my favorite things!

TILLIE!
Family and Friends
Urban Outfitters
Target
Craft Projects
My job
Decorating
Good food
Good beer
Playing games
Movies that make you think
TV that makes you laugh and cry and ask "what were they thinking?"
Music that I can sing along with
Recycling
Books that take our world and place them in a metaphoric fantasy land

my favorite things?

Stacy tagged me in her favorite things post....and I will put them, but I want to think it through, so stay tuned....

infinite light

mirror
Originally uploaded by jeannieo

I realized that I never posted pictures of my fancy schmancy light up mirror once I had finished working on it....so here it is.

Head to my flickr to see much more new apartment decor, including a bead curtain, a new chandelier, and new window curtains!

check this out

This camera takes 4 pictures at once. I'm amazed.

silly kids

so last week we went to the computer lab because I had to give a student survey evaluating my performance as a teacher. They had to anonymously rate whether they agreed, disagreed, or were neutral to several statements: my teacher gives clear instruction, respects all students, explains assignments, etc etc....

then there was a space for comments. Surprisingly, the only negative comments were that there are too many quizzes, surprise, surprise. I agree, there are too many quizzes. But it's countywide, not my choice. Also, many of my students either think I'm married or are unaware of the differences between Mrs. Ms. and Miss.

Anyway, here are some of my favorites (Original spelling and grammar have been maintained for authenticity)

i dont like spanish but i like mrs o. =]

Mrs. O is amazing. And Blues Traveler is good.

the class is fun mosty of the time (not when test are out ^-^)

I think that we should have more time to study for quizzes and tests. It would be a more efficient way to learn. I barely get a day between quizzes. To understand the material think that we should be given more time. I also think that we should spend more time on learning the information so that we would learn more and have a higher class average!!!

Mrs.O is a great teacher and I can easily get help outside of class. Also, she helps with an issues I have and answers any questions I have about something.

whoooooooooo mrs o is tha shizzznit

Awesome teacher! Just.. class is a little hard because most of the class has no foundation (i.e. Spanish 2 and 1)

This Class is GRRRRREAT!!

I love Ms. O...mucho...

good teacher!!!!!!

SHEs a GREAT TEACHER=)

And my most favorite comment:

miss o is my dude love markus

I <3 Value City

So after months of squiggly white lines across the screen and the fear that my TV would explode at any moment, I decided to buy myself a new one. The one I had was a 19", about 10 years old. The new one is a 27" RCA with HD potential (my satellite receiver doesn't have it, gotta scope that out with directv). It's massive and beautiful. Scottie and Jason helped me get it all setup and for that, I am very thankful. It would have been impossible for me to get it out of the car and into my house without them. Oh and a big thanks goes out to the cashier too, who accidentally scanned the 20% off barcode instead of 10%. YOU ROCK!


I also got a wicker trunk thing to keep by the door to contain my shoes. I always have a big pile of random shoes in the living room because I take them off as soon as I get in the door usually. This way, they're still here where I take them on and off but the room looks a tiny bit less sloppy.


And now with photos (as Libby requested), I also sewed new buttons onto my red corduroy jacket this weekend. It really gave it the face lift it had been asking for. (it talks)

Soo this is scary....

21 schools closed after teen dies of staph

This is my school district. I feel sorry for the dead student's family.

So Libby and Seth buying their first house has really got me thinking about what I would want to buy. I drove past this one a few weeks ago and really liked the size and its neighborhood. Great proximity to school and to a Kroger. I really like the loft in it too.

That got me thinking about what I would want if I could design my own house, and I came across this site: Historic House Plans. What's amazing to me is that even in the late 20s, they were advertising indoor bathrooms as a luxury. Now having like 7 bathrooms is what's expected out of a new home and they are gargantuan. It kills me what not even 100 years can do to the living standard. We are a society of excess and it shows!

best weekend in a looooooong time

So this weekend was super awesome fantastic good times.

1) The Scoop on Dish: Friday night, Scott, Jason, Jamie and I went to a restaurant that I saw advertised in Lynchburg Living Magazine, called Dish. I was very excited because I was under the impression that Lynchburg just did not have trendy, locally-owned downtown restaurants, a la Nama and the places on Market Square in Knoxville. Let's just say we were not impressed.

First we didn't know that we needed reservations, so they gave us that "what are you doing here?" attitude at the door. They seated us at the bar, which was awkward with 4 people. So 10 minutes after we've been looking at the menu, she tells us that their style of food is tapas. Then spells tapas (because we are mentally challenged?). Then asks us if we'd ever heard of that before. hello! 2 Spanish teachers who don't live under rocks. Thanks. And who hasn't heard of tapas?

For a mixed group of people that includes a guy who loves chicken tenders, a girl who is allergic to fish, and a girl who doesn't eat meat, and all of us on a budget, it was a difficult menu. Since I'm still eating fish and I wanted to try something different, I ordered the Shrimp Stuffed Calamari. For $9, I got two undercooked tentacle tubes the size of my thumb stuffed with what didn't look like shrimp. And it was covered in spicy rooster sauce which was not at all implied on the menu which said "served with ginger and green onions". The stuffing part was actually good, but the rest was iffy. Fortunately it didn't make me sick.

