Life update....

Hey folks! Life's been crazy lately so I have been VERY lax on the blog posting. Sorry. I have a rather unexciting but important life update for all of you, and I only want to explain this once, so this is my attempt...

I have to move. I know, not what you were expecting right? Me either.I found out yesterday from my landlord that pending some extenuating family circumstances on his end, I will not be able to continue my lease once it is up Sept. 30th. I'm really not too thrilled with this new development, as I've been happy living where I'm at and I really love my apartment. But there you have it. I am now knee deep in the un-fun process of apartment hunting. That will be followed by the even less fun process of packing and moving. If you want to be really nice and come an help me, I can pay you in beer and pizza.

That's all for now folks...I'm off to go rummage sale a bit for school.

-Peace.

What's in a Name?

I have to start this blog out with an apology. I have been neglecting my goal to write more because I have not felt as though I've had anything interesting to say. But, I am back and making a great effort to keep on blogging, even if there is no topic that strikes me. You never know what might come out of those days.

Today, however, a topic has struck me. I was inspired by a video I just watched on YouTube to do a little thinking about really bad names. Here is the video that provoked such random nonsense: 

I do strongly believe this man has had WAY too much caffeine, but he does hit on a topic I've always found interesting, BAD NAMES. 

While investigating this topic further I found a very interesting article about bad names from the New York times citing the worst name as Iona Knipl. I have to say that one is definitely a contender. 

When I think of horrible things to name people, celebrities always seem to pop into my head. It could be that some of my favorite bad baby names come from celebs, I suppose. There are the standard crazy names like Apple and Coco, but they do tend to get stranger than that. Jason Lee named his son, Pilot Inspektor. If you thought Michael was the only Jackson to misname his children (cite Prince Michael and Blanket here), you'd be wrong. Older brother Jermaine named his son Jermajesty. A personal favorite of mine are the names director Richard Rodriguez (Spy Kids and El Mariache) named his four boys, Rebel, Rocket, Racer, and Rouge. I'm quite certain I will not be answering that phone call for a babysitting job. A new favorite is Speck Wildhorse, John Mellencamp's son. Nothing like giving your child a serious self esteem problem. I can hear it now, "I know why no one loves me! I'm just a speck!!" 

Sometimes what I feel really takes the cake are the middle names. For example, Sage doesn't sound like a terribly horrible name, especially if you are wise or like herbs. However, pair it with the the middle name Moonblood and you've got a real winner. Apparently Stalone wasn't thinking that one through. Another, slightly different example of this is when the first and last name fit together to make a catchy saying, like Tu Morrow. Yikes...it's just asking for ridicule and it takes all the creativity in other kids figuring out how to change your name around to tease you. 

Outside of the world our Hollywood, some real life names I've encountered have stuck with me as unusal. I'm sure this list will continue to grow and grow and grow. Spider. There is a boy where I grew up with that name. I hope he's not afraid of them. Lemonjello and Orangejello (pronounced le-mon-ja-low and oar-an-ja-low respectively). Also, the fun phonetically spelled name Cardeair. Love those diamonds, but French is difficult to spell correctly. 

If you know of any other ridiculous names, I'm always curious. Please share them with me. 

In addition, here is the link to the 33 worst celebrity baby names for your reading pleasure: http://www.babble.com/celebrity/celebrity-style/33-worst-celebrity-baby-names/?page=1

Tales of a Babysitting Nightmare

Not so long ago, I was sharing a babysitting horror story with a friend. It reminded me of many of the babysitting stories I acquired in the decade or so I spent babysitting to earn extra income through middle school and high school. There are many people I know who have pretty awful babysitting stories, but this one was definitely awful for me. It wasn't really scary like my friend who had a kid stick his foot in the garbage disposal and threaten to turn it on, but it was pretty awful nonetheless.

I was babysitting for a two little boys this particular day. One was about five and his little brother was about two. The older boy was pretty hyper and was a definite handful. I'm not sure why anymore but when I arrived the kids were watching a movie in their parents bedroom, so that is where we were hanging out. We were watching the movie Ice Age, and everything was going really smoothly. This was a rare occurrence when I was watching these darlings. Then the older boy asked me if he could read in his parents closet.

My fourteen or so year old self thought, "Well, he wants to read. That can't be a bad thing. So what if he's doing it in a closet? At least he's reading!" And so I told him he could. On the surface this didn't seem like a bad idea. After some time, I began to realize I should probably check on him. He'd been in the closet for what seemed like a while, and in my experience when loud kids get quiet for too long it usually means they are doing something they're not supposed to.

