8 Things

Stolen from Mindy....

8 Things I am Looking Forward To:

1. School being out on June 12 (my USC classes end AND it's the end of the school year)
2. Seeing the Cardinals live and in person (again...)
3. Going to New York City and "the shore" this summer
4. Reading From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler with Madison tonight
5. Seeing Melissa
6. The 6th grade vs the teachers softball game this afternoon
7. Relaxing with my family this summer
8. Reading what I want to read, all summer long

8 Things I did Yesterday:

1. Worked
2. Cooked dinner
3. Practiced the teacher dance for the talent show next Tuesday
4. Took Madison to tennis
5. Listened to Obama's speech in Egypt
6. Started reading From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler with Madison; she liked it so much we read two chapters
7. Played Farm Town
8. Threw tennis balls to Madison after her practice

8 Things I Wish I could Do:

1. Go to Paris. Again. And again.
2. Spend the summer at "the shore" in a beach house
3. Speak French
4. Have season tickets to the Cardinals
5. Slow down time, Madison is growing up too quickly for me
6. Have a flat in New York City
7. Teach my same group of kids next year; they are awesome
8. Go to Morocco

8 Shows I Watch:

1. The Office
2. Cardinals baseball
3. Grey's Anatomy
4. USC football
5. Saturday Night Live (on the Internet)
6. The Cardinals post game show
7. SportsCenter
8. Oprah (occasionally)

Weekly Recap

The best part of the week: Has to be, hands down, laughing with friends at work. If we didn't laugh, we'd cry -- the last part of the school year is always stressful and overwhelming...having good friends to share with makes all the difference!

The weekly read: I'm reading Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah. It's not a bad read, but it's not a book that I rush home to pick up.

Food I'm Totally In Love With: Stopped this morning at Starbucks for a latte. The drive thru line was HUGE so I went in and saw pain de chocolate in the case. OMG! Reminded me of France. So.very.very.good.

Weekly Comment: Yesterday at lunch us 6th grade teachers were talking about the math we're teaching (permutations and combinations). Someone in the lounge said, "Stop talking a foreign language at lunch!"

Recovering...

I have been so.sick. The cough from hell, sneezing, headache -- it's gone on for over a week. Last weekend I slept from Friday morning (because I called in sick to work) until Saturday evening, and then went back to bed Saturday night. I managed to make it to work every day this week, but it was rough. So glad it's Saturday!

In addition to being sick, it's the end of the trimester. That means...report cards. And my USC class ends this week, so my final project had to be completed. Somehow I got it all done this week -- and managed to maintain my sanity. Barely.

To make the week even better, there was some work drama. It took three after school meetings to work it out and I'm still not sure there aren't some hard feelings.

Hopefully this week will be better. My class is testing (a district test) and I'm confident they know the material. My fridge is full of good, nutritious food. The weather is gorgeous. I'm hopeful!

Oh, and earlier this year I chose the word CHERISH as my word of the year. I haven't done a good job of CHERISHING myself. I'm going to work on that this week!

New York City Edition!

WHAT I’M READING: Picked up Sarah's Key at the airport yesterday, for the simple reason that Augusten Burroughs had a blurb on the front saying it was "a shocking, profoundly moving, and morally challenging story...nothing short of miraculous. It will haunt you, it will help to complete you..." With a recommendation like that, I wanted to read it. Just started reading last night, and it's living up to its billing. It alternates between Paris in 1942 and Paris 60 years later.

WHAT I’M WATCHING: Watched Vicky Cristina Barcelona on the plane yesterday. Loved it. Saw that Penelope Cruz is nominated for an Academy Award as Best Supporting Actress for her role in it, she was fantastic.

WHAT I’M LISTENING TO: The sounds of Manhattan from my hotel room (the Hotel Elysee on 54th between Park and Madison). I'm on the 11th floor, so it's a bit muted, but the horns and sirens are still out there! Ahhh, New York City!

WHAT I’M WEARING: It's a bit brisk here! Brought my red coat I bought in London back in November and my black boots, that should keep me warm today as I traipse around Manhattan.

WHAT I’M EATING: John's Pizza today. Love pizza in Manhattan!

WHAT I’M ENJOYING: Being in New York City. I love the vibrancy of this city, the energy and the people.

WHAT I’M SNIFFING: Toasted nuts from a vendor on the street corner. Almonds. Brought some back to the room with me last night. Yum!

Weekend in Review

Changed up a bit, to review the weekend (which was fabulous!):

WHAT I’M READING: Just finished The Outcast by Sadie Jones. I picked it up in England in November. Haunting, deep, very good. Just started Bones by Jonathan Kellerman, I need something not so heavy as a follow-up.

