Things that make me go hmmmmm

So I am sure this list is extensive and will be added to as they come to mind but the inspiration for this first post is...the need for fast food and other manufacturers to put CAUTION labels on various items.  The dummies that didn't realize that coffee is generally served hot, PopTarts reminding you to take the pastries out of the foil packaging before you put it in the toaster or microwave, and any other ridiculous cautions provided on items for the people who don't use common sense or want to sue other people for everything. Who would put a plastic bag in a crib?  What would be that purpose?

People...use some sense!

Some exciting stuff here!

Ok...so...all the cool kids are doing it. So why not me? Page started it and I checked it out. Laura did it and I checked it out. Noticed I hadn't posted in a while so I checked it out and found one that I definitely know a lot about. It's a writer's workshop to give you ideas and prompts to write/think about.

10 reasons why you can't sleep at night

1. Most of the time it's because my mind won't shut up and go to sleep. It's too busy worrying about things I have to do tomorrow, things I forgot to do today, what am I going to wear tomorrow, and it goes on and on and on.

2. There is something on TV that I really want to watch.

3. There is NOTHING on TV that I want to watch but I get sucked into anyway ie. History Channel, Food Network, WE TV, etc. etc.

4. It is too cold in the room.

5. It is too hot in the room.

6. Woke myself up out of a bad dream and now I have to watch TV or read a book to think about something else.

7. I accidentally took a 3 hour nap after work and have since caught a second wind.

8. What am I going to do if I can't think of 10 things to complete this list?

9. Anticipation for a big event or trip coming up.

10. For some reason I still have trouble going to sleep the night before the first day of school. (I guess this could technically go with #9 but whatever it's my list!)

There you go. A little insight into my insomnia.

Snow!

Ok I'm not gonna lie. I LOVE SNOW! I love that it gives me an excuse to be lazy and stay inside in front of the tv all day. (Do I really need an excuse though?) I think that it is beautiful - before people mess it up with their cars and walking through it. I love to watch people out having snowball fights and building snowmen.

I also enjoy the occasional Snow Day off from school. But for some reason right now I am not thrilled to be out of school. My students have a project that they are working on and some can't really get it done at home without resources we have at school. Also as I am a control freak I don't like to have to rearrange my lesson plans and schedules to accommodate interruptions. I mean, I have my plans set through March and into April already - that's how controlling I am.

But alas, I have today and most likely tomorrow off due to this winter storm. Can I be productive during this time? If so, what do I do?

Music

Do you ever hear a word or see something and it reminds you of a song? I get that all of the time. Last night it was the word inspiration which ALWAYS make me think "You're the meaning in my life, you're the inspiration." I also saw a commercial advertising a sale that said "you don't want to miss a thing" and immediately Aerosmith's "Don't Wanna Miss A Thing" popped in there. And these things don't just pop in my head, I generally tend to belt them out at the top of my lungs for the enjoyment of all of those around me.

I love to listen to music and ask any of my friends and they will tell you that I have playlists that go from Backstreet Boys to Jason Durulo to Jason Aldean to Miley Cyrus. Life - and my playlist - is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get!

I think that I can probably think of a song for just about every word, phrase, cliche, what have you. I would love a challenge or maybe we can play a game back and forth!

Yep...

To say that this weekend has been relaxing is an understatement and not even exactly the feeling that I am having right now.

Friday night I came home from school and started reading a book. I finished the book at about 1:30 am and was very happy about the fact that I could do that with no worries about the next day.

Saturday I stayed in (well out on the balcony) all day reading another book - which I finished before the sun went down. That night I went to hang out with some friends and stayed up really late. It was fun but very, what's the world "chill"? Without anything exciting? Nice? I don't know - left me wanting more?

Sunday, I proceeded to lounge, lay, sit, nap in the living room all day watching "The Love Saga" on Hallmark. (Some of my all time favorite stories/movies.) I got the apartment cleaned up during commercial breaks and did some laundry. Oh...I even alphabetized my CDs. That was my day.

Today, Monday, a holiday from school, I watched movies in the morning and started a new book this afternoon. Now I am watching Friday's episode of General Hospital - but not really watching because there aren't any good story lines at the moment.

So...that sums up my long weekend. SUPER exciting, right? Although I really really needed a weekend of doing nothing - having no plans, not being responsible for anything - I think I took that a little overboard. I need some excitement in my life. I need some adventure - books and movies can only accomplish so much. As much as I love to imagine my life as it could have been in 19th century England, or the American frontier, or modern day Oregon falling in love with the doctor saving my father from a heart attack, I have to realize that this...is my life.