That's when I peeked into the closet. I saw him sitting with a flashlight snuggled into the corner of the closet. I then began to shut the door...when...wait. what. was. that? It couldn't be what I thought it was because it looked like a part of the female anatomy a little boy wouldn't be reading about. That sneak peek caused me to open the door to that closet again. When I finally did get a look at what he was reading I was shocked.

Sitting there in the closet, flashlight in hand, one leg folded on top of the other, the little five year old boy who I was supposed to be watching was sitting in his parent's bedroom closet reading Playboy.

I was mortified. I made the boy put it down and leave the closet and we played games the rest of the night. When his parents came home I couldn't bring myself to tell them what happened. I was so embarrassed and at 14 didn't exactly know how to broach the subject of a small boy finding a stash of Playboys. All I wanted to do was go home and never come back. I happened to be "busy" every time they called after that. I felt badly for taking the wimpy way out, but I just couldn't go back to that house.

It makes me laugh now. The fact that I caught a five year old looking at Playboy is really laughable. I've got many other random babysitting adventures, but that one certainly takes the cake. I hope it entertained you as much as it did me.

No Flying Cars?

It's Saturday morning and I'm sitting on my couch in my pajamas watching a movie on TV. I always love weekend mornings because I can get up and laze about in my pajamas without having to get myself up and out the door for work.

This morning I woke up and Back to the Future was on. I ate my cereal and watched the last part of the movie. There are a hand full of movies that I just cannot turn off when they come on TV. Back to the Future happens to be one of them. I love that movie! I sat through the end of the movie where Marty McFly gets hit on by his own mother and then brings his father, George, to her and makes them fall in love. Great stuff!

As with any trilogy, when one movie is on TV, next comes the sequel. I'm not one to love the sequels to Back to the Future, so usually once the first is done I flip the channel. I wasn't fast enough this morning and then as I watched I began to wonder...WHERE ARE THE FLYING CARS??

It always amuses me about what people thought the future was going to be like. Back to the Future II takes place in the year 2015. Apparently in the next four years we will have the following things: flying cars, hoverboards, self lacing shoes, self fitting jackets, and computerized waiters. We also wear our pants inside out. Oh, and the Cubs win the World Series.

Maybe I missed something...my car still drives on the ground. The only thing that I know of that hovers is a hovercraft and it's powered by a giant fan system. Last time I put on shoes, I laced them myself. One size fits all still means that something will never fit me. And I have only ordered food from real life wait staff. Oh, and sorry all you optimistic Cubs fans, but I still don't think this is your year. (And I don't just say that because I'm a Brewers Fan).

The world definitely has changed a lot since the 1980s. Technology changed in ways we couldn't have imagined. Computers and internet have revolutionized the way we live. I think we overestimated the way technology would change though. But who knows, maybe someday my shoes will still lace themselves.

Stories from Rm. 001

I've been wanting to write for some time now, but every time I sat at my keyboard, I wasn't really moved to write anything. Today I got a great idea to share with you some random moments that have happened in my class that just make me smile.

Story #1 Johnny and the Glog

I have a student named, well, not Johnny, but let's call him that. He's a student who has a difficult time learning and receives a lot of support in school. Johnny has a very dry sense of humor, but when you listen carefully, you'll find the things that he says are absolutely hilarious. Last week, students had to present an online poster to which they had posted two videos. Johnny was the star of his groups two videos. When the videos were playing he high tailed it to the back of the room like it was nobody's business. He wanted nothing to do with being near the front of the room while the video was playing.

Another thing you need to know about Johnny is that he has a difficult time forming words, so he has a very distinct voice and speech pattern when he talks. He's also heard himself recorded a number of times. As soon as he started speaking in the video, his response was, "WHY DO I SOUND BRITISH? Why am I doing that accent? I do not have an accent. Seriously! I sound British, why?"

It was all I could do to keep from laughing. That is his voice and he does sound a little British, but he wasn't doing an accent.

Story #2 Nemo Touched the Butt

There is a student in my afternoon class, who often cannot help but blurt out things at random. There are times when I am certain that he has no ability to keep comments to himself or use his internal monologue. Today, I was teaching students how to write concession statements in persuasive essays. In order to get students to remember how to do them, I told them to write a "but statement." I then made sure to point out what kind of but I meant. As I turned toward the board to begin modeling what I wanted them to do, this student said, "Nemo touched the butt." I couldn't help but laugh. Little did he know that is one of my favorite parts of Finding Nemo.