Everyone else ordered the meatballs, which were just that. 2 enormous balls o' beef, which were still quite pink inside covered in tomato sauce. Nothing particularly special about them.

Right after our food was served, a different server came over and asked us (mid-chew) if we could scoot down the bar because they had some other customers coming in who "didn't want to be crowded." Incredibly rude. We scooted down anyway, and then when the people came to be seated, they wanted to sit on the end we had scooted toward!
The kicker of the night was when she brought our checks. We open the black credit card holder book and are greeted with our bills: on bright green Post-its. How very, very unprofessional. And, my glass of wine that I thought was $3.50 was apparently $7! Pretentious waitress: "oh it's only $3.50 if you get the half glass." Who gets a half glass of wine??? whatever. I could have bought the whole bottle at Food Lion for $10. A place that charges that much for tiny plates of food and glasses of wine should be able to afford a cash register.

Although the restaurant itself was in poor form, we still had a good time.


I've since met other people who rave about Dish, and I'm willing to give it a second try. We'll see.
2) Wii: We then went to Scott and Jason's apartment and played on the Wii while we waited for the bowling alley to open. We made Mii characters of me and Jamie and then practiced our bowling skills.

3) Real bowling: I bowled a lot better than I ever have before. I think the Wii practice got me ready. The bowling alley food was better than Dish. It was very fun, but a little more expensive than I would have expected. Fortunately I just got paid, and they gave us coupons for next time. We played Mario Party 8 on the wiii afterward.






4) Corn Maze: Saturday morning we drove up to Rockbridge County about an hour north of here. None of them had ever been through a corn maze before so that was fun. It wasn't as fancy as the ones in TN, but it was still a good time. Scary masks on stuffed bodies and fake spiderwebs throughout. They're doing night walks starting next week so we might go back. They also had a pumpkin patch. I bought some gourds for my aunt because they were really interesting shapes and colors. Scottie B got some pumpkins.






5) Virginia Safari Park: This was the most awesome thing I have been to in a loooooong time. At the safari park, you get buckets of food and drive around this gravel road through woods and fields. Animals approach the car and feed from the buckets and you can pet them and talk to them. There's also a walking tour part. We met lots of llamas, zebras, watusi cattle, bison, many kinds of deer, elk, pot belly pigs, kangaroos, monkeys, and goats. The elk were doing their mating calls which sounds like screeching brakes. There were also ostriches, emus, and rheas but they were scary so we rolled up the windows so they wouldn't peck our eyes out. It was super fun.

I had to get on board with this one too!

Star in Your Own JibJab! It's Free!


Does anyone else find it odd that my character in the video is wearing Crocs?

i've been crafting

So Anna got me this clock for my birthday:



But since it doesn't have any numbers, and I'm a little number-challenged, I decided to add my own and customize the clock a little. So given a few magazines, an Xacto knife, and some ModPodge:





I now have a unique clock I can read!

I've also discovered The Lamp Shop where you can buy parts for making lamps and lampshades. Very excited to fix a lampshade I rigged up a while back that I'm not quite happy with. Also excited about the world of possibilities this opens up for my creativity. Don't know why, but I've always liked lamps.

interesting

so I got 4 birthday cards in the mail today, and they all had the same stamp. weird.

I had a good birthday yesterday. Some of my teacher friends snuck into my room and decorated it, and then I went out for Mexican food. good times.

And then I came home to turn on the TV and found a brand new episode of America's Next Top Model that I didn't even know was coming on. It was exciting. Lots of drama.

Today was a loooong day at school. And I came home to find that Tillie was sick today. She seems to be ok now, but I'm worried about her. I'm glad tomorrow is Friday so I can be with her this weekend.

in 4 hours I'll be 25

Here are a few pictures from the hot hot 80s party I had on Saturday.

so do you think I'm in the right job?

so I took a career survey and these are my results:

1.	High School Teacher
2.	Foreign Language Instructor
3.	ESL Teacher
4.	Teacher Assistant
5.	Communications Specialist
6.	Desktop Publisher
7.	Art Director
8.	Corporate Trainer
9.	Sign Language Interpreter
10.	Artist
11.	Political Aide
12.	Computer Trainer
13.	Librarian
14.	Advertising Copywriter
15.	Adoption Counselor
16.	Religious Worker
17.	Community Worker
18.	Airline Customer Service Agent
19.	Casting Director
20.	Addictions Counselor
21.	Child and Youth Worker
22.	Motivational Speaker
23.	Activist
24.	Professor
25.	School Counselor
26.	Public Relations Specialist
27.	Website Designer
28.	Translator
29.	Nail Technician
30.	Writer
31.	Foreign Service Officer
32.	Critic
33.	Pet Groomer
34.	Announcer
35.	Lobbyist
36.	Clergy
37.	Tailor / Dressmaker
38.	Interpreter
39.	Principal
40.	Library Technician

Other than the Nail Technician, Airline Customer Service Agent, and religious roles, I think the results were pretty right on.

