He's gotta go!

Seriously...do you want this for your next American Idol?????

Happy Anniversary to Us!

Today Darryl and I have been married for eight years. (If I had a scanner, I would have scanned a wedding photo. Oh, well.) Happy Anniversary to us!

Most of you know that Darryl and I went to high school together, but we didn't date until we crossed paths several, several years later when I was in grad school at UWF in Pensacola. If you had told me in 10th grade that the guy sitting a couple of rows behind me in my Algebra 2 class would be sharing his life with me years down the road and that we would make our home in places like Baton Rouge and Atlanta...well, it just goes to show that truth really is stranger than fiction.

While we've had our ups and downs as all married couples do, we've had a great eight years. I look forward to many, many more!

1 Day Down, 4 to Go

I'm officially on the countdown to Spring Break.

The Importance of Being Earnest isn't going well. That makes me sad; this is one of my favorite plays. It seems to decline in popularity every year, and I really do think that students are losing a sense of "wit." They flock to movies like Beerfest and Jackass 2, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised if Oscar Wilde isn't their cup of tea. (A few students have liked the play, but very few. And I'm all up for entertaining the possibility that maybe I could do a better job teaching it, but anything I do with it requires reading it first, and yeah...that isn't going so well.)

Today's highlight is that a student took out part of her weave during class (she was probably bored by Earnest) and left it in my trash can. It was quite the conversation piece for my later classes. (The funny thing is that they recognized the weave: "G________ took out her weave?")

Also, I had to switch classrooms with another teacher for 2nd period so that my room could be used for graduation testing. When I returned to my room, it smelled, well, urinesque. Don't know what the story is there. Don't know if I want to know.

Is it Spring Break YET?????

Why does it seem as though Spring Break will NEVER get here? We have the rest of this week and one more week before we're off.

Not much new to report here. My seniors have just finished their "senior projects," an assignment I "inherited" that consists of a research paper and a presentation. Overall, I was underwhelmed by their efforts. I think we're all in need of a break. Now I'm on a quest to read and have a test on The Importance of Being Earnest before we're out for break. I'm convinced it can be done.

As for TV...I fast-forwarded through much of Dancing with the Stars; thank goodness for Tivo. I think I like Apolo the best. He's cute in a strange way...plus I have a weakness for Olympic gold medalists. I'm not really into American Idol this time around--I'm watching it, but half-heartedly. As good as some of the girls are, I think my favorite is Blake the Beat-Boxer. He just has a cool "groovy" vibe that I love...and he also has a great voice.

Speaking of TV, at this very moment we are having our "high definition" hooked up to our HDTV we bought about a month ago. Darryl's excited.

I think I'm just too tired and in need of a vacation that I'm just not interested in much of anything. Ever get like that?

The Last Few Weeks

I laughed when I saw Jen C's comment--"Where are you????"--on my last post. True, I haven't updated in a while. Well, here it goes...

The biggest event that occurred over the last few weeks was the death of my grandmother, whom I called "Mema." While she had been suffering from dementia for some time, she seemed in pretty good physical shape for a woman in her early 80s. But she fell at the assisted care facility she was staying in and cracked a vertebrae in her neck. (I'm not sure if I phrased that correctly, but maybe you get the idea.) Anyway, because of the delicate condition of her neck and the swelling, and given her age and increasing weakness, one bad thing led to another until she was gone just a little over a week after her fall.

In recent years, I hadn't seen my grandmother as much as I should have, but I do have many memories of her, and I've never known life without her existence. I'm sad she is gone, but at the same time, I know that she would have hated the life she would have had if she had lived--she was very much a work-in-the-yard-and-stay-busy person, and those days were over pretty much. Still, she is missed.

Darryl and I went to Florida for the funeral, and I was able to see family that I sadly I don't get to see as often as I would like. The service was a nice tribute to her life, and I think Mema would have approved.

Let's see...what else? Going from extremely somber to extremely silly, I should mention that Darryl and I went to see the musical Spamalot a couple of weeks ago. It was quite funny, and we both really enjoyed it.

Hmmm...my students are driving me nuts right now. It is obviously time for Spring Break. Unfortunately, we still have two more weeks to go until then. Pray that I (and my students) survive.

That's about it. I haven't even watched much TV lately because I've been too busy or too tired. Oh, and did I mention I have about a bazillion papers to grade? I think I'll be doing some of that this weekend.

I promise to update more frequently now. Oh, at my grandmother's funeral, I had several family member tell me that they enjoy keeping up with me through my blog. I kind of feel the pressure now to post something more exciting...

"Idol" Girls

I guess the girls deserve equal blog treatment...

