Seven Quick Takes: Me, In Bullet Points

Inspired by a Jones Design Company post this week, here are seven things that you may not know about me, in bullet points.  Not quite as in depth, and a lot more random, but here goes:

1.  Approximately 32% of the reason that I became a teacher is so that I can still buy school supplies each year.  That may not be true.  But it might.  I really love post-it notes, and new Sharpies, and don't even get me started on the perfectly sharpened Ticonderoga pencil.

2.  I am a complete and total introvert.  Some people have laughed and don't believe me when I tell them this, but it is very true.  Introverts are not necessarily shy all of the time, but are recharged by being alone, whereas extroverts are recharged by being with people.  I love you all, but people exhaust me- which makes my career choice of teaching and work at church interesting and challenging. At the time of writing this, I have been in my apartment for over 48 hours, by myself, (thanks to no-school-cold-weather-days), and it has been the best and most rejuvenating thing ever.

3.  I bite my nails.  Trust, me I know that it is gross and unprofessional and a good way to get sick.  I (and in my younger days, my mom) have tried many things to stop, but nothing has stuck.  I gave it up for Lent one year and did fairly well offering it up as a sacrifice.  My friend rewarded me with a manicure just before Easter, but about a week later they were chewed to the quick again. So now I just keep them painted all of the time in bright colors- it is much harder to chew on your nails when they are covered in dark blue nail polish.

4.  I entered the world of smart phones a couple of weeks ago.  I had resisted for quite a while, but it was time to upgrade from my little slide-out-keyboard-can't-receive-every-other-text-message clunker and come into the 2010's.  Honestly, one of the reasons why I had avoided getting a smart phone was an excuse to not be connected.  People expect you to be available all of the time...and, well, see #2.  However, I love technology and finding new ways to use it, so I have quite enjoyed having so many things at my fingertips.  And, I can always turn it off if necessary, right?

5.  If choosing, I would always pick a roadtrip over a plane ride.  I love vacations that have low planning, spontaneous stops, and unforeseen adventures.  Getting to your destination can be half the fun, and is a great opportunity to really get to know people.

6.  I am a genealogy nerd.  Well, I have been a genealogy nerd, and need to get back to putting some time in it.  It was kind of a weird hobby to have in high school and college...visiting tiny libraries to find family records, dragging my parents to distant family reunions just to meet other people who could share information, hand writing letters to people decades older than me who knew my family way-back-when.  I literally have had nightmares about loosing my family scrapbooks in a fire or seismic fissure or volcanic eruption.

7.  Speaking of nightmares, I have very vivid realistic dreams, and I usually remember them.  From being a Jew in Nazi controlled Germany, to witnessing a demonic possession, to random (untrue) happenings in the lives of people I know, I never know what I am going to dream next.  I don't usually hold on to the stories for too long each day unless they are really weird/scary/funny or I have someone to tell first thing in the morning.  My family got a few ear fulls during the two weeks we spent together over Christmas break.  Maybe I should write a book...

What are seven random things that describe you?

Thanks, Kelly for hosting!

Seven Quick Takes: Oregano Tea and other Summer Mistakes that Didn't Turn Out So Bad

Today is my last Friday of summer.  (sigh)  School resumes next week, and while my classroom is ready and I am excited to greet 22 happy faces each morning, that doesn't mean that I don't mourn the end of summer.  This was an exceptionally good summer, so that makes it even harder.

Why was it so good you ask?
I would list my trip to Colorado, time with family, beautiful weather, free time, books read, friends cherished...

But there were a few other things that were sort of good...but started out not good...but still added to the stories of my summer.  Here are seven funny memories from the past couple of months:

~1~

For a farmer's daughter I have a black thumb- houseplants beware.  However, I do pretty well at keeping a few pots of herbs alive in the summer and relish having fresh basil and cilantro at my fingertips.  Another herb I usually have is mint, mostly because I like to make mint sweet tea in the summer.