WHAT I’M WATCHING: Watched The Secret Life of Bees (amazing) and saw Coraline with my daughter today.

WHAT I’M LISTENING TO: My iPod plugged into my car -- what a fantastic invention! Kept me occupied on the drive to Heather's house (and back) Saturday.

WHAT I’M WEARING: Clothes that keep me warm in this rain and boots. It's been raining since Thursday, a rarity in Southern California. LOVE IT!

WHAT I’M EATING: Lots of eating out this weekend. Outback, California Pizza Kitchen and a new find -- Cherry on Top frozen yogurt. That will be a regular haunt, I'm sure of it!

WHAT I’M ENJOYING: The rainy weather and a weekend with my girls -- Sandy Friday night, Heather Saturday, and all day Sunday with my daughter.

WHAT I’M SNIFFING: Tuscan chicken cooking and rain....

9 Layers

Copied from Lori:

LAYER ONE:
-- Name: Jennifer
-- Birth date: January 17
-- Birthplace: Boulder City, NV
-- Current Location: Riverside, CA on my couch
-- Eye Color: Green
-- Hair Color: Brown
-- Height: 5'7
-- Righty or Lefty: Righty
-- Zodiac Sign: Capricorn

LAYER TWO:
-- Your heritage: half Greek and the rest a mix of Western European
-- Your weakness: purses
-- Your fears: my daughter being hurt
-- Your perfect pizza: wild mushroom pizza on a thin crust
-- Goal you'd like to achieve: finish the gifted certification I'm working on

LAYER THREE:
-- Your first waking thoughts: Is it that time already??
-- Your best physical feature: Yesterday someone told me my eyes, I'll go with that
-- Your most missed memory: Sunday mornings with my Grandpa

LAYER FOUR:
-- Pepsi or Coke: neither, Dr. Pepper
-- McDonald's or Burger King: McDonald's
-- Single or group dates: Single
-- Adidas or Nike: Converse
-- Lipton Ice Tea or Nestea: only hot tea for me
-- Chocolate or vanilla: chocolate
-- Cappuccino or coffee: Cappuccino

LAYER FIVE:
-- Smoke: never
-- Cuss: sometimes
-- Sing: only when I'm alone
-- Take a shower everyday: Yep
-- Do you think you've been in love: Yep
-- Want to go to college: Still taking classes
-- Liked high school: Yes
-- Want to get married: Again?
-- Believe in yourself: Yes
-- Get motion sickness: Nope
-- Think you're attractive: Sure
-- Think you're a health freak: No
-- Get along with your parent(s): Yes. I love them both.
-- Like thunderstorms: Love them
-- Play an instrument: I used to be able to

LAYER SIX:
In the past month...
-- Drank alcohol: Yes
-- Smoked: No.
-- Done a drug: Nope.
-- Made Out: If you want to call it that....
-- Gone on a date: yep
-- Gone to the mall?: Yep.
-- Eaten an entire box of Oreos?: No.
-- Eaten sushi: No.
-- Been on stage: Nope.
-- Been dumped: Nope.
-- Gone skating: No (and I never will again after my fall)
-- Made homemade cookies: Yes. Toll House ones
-- Gone skinny dipping: No.
-- Dyed your hair: Yes (every month!)
-- Stolen Anything: Nope.

LAYER SEVEN:
Ever...
-- Played a game that required removal of clothing: Yes
-- Been trashed or extremely intoxicated: Yes
-- Been caught "doing something": depends on what something is.
-- Been called a tease: Yes
-- Gotten beaten up: No
-- Shoplifted: No
-- Changed who you were to fit in: Probably in the past, but not any more

LAYER EIGHT:
-- Age you hope to be married: I was way too young, 22
-- Numbers and Names of Children: One daughter, Madison
-- Describe your Dream Wedding: Borneo. at a monkey sanctuary (perfect Lori!)
-- How do you want to die: In my sleep
-- Where you want to go to college: Taking classes at USC right now
-- What do you want to be when you grow up: Retired
-- What country would you most like to visit: Lots. Morocco is at the top of my "I've never been and I want to go list."

