BLERG! June 27, 2009

So I can’t exactly say that I wasn’t productive–I did organize all the files in my documents folder, I cleaned the kitchen, I went to the gym, I caught up on everyone else’s blog, and I checked my email a quarter-of-a-zillion times.  I also begrudgingly printed a few articles to help me with my essays. So, I say that is the first step away from procrastination, which is the first step towards progress, which is the first step towards productivity, which is the first step towards accomplishing something, which is the last step before you hit COMPLETION!

Step 1 of 5: check.  Bedtime.

Procrastination…

So, Monday is the last class meeting for my technology in education class.  I must say that I have really enjoyed it.  It has not been a waste of time like I found at Belhaven (I have more unkind things to say about that institution in a later post).  I am really excited about what I have learned and I CAN NOT WAIT to get back into school so that I can use some of my new ideas (although, most of the ideas have to do with technology, and sadly the school I teach at showcases the DVD player on their list of “high-tech” devices).

Monday I presented my chapter on technology and language arts to the class (perhaps some of you saw the random powerpoint presentation that was posted here for a few days).  Tuesday, I went to campus to get ahead in my readings before I went to class again on Wednesday.  And today, I woke up at 7:30, took a shower, ate breakfast, and got started on my final project: writing a unit plan that incorporated as much technology as possible.  I was very proud of the finished product; in fact, I have already emailed it to my professor and she approved it.  The last thing I have to do before my last class on Monday is start (and finish) my take-home exam–I have to choose three of six pompts and write an essay response, including multiple examples and supporting research.  Ummmm……So that means it’s time for me to BLOG!  (And the recycling needs to be taken out, and I should start packing for my quick trip to Jackson in the morning, and I need to go to the gym and work off that stupid piece of turtle pie I just ate, and water my flowers, and run the last load of laundry, and I have no idea when was the last time I had my car washed…)

Also, here is a list of upcoming posts (maybe coming up sooner rather than later 🙂

1. Movie review: The Changling   2. Belhaven   3. Date day and another movie review: Angles and Demons  4. Recipe of the week: Seafood Stuffed Eggplant

Also, I think I am going to make “Recipe of the Week” a regular post.  How fun!

Jon and Kate Plus Eight June 25, 2009

(/shakes head)….

So, I am still very disappointed in Jon and Kate. I have read numerous blogs that all say the same thing. I will now state the obvious:

1) This show is all about the Jon and Kate now (no one is thinking about the “Plus Eight”)

2) I am very sad that TLC did not use this situation to set an example to the rest of America: With all the extravagant vacations TLC has sent them on, couldn’t they have sprung for a weekend couples retreat (or marriage counseling) or something, so that Jon and Kate can save their 10-year marriage, instead of throwing it all away over a “rough 7 or 8 months.”

3) What are they going to tell the kids? And how are the kids ever going to grow up and live a normal life when you know that wherever they go, everyone they meet will have seen the decline of their parents’ marriage.

So sad….

Also, I want to steal Aaden (the one with the glasses) and have him live with me.

The Lovely Bones June 14, 2009

Ya’ll this is an AMAZING book.  I know so many people who have read it, and a friend of mine even bought me the book because I kept coming up with excuses not to read it.  That was two years ago, and I finally picked it up.  I think I kept putting it off because I find that movies and books that people hail as grand and glorious, never seem to reach the expectations I have set for them in my mind.  The Lovely Bones hit all the marks.  I read it within the week.  This is record breaking for me.  Such a lovely, lovely story.  You MUST put it on your summer reading list.  My only complaint is that there are numerous missing commas (She can claim writer’s license).  I guess that is my only complaint about being an English teacher:  I can’t read a book without subconsciously editing it.

Nerds June 10, 2009

This COMIC sums up my life:  I do not know if i became a teacher because I love to teach or because I love school supplies.  I really think my motivation lies in the former.  So, I started grad school last week:  I got my parking decal, bought my books, printed my schedule, drove by my assigned parking lot (just for good measure), and got my student ID (FUN!!).  I spent all day Monday and Tuesday in the library reading ahead and outlining chapters (WHEEEEE!)  And today, I bought a new backpack!  It’s funny because when I was in junior high and high school, Jansport was the COOL backpack, but I never had one because they were like $50, and even then I was unable to spend that kind of money.  Anywho, I finally got my Jansport backpack….15 years later.  (totally worth it!)

Another funny thing Matt and I were discussing a while back was the topic of sack lunches.  We both said that when we were younger, our lunches were always packed in plastic bags from Jitney Jungle and our sandwiches were wrapped in fold-n-lock plastic bags.  We never questioned it, but deep down inside, we always wanted Ziplock bags and brown paper lunch bags like all the cool kids.  We just assumed that those were for rich kids.  Isn’t it weird to think that those were our biggest concerns in life?