This year, I kept waiting for my mint plant to get bigger before I harvested any, but eventually decided that it must just be a different variety than what I had in the past.  I picked a handful of leaves, brewed some tea, poured over ice, and sipped.  It was... interesting.  A bit of a mint flavor but not what I was used to.  Hmmm.  I drank the glass, but then got curious.  And rechecked my herb labels.  And did a google search.

Come to find out, at some point my labels had gotten moved and instead of mint tea, I had just brewed oregano tea.  Oregano, the stuff you put in pizza sauce.  I was beginning to think that I was crazy and had forgotten what mint smelled and tasted like until I discovered that oregano is part OF THE MINT FAMILY.  No jokes.  Oregano tea.  I didn't make it again.

Oregano Tea.  The next big thing.

 

 ~2~

I do enjoy a good garage sale or thrift store, and this summer was no exception.  My most successful weekend was during my town wide garage sales with a friend.  My sister had given me a list of some baby items that I was a on a mission to find.

However, I had decided to be fashionably comfortable as we shopped by wearing a cute maxi skirt.  And it rained.  All day.  Do you know what happens to the hem of a long skirt when you walk around all day in the rain?  The hem gets wet, and then the skirt gets wet up to your ankles, and then shins, and then knees.  Pretty soon that skirt weighed about 50 pounds.  How did our ancestors do it with their floor length skirts and petticoats and layers over layers?  Anyways, despite my feminine fax-pas, I scored this awesome solid wood high chair (isn't it beautiful?) for $5.  FIVE DOLLARS.  Bring the rain.

My niece or nephew is gonna love this.

~3~

I had a few weddings this summer, one of which (almost) all of my immediate family was at.  It was beautiful and fun and a lovely day to celebrate.  Aren't we a good looking bunch?

The fam, sans Luke.

The night before some of us visited the new local coffee shop, which is my current favorite place to be.  We were hanging out, listening to live music, drinking some goodness, and my brother-in-law suggested a game.  We ended up playing competitive pairs battleship until the place closed.  Insert required hipster picture:

My team took one too many torpedoes.

~4~

This summer my parish worked together with two other area churches to offer a Vacation Bible School.  If you know anything about VBS, you are aware that there will be singing.  And dancing.  And the songs will be annoyingly catchy.  They will get stuck in your head.  By day two, I never wanted to hear the music again.  But by the end of the week, I had added the music to my itunes.  As had several of the volunteers.  Take this one for example:

~5~

I celebrated my actual birthday in Colorado, which was lovely.  A few weeks later, I was trying to catch up with some friends, and made plans to come over for breakfast after Sunday Mass.  While driving, Bonnie called to check on my ETA.  She then said that the kids wanted to talk to me.  After visiting with B for a bit, L got on the phone, and the conversation went something like this:
Me- "Are you hungry?  I am!"
L- "Yes!"
Me- "I have a big bowl of fruit in my backseat for us.  What else are we going to eat?"
L- "I can't tell you.  It is a surprise."
Me- "OK."
L- "Actually (drops to a whisper) I can't tell you because it is all a surprise.  It's a surprise birthday party for YOU!"

whoops.

I was five minutes away, so after L hung up on me, I just walked in and pretended that it never happened.  I still got decorations, a yelled "SURPRISE!", and a candle in a sculpture of pastries.  It was the best ever not-such-a-surprise belated birthday breakfast.

The best.

~6~

This summer I had a goal of "touching" everything in my apartment.  Sounds weird, but I mean that I wanted to sort and throw away and donate lots after going through every box, closet, bin, shelf, etc.  I wanted it to happen, but I did not want to do it.  However, I buckled down a few weeks ago and got it done.  (Unfortunately, it was after those town wide garage sales, or I could have made quite the profit!).  Everything looks SO much better, and it is so peaceful to be in an organized home.

Might not look like much, but you should see the before.  On second hand, no you shouldn't.

~7~

While helping my sister and her husband look for more furniture in an antique shop, Steven and I got a little bored.  We wandered, and came upon these (ahem) lovely porcelain dolls.  Don't ask me how, but without even getting close, I identified them as being the characters from Little Women.

"Little Women?" Steven asked.

