So, having survived the first (partial) week of school, I am so glad to be back. Looping with the same class to the next grade level is going to be AMAZING! It felt like we were sophomores in college, coming back knowing each other and what it's all about, happy to see each other with a short warm-up phase.
On the second day of school, I asked them to write me letters. They could tell me what happened to them over the summer, or something they want to work on for the school year or just anything they thought I needed to know to start our year.
Here are some classics...
"I don't like bananas anymore. I only like strawberr[ies]." Fair enough.
"Can't wait [for] what's waiting to be learn[ed]"
I'm glad you have areas for improvements, little man, and clearly I need to change my focus from butterfingers :)
Oh, so many things...
My personal favorite. This letter is from a student who Always keeps things interesting.
Ever need a pick me up? I've been doing quite a bit of laughing this summer for many reasons, but I can tell you about 3 specific ones that you can enjoy...
If you have a smartphone or ever text someone who does, you know about autocorrect. It's true that what you type doesn't always come out the way you meant it. In fact, I meant to call someone "bud" the other day and ending up calling him "bun", adding a whole new dimension of fun explaining. But it also reminded me of Friends (what doesn't?)... http://youtu.be/Goo5UJ0kQd0
2. The tv series Freaks and Geeks. I'm, like, Waaaaay behind the times on this one. First of all, it came out in 1999/2000. I remember hearing the name back then and thinking "I should watch that," but I never did. And people have referenced it over the years, but finally last Sunday, my friend Jaime put the 18-episode-series-on-5-DVDs in my hand and said, "Do yourself a favor." Since I have abundant time these days, I started it... I'm on episode 10 and I LOVE IT. It's so funny and so good and it's got SO MANY stars in it, "before they were stars".
Listen to my friend Jaime and "Do yourself a favor."
3. I read on my iBooks the book "Sh*t My Dad Says". It was so funny that I laughed out loud several, several times. Read it. And then give it to your Dad.
It's the mysterious monthly blogger! Just kidding. I've been starting my summer!
The last week in June, I mostly just slept, played, recovered from the school year and studied for my Math final (which I, nerdily enough, got a 99 on!!). So, I officially passed the math course.
The week before the 4th of July was spent preparing for my trip to Deep Creek Lake with some amazing friends. We were there Friday the 1st until Tuesday the 5th and every part of it was wonderful. Some people are just meant to be on the water. I am one of those people. Here are some pics:
Some ladies and I went on a hike to Swallow Falls.
Kristin and I didn't know what to do with our hands...
Jaime and I did!
Listened to some good tunes...
Saw some beautiful firework displays by the men of our group...
I made a cake!
This is Jaime's parents' backyard...
The strongest woman in the world...
Gets some liquid courage and back dives off the boat...
Waving a friendly boatersby...
Since then, I've been spending my time continuing to work on my tan and studying for the Oceanography final that I'm taking TOMORROW MORNING. Once that is over, I hope I'll feel like my life is my own again!!
Yep, I've been missing. Went under the radar for Spring Break. It was kind of nice.
Here's a recap....
Monday I did all the errands I needed to do for the week (post office, grocery store, etc) and then I swung by the Verizon store because my new-every-two was up and I decided to use that $30 credit (WHAT?! booo) toward one of these bad boys:
And they aren't kidding. I was actually kind of nervous about getting one (BIG CHANGE from the Crackberries I've had for the past 4 years) but I knew I'd love it. And I do. It's awesome. I immediately downloaded:
Words with Friends.
And I haven't stopped playing since I got it. I am in, literally, 20 games with different people. (Ok, 3 with my brother). But it's awesome because I get to "play" scrabble with people all over the country! Californians, West Virginians, Virginians, people from the District... it's a blast. Super addicting but it also challenges your brain. Love it. So much.
This is currently my game with Joy. Now she will know some of my letters. But I'm ok with that :) **also, I like that it says that I played flute for 8 points. I've heard my flute playing. I'm no Ron Burgundy. 8 points is a lot.
Tuesday... I had a very lazy day! I know I slept in, cuddled my pup (that's her, the little spoon):
And took Pheebs for a walk while testing out my new camera:
The day ended with Trivia and Kelly. It was great! I actually was able to identify "calcium carbonate" as the main component of eggshells. I felt like Joey Tribbiani "Hey! I'm a dork!!" :)
Wednesday, I woke up and baked Joy's 30th birthday cake:
Then I went to the dentist on the most beautiful, warm and sunny day. I was definitely a grumpy gus. I ran a few more errands then I met my friend Jaime at her place on the river in Alexandria and we took her pup, Lovie, for an hour walk along the water. It was EXACTLY what I needed. Jaime is really good at advice and she was just the person I needed that day.
Later that night, I drove out to Dulles to pick up Mandy! She was flying in from Albuquerque (having visited her most quotable grandparents) and we got to spend some hours together catching up, eating, sharing stories, cameras and laughs. I miss her! We then proceeded to get locked out of her in-laws house and needed to wake them up at 1:30am. Oh, teachers on Spring Break. Yeah, Peep!