You can take the quiz too:
1. Go to http://www.careercruising.com/.
2. Put in Username: nycareers, Password: landmark.
3. Take their "Career Matchmaker" questions.
4. Post the results.
(You can also get a more specific result by taking an EXTRA quiz after the short quiz by clicking the "answer more questions to improve my results" link. It's fun!)

meat free

So as of today I've been a vegetarian for 33 days. My goal was originally just to try it for a week and see how it went, so I'm very proud of myself for sticking with it for this long. In the last 33 days I've lost 7 pounds, my skin has gotten clearer, and I've been drinking more water. So other than the cold/flu/sinus infection I've caught from my students, I feel pretty good.

Very excited about birthday celebrations this weekend. I'll have to post pictures after because the costumes are sure to be awesome. Anna is coming up from TN so that's very exciting too!

And I just saw a commercial for a show on Fox called KVille. Surely it's not about good ol' knoxville....

why do I love WE's American Princess?

well, let's just say that these lovely ladies that represent the US in Britain are total trash, and that's just the beginning.

when asked to identify a clarinet, sure they knew what it was, but ONLY because one of Sponge Bob Squarepants' neighbors plays one. Their etiquette coach and Princess Di's former butler were horrified.

hilarious.

But are the writers smarter than a 5th grader?

So I'm gliding along on my new Tony Little Gazelle, and watching bad tv. And the question on Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? was "how many adjectives are in the sentence 'Spencer takes good care of his hairy dog.'"

The answer given was 2, which they said was correct, but I'm 99% sure it's 3.

Spencer is a proper noun
takes is a verb
good is an adjective
care is a noun
of is a preposition
his is a possessive adjective
hairy is an adjective
dog is a noun.

I think they didn't count "his." Losers.

Oh, and he won $500,000. That's not fair.

Robert Jarvik, inventor of the Jarvik artificial heart, is a terrifying man. I mean, he looks like Smeagol before he's completely turned into Gollum.

So last night, I went out for drinks at Mudpuppy's with Jamie and our new friend Scott who is the only English teacher on our floor. It's kind of strange that they placed him smack in the middle of the Foreign Language Department for his first year of teaching, but I think he might just have the right kind of insanity to get along well. I'm really happy with my new classroom. It's very spacious and has more storage than I need. I'm also painting murals on the walls, so I'll post pictures later this weekend when it's done.

It was nice this weekend to have local friends to call. Everyone just finished up their first week with the kids and there was a good mix of horror stories and happy stories. My kids this year seem very bright and hopefully will stay well behaved....


I can't believe I'll be 25 in less than 3 weeks. Anybody want to come visit for my birthday?

brains

The more I learn about educational psychology, cognition, and multiple intelligences, the more fascinated I am with it.

Right now I'm watching specials on the Science Channel, Battle of the Brains and Brainman, and they are amazing. I think it's awesome how the brain works and how different parts regulate different kinds of tasks, but if they cross-connect, they can create amazing associations. Like if your number area and your color area connect you see a certain color when you think of numbers. Or if you hear a certain sound you think of a certain color.

I'm especially intrigued by the guy who can calculate pi in his head up to 22, 500 digits. He sees each number as an image rather than just a number. And the numbers seem to come to him as if summoned rather than by mathematics or calculations. I definitely recommend watching these if you get a chance.

The mind is a baffling, wondrous space. I love it.

tonight's dinner

I invented this recipe myself.

Sweet Potato Tamales:

• First, place several corn husks (Mexican food aisle) in a pan of hot water. Be sure to stretch them out so they get thoroughly moistened. I then placed two butter knives across them to hold them down in the water. Set aside.
• Place 1 sweet potato, washed and peeled, in a bowl with some water and microwave for about 5 minutes. When it is soft, pour out the water and add a little bit of lime juice (I used simply limeade actually). Slice into several pieces and mash until the potato is in small pieces but still slightly chunky, mixing in the lime juice as you mash. Then sprinkle with a dash of garlic salt and stir.
  
• Next, in a mixing bowl, place 1 cup of masa flour (again Mexican food aisle) and 2/3 cup water. Stir until moistened. I actually used my hands instead of a spoon or mixer because it should be a sort of dry dough rather than a batter type mixture. You may need to add a little more water, in very small quantities, to get the dough soft. Shape into a ball, cover, set aside.
  
• You'll need a sauce pan with a steamer accessory that sits on top (not sure the technical names) that you can put a lid on. Mine is like this. Fill the sauce pan halfway with water and set on stove on low. Let the water get warm and place steamer on top.
  
• Take 1 flat corn husk and lay it flat on the counter. Take a small amount of the dough (if your hands are damp the dough won't stick to them) and press it flat on top of the husk. Pour a spoonful of enchilada sauce (canned, la victoria is good brand) over it and spread with the spoon. Spoon out a little bit of the sweet potato on top of that. Then take a smaller amount of the dough and flatten in your hands and place on top. push the sides down over the filling and then roll the corn husk together so that the sides meet in the middle. fold the ends down and place in the steamer.
  
• Turn the burner up to med/high. When water begins to boil, place lid on steamer and steam tamales for 40-45 minutes.
  

I had rice and beans on the side. It was good.

new video

The new video to the right is my aunt Shirley at Camp Obama in San Francisco.

Speaking of, I think John Edwards has some great things to say about change in America.

I need to find out more about the other candidates, including the opposition. I have a feeling this election is going to be intense, I just hope it's not as nauseating as the last election was between Ford and Corker in TN. But I'm sure it will be, if not worse.

a long post

Have I mentioned Everyday Food? It's a Martha Stewart affiliate which means it's full of good things. Lots of great recipes with normal ingredients that are easy to make.