Big mistake.  I then tried to explain the plot of one of my favorite books/movies to him.  Using the porcelain dolls as reference.  He is a good man.  Because he didn't run away.

"You must tell me, because we are sisters, a relation closer than marriage."

 ~Bonus #8~

One of my last little road trips of the summer was to visit Marytown & the St. Maximilian Kolbe Shrine in Libertyville, IL and then stop at Mundelein Seminary.  There could be many reasons to visit Mundelein- the gorgeous lake and grounds, beautiful architecture, the sculptures, hoping to run into Fr. Robert Barron, visiting the lovely chapel of the Immaculate Conception...but really I just wanted to see this window.

First stained glass window to feature an Emmy, I reckon.

Fr. Barron posted pics earlier this summer of the new stained glass windows in the recently renovated JP2 chapel at Mundelein.  I had to see my friend Fulton up close, so making it to that chapel was at the top of the list.  We walked the grounds, took pictures, and visited several buildings.  After checking with a seminarian, we climbed the stairs to the new chapel to find...it was temporarily closed for continued installations.

No.

Not to be deterred, we, my Bible Study friends, young Catholics visiting a seminary by choice on a free weekend, went ahead and broke in.  (by broke in, we ignored the sign and moved some plastic and went in anyways, rebels that we are.)  It was so worth it.  This window was so beautiful, and while some others were covered, I was able to see St. Gianna, Bl. Pier Giorgio, St. John XXIII, Mother Teresa, and more.  I felt as though I were among friends.  Sneaking in was totally worth it.  Just don't tell Fr. Barron.

Better than a mug shot, we suppose.

What great summer memories :)

Now go visit Conversion Diary for what will likely be more coherent sets of Quick Takes!

7QT- Seven Signs It Is Time For School To Be Out

School is almost out for the summer.  Teachers try to hold together "normal" for as long as possible with the kids to prevent anarchy mutiny rebellion detrimental changes in routine.  However, that semblance of normal routine is breaking down in me more and more each day.  Here are a few examples of how I can tell it is time to ship the kids off for a restful summer break:

~1~

Sign number one that it is time for school to be out for the summer: 

 I was searching for the surface of my desk grading papers today and a pile of student work accidentally slid into the garbage.  

The garbage.  

I sat still and slowly peered over the corner of my desk. 

And I seriously considered leaving them there.

Don't worry.  I called on responsible Katie and she did the right thing.  Meh.  Grading.

~2~

I find myself growing more attached to the kids now that they are leaving.  I do love them, but in the throes of February, that kid that cannot for the life of him ever find any of his belongings or the one that interrupts as she breathes and the other that seems to "always" not hear my directions...well let's just say the patience runs thin.  But now, a couple short weeks from sending them on their way, affection fills my heart for their little quirks and personalities and contributions to our classroom.  We will enjoy these last days together, and I will be sad to see them go off during the long summer months.

~3~

I was told today by a student that I "had no swag."

No swag, you say?!?

egads!

Well, I must be all out of swag for the school year.

Time for you to go.

~4~

 I am out of attention-getting-mechanisms and creative seating arrangements and strategic lesson plans.  My students just want to talk. To anyone. All day.  Cue Mr. Feeny.

~5~

My biggest internal end-of-the-year sign is that I am in pitch and organize mode.  I have to resist the impulse to dump every shelf, empty every tote, sort, throw, clean, organize, color code, file, and rearrange every stinkin' thing in both my classroom and my DRE office. Right now.  Everything that has been functioning well suddenly seems to be in disarray, but it is just going to have to wait until the kids walk out the door and I have more space and less hands to "help" with the sorting.

Amen, Ryan.

~6~

Another reason school needs to be out for the summer? Supplies are coveted.

 

I swear every kid's pencil (singular) looks like this.  

~7~

My last sign is that I am tired of looking longingly at the books on my bookshelf/coffee table/floor  that are begging to be read.  I cannot wait to spend my first day in the sun, reading a book (not one written for a 5th grader) from cover to cover.  Maybe it will be this one?  I am looking forward to reading Jen's new book!

Click on the image to get it for yourself, and go visit Conversion Diary for more Quick Takes!