In this season of my life I am sitting and waiting although I confess I don't believe that I am spending my single life exactly as the Lord has called me to do. I should be spending my time with Him. He will show me where my life is supposed to lead - IF it should lead to a certain someone or something. I feel like I am allowing my life to stay sedentary, almost accepting that this is my life forever. Is that the case? I don't really know. But isn't that supposed to make it interesting? Not knowing what is going to happen?

I don't know how I got a tangent or what the answers to my questions are but I do know that in the foreseeable future I know that I have 8 school days with kids left, a beach weekend in between to celebrate the wedding of a friend from college, and lots of mistakes (maybe a few triumphs) in there as well.

Where am I going? What will I be doing when I get there? God only knows - FOR REAL!

Oh what's a girl to do?

So...for a while I have been thinking that I should have been born like 150 years before I was. Now you are probably thinking "this girl is crazy. Why would she want that?" I don't really know but I think it probably has something to do with a lot of the books I read.

I get so wrapped up in the horses and dresses and carriages and brooding cowboys and quilting and baking and courting and closeness of families and friends and the focus on the Lord and His plans and the list goes on and on. I also think that I tend to romanticize all of the elements of "heading out west to the unknown". Even though I know about the dangers and the hardships that many of the travelers faced, I still am kinda upset that I don't have a chance to experience that lifestyle.

I did get the opportunity for a glimpse at that way of life when I worked at a historic tobacco farm a few summers ago. Although most everyone else hated it, my favorite days were the days I got to dress up in my 1870s dress and got to churn butter or sing Christmas carols with the children or make corn husk dolls.

So how do I make my life today resemble a life of the past that I really like? I REALLY like indoor plumbing, and my DVR and iPod, and electricity in general.

Oh what's a girl to do?

A wonderful hodge-podge (sp?)

So...it has been an interesting evening!

We had/are having torrential downpours outside plus severe thunderstorm warning plus tornado warning plus hail warning - which my new car (ahem truck) was so NOT excited about! So yeah - that was fun!

Also, LC and I were discussing new names for our balconies. She is going with the island feel so she is going to call hers a lanai. I watch my soaps all the time and they call there patios and balconies terraces so that is what I am going with. Now, even though I am online I have no desire slash time to look up the meanings of these terms to know if they are being used correctly. (It is already past my bedtime for a Sunday night.) So terrace it is!

Now on to the real reason for this post...school!

Of course I brought work home with me for the weekend and of course I waited until about 7 pm on Sunday to get started on it. My students are researching countries in Africa and Asia and are writing a short paper about those countries. Most of the papers start off with a line or two or five like this:

Hello! My name is (insert name) and I am going to tell you about the culture of Japan that I think was really fun to study about and I am really excited to tell you allot about it. So here we go!

Yep!

And then one of my kids wrote about the geography but his concluding line said this:

Hopefully one day in the future I will be able to study about the geography of Japan!

Well buddy, since your whole paper was already about the geography of Japan, I am so happy that I have been able to make that dream of your come true! I mean really. IDK!

Oh and of course I got many papers that were copied and pasted from several websites. Not only was the writing style and vocabulary waaaaaay over the head of a seventh grader, but its chunked in several different fonts and there are underlined portions that are probably hyperlinked. So, yeah! That's what I've got!

And also I just realized I have written - so, yeah - a few times in this post. Not really sure what that means but I'm thinking that things have been so ridiculous that there really hasn't been anything else to say.

Anyway - gotta get to bed 'cause this girl needs her beauty sleep FO' REAL!

So...yeah

Well...I just got a look and an eye-roll from this girl sitting next to me because I haven't posted anything new on my blog since I started it Saturday. Well, nothing has really happened in my life recently that I thought was worth my time to write or your time to read.

My friend got an email from someone...one of those dumb forward things that I usually let pile up in my inbox until I have time to read. Anyway, it was a 1st grade teacher who gave her students the first half of famous proverbs and they were asked to fill in the rest of the saying. Some of my favs are:

- Don't bite the hand that...looks dirty.

- A miss is as good as a...Mr.

- A penny saved is...not much.

And the one that I think is the funniest yet do not believe a 1st grader came up with it:
- Better late than...pregnant!

HAHAHA! Hope you had a smile for the day!