Friday, September 21, 2007

Aww, How Exciting!

Just read my school email. There was a message from the director of student activities, informing all teachers that there might be a brief interruption in our classrooms on Monday during 4th period.

There will be kids going around to announce the candidates for the Homecoming Royal Court, along with a film crew to record the event for DVTV.

And my room number is on the list! Normally I don't put too much stock in Royal Courts and all that, but I think it's cute that one of my Divine students is on the Royal Court...and now I get to spend all weekend trying to guess which senior it is. Could be a girl, could be a boy...something (gut instinct?) tells me it's one of my girls. Stay tuned!

Sunday, September 16, 2007

Cheering Like Mad for the Teal and Black

Some pictures from our Fall Sports Rally and the first home game of the season on Friday...which we won, 20-8. : )

Tag...I'm It!

Shae tagged me, so I'll post the random facts about myself...unfortunately, I don't have anyone to tag when I'm finished! So I guess it ends with me.

The Rules:

1. I have to post these rules before I give you the facts.

2. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.

3. People who are tagged need to write their own blog (about their eight things) and post these rules.

4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose people to get tagged and list their names.

5. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.


Random Things About Me:

8. I hate phones, unless I am talking to my parents or a very dear friend. I prefer email, letters, smoke signals...just don't make me talk on the phone (especially if it is the parent of a student!!).

7. I hate walking barefoot on grass. When I was seven, a teacher told my 2nd grade class about how, every time we step on grass, we step on thousands of tiny little organisms. I can probably count on one hand the number of times I've walked barefoot on grass in the twenty-two years since that date. I wonder if there's a phobia name for it.

6. I love bubblegum flavored ice cream. I had a birthday cake with it when I was little, from Baskin-Robbins. I think the cake was chocolate and the ice cream bubblegum. Horrid combination! But I love, love, love bubblegum ice cream. Found some at Safeway a few weeks ago and nearly swooned in delight.

5. I love children's books. Even though I'm not currently teaching elementary students, I still have a large collection. Some are left over from my own childhood--I have a ton of old Berenstein Bears and Snoopy books. I love wandering the children's section at Barnes and Noble. I guess it reminds me of happy childhood memories or something.

4. The first CD I recieved (as a Christmas present) was U2's Actchung Baby album. I also got a gift card to Tower Records, so the first CD I bought was U2's The Joshua Tree.

3. I will never, ever, ever land in London's Heathrow airport without a huge smile on my face. Landing in London is symbolic of so many good things in my life.

2. I end every phone conversation with my parents with "I love you." Even if I'm annoyed.

1. My favorite household chore is vacuuming. There is something satisfying about watching debris get sucked up, and it also burns calories. Least favorite household chore: anything to do with potty--cleaning the toilet and dealing with Millie's litterbox.

Friday, September 14, 2007

Go Wolverines!!

Went to the first home game of the season (football) and we won, 20-8. We are now 2-0 in league play.

Had a great time, figured out the night function on my camera, and took a load of pictures...which will be coming soon. For now, it's off to Bedfordshire. I'm pooped!

Monday, September 03, 2007

Ready or Not...Here I Come

And I'm ready. I really am.

Tomorrow is the first day of school. I'll be welcoming my kids back to choir; and my hope is that this year is smoother all around. It has to be, really--how could it be any worse than last year?

I type this at 8:30 Monday night. I am sitting at the computer with a gel eye mask strapped to my face. It's the type that can be used cold or warm. I have it cold right now, to minimize puffiness. Makes my vision a bit strange (feel a bit like a racehorse, without the carrots) but I can still see the screen as I type, so it's all good.

Being me, I set aside tonight as a Pamper Me night. I've just emerged from my bathroom after taking a long, candlelit soak in the tub. I used a special enzyme exfoliator on my face and sat with a hot wet washcloth over it for the steam benefits. I thoroughly shaved my legs and exfoliated like mad. After the bath I lotioned my whole body, plucked my eyebrows, put a special moisturizer (goes with the exfoliator) on my face, and spritzed on my gorgeous Givenchy perfume.

Also being me, I had to have at least one Bridget moment, which came when I blew out one of my candles. Not wanting the smoke to drift over to the smoke detector, I had the oh-so-bright idea to shake the candle...which resulted in hot wax on my hand, arm, and my right breast.

Fortunately it wasn't too hot, and while I'm still finding flaky bits of wax in wierd places, it doesn't hurt. No burns.

So here I am. My skin is soft. I smell marvelous. I feel relaxed and ready to go. I am drinking a Best. Cosmo. Ever. (See the previous post.) In a few minutes I will retire to the bedroom with a cuddly cat and a good book. Lovely.

Tomorrow? Who knows exactly what it will bring? I'm confident, however, it will be good.

Sunday, September 02, 2007

Oooh, Yummy.

I have to share my very, very good recipe for a kick-butt Cosmopolitan.

I crushed a few raspberries in the drink shaker. Then I added 1/2 a cup of vodka and 1/2 a cup of the cranberry mix. I swizzled in one sugar-free mixed berry-flavored popsicle. Finally I added ice and shook it all up. It is delicious!

I do love a good Cosmo on a lazy evening.

Saturday, September 01, 2007

A Little Light Housekeeping

Yesterday I started a project that I'm sure will raise a few eyebrows when the kidlets return to school on Tuesday: I took down each and every old picture from the choir room walls, as well as some old posters that were faded.

The previous teacher hung the past years' choir pictures with very little order or pizazz. Some had frames, some did not. Frames didn't match, or were too big for the pictures. I've never liked how it looked and always thought, "one of these days, I'll change it up a bit."

And so I did. Every picture has been taken down. Pictures have been removed from frames. Frames have been discarded and the pictures filed away (read: set on top of a pic stack of stuff) in my end of the music library. Tackling that mess is the next project, but it's gonna be a while before I get to that.

Anyway, the pictures weren't working for me. The faded old posters weren't working for me. So down it all came, and up went my stuff.

I started with four small bulletin boards, one for each choir. I decorated them with scrapbook stuff in the school colors. I'll add more as I go, but for now, it's a good start.

I also changed the order of things in my room. The piano was always next to my desk, leaving it across the room from the white board. Any time I wanted to use the white board in a lesson, I had to climb over rows and rows of choir kids, and there was no guarantee that they'd turn around to see what I was writing up there. So I enlisted the help of my ever-willing-to-assist colleague, Larry, and we heaved and grunted both the baby grand and my stereo stystem from one side of the room to the other. The result is a nice--and even better, usable--little teaching space on one side of the room. My desk is still on the other side of the room, as it is the only place with an internet hookup for my computer. Plus, moving a baby grand and a stereo system was enough for one school year.

It looks great, if I do say so myself. I have made a couple of slideshows; one is before, one is after. The room isn't actually that dark...even with a flash, my camera can't pick up the light in there as well.

Before:



And...drumroll, please...after:



It's a work in progress. I have some more stuff to hang up as time goes on. Still, it's a huge improvement, and I like it.

Maybe because it's truly my classroom now.