Oh, I Can't Resist.

You may have seen my serious post on St. Joseph yesterday.   I do love St. Joseph.  Husband.  Father.  Leader.  Guide.  Protector.  Model of virtue and holiness.  Patron.  Carpenter. Provider.

And Dreamer.

St. Joseph was a hard worker, and a man of few words.  God chose to speak to him through dreams, much like his Old Testament Joseph counterpart.

So in the spirit of dreamers, how about some funny dream stories? :)

I tend to have the strangest, most vivid dreams, and I often remember them in great detail.

Sometimes they are realistic and easy to explain.
-Opening my classroom door and finding that it leads directly to my apartment.  (A sign I spend too much time at school, I think.)
-Being late and lost and unable to find any help. (Didn't need to be a dream to be true)

Sometimes they are scary.
-Being chased by Nazis in war-torn Germany because I am Jew/am hiding Jews/my husband is a Jew. (This is a reoccurring one, and the plot changes.)
-Demonic possession of someone that I know.  (Don't even want to think about how scary that was.)
-Zombie apocalypse.  (In one version of this dream I was saved by a holy water wielding Bishop.)
-Witnessing the coming Angel-of-Death-Green-Mist while being stuck outside with no chance of making inside a safe door.  (I can thank the bad special effects from the Passover scene in the Ten Commandments for this one.)

Sometimes they are hopeful and about the future.  These tend to be the least vivid.
-Jesus' second coming.  (I always dream that this is happening on a beach, and even though there are millions of people, Jesus comes and walks with me personally. Also, everyone can walk on water after their personal judgement.  Pretty cool.)
-Waking up the day of my wedding- only I didn't know it was suppose to be my wedding and I don't remember anything about it.  I have a dress, and a venue, and friends and family who convince me the guy is stellar and I should go through with it.  Usually the best man is the one who makes me realize it will be ok, so I walk down the aisle, and the groom turns...and I wake up. (An indication that I am either in for an arranged marriage or a bout of amnesia?)

I know that they are just dreams...most of the time.  God can speak to us in anyway that He chooses and we are open to, so I am not going to throw all dreams out as meaning nothing.  Sometimes they could be a gentle nudge, or a reminder, or in the case of St. Joseph, a flat out sign.

These following dreams, however, are not anything but funny.  My sisters and I are close, so being in each other's dreams is nothing new.  However one day last week BOTH of them sent me these versions of dreams that they had the night before- the same night.  They are more than a little wacky.  The dreams, I mean, not my sisters.  However, you may have to wonder after you read these:


From Stephanie, via email:

I must tell you of the dream that I had last night. 

We were starting out on a road trip.  We were in the middle of nowhere, I really have no idea where this was to be honest.  Anyway, we were on a four lane and there was a bad storm.  As we were turning on to the highway, a plane landed just behind us. I think we thought it was because of the weather, but you kept driving like it was nothing. Then we approached a flooded bridge, you said it was perfectly safe and drove on it, then off the side of it. You jumped out of the car to save yourself. I was in your car and somehow pushed it out of the river onto a wooden bridge-like walk-way next to the bridge.  Then we kept driving like it was nothing.  I don't know how to feel about this.

I just don't know if we should continue with our plans for this adventure (note- we are going on a roadtrip to Colorado this summer), I fear you will be recklessly careless with my life.

From Emily, the same morning, via text:
I had the most trippy dream about you last night that involved a talking bear and Rob Lowe being your soul mate.  Your first date was a polo match on horses and you had a surprise for him which was introducing him to your talking teddy bear who was a 10 foot tall Pooh bear that was falling apart from old age and dirtiness.  A single tear ran down Rob Lowe's cheek as he softly whispered, "Muffin?"  You had befriended his childhood giant man bear and it was in that moment you both knew you were soul mates.

What?
Apparently I should load up my 10 foot tall living Winnie the Pooh bear, drive cross country avoiding bridges and planes, and meet my soul mate while playing polo.
Seems reasonable.

Got any wacky dreams you care to share? :)

7 Quick Takes- Lent Finds Me

~1~

Why this song today?  The line "Oh, my stubborn soul" summarizes what Lent is going to be tackling in me.