The girls were definitely a lot better than the boys, with several really good performances. My favorite is probably Melinda, the background singer who has a strong voice but what appears to be the most humble attitude.

And really that's all I have to say about Idol. I probably won't talk about it anymore here unless something really awesome, outrageous, or stupefying happens.

"Idol" Boys and Peanut Butter

I had pretty much vowed that I wasn't going to watch American Idol this year (let's just say I was not a Taylor Hicks fan), but yet again, I'm sucked in.

I thought the boys pretty much stunk it up last night with the exception of Blake the Beat-boxer. I agree with Simon that he was the only one who seemed to come from 2007 (and I love Keane's "Somewhere Only We Know"). I mean, what was up with all the bad, dreary pop songs? And I also agree with Simon that the JT look-alike (the one who sang the Gavin DeGraw song) didn't have a great vocal. I was grading papers while the show was on, so I was mostly listening...and I grimaced a few times during his performance. At least he looked alive, though.

I'm hoping the girls can "bring it" tonight. I plan to TiVo it, though, so I don't have to listen to the inane bickering among the judges and Ryan "I don't get why he's so famous" Seacrest.

And on a completely unrelated note: I am having this insane craving for peanut butter. It's like I can't get enough of it. Maybe it's all the talk about it because of the salmonella thing. Good thing I'm a Jif girl.

A little bit of this and that

I haven't posted this past week because I've been pretty busy and tired. For what it's worth, here is what has been going on in my life, in no particular order:

--Darryl the World Traveler returned from a three-week stint in France. (I know...don't we all hate him?) Actually, he ended up working most of the time and didn't have many opportunities for sightseeing. He was in Montpellier, along the Mediterranean coast. Anyway, I really missed him while he was gone and am very glad to have him back.

--Darryl took me to South City Kitchen for Valentine's Day. The food was delicious. I had the best fried green tomatoes I've ever had; they were layered with goat cheese and deep fried. Seriously, I could have made a meal off those alone. For the entree, I had the fried chicken and mashed potatoes. Delicious. (Darryl had the meatloaf.) We split a dessert of homemade vanilla ice cream in a cookie-type basket with fresh fruit. Yum. I'd love to go back there.

--I have an insane amount of grading to do. I won't bore you with the details, but trust me...it's massive.

--I was really impressed this week by how many students got into the movie Emma. I really don't have the patience to READ Jane Austen with my "regular" (meaning non-Honors/non-AP) seniors, but I feel they should be at least exposed to her. I always lead into it by saying that it was the inspiration for the movie Clueless, and that seems to grab their attention. The movie did get off to a rocky start--the beginning is a little slowly paced for them--but they seemed to come around during Day 2. I have one class of 19 boys and 5 girls, and I had to smile when I looked at all these rowdy boys with their chins resting on their hands, eyes glued to the screen, saying, "Kiss her! Kiss her!" when Knightley declares his love at the end. When it was over, they admitted that the movie "wasn't bad for a chick flick."

--I really love my 10th grade honors class. Not only are they "with it" intellectually, but they are cooperative, obedient, good spirited, lively, funny, polite...all those qualities that teachers love. And on top of all that, and you'll appreciate this, Jen C, they sent me a love note from Sydney Carton of A Tale of Two Cities after I revealed to them that he was my new literary crush. :)

--To end the crazy week, Tim, Kim (who sometimes comments here as "Theatre Director"), and I went to DQ for a chocolate covered strawberry Blizzard. I highly recommend it.

King Cake!!!

Darryl won lots of good husband points by having our friends Damian and Rebecca ship my two favorite King Cakes to me from my favorite bakery in Baton Rouge. The one pictured below has a blueberry and cream cheese filling, and the other one is a Zulu cake, which is filled with cream and covered in chocolate and coconut. Yum!

I really do miss Baton Rouge this time of year. Darryl and I did the Mardi Gras thing in New Orleans only once (and we behaved ourselves and maintained our dignity--can't say the same for the majority of people there, though), but this time of year is extremely festive in Louisiana, with everything decorated in purple, green, and gold. Through the latter part of January and most of February, most of our cookouts and dinners with friends ended with King Cake as the dessert, and on Saturday mornings, I'd get in the car, go to Ambrosia Bakery, and buy a piping hot King Cake to have for breakfast.

Now, if the only King Cake you've had is from a grocery store deli outside the state of Louisiana, then you really haven't had King Cake. These grocery store King Cakes are usually taste like stale, dry bread. The REAL King Cakes are soft, doughy, sweet, gooey delicious goodness.

R.I.P. Everwood

I'm an Everwood addict. There. I said it. Once I discovered the show was in syndication on ABC Family (the same way I began watching Gilmore Girls), I latched on and became a huge fan.

