From Samantha. Reading, Watching, Listening will appear tomorrow!
You are Sally!
Take this quiz!
*I resent the “total ditz” part!
I’m Sally?
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World’s Largest Disco ticket available
Is anyone interested in a ticket to the World’s Largest Disco? There’s an extra in my party, and I figured I’d post it here before trying to pawn it off on completely random strangers.
😀
(This is for the WNYers , of course…I don’t really expect anyone to make a last-minute trip!)
Friday photo
Okay, not technically a photo…but I made this for Rand’s cousin and gave it to her yesterday. (This was the reason I was looking for the lyrics to the Glengarry Bhoys song…)
I like doing this so much, and I love seeing the look on the recipient’s face! (while this isn’t always possible, I do enjoy it when it happens.)
If you’re interested in purchasing one of these as a gift, you can visit my etsy shop. You can also see more samples at flickr.
Thursday Thoughts–Thankful
Yesterday, I drew this turkey on my classroom whiteboard with a black marker. Throughout the day, students added various messages and lots of color. I’m thankful for eighth graders who still want to act like kids.
I’m thankful for my job, even though it’s not permanent. I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything.
I’m thankful for my friends–old and new, near and far, real-life and virtual.
I’m thankful for my family, who I will be missing today. This is my first Thanksgiving away from home. Ever.
I’m thankful for my *other* family, the one I’m gaining, who I will be spending this holiday with.
I’m thankful for the communities I belong to…the one that’s built up around this little blog, Toasted Cheese, livejournal, etc.
And finally, I’m thankful for Rand’s love, and the life we’re building together.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.
Wedding Wednesday
Well, the stress dreams seem to have left me…at least for the time being.
I’ve been thinking a lot about wedding traditions lately. Everyone seems to have such strong opinions about them, and it can be very difficult to buck tradition. Here are some of the things Rand and I are thinking about doing (and not doing).
The garter/bouquet toss
I stopped being amused by the bouquet toss approximately ten years ago. Plus, there won’t exactly be hordes of single people at the wedding. It’s a dwindling group…the last thing I want to do is humiliate my remaining single friends and family.
Okay, I’ll admit that it was sort of cute when Rand and I caught the respective objects at my brother’s wedding…but still…
The Chicken Dance
Is this really a tradition? Ah well. I must admit that I actually *enjoy* the chicken dance. It stays.
The Dollar Dance
I know that the dollar dance is a regional/cultural tradition, and those who didn’t grow up with it tend to find it appalling. I don’t want to do it, but not because I think it’s tacky…I don’t want to do it because it takes freaking forever. The bigger your wedding, the more people lining up to dance. Augh.
Can anyone tell me why the “girly” shot for the dollar dance is always Peach Schnapps? Blergh.
The Bridal Party
This is the one I think I might take some flak over. Rand and I have discussed this one at length…and we’ve decided not to have a traditional bridal party. Many of our friends and family will be involved in the wedding in important ways, and we’d rather have them doing important things than wearing matching clothes and posing for pictures.
And my friends, the ones I will turn to for advice, the ones who will be holding my hand and keeping me sane through all of this, will be doing that regardless of what they’re wearing.
My cousin Brandy will be my sole “attendant”–in charge of holding my flowers, etc. We’re also going to get Rand’s nephews involved in some way.
The huge, towering cake
Haven’t quite worked out what we’re doing here…but I’m thinking of a small ceremonial cake for Rand and I to cut, and some other (less expensive) option to serve our guests…perhaps sheet cake, or cupcakes made and decorated by family if that’s logistically possible.
The DJ
Already been discussed. No DJ.
I think I’m forgetting some things, but that’s good enough for now, I think. What are your favorite/least favorite wedding traditions?
Gift giving! (reposted)
As seen on All Things Jennifer and Samantha Says…
“By the end of the calendar year, I will send a tangible, physical gift to each of the first five people to comment here. The catch? Each person must make the same offer on her/his blog.”
Sounds like fun, yeah?
Also, let me know if you want to exchange holiday cards. 🙂
Tuesday Tidbits
Curse you, NaBloPoMo…if I hadn’t made the commitment, I so would not be blogging today. I had a busy day at school, despite the fact that the kids were watching a movie. (I, on the other hand, was grading tests.)
So, moving on…
Just in case there’s anyone who hasn’t seen it yet, there’s an online petition supporting the WGA. I signed it!
One of my favorite new places to visit on the internet is The “Blog” of “Unnecessary” Quotation Marks. It’s from a couple of weeks ago, but I particularly enjoyed this post.
There’s a bit of backstory to this, but there was an image on this post at John Scalzi’s Whatever that made me laugh out loud. If I’d been drinking something, I’d be in need of a new laptop. Oh, hey! I just remembered that I can do screenshots. Here it is:
And finally, I’ve been saving a bunch of these “quote of the day” posts that I liked for…uh…something or another. So I’m going to start throwing them here. And today’s quote is:
“Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn’t go away.”