~2~

I bet JP2 and FJS are up in heaven high fivin'

But before we get into the sacrifice and penance of Lent...let's take a minute to celebrate!
Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen is one step closer to Beatification!  Yesterday, it was announced that the Vatican medical review board could find no medical reason for the alleged (yes still alleged) miraculous healing of James Fulton Engstrom.  Next step, theologians, then the Bishops, and then...Pope Francis will decide if this indeed is a miracle and if Sheen will be named Blessed.
While we wait, might I suggest you start reading up on Fulton Sheen, both about him and books that he has written?
And also, start teaching the kids in your life about him?
This is big stuff, people.  Seize the moment! :) And keep praying!
You can read the press release from the Sheen Foundation here and the Catholic Post Article here.

 ~3~

And one more thing to celebrate: Behold was a great success!  Lovely women, inspiring talks,  connecting with friends, great food, awesome details- everything was something to behold.  You can read the Peoria Journal Star's nice article about the conference here.  I'll save some words and just show you a few of the pictures of the conference from my perspective:

I love Edith Stein.

And Joan of Arc.  And lots of purple.

And hundreds of purple bags, in Peoria just in time for their debut appearance on Saturday.

 Behold, where the men's restrooms are women's restrooms for the day.

 ...and those bathrooms are filled with fancy things.

I loved the decorations!

And I love this lady.  My mom is awesome.

Speaking of moms, this is one conference where changing tables and diapers are on the set up list.

Remember how I said Marie Miller and I are BFFs?  Look closely, and you will see that she and I hung out on Saturday.  Well, she might be on stage.  And I might be in the picture on the screen.  But look at how close we are!

~4~

Going to see this on Saturday!  Very excited :)

~5~

My Lenten resolution for the coming weekend (besides seeing this movie)?  Cleaning my pigsty of an apartment.  I think that physically cleaning, organizing, and throwing things out of my home is a great way to start the cleansing season of Lent.  I also am getting a little tired of the "creative" outfits that I am coming up with because I have so few clean clothes.  Oh, how I miss having my own washer and dryer...something else to offer up, I must remember.

~6~

Attention Snow: You finally broke the record.  Last Saturday.  I think you were just showing attitude yesterday with that extra couple of inches.  Enough already.  Winter is done.  I am finished with wearing that heavy coat.  And driving in your mess for an  1 1/2 hour everyday.  We. Are. Through.  I AM SO TIRED OF WINTER!...and we have yet another thing of offer up.  Thanks, Lent.

~7~

Memo to me from the pot in my sink:

I beg you Katie, stop reading while trying to cook dinner.  Just don't.  It never ends well for me or for you.  I know you were just trying to cook some rice for a simple meal on Ash Wednesday, and were making extra so that you could eat the leftovers on Friday.  Killing the waiting time with a few minutes of reading probably didn't seem like a bad idea, but you forget that I know you too well.

Your creation of a basic, meatless meal in the spirit of Lent was well intentioned.  But then you walked away from the stove for too long.  And put a lid on me.  And turned up the music too loud.  And your next indication that you should get your nose out of chapter 8 was your nose detecting a lovely charcoal smell coming from my general vicinity.  

It may have been Ash Wednesday, but I don't really imagine that the Church expects me to be turned to ash as well.   You certainly tried.  So now instead of a simple meal, you get to scrub me out as penance.  Good job.

Sincerely, 

Your Almost-Brand-New Pot

Happy Lent to you all!  Visit Conversion Diary for more Quick Takes!

Seven Quick Takes: A Blog Rant and a Giveaway

--- 1 --- 

Thanks to Kayla for introducing me to this loveliness.  The Brilliance has been my jam during long grading-papers stints lately.  FYI, they have a free live album up for your perusal on NoiseTrade.

 

--- 2 ---

How is it that I seem to think that I have nothing to write about?  It has been a week, right?  There has been a gathering of crafting friends, another snow day, a great and challenging Bible Study, dinners with more friends, getting stuck away from home for two nights, lots of productive students, exciting projects starting at school...and yet I can't come up with any stories...

