Friday Fill-Ins #169

1. "The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between the lightning and the lightning bug."--Mark Twain

2. Leave the bedroom when you wake up and shut the door quietly, please.

3. Up, up and away, in my beautiful balloon...

4. Probably at home is where you'll find me.

5. Ooh! What is that interesting-looking book I've been wanting to read?

6. Being organized is a good idea.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to getting a good night's sleep, tomorrow my plans include going to some friends' house to eat homemade chimichangas and Sunday, I want to celebrate Palm Sunday!

Spring Break and Teaching Updates and a Meditation on the Evolution of Romantic Love

Hello, friends! Have you noticed I haven't blogged in weeks? Yeah, I'm sorry about that. Last week was Spring Break, and I was too busy a) helping my kids have an active social life and b) cleaning my house (which was FILTHY, let me tell you) to do any blogging. Oh yeah, I went to the dentist, too. I live an exciting life, for sure.

The week before that, I was in the middle of teaching, including grading eleventy million quizzes and entering them into the gradebook so the 3-week progress reports would accurately reflect the students' current progress. (Or, um, the lack thereof. One of my students currently has an average of 13. Thir-TEEN. It is not actually easy to have an average that low. It takes superior ignoring-the-teacher-and-wasting-time-in-class skills to get that grade.)

And THIS week has also been busy, but good. I made the decision (very wise, in retrospect) to start the week after Spring Break watching the first half of the movie(s) of Romeo and Juliet. The students were happy because A MOVIE! That we can watch instead of all this hard READING and WRITING and THINKING! And I was happy because they were mostly quiet and I got more grading done. Plus, it was an easy way to remind them of the plot since they had gone a week, I'm sure, without using the academic part of their brains at all.

We watched Acts I and II of the 1968 Franco Zefferelli version. You may be familiar with it. This is what the actors who play the young lovers looked like.

It  was interesting to see how my 15-year-old students responded to a movie made 42 years ago of a 400-year-old play. I thought they wouldn't like the historical setting and costumes, but they mostly took it in stride. Also, they liked the lead characters. I have this theory that movies set in a particular period still bear traces of the decade in which the movie is made, and this one was no exception. Romeo has full-on Beatles bangs, and Juliet wears hers long and parted down the middle like a flower child. Interestingly, the actor who played Romeo looked a LOT like Zac Efron, especially with the hair. This, as you can imagine, caused some sighs and giggles among the girls in my classes. I realized that the actor, Leonard Whiting, is about my dad's age--60. These girls were oohing and aahing over a man old enough to be their grandfather. Ha!

We also watched the Capulet's party and the balcony scene in the 1996 version starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes. I was surprised that so many of the kids didn't like it. They thought the modern setting was jarring combined with the Shakespearean language. "Mrs. Andrews, the old version is so much better!" many said. I have always liked the newer one, myself--I think it's a clever update and Leo was dreamy. (He's MY age, so at least I'm in the same ballpark as my eye candy!) I'm not allowed to show the whole movie, since it contains scenes with violence (in Shakespeare! Whodathunkit!) and drug use (not in the original text, but goes a long way toward explaining Mercutio's Queen Mab speech). I realized while we were watching the balcony scene--actually the swimming pool scene--that I first watched the movie at my bachelorette party. Almost thirteen years ago. And I felt old. Especially because my husband and I used to be like R & J in one way--our families weren't at war with each other or anything, but we could hardly bear to leave each other after a date. We'd say goodbye, kiss, and be unable to stop kissing for a while, stop and say we really should go our separate ways, think of something else to talk about, decide to really leave this time, kiss again...and repeat for a couple of hours.


Now? We watch TV until we're ready to crash, talk for a while in bed, give each other a quick kiss, and zonk out. Not exactly the stuff of deathless romance, but I'm willing to bet that if Romeo and Juliet had lived and had a couple of kids, they would be the exact same way.

However, I did go home and lay some smooches on my honey, for old times' sake. Even if he looks nothing like Leonardo DiCaprio or Zac Efron, he's still the only guy for me.

Friday Fill-Ins #167

1. I am so looking forward to sleeping in next week during Spring Break!
2. We are going out to eat later.
3. When you get grumpy, count your blessings.
4. My family is a big part of my life.
5. If you need anything don't hesitate to ask me.
6. I wish I was going on a trip.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to watching American Idol with Miss Pink, tomorrow my plans include getting my hair cut (finally!) and Sunday, I want to hang out with my mom and dad because they were out of town last weekend.

I just feel so...wrong

Last weekend I bought an article of clothing endorsed by Miley Cyrus.

ACK. I can hardly even admit it.

It's a T shirt emblazoned with the British flag and it was marked down to $3.00. And I haven't bought myself anything in so long. So I HAD to buy it, really.

There were several other London-themed shirts in Miley's "collection" at Wal-Mart. Why, I wonder? Because she's been there? Well, I HAVE BEEN TO ENGLAND TOO, MILEY (although not to sing to thousands of screaming fans). England doesn't belong to you!  And I am going to wear my T shirt and not mind that my $3.00 helped you make your 150 million or whatever you end up making this year.

At least I didn't buy the one that looked like it had a black lace bustier on top of the T-shirt.

64 Questions I Got From Facebook

Hey, everybody! It's been a busy week again--how would it not be with 170 students to teach, many papers to grade, and a standardized test to administer?--but I enjoyed it and am ready to go back next week. I really think I am going to miss being in the same school, knowing what I'm going to teach (because I planned it!) and being around "my" students--they are great kids.

