Teacher of the Year

One of my students or parents nominated me for Teacher of the Year. It was kind of cool to get nominated. There's a form I'm supposed to fill out if I want to have the chance to win out of all the teachers in the entire county. I haven't filled it out yet...I've been carrying it around in my purse for a week now. We'll see.

Blogger's Block

In case you haven't noticed, I've not been blogging. It's not because the desire isn't there and it isn't the lack of time---because I've had plenty of it this past week. I don't know what's happening , but I've got nothin'. I go to the computer every night and think, "Mmmm? What could I blog about?"

Does anyone have any ideas on how to get rid of this blogger's block? Let me hear your ideas!

Snow Day!

I got to stay home today because of the snow. I have had such a restful day!!!!!!

Brushing Teeth

Tonight after brushing my teeth, Jason looks at me and says, "What's all around your mouth." I explained that the new toothpaste we have been using makes the skin (and chin) red for a little while and then it goes away. He then proceeds to laugh at me and try to figure out how I get toothpaste all on my chin. I told him everybody gets toothpaste around their mouth when they are brushing. It's normal. He disagreed and then showed me how to "neatly" brush teeth. I have to say he DID do a great job. He really didn't get any toothpaste on the outside of his mouth. Am I just a messy toothbrusher or is it normal for the toothpaste foam to escape and get on the mouth and chin?

Football

So my entire life I've hated watching football until recently. Now, I am really getting into it. However, the whole time I'm watching it, I feel like I'm doing something bad and shouldn't be enjoying myself since I've hated it for so long. How weird is that?

The Lady in My Shoe

Jason got me a ipod nano for Christmas. I was totally surprised!!!!! He also got me the Nike + for my tennis shoes. It links to my ipod and while I'm running there's a lady inside my shoe that talks to me through my ipod telling me how far I've gone and how many calories I've burned....etc. Also, if I break a personal record, Lance Armstong comes on and congratulates me.

Jason is a great gift giver!!!!!

Gift Cards

Whoever thought of gift cards was a genius. I love getting them. I have received several from my students this past week and have really enjoyed getting them.

So, to you, I pose the question: If you knew someone was going to give you a gift card for $100, from where would you want it to be?

New Blogger

Has anyone switched to the "new blogger". I'm scared it might be like the "New Coke". Wow, that was gross. Let me know what is so cool about the new blogger. I would hate to switch to the "new blogger" and then have to switch back the the "Blogger Classic".

What's Your Magic Number?

As long as I can remember, I've never woken up and thought, "I'm so glad to be awake." I've always wanted to sleep just a little bit more, snooze 10, 20, 30 more minutes. I'm not a fan of waking up.

I've always wondered, what is the magic number of sleep hours I need to wake up and feel great? Well, the last two nights, I've gone to bed at 8:30 and woken up at 5:30. That's it, ladies and gentlemen. 9 hours of sleep and I feel great. I wake up and am ready to get up, eat breakfast, and be productive.

What's your magic number?

Jingle Bell Run

I ran again, however this time I had a head and chest cold. It wasn't quite as much fun because I didn't feel so hot. I had already registered and paid the fee so I went ahead and bit the bullet. Wasn't able to run the entire 3.1 miles due to hacking and coughing.

Despite feeling under the weather, the event was very festive. Santa was there and there was a d.j. playing fun Christmas music. (Robert and Shelly would have loved it!) One of the runners was dressed up like a Christmas tree and another like an elf. Lots of runners had on santa hats which added to the festivities.

If you would like to see pics, click on the link to Suzie L.'s Blog. She has our pictures posted. I've been having trouble posting pictures lately. Not sure why.

I'm a runner.

O.k., so really I'm a jogger. I ran a 5k today in a Turkey Trot in Frederick, MD. I am new to the whole running thing so my time is still really slow. I finished in 41:56. I know this is a lot of time, but I finished it still running and still alive. I also wasn't last which was my main goal. I had a lot of fun and hope to make this a tradition. Here are some before and after pictures. Notice my really red face in the after.

In December, I plan to do a Jingle Bell Run. In this race, everyone wears jingle bells as they run. I love the sound of Jingle Bells.

I feel like traveling.

I'm so wanting to go somewhere!!! We are not planning on going to Texas or Oregon until Summer, but the cool weather and holidays are making me want to be a tourist. I think Jason should take me to Philly. It would be a quick, inexpensive day trip. And besides, I've always wanted to try a Philly steak and cheese sub (never had one). If you think Jason should take me to Philly, then please post a comment on my blog saying so.

Thank you for your support.

Why I Haven't Blogged

5:45am -Wake up and get ready for school.
8:00am to 3:20pm- Teach.
3:20pm to 4:00pm- Attend boring faculty meeting. (They've got great snacks though!)
4:00pm to 4:45pm- Drive to go and tutor.
4:45pm to 4:55pm-Wait for student to show up.
4:55pm to 5:55pm-Tutor.
5:55pm to 6:45pm-Walk with my friend Jodie.
6:45pm to 7:00pm-Drive Home.
7:00pm to 8:45pm-Come home cook, eat, and clean.
9:00pm--Should have graded papers, but went to my friend Suzie's house. Will have to get up at 5:15 tomorrow to make up for not grading tonight.
10:00pm-Shower.
10:45pm-Bed time.

I'm sooooooooo ready for Thanksgiving Break!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Acne

Why is it that I am 30 years old and I am still battling acne? What's up with that?

GRRRRRR!

Giant Pumpkins

Every year, I am always intrigued by giant pumpkins. I love seeing the picture in the paper every year of the farmer beside his prized pumpkin. It seems unreal that a vegetable can get that big. Also, once you grow it, what do you do with it.

I was surfing and I found this picture of a giant pumpkin kayak race. Evidently, these farmers carve their pumpkins into kayaks and then race them. Pretty cool.

Sometimes it pays to be old

Last night, Jason and I went to Wal-Mart at 10:15. As we were walking in, the greeter told us the doors were closed and we couldn't come in. We went back to the parking lot and got in the car. As we were leaving, a car pulled up to the door and the passenger got out. She was an older lady with a cane. I couldn't believe it, but the greeter let her in. I told Jason that I am going to begin keeping a gray wig and a cane in my car so I can buck the system.

weather.com

I love weather.com. I check it at least once a day. My favorite is the hour-by-hour forecast.

Library Card

I have a library card!!!! I haven't had one in years. Since I am tutoring at the library, I decided to get one.

Here is my first check-out:

Portuguese Language Tapes--(hoping to better my portuguese)
Trader Joe's (a book on how the business came to be and the inspiration behind it.)

I'm off to read!!!!

Things that Amuse a Language Person

Since I love languages, it is very difficult not to read even when I know that what I'm looking at aren't words. For example, I always have trouble reading the signs that say POW / MIA. I always have a picture in my head of a cute girl named Mia that is getting beat up.

I also always try to pronounce the letters on blogs that are used for security verification. Sometimes they can be really funny. Here are a few for you to try. Let me know your favs.

Extra dough

I have a tutoring job 2 days a week. Woo Hoo! I little extra cash never hurts.

Let me hear you say woo hoo!