Story #3 What is it? A full moon!

There was a day earlier this year where my students were all acting cuckoo for cocoa puffs. I had a feeling that a full moon was nearing and that's why they were just acting awful. By the time my last class rolled around and they were also really talkative, I couldn't take it anymore. They were the unlucky group that got the lecture from Ms. W. Somewhere in the midst of my stern lecture to my absolutely SILENT class about being respectful in class, I made the comment, "What is it? A full moon?"  In the midst now of the silence a student very quietly went, "Ahooooooo" like a wolf howling at the moon. Everyone had their eyes on the student and then me, questioning, what are you going to do to him??? I took one look at the student, and burst into laughter. He looked at me and smiled. Then the kids looked confused and started to laugh. I told them that even I couldn't keep a straight face through that and then continued teaching. The kids were great the rest of the hour. Evidently a little howl was all we needed.

Wjhy I hjate the jjjjj

I have an issue with the letter "j." You may be thinking to yourself that is an absurd comment to make. My name does not contain the letter "j." Many great words contain the letter "j" such as joy, juxtaposition, jump, jelly, and a variety of names that begin with "J." Despite the fact that I love to use the word juxtaposition at any possibly appropriate moment, the "j" continues to plague me.

Many eons ago, when I was living in the college dorms the keyboard of my laptop decided to reject the "j" key. I would be typing and the "j" key would go flying across the room. My roommate was always amused at me cursing under my breath at the key that made it impossible to type many words.

Now, that issue lasted a while and then I decided to get a new keyboard. My dad replaced it and everything was hunky dory. I typed words containing the letter "J" to my hearts content and no keys went flying. Then my print screen key disappeared. This wasn't a major concern of mine considering that I don't believe I've ever used the print screen key. Then, I realized that my warranty was almost up, so I decided to have my keyboard replaced again while I didn't have to pay for it.

That's where everything took a turn for the worse. My friend kindly replaced my keyboard for me as I was too afraid I'd break something. As soon as it was "fixed" all hell broke loose. The "j" key was on a mission to make typing anything impossible. Now the key doesn't go flying. It just adds a "j" into whatever I'm typing whenever it pleases. If I am typing and pause too long I'll get jjj. Or, sometimes I'll get a "j" in the middle of random words. Occasionally if I used my computer to input grades, I'll enter things like 10j or 11.jj5. (I actually only typed one of those "j"s on purpose.) My favorite is when I go type in a password and among all the ********** a little innocent letter "J" sneaks it's way in.

In this blog alone I deleted about 15 superfluous letter js. Apparently my keyboard is rebelling and I don't know how to make it stop. I want to blame my keyboard replacer, but he claims it is user error. I disagree, it's probably a faulty keyboard. Nevertheless, I'm just done with all these extra js. It makes editing a nightmare.

The Curse of the Crane

I believe I am cursed. Something you need to realize about me before reading this, is that I am not a superstitious person. I don't believe black cats are bad luck. I open umbrellas inside and I've walked under ladders. Sometimes it amuses me when I do these things when truly superstitious people freak out. Now that you know this again. I will repeat my previous statement. I believe I am cursed. The bad luck of the Sandhill Crane has descended upon me.

Let's take a walk back in time so I can explain how I've come to this unusual conclusion.

When I was in high school, I developed a fear of birds. Most fears I have developed early in my life, falling from high places, spiders, etc. Nothing super unusual. However, this fear of birds has plagued me for several years now. This is how it all started....

There is a large number of sandpipers and other birds in my parent's neighborhood. If you've never had the pleasure of encountering a sandpiper, I will inform you of how stupid these birds are. They build their nests on the ground in the gravel. Their eggs look like gravel and therefore become camouflaged. It probably has to do with protecting their eggs, but I think they're just asking for people to step on them so they can't continue to reproduce. Anyway...one particularly brilliant sandpiper thought it prudent to build it's nest next to our mailbox, which is located just slightly down and across the street from our house. Whenever I would go to get the mail, the bird would swoop down from the sky and attack my head because by reaching into the mailbox I was clearly making an effort to crush it's moronically placed eggs.

This single instance of mail retrieving turned into a war on my being near the mailbox. It got to the point that I had to get the mail from inside my car because the bird wouldn't swoop down in a nose dive at my vehicle. Nevertheless, this instance caused my terrific fear of birds.

