agreed to be my partner for Project 365, which I just read all about on one of my new favorite blogs, The Dainty Squid. I love this idea so much because I have always loved daily projects. Here are today's photos...

When trying to get the right picture, I stepped on our audio cables for the surround sound and made Harrison very annoyed. Oops. I thought I would throw this one in, too. :)

Happy first day of the year!

I'm blogging with my new MyTouch!

2010-12-30T00:18:00.001-08:00

Check it! We are totally cool. We got the new 4g!

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

Aww...Sisterhood

2010-12-28T19:11:00.000-08:00

For Christmas this year, my sister gave me the most beautiful picture with a saying that brings a tear to my eye.

"Sisters by chance, friends by heart."

Isn't that just lovely? She also gave me a stunning necklace with the same phrase on it, you know, to keep it close to my heart. I wanted to hang the picture up right away and I found the perfect place: in the foyer with other treasured sayings and art.

Jackie, I love you and you are one of my most favorite human beings. :)

Promise Kept...

2010-07-06T19:12:00.000-07:00

After I became a vegetarian, my food options definitely dropped in number. And because I don't eat dairy products outside of the home, the options dropped even more. Pizza, unless homemade, was definitely not an option--until now.

Harrison came home from work one day and told me of this pizza place that was featured on We Are Austin Live, the television show he directs. The place is Promise Pizza, and they offer dairy-free pizzas, in addition to their already organic menu. We decided to check it out for dinner this eve and after driving around trying to find it, thanks to Google telling us to turn on a road that didn't exist, we came upon the place.

I don't have high expectations for dairy-free; I know what I am getting into and my taste buds have adjusted to incorporate a higher tolerance for food that doesn't necessarily taste as good as the carnivore-heavy diet I came from. That's okay--I made a decision and that's that.

The place is everything I expected and a little of what I didn't. For starters, all of their boxes, napkins, straws, cups, and utensils were biodegradable. Check plus for that. They only use Smart Cars for their delivery service. Check plus for that, too. And their fountain drinks use only cane sugar. Again, check plus.

Here's what threw me, though: When I asked the employee who was taking our order what they meant by "Extra Natural Cheese" he said, "Well, it's not from cows given hormones and it doesn't contain animal parts--but other than that, I'm not sure."

Hmmm...Okay, so the lack of hormones doesn't necessarily convince me of much and the fact that it doesn't contain animal rennet (an enzyme extracted from a calf's stomach used to coagulate the milk into curds and whey) like most cheeses is a good thing, but I wanted to know if he knew the origin of the cheese. He didn't. That's okay. I am used to opting out of cheese when going out to eat, for that same reason, but I found it funny that a place that seems to be the most environmentally-conscious pizza place there is, can't employ someone who can ease their customers' concerns about the source of their cheese. :) Not upset at all, it's just odd.

And if you are still thinking about the rennet--don't worry, the calf's real fate is to be made into veal, so the damage was already done. Extracting stomach rennet for cheese is only a by-product of veal production. :(

Anyhow, I went ahead and ordered the pizza made with the dairy-free cheese product called Daiya. It's not bad, but I am not going to buy it at a store. Its source is mainly tapioca root and the way they get it to look and melt like cheese is their secret. Amy's uses it in their products, as well as Tofurkey--I just learned that on their site.

Here's the ingredient list:

Purified water, tapioca and/or arrowroot flours, non-GMO expeller pressed canola and/or non-GMO expeller pressed safflower oil, coconut oil pea protein, salt, inactive yeast, vegetable glycerin, natural flavors (derived from plants), xanthan gum, sunflower lecithin, vegan enzymes (no animal rennet or animal enzymes), vegan bacterial cultures, citric acid (for flavor), annatto.

Maybe if I ever become a hardcore vegan--maybe I will buy it. It looks like a melted goat cheese and sort of has the consistency of glue--just a bit though. Not a bad flavor. Don't let that statement keep you from trying it--it's definitely worth a try and it might take a few times to get used to it. But, if you do try, be careful when it's steamy hot. I now have a blister on my gums because its gluey texture stuck to the roof of my mouth. :)

Shower Power!

2010-06-29T23:55:00.000-07:00

So, I've found the solution to the burden of cleaning the shower:

1. Get one of those shower puffs--the ones you can use to lather yourself with suds. The puff is great for cleaning off grime. I use Shea Moisture Organic African Black Soap, so the soap scum is definitely more visible than if I used a conventional soap, like Dove or Irish Spring.

2. Spray your shower 30 minutes before you plan to take one with whatever you use to clean it normally--but I like to make sure there aren't harsh ingredients that I have to breathe in, so Mrs. Meyer's brand cleaners are my go-to for feel-good cleaning without the fear of toxic turmoil in my lungs.

3. Take a shower and dedicate 5 minutes to scrubbing off any residue with the shower puff. This will save you the hassle of having to worry about it at any other time, because you are keeping up with it every day or so. (The more attention you pay during a normal shower to the problem spots of soap scum build-up, the less you will even notice a need to clean the shower.)

4. Never worry about your shower/tub again! Keep in mind: Let your family know that the shower puff is used for cleaning so they won't mistake it for a body cleaning tool.

Hope you try, and I hope it helps. I love it. The less time I have to worry about the tub, the better. And for you eco-conscious people--you could do a pre-scrub before you turn the shower on to minimize water usage. :)

The Texas Public Information Act at its best...

2010-06-22T11:29:00.000-07:00

As I was googling myself today, I found my name in this database published by The Texas Tribune. Turns out, government salaries are newsworthy!

Want to see the distribution of money in AISD? Click the image above.

Website!

2010-06-21T23:35:00.000-07:00

So, I am the Webmaster for my school's website and I am so exited with the program I found to design it.

It's a real smooth design program--you don't have to know html.

http://www.wix.com

Try it!

Once I'm done with the Site, I'll post a link.

Whatchyoo Lookin' At?

2010-06-21T17:25:00.000-07:00

Harrison just told me about the look of disapproval.

ಠ_ಠ

Hee. Hee.

Grilled Enchiladas--Outside!

2010-01-23T07:22:00.000-08:00

Over Christmas break, Wendy, Craig, and the girls were down for a visit and the plan was to make enchiladas.

Check out Wendy's blog, Table for 4, for the whole story!

:-) Already??

2010-01-09T08:23:00.000-08:00

"I am looking forward to making new friends and having a fun semester creating a magazine with my favorite teacher in the whole world."

That's what a student wrote on his magazine application, under the question, "What are you most looking forward to in E-Zine?

Nice. I laughed out loud when I read it. It's only the fourth day of class...

Change is good...

2009-11-27T08:20:00.000-08:00

I can be known as a nag. I know when I have asked too much when Harrison gives me this look--as if I have asked him to exercise: he knows it's needed, but he doesn't like what it takes to feel the effects...

You see, I have been working on my anxiety for years. I get overwhelmed with the most insignificant things. Really hectic and difficult situations don't bother me too much, but I will lie in bed awake wondering how I should organize the laundry detergents. My mind gets tangled around how the books should be displayed and in what categories. When I was growing up, my mom would walk in my room several times a year to find me still awake after being up all night--my room completely different.