I'm proud of myself today because even though I really really was craving a bacon cheeseburger from sonic, I resisted. This week I'm eating vegetarian only. Obviously with the burger and the bacon this doesn't work. Also, 770 calories and 47 grams of fat is really a turn off.

So instead, I made a veggie burger:

Gardenburger Portabella Burger: 90 cals, 2 g fat
Morningstar Farms Bacon Slices: 60 cals, 2 g fat
Kraft 2% cheddar cheese slice: 70 cals, 5 g fat
O'Charley's Honey Mustard 1 tbsp: 85 cals, 8 g fat
Ketchup, 1 packet: 10 cals, 0 g fat
Weight Watchers Bagel: 150 cals, .05 g fat

So for 465 cals and 18 g fat I had a bacon cheeseburger. It wasn't as good as the real thing, but it was pretty good. It had a lot more fiber, and the important thing is I don't feel guilty now.
I wish I'd had some pickles though. That would have made all the difference!

I have to keep reminding myself that if I just stay with it, I can lose this weight. It's just gonna be a long process and I can't get impatient and give up.

In other news, I bought some borax the other day and used it in my laundry today. It really does help get odors (like dog smell) out of your clothes and sheets. If you follow the link, you'll see you can also use it for drying flowers. It has a multitude of purposes, but not as many, it seems, as my all time favorite household product: good ol' baking soda.

If we've never discussed baking soda, please let me know. Let me enlighten you. Here's 60 Uses just to get you started.

So my life has gotten pretty boring lately I guess. Like, if someone asks me, "what's new?" should I say "borax and veggie burgers"? Is that an acceptable answer? or should I just say "not much" and move right along....?

In real news, I have "new teacher orientation" starting tomorrow. Even though this is my second year, I missed this part last year so I'm excited to see if it clears up any of my confusion about paperwork and bureaucracy.

Tillie had a bath today. I decided to try to wash off the flea preventative I put on her because I'm convinced it's extremely toxic and could be a contributor to her illness. Why? Well, after I put it on her, she shook and little droplets of the stuff got on my laptop and my phone. In a matter of seconds the spots on my computer were bleached out and the spots on the phone made the plastic coating bubble up. So what is it doing to the dog's skin then??? Well I'm not the only one who thinks this is bad. For natural options, check out this article from Mother Earth News, which casually mentions that some of the chemicals we use for flea control were originally developed for chemical warfare. Awesome. Terrifying. I'm not putting that stuff on her ever again.

I haven't posted for a while because I've been in Knoxville. I'll update more thoroughly when I'm home, ok?

good things

I saw Transformers tonight. It was good.

I bought some Michelob Ultra Tuscan Orange Grapefruit, and it's actually beer with flavoring, not bitch water. It's good.

I'm going to Knoxville next week. That will be good.

Fabulous and Fantastic

So I found some brownie mix at my local Food Lion that is fat free and actually tastes good! It's called No Pudge, and you can make a whole pan or you can mix it in small batches and microwave it for individual brownies. It's really easy too, you just mix it with vanilla fat-free yogurt. I've even started experimenting with different flavorings (apparently they make it in mint, cappuccino, and raspberry in addition to the original but I haven't found them here). The best I've made so far: I mixed in some fresh raspberries I picked at my aunt and uncle's house and I substituted one of those Yoplait whips in chocolate raspberry, and it was out of this world. Go look for it. Now!

T-shirt slogans

So I watched Lil Bush for the first time today, and I have to say it's phenomenal. Good job comedy central!

In that spirit, here's a list of t-shirt slogans my aunt sent me:


1) (On an infant's shirt): Already smarter than Bush.

2) 1/20/09: End of an Error

3) That's OK, I Wasn't Using My Civil Liberties Anyway

4) Let's Fix Democracy in This Country First

5) If You Want a Nation Ruled By Religion, Move to Iran

6) Bush. Like a Rock. Only Dumber.

7) You Can't Be Pro-War And Pro-Life At The Same Time

8) If You Can Read This, You're Not Our President

9) Hey, Bush Supporters: Embarrassed Yet?

10) George Bush: Creating the Terrorists Our Kids Will Have to Fight

11) Impeachment: It's Not Just for Sex Anymore

12) America: One Nation, Under Surveillance

13) They Call Him "W" So He Can Spell It

14) Cheney/Satan '08

15) Jail to the Chief

16) No, Seriously, Why Did We Invade

17) Bush: God's Way of Proving Intelligent Design is Full Of Crap

19) Bad President! No Banana.

20) We Need a President Who's Fluent In At Least One Language

21) We're Making Enemies Faster Than We Can Kill Them

22) Is It Vietnam Yet?

23) Bush Doesn't Care About White People, Either

24) Where Are We Going? And Why Are We In This Hand basket?

25) You Elected Him. You Deserve Him.

26) When Bush Took Office, Gas Was $1.46

27) The Republican Party: Our Bridge to the 11th Century

28) 2004-Embarrassed. 2005-Horrified. 2006-Terrified.

Hmm, it won't let me type in the Title box.....how odd....