Well, that's about all of an update I can manage right now. Here's a meme I got from Facebook and filled out the other day but never got around to posting. (The answers about "right now" were true then!)

1. First thing you wash in the shower?
My hair.

2. What does your favorite hoodie look like?
It's plain black--I need to get a more distinctive one, I guess.

3. Would you kiss the last person you kissed again?
 Was it my husband or one of the kids? lol. Either way, yes!

4. Do you plan outfits?
Yes. Sometimes when I'm supposed to be paying attention to something else.

5. How are you feeling RIGHT now?
Mellow.

6. Whats the closest thing to you that's red?
Uno cards and a 9 volt battery (they're next to each other on the desk.)

7. Tell me about the last dream you remember having?
I honestly can't remember.

8. Did you meet anybody new today?
No. By now I've met all my students.

9. What are you craving right now?
The dinner on the stove: bean soup and hot rolls.

10. Do you floss?
Yes, but I skip every other night or so. Bad Ali!

11. What comes to mind when I say cabbage?
...Patch Kids.

12. Are you emotional?
HAHAHA. Have you MET me?

13. Have you ever counted to 1,000?
Yes. And also backwards, when I had frequent insomnia.

14. Do you bite into your ice cream or just lick it?
Both. Mmmmmm.

15. Do you like your hair?
 Yes. Some days more than others. Right now I will like it better when I get a haircut.

16. Do you like yourself?
Yeah, I'd say so. (It wasn't always the case.)

17. Would you go out to eat with George W. Bush?
Sure, if he was buying.

18. What are you listening to right now?
The music to Yo Gabba Gabba.

19. Are/were your parents strict?
Define strict...

20. Would you go sky diving?
It would be a cold day in Hades.

21. Do you like cottage cheese?
No! I hate the texture.

22. Have you ever met a celebrity?
Yes.

23. Do you rent movies often?
No, because Justin and I are too tired to stay up two more hours after the kids go to bed. We sometimes rent family movies or TiVo movies and watch them when we get time.

24. Is there anything sparkly in the room you're in?
I live with a seven-year-old girl. There is blue glitter nail polish and a rhinestone pin shaped like a treble clef an arms' length away, and many other examples nearby.

25. How many countries have you visited?
One: England.

26. Have you made a prank phone call?
Yeah, when I was a teenager. We used to call people late at night and tell them they were on the air to win a radio contest.

27. Ever been on a train?
Yes.

28. Brown or white eggs?
White.

29.Do you have a cell-phone?
And a cell phone bill.

30. Do you use chap stick?
My lips don't get chapped very often. I use my husband's Carmex when they do.

31. Do you own a gun?
Not personally, but my husband does.

32. Can you use chop sticks?
Sadly, no. I always intend to try but get too hungry when the food comes.

33. Who are you going to be with tonight?
My husband and kids. Later I am going to my book club with several friends.

34. Are you too forgiving?
I don't know what this means. As a Christian, I believe I am required to forgive "seventy times seven."

35. Ever been in love?
I am.

36. What is your best friend(s) doing tomorrow?
He is working and then we are going to King Tut, our favorite Egyptian restaurant.

37. Ever have cream puffs?
This past Sunday, they were served at a reception and I had my kids try them (they weren't too sure because of how the cream puffs looked) and then they loved them.

38. Last time you cried?
When someone told me they were praying for us after the shop burned down.

39. What was the last question you asked?
"Miss Pink, where are you?"

40. Favorite time of the year?
Fall.

41. Do you have any tattoos?
No.

42. Are you sarcastic?
No, of course not *said in a sarcastic voice.*

43. Have you ever seen The Butterfly Effect?
No. In fact, I have no idea what it is.

44. Ever walked into a wall?
Yes--I'm very clumsy.

45. Favorite color?
Green.

46. Where do you want to retire?
Wherever my family is.

47. Is your hair curly?
Not at all.

48. What was the last CD you bought?
I don't recall.

49. Do looks matter?
You have to be attracted to someone if you want to have a lasting relationship.

50. Could you ever forgive a cheater?
Maybe. If I really believed he was repentant and he proved he would do anything I asked to rebuild my trust. But it would take a long time.

51. Is your phone bill sky high?
I don't know; my husband pays it.

52. Do you like your life right now?
Yes, I love my family and I am having fun teaching.

53. Do you sleep with the TV on?
No; it's in the living room, so we turn it off before we go to bed.

54. Can you handle the truth?
I want to be told the truth, but break it to me gently.

55. Do you have good vision?
Yes.

56. Do you hate or dislike more than 3 people
I don't like the word hate, but I do dislike more than three people.

57. How often do you talk on the phone?
A couple of times a day. I don't like long phone conversations.

58. The last person you held hands with?
Miss Pink, when we were crossing the street across from her school.

59. What are you wearing?
A magenta knit dress and black footless tights.

60.What is your favorite animal?
As a pet, dogs; otherwise, horses.

61. Where was your profile picture taken at?
My living room. I need a new one; the walls aren't even that color anymore.

62: Can you hula hoop?
Not well at all.

63. Do you have a job?
I am a substitute teacher.

64. What was the most recent thing you bought?
Thank-you cards for people who blessed us with some money... and I hate that this is the last answer of this set of questions.