Saturday, November 5, 2011
Keep talking, whoa keep talkin'!
My aunt was kind enough to accept my self-invite to her house, so off I went this morning with my laptop and my hyper dog in tow. I intended to take advantage of some good ol' family wisdom and encouragement (and chicken salad) before hittin' the books and the keyboard. But my lack of willpower had something else in mind. Something like a day with my cousin Tatum. First, she defeated me in "Just Dance." I should have seen my fate when the Wii selected our character names and dubbed me "Poopy" and her "Sunny." After cutting a rug (the very one that Layla had marked as her own within five minutes of bounding in the door), Tatum and I enjoyed a healthy snack of Doritos and some of Nick Jr.'s most educational programs. Is iCarly's targeted audience 29-year-old females...because I definitely laughed out loud more than once. Before the day was over, I had co-baked (and co-dented) some fabulous brownies, harmonized to some of Sandy and Danny's greatest hits, played Layla's favorite game of "catch-me-if-you-can-as-I-leap-over-couches," and added exactly one very poorly organized run-on sentence to my paper (and another to my blog). Here's to you, Tatum, and the fun you bring to a Saturday afternoon!
Monday, October 31, 2011
Psalm 34:18
Today one of my students told me I looked different. When I made the mistake of asking, "How?" he replied, "Your face looks worse."
I can't say that I disagree. Actually, I was kind of impressed that he noticed. That's a pretty important social skill. Although maybe we need to work more on the "'Say it' or 'Think it'" game. That one's definitely a "think it," much like another comment one of my other students made in the middle of class: "Man, my stomach hurts! All this gas!"
Thank goodness my cousin and her husband welcomed me into their home tonight and provided an impromptu dance party to all "the ja-ams" of the nineties. It's really hard to have a pity party while prancing (I think that's what you would call it) around to some Gangsta's Paradise. A big thank you to Katie, DJ Smith, a sweet little raggedy clown scarecrow, and Coolio.
Jesus, please take it from here...
I can't say that I disagree. Actually, I was kind of impressed that he noticed. That's a pretty important social skill. Although maybe we need to work more on the "'Say it' or 'Think it'" game. That one's definitely a "think it," much like another comment one of my other students made in the middle of class: "Man, my stomach hurts! All this gas!"
Thank goodness my cousin and her husband welcomed me into their home tonight and provided an impromptu dance party to all "the ja-ams" of the nineties. It's really hard to have a pity party while prancing (I think that's what you would call it) around to some Gangsta's Paradise. A big thank you to Katie, DJ Smith, a sweet little raggedy clown scarecrow, and Coolio.
Jesus, please take it from here...
Thursday, October 13, 2011
shot in the dark
I tried a little something different with my hair today. One of my more vocal students said to me, "Ms. Howell, I really like this new look you have. Was your power out this morning?" I can't decide if I was more offended or impressed by her unintentional wit. Either way, it made me giggle...and glance in the mirror a time or two.
On another note, this evening, I accidentally took Layla to "Yappy Hour" at our apartment's dog park. She stealthily swiped an entire bag of community milkbones off the table and, after devouring them, proceeded to bark at any dog that attempted to greet or play with her, including a giant dog that was wearing a tutu as a collar...as if Twinkle Paws' self-esteem wasn't already plummeting.
