Halloween

Last night at spin class our instructor played Halloween music. I haven't been feeling very Halloweenish this year but this got me more in the mood. I don't know if it was being gone on vacation or just being busy but we didn't even get out our decorations. I have a few cards out but that's it. Also, no one ever comes over so it would be just Ang and I to see them and then put them away tomorrow. But last night as I was spinning my seven miles I started remembering Halloweens from the past.



When we were little my mom and her best friend Marilyn made Halloween into a family holiday. They would make a big dinner, usually sloppy joes and jello and a cake, and then we'd go out trick-or-treating. Usually my dad and Marilyn's husband, Michael, would pass out candy first (average number of trick-or-treaters at our house back then - 800 or so, at least that's what it seemed like) while the moms drove us to the grandparents' neighborhood. We'd get our pictures taken; there were four of us, Ben, Liz, Ang and I, and then we'd get special treats from them, usually a bag of candy or cookies or a bigger candy bar or something. Then we'd head home and the dads would take us walking around our neighborhood. It was always cold, usually rainy, and we'd have to try to fit winter coats under our costumes. You never could tell exactly what at least one of us was.

Then came the fun part, "the sorting" as Ang wistfully called it tonight. We dump all our treats into the big mixing bowls from the kitchen and start dividing it into piles: different kinds, sizes, etc. And we'd try to keep our dads away from the candy (Michael always always always stole some!). Then we'd trade with each other and give the grownups what we didn't like. It was great. One of the highlights of being a kid. A no-pressure holiday, something I long for.

I am glad I have these memories, and new ones. Today was fun at school. We read a poem about Frankenstein and the kids wrote Halloween poems and decorated them to take home. There was construction paper and glue and markers and joy. They were so proud of their work. And then tonight Ang and I sat outside for two hours in the beautiful 70 degree evening and passed out all of our candy. We had big kids, little kids, adults, and infants come around - all with hands out. Interesting to say the least. But fun. We socialized with different sets of neighbors who were all out enjoying the fresh, cool air and we just sat and smiled and said "you're welcome" a lot. A no-pressure holiday. Just like I remember.

I love it when...

something makes me laugh. Not chuckle like, "oh that's cute," but really laugh. When something surprises me and I just can't contain myself. It's happened several times lately and Ang and I were talking about it today. She noted that she loves when she can make me laugh like that and I agreed! Here are two times recently when this happened (maybe you'll laugh yourself, you never know!).

1. On Saturday we were running errands after we'd both come from massages. Now these aren't your ordinary, incense-filled, enjoyment producing massages. These are kick your butt, physical therapy-type massages. So we were both tired and a little out of it. We went to sell back some some stuff at the book store ($5 for a Will and Grace first season DVD I got years ago that I never watched, not bad when I saw it at target for $20) and as we were walking out I walked behind Angela. She had a green t-shirt on and that's when I noticed she had her shirt on backward. I might not have noticed except it was a V neck:-) So right there on the sidewalk in front of Hastings I cracked up. I could not stop laughing, not sure why this was so funny but it just was. And I could not tell her why I was laughing because I was laughing so stinking hard!

2. This morning Ang and I were in the restroom at school. I was still very sleepy as we got to school at 6:25 to get in line for flu shots (no, we weren't the first ones there and yes, there was a line by the time we got ours). I realized as I was sitting there that I had black underwear on and I have on a cream and black skirt. I explained this to Ang in the next stall. She said she had black underwear on as well or else she'd switch with me. I said that was weird, and she said, "why, that's what friends are for!" And then she said, "well that's not the only thing..." and I cracked up.

Here's hoping your Halloween is full of laughter:-) I'm going to try to post more today, we'll see!

I made it through another Monday

I want to blog about vacation but again it's 9:30 and I haven't showered yet and I have to go to bed and...yes, I'll blog soon. But today is over and that's a start. It was a busy day. I had two formal observations - one by my principal and one by a person from our district office. The good news is that I aced them both. I got an 8 out of 8 on my evaluation this morning from my principal and the woman from the DO had only nitpicky things to say which I think is a good sign. All that and I got all ready for the rest of the week after school today.