LAYER NINE:
-- Number of illegal drugs taken: 0
-- Number of people I could trust with my life: prob about 6
-- Number of CDs that I own: No clue
-- Number of piercings: 2
-- Number of tattoos: 0 but I want one
-- Number of times my name has appeared in the newspaper?: No idea
-- Number of scars on my body: No idea
-- Number of things in my past that I regret: Hopefully not very many

Weekly Recap

Much like Mindy does, although a tad bit different:

The best part of the week: Getting my district math test scores back. My students rocked the test!! I am so proud of them. The test was very, very difficult and required mastery on skills when we just don't have time to stop and teach for mastery. But these kids rose to the challenge. I'm so happy!

The weekly read: Just finished American Wife by Curtis Suttenfeld. I enjoyed this fictional account of the life of a First Lady of the United States.

Food I'm Totally In Love With: Has to be the cupcakes from The Cupcakery in Las Vegas. Brought some back last weekend and YUM! It's a very good thing I can't order online and have them shipped.

Weekly Comment: The phone call from the parent of a child who is moving. To another school in another district. The parent called to thank me for being such a good teacher. That touched me!

I Am....

stolen from Emily

I live: in a cute 1950's ranch house that has an entire wall of windows in the living room and I absolutely adore it
I work: at a job I love, teaching school
I smell: honeysuckle, one of my favorite smells
I listen: to Sirius satellite radio in the car
I hide: a lot of myself from most people
I walk: every night
I write: in my blog
I see: my beautiful ten year old
I sing: in the car, out loud
I can: juggle my life most days
I watch: as many St. Louis Cardinals baseball games as I possibly can
I daydream: too much
I want: to go to every USC football away game
I cry: easily and too often
I read: a lot of fiction, and certain blogs ever day
I love: my parents, my family, my home
I rode: four wheelers every weekend when I was growing up, in the Las Vegas desert
I sometimes: buy really expensive purses
I fear: my daughter being hurt or worse, dying
I hope: that Obama is everything we want him to be, and more (good answer, Emily!)
I eat: not as well as I'd like
I drink: lattes from Starbucks
I play: with my class at PE
I miss: my grandfathers
I forgive: myself, even though it takes longer than I'd like
I drive: the car I've always wanted, a BMW 5 series
I lost: myself for a bit, but I've found myself again
I dream: vividly and I go through dream books to try and figure out my dreams
I kiss: a boy!
I hug: my baby girl
I have: the best friends on earth
I remember: most things
I don't: forgive easliy
I believe: that most people are good, until they lose my trust
I owe: Heather a lot, for getting me through some tough times
I know: how people can lie to you, even people you'd never expect
I hate: liars, more than anything
I wish: I knew what the future will bring
I wear: jeans whenever possible, preferably custom made ones
My ex: is an ex for a reason
Maybe I should: slow down sometimes
People would say that I'm: quiet
Life if full of: highs and lows
My past is: over and I need to remember that
I get annoyed when: people don't know what they are doing but still act like they know everything
Parties are: depending on who is there, they can be super fun
Tomorrow: I have to give a huge district test
Never in my life have I: been to Africa, although I want to go
When I was younger, I: wanted to live in California, and I do
When I'm nervous: I pick at my fingernails
When I was 5: I walked to kindergarten with the girl across the street
My life is not complete without: spending time with my daughter
If you visit my hometown: you are probably there to gamble
The world could do without: mosquitos
If I ever go back to school: I'm in school now, classes at USC!
And, by the way: I am getting the travel bug again

Birthday!

This weekend is my birthday. I'm so excited! My parents are planning a party for me, which means going HOME. And...my very good friend Heather, of Chasing Butterflies, is coming with me! Yay me! And yay for good friends wanting to celebrate...

The birthday plans include a fancy dancy hotel. We are staying at the Loews at Lake Las Vegas. Ooh la la! It's an absolutely gorgeous hotel, I'm thrilled we were able to get reservations. Saturday night my entire family is meeting for dinner at Steak, the best restaurant in Henderson. We plan to eat, drink, and party through the menu. And my parents have ordered a pecan bundt cake from Nothingbundtcake. Yum!

Heather and I plan to drink mojitos, laugh, talk, and enjoy our time in Las Vegas. What else are birthday weekends for?!

Word for 2009

Inspired by Mindy and Heather, I'm choosing a word for 2009. A word to try and live by, a word to sum up what I want for the year. My word is cherish.

1. To treat with affection and tenderness; hold dear: cherish one's family; fine rugs that are cherished by their owners.
2. To keep fondly in mind; entertain: cherish a memory.
   

I want to cherish myself, first. I don't always do that. And I want to cherish my daughter. My family. My friends. My students.

And cherish the things I hold dear. I am guilty of wallowing in self-pity way too much, of forgetting the good things I have, the blessings in my life. I need to remind myself to cherish...