The Adventures of Kinky Reggae: A Vagabond for Beauty

Christmas this year was definitely a success. On Christmas Eve I spent some time with three of my favorite girls. We decided not to exchange gifts, and I had the idea that we should make lists of our top ten favorite things about each other. It ended up being pretty emotional. We kept saying that we never realized people thought those things about us. It was definitely one of the best things about Christmas this year. Except that Nina told Rachel she wasn't going to do it, and then when she saw us she lied and said she forgot. That really pissed me off. If she didn't want to do it, she should have just said so in the first place. I almost called her out on it, but I didn't want there to be a big ugly scene. And I felt that some justice was served in the form of mousse from a bakery that Rachel bought for us, which she told Nina was gluten-free, even though it was not. Haha. For church that night, we went to my old church, the church my great-grandfather was past

Tears are falling, hearts are breaking How we need to hear from God You've been promised, we've been waiting Welcome Holy Child Welcome Holy Child Hope that you don't mind our manger How I wish we would have known But long-awaited Holy Stranger Make Yourself at home Please make Yourself at home Bring Your peace into our violence Bid our hungry souls be filled Word now breaking Heaven's silence Welcome to our world Welcome to our world Fragile finger sent to heal us Tender brow prepared for thorn Tiny heart whose blood will save us Unto us is born Unto us is born So wrap our injured flesh around You Breathe our air and walk our sod Rob our sin and make us holy Perfect Son of God Perfect Son of God Welcome to our world

We sang this song one year for Lessons and Carols at Concordia, and I think it is one of my favorite choral pieces ever. I think our director did a better job conducting, but I think this choir probably sounds better than we did. My favorite was the "beautiful virgin" part. A lot of the time, when you're singing in a different language, you're not thinking about each word that you're singing. But with this song, I knew what all the words meant in English, so it was really meaningful. And I think the text is just beautiful. Original Text O magnum mysterium et admirabile sacramentum, ut animalia viderent Dominum natum, jacentem in præsepio. Beata virgo, cujus viscera meruerunt portare Dominum Christum, Alleluia! English O great mystery and wondrous sacrament, that animals should see the newborn Lord lying in their manger. Blessed is the Virgin whose womb was worthy to bear the Lord Jesus Christ. Alleluia!

Silent Night was always the last hymn we’d sing at our church’s candlelight service on Christmas Eve. Sometimes we’d sing in German, which my grandma loved since she grew up speaking German. One year my whole family went to Willow Creek’s Christmas service, which also ends with Silent Night. Their tradition is that you have to tell the people you’re with that you love them by the end of the song. I thought, “This is not happening.” My family is not very demonstrative. I was shocked when my brother (who, at the time, was causing all sorts of trouble and was angry at all of us all the time) hugged us all, said “I love you,” and put his arms around us as we sang. All four of us stood there with our arms around each other singing Silent Night, and it was one of the most beautiful moments our family has had.

Okay, I chose this one more because I love the movie. This is the second time I've gone to see it at the Music Box Theater. This year I took my mom, and we had a lovely time. My dad dropped her off last night, and she did my dishes and rearranged my closet with the Huggable Hangers she brought me. This morning I took her to see Jorge, the guy who does my hair, and for the first time in her life, she has a fabulous haircut. She's always just gone to Great Clips before. Just as I suspected, she loves it and says she will never go back to Great Clips. It was so fun to see her so excited. After the haircut, we met my friend Kelly for lunch at Uncommon Ground, one of my favorite restaurants. Then we walked to the theater, which was just a few blocks away. Before the movie starts, there is caroling led by Santa. It's very festive; everyone has jingle bells and antlers or Santa hats. The crowd cheers when the movie starts and is very vocal throughout it- singing along,

I have always thought this song was just so beautiful and peaceful. You know when it snows at night, and it's flakes that are so huge they look like cotton balls, and everything outside is so quiet? When it snows like that, my mom always says it's just like this song. My parents have a gorgeous backyard. The back of it is lined with huge evergreen trees, so when it snows, it is picturesque. When I hear this song, I picture snow falling in my parents' backyard. Here's another random video. I'm kind of enjoying looking for all these videos on YouTube. I'm finding some pretty hilarious stuff.