Now, that being said, I have to say that tears welled up in my eyes, oh, like six times as I watched the series finale. The tears were there not just because of touching scenes (the ones between Treat Williams and his Gregory Smith, his TV son, were always the best through the entire series), but also because I was sad that the Everwood experience is over.

As much as I hate that it is the end of Everwood, I must admit that it was probably time for it to end. Everwood pretty much got the shaft when WB became CW, but it left with audiences wanting more; it ended while it was still GOOD, and isn't that the way all shows should end? Unfortunately, Gilmore Girls is becoming a train wreck, with too many jumped sharks (Luke's daughter, hello?). It is begging to be put out of its misery. I think when it ends, I will breathe a sigh of relief and watch my DVDs of Seasons 1-5...when the show was smart and funny.

But Everwood remained true to itself, and I'm glad I devoted those five hours a week to watch it. According to my fake TiVo, ABC Family isn't planning to air it again right away (replacing it with 7th Heaven, a show that will never die), but I'm hoping that it will air Everwood again in the future. When it does, you must watch it. You'll love it.

Movie Marathon

I would love to do this. Anyone interested? All five Oscar-nominated movies, a large popcorn and coke with free refills, plus bathroom breaks...for $30. Not a bad deal.

I finally finished TALE OF TWO CITIES!!!

Well, Jen C and all other interested parties, I finally finished A Tale of Two Cities!! I loved it. Sydney Carton may be my new literary crush.

I have to confess that up to this point, I had not been a Dickens fan. I'm going to blame this on the abysmal experience I had with Oliver Twist, which was taught to me in a graduate course by a man who held his piece of chalk like a cigarette in one hand and his egg salad sandwich in the other while he lectured from his yellowed-with-age notes.

Dickens redeemed himself with me with Tale of Two Cities. (I'm sure he wasn't "resting easy" in his grave because of my previous dislike of him.) Sure, sometimes I said, "Get on with it, Charles" whenever he launched into his lengthy descriptions, but the story--oh, the story--is wonderful. Loved it, loved it, loved it.

"Wintry Mix" Day!!!

Woo hoo! Our school was one of the many that closed today because of the "wintry mix" weather.

So here I am, still in my flannel PJs, fuzzy cozy socks on my feet, fire in the fireplace, coffee in the cup, with plans to watch TV and movies (and finish Tale of Two Cities) all day long.

It's okay to be jealous.

Barbaro

I'm sad about Barbaro. I admire good vets, and lack of giftedness in science and math aside, I could not be a vet. I just couldn't. Of course, I could possibly be a vet for exotic animals. (Read the bottom of Max's post to "get it.")

The Weekend--Friends and Chick Flick

Because of Darryl's work demands this weekend, I was able to spend some time having "girl time" and "me time."

Friday, I met up with my friend Lisa, whose wedding I wrote about back in November, at our favorite Mexican restaurant...or at least the favorite one that we often ordered from when I worked at the law firm. I haven't been able to see Lisa since the wedding, so we had lots of catching up to do. We stayed at Monterrey's for over 2 hours, and then we had to continue our conversation at a Starbucks when our waiter kept giving us looks that expressed his desire for us to leave his booth so he could make some more tip money. Anyway, it was great seeing her. Lisa is hilarious (and a wonderful storyteller), so she had me in stitches most of the time.

Saturday, I did a little shopping but didn't really buy anything worth posting about...unless you are interested in the two pairs of fuzzy "cozy socks" that I bought on sale at Belk's.

I went to see the movie Catch and Release Sunday. Definitely a rental. (But I still find Jennifer Garner endearing.) I'm sorry, but what has happened to all the good, smart romantic comedies? When I think about my faves, I think of Bridget Jones's Diary, Love Actually, and About a Boy, which leads me to think that my criteria for a good, smart romantic comedy are 1) The movie is "British," and 2) The movie stars Hugh Grant. I'm supposed to see Because I Said So with Diane Keaton, Lauren Graham, and Mandy Moore this weekend with my friend Casi. Ladies, don't let me down! Make me laugh!

If I could sing...

I would SO be a diva.

I took a 2-week break from the Dreamgirls soundtrack, but this morning I put it on for my drive to school. I have what I call my "Jennifer Hudson Medley"--"I Love You I Do," then "I Am Changing," followed by "One Night Only," ended by "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going." That last one gets me really fired up, helps me get my caffeine kicking in high gear. I like to do hand movements and facial expressions for these songs, too. Should I be saying all this?

I'm thinking about seeing Dreamgirls again this weekend. So yeah, if you haven't seen it yet, you should. And you should buy the soundtrack so you can get your "diva" on, too. You won't be sorry.