Paper? Plastic? Neither. June 8, 2009

I’m going green!  I invested in four reusable grocery bags at Wal-Mart, and carried home what would have been at least eight plastic bags of groceries.  I’ve only used these for two grocery trips, and already I love them.  You can sling the long handles over your shoulders and carry much more with much less.  After I unload the goods, I roll them up and store them in the front seat of my car (you never know when a spontanious Wal-Mart trip is going to take you by suprise).

Lucy is happy too:  She is terrified of the sound of plastic bags (among many, many other harmless things).

Lucy Story June 6, 2009

I haven’t blogged about my Lucy-Cat in a while.  Here is a story that happened at least a month ago…

Lucy has been obsessed with going outside.  She loves the back porch because there is plenty of clover for her to munch on and lots of sun for her to roll around in and a family of birds for her to spy on.  However, one day she got up the nerve to venture out the FRONT door.  At first she wouldn’t go any further that the door mat, which was okay with me.  But then she go brave enough to explore in the neighbor’s bushes and peek through his window at the neighbor dogs.  Lucy is the biggest scaredy-cat, so I felt certain that his would not progress any further.

One night, I noticed that she did not cuddle with me.  In the morning, she did not show up for my 5:30 wake-up call.  After my shower, she did not show up in the bathroom to sneak Q-tips out of the Q-tip jar.  I went downstairs for breakfast, and she wasn’t there begging for cereal milk.  She wasn’t in her chair or under the bed.  On a whim, I opened the front door and called her name, and Lucy came bolting out from underneath Matt’s car.  She must have sneaked out the night before when Matt when outside to have a cigarette.

She was covered with grease (she must have crawled into the undercarriage to stay out of the rain that night), so Matt and I had to give her a bath.  Needless to say, I was late for work.

Accomplishments June 5, 2009

Since I haven’t found a summer job (not for lack of trying), I have decided to make housework my job this summer.  If I don’t stay busy, I just feel lazy and depressed. So here is what I’ve accomplished:

1.  Vacuumed out the couches (I’m rich!)  2.  Cleaned all the fans (I felt like I was on an episode of dirty jobs)   3.  Washed all the kitchen cabinets (inside and out)   4.  Cleaned the oven (Surprisingly fun)   5.  Scrubbed down the drip pans (I will not miss those things when I move)   6.  Sprayed the house for bugs (VENGEANCE!)   7.  Repainted the patch on the bathroom wall (there was a mopping incident)  8.  Finally touched up the paint in the hallway (from a YEAR ago)  9.  Packed up all the winter clothes (summer is definitely here)   10.  Sent a load of stuff to good will (there is another load coming)

In addition to this, I go to the gym, run the dishwasher, sweep, and do a load of laundry daily.  Never in my life have I done so many household chores.  I read so many blogs of my friends who have kids and they sound so tired sometimes.  I feel I need to do enough housework for the both of us.

(Side note:  I am going to kill the guy across the street with the loud pipes.  His car puts me in a bad mood…)

Here is a list of things I plan to accomplish before the summer is over:

1.  Paint the baseboards   2.  clean the carpets   3.  Reorganize the linen closet   4.  Paint a canvas for the bedroom   5.  Reorganize the junk drawer

BUGS! June 4, 2009

This is so disturbing that it brought me out of my blogging slump:

There are so many ridiculous bugs in Starkville!  So there have been tons of mosquito hawks since the weather got warm.  This is fine; mosquito hawks keep down the other bugs; and lucy thinks they are tasty treats.  Aside from noticing a dead june bug next to the door in the morning, we haven’t any major problems…until Monday.

On Monday, the Bug Man came by all the apartments (this happens once every month or so).  And I am CONVINCED that he just sprayed sugar water all over the place because I have scooped up at least 3 bugs a day since he left.  And, no, they are not dead.  they are scuttling around the living room like, ‘Hey, what’s up?  Where’s the keg of sugar water?’

Ugh!  I cannot stand bugs!  I feel like they are everywhere now!

However, before everyone decides to avoid my apartment like the plague, let me defend myself in saying that I AM A VERY CLEAN PERSON!  The dishes are always rinsed and in the dishwasher, the kitchen is swept multiple times a week and mopped at least once.  I vacuum relentlessly (because it is my favorite household chore), and today I even cleaned all the fans in the house, dusted all the furniture, and vacuumed all the crevices in and under the couches (I sucked up well over a dollar in change, some sunflower seeds, Matt’s lighter, and a mini nerf dart–who knows how long that’s been there!)