On another note, this evening, I accidentally took Layla to "Yappy Hour" at our apartment's dog park. She stealthily swiped an entire bag of community milkbones off the table and, after devouring them, proceeded to bark at any dog that attempted to greet or play with her, including a giant dog that was wearing a tutu as a collar...as if Twinkle Paws' self-esteem wasn't already plummeting.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Honey, I Love (Remix)
An ode to the past month, in the form of a poem that I've been staring at all day thanks to my curriculum writer's block
I love
I love a lot of things, a whole lot of things
Like
I go to the dentist and she checks my pearly whites
She fills my mouth with x-ray slides and tells me when to bite
I like the way my teeth feel when I jump up from the chair
But honey, let me tell you that I LOVE my flattened hair
I love my mashed down, ruined hair
and
My cousin blows the pool up in her big new green backyard
We splash and sing and carry on until we're laughing hard
We dance so free and silly underneath the water's spray
Honey, let me tell you that I LOVE a summer day
I love a childlike summer day
and
My mom rolls into town with her beagle dog in tow
We walk her quick around the pond and to the mall we go
For days we eat and shop and laugh and swim and drink iced tea
Honey, let me tell you that I LOVE Mom's company
I love the laid back freedom in my mama's company
and
I get up bright and early for a training all week long
I brush my teeth and shower through intermittent yawns
The teachers stroll on in wearing muted shades of toffee
Honey, let me tell you that I LOVE my tall iced coffee
I love my extra soy iced coffee
and
The coast is warm and breezy with salty, sticky air
My second cousin Ava says, "The beach is everywhere"
We spend our days in sunshine with books and floats and waves
Honey, let me tell you that I LOVE how family saves
I love the way my family saves
and
My fingers fly across the keys and rest between book pages
I'm confused by all the jargon and developmental stages
Papers, final projects, online quizzes, presentations
Honey, let me tell you that I DON'T love information
I do not love too much information
But I love
I love a lot of things, a whole lot of things
And honey,
I love you, too.
P.S. Sorry blogger from whom I stole this whole Remix idea. Please know that your "borrowed" creativity sparked a dwindling blog, a super fab ELA powerpoint, and a rockin' worksheet! Honey, I LOVE to share ideas. I love to share all your ideas!
I love
I love a lot of things, a whole lot of things
Like
I go to the dentist and she checks my pearly whites
She fills my mouth with x-ray slides and tells me when to bite
I like the way my teeth feel when I jump up from the chair
But honey, let me tell you that I LOVE my flattened hair
I love my mashed down, ruined hair
and
My cousin blows the pool up in her big new green backyard
We splash and sing and carry on until we're laughing hard
We dance so free and silly underneath the water's spray
Honey, let me tell you that I LOVE a summer day
I love a childlike summer day
and
My mom rolls into town with her beagle dog in tow
We walk her quick around the pond and to the mall we go
For days we eat and shop and laugh and swim and drink iced tea
Honey, let me tell you that I LOVE Mom's company
I love the laid back freedom in my mama's company
and
I get up bright and early for a training all week long
I brush my teeth and shower through intermittent yawns
The teachers stroll on in wearing muted shades of toffee
Honey, let me tell you that I LOVE my tall iced coffee
I love my extra soy iced coffee
and
The coast is warm and breezy with salty, sticky air
My second cousin Ava says, "The beach is everywhere"
We spend our days in sunshine with books and floats and waves
Honey, let me tell you that I LOVE how family saves
I love the way my family saves
and
My fingers fly across the keys and rest between book pages
I'm confused by all the jargon and developmental stages
Papers, final projects, online quizzes, presentations
Honey, let me tell you that I DON'T love information
I do not love too much information
But I love
I love a lot of things, a whole lot of things
And honey,
I love you, too.
P.S. Sorry blogger from whom I stole this whole Remix idea. Please know that your "borrowed" creativity sparked a dwindling blog, a super fab ELA powerpoint, and a rockin' worksheet! Honey, I LOVE to share ideas. I love to share all your ideas!
Buying Time
Just checking in so I can make the midnight deadline...working on a little something that might take longer than 16 minutes :)
Thursday, June 30, 2011
A Little Too Hopeful?
I had to set a reminder in my not-smart phone to post a blog entry before midnight tonight. Although I definitely haven't managed to post daily, I'll be darned if all the months aren't listed in the archive! This blog is just one example of my tendency to dream bigger than I do. If you've ever read the Shopaholic series and can totally relate to Becky Bloomwood when she sees a pair of cute shoes and immediately resolves to buy them because they will be perfect for her internship at the White House where she never knew she wanted to work until she beheld such smart and sophisticated footwear, then we are kindred spirits. In addition to taking two classes and attending professional development trainings this summer, I recently signed on to help write curriculum for my district. What happened to the May me who intended to sleep in, read books that don't have an index in the back, and sip giant, half-price cherry limeades by the pool for who-knows-how-long-because-she's-lost-track-of-time? I have a feeling that in a couple of weeks when I have a paper due, a presentation to give, a project to turn in, and an English unit to fork over, little Miss Ambition will have cracked...and I'm not sure the king has enough horses and men to put me back together again!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)