--- 3 ---

Let's just talk about blogs for a minute, then.  Recently I verbalized to a friend the thing that "scares" me about this little space.  I started this blog as a way to communicate with friends and family, those who love me, and actually know more about my life then what is posted here.  Then, later on and for various reasons, I started posting Religious Ed ideas as a way to share resources with people who are doing similar work. 

So in my head, I like to pretend that there are only two types of people who read my blog:

My closest family and friends.

And complete strangers.

I have no issues or concerns with either of those groups reading what is here.  However, there are a lot of people that do not fall into either category that still find their way to this space.  Acquaintances.  Friends I don't connect with frequently.  Friends of friends.  Extended family. Coworkers.  Students (eek!). 

Even though I am not ashamed of or regret anything that I post here, there is still something about finding out that a person that I don't know all that well knows a whole lot more about me, bases their opinion of me from on what they can find here, and then never mentions it to me during our in-real- life interactions...

--- 4 ---

I'm not telling those people to leave!  Stay a while; you are very welcome to browse and read and share.  But maybe consider actually following me, or leave a comment, or the next time you see me say something like, "Hey, this might be kind of weird, but I found your blog, and I am enjoying reading it."  And then I will respond with, "Glad you found it.  Forgive me for being the one weird enough to blog in the first place."

--- 5 ---

In #3, I mentioned that some of my students had found my blog.  Unlike most other forms of Social Media, I can't exactly block access to my students without setting the blog to be private.  How did they find me, you ask?  Well, apparently if you teach your kids about Fulton Sheen, and help them to grow to love him, they will start looking around online for more info about him.  And if you happen to post a lot of information about Fulton Sheen on your blog, they are going to find it.

Google image search Fulton Sheen Activities and a chunk of the first couple hundred hits are links back to this blog.  Same thing if you start digging around on Pinterest.  Should have seen that one coming, but the greeting, "Miss Bogner, I found your blog!" isn't exactly music to my teacher ears.

--- 6 ---

So where are we?  Oh, yah, this thought process turned into an all out blog about blogging rant.  Point of the story, I am still not sure of the mission and purpose and audience of this little blog.  I will keep working that out, and some people somewhere will keep reading it.

--- 7 ---

But speaking of those some people somewhere?  Now is your chance!  Lurkers, come out of the woodwork.  Readers, announce yourself.  Help me know more about who I am writing to so that I can do my best with this little hobby. 

An incentive?  

Anyone who starts following my blog through blogger or blog lovin' 

or leaves a non-anonymous comment on any post 

including this one 

from today until my next Seven Quick Takes post next Friday 

will have their name thrown into an ultra scientific hat.  

One lucky winner will have their choice of $25 worth of handmade merchandise from my friends' and my little craft business, [un]common workbasket.  Go check it out- lots of cute stuff.  Totally worth making yourself known sometime this week!  Regular followers and friends, just leave a comment and you can be in the running too!

 

You could have this:

 or these:

 or this!

Hope to hear from you soon!

As you can see, my rant slid into bribery.  Whoops.

Good thing I know that we have a merciful God, just like the song above preaches.   

Happy Friday!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Seven Quick Takes, The First

--- 1 ---

Here I am, on the bandwagon, finally joining Jen's Seven Quick Takes.  I have no problem posting craft ideas and lesson plans, but actually writing stories about my life to keep my friends and family happy with this blog...that I haven't been doing so well on.  But seven short and random stories, that I think I can do!  If this was Emma, Knightley, and Churchill's afternoon on Box Hill, I'd be Miss Bates.

--- 2 ---

Current song on repeat on my itunes:

 

Thanks to the Zuus Americana hour (one of the five TV channels I can pick up), I am finding all kinds of new artists not usually on the radio.  Humming House also has some free music up on Noise Trade right now.

This song is so sweet, and the video reminds me a lot of my parents and their marriage.  They are flirtier after 30 years of marriage than most newlyweds.  My siblings and I act like we hate it, but really we just know what a treasure their love for each other is and how it has shaped our family. (However, mom and dad, next time you decide to get all gooey and lovey dovey in our presence, we will all still groan and moan and say "gross!" repeatedly.  It is our job as your grown children.)   

