Thank You Boys

I admire boys.

No, this is not your typical "bash the male species" blog...this is a more or less "I'm thankful for men moments." Why did I have this strange epiphany? I mean don't get me wrong...I have my total "Ugh, you've got to be kidding me moments" with men (I know I know...even with Russell ;)....but today I felt like giving them props.

What do I admire about males?

Well, for one....they can totally pee standing up, but that's a different story. Men in general tell it like it is. For example, if another male becomes frustrated with another male they generally:
A. confront the other bluntly ("Dude...what's up with _______?")
B. fist fight and get over it
C. brush it off and go on.
In the end....no matter what option they choose they can totally get over their crap and go get a beer in the end.

Women? Noooooooo freakin' way. We get mad at each other or have our feelings hurt by the other and:
A. hold a grudge till death (usually over a simple misunderstanding and lack of communication)
B. talk crap behind each other's back
C. lie and say we're not mad but continue to act like a wet cat
D. ignore the other on purpose
E. you know as well as I do this list could go on and on and on and on......we are creative in our ways to "get back"for hurt feelings...

This is not true for every female....but in "general" we are known for being "catty." I'm discovering however, the older I get, the less time I have to play into snippy female drama. I've totally had my fair share and started plenty...I'll admit. But now, I'm learning to let the small stuff go...not saying all the time because let's face it....we ARE wired differently than men and I have short circuits....and yes estrogen can wreck your world. But does that wiring really have to be frayed all the time and so quickly? Do we have to get in a tizzy and immediately result to A,B,C,D or E?

Let's just tell it like it is...say what's up without resulting to A,B,C,D, or E....if I tick you off let me know... and let's go get a beer.

Thank you boys.....especially to the boys who recognize that yes, we are "gentle" creatures but encourage us to grow some thicker skin every now and then.

On the verge....

I can't really say it's a "quarter life crisis"....I had that when I turned 25, my hair started turning brown so I cut it off...thus starting the "I'm going to change my cut and color every 5 weeks trend."

So what is this urge to wear giant plastic earrings, 50 bracelets, strange clothes (that are border line unprofessional being a 2nd grade teacher) AND have ANOTHER urge to just cut all my hair off again...not to mention the urge to go crazy on a few new tattoos???

The strangest urge is the one where I'm looking for a new job. And not just another teaching job. I mean a new career..... Honestly it has nothing to do with where I teach, nor the people I teach with. I couldn't be more blessed to be where I'm at. I'm in a great highly sought after district and I teach with my best friends. But yet.......I'm starting to feel smothered. Like I'm a big ol' lump of mashed potatoes with 20 lbs of gravy pouring on top of me and I can't break free. Maybe it's just the "stress" but don't we have that in ANY career? Why is mine so pressing all of a sudden? Why do I feel like I can't breath in the morning when I'm on my way to work? I think it's because I get told how to do my job every day by "unqualified" people ....either by people who haven't sat in a classroom in the last 20 years or by parents who don't trust a single decision I make....and not to mention a scary generation that is being taught that it is "all about them"....anything they want they can have...scary...

Do you remember getting in trouble as a kid in school? I was a lil' chatty..imagine that...and well, when my teacher got on to me you could BET I was in trouble when I got home. There were no questions about the teachers intent....I broke a rule and my parents were on that teacher's side no matter what...not to mention my lil' butt was getting a well deserved spanking when I got home. NOT today. Good grief....if a child gets in trouble you as a teacher better have a 5 page report typed up on why they got in trouble, get ready to hear from that parent with a 20 minute phone call and you know another phone call that will go to the principal, documentation of what the child's emotional status was at the time, and a pro-active self improvement plan for the child. Oh, and what kind of "trouble" are we speakin' of? Lil' Johnny was talking in class so you marked his character card. Sheesh..I lawsuit is even pending for not allowing freedom of speech.

****Disclaimer: I really do have some amazing kids in my classroom and I think I'm a pretty darn good teacher. I've been blessed by many of these kids and their parents....sadly, our profession has an alarming turn-over rate...and the 5th year is when we see these good teachers jump ship****

I know that we are supposed to take one day at a time...I think the Bible even has a handy dandy scripture on that somewhere....but Oh my gosh....this is only my 4th year....I cannot simply fathom the next 30. I'll be bald. I feel like I'm in a room with 20 barn yard animals trying to get the chickens to act like cows, and trying to make cows grow wings.

My hubby wrote a blog a couple of weeks ago about pursuing our passions and our dreams.