-Philip K. Dick
Weekend wrap-up
This weekend was pretty mellow…which believe me, is fine!
Friday night, Rand and I caught up on some TV watching. Saturday, we intended to catch a showing of The Darjeeling Limited at the Amherst…however, when we arrived (after lunch at Brodo), we found that the 2 pm showing had been canceled due to a private event. Feh.
Went grocery shopping. We’d intended to feed our little can of change into the Coinstar machine, but found that we would have been waiting a very long time. A couple had made it to the machine ahead of time with several large vats full of change. No kidding. We decided to try again after our shopping was done, but they were still there. After having fed nearly $1000 worth of change into the machine. Mildly annoying.
Later, we watched Hot Fuzz, which we’d gotten from Netflix *months* ago. No kidding. I liked it. Probably not quite as much as I liked Shaun of the Dead, but I liked it quite a bit.
Sunday, we visited with Rand’s family and watched Ghostbusters, which David had rented for his son. Hee.
The only other notable thing about the weekend? I’ve begun having wedding stress dreams. Three nights in a row. This had better not continue until the wedding. I’ll lose my mind. In the first dream, someone had brought me my clothes, but forgot my shoes. In the second dream, we forgot the music. And in the third dream, tons of people just didn’t show up (and not, y’know…third cousins I didn’t really care about. Like my best friends didn’t show up. It was dreadful.).
So yeah. Maybe I need to step up the yoga? Meditate? Hire a wedding planner? 😉 (Kidding about that last one. I’m not hiring a wedding planner.)
Hope you all had a pleasant weekend.
Eight things meme
Tagged by Eden
8 things I am passionate about:
1. Writing
2. Love
3. Teaching
4. Books
5. Rand
6. Family
7. Calligraphy projects
8. My friends
8 things I want to do before I die
1. Go to Italy
2. Learn sign language
3. Pay off my student loans
4. Publish a novel
5. Get a “real” job
6. Sing
7. Get a Ph.D. (maybe?)
8. Grow old with Rand
8 things I say often (the nearly all-school edition)
1. “I don’t know.”
2. “You love me…”
3. “I’m not kidding.”
4. “Ladies and gentlemen, please sit down and take out your agendas.”
5. “Would you like to go see Mr. W?” (the principal)
6. “No”
7. “And what does your paper need to have on top?” (answer: a heading)
8. “Sit down”
8 books I’ve read recently (not necessarily finished; not necessarily novels)
1. Uglies
2. The Diary of Anne Frank (play)
3. Girls Guide to Witchcraft
4. Beige
5. Runaways
6. Confessions of a Blabbermouth
7. Neptune Noir
8. Y the Last Man
8 songs I could listen to over and over
1. “Black Monday”
2. “Without Me”
3. “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree”
4. “That, For Me, Is You”
5. “Callin’ Baton Rouge”
6. “No Hurry”
7. “Cold, Cold, Heart”
8. “Cowboy Secret Space Detective”
8 things that attract me to my best friends
1. Loyalty
2. Intelligence
3. Trustworthiness
4. Generosity
5. Sense of humor
6. Honesty
7. Creativity
8. Common interests/experiences
Consider yourself tagged if you want to be. Just leave me a comment if you decide to play!
I have a feeling someone else tagged me this week, but I can’t remember who…feel free to leave me a comment to remind me.
Reading, watching, listening
Reading: I’ve just begun Uglies by Scott Westerfield. It’s the first in a trilogy that’s been getting a lot of attention. The underlying concept seems to be very similar to Lois Lowry’s The Giver, but the story is quite different.
My “to read” pile is beginning to get out of control. 😉
Watching: How much do I love Chuck? (the answer is: a lot) Loved seeing Kevin Weisman, even if he was playing a baddie.
Dirty Sexy Money continues to entertain.
Last night, TiVo recorded Don’t Forget the Lyrics, so I went ahead and watched the episode. Hmmm…I’ve gotta say, I much prefer the pure, unadulterated cheesefest that is The Singing Bee. The only thing Lyrics has going for it is Wayne Brady, and he doesn’t even get to sing.
The worst of it? Lyrics is a shameless rip-off of Who Wants to be a Millionaire? (according to Wikipedia, the format is similar to “another FOX show, Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader? No mention of Millionaire. But seriously…you get three “back ups” (aka “lifelines”) and Wayne asks you to “lock in your lyrics” as opposed to Regis’s “final answer” question. Even the set and lighting and “dramatic tension” music invoke memories of Millionaire. Hrm.
I also watched another episode of Reaper, which is fun…I’m just not sure I care enough to stick with it.
Listening: Hmmm…not sure I have anything new to talk about. I just picked up Jackdaw’s Blackgrass, but I have not yet listened to it. Check back for a report.