This hymn isn't anything original or unique. It was always just something we sang every Advent in church. I always liked it because there's something about the melody that made it feel good to sing. But last year I really listened to the words and fell in love with it. The words are so full of hope. It makes me think of how eagerly people were anticipating the Messiah and the expectations they had for him. Emmanuel means "God with us," and the Jews desperately wanted God to be with them again. So here's a random recording I found on YouTube. O come, O come, Emmanuel And ransom captive Israel That mourns in lonely exile here Until the Son of God appear Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel.

So I just started listening to Christmas music yesterday. Not sure why, just haven't really been in the mood. But I heard one of my favorite songs at the store and couldn't wait to go home and download it. I started downloading other favorites and thinking about each song's significance. So I decided that each day, from now till Christmas, I will write about a favorite Christmas song and post the lyrics on my blog. I'll try to post a video too, so the song can be heard and not just read about it. The song I heard yesterday was "Breath of Heaven (Mary's Song)" by Amy Grant. I grew up listening to Amy Grant and singing her songs in church. Looking back, many of them are so awful, but I still love them. But this one has withstood the test of time, at least for me. I sang this song several times for Christmas at my church when I was younger. The first time I did it was freshman year of high school, and I remember my voice teacher making me get down

My mom found my copy of A Very Brady Christmas. I can take that off my list. The crayon throwing stopped today. I told my kids it would be an automatic after-school detention if they were caught throwing crayons. That seemed to work. I'm almost done with my Christmas shopping and gift making. In two weeks, I will be in Florida- drinking cherry limeades, shopping at Dillards, wearing my favorite white flowy skirt and flip flops, eating my uncle's cooking, laying on the beach, and going to Disney World.

So you know how I said that for the first time in my life, I was choosing to not complete an assignment? That didn't work out so well. The prof called me and left a message last Thursday listing the assignments I needed to turn in last night. (I was a little behind since I missed a week.) At class last night, she went around and checked each person's folder. When she asked me where Reflection #4 was, I was like, "I'm sorry. I couldn't do it. I've never purposely not done an assignment before, but I just couldn't do it." She said, "Well, I can give you till Friday..." And I was like, "Thank you, but I'll just take whatever grade I deserve without that paper." But she kept insisting that I email it to her by Friday. So today I came home from work, seriously considering not doing it, telling myself I wouldn't have to face her again. And there in my inbox was an email from her reminding me to do the paper. I submitted

My principal observed me today, and I was so nervous about how my students would behave. But two of my worst kids transferred out, and another one was sick, so it actually wasn't that bad. God was really looking out for me. My principal had a few suggestions for improvement, and I'm excited to try out some of her ideas. I don't mind being evaluated by her because I know she's not out to get me; she honestly wants to help me be a better teacher. She gave me the best compliment today. She said, "What I like about you, Miss B, is that you have lots of great ideas and are passionate about what you do. You're always willing to try new things and you never give up." That really meant a lot to me. I love Ms. Franklin like Ramona loves Miss Binney.

1. Dress from Anthropologie 2. More bookshelves for my apartment. 3. Hat 4. Pure Grace perfume 5. I want my dad to shave his mustache. 6. Spending money for Florida 7. Homemade Rice Crispy treats with vegan marshmallows 8. Someone to clean my house 9. Desk from Crate and Barrel 10. A Very Brady Christmas (I lost my copy!) 11. Dixie Chicks c.d. 12. A Disney painting 13. Debrett's Etiquette for Girls 14. Mystery Case Files: MillionHeir for DS 15. Orange slices 16. Another tattoo 17. Tickets to Madama Butterfly at the Lyric Opera

Okay, I think I figured out why the crayon thing was so funny to me. It reminded me of this article in the Onion from years ago. I don't know why it stuck in my head, but it's hilarious.