I'm pursuing something different with an education degree.....

Playlist...

My husband refers to me as the "music snob"....there are many reasons for that, one being that I'm just a music junkie and I know more music than he does....he...he...not to mention I like to laugh at him when he tries to sing the words to a song that he doesn't know. (secretly....I do the same thing...make up my own words...I just don't do it around anyone else) I would say that I have an extensive collection of random hodge-podge music interests...imagine that, me...random.

I don't buy whole albums...I pick and chose what I like...then click that "cheap" 99cent button on itunes...and voila! Oh gosh...and when i-tunes came out with Genius..that rocked my whole freakin' world right there.

Finding new music is pretty much my best day. Goin' to listen to live music is even better.

Right now I'm way into the "female angry/sometimes calm indie rock".....and a few mellow male tunes too....but mostly stickin' with my comfort in the indie genre...fall is my mellow season.

So....I'm always curious to know what my other friends are listening to???? What's on your playlist??

Here are my new favorite finds:

• The WHOLE entire album 19 by Adele . (I know...I don't buy albums but this one is uh-freakin'-mazing)
• Last Request by Paolo Nutini
• Starlight by Muse
• Young Folks by Peter Bjorn and John
• All That You Have is Your Soul by Tracy Chapman
• I Turn My Camera On by Spoon
• She's Only Happy in the Sun by Ben Harper
• Hide and Seek, Clear the Area, and Goodnight and Go by Imogen Heap
• Hold You in my Arms by Ray LaMontagne
• Trying to Put Your Heart Back Together by Mermaids
• They, and Come on Closer by Jem
• Giving Up by Ingrid Mechaelson
• Sweeter Than This by Katie Herzig
• Silver Lining by Rilo Kiley

Professional Babysitter

A friend referred to my 2nd grade students today as....and I quote....

"ankle biting curtain climbers"

I couldn't have laughed harder....

My students are really precious on most days. But, you think I babysit all day? Come and watch. Oh yah....and don't mind that I went to college for 4 years to teach...."aaaaaaannnnnny body" can sit around and watch 22 kids ;)

On weeks like this I could switch professions...."Would you like paper or plastic??" Hmph...

Wrist bands....

That's what I woke up with this morning. I mean 4 different ones to be exact. You know...the kind that will potentially rip your arm hair out if not put on carefully. (and there's usually some idiot who doesn't know that I'm related to a blonde teen wolf.....so I usually get a free wax job the next morning) Who even knows where all these bands came from and why I had to be branded like a 6 year old at Disney Land at the music festival last night. I have some theories...Idk....

Anyways....this morning as I decided to update all my current social networking sights I had a funny little thought.....Do you remember when you were a little kid and you would totally SAVE and KEEP wearing those wrist bands from like Six Flags or PTA meetings? I mean those things weren't coming off until they ROTTED off...the more you had the better, the "cooler" you appeared. (Oh gosh...I hope I'm not the only one who did that)

I guess as a professional (aka: "adult") that would be tacky...funny...but still tacky to keep those wrist bands on. That gave me such a good lil' chuckle....

West Nile in your face.....

You know it's going to be a long disgusting softball game when in the first 15 minutes the game is almost called for MOSQUITOES!?? I've played ball since I was 7 years old and I've nearly been struck my lightening and STILL had to keep playing....so calling a game for blood sucking West Nile carrying critters? Oh, I HAAAAD to rant about this. Yah, and we're not talking about just a few here and there.....imagine if you will gnats and how they swarm around a rotten piece of fruit....well, replace the gnats with mosquitoes the size of baby bats and replace the rotten fruit with your freakin' face.

We even took baths in OFF....like spraying in your face and all inside your shirt...so you can imagine my shock when I stripped down to take a shower and I had at least 20 red bumps all over my body. Dang.....I'm not scared of cancerous microwaves now......someone hand me a plastic bottle of water that's been in my car....I'm freakin' hard core now.

I was hungry before the game....I'm a little concerned that now I'm not.....there's a possibility that I reached my protein intake tonight in mosquitoes.

Dear God, please do not let me grow a third eye tonight in my sleep. Amen.

THAT girl....

"THAT" girl is a funny lil' nickname a few friends and I have adopted for when we do the stupid things in life. You know what I'm talking about....while talking with a friend you might have said something like, "Well, THAT girl over there....blah, blah...." I do it all the time....and I've even referred to myself as "THAT girl" on numerous embarrasing occasions. So how many "THAT girl" moments have I had in my life? I wonder what kind of "THAT girl" category I fall into when people see me, or even the friends who know me? Probably too many to count and I'm sure some are quite humorous...