I will admit (though my mother would probably disagree) that this fear has gotten better. I can now be outdoors in the same general vicinity as a winged creature. However, I don't plan on walking into any aviaries any time in the near future.

Now, back to the matter at hand, the curse of the Sandhill Crane.

At the school in which I teach, there is a Sandhill Crane that lives nearby or at the very least uses our playground area as his hangout spot. If you aren't familiar with this creature, it's like a giant sandpiper. This bird is three feet tall. Now you might say to yourself, Sara, you are an intelligent woman and over five feet tall. Clearly you should have no issue with a smaller creature. However, you would be wrong. It is completely unnatural for a bird to be three feet tall. It is horrifying.

Let me take you back to St. Patrick's day. I arrived at school and went to walk in my usual door, when I noticed Dear Mr. Crane standing RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE DOOR! Now, being that I am mortified of this giant creature there was no way I would be the one shooing him out of the way. That would require walking right at him which would mean the only place for him to fly would be toward me. I don't think so. My logical course of action was to continue walking to the lower level entrance down a large hill and completely out of the direction I was going. I didn't mind however, it was a better alternative than duking it out with the crane. Now for the bad luck part-I was on after school supervision that afternoon when I a student push another student into me and caused me to re-injure a sprained ankle. Case of bad luck number one.

I would have normally assumed these were isolated incidents until yesterday....

I was driving home from a soccer game and talking to my mother on the phone when a rock came flying out of nowhere and chipped my windshield. Now this normally wouldn't be more than a horribly annoying bit of bad luck, except that last week due to hail damage I just had the windshield replaced on my car. After having my new windshield for five days, I now have a fairly sizable chip in the glass. It wasn't long after this occurred that I recalled yesterday morning the crane was basking in the sunshine in front of my door again. He was then chased down the hill after me by a student (we all know I wouldn't have attempted to go through the door). Now, I know logically the bird wasn't chasing me as much as it was being chased, but nevertheless, it was horrifying.

These two incidents of bad luck are proof that seeing the crane outside of my entrance into school. is a bad omen. Being that this is the case, I have no decided to always use the front entrance, where the crane does not fly, sit, land, bask, or do any other crane-esque activities. Please beware of Sandhill Cranes, my bad luck could rub off on you.

Ramblings

Oh boy, it's been a long time since I've taken the time to blog. I've even received a complaint *ahem* Kevin *ahem*, but I'm back at it. March was kind of a busy and crazy month. I suppose I can catch you all up on the happenings in my crazy life.

Things started to get crazy and stressful when all of this Scott Walker anti-union business started. One thing I hate about politics is when people shove their opinion in your face, and since this isn't a political blog I will stop here. If you know me, you know my opinion and that's all the more I need to say. Nevertheless, the climate at work was turbulent and we are definitely still riding out the aftershock of the current political tidal wave.

The exciting part of March came when I happily got my tax return. My parents came to visit and a furniture shopping spree ensued. I purchased a brand new bed and living room furniture. My apartment is feeling more and more like home every day, and I am enjoying living in a place that looks like it is inhabited by a professional adult and not a college student.

Currently, I'm on spring break and spending the majority of the week hanging out with my parents. It's been enjoyable. We've spent the last few days hanging out and car shopping. Which leads me to the most exciting of my recent news, I bought a new car. Well, new to me anyway. I get to pick it up tonight.

After LOTS of looking and head scratching and hoping to find a decent car in my price range, I finally was found it. I am buying a Saturn Ion. I am really excited to pick this up because it is truly my last step to being completely independent from my parents. Crazy to think...I'm now a real official grown up. Huh...well, I guess maybe in most aspects, but I still swear I'll always be a kid.

Well, that's enough of my ramblings for one day. Perhaps later in the week, I'll have something more profound to share with you. Until then..adios.

S.O.S. - Raft Ahoy!

I moved out of "dorm" living in May. I technically lived in an on-campus apartment, with a bathroom and kitchen and all those fancy amenities, but in many respects it was still a dorm. For instance, I still got to sleep on a "fancy" twin extra long mattress which was graciously provided to me by residence life.

Somehow, a few times, I managed to get a couple of semi-comfortable mattresses. Generally, however, they sucked. Nevertheless, I survived sleeping on their sucktasticness.

Then, in May, I moved out of college dorms to a real apartment. The only problem that accompanied this was that I no longer had college supplied furniture. I pieced together random bits and pieces of things, but, a bed is expensive. So, I invested in an gigantic air mattress.

This was a temporary fix. I figured eventually I would get