My Charlie Brown Christmas Tree has met its demise. I would share a picture, but my camera's broken, too. I knocked it over yesterday and the red ornament shattered everywhere. I wanted to take a picture of a scene in my classroom today, too. I heard someone mention crayons and jumped all over them, but it was too late... the idea had been planted. There was a sniper attack. Broken crayons littered the landscape of my classroom. They were all concentrated in one corner- all colors of the rainbow, some smeared across the floor. Jordan was yelling about getting hit in the face, and I imagined him saying, "I'm hit! I'm hit!" My classroom is a war zone.

I'm doing something I've never done before. I'm choosing to not complete a homework assignment. I've gotten perfect scores on everything else, and I figured that without this paper, I could still get a 96% in the class. It is a strange feeling. I've always done all my work. I've always wanted to get the highest grade possible. With my first master's, I was determined to get straight A's. With this master's, I just want the certification so I can be a reading teacher. I don't care if I get straight A's. Well, I guess I kind of do. Because I wouldn't skip this assignment if I couldn't still get an A without it. But I just can't handle writing this stupid paper on top of all the other stress in my life.

I love strawberry pretzel salad. I especially love the vegan Jello Whitney gave me so I don't have to feel guilty eating it. Because let me tell you, I've been eating a lot of it. I love my friend Nancy. She is supportive and non-judgmental and a good listener. She's having a hard time this weekend, and I'm really hoping things work out for her. I love my cowboy boots. How did I ever dance without them? Although last night, even my boots were not enough to counter the effects of the alcohol, and as a result I looked stupid on the dance floor. During the Watermelon Crawl, when we had to get down on the floor and jump back to our feet, I had trouble getting up. Thanks for the helping hand, Kelly. I love White Christmas. Can't wait to go see it at the Music Box theater. I love snow in December. I'll be sick of it in January, but for now it puts a big grin on my face. I love Christmas shopping. Too bad I'm out of money. But at least I'm over half

I don't want to write about Thanksgiving until my brother sends me the pictures so I can post those, too. But I do want to reflect on something I'm thankful for. When we have to list what we're thankful for, everyone always says family. But I really mean it. This year, my brother's girlfriend joined us for Thanksgiving. She wanted to hear stories about my brother when he was little, and asked if there were videos. This led to an evening of home movie watching, which was hilarious. One of the funniest things was seeing the presents we got for Christmas and our birthdays. Some of my presents included Kriss Kross and Tiffany tapes, a 90210 nightshirt, and that jewelry box with the ballerina that every little girl had. Anyway, these videos made me realize how lucky me and my brother were. I don't think most kids had all of the things we had. We had parents who chose to sacrifice financial gain so that my mom could stay home with us. We had a mom who played with

It's Twilight day!!!! Just got home from seeing the movie, and I LOVED it. I just made the mistake of looking at what the critics are saying, and it makes me sad. Yes, of course the film had flaws. There were many things left out that I would have liked to see. But didn't we all know going into it that that just wasn't possible? I thought the acting was amazing. Rob and Kristen totally got their characters. Some of the looks on Rob's face were just perfect. Not only did he dazzle Bella, he dazzled me! Especially in this scene: I can see why people might not like this movie if they haven't read the book. For me, it was just exciting to see some of those moments I loved come to life. And the 2 hours just flew by. I always hate when people say that, because no matter how good a movie is, I have trouble sitting still. But that was not the case with Twilight. I could have watched for several more hours. I just wanted it to go straight into New Moon. But I

I talked to Jacob (my baby I gave up for adoption) and his mom last night. He will be 8 next month! It's getting weirder as he's getting older. He lets me guide the conversation, and I don't really know what to talk about. We talked about books, movies, and sports, but he basically just gave me one-word answers. At that age, I think it's very difficult to have a conversation with a random adult. Marilyn told me a kind of funny story. They are Republicans, and they watch a lot of Fox News. Jacob often watches the news with them, and before the election, he asked his mom about Obama killing babies. She tried to explain it without going into too much detail. Jacob thought about it for a minute and said, "Well, I guess my birthmom was a Republican then, because she kept me." Pretty good reasoning for a 7 year old. We laughed about it, and I told her she could tell him that I'm not a Republican, but I am a Christian. I read that verse in Jeremiah (&