If I didn't have Harrison, one might walk in on me at 3 in the morning buried in an attempt to organize my organizer. Get it? I don't know why, but disorganization drives me crazy. And it's not that every facet of my life is even organized: I just think of it all the time.

To get on with the purpose of this post, Harrison finally let me repurpose the rooms in our house. Again, this was something that I talked about for nine months and nearly made Harrison crazy until he said yes, but I wanted a real purpose for each of our four bedrooms.

First, let me tell you that Harrison is one of the biggest collectors I know of kitsch and vintage items. And now that means I am, because it's everywhere I look.

Let me just walk you through. When you walk in, my favorite part is how the light reflects off the paint we chose for the foyer.

From Repurposed Rooms!

We finally put up photos on the right wall, thanks to our friends JP and Kellie, who have been rocking the photo wall in their house for years now. Harrison liked that so we stole the idea.

From Repurposed Rooms!

Store-bought art in frames that doesn't hold a shred of meaning is really lame, so I revamped my lame frames with some of Harrison's comics...Don thought it was pretty narcissistic.

Oh well, he doesn't live here. :)

From Repurposed Rooms!

To the left, the first room of the house used to be Harrison's office, but now it is our office.

From Repurposed Rooms!

Redoing this room was the hardest thing to convince Harrison of. He was not happy when I told him that I wanted to share the red room with him. He loved his office, but it wasn't efficient. "It is my room! It's efficient for me!" he would tell me. I love how he gets when we do projects. He'll work real fast and he might get a little cranky, just because he'd rather be playing a video game. Then, he will get frustrated when it's taking longer than expected. But as soon as it's done, he's back to normal. He just hates the process of change...And that's where I come in to help him deal. :)

I bought a 16-cubicle desk from Ikea, and we shifted both desks to the back of the room. When we were building the desk, we realized that the shelves would have to extend, therefore separate the room. Harrison said, "Great, now you've moved me from an office to a cubicle." That wasn't what I intended, so I felt like a chump. Sigh. It turns out, though, it's not as small as we thought because we rarely are in the office at the same time. As long as I tuck my chair in, he should have enough room.

From Repurposed Rooms!

Since the walls were already red, I went through the whole house and anything that was red or silly--I brought it in here. I absolutely love how this room turned out and it has grown on Harrison, too. He now has a whole equipment tower, thanks to the new TV stand we bought for the living room.

From Repurposed Rooms!

Here's the new TV stand. It is so much more clean than having all that stuff on the tower. It feels good to be an adult.

From Repurposed Rooms!

The living room hasn't changed, except for the addition of that rad lamp in the corner. Harrison built that from an old vaccuum cleaner. Our friends have already commented on it, and they are surprised to find out that we've had it all along, it just wasn't noticable where it used to be. I take that as a compliment.

From Repurposed Rooms!

When I moved in, I had to scrub the all-male layer of Eww! off the surfaces and the first thing I redid was the bathroom. I girled it up. So nothing in the bathroom has changed this go round, but here it is. This little nook sits to the left when you walk in...

From Repurposed Rooms!

I love the checkered floors and the old people handles. I haven't had one accident...

From Repurposed Rooms!

When you exit the bathroom, down the hall, I added a mirror for my own viewing pleasure.

From Repurposed Rooms!

My mom gave me this mirror and after weighing Harrison and then weighing Harrison again while holding the mirror, we subtracted the first from the second to discover that the mirror weighs 35 pounds! So H! had to get heavy duty anchors and we are just waiting for the big crash. If it does fall off the wall, the good news is that it only cost $20 and the bad--one less opportunity to look at myself.

Harrison loves these little wooden thingies to the left of the looking glass. In case you can't read them: "If it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all." Also, "Once a king, always a king, but once a knight is enough." Hyuk, hyuk, hyuk. What's funny to me is that even though I am surrounded by the things Harrison loves, I find it hit or miss when I aquire something he might fancy. He's hard to buy gifts for. I will discover, what I think, is something he might find amusing only to hear him say, "Huh, that is stupid." And the ones I don't notice, he adores. I don't get it.

From Repurposed Rooms!

Moving on--Harrison, as I said earlier, has tons of stuff and previously, it had been everywhere. Masonic treasures lived among Sinatra and Vegas keepsakes and monkeys populated every shelf, table, and wall. We have so many monkeys that I can't contain them to one room. Nor would I want to--we only own cool monkeys and they are the staple of our designs. For real, I am going to quickly count every appearance of a monkey in each room. I'll report back.

Foyer: 3
Office: 3
Living Room: 12
Laundry Room: 0 (WTF?)
Kitchen: 5
Bathroom: 3
Library: 13
Bedroom: 8
Chill Room: 2
Tiki Bathroom: 9

Okay, this means that there are 58 places in my house where monkey figurine art stuff can be found. And this figure is always growing. Every year, we have Monkey X-Mas, which adds at least two new monkey items to the count.

But, back to the rooms. Now you can see, I needed order. So, I gathered all the Masonic stuff to the room below and now we call it the Library. We found a bookshelf at Target for $200 and we picked out some cool paint. This room used to be Facebook blue on top and eggshell white on the bottom, with a monkey wall border that Harrison refused to get rid of. So I worked it into the plan. Check it:

From Repurposed Rooms!

That orange swag lamp hanging from the ceiling used to be in his office, and the table lamp used to be in the living room. I thought they both looked like pineapples and since there are monkeys holding pineapples on the wall border, it made sense to put them all together and let them mingle.

Here's our cool bookshelf.

From Repurposed Rooms!

By the way, when I was trying to round up all the books in the house, Harrison told me that he wanted to keep most of his books in the closet. "People who put books out are show-offs." :) I disagree.

In this picture, you can see the lamp--the shade is a fez with a tassel. Why wouldn't you want to display this? I mean, Harrison made it.

From Repurposed Rooms!

The next room used to be my girly office/chill room, but I quickly discovered that I didn't want to chill where piles of work stared me in the face, which led to me feeling so confused in this room. Plus, lavender fell off my list of preferred colors, so I wasn't a fan of the east wall being purple. This is what replaced the lavender.

From Repurposed Rooms!

We moved all of the Vegas-y stuff in here, including the bar.

From Repurposed Rooms!

We put some of Harrison's old vintage items out, like that record player sitting on the brown chest. This room also has its own bathroom, which I didn't get a picture of, but it didn't change either--it's Harrison's tiki bathroom, absolutely apropos for the Vegas scene.

From Repurposed Rooms!

So now, I feel at ease, thanks to Harrison being so understanding and helpful for anything I wanted to do. Well, mostly. At first he said something like, "You're taking over all my space!" But then later, he just said, "Yes, dear." He's only playing about the "Yes, dear," of course. It's not like I make him say that...

The other H-Man

2009-10-17T06:34:00.000-07:00

I stepped out back last night and for the first time in my adult life, I was five feet away from the most beautiful owl. I didn't realize how mesmerized I could be, and I couldn't stop staring at this fantastic creature. Well, until he looked straight at me as if he wanted to scratch my eyes out--I looked away at that point, but I only had more respect from that point on.