I'm going to make one of these. What should I do with it when it's done?

I finished my mirror project last night. Today I'll rearrange my living room and get it hung up. Pictures later.

Jefferson Starship was amazing! I'm so glad I got to go. More on that later as well.

we built this city on rock and roll

Even though I don't like cats, I found this strangely amusing.


So here in the land of Lynchburg where north and south are the same thing apparently (Lynchburg Expressway: Hwy 29 South and Hwy 501 North at the same time), the only place in the world where you go two directions at once, I have found some happiness. There are times when I feel like I'm out of touch with the whole world and it can be very lonely, but then I have days like today. I went to my aunt and uncle's house for the 4th of July. It was just the three of us, and my aunt cooked a fantastic dinner. Then she and I sat on the screen porch and painted while Tillie ran around in their huge fenced yard. When it got dark we sat on the front porch and watched fireworks shooting up from between the mountains. It was a really relaxing day. I realized that this year I have spent all the major holidays with them, and it's very comforting to know that they are there. They are really wonderful people.

On the way home, I checked my cell phone and I had a text message from Amanda. She's coming down from DC to see Jefferson Starship with me on Saturday in Charlottesville! I'm so excited! It's gonna be so much fun!

New Pictures

Tillie and I got caught in a rain storm a few weeks ago, just before it started hailing The hail was big and scary and really loud when it bounced off the metal front door. Tillie was pretty upset from the noise and getting drenched, so I got her a towel to dry her off and she wore it around for about 20 minutes.

More new pictures here under apartment and Tillie!

"Settlin'"

Fifteen minutes left to throw me together
For mister right now, not mister forever
Don't know why I even try when I know how it ends
Looking like another "maybe we could be friends"
I've been leaving it up to fate
It's my life so it's mine to make

I ain't settling for just getting by
I've had enough so so for the rest of my life
Tired of shooting too low, so raise the bar high
Just enough ain't enough this time
I ain't settling for anything less than everything, yeah

With some good red wine and my brand new shoes
Gonna dance a blue streak around my living room
Take a chance on love and try how it feels
With my heart wide open now you know I will
Find what it means to be the girl
Who changed her mind and changed her world

I ain't settling for just getting by
I've had enough so so for the rest of my life
Tired of shooting too low, so raise the bar high
Just enough ain't enough this time
I ain't settling for anything less than everything

I ain't settling for just getting by
I've had enough so so for the rest of my life
Tired of shooting too low, so raise the bar high
Just enough ain't enough this time

fastfood burgers with more than one patty really gross me out.

So I finally spray painted the mirror and built the new lighting system inside it. I'm very happy with the color I chose. The lighting inside still needs some work. I didn't really know how transparent the front glass was, and it turned out to be a lot more than I thought it would be. I need to tidy it up a little on the inside and replace some burned out bulbs. I'll post pictures soon.

Tomorrow night I'm taking a painting class at Michael's on the One Stroke Technique to paint sunflowers. I'm painting on a little wooden box that has 2 wicker drawers. It should be fun. There's another one in July on wildflowers that I plan to take.

As it turns out, Glenn is not the one. It sucks, but c'est la vie.

Tomorrow I finish my first week of classes at Lynchburg College. So far the program has been very interesting. Our topics this week were child development and psychology, as well as how to teach persons with disabilities. There are some very nice people in the class from all around the area. I have a lot of work due monday.

It's been lonely around here the last few days. I've been trying to occupy myself with organizing my house, painting, working out and finding ways to explore some interests. It's hard to be by yourself in a new city.

Wow

I miss my job. I thought I'd be so relieved for school to be over, and I am glad that I don't have all those papers to shuffle.....but I miss my students! It's so weird having those interactions all day and then not. It's kinda lonely around here. I'm really hoping there will be some cool people in my classes next week. Keep your fingers crossed for me, I really need to meet some new people.

Another great site: Passive Aggressive Notes

So school is officially over for the year. I don't have to go back until Aug. 16!
However, my classes at Lynchburg college start on Monday and run til the end of July. I've been reading the textbook and so far it's pretty interesting. I'm pretty sure some of the text from my Educational Psychology class last summer was directly out of this book. Tomorrow I'm hoping that it'll be sunny so can go to my aunt and uncle's house and lay out for a little bit and read some more. Today it's rainy and only in the 60s.

I've planted some tomato plants in a flower bed I dug outside my townhouse. Let's hope the lawn maintenance guys don't try to cut them down again. You would think they would know the difference between a random weed and a tomato plant growing behind a landscaping fence in a patch of dirt. Idiots.

Glenn and I went to a neat seafood restaurant last week called Harbor Inn. The food was good, but the decor was amazing. The walls were covered with beautiful underwater murals of fish and stingrays and some of them were even 3D. I'm really enjoying learning what cool local places are around. The restaurant scene in Lynchburg is definitely not up to par with Knoxville's, but then again Knoxville has more restaurants per capita than anywhere else I've been. There are the typical chains here: Olive Garden, Texas Roadhouse, O'Charleys, TGIFridays, etc. But if you want to go somewhere locally owned, that's a little harder to find.

things and whatnot

hey ya'll.
So we just got our contracts for next year, and I will be teaching at the same school again. And each year we teach, we get a little more pay, so that's good too. Next year instead of being in the crappiest mobile classrooms ever, 1/2 a mile from the main building, we'll be in the basement of the building. I'm one of the lucky ones that got a room with windows, even if they do look out onto one of the cafeteria type spaces and not the actual outside. It will be nice to have reasonable access to a bathroom (I've seriously had to ration out my liquid intake during the day) and a copier.