There is so much going on. I'll try not to ramble on for too long. I'm not going to talk specifically about what I'm thankful for, but I'm sure you'll figure it out. Friday night I talked on the phone with my birthmom for 2 hours. (Did you realize we were on the phone that long, Kathy? I couldn't believe it when I hung up and looked at my phone!) I will not share what we discussed because it was not all appropriate, but I'm so blessed to have that relationship. It was such a nice way to spend my Friday. Then, around midnight, Rachel called with her news. So I spent Saturday running errands, trying on bridesmaid dresses for Jen's wedding, and worrying about/praying for Rachel. Nina and I picked her up from the airport Saturday night and took her out to her parents' house. As I hugged her mom I told her how I'd been praying, and she said she didn't doubt it because she could feel the prayers. I've been praying so much since then,

Today, I am thankful for Rachel's forgiving heart. Her father committed suicide last night. Her parents were going through a divorce, and I know the family wasn't too happy with him. But Rachel is one of those people who believes that Love Wins, and just this summer she started building an amazing relationship with him. She'd forgiven him and was getting to know who he really was. Even though this situation is unbelievably sad, her ability to forgive is making this bearable. She has no regrets about her relationship with him and can take comfort in the fact that they reconciled before he died. Please keep her in your prayers.

Okay, yesterday I was thankful for a few things, but didn't have time to blog. I was thankful that we got a perfect score on our presentation, and my student loan refund check came, and I got to order the Charlie Brown Christmas tree I've been wanting. Today, I really am trying to think of things, but I can't. It was an awful teaching day, as usual. The day ended with me rearranging desks, and during that chaos, some kids squirted hand sanitizer all over the papers on my desk. I stayed late after school to grade some papers, and one of my students came in to talk to me about how worried she was about the class. "Ms. B, they're going to take you down. They've got a plan that starts with them stealing stuff from your desk. I'm worried about your safety. These kids are crazy." "You think I'm going to get jumped?" I asked. "I don't know. These kids just don't care. They say we are in 6th grade, and it is OUR year, and y

When I was pregnant, life pretty much sucked. I went away to a conservative Christian school where I had no friends (except you, Paula!) and my boyfriend was cheating on me with my best friend. I would cry because my shoes would come untied and I was too big to tie them myself and I didn't have a husband to do it for me. But in the midst of all this awfulness, I started keeping a journal of things I was thankful for and ways that God was working in my life. Tonight at Bible study we were talking about the whole "I am the resurrection and the life" thing and what it means to believe in God and believing that God is good. And I do believe that God is good. So maybe I need to start thinking about what I'm thankful for on a daily basis. And what better time to start than Thanksgiving time? Today's list: 1. My small group. Tonight I giggled more than I have in a really long time. I love these girls and their wisdom and different perspectives and silliness. I&

I need to do something crazy. My life has become nothing but work and school. I am both bored and boring. Help me think of something big. And cheap. And slightly dangerous.

This is more of a reminder to myself than a real post. This year, I am going to buy boots. Snow boots, to be exact. Last year, I did not own boots of any kind, and I felt like an idiot. Nina and I looked pretty ridiculous snow tubing in sneakers. And hiking in the snow in sneakers sucks as well. I kept thinking "Well, it probably won't snow anymore, and then I'll have wasted money on boots. I'll make it without them." And then it just kept snowing and snowing. This year will be another story. I will have snow boots. I will not be inappropriately dressed and feel like an ass.