--- 3 ---

I am working on wonderful things for the Behold Conference gift bags.  Behold, you ask?  Live in central Illinois?  Make sure you mark your calendar for our March 1st women's conference.  Don't live in central Illinois?  Grab your mom, sister, daughter, best friend, Bible study companion, coworker, or female acquaintance and road-trip-it-on-over.  It is going to be great.  Current task of mine is designing the gift bag everyone will receive.  I love the actual bag that we picked out, but I only have a 5"x5" space to work with and a single color imprint.  Thoughts on this design?

I am also working on soliciting donations to put in the bags. The last conference had my apartment looking like a storage locker with all of the cool donations sent to us.  Got any ideas for something small and free or able to be donated to put in a bag for a Catholic women's conference?  I am all ears.

--- 4 ---

You would think that all of that free time and relaxing over Christmas break would have prepared me for being back at work.  I got plenty of rest and relaxation.  I should be ready to be back and excited to work and full of energy for all the things coming up.  However, I think that the quiet break made me shrink into even more of an introvert.  I just want to stay home.  In my pajamas.  All day.  And only communicate through gestures.  And make things.  And read a whole book.  And not have to talk...at all.  Unfortunately, I cannot telecommute to my classroom of 5th graders.  Too bad.  Maybe another Arctic Blast will come our way and we will be frozen in at home for a day or two...

--- 5 ---

Any one else still have their Christmas cards up?  I hang all of my up on my vertical window blinds using clothes pins as they come and enjoy them during Advent and Christmas.  I would like to say that they are still up, nearly a week after Ordinary Time began, because of some great conviction I have.  Really though, I just haven't taken them down.  I kind if like them- all those happy smiling faces of people I love and the pretty Christmas artwork on the front of cards.  What do you do with your Christmas cards and pictures at the end of the season?

--- 6 ---

Is it odd how much I enjoy watching School House Rock videos still?  Good thing teaching 5th grade gives me an excuse, right?  This one is my favorite.

--- 7 ---

My students' favorite moment of the week?  When the bell rings at 12:30 today, signaling the start of a 3 1/2 day weekend.  Their second favorite moment?  When during a math lesson I was calling them to the smart board to model a math problem for the class by randomly pulling names out of a cup.  After choosing the next participant, I would hand them the pen and say, "May the odds be ever in your favor."  If the student failed to finish the problem, we mimicked canon fire.  If they were successful, they were safe from being called again.  But then, ever the instigator, I called a quarter quell and put them all back in the cup.  Gotta keep math interesting you know.

Happy Friday!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

12 Stories from the 12 Days of Christmas

After soaking in two more days of Christmas break (thank you, Arctic Blast), I decided to come up with my top 12 stories from the 12 days of Christmas.  To be technical, these stories did not all come from December 25th- January 5th, but I thought you might get a little tired of something akin to:
"Awoke.  Did not change from pajamas.  Made something crafty while watching 1/2 of an entire TV show season.  Repeat."

But really, this was one of the most restful Christmas breaks I can remember having.  Lots of down time with my family, lots of sleep, lots of finished (fun) projects, with still enough checked off my to-do list to make me not feel like I wasted the whole break.  (Let's not mention that I probably got more done in the last two days than I had all of break...procrastination can be my best friend.)

In no particular order, here are 12 stories from my Christmas season:
(Note that picture taking was not on the 17 day agenda.  Forgive the few and poor shots.)

1. I received some lovely and thoughtful gifts from my students.  Here is a photo of some of them, and you might just catch a theme.  The owl coffee mug and owl candle holder and owl pencil pouch didn't make this particular picture, unfortunately.

2. I had a couple of occasions to sport an ugly Christmas sweater.  With joy, I rocked this teddy bear Christmas vest.  This particular wearing was also part of a white elephant gift exchange.  No one else seemed quite as happy with their presents as I did with my World Series Math game.  Yay for math facts!