I refuse to believe that our owl visitor, we'll call him Hoot-Man, was here to represent death and misfortune, as folklore would have us to believe.

Now does he look like he brings death and misfortune? I don't see it.

From Owl

I choose their other association. Hoot-Man represents wisdom and prosperity. And I believe he came to share that with me and Harrison. Or to get a rat in the yard.

It's time to play the woman's role!

2009-10-09T14:28:00.001-07:00

Time to make my homemade spaghetti. It is gooooood. I love my once-a-month dinners.

Ladies, here's what you need to do to only have to cook once a month: 1) Stretch out the time it takes to cook so that it takes an irritatingly amount of time to put food on the table. 2) Get a job where you really don't have time to focus on dinner and convince your other half that cereal is fine with you to the point he feels sorry for you. 3) Find a man with standards who won't eat crap.

Soon enough, you find that he will learn how to cook so quickly that he'll actually get better and better.

When the words just jump out...

2009-10-09T04:29:00.000-07:00

As I flip through the pages of the new book I am reading, How I Became A Famous Novelist by Steve Hely, I keep coming across excerpts that remind me of my work, which is, of course, to teach.

The sentence that I connected with immediately appeared on page 13. The author describes his relationship with books as a child, and with a mother who didn't approve of much television, he read quite the novels before he was 10. And then he said something that Kendra and I have started to repeat on a daily basis in our classes:

"But all this reading taught me how to churn out sentences."

How beautiful is that? Mass amounts of reading is the key to good writing and for kids who struggle with sentence structure and fluency, the answer is to read, read, and read some more. It's the only way to be exposed to sentences structures that differ from your own.

The next part that caught my eye was when Hely described a book he was reading in his college's library, in which the scene happened to be set...at his college. He quotes this vivacious description of the immunity and protection young scholars have in this world, and as a high school teacher, I am constantly reminded of a time when the world and its opportunity seemed so unknown. This is from the book Stackpool of Granbury College.

"Bless the blissful idyll! Bless the companionable pipe, and the low arm-chair, by now well-broken for comfort. Bless evenings among that hearty fellowship, reading the old volumes and filling the head with wonders. Bless days free to wander in the scholar's revelry, before the cares and labors of the world press down upon the brow. Bless thoses days before the summons of manhood mush be answered, and one may linger for a fading hour as a carefree youth."

Tell me about it, Hely...

Dirty minds...

2009-09-25T18:56:00.000-07:00

I recently found the perfect hall pass for my class, Electronic Magazine. It's a good ol' magazine. That's right, my freshmen have to walk down the hall, to the bathroom, with a magazine. HA! Most of my students had a delayed reaction when I explained it to them, and then they thought it was funny.

For some of them, I had to explain even more:

"See? It's funny. If someone passes you in the hall, just wave the magazine and tell them you are on your way to the bathroom. Get it?"

"We get it, Ms. Richey. And that's not funny." They laughed...

Today, though, I heard a different interpretation. One of my former students commented, "I see, you want students to pass them and think your students are perverts on their way to the bathroom with a magazine."

To which I replied, "No. No. No. That's not the joke. Number 2. Not pervert!"

I forget how kids' minds work...

You were right, Mom...

2009-08-30T11:00:00.000-07:00

I am horrible with plants. I kill every plant that I buy. When Mom came to visit, she recommended that I move this plant into the shade and water it more. Who knew it would bloom?

From Plants

One part of my birthday present from Mom was this starter kit for oregano. I planted it yesterday. Let's see if I can keep it alive!

From Plants

Who's Cool Now? It's me, in the future...

2009-08-29T19:42:00.000-07:00

Harrison took a picture of me enjoying my new birthday present: My new wireless Wiiboard. It is that much easier to never get off the couch...

And yes, you are seeing correctly. I am surfing the Net on my TV from my couch.

From Birthday Party Night

Yeah, we've partied with famous people...

2009-08-29T10:14:00.000-07:00

Okay, only one. I ran across these photos from 2005. You remember Dwayne Wayne from A Different World?

Yeah, that's right. We hung...

From Famous People We've Partied With...

Sorry for the fuzzy pics--camera phones weren't nearly as good back in tha day...

From Famous People We've Partied With...

And if you are wondering why Harrison is posing like that--in case you haven't noticed or you do not hang around us much, he likes to imitate my poses. In fact, he makes it a point anytime he sees me posing. Ahh. The life of being with a guy who finds the humor in everything...

Polka Dots Are Back, Baby!

2009-08-29T07:04:00.000-07:00

Mom had a two-week vacation and she honored me by spending one week of it with us in Austin. A while ago, maybe a year, I wanted her to show me how to sew, so we bought some fabric and a pattern for a project: my own polka dot skirt.

Needless to say, we ran out of energy for that idea at the time and when Mom came to visit last week, she brought the skirt to sew herself, mainly because I had to work all week to prepare for the new school year.

While I was away, she laid out the pattern, and the skirt was no longer just a thought.

She's good at this! She used to make me and Jackie clothes all the time when we were little and as we watched her, we would rearrange the stick pins in her pin cushion, as if we were doing her a favor...

The week was busy and she didn't get to finish, so she took it back home and yesterday, I opened the finished product, which she mailed to me.

I absolutely love it and can't wait to wear it to school. She even put a beautiful trim at the bottom with dainty little buttons.

And she put her label on it, too: Made especially for you by Mary.

She stayed with us for a whole week and we gave her the guest room that has its own bathroom. I thought it was sweet how she laid out all of her products, as if she were moving in! Our house was her little bed and breakfast for the week.

We had a great time and I hope to see her again really soon.

The first day...

2009-08-24T04:30:00.000-07:00

As I get ready for my first morning at school, I wanted to share with you my classroom. This is probably the cleanest it will be all year. And I couldn't have done it without my mom and Harrison. Thanks, guys, for helping me through a stressful week of preparation...

Here's the album--No time for captions; I'm a teacher!

Classroom August 2009

students are hilarious...

2009-08-13T10:30:00.000-07:00

Kendra and I oriented the freshmen to our school today and we had a pretty fun time. They are so silly!

At one point, the students were writing their word lists and I hear a shriek come from one of the tables. I said with a smile, "Who is the student that shrieks like a 5th grader?" The other students laugh and I hear one say, "That's his shriek. He always does that, especially when he finds an error in a scientific word problem."

Kendra and I looked at each other and just laughed. We had a good day, but that comment definitely stood out...

Moving closer to being an actual E-Zine...

2009-08-09T18:16:00.000-07:00

Today I woke up and started poking around on Google and Blogger, just to see if there was something wonderful out there to incorporate into our class.

Guess what? I found it. It was awesome. The best couple of hours of my weekend. Creating an effective blog is REALLY simple. Web 2.0, my friends! I have created a mock up for an online class personality. Of course Kendra and I don't do things without guidance from the other, especially on big things like a class blog/website--so she'll have to see it when she gets back from Mexico!