It's almost funny when you're not in the moment... Me: Kajuan, turn around. Put your knees under your desk. I don't want to see your back when I'm teaching. (Kajuan heaves a huge sigh and turn around.) 2 minutes later... Me: Kajuan, turn around please. (Kajuan reluctantly turns around. I continue teaching.) 2 minutes later... Me: Kajuan, you do not need to be facing the back of the room while I'm teaching math. If I have to tell you to turn around again, you will have a strike. (Kajuan makes a big show of turning around, making everyone around him laugh. It takes a minute for me to get the class refocused.) 2 minutes later... Me: Kajuan, you have a strike. Kajuan: But I didn't even DO nothin'!!!! Later that morning... Me: Tavaris, go spit out your gum. You have a strike. (Tavaris saunters over to the trash can and dramatically spits out his gum.) 1/2 hour later... Me: Tavaris, go spit out your gum. That's another strike. Tavaris: But I don't h

Friday night I had the opportunity to see Obama speak in Highland, IN. It was pretty last minute, so I couldn’t find anyone to go with me, but that didn’t even matter. I waited for 4 hours, and it was totally worth it. I was towards the front of the line when they let people in, so I got a perfect spot. I was no more than 50 feet away from the stage, right in the middle. Miraculously, there were no tall people in front of me, so I had an unobstructed view. And it was a beautiful sight. They set the stage up in front of these big, gorgeous trees whose leaves had turned all sorts of colors. Once we got into the stage area, we still had another 2 hours to wait. So everyone made friends with each other, and we cheered things like, “Yes we can” and “Ready to go- Fired Up.” There was such a sense of hope, unity, and excitement. I had to wonder if McCain rallies have the same feel. It was magic. When Obama took the stage, I burst into tears. Yes, I know, I’m such a nerd. But I tru

I'm a huge fan of the Pieces of Flair application on Facebook, but today I was really upset by the political flair I was seeing. It's hard for me to imagine people actually having those views. I wanted to argue with the people who made that flair, but since that's impossible, I'm sharing my views on these controversial topics on my blog. I have a lot to say, but I'll only write about a few things today. I hope no one's offended. Abortion It’s a woman’s right to choose. It is not ideal, but how can I judge someone for aborting a pregnancy that’s the result of rape? I would never choose to have one, but I don’t think it’s right to push my morals on other people. What upsets me about abortion is when women do it because they think it’s their only option. I wish adoption was considered more often. I hate it when girls say, “I’m just not strong enough for that.” How do you know? You do what you have to do. Once you become pregnant, things will n

Senior year of high school, I was miserable. When I stopped to reflect on my life, I could hardly believe the things I was doing. I joked about my Jiminy Cricket being on vacation; I had no conscience. I didn’t let myself think about my actions. Finally, at the beginning of senior year, I started examining my life and didn’t like what I saw. I was caught up in a lifestyle that I wasn’t happy with, but didn’t know how to get out of without losing all of my friends. I remember talking to Rachel about it, and she assured me that she’d love me no matter what. And, almost ten years later, that has proven to be true. But at the time, I felt trapped. I remember one day I thought to myself, “Maybe this is all just a dream.” And I started to think about what my life would be like when I woke up. I had this vision of living in an adorable little house in Friendsville , Maryland . I would be an elementary school teacher. It would be a Saturday, and I’d work outside i

A student is being extremely disruptive. You start out by giving him a warning, then a strike. He continues and receives strike 2 (no recess). The behavior continues and he receives strike 3 (behavior essay to be signed by a parent). He refuses to write it. You plan on calling his mom as soon as you have a break. On the way back from lunch, he and some other students are playing in the hall. Since it's just a small group and not the whole class, the rest of the class goes in the classroom and starts a lesson while the kids who were misbehaving stand out in the hall in a line until they can get it together. He and one other boy are there for one hour. A little while later, it's time for recess. This student, of course, has to sit out. He goes to talk to a friend, and you send him to stand against another wall, away from his friends. He looks you in the eye and refuses. You tell him you will be speaking to his mother, and he shrugs. It doesn't bother him because