We have 6 school days left, and 3 of those are final exams. I'm so ready for the year to be over and have a little break. It's hard enough being a first year teacher, let alone coming in midyear to an awkward situation. I think we've done a pretty good job of getting caught up. Next year should be a little easier since I'll get to go through the new teacher orientation and learn a few more of the little details of things I was supposed to do and didn't know about this year.

I'm also attending a program over the summer at Lynchburg College. It's a 6 week program of education classes designed to turn my provisional license into a permanent license. Looking forward to learning some new strategies and maybe meeting a few people to hang out with.

Speaking of people to hang out with, I've been dating Glenn for 2 months now. Things are going swimmingly, and I think it's the happiest I've been in a relationship, possibly ever. It's still early in the game, but it's good.

I've also made friends with one of the other Spanish teachers, Jamie. We have mucho en común. She'll also be teaching at JF again next year, and I'm really glad. She is also my neighbor, and whenever we go out somewhere strangers think we're twin sisters. Even though we don't really look that much alike. Our students also think that we're basically the same person. Scary, no?

Oh, and I'll be in Knoxville tomorrow. Probably for the last time til the end of the summer.

america's next top tillie

I just uploaded more Tillie pics here!

Tillie's "Previous Top Model's Celebrity Photo Shoot" Photo Shoot

In honor of the ANTM finale this week, Tillie said she wanted to do a photoshoot inspired by the celebrity photoshoots past contestants have done. She chose Melrose's depiction of Donald Trump as her muse. Here are the results:



Sometimes, like Dionne, I have to remind her not to look mean or do "something called scowling".


I keep reminding her not to lose her neck in her pictures.

the state of the world

is sad.
Today a student brought a gun to the school where I teach. No one was hurt and the gun was confiscated. Here's a link to the news article.

It really saddens me that some people have decided that shooting someone is a solution.

la gordita

so the word "gordita" in Spanish translates to "little fat one" which is what I'm now calling Tillie. The Prednisone she's been taking for the last month has really increased her appetite, and she has gained back the weight she lost while she was in the hospital. I think she weighs more now than she ever has. I couldn't be happier!

We have 16 school days left. I can't wait to have a break!

ew yuck!

So the walls between the townhouses here are relatively thin and not soundproof, so sometimes I hear snippets of conversations, etc. Last weekend the Korean neighbors on one side of me had some kind of group sing-a-long with a song the kids had been practicing on the piano for the last few weeks. There were at least 5 voices, a guitar, a clarinet, a saxophone, and the piano. Pretty singing, too bad I don't know Korean. It sort of sounded like the theme song from Rocky though.

Today I went into my downstairs bathroom just in time to hear the other neighbor's young daughter on the other side of the wall exclaim "ew! yuck!" and then start singing a song that goes "We're going for a trip in our favorite rocket ship!" It was really cute.

More anonymous secrets

Found Magazine is rocking my world on this lovely Saturday morning. This one is my favorite so far.

Shear Genius is sooooo much better than Top Design.

intimate strangers

Lately I've been fascinated by the secret thoughts of strangers. I love going to post secret every Sunday morning and seeing what people have sent out into the world.

I'm also very intrigued by The Letter Project and I can't wait to see what my letter says!

I also enjoy Group Hug, but not as much as post secret because it doesn't require as much effort, and I like looking at the pictures on post secret.

I want to start making collages all the time. I made one a few months ago of things I want to be/see/have/do:

happy

I feel like all the puzzle pieces i've collected over the years are finally making a whole picture. and it's a pretty one, too.

Pictures

I finally took pictures of my apartment. It's just the living room, but maybe more rooms will follow... you can look at them here.

the thing with the stars on it...

is a mirror I found on the side of the road (I love free stuff!). it has some kind of lighting system in the back which is not working at the moment. I plan to repaint it and take it apart and get the lights working. and even if I can't get the lights working, I like the size and shape and I'm super excited about painting it!

mine's got too many churries

A travel recommendation

Check out a great way to go to France
here. Be sure to check out #23.

This site is amazing:

yep

I have a date tomorrow.

And spring break starts tomorrow at 1:05 woohoo!

The reason why I will continue watching Top Design

Jonathan Adler has a terrier named Liberace.

booooooooooo

So the Avett Brothers are playing at Sundown in the City June 7th, with Mad Tea Party. And I can't go because that's the night before our last day of school and I have to give final exams. That blows. I'm super pissed. Especially because neither of those bands are playing anywhere near Lynchburg in the foreseeable future. Grrrrrr.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.


And Sundown is free too. I wish I didn't know about it. Gah.

So this show that comes on after grey's anatomy has a "fat girl" character, who to me looks just like a normal person. But I really think she would look a lot better if they put clothes on her that fit her. Ill fitting clothing does not look good on any body type. The shirt they had her wearing made her look extremely disproportionate and instead of accentuating the figure she does have, it drew attention to her belly. I think it's just not fair to set someone up like that, especially when you put them next to Laura Prepon, who apparently has stopped eating. Remember how they always referred to her as a giant on That 70's Show and she actually had boobs and hips? Well, not anymore.