I do know for certain that right now.....

I am THAT girl who:

laughs at the wrong time...
snorts at awkward times...
inserts her foot in her mouth too many times to count...
spends beyond her means in itunes dollars...
loves the "shock value" of changing my hair color...
has been known to start a few trends or two....
is not really on the "church" bandwagon right now...
will not try to figure out everything God does...
really believes her pets are her children...
chooses beer over fruity drinks...
secretly wouldn't mind being a vampire ;)....
listens to her music WAY too loud....
who prays the best while alone in the bathroom....
is still a little gullible...
is actually madly in love with her husband...
will thank God when there is a beautiful sunset...
believes He painted it just for me...
really USED to think she had this life figured out...
knows NOW that I don't have a clue...
is finally okay with that...

Biggest Freak....

I've noticed my titles are a lil' on the scandalous side here lately....

Those of you that know me know that I LOVE the Biggest Loser. I mean really, if you thought I was obsessed with vampires (well, you're right on that) but believe it or not I have yet another obsession!!! It's weird because I have never been morbidity obese but yet I laugh, cry, cringe, gasp, and cheer with the contestants every week. (sheesh....you're probably wondering what I'm like with vampires...well, Russell wears band aids to cover the "marks"....jk) At one point I was 30 pounds heavier. With the help of Weight Watchers and working out I've managed to keep the wobbly bits to a minimum....

Tonight at Lujans a friend of Tiffany's started talking to me about weight loss and how she wanted to get back into the swing of things.....I lit up like a dad-gum Christmas Tree....(oh, how I longed to reach over and snatch that juicy chicken quesadilla out of her hand and shove it in my mouth though.....but instead I ate my chicken salad) Okay...anyways....we just got to talking about health, me teaching at the gym, watching Biggest Loser, etc. And out of the blue she said "Why don't you really pursue this?? You could own your own business doing this." Hmph...honestly if I had another dream job (because I really DO love my Second Graders...except when it comes to teaching skip counting) I would LOVE to work for a wellness cooperation. I would actually enjoy going into businesses and talking about health and fitness, lifestyle changes, etc. (For now I'll just have to live vicariously through Twiggy when she gets done at Arizona State)

Basically if I can just be a personal cheerleader to someone who is wanting to lose weight or wanting to live a healthy lifestyle I'm totally on FIRE. I don't think there are many positions under that title though.....

Personal disclaimer.....I am by NO means a health guru....I try to live a "normal" life and practice moderation. I struggle just like the next girl who is battling a dreaded muffin top. I'm just sayin'.....

The dreaded "cup".....

I just have to say first and foremost that women are NOT designed to pee in a cup. If you are a woman, you are probably giggling and you know EXACTLY what I'm talking about.

I had to go to the doctor today...nothing major, but still a lil' too personal for the world of blogging (especially since I have NO clue who is reading this) So anyways...I went to the doctor. I get the cup and the 5,000 directions then I'm left alone in the bathroom with secret doors and windows that you are certain are going to burst open unexpectedly....well I start having anxiety that I am going to completely screw this up...I'm forgetting the vague directions...please don't let the creepy window/door burst open while I'm doing this insanely awkward thing...but I will not DARE ask for help. Let me just say that this cup is not the size of a bowl (which I think would be easier) but this cup is more like a thimble.... (okay, I'm slightly exaggerating) But you have certain lines you have to reach. I've always wondered...what if I couldn't reach the quota? Would I have to sit in the bathroom and wait for round 2? So let's not get into all the details because ladies..."you know" oooohhhhh "you know" what I'm talkin' about...so we'll skip the next events. Once the belittling event of my day is over I decide once and for all....woman ARE NOT designed to pee in a cup.

I have a feeling that a man came up with the whole pee in a cup solution. This is the time that I envy a man that has aim and direction....when pertaining to bathroom situations.

I was just on the phone with my older sis, she asked me if I had come up with a solution to this "issue"....well, of course not. So what do you do with random situations like these??? ....blog ;)

And here we go...

So it's that easy? 1, 2, 3.....you're ready to blog. Don't really know where I'm going with this, nor do I know who actually reads these. But I DO know that I simply HAD to have one more social networking notch to add to my belt ;) Blogspot could only be the next option....

Mmmmm....right now I'm just curious to see how this thing works, so these are not my deepest thoughts about life (ha)...those are sure to come later. I'll keep it light for now.