Go see it!!!!! I was afraid it wouldn't be that great (I loved the first one, but wasn't crazy about the second one), but it totally exceeded my expectations. As soon as the first scene started, I was trying not to dance in my seat. The music and dancing were so fun! And I really liked the story; it dealt more with their internal struggles of deciding their futures. There were actually some really sweet moments that brought tears to my eyes. (Yes, I know, I'm a huge NERD.) But it made me reflect on all the really bad decisions I made in high school, and how some of those decisions still affect me. Not that high school would have been just like the movie if I'd made better choices, but still, I wish I could do things over again. Anyway, the movie is super cute, as long as you realize that it's total fantasy. And the romance between Gabriella and Troy is just so sweet. I really loved the waltzing scenes. Want to hear a funny High School Musical story? Nanc

2 weeks ago, I bought the best apples I have ever tasted at the Farmer's Market. Last weekend, I was sad to be out of town on Sunday because I was fiending for those Honey Crisp apples. They tasted like sparkling cider- heavenly. When I got to the Farmer's Market this morning, there was NO PRODUCE. No flowers, either. I consoled myself with a cinnamon roll from Kristoffer's Cafe. Delicious, but I'd rather have had an apple. How do you have a Farmer's Market with no produce? I went for a walk this afternoon and the sky looked like that Georgia O'Keefe painting at the Art Institute. I was basking in the beauty of the moment when I almost stepped on a used condom. Ah, city life.

Brian said this to me after we'd only hung out a few times. I was like, "What are you talking about?" Then I told Nina what he said, and she cracked up and said, "Wow, he has you figured out." I'm beginning to wonder if Brian was right. Dave and Sarah helped me out by taking my car while I was in Phoenix. I called Sarah to check in while I was gone, and she said, "Um, Erin, Dave said your car is really messed up. The engine is skipping, and the sway something or others aren't working right. It's dangerous to drive." F-ing A. And then she wondered how I could not realize that something was so wrong. I'm not a complete crackhead, I promise! I noticed the alignment was off, so I was going to take it in. Eventually. At least the good news was that I got my pay raise in yesterday's paycheck, so I'll be able to afford whatever's wrong. My plan was to take my car to the Saturn dealership by my work on Thursday. But I

Friday I arrived in Phoenix at 11:20 p.m. I have always loved airport reunions, even before I saw Love Actually (one of the best movies ever). I don't usually have people to run and hug, so it was nice to have this for once. Rachel and I couldn't believe we hadn't seen each other in 10 months. We had a drink at a bar, and she took me to my hotel. Saturday We got tattoos! Rachel's flying pig: My Hebrew symbol for grace The guy who did our tattoos was really cool; he even touched one of mine up for free. We hung out for a while, then went over to Rachel's new boy's house, where he cooked us dinner. Then we went downtown to dance to house music. Definitely not my scene, but even my untrained ear could recognize the talent of the DJ. What was cool was that no one got all sloppy drunk. Rachel's boy had the most to drink all night, and he only had two drinks. It was refreshing. Sunday We went out to lunch at Islands, where Rachel works as a waitress. The

Rachel had to work last night, so I spent some time at Borders. I came across a book called "Who's Your City?" by Richard Florida. It was about the importance of location. Our society is increasingly mobile; we move all the time. So it would stand to reason that you should live in certain places if you want certain things. Obviously, some cities are going to be better than others in terms of careers. But what about social lives? For many people (including me), getting married is a priority. But what if your location is preventing that? For a while now, I've been bemoaning the fact that it is so difficult to meet guys, especially guys who are not losers. Richard Florida had a map of the U.S. in his book that showed how many more women than men (and vice versa) live in major cities in the U.S. And in Chicago, there are so many less single men than women. It's not my imagination! Women on the East Coast have it the worst, especially New York. So I no lon

I will write about Phoenix tomorrow. It was amazing and so great to be with one of my favorite people in the world. I will say this, though- I could never live in Phoenix. There is no green! People have rocks instead of grass!!!! I was so excited to drive Sarah home to Hyde Park today and admire all the green as well as the changing leaves. I wanted to roll around in the grass. Anyway, Rachel's friends introduced me to these videos the other day. I laughed so hard it hurt. I've never heard anyone out here reference them (unlike Old Greg), so I thought I'd share them here. My brother also told me to look up "Condi Rice Goes Nuts" on YouTube. It's pretty freaking hilarious, but I'm not posting it here because of all the cursing.