But here is what I'm thinking...

http://lasaezine.blogspot.com/

Our mantras...

2009-08-09T15:42:00.000-07:00

We can come up with some general teaching philosophies and rules of thumb when approaching situations in class and dealing with the actions of students.

For example: Focusing less on trouble makers and more on students who are excited about the lesson. Maybe brainstorm some mantras to stick with to minimalize and deter comments from annoying students. I think we need to stop defending our class to the disrespectful students and maybe the way we can do that is by answering these questions while we plan.

Mantra: Initiative--Learning InDesign is like a language--you will never know every word and you can always say things in many different ways. The most basic function, though, is to communicate effectively. If an editor gives you a deadline, it doesn't matter if you can do it in twelve different ways--you just need to be able to get the job done.

Mantra: Don't take anything too personal. Remember--teenagers use more of their emotions to guide actions as opposed to rationale, like adults. They have many emotions floating around and are searching for the person they want to be as they try to make sense of the environment around them. By showing them that we as teachers can maintain our cool, or as my niece says, "not letting the ice melt," we will be teaching them way more than they will ever learn in a semester of E-Zine.

Country Fun

2009-08-03T18:54:00.000-07:00

I love visiting my parents' house. We always cook and visit and eat and visit and drink coffee and visit. It's nice. This past week was my mom's birthday, and then on Sunday we attended the Ellis family reunion. Harrison and I got in on Friday night and I couldn't wait to give my mom her birthday present. She celebrated her actual birthday on Wednesday with wine, so that got me thinking: my mom needs a stash of wine--and something to hold the stash in...

So here's what I got her, minus the glasses.

From Mom's Birthday Weekend

On Saturday, we feasted on a dinner to celebrate family. But first we had to go shopping, so we drove to the HEB off Grand Parkway and Hwy. 59. What a mess! I think everybody and their moms were there. Oh, wait...

So, we get the loot and then we boot. On the way home, we were driving on Hwy. 36, well, I was driving, and of course I am following the speed limit (70 mph), and I look into the rearview mirror and a huge truck comes barreling down on my mom's car. In the country, it is a sign of courtesy to move your law-abiding butt over to the shoulder to let the law-breakers pass. I don't do it. Dad told me long ago that I could get a nail doing that, so I don't.

So this guy--he's got some sun glasses on, probably Oakley's--those are big here. They're the sunglasses of country boys. He looks clean shaven, but still like he wouldn't care if his dog pooped in your yard, you know? So, as I am looking in the rearview mirror, mom turns around and he flips her off. I glare at him for driving so close to the car and he flips us off again. What happens to the important rules that you learn in Driver's Ed? FOUR CAR LENGTHS, you meanie!

Then, when it's clear, he passes us as if he had a reason to, other than the fact that he is an impatient person, and flips us off again as we are side by side. Then, he swerves his 4x4 cookie-cutter cowboy-mobile in front of us and you guessed it, flips us off again. :) What? We were pretty baffled. It must take a certain kind of man to act that way.

Enough about that guy! On to the meal and the birthday girl! (The apron she is wearing was her mother's day gift last year...I know, I'm awesome.)

From Mom's Birthday Weekend

Mom made her legendary broccoli salad.

From Mom's Birthday Weekend

Harrison cut up the chicken and then made my mom some chicken broth to make her chicken spaghetti with. (She makes that a lot for family functions and it is always a favorite.)

From Mom's Birthday Weekend

I mashed potatoes and cut up veggies to grill.

From Mom's Birthday Weekend

We grilled on my dad's charcoal grill, which is awesome.

From Mom's Birthday Weekend

Everything was so colorful and the plates looked so lovely, you didn't want to eat anything that would mess up the presentation.

From Mom's Birthday Weekend

We were stuffed and ready for bed to head to Sweeny the next day. The reunion went by in a flash and we were back home before we knew it. I only snagged a couple of pictures and those are in the album. Check it out here:

Mom's Birthday Weekend

By the way, I hope Oakley Dude gets a flat soon.

Thanks, Universe: We're going to be parents

2009-07-25T18:46:00.000-07:00

Of new furniture! Finally, after 7 years, I am parting with what has been a major staple of my living space. I am just sorry I had to subject Harrison to 4 years of painful, irritating and sometimes dangerous seating.

The worst part is that it isn't that bad looking and can actually look soothing. Check it out:

Seems innocent, comfortable and welcoming--but don't actually sit on it. Past minute thirty, the couch begins to "loosen". That's the only way to describe it. After a while, the cushions wiggle their way off the 60 wires positioned for them to rest on, and you have no option but to get up, scoot the cushion as far back on the wires as possible, and sit there until it happens again.

From Furniture Purchase July 25, 2009

On a side note: I bought this swag lamp for $5 today at an estate sale. It's going in the foyer, we think.

From Furniture Purchase July 25, 2009

But, back to the furniture: It really was just for show all these years. You can't lie down on it for too long. The arms are solid wood. And pillows are not that good at protecting your head from that.

From Furniture Purchase July 25, 2009

Here's a chair where a couple of wires popped. We never fixed it and just kept our butts on the right side of the chair...

From Furniture Purchase July 25, 2009

I am going to miss this area. I would often read in the other chair. (This one's a rocker.) And this chair, believe it or not, is pretty comfortable. Although my legs fell asleep when I would hang them over the arms, but that could happen in any chair, right?

From Furniture Purchase July 25, 2009

And so the end is near for you, dear furniture. We already brought home the first bundle of joy: the ottoman. See, my fuzzy blanket rests so well on it already.

From Furniture Purchase July 25, 2009

Okay, drumroll please...

Here it is...

Our new living room!

From Furniture Purchase July 25, 2009

Here's the couch.

From Furniture Purchase July 25, 2009

And the chair, but I didn't want to get too comfortable, because Harrison already had his eye on it...

From Furniture Purchase July 25, 2009

See?

From Furniture Purchase July 25, 2009

Really funny, honey!

From Furniture Purchase July 25, 2009

So, needless to say, we are very happy this evening and cannot wait until Monday. It won't be long until the Couch-Warming Party; invitations will be out soon...

2009-07-25T11:19:00.000-07:00

My intentions were to take my camera on the fun-filled adventure of going to see our new hire, Mike Scaccia, play in his band--Ryan Beaver. Where you ask? Midnight Rodeo. I hadn't stepped foot in that dance hall since I was a young, silly college student. I took this picture to start the album off, but then I left the camera on the kitchen counter.

From Midnight Rodeo 72309

The lack of documentation didn't hurt as bad as I thought it would; we had a good time, but I didn't get to two-step. Harrison isn't much of a dancer. Melanie and her husband are pretty awesome dancers--they can swing. Andie, another one of our newest additions to the English Department, was also there to show her support. Rene, Eileen, Kendra and Jacob were also there; it was interesting to hang out with your principals...and principles.

2009-07-23T10:57:00.000-07:00

Kendra and I wanted to see what would happen if we posted a photo that was saved as CMYK, instead of RGB. And this is what we found out...

