Things that make you go hmmm.

Is it normal that I just clean the windows in my front door because I knew trick-or-treaters (and their parents) would be looking at them all night?

Is it normal that this is the first time I have washed the windows since school started?

Is it normal that the only bowl I could find to pass out candy with was a good serving bowl?

Chicago

My sweet husband, Lee, surprised me by buying tickets to Wicked. If you haven't heard of it, it is a musical. It is the prequel to the events in The Wizard of Oz. So, we left for Chicago Saturday morning, hung out on Michigan Ave and just walked around.

Who is that good-looking guy, on that cute little bench, in front of that beautiful building?

Oh wait...I know him. I really just took the picture because I thought the bench and flowers were neat in the middle of town.

Later that night, Lee and began our walk to the theater. I tried not to take too many pictures for fear of being called a tourist and getting mugged. But I couldn't resist the Wrigley Building all lit up at night...and pink no less. How could I not take the picture? Trent would be so proud.

The musical was terrific. It was very well done and entertaining. I wonder how different the story would have been if it had been a prequel to The Wiz, instead of The Wizard of Oz...

We had a great weekend. Lee flew out East for business and I drove home. I had to go to my in-laws to pick up my dog. As I got off of the interstate, this is what I saw:

Just a couple of tractors drive down the road. It must be harvest season in Iowa. And yes..I did take these while driving.

ouch

So I was talking with a small group of other staff members today during lunch and the topic drifted to hairstylists. I, of course, mention Denis. When someone asked how long I had been a client of his, I said since 1995.

Another girl (who shall remain nameless) said, "that is probably why you haven't aged a bit." I was flattered; everyone likes to appear young. So I thanked her.

Then she said, "Oh, what I meant was that you don't have a grown-up haircut."

Ouch! Who wants a grown-up haircut anyway? Who decided that grown-up hair has to be a safe distance from your shoulders?

What a jerk! Remind me not to be friends with her...

Happy October!

My mother-in-law turned 50 last weekend. This is a picture of her blowing out the candle on her birthday "cake." If you can't tell by the picture, the "cake" is a Zookie. What is a Zookie, you might ask? A Zookie is a dessert from a great pizza place called Zoey's. They take a small deep dish pizza pan and line it with chocolate chip cookie dough. They bake it for 8 minutes and top it with ice cream and chocolate sauce. It is warm and gooey and wonderful. If you are ever in the area, you should try one. I will help you finish it.

Lance and Lee enjoying a laugh (at their father's expense) their mom's birthday dinner.

On a completely unrelated note, I didn't want the summer to end without taking a picture of my babies. I spent many hours with them this summer. This is "Heart of Gold."

My roses are still blooming because we haven't had a hard freeze yet.

This one is officially called "New Zealand." We renamed it Gandalf. Gandalf seemed appropriate because Tuni dug this one up and carried it around, but we replanted it and it came back to life. If you are not a LOTR dork, Gandalf seemingly came back to life in The Two Towers after "dying" in The Fellowship of the Ring. And...LOTR was filmed in New Zeaand. Duh!

This last beauty is called "Nanny Blessing." How could we not get one?

Random Things

1. Rhyley Tyhe Astyn ( a boy) was born October 19th. Each one of his names has a funky spelling. I think his parents has a "y" fetish. If you don't believe me, check here.

2. Mouse #5 and Mouse #6 were caught this morning in my classroom. I think the colder weather is driving them indoors and into my room.

3. My sister-in-law informed us that she is getting a boob job in December. She is only 23 and has a 9 month old son. This is the same sister-in-law that used my old jeans as her maternity jeans. What do you even say about getting new boobs at 23? Lee and I thought she was joking, but she wasn't. Aren't you guys jealous? I'll bet you all want to have a scrawny (like 5'7" 105 lbs) big-boobed sister-in-law. I hope I get to stand nect to her in every family picture for the next 60 years...

FCA Breakfast

So, about 3 years ago, my school's FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) decided that we wanted to serve the school's athletes in some way. We decided that feeding them would be the best way. Originally we had about four pancake breakfasts per trimester to support each sport that was in season individually. Over the past couple of years, we have gotten a little smarter. Now we just have one big pancake breakfast per trimester.