In other news, we're doing a fundraiser for the Leukemia Society at school, and my class is awesome. They have been so generous and it makes me really happy.

America's Next Top Mannequin

If you watch ANTM, or even if you don't, you need to read the recaps on Four Four. Thank goodness Libby introduced me to that blog. I couldn't feel complete without it. Especially when he comes up with things like this:

things and stuff....maybe some whatnot...I dunno we'll see....

So last night Jamie and I went to get Chinese food, which was good, and then we went shopping, which was also good. We both got some really cute new clothes. Then we went to walmart for sundry things including beer, because it is an essential ingredient to playing Phase 10, which was the plan for the rest of the night.

BTW, for those of you familiar with the Michelob seasonal Ales and Lagers mix pack that they put out once a year, you know of the deliciousness of the Honey Lager. Well, Walmart here sells it! I was stoked. STOKED.

Anywho, since she just lives a few doors down, I dropped her off and came here to check on Tillie. Which turned out to be a good idea because she had thrown up while I was out. I gave her the nausea medicine, which she threw up, so then I had to give her a shot. It was a lot easier than I thought it would be. So that calmed her down, and now it's been about 18 hours since she last puked. Fortunately no blood in it this time. I think she's going to be alright....she was just testing me.....I won't let her go that easy!

Today I've been unpacking boxes of old stuff and trying to get my office set up. It's coming along nicely. Still can't find a box or two that I remember carrying in but they've gotta be around here somewhere.

Looking forward to a relaxing day tomorrow!

hits the nail on the head....and 9 is my lucky number....odd...

My score on The Quick & Painless ENNEAGRAM Test:

**************************************

9 - the Peacemaker

"you chose BX - your Enneagram type is NINE (aka "The Mediator")

"I am at peace"

Peacemakers are receptive, good-natured, and supportive. They seek union with others and the world around them.

How to Get Along with Me:
*If you want me to do something, how you ask is important. I especially don't like expectations or pressure.
*I like to listen and to be of service, but don't take advantage of this.
*Listen until I finish speaking, even though I meander a bit.
*Give me time to finish things and make decisions. It's OK to nudge me gently and nonjudgmentally.
*Ask me questions to help me get clear.
*Tell me when you like how I look. I'm not averse to flattery.
*Hug me, show physical affection. It opens me up to my feelings.
*I like a good discussion but not a confrontation.
*Let me know you like what I've done or said.
*Laugh with me and share in my enjoyment of life.


What I Like About Being a Nine:
*being nonjudgmental and accepting
*caring for and being concerned about others
*being able to relax and have a good time
*knowing that most people enjoy my company; I'm easy to be around
*my ability to see many different sides of an issue and to be a good mediator and facilitator
*my heightened awareness of sensations, aesthetics, and the here and now
*being able to go with the flow and feel one with the universe


What's Hard About Being a Nine:
*being judged and misunderstood for being placid and/or indecisive
*being critical of myself for lacking initiative and discipline
*being too sensitive to criticism; taking every raised eyebrow and twitch of the mouth personally
*being confused about what I really want
*caring too much about what others will think of me
*not being listened to or taken seriously

Nines as Children Often:
*feel ignored and that their wants, opinions, and feelings are unimportant
*tune out a lot, especially when others argue
*are "good" children: deny anger or keep it to themselves

Nines as Parents:
*are supportive, kind, and warm
*are sometimes overly permissive or nondirective

I want my baby back baby back baby back....Tillie's baby back ribs.....barbecue sauce....

I'm so happy that my precious sweet little angel dog is back in my home. She's a little different from all of her illness, but she's still my sweet child. She gets tired very easily and she's very bony, but she's eating better and last week at the vet she had gained back a pound and a half. Right now she's laying next to me in her favorite pink and white sweater, taking a nap. I love her so much, and I'm so glad that my parents and my sister were able to take such good care of her and take her to all of her vet appointments and feed her and everything. She also had wonderful care at UT Vet Hospital. I definitely recommend them if your animals ever have any kind of crisis.

I know to some people it seems silly to fuss so much over "just a dog," but I just can't describe the incredible richness she has brought to my life. Dog people get it.

Sidenote: the host of Deal or No Deal is wearing way too much mascara.

I Sold My Soul on Ebay

So back in 8th grade, I decided I wanted to be an actress. So I auditioned and got into my first play where I had a ton of fun and made some awesome friends. It was one of the happiest years of my teens, and really led me down a path of a lot of good times in high school and onward. One of the friends I made back then was Hemant Mehta, who, unfortunately, moved to Chicago the following summer. We've stayed in touch over the years through email mostly. He's definitely the smart, funny, Batman-esque man I knew he'd become. Recently, he held an auction on Ebay for the opportunity to send him, an atheist, to the church of the bidder's choosing to see if it would make a difference in his beliefs. The story won a lot of media attention (including Ham's picture on the cover of the Wall Street Journal and interviews on Fox News). So he has written a book about his experiences at several churches, and it is being released April 17. I haven't read it yet, but I'm sure it will be delightful and intellectually stimulating, and I'd like to go ahead and give it 5 stars. Here's a link to the book on amazon.com. I hear tell I'm mentioned briefly in the intro.....

best craigslist ad ever.

slop design sucks.