Sorry I haven't been blogging much. I'm a mess. Here is the situation with my classroom. I put the kids on "lockdown" at the suggestion of many other teachers, including my principal. This goes against my instincts, because I don't see how that's going to encourage positive behavior. On the other hand, you can't reward consistently negative behavior. And I can't teach if students are misbehaving. So the past two weeks have been silent work and not much teaching. They behave, for the most part, during silent work. They sit quietly and do their work. But as soon as we try to transition to something else, it's chaos and it takes a while to get them all settled and focused again. The lessons I did try to teach were not successful. If I ask a question, everyone yells out answers. Or, if I call on someone, everyone else starts talking. This happens despite frequent reviews of the rules and procedures for class discussions. I finally told my

Go see this movie! It was great! Laugh out loud funny, and really sweet. It reminds me of classics such as Can't Hardly Wait and Empire Records. My friends and I had many nights that were similar to the one in the movie, and it made me miss that. Perhaps I will put that on my list of things to do- have crazy adventure nights just like high school. Although the problem with that is that you never plan those nights; they just happen. Anyway, I want to say more, but I don't want to give anything away. So just go see it! But don't bring young children with you. I was a little surprised by the PG-13 rating. I took my little sister, and I just kept hoping the jokes were going over her head. Nina tried to say, "Well, they're going to watch that kind of thing anyway, and it's good to watch with an adult..." but I don't really want to explain the meaning of the phrase "balls deep" to an 11-year-old.

I just booked my flight for Phoenix. I'm flying out Friday night, October 10, and I'll be home Tuesday afternoon, October 14. 3 full days with Rachel, my female soulmate. It's going to be amazing. We are going 4-wheeling in the mountains, and I'm getting my tattoo. Today was not completely awful. My kids were not that bad in my classroom. It's just when we leave that there are problems. When I came to pick them up from lunch, the principal told me my class has been banned from the lunch room for the next two weeks. I've never heard of her doing this before. They must have been really bad.

I haven't blogged much for the past few weeks because things have pretty much been monotonous and miserable, at least, during the week. In my principal's words, my class is on "lockdown" and I am the "warden." There is a student who is new to my school who is making things particularly difficult. I don't want to go into too much detail, but this week he tipped over a lunch table and broke another student's arm and got into an all out fistfight with a girl on the stairs. His minor misbehaviors are continuous throughout the day and make me absolutely crazy. And his aunt (who is his guardian) is very present. She came in to observe on Tuesday and had the nerve to give me a lecture on my lack of classroom management skills. The math lesson she observed had gone well in my opinion. Her criticisms? A girl took too long to sharpen her pencil, and a few kids occasionally whispered about topics unrelated to math. Anyway, I've come home with massi

Jen was actually serious when she said yes to doing the Disney Princess Half Marathon with me. Today she mentioned that she has been working with her trainer. This means that I also need to start training. And saving money. Oh crap. Any ideas on how to train? This weekend was perfection, and, as usual, went by too quickly. Friday night I read a book and went to bed early. Saturday I went apple-picking with Nancy and my mom. It is so funny to me that Nancy comes apple-picking with us when she is actually allergic to apples. She pretty much misses out on all the good stuff- the caramel apples, the apple donuts, the cider, the actual apples... But the place we went to this year had really good fudge, so hopefully that made up for all the apple stuff. On the way to the orchard we stopped at Sonic in Aurora. It's very exciting to know that I won't have to drive 2 hours to get a cherry limeade now! I foresee lots of expeditions to Aurora in the future. The Sonic is also