I just watched this video and thought it was really cool.

Stow That Religious Talk

I was having a convo with the hub about Scientology and looked up some info on wikipedia. A certain quote (the following) brought about a most hilarious response from the Kevin.

See here: "...Scientology is legally recognized as a tax-exempt religion in the United States and some other countries, and the Church of Scientology emphasizes this as proof that it is a bona fide religion. In other countries such as Germany, France and the United Kingdom, Scientology does not have comparable religious status."

Kevin's response: "It's because we have freedom of religion in this country... mistake number one."

Sweet Links to Share

This will be a random collection of links that are awesome. Please enjoy.

When Kevin and I travel to Europe (after saving up some pennies), we will be touring with one of Rick Steves' pals because they'll provide one heckuva trip. Perhaps you'd also like to tour with them? Explore here.

I found this site after seeing an awesome picture at nationalgeographic.com. Super interesting and extremely aesthetically pleasing.

On a slightly different note: this site rocks anyone's socks off for primary sources from American history. They even sell DVDs and CDs! I've not been able to buy any yet... but I have big plans.

This site was designed by a teacher at Central Academy (where I'm currently working) who is, in a word, amazing. This woman wears so many hats in the building and does a wonderful job with all of her responsibilities. She developed this website as a resource for teachers using the SIOP model for teaching English Language Learners and it has a butt-ton of great links.

I happened upon this site while lesson planning for a science session with my 7th/8th graders. It was something they really liked exploring.

This site provides a bunch of different techniques for book-making with kids. I've made a few with some lovable lil' hoolies and they had a great time. Two thumbs up.

This site is just plain fun.

I was introduced to this site by one of my 6th graders during a computer lab session. Challenging and fun.

I feel like there's something I'm forgetting to include but I just can't think of what it could be! If/when I remember I will insert it.

Missing Spring

I have grown tired of winter. Snowfall has become an almost daily nuisance of late and snow days (which mean no work and no pay) and high heating bills every month have been wearing on my nerves. There are many obviously annoying things about winter: driving on ice, having to wear boots, scraping my car, etc. It's been many years since I've wanted to go sledding or have a snowball fight or build a snowman (without going along for the ride with others). As far as I'm concerned, snow is nice to look at and that's about all. I like seeing the first snow and I like a lot of the wintery things I associate with snow (Christmas, family time, ho-cho, etc.) but beyond that I'm just not into it anymore.

That said, I'm oh-so-ready for spring to arrive! I'm cheered daily by the fact that I can still see the sun when I leave work and that weather reports are predicting increasing temperatures. It means spring is (finally) on the way! I'm so looking forward to springtime smells and just can't wait for the first thunderstorm of the year. More than anything else, though, I long to open the balcony doors in our apartment and let the fresh air in. Right now opening the doors is not only nonsensical (it's stinkin' cold out) but also not possible (as we had to seal them up with that shrink wrap stuff to keep the heat in and attempt to save money). I like being able to go out onto our balcony, leave the doors open to welcome breezes and I have birdseed and peanuts just waiting for the critters that come to visit us.

Seasons are one of the things that I love about living in Michigan... I think I would really miss the cold snowy conditions were I to move away. But I can definitely say that (every year) winter and I are not friends as it is on its way out.

Thankfulness

I am thankful for (in no particular order):
1. My wonderful husband who loves me
2. My family
3. My health
4. Awesome friends
5. My job as an opportunity to positively impact the lives of some pretty great kids (and have an income)
6. A full stomach, pantry and refrigerator (and delicious Thanksgiving food :))
7. My stinkin' cute d-o-g
8. Wonderful stories to read and share with others
9. Fun games such as: Apples to Apples, Indiaca, Egyptian Rat Screw, Scrabble, Rummikub, etc.
10. Comfortable furniture given by generous friends
11. The internet as a source of information and a way to stay connected to loved ones
12. Relaxing music
13. Effective exercise routines
14. Teachers that do a good job because they're fully invested and honestly care
15. Silly things that make me laugh
16. A quiet and pleasant place to live
17. Penny jars :)
18. A reliable vehicle
19. Water
20. Holidays that remind me of my blessings

Time Gone By

Well, it certainly has been quite a while since my last blog post. I made many promises of posts to come... I have those drafts started but today is not the day to post them. Quite a lot has happened... but I don't really feel much like giving a blow-by-blow update of my life in the past couple months right now either.