Who's Cool Now? Rockband

2009-07-22T13:41:00.000-07:00

Don't you wish you could be like us? We bring in some pretty big audiences. We rock out pretty late. 4 days ago we welcomed 7 a.m. Can you say that about yourself?

From Rock Band 07-18-09

Why can't I get up off the couch???

2009-07-20T11:06:00.000-07:00

So today is Monday. It is 1:00 p.m. I woke up 30 minutes ago, made some coffee and can't get off facebook.

I am an extremist when it comes to my job. When it is summer, IT IS SUMMER. I occasionally meet up with a co-worker to discuss school stuff, but the other times, good luck. I ain't doing nothing!

At first I had a goal to work at least 4 hours a day on school work, but I only did that one day. How disciplined do you have to be to do that? Hell, I don't remember the last time I exercised. I guess the bottom line is that I don't like to work ANY in the summer. Or I have just convinced myself that there are television shows more mind-stimulating than planning any lesson could provide.

There are only 2 more weeks that I can call my own before school gets rolling. And I hope I do something. Once the school year starts, there's no turning back...

What a day...

2009-07-18T18:20:00.000-07:00

Harrison and I went out and about today and let me tell you of all our adventures!

We decided to go to the City-Wide Garage Sale at the Palmer Events Center, so we printed out our coupons and got on the road. I never realized how beautiful Austin really was until I saw it from the upper deck with my HD Vision glasses.

From Day Out--City Wide and Green Mesquite 7-18-09

See what I mean? Doesn't it look more crisp? Doesn't it?

Once we paid our $7 to park (BOO!), we got in and of course had to stop by the restrooms first. Right by the restrooms, they have a rad telephone booth that lights up AND ventilates while you are on a call! How awesome is that? What's not awesome is that it costs 50 cents to make a phone call.

From Day Out--City Wide and Green Mesquite 7-18-09

We left with three things:

1) An awesome spoon and fork set so we can be like the Barones. You know the huge fork and spoon Marie and Frank have in their kitchen? ($5)

From Day Out--City Wide and Green Mesquite 7-18-09

2) A cool pair of earrings from the late '60s. ($5)

From Day Out--City Wide and Green Mesquite 7-18-09

3) An old alphabet flash card. The letter? M--for Monkey. ($1)

From Day Out--City Wide and Green Mesquite 7-18-09

Even though it cost more to get in than we spent there, we always have a good time. (That's because we go about every four months--we don't like to see the same things every month.)

After that, we drove to Congress and went to the crowded Big Top Candy Shoppe, but we left within two minutes. Too many people--and I think I was irritated at the kid who didn't bother taking the $2o bill out of his mouth to say excuse me. To recreate it, just say excuse me without parting your lips. Learn some manners and more importantly, gross! Don't put money in your mouth!

All we wanted was a fountain Dr. Pepper, but we had to walk across the street to a trailer to get a soda!

From Day Out--City Wide and Green Mesquite 7-18-09

We then poked around at Uncommon Objects. Found nothing there. Except a man who thought it a good idea to make small talk about how my soda cost "only a nickel before you were born." He only looked about 40, so perhaps I looked very young today? Or he was feeling old.

I think today was the last time we are going to eat at the Green Mesquite. Don't get me wrong, we love local, but they need to get it together. The meat was dry and the BBQ sauce was way too sweet. The pinto beans needed doctoring up and I knew this from last time, but I forgot; it had been so long. Harrison had to eat dark meat, too. Oh, the horror!

From Day Out--City Wide and Green Mesquite 7-18-09

Our last few stops were at Savers and Goodwill. About 2 years ago, Harrison and I bought 2-4 place dish sets at Target and have been unhappy with them ever since we found that putting them in the microwave did nothing for the food on them; only the plates themselves heated up. And they chip really easily. So, we decided to make it a project to never buy new dishes again and just buy random plates from resale shops. Which ever ones made us happy. So here are the ones we picked up today.

From Day Out--City Wide and Green Mesquite 7-18-09

And we got this one because H said this was the set his parents had when he was growing up. We can't pass that treasure up, can we?

From Day Out--City Wide and Green Mesquite 7-18-09

So that was our day, and it, indeed, was a fun one.

The party....

2009-07-14T11:37:00.000-07:00

The Billy Mays tribute party was awesome. Harrison and I prepared a table with a ShamWow table cloth and we gathered all of our As Seen on TV products for display on the tribute table.

Note: Harrison found the little cut-out of Billy on the following website. And if you want your own cut-out of Billy without the search, here you go.

I made appetizers with the Magic Bullet. The menu was small and from the Magic Bullet's 10-Second Recipe Book: Seven-Second Salsa, Hallelujah Hummus and Speedy Guacamole. After I made the dips in front of my friends, they pretty much lost faith in the Magic Bullet.

Doug, Michelle and Ben do not look impressed...

Notice the still-in-tact avocado...

Then, we exchanged gifts. We used the same rules as we do for Monkey X-Mas: participants first draw numbers, white elephant rules apply, and H and I even bought a big gift--whoever drew the Billy Beard (for Monkey X-Mas, it's the Monkey's Paw) got to steal anything, OR get the Big Billy Gift. Charlotte got the California Dash Duster...

Matt drew the Billy Beard, and the amusing part of the whole gift exchange was how not one person stole anything. Unlike Monkey X-Mas, where the exchange gets pretty heated, no one wanted to steal any of the shit we had...

Matt got the BIG CITY SLIDER STATION--the name alone is embarassing.

I think I got the best gift: HD Vision Glasses--you know it. People couldn't keep their hands off. They were, in my opinion, the most coveted. Thanks, Charlotte!

Are they making fun of my glasses?

Even Maggie came to give her condolences.

We also played Rock Band as usual. Here Lela, Natalie and Trey play a little ditty...

And as usual, the foot pedal on the drums couldn't handle parties, so Doug, Don and H thought they would put the Mighty Putty to test. It didn't work. We weren't surprised.

Michelle messed up the one picture of us that should have been in a frame!

The night would have ended well, had I not tried to tidy up along the way. I don't know why I thought the shelf in the refrigerator door could support my weight as I tried to stand back up.

Harrison was at a loss.

I definitely broke some of our pickled favorites.

I suggested duct tape to fix it, but Harrison said he was too good for duct tape. Really? I didn't know there was a stigma associated with having duct tape temporarily holding up your condiments. How dare I suggest such a thing!

The party was definitely a success and an honest celebration of Billy. To check out the complete album, see below.

The Reel Deal...

2009-07-12T21:52:00.000-07:00

Boy, do we have our projects cut out for us! After a weekend visit to my parents, I brought home lots of old media that needs to be digital--SOON. My grandmother lent my mom some old reel-to-reels from the 1960s. I took them home because Harrison is a natural with any type of media. If any more time passes before these reels are dubbed, they will be unsalvagable. We started at about 10:30 p.m. and didn't stop that night until 3 a.m.

There was one reel that was jumbled and broken beyond fix, but we tried our best. We tried to match the broken pieces and splice the matching ends together, but parts were obviously missing.

But after some diligence, we fixed the broken reel!

After all the repairs, we were anxious to see what was on the jumbled tape. Harrison said it he hoped it wasn't blank, for that would have been a tedious task wasted.