I'm over it. At first, I was really excited by this show, but now i'm just bored with it. The challenges are dull, the designers are bland, and even the drama between them is just not exciting. At least the whole "your mother" "my mother" drama between Angela and Jeffrey was funny. This week, I had to agree with Ryan, the turd, for once: I would not have taken on that job. The family was totally not realistic about how many things you can cram into a garage, they did have way too much stuff, and everything would fit so much better if they didn't have that monstrous ridiculous stupid SUV. F SUVs.
I don't think I care who wins this.

I am, however, very excited about the new cycle of ANTM. I want Diana or Jael to win, although it will probably be Renee since they've made such a BFD out of her, or Felicia (Alicia?) who might in some lights and from a distance bear a resemblance to Tyra. I like how on her talk show Tyra says one thing about body image and then on antm she perpetuates the skinny model stereotype of "high fashion". boo.

Dear Melvin at Verizon Tech Support,
You're probably far far away in India or something, but I just want you to know (yes I'm aware he'll probably never actually read this) that you have saved a life. Because if I couldn't get my wireless network up and running, someone would have hell to pay. So thank you for your clear, concise instructions. Thanks for your assistance in liberating my computer from a bad IP address. You win, Melvin, you win.


In other news, YAY I have my own wireless network! Now I can sit on the couch and play along with Lingo in the evenings.

Also, in other news, I've lost 9 pounds since October. Several inches as well. Very happy about it. Most of that weight has come off recently due to me not eating fast food and drinking beer all the time. I'm now eating fruits and vegetables multiple times a day, and my stove is getting a workout. I've also been working out myself on average once a week. Trying to kick that up a notch. My goal is to be at a healthy weight by my birthday in September. It's doable. And I will do it.

dinero does not mean dinner. it means money, which you need in order to buy dinner.

so tonight I made stir fry with broccoli, yellow squash, tofu and polenta. kikkoman's stir fry sauce is the shit. it's not made of shit though, don't worry.

anywho, I decided to eat it on one of the plates the previous tenant left behind. they're japanese, octagonal, with pink flowers. there are bowls and teacups and saucers too. they're cute. they go nicely with chop sticks.

law and order svu

1) I love it when "Liv" calls him "Ell".
2) I want them to get together. Obviously there is a deep love and respect between them. I want it to blossom. Now. NOW.

Poor Tillbooskin!

So even though she looks and acts like she's feeling better, apparently Tillie's situation is still pretty serious. When they scoped her stomach and small intestine last week, they took biopsies of both. They believe that the irritation in her small intestine was caused by a bacterial infection but they don't know what kind. Apparently, the bacteria is extremely rare. So rare in fact that the pathology lab is sending what's left of the sample to Cornell University to see if they can figure it out. So, the vet has prescribed a heavy duty antibiotic that will hopefully kill the infection. The really sad news is that the vet told my mom that Tillie may not be ready to move up here with me for several months. Very upsetting. I was already disappointed that she wasn't with me for the last 8 weeks, and now to learn that it will probably be a long time before I get to have her back is really disheartening. I want her to get better, but I want her here.

I'm probably headed to Knoxville for a weekend (Mar 9-11) to see her and Seth's show and stuff.

If anyone has a spare $4k sitting around.....

I would love to have this.


The apartment is still in the middle of Cardboardbox City so pictures will have to wait until I get things better arranged. So far everything I've tried to do as far as setting anything up has been aggravating. Today the washer and dryer were delivered. And they won't fit in the closet designed for the washer and dryer. grrr. So not only am I going to have to switch brands, I'm gonna have to go up in price. Not amused. But, the directv was installed today, and appears to be working just fine.

In 30 minutes, I'll go watch Lingo, a new favorite show. I love this show, I can feel it bending and twisting my brain stems. unlike many of the shows I watch.

slop design

first, dear judge with the crazy, insane, ginormous hair: put down the crimping iron!

secondly, $500 at a garage sale is a pretty large budget in my opinion. but of course they were all whining.

and I really hope that when Felicia said "twenty-five is that ok?" for that crapass blanket, she meant cents not dollars. And her room was fugly.

I think Ryan is a turd and he should be eliminated. Michael has boyish color taste and it's whack. He needs to choose colors that don't look like dog vomit or grandma's house.

Loved Matt's room. Loved Carissa's room.

I like watching shows on the CW. I just do. I also adore the game Lingo on Game Show Network. I spend a good lot of time watching tv, which I suppose makes me braindead.

blank slate

So I've got a place in Forest now. 2 bedrooms, 1.5 baths, 2 stories. The walls are white white white. Except for the bathrooms, which have icky brown wallpaper. At the moment, I've got brand new beige carpet in the upstairs and plain wood floors in the downstairs. So basically the place has no character. Just that overwhelming new paint/carpet smell that I can't seem to get out. It's too cold to open the windows and let it air out, but we're looking at some warmer weather later this week.

My dog has been very sick and in the hospital. She's getting better, but it will still be a while before my mom can bring her up here. I miss her a lot.