Last week we fed the football team, girls' swimming, boys' and girls' cross country, and volleyball (no boys golfers showed up). The volunteers get there around 6:15am to start making food. We had pancakes, eggs, bagels, juices and milk. I was too busy making pancakes to take very many pictures. I literally had a full griddle of pancakes from 6:20-7:40. Football players eat a lot. It was fun, but getting to school that early makes for a long day.

We had some fun flipping pancakes. Here I am with a couple of helpers. Can you tell it is early?

We did have a puker, but it was not because of the food. Apparently if you play football, you are susceptible to all sorts of torment. This guy did not have a good game the week before and he had to run until he puked. I'll stick to tennis, thanks.

Also, I forgot to mention in addition to our own zoo, we have had a house guest since Wednesday, Pepper. Pepper is my in-laws 12 year old affenpincher. He is an old man who is always cranky. Tuni just wanted to play, but Pepper would have none of it. At least they don't bug each other when it is time to sleep.

Animal House

So...my house can be a bit of a zoo at times. I have an 80 pound dog named Petunia, an 18 pound cat named Lord Helmet, and a 15 pound cat named Yoda. Most days I love them. They are so friendly; they always want to be with people. Most nights I enjoy taking a long crap-magazine-filled soak in the tub...so the animals join.

This is Helmet and Petunia also enjoying my bath time. Lee thought it looked like Tuni killed Helmet and laid him there. Also, what do you think about the baby blue shag on the bathroom floor? Who puts carpet in a bathroom?

This was Petunia waiting patiently for a bite of cookie.

Yoda is a bit more antisocial. She likes to be part of the family but watch from afar. I didn't want to leave her out.

So maybe now you can have a little more empathy when you see my wearing black pants sprinkled with white hair. Some days it is hard to get out of my house without a little token of affection from my animals.

Oh, and if you were curious...Yes, they all three sleep on the bed with us...

Another Weekend, Another Wedding...

Two kids (22 year olds) from my church's youth group got married last weekend. I was a youth group sponsor when they were both going through high school. They have been best friends since middle school and sweethearts since 2003. She even waited while he went on a mission trip for 2 years. They are the greatest kids.

They didn't kiss until less than 1 year ago and so there was lots of kissing at the reception. I felt a little bit like a voyeur watching them.

This is my artsy shot of the centerpieces. Very pretty and perfect for the fall season.

Have any of you guys seen The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe? It came out in 2005. There were two characters in attendance at the wedding. This guy looks like Edmund (the Turkish Delight fiend) to me.

And the evil White witch.

Don't you think?

Lee and I enjoying the event. Don't worry, I got a new dress; but don't be surprised if I wear this same one to the weddings I have to attend on November 3rd and 17th. No more white for me.

One of the guests sitting at our table waited until the buffet line was dwindling and then ransacked it. He kept going back for more. Please notice the 3 full plates of food, 2 glasses of punch and 2 glasses of pop.

My Role Model...

I got this picture in an email yesterday. It entitled, "World's Tightest Pants." I think it lives up to its name. After I got over the horror, I realized that there was some pretty sneaky photography going on.

The way I imagine it to have gone down was: a nice couple are walking along a river enjoying the day when they spotted him...the man in the tight pants. I think they ran ahead and tried to pose with their true subject in the background. I could learn a few things from these guys; they are pros.

Coincidentally, I work with a man that we have dubbed TP (Tight Pants), but our TP doesn't hold a candle to this guy.

Slacking

I feel like I have been slacking lately, so I was thinking of a funny story that happened before my bloglife began.

Lee and I bought a house last summer and moved in last September. I was packing up my clothes (not a small task) from the little house (that was our affectionate term for the house we were living in down the driveway from Lee's parents), and I was setting aside things to either sell at a second hard store or give to the Salvation Army. When we moved, I left that unwanted box of clothing until I had time to take it somewhere.

I got a call from my mother in law saying she had looked through the box and wondered if she could have a couple of the sweaters. I said sure. She also asked if my sister-in-law could look through the clothes as well. Again, I said yes. I was flattered that my in laws wanted to dress like me. I felt like a fashion goddess whom people wanted to emulate...