The first of the tape was singing and then came the voices. It was my grandpa talking and then a child singing. I am not sure who. Splice after splice went through and Uncle Timmy and Uncle Joe started singing. And then you can hear my great-grandmother, Nellie. The splices weren't noticeable since the reel to reel is magnetic. Then it cuts to a radio recording. The whole process was very time consuming because the speeds kept changing.

When Harrison began dubbing the other reels, tears came to my eyes as I heard my 14-year-old Aunt Pat singing songs. Aunt Geraldine and Uncle Johnny sang Old Rugged Cross and as it played, I hummed along. My grandpa sounded so young, and he had the same drawl in his voice that he has today.

The first recording is from Christmas Day, 1962. I also heard my great-grandparents, Joe and Willie Mae Eppolito, introduce themselves and say hello. I teared up again as I heard the Italian accent that my mom used to imitate when she would speak of her beloved grandparents.

The singing was the best part. There was one clip that I could not identify, but as Harrison and I listened, he said, "That person is a brillant singer--really good, actually."

I can just imagine how the family gathered and played the piano and sang old hymns together. Here is a clip from the reel: (pending)

Harrison walked out of the office and said, "Did you hear that? They said, 'Life is like a deck of cards. It's hearts when you're in love, diamonds when you're engaged, clubs when your married, and spades when you're dead and buried.'" He thought that was pretty clever.

The chatter of children in the background gave life to the recording and at one point, a child, not sure who, began to sing Duke of Earl, and soon after, another child yelled, "N-lover," but no one on the recording seemed phased, as this was a natural part of dealing with the segregation and integration of the time. Soon, another line emerged: Gotta have two black tires and two white walls on every car. This was surely a sign of the resistence to mix Black and white people in Stafford. Part of me was embarrassed to hear this, but another part of me can only try to understand how tense things were in the '60s. I will not be the one to judge.

Grandpa sang this at one point: "I want to tell you what I think of you, I want to let you know how I love you so. Hello brown eyes. Hello brown eyes. I don't know what old Mary thinks, I don't know. I don't know what old Mary thinks, I don't know."

Then it cuts to radio. The audio is all over the place, overmodulated and at different speeds. It is obvious that the recordings were taken at different times. At one point, Harrison said that it sounded like the kids were playing around with it. And there were parts where my grandfather sounded like a Dalek. (If you don't know what I mean, you need to watch Doctor Who.)

"Now, let's just have a small sermon today," Grandpa said. It is really interesting to listen to one of the nights during my mom's childhood, even though it was a hard one. Projects like these really make me appreciate the times I spend with my own family, and of course, Harrison...

We still have lots of work to do, but it will come together. As I find more jewels, I will share them with the world, don't worry!

silly stickers...

2009-07-04T09:59:00.000-07:00

For some reason, one day, I peeled the label off an apple and stuck it to my cheap table and chair set from Wal-Mart. Now, I put every sticker I run across on a chair. It's silly, I know, but it adds some color and life to a pretty sad looking table and chairs.

And the best part about a project like this is that the results build over time, it has virtually no time commitment, and it's free. C'mon, find a little place for color in your living space. As IKEA says, "Home is the most important place in the world."

Before the tribute...

2009-07-04T08:40:00.000-07:00

I love products sold on TV. I have the Magic Bullet, ShamWow towels, Oxi-Clean, the 'Ove Glove, some Hercules Hooks, a bottle of KABOOM! and my next birthday request is for the Snuggie. Now that Billy Mays is no longer with us, I flip through the channels, hoping that one of the channels runs his infomercial. Oh, Billy! Why you?

I first knew of Billy Mays when he pitched Oxi-Clean, which only sometimes gets stains out if you treat right away, but isn't much help for those "hard to remove" stains, like miraculously shown. Billy's blood pressure seemed to rise as he yelled his way through a sales pitch--I believe June 28 is ALL CAPS DAY to commemorate his passing.

Here is a classic from 1998. Billy looks so young! And he wasn't as loud.

Here is his last interview, celebrating the idea for their new show: Pitchmen.

Now, I wasn't just a Mays fan; there are too many info-jewels to be loyal. Another favorite of mine is the Slap Chop, with Vince. He, by far, says the best stuff.

"This tuna looks boring. Stop having a boring tuna, stop having a boring life."

"You're gonna love my nuts. Watch this. Almonds, walnuts..."

See for yourself...

Now I hope you will understand why we thought it a good idea to celebrate these jewels. Tonight, we gather in memory of Billy Mays. We will exchange our favorite products sold on TV and talk about how our lives wouldn't be the same without them...

nights with dad

2009-06-30T16:31:00.000-07:00

This post was originally published on April 22, 2008.

I remember the nights I used to spend with my dad outside when I was young. I'd say at about nine or ten years old, I would stay up late on Fridays and Saturdays and hang out as my dad worked on stuff.

Bugs flew every which way, filling up the space around the hanging light enclosed in a protective wire shell, allowing us to see. The air smelled fresh, almost foreign, for these were the first nights I soaked in what it felt like to be outside in the middle of nowhere, 100 feet from cow pastures and maize, both acting as fences. All that topped with the distant howl of a freight train a mile away.

Sometimes I would sit and organize tools that my dad had to repeatedly remind me of the functions. We wouldn't really talk; I would ask an occasional question and he would answer in his deep, soothing, countrified voice. At the time, I didn't realize he had an accent.

Other times, I would ask to help him screw in some part of the motor or offer my excellent light holding abilities. I really thought I helped him out those times I had to wash my hands with GoJo. It felt nice to doodle around in a grownup's belongings.

One time, we organized his whole shop and I found a place for every screw, bolt, nut, you name it, I found a place for it. I spent hours looking through the years of buildup, especially when I came across my old kitchenette complete with plastic coffee cups and plates. There were even plastic food items, like fries and ketchup.

Dad let me clean out his desk and I found old 8 track tapes and a pen that when turned upside down, revealed the naked body of a woman. Let's also not forget the Mr. Peanut pen that, no matter how much I scribbled on a piece of paper, had no ink.

Mom would already be in bed by the time we finally walked through the door for the last time. I would lock it, and he'd double check. We'd eat cereal together, too, not saying much there either. I still, at 25, eat cereal at night.

My dad will tell you that he is a man of few words, which is ironic, I know. I would have to somewhat agree. I definitely know that five minutes into a phone conversation, a series of one-worded responses will soon follow. I know it's a signal to wrap up. Sometimes, I question if I really know the inner workings of this man who I am a part of.

I am no longer the needy daddy's girl, but I do try and simulate those bonding moments we had that have now slipped away. I've offered to help my dad when a part on my car needs tightening or when he has to work on his own mess of cars. When I helped him set his timing chain on his Buick, I had to stick my finger into the engine while he started it. We calculated the timing together and got the car's engine to finally turn over. He gave me this look that was a mixture of surprise and pride. It was a good feeling.

It took me back to those quiet nights.

reluctant to evolve

2009-06-30T16:30:00.001-07:00

This post was originally published on April 5, 2008.