Another cool thing happened today. We started reading Al Capone Does My Shirts, a novel about a kid who's family lives on Alcatraz in 1935 and my kids loved it! I got them all hyped for it last week by telling them about my trip and then today I took in all the books and fun stuff I bought for them. First thing in class they each got a big flashcard with a convict on it, his rap sheet and all, and they had to journal about what they'd ask him if they could interview him. They loved this, they wouldn't stop talking about it all day. I thought that was pretty cool. So I guess all the money and work getting ready for today was worth it. Also, we did a writing lesson on sequence and they got it. They totally got it. That never happens. So all in all a pretty darn good day in 7th grade.

I am off to sleep. I am still feeling tired from vacation but we're finally catching up. We've been cleaning and I've been writing and OH YEAH! Today I sent in my application for admission to film school at UCLA! (And my money of course.) It's official. Now I need to get my applications out to the other 3 schools in the next couple of weeks.

Appeasement

I've started getting the inquiring comments about when a new blog is coming (okay, okay, one email but it made me feel guilty!) so here it is, albeit a very short one.

I am home from my 14 day, 2300+ mile vacation. I survived, had a great time, turned 30 and am back at work. I am also tired, still unpacking, mentally a little weird, tired, and oh, did I mention tired? I have tons of vacation blogs planned in my mind, really I do, and photos but they'll have to wait a day or two more. But here's a little update to keep you posted:

I had an awesome 30th birthday on Thursday. Thank you all who called, emailed, left me messages, sent packages and flowers, and spent the day with me. I am still celebrating, I think I will celebrate until the end of October so feel free to keep the birthday fun coming! More on my celebrations in a later blog...

Today we got our held mail and it was piles and piles, mostly junk. But hidden inside were two very interesting envelopes. The first was my official GRE results. I got a 5.5 out of 6 on the analytical writing section which puts me in the top 12% of test takers so that ROCKS! And then the second envelope: a grand jury summons. I've been called to participate on a grand jury in Phoenix (yes, that Phoenix, 3 hours from my house) 7 days a month for 6 months! I know - the insanity! I replied tonight on their form that this would cause an extreme hardship so here's hopin' and prayin' that the jury gods feel pity for me. Please, please, please.

So that's all for tonight folks. I need to write some postcards (so what if I'm already home, they're still fun!) and then go to bed. I really want to watch TV (so much good stuff to catch up on plus I got the whole series of Arrested Development for my birthday AND we just got the latest DVDs of Entourage from Netflix - ooh, shout out to the Office and their HILARIOUS nod to Netflix recently plus the great ep where Pam and Jim spend the night at Dwight's farm/not B&B. It's genius folks, download it now!) but I think I must sleep first. More to come soon, I promise!!!!

Until I return...

The past week has been a whirlwind. We ended our first quarter at school and have had two days of parent teacher conferences, with day three ending tomorrow at 2:30pm. These wear me out. I'm anxious sitting there, waiting to talk to parents, wondering if they'll argue or agree or just nod silently. And the noise, 40-some teachers in a room, talking to parents and kids, it's quite a buzz so I can't focus at all. I managed only a bit of paperwork and certainly no grading. But I have seen over 50 parents which is good considering I only have 90 kids.

And then there's getting ready to go on vacation. We leave tomorrow at 2:31pm for Vegas. My parents are flying in tomorrow afternoon and we'll all meet up and spend the night at the Golden Nugget downtown Vegas. Then Saturday we'll drive to the Grand Canyon and spend a few days there. On Monday we'll head back to the big city and spend the week at Bally's. We'll hit a few shows, so far Blue Man Group and Cirque de Soliel's O. On Saturday my parents fly home and Susie flies in to Vegas. We head up 8 hours to San Francisco and stay at the Fisherman's Wharf hostel until Wednesday when we'll travel back and spend two nights in Vegas at the Bellagio where we'll celebrate my big 3-0 birthday in style!

And yes, I'm ready for a vacation. In a week that's seen me take the GRE, prepare report cards and handle conferences while still having school every day, not to mention dealing with crisis after crisis at work and home (work - calling a mother to tell her that her son is telling kids he plans to commit suicide, not a highlight of my week & home - dealing with crappy insurance and mail-order prescription companies with Angela and the oh-so-slow USPS, ugh!), I am ready to leave it all behind and escape. So escape we will. I'll blog when I return...