I just finished reading an old post of one of my high school friends talking about his high school experience and reminiscing about this and that. For some reason reading that post again made me feel particularly nostalgic and I have some memories to look back on.

This friend of mine mentioned a song that struck him when performed by the Chamber Singers (which at the time was all women including me). Until I read his post (for the first time) I'd forgotten all about that song and how much I loved it, too. I got to thinking about how much I wish I had recordings of all of the songs I was a part of over the years of choral participation. I wish I had recordings of me specifically and how my voice used to sound. Choir was one of my most favorite things about school. It was the sport I played and supplied quite a few of my favorite friendships (with some fun and crazy characters thrown in). I'm sad to think I'll never get a chance to sing in a group like that again (and be good, too).

Kevin is currently long-term subbing for one of our most beloved high school teachers. As a result he's being reminded of lessons and content we were exposed to in Early Civ and Humanities. It's been fun for me to remember my dumb high school self and realize how much I've changed (and to re-realize why I went into teaching for elementary ed, too).

This friend of mine, mentioned above, said that he's been criticized for romancing his high school years. I have NEVER heard anyone say the same thing about me. I've even been known to say that I hated high school. Looking back I know that a statement like that is more than a bit dramatic and is certainly not all true. High school did have its bumps and, being a teenage girl, most of those bumps resulted in extremely emotional reactions from me.

Boys were weird and hardly ever made sense and a couple particular almost "relationships" ended some solid friendships and left me feeling dumb and confused. I lost a best friend to the "in crowd" because of her "relationship" stuff that had nothing to do with me plus a far greater interest in fashion, hair, and MTV than I'll ever possess. I was mercilessly bullied by some horribly jerky girls for the last two years of high school over something so dumb I bet they don't even remember what it was. I got my first (and only) boyfriend at the end of my junior year which began an extremely dramatic summer for us as we were both negotiating how to have a bf/gf and still have friends. I struggled through much of high school with migraine headaches and was absent quite a lot senior year as they got progressively worse. I developed a super apathetic attitude toward certain school subjects and ended up dropping three classes midway through senior year to dual-enroll at WCC. I got in my first of three car-totaling accidents. (other various things could join this group)

But I also: grew much closer with friends that are still important to me today, felt like an important member of an elite and talented group, got to work backstage on a bunch of stinkin' fun productions, got college credit during high school, made new friends that helped me deal with the loss of old ones, learned a language, traveled to two different countries and through a bunch of states, found my husband, and made so many memories that I don't remember half of them anymore. High school was not so awful as I'd previously thought.

It's so nice to be reminded of wonderful things that were so important to me and made me oh-so-happy at the time. Thanks a ton, Paulie. Love you.

Just a Pinch

I have a few fun things to share.

On a recent shopping trip to Meijer for a few essentials Kevin noticed a sign that looked something like this:
PLASTICHANGERS $2.99
He failed to notice the subtle difference in color and read it aloud: "Plast-y Changers?"
I laughed pretty hard.

That same day I learned that Kevin had named his intestines (both small and large) Mr. Powell. It was taking me a small while to figure that one out... so then he explained it to me. :)

This video has been a favorite occasional topic of conversation for me for a couple years now and I was so pleased to share it this morning with my stinkin' awesome coworker, Sarah. Please, enjoy.

Kevin and I just finished watching a This Old House project that we recorded. It was pretty neat to watch the evolution of the house and all the little projects that make up a renovation. Another thing that verifies that we're in our 60s.

Sometimes people you know need to get rid of furniture and you and your husband end up with a free couch! It's awesome and we love it (I think mostly because we didn't really have a couch before). We also love our popcorn popper! We used it for the first time since it was given to us as a wedding gift on a scheduled movie night last Saturday. It makes a delicious and cheap snack (essential for movie watching) which we enjoyed along with two excellent films: Heart and Souls and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.

I learned to knit this week at camp! One of the campers was talking on Monday about how she knows how to knit and, of course, I was vocally envious. She decided then that she was going to bring in her supplies and give me lessons during me-time. The first day she just let me do a few rows on her project (a scarf). I ended up procuring some long forgotten needles from the AC office and the next day I was ready to learn how to cast on. Next I have to learn how to finish something up and then I'll be all ready to roll! :) Knitting is awesome.

Jungle Java does not suck. It doesn't quite make sense to me as an Around the World field trip but we all definitely had fun, which was great. A post coming sometime soon about how we turned A-2 into a giant recycling center: stay tuned!