For the longest time, I have despised blogs. I am not sure why, really. I guess I had some resentment toward those who’d discovered the phenomenon before me, and quite frankly, I wanted to rebel.

I teach an online publication class at a magnet school, and when I say “online publication,” I mean, “I was hired two weeks before the class started and until a curriculum is developed and I learn some html, it’s pretty much PDFs.” I thought it would be good to attend a symposium for online journalism to get some ideas for next year and you know–develop professionally, and lo and behold, all the talk about blogging didn’t just catch my interest, I’m convinced.

I thought I would try it out, see what all the hoopla is. Honestly, I am having a blast with each new character I type! I can type, type, type and I really have no other expectations than to see how long I can write on the same topic without running out of things to say.

I will not promise thought-provoking user generated content and I don’t even know if there is anyone there, but I will take the steps and become what is.

Soup in the Summer?

2009-06-30T16:24:00.000-07:00

I don't know if it makes sense, but Harrison decided to make tortilla soup on a hot summer day in June. Now, don't get me wrong, I LOVE tortilla soup, but I am not sure that it fits with the season. I find it ironic that Harrison is so very particular when it comes to mixing flavors that supposedly don't go together. I mean, what is wrong with a burrito and pesto pasta? I guess for him, though, the season doesn't matter.

To the point though, this made me think of all of the odd things I used to eat when I was younger. If you don't know me that well, you might read this and form your own opinion about my culinary exposure, but for those of you who know me well, we probably sat together in junior high, taking bets for the grossest food combination show-down. You know, chocolate milk gravy and potatoes? Yum. So anyway, on to the list:

We will start with me:

Sliced or whole pickles with salt sprinkled on top

Raw cookie dough made from scratch just to eat raw

Lemon and lime wedges with salt

Ramen noodles with a slice of American cheese--whatever that is

Macaroni and cheese...with hot dog wieners diced up

Fried Spam

Spaghetti-Os

One evening--I opened a can of cranberry sauce and ate it with a spoon

Pre-mixed cappuccinos from a machine--Don't get me wrong, I am no stuck-up coffee drinker, but it has been years since I have had a syrupy concoction posing as actual coffee.

And the most embarrassing---I tried a dog biscuit once--but only once. It was "peanut butter-flavored."

And Harrison:

Fish sticks

Dinty Moore soup

American cheese--again, whatever that is

Ramen noodles with Vienna sausages cut up

Vienna sausages or any meat in a can, for that matter

Chicken-in-a-biscuit crackers with canned cheese--although it is road trip food, so we still eat it every once in a while

Again, canned cranberry sauce, but Harrison didn't eat it straight from the can like me

There...I feel better. Harrison will never let me live down how uncoordinated I tend to be when eating leftovers, but I really don't have high expectations, like he does, for dinner. With that said, maybe I will put oyster crackers in my soup!

She Said: I did it!

2009-06-30T16:23:00.000-07:00

This post was originally published on April 12, 2009.

I finally got Harrison on twitter.com. Check it out.

He is so against social networking these days because he is like my dad. My dad doesn't understand why he has to buy movies on DVD if he already owns them on VHS. And I don't think he knows about BluRay. Shhhhh...He'll be pissed.

Harrison spent hours uploading and updating his MySpace, and was among the trendsetters with one of the first sites of this kind, Friendster. He doesn't want to start all over. He despises Facebook, he wouldn't let me explain Twitter for the longest and his last log in to MySpace was months ago.

Yesterday, I took the liberty of creating a Twitter for him, using his universal username--harrisonicus--and the same ol' password he's stuck with for years. I asked permission first, though, because I am not sneaky.

He said I could create one and be him, just to see what would happen...okay, maybe I am a little sneaky. Later, when we went to Jim's for a late, dirty-good dinner, I told him he should check it, just to see.

The site had been visited on his phone before, like two hours before, because he was filled with so much curiosity, unforced by me. He had already checked!

When I woke up this morning, he had updated three times...

Yep, I got him.

We are HD!

2009-06-30T16:22:00.000-07:00

This post was originally published on November 9, 2008.

Normally, Harrison and I try to get out of the house at least once per weekend. That may be a surprise to some people who are always on the go, but we bask in the comfort of our bungalow. It's hard to leave; we love staying home.

Yesterday, we had planned on visiting a couple of places: Auto Zone (my Check Engine light came on again), Which Wich (we love sandwiches), and Fry's (Harrison's been quite the researcher for HDTVs since he decided owning one was a necessity for us.)

Mark Murray, KVUE's weather guy, happened to be in Auto Zone when we walked in. Of course Harrison pulls his phone out and I think he is going to take a picture, but he was just verifying the station Mark works for on his phone. If he didn't have that phone, I think he would be lost without information always at his fingertips.

When we got to Fry's, we poked around in the movies. As all other journeys through the aisles end, we land in the TV section. About three hours earlier, Harrison mentioned that he had put off buying the TV until after January, when the prices drop after the holidays.

As we rounded the corner into the section, we made it maybe 5 feet when we spotted boxes of TVs strategically placed at the front. Harrison and I saw a 46" Sony 1080i HDTV, regularly priced at $2500, marked down to $999, only because it was last year's model. 30 seconds later, we were proud new parents.

Holly-ween!

2009-06-30T16:15:00.000-07:00

This post was originally published on November 8, 2008.

I can't get enough of The Girls Next Door. I don't know why. There is something about the show that puts me in a trance. If Harrison attempts to talk while I am watching it, I will do one of three things: throw a moan, pause it, or storm off into the other room. Real mature, right?

Harrison wanted to go to the bookstore one Saturday afternoon and I didn't want to go. I am sure I was in fantasy land with my little bunnies and Hef. I told him to get me a surprise, thinking a bookmark or something silly like that. He came home with Season 3.

When Halloween rolled around, there was no choice. I had to go with Holly. Even though the couple split ways, however messed up their exploited, televised, multiple-partnered relationship was, I still thought it was owed for Harrison to be Hugh and me the blond bimbo on his arm. Call me silly.

Michelle and I went to the store on the Wednesday before Halloween. She and Doug were dressing up as characters from the Mighty Boosh, so we were both in need of some outfits.

First it was the Halloween Spirit Store, right by the Target off I-35 and Parmer. That place was new, maybe it was there last year, but I didn't "do" Halloween last year. Staff members with masks walked around the busy store, which was filled with last minute shoppers like myself. The wig selection was probably the coolest. I really was tempted to buy this old lady wig and pretend to be Harrison's old lady. Ha! At one point, I turned to who I thought was Michelle and asked her opinion about the current wig. I realized she wasn't Michelle and simply said, "You're not my friend," and walked away.

I did see the cool Playboy costumes, but they were a bit pricey. Off to Target to grab a nightgown. Then, off to the rows of boots for Michelle. Nothing. Then to the sweaters. I wanted something to cover the "outfit." We grabbed some jewelry and we were done.

Michelle and Doug came over to get ready and I have to say, they looked pretty rad.

The Mighty Mighty Boosh!

Harrison and I first went to Chris' house, his friend from all the nerd nights.