...until I saw my sister-in-law wearing a pair of my old jeans as maternity jeans! She was 5-6 months pregnant and wearing my jeans. I thought she wanted to dress like me and really she just wanted free jeans to accommodate her burgeoning baby-filled belly. Gone was my fashion plate status and I was left to be the same size as 2 people: my sister-in-law and her unborn baby. That one stung a little.

Dang, What Was I Thinking?

So, today is conference day. I have to (I meant "get to") meet with parents and discuss their little darlings. I have to sit and discuss both the good and the bad. I got to school and worked all morning and then went home to change clothes. I stopped by Subway in the mall food court to pick up lunch on my way back.

I just got done eating, went into the hall, saw a parent I knew and stopped to chat. Only after we chatted, walking back into my room did I realize that I had eaten a tuna fish sandwich and Nacho Cheese Doritos for lunch. Can you imagine the smell? Can you imagine having to sit in my proximity and chat all afternoon? I should put some Listerine in my desk or something. Yuck!

Bomb Threat-esque

This morning at school at the beginning of 3rd hour, our principal came on the announcements and told us that a students had overheard two other students talking about a bomb being at the school and wanting to leave. Then the two students left the campus. So, it wasn't technically a bomb threat, but we had to take precautions. We were instructed to take all of the students (1600+) onto the football field. Once all of the students were there, the teachers were supposed to go back inside and look around their rooms for anything out of the ordinary or suspicious. Once our rooms were secured all of the lockers and common spaces had to be searched. Those were the easy parts. FYI...as I started to walk down the hall, I thought, "I need to go back to my room and get mu camera. This is a blog post in the making..."

Here are the students being herded on the the field.

The aerial view (or close, it was from a second floor window).

Fortunately, the police stopped by to help us keep the students penned in. It was like they were in a zoo behind the fence.

Teachers trying (to no avail) to keep students from going home.

The line of cars with parents coming to pick up their children.

Some of us tried to make the best of 1.5 hours in the gorgeous October sunshine. I was helping to console these two distraught students.

This young man caught a quit nap in the sun.

And we even took time to enjoy the colorful foliage.

Never a dull day as a teacher...

My Life at School

Today (October 2nd) as I pulled in the school parking lot and started to get out of my car, I heard someone talking to me. I looked up and saw a coworker (let's call her Bambi for protect her identity) coming toward me. She said, "I am wearing white pants and I don't want to hear anything about it or end up on the blog." She went on to say, "I don't go by the Labor Day rule. If it is hot out, I can still wear white." The traditional rule is no white pants or shoes after Labor Day. What do you think?

More importantly, what about panty-lines? Bambi has a penchant for spending her "fun money" on pricey items. Last year she was telling us about her new underwear that boasted being "panty-line free." As she demonstrated today, it held up to its promise. She so graciously posed for the camera to sing the virtues of $18 dollar underwear. i am not sure that I will run out and buy them, but I was quite impressed.

On a sadder (or happier, it depends on who you ask) note, I have had little friends visiting my classroom at night. They come from an unknown source and climb onto my counters and into my desk drawers looking for treats. So I finally got a little help from a sticky trap in catching these visitors. I walked into my room one morning and looked under my desk to find one visitor waiting patiently for me. He was quickly asked to leave.

Then again this morning I walked into my room around 10am and there was another little friend visiting under my desk. They would almost be cute if they weren't so gross.

Back to the question: What do we think about white after Labor Day?

Can you see it this time?

These are the pictures that I am most proud of. I risked my life and limbs to take pictures of these men's belt-buckles (but what appeared to other guests and the subjects as me taking pictures of random men's crotches). I hope you appreciate it.

See if you can pick out the belt buckle of my mother- and father-in-law.

Also, did you know that a person earns a belt buckle? I always thought that a person bought one and wore it solely for aesthetic purposes. I got a lesson from Lee's uncle Mick. Apparently you compete in rodeos for them. A belt buckle is like a trophy. The bigger the belt buckle the more important the competition that a person won. Also the really big competitions award saddles as prizes. Who knew? I learned so much. If you look closely (like I did in person...) you can read about the actual contest where the person won the buckle.