Yeah, I still have all that stuff to do…but I got to the school where I’m subbing today to find that I have first AND second periods free. (Really, you could have told me this. I could have stayed in bed.) And I’m giving tests all day, so I have loads of time to do things like grade papers.

Please do not say anything to me about Lost. I did not watch it yet. I went to bed at 9:30. (and I’m still tired…go figure.)

A quick scan of the class lists for the day tells me I have Dayna’s sister this afternoon!

I was going to write more, but I’m pretty brain dead right now. Later, perhaps.

Dear God, I am exhausted.

Hopefully, normal posting will resume once I’ve caught up on sleep, graded a bunch of papers, done the Toasted Cheese newsletter, taught a couple of classes tomorrow…ugh. Tomorrow’s gonna be a long day.

By the way, I’m going to jump on the Christmas card bandwagon. Let me know if you’d like to exchange, via comments or email!

There is too much sadness about right now.

And the weather isn’t helping.

Sigh.

I had an interview this morning…sort of came out of nowhere. Catholic school, 6-7-8 grade ELA and Lit. It is for a permanent position, not a long-term sub thing.

I think the interview went well…I’ll keep y’all posted.

My deepest sympathy to Kelly (of Byzantium Shores) and his family.

Ok people, I know that there are more than 13 of you out there. If you haven’t yet, please check out the frappr site and add yourself to my map. And do one for your own site! It’s fun! 🙂

Erin’s frappr map

Thanks to those of you who answered my poll. I enjoyed reading your responses! 🙂 Here are my personal faves:

How the Grinch Stole Christmas (original animated TV version, thank you very much. I refuse to watch the Jim Carrey movie on principle) I cry every time the Grinch’s heart grows three sizes.
A Charlie Brown Christmas Again with the tears. During Linus’s speech, and when they all sing around the little tree at the end.
Rudolph because who doesn’t like Rudolph?

And interestingly, Rand and I were just talking about the one that I believe is called ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas. It has to do with some mice and a clock tower, and there’s a song that goes “Christmas bells are ringing, Santa, Santa.” Anyone else remember it? 🙂

I’ve dug out the holiday music, and in fact, just bought a copy of the Barenaked Ladies’ Barenaked for the Holidays. I really enjoy most of it, but could probably do without a few of the tracks. There’s a short little track called “Deck the Stills” which had me rolling on the floor.

Also, I listened to Collin Raye’s Christmas album today, which really deserves a listen if for nothing more than his version of “O Holy Night.” I like it for a lot of reasons, his voice not being the least of them, but also because it includes this verse:

Truly he taught us
To love one another
His law is love
and his gospel is peace
Chains shall he break
for the slave is our brother
and in his name
all oppression shall cease.

I don’t usually hear that verse in other people’s recorded versions, and to me, it’s such a perfect statement about what it should mean to be a Christian. When I’m in a particularly emotional mood, it makes me a little bit weepy.

Oh, and this was so funny, I just had to share.

I have a burned CD marked “Tony Bennett Xmas”, so I put that in on my drive down to PA today. The first track was indeed Tony Bennett. But the second? Shania Twain. Any Man of Mine. The huh? Track 3 was Tony Bennett again, but track 4 was Shania. (If You’re Not in it For Love) The rest of it seemed to be safe, but no….track 14 was No One Needs to Know. I don’t know what the hell I was doing when I burned that one.

Ok, enough…I’ve got pies to bake. Happy Thanksgiving!

I have no original words today.

Not true…I have no time for the original words I do have.

Awesome bumper sticker I’ve seen several times lately:

Awesome quote from Henry Rollins, seen in Traveling Pants book:

When life hands you a lemon, say “Oh yeah. I like lemons. what else ya got?”

(Haven’t updated book post, but I read The Second Summer of the Sisterhood today. Cried more. These are great little reads.)

A poll:

What’s your favorite holiday special? I have a few favorites of my own, which I’ll share after you’ve posted yours. 🙂

Happy Monday!

The United Way of Buffalo and Erie County needs your help.

Click here for the news release.

Click here to donate.

(Possible Lost spoilers below)

If I work on a Tuesday or Thursday, it’s always at the same school. This is because they’re finished at 2:03, getting me out of the building at 2:15 and to the college before 3. My first class is at 4:30, so I like having that bit of time to prepare.

Of course, the day ending at 2:03 means it starts really really early. Homeroom bell is at 7:28. Ack. I have a really difficult time leaving the house before 7. It takes about 20 minutes to get there, and in a perfect world, I would arrive at 7:15, giving me a little bit of breathing room.

Today, I almost made it.

What I failed to consider was that my car would need to be cleaned off.

There wasn’t a significant amount of snow, but since it had changed from rain to snow, there was that coating of icy crud on the windows underneath the snow that had to be scraped off. Ugh. There’s nothing I hate more than scraping ice off my car. This is the kind of morning when a remote starter would be heaven.

A couple of quick notes on Lost (really the only show I’m watching on a regular basis. I kind of gave up on Alias, and my West Wing viewing has been sporadic. I hate that it’s on Sunday night. Generally, the idea that shows will soon be out on DVD has made me less concerned about missing things.):

I liked getting the back story of the other survivors. I completely forgot about the freaky radio transmission!

Hey, it’s that guy from Ed! Totally not one of the Others, but it was a nice fakeout, I thought.

How freaking creepy are The Others? And when do we get their story?

I didn’t like having to wait another week to see what happens with Shannon. (Although, let’s be honest…we all know what happens with Shannon. Just when I was starting to like her.)

CRUNCH N MUNCH STRIPPERS

I wish I were making that up.