Those eyelashes were the worst!

After that, we proceeded to Andy and Diandra's. We were welcomed by our group of friends around midnight. I would have to say that this was a very fun Halloween.

Jesus and Hef put all differences aside, with Scarface in the background.

I'd say we finally got home at around 4 am. The best part was that I was already in my night gown!

What aren't we?

2009-06-30T15:29:00.000-07:00

This post was originally published on November 8, 2008.

We are not defined by our friends, we are not reliant on other people, we are not forgetful of the things that have shaped us, we are not mad about things from the past, we are not complicated, we are not ignorant, we are not too good for anybody, we are not needy, we are not driven by materialistic things, we are not ungrateful, we are not poor, we are not rich, we are not unfortunate, we are not unbalanced, we are not extremists, we are not annoyed by much, we are not unbiased, we are not organized, we are not messy, we are not easily angered, we are not forced by anyone, we are not ugly.

We are not worried what the future will hold, we just are...

Thanks, Universe: For giving me Harrison...

2009-06-30T15:12:00.000-07:00

This post was originally published on November 8, 2008.

Harrison is probably the most perceptive person I know. I mentioned the other day that I should use some old bananas in a nice little loaf of bread. Of course, he knows that I am a wishful thinker when it comes to actually doing anything that I suggest would be a good idea. He always finds a way to do the things I come up with.

When I got home last night, a warm, sweet aroma lingered in the kitchen and a beautiful loaf of banana bread rested on the counter. The best part is that he makes my little dreams come true on a daily basis.

2009-06-30T15:06:00.000-07:00

Very fitting.

Why is grading such a hassle?

2009-06-30T14:22:00.000-07:00

This post was originally published on April 12, 2009.

I have yet to find the balance between work and life and the more I try to be a good teacher, the more the two become indistinguishable.

I am grading three projects now, and if I graded non-stop all day, it would probably take me three full days to finish. I wish I could be one of those teachers that could fit all there is to do within the hours of 7-4, but I just don't see that as an option. I have come to the conclusion that in order to be the best teacher you can, you cannot have kids or a clean house. Maybe a pet, but that's pushing it.

How High?

2009-06-30T14:20:00.000-07:00

This post was originally published on February 27, 2009.

Kendra walks into the staff meeting holding a pink, quilted bag. After several attempts to keep my eyes open, the meeting wraps up and we all scatter to partake in our gossip ring for each grade group (that's where we get together and discuss the kiddos for a while). I walk up as Kendra explains her ploy for the day to Ronny, who is our conservative gangster of a government teacher.

She didn't lie. Yesterday, she told me she was frustrated with the students' tacky style sheets--the "vomit on a page." Her plan for today was to wear all the accessories in her closet to mimic the students' magazine designs.

"Oh, so just because I have a lot of pretty stuff in my closet, I should decorate myself with it?" When Kendra has an idea, she will stop at nothing. I've seen her dead tired from staying up until 2 am, planning a lesson.

She wore bright blue, red and green necklaces, big purple earrings, four scarves, a gold belt, and every ring she owns. Hats off--no pun intended...she had a good analogy. The students learn some really cool things in InDesign and Photoshop, so when it comes time to design their pages, they go crazy. Lines, borders, drop caps, shadows, text wraps, and let's not forget, the plain title in Comic Sans with a bright stroke. Ugh!

Yes, I am a design snob, but I have to be...I teach it. But back to the main story. I am not sure which part of her charade was my favorite.

When she visited my class, she sported an aqua scarf wrapped around her head to, again, make her point. A student of mine complemented her on her enthusiasm as he looked at me and said, "It's nice to see that some teachers are enthusiastic about what they're teaching."

Just another day with kids who walk into your class expecting you to prove yourself. I don't mind--it is quite motivating. :)

Technology for you and me...

2009-06-30T14:19:00.000-07:00

This post was originally published on November 8, 2008.

I never realized how vital knowing how to use technology really was until I attended today's training. I teach a course called Electronic Magazine at a magnet school. My co-teacher and I went to a training paid for by the district to learn about Adobe Acrobat 9, which is part of the newest Adobe CS4 Master Collection. Since day one, we have struggled to understand what the course is supposed to be, how all the elements and skills can fit in the time allotted and why freshmen are required to take the course. It's getting better; it started with nothing but two willing teachers with backgrounds in journalism and no experience building a curriculum.

As we went through the first two semesters, we cut out everything we hated and built on everything we loved. The course is simple--put kids in a group and let them create a magazine. Had I realized how much work it would be, I probably would have dropped a resume off at HEB as well.

The students needed to learn design, good journalism skills, and a bit of law. The principal wanted their work online, and with that, came lots of liabilities.

In theory, the class beats any other. Especially if students are artistic and have a side that likes to see where their ideas take them. Parents always ask if they can register for the class and with a smile, I always reply the same: You and me both. It is an amazing opportunity for these students, even if they are already the ones that get the best of the best. I am not sure though that the execution always mirrors the theoretical. But then I just tell myself, "It's a new course and the kinks will work themselves out."

I realized, though, that they might not. I am teaching a course that constantly evolves. Even the websites that were cool three years ago are so outdated now. I am constantly trying to keep afloat with all the technological intelligence I am responsible for imparting to my students.

I learned that if students don't know shortcuts to programs, they most likely won't get the job. Employers actually look at the use of shortcuts as a measure of an applicant's productivity. I am only 26 years old and I think that's scary! I learned if they don't know how to use not only Photoshop, but Acrobat, InDesign, and Flash, their prospects of getting a job dwindle. Every company has a media outlet.

I hope I am up to the task of making sure these kids are prepared to deal with this type of competition; I am struggling to keep up myself...

An old post that welcomed an old friend...

2009-06-29T20:43:00.000-07:00

I found this blog post on an old blog that I haven't used in a while and I thought this would be a great way to create a blog celebrating friends. This blog was from November 2008, when Gillian was making her way to Texas after packing up and leaving her home in Eugene, Oregon.

Giggs is on her way to me. She is driving back to Texas from Oregon after an 18 month adventure. Right now, she is in Susanville, California, in a motel with Baxter. She's wearing the sweatshirt I gave her years ago and through all the wear and tear, the longhorn emblem still shows.

She began her journey in Eugene this morning at around 8. I can't imagine how it felt to leave a place she ran to in a time of need. All the memories she has created, the bonds she has formed, the roads she has crossed--that takes a special kind of woman.

She sent a text at around noon her time: "I'm on top of a mountain! Driving through a cloud. Snow on the side of the road. 4k feet up. Leaving Oregon and in Cali now!"

She will have to fill you in on the trip when she gets here, but I know she is having a bittersweet drive with her furry bundle of joy. Only 29 hours to go and she still has four Red Bulls left. I expect her here on Sunday night, but I know how tiring driving can be.

The thing I love about her is her sense of flow. She has always gone where life takes her, and I mean that as un-cliche as possible. She is not afraid to move, to start over, to sell her stuff, to unravel, to befriend the unfriendly. She is my light in darkness and Austin will, once again, be a bright spot for me...