Thursday, I went out to West Virginia. I got to be with my Joy and the little person who I fall more in love with every time I see him. He is just so EDIBLE:
He has the most expressive eyebrows. And he smiles at me every time I look at him, like he knows that one day we'll be laughing together while causing mischief. He also thinks he's grown (yes, I'd love some ginger ale, mom):
He went down for a nap and Joy and I sat outside in the sunshine, chatting and sharing and iPhone apps. :) Of course, I took some pictures. They aren't great, but somehow I managed to catch some Joy (and also my finger. Hey, I'm learning):
I left Joy's around dinnertime and then headed to Fairfax to visit Mayrides and Matt. Matt cooked a yummy Moroccan meal for us (there was ginger in there!) and then we just chatted and caught up for a few hours. Lots of laughs. It was nice to see them! And Phebe loves their house because they have an amazing backyard for a dog. There's a hill so she can spy on all the neighborhood dogs and alert us when they are walking past the house. Thanks, Pheebs, we appreciate that.
Friday, I.... did... nothing. And it was awesome. It was a gross, gross, gross rainy day. Cold and blech. I stayed inside with my sewing machine and worked on some crafts that I am not at liberty to share yet because the recipients have not received them yet. Will post later. Also, I made a case for my iPhone. Duh. I'll post that later, too, because the fabric is used pointedly in one of my other crafts. Vague, vague. But 5-6 hours on my sewing machine was really fun! Later in the evening, Lou's parents were in town so we played some card games and laughed. A lot.
I like that laughing was very common this Spring Break.
Saturday and Sunday were pretty low key. I made William his birthday carrot cake and sat outside in the yard because it was warm and sunny. Even got my first light pink sunburn. Just very easy going. And of course, I played with my iPhone a ton.
The first day back to school was pretty good. I'm exhausted right this moment because I need to sleep to readjust myself but I have to share this song...
This is my Favorite hymn. And this country girl absolutely brings the house down singing it... whether you're spirital, religious and or none of the above, listen... it's pretty darn powerful.
Baby lover or not, I dare you not to laugh at this baby! So cute! I just received word that one of my favorite little fellows is laughing more and more, too...
If you haven't already met him, this is Fred Armisen. (in the dashing vest) He's a regular on Saturday Night Live, he just came out with his own tv show and he's done some bit parts in movies.
Kat and Garth has been my favorite sketch for several months. Watch a few...
On Friday night, I went to the Black Cat in DC to see "A Night with Fred Armisen." He performed some music, some of his SNL characters and just basically had fun. His show was a little short (about an hour and 15 minutes) so right before he left to go offstage before his encore, some jerk in the back shouted "TWENTY-FIVE DOLLARS!"
When he came back onstage for his encore, he wanted to do a little Garth and Kat, but he said he needed some volunteers. I didn't want to volunteer myself and stage fright took hold, but my wonderful roommate Lindsay (who knows this is my DREAM) started screaming, "HERE!! RIGHT HERE!! THIS GIRL!! SHE WANTS TO DO IT!!!" He looked at me as if to say, "Do you really want to or is your friend just volunteering you?" And I said, "Yes, I'd like to." So I climbed up on stage....
I love him.
Here's a shorter part of it that Lou made with my camera... I could watch it for hours!! :)
Hope you enjoy... It was such an awesome experience!!
There's a recently-discovered show on the Science Channel that is brilliant. Ricky Gervais and his buddy Steve Merchant have a naive, uncomfortable, hilarious friend named Karl Pilkington. So Ricky and Steve decided to executive produce a show where they send Karl around to see the Seven Wonders of the world. It is their goal to make him as uncomfortable as possible. Karl is innocent, unknowing and a good sport. It. Is. HILARIOUS! Watch the first episode (China) and you won't be sad. They are addicting.
Can you tell which one is Karl in this picture?
Yup, you were right...
Loves it.
Learning a new culture...
My roommate heard about it from his sister. We found it on demand on the Science Channel. Try it!!
With all the new information about the iphone coming to Verizon, I thought this would be a fun post: To show some of the ridiculous pictures I take on my Blackberry. (the blackberry camera isn't very good... as you'll see)
In ABSOLUTELY no order...
One beautiful fluffy dog:
Sperm Shoes from Skymall
3rd grade reading book... yikes...
Yiiiiiiikes!!
My school picture this year. (I took a pic of it on my phone to send to my mom, y'all. She still likes my school pictures, you know)
A SUPER happy Christmas elf...
What What in the butt pants... Want to see a ridiculous youtube video? Youtube "what what in the butt". Anne, I think you, ESPECIALLY, will love this.
The ultimate in Holiday relaxtion... Pheebs stretched over to the ottoman.
Kitty in the sink.
Learning their nines any way they know how! (Use those strategies!)
Kitty in another sink.
Hope the randomness entertained you as much as it did me. Just be careful, YOU might make the next round...