3.  I wrote a lot of Christmas cards.  A lot.  And had to go to the store for more.  This stack (of about 100) was finished during a How I Met Your Mother marathon at S & S's house.  My puppy-nephew Zeke licked all the seals. (not really-don't get grossed out).

4.  On that note, I irrationally decided to still hand make my Christmas card this year.  However, I am really very happy with the result.

Here is the inside:

Before you ask, yes, the inside of the card is lined with a page from a Bible.  A real Bible.  And yes, I wrestled with Catholic guilt about using pages from a Bible. For over a month.  And maybe still a little bit now.
My rationalization?
-I saved the Bible from the garbage.
-The page is intact and readable, and therefore sharing the Gospel.  It couldn't do that from the garbage.
-It is pretty, much prettier than garbage.
-It spreads the real meaning of Christmas in a different way.  Unlike garbage.
-I am all about upcycling.
- Please don't tell the Pope.

5. Chex Mix is my favorite holiday food.  That and apple pie...and mashed potatoes.  But chex mix is one of my favorite things to snack on during holiday gatherings.  The night before the night before Christmas, I was packing everything I needed to take to my parents.  About midnight, I thought, I should make some chex mix!  Great idea!...but no way would I have all the ingredients...however, I dug in my cupboards and pantry and found enough of normal chex mix ingredients to pull it off.  I was so proud to be prepared for the holidays and to bring something else to share at the festivities.  I however, did not read labels very carefully.
Looks like chex mix.
Smells like chex mix.
But tastes like chex mix made with cinnamon flavored cereal.

I don't recommend amending your normal recipe to match mine.

6.  I mentioned a lot of crafting.  Emily and I  made these beauts the day after our TV day (NCIS marathon, no one allowed to change of our pajamas).  The boys were tired of being cooped up, so they went outside to shoot and blow up things. (You might think that I am joking.   I am not.)  The girls moved into the dining room (gasp! sitting at a table?)  and crafted.  For most of the day.  It was better than awesome.

If you were worried that we were missing prime uninterrupted TV season viewing during this time, you need not stress.  As soon as the boys were clear, we popped Call the Midwife into a laptop on the table and watched while painting.  I am not sure why the boys promptly went back out to shoot things when they saw what we were doing.

7. Just in case you are afraid that my eyes will fall out from all of that TV viewing, I made plenty of time for reading too.  Among the books, I re-read for the thirdish time The Book Thief.  I love it more and more each time.

8.  However, it is killing me that I didn't get to see the movie in theaters.  By the time the freedom of Christmas break rolled around, it wasn't in theaters around here anymore.  I will just have to wait until it is out on DVD and buy it.  There is not much difference between buying a movie ticket and the actual movie, anyways.

I did get to see this one, however, and it was great.  Elphaba, I mean, Elsa, I mean, Idina Menzel, made the music awesome.  It reminded me of the kind of Disney movies I remember from when I was little. And that made me love it.

9.  I got really dressed up for New Year's Eve.  And went to a real grown up party.  And maybe used a really too much amount of hairspray.

Hello, Shirley Temple.

10.  Just in case you were wondering, there were also more crafts.  Like this one:

11.  And this one.  If you think that I slacked on the crafting, just check out the goods available in our small time business.

I think that this creation might have been during the NCIS LA marathon, but I might be mistaken.

12.  I would be remiss to not document my view of the Arctic Blast, which imprisoned me (let's be honest, it was the best thing ever) in my apartment for two days.  Here is my view out of my frozen window:

Which really looked something like this nationwide:

And you can't tell me that it didn't make you think of this:

Seriously.



And now, 12 stories later, I am already on my way to failing in all of my goals for the first day of school.  They sounded something like this.

1. Get to bed before midnight.
2. Get to school early since you haven't been there in over two weeks and have no copies made and your lesson plans are all messed up because you had two frozen weather days and you know that the day is going to be a mess.
3. Try to not nap. Do not nap.
4. Survive.

Cross number 1 off the list.  I'll let you know how 2-4 go after tomorrow.


I hope that you and your family had a wonderful, restful, homebound, blessed Christmas season!