Tidbits from the week

I haven't posted in a week or so because frankly, not much was going on. Here are just a few thoughts...

--The diet is going so-so. I'm doing somewhat okay with the eating rules (3 meals, 2 snacks, no eating two hours before bedtime), but I'm not doing so great with the exercise. It has been too cold out to walk (I'm sure I could "layer up" and brave the chilly wind, but I don't wanna), so that requires driving to the gym, and that sucks up some time with all the school stuff I need to work on. I must get better about this!

--My students drove me absolutely nuts today. I gave a test that they knew about well in advance, and we did EXTENSIVE review yesterday. When I tell you (you, being the student) that you need to know who wrote what, don't act shocked when you have questions about that info on the test. Seriously (see footnote), they were being ridiculous. And from what I've graded so far, well, the situation is abysmal.

--I was observed last week for my yearly evaluation, but I haven't received the report yet. Fortunately, the administrator came to my honors class. Unfortunately, the students were a bit "off" and somewhat lethargic that day. It could have been worse, though. (The next day I had one of my best classes ever with them. Go figure.) Am I the only teacher who HATES being observed? I hate it. I don't know why...

--That's about it, except for my "seriously" footnote...

**For the record, I would like to say that I used the expression "seriously" quite a bit BEFORE I started watching Grey's Anatomy. (If you watch the show, you know what I'm talking about. If you don't, you have no clue what I'm talking about.) I just felt that I should establish that fact. I'm not one of those people who pick up phrases from TV shows and use them just to be "cool" (not consciously, anyway). Seriously.

I bought a "diet" book

I had pretty much sworn to myself that I wouldn't buy any more "diet" books--I mean, we all know that to lose weight, you have to burn more calories than you consume--but I caved the other day and bought Bob Greene's Best Life Diet book. I've skimmed some of his books before, watched him on Oprah, and his way seems to make sense. (This book was also more tempting because Borders had it for 30% off, plus I had a $10 Borders reward certificate. Nice.)

He admits up front that the only way to lose weight is to burn more than you take in, but he argues that many people crash and burn on diets because people try to do too much too soon; he suggests making small changes before going hardcore diet-and-exercise crazy.

So for the first four weeks (Phase One), I'm supposed to do the following:

--Eat a good breakfast. This is pretty huge for me because I've been eating a banana. This isn't Bob Greene's idea of a good breakfast. This also probably explains why I'm hungry. All. The. Time.

--Eat three meals and two (preferably healthy) snacks. I guess that means I should grab an apple instead of the M&Ms. (Another reason why I'm hungry all the time.)

--Drink more water.

--Increase my fitness routine. Based on the five levels of fitness Bob gives, my New Year's Resolution (to work out three times a week) should suffice for now. (Side note: I've been pretty good about keeping this resolution!)

--Stop eating two hours before bedtime. This is one of Bob Greene's things. He mentions it in all his books. I don't think this will be a biggie for me--I'm not much of a grazer before I go to bed.

And that's all for Phase One. Oh, and I'm also not supposed to weigh myself for four weeks. It all seems doable to me. The hardest thing for me is going to be the healthy snacks. Who wants an apple when the vending machine offers more enticing snacks like Reese's Pieces?

Is anyone else fascinated by this news story?

I can't stop thinking about the story of the two missing boys who were returned to their families. I don't have much to say about it other than the fact that I'm sure the elation these parents feel is indescribable. I'm also finding myself thinking about the boy who was missing for over four years--who knows what all he has been through in that time. I'm sure the psychological ramifications of all this are huge for him. But still...this is a happy ending to long nightmare, for sure.

Additional bonus: I'm glad that this story has put Rosie and Donald on the backburner, at least for a few days.

Shafty

One of my students has given me the nickname "Shafty" because he claims I "shafted" him a point on a vocabulary quiz back in September. (Apparently I should have known that he "meant" to mark answer C instead of answer A.) He reminds me of this every week. He won't let it go. (For the most part, he's joking, but I think a small part of him is really miffed over the one point.)

Anyway, the other day, I had my students respond to a choice of prompts, and one of them was a prompt that called for them to recall a time they had suffered and had become a better person through their suffering. (We were studying John Donne, who is all about the suffering.) Of course, this student wrote about the time I "shafted" him on his vocabulary grade. :)

The piece de resistance (forgive my lack of accent marks--I can't figure out how to do them) occurred yesterday when this student and his sidekick performed a song for me, sung to the tune of Isaac Hayes's "Shaft":

Who is the teacher who will take your point away?
She's Shafty, Shafty [my last name].
Who is the teacher who will rain on your parade?
She's Shafty--yeah, that's right.

I think I like being Shafty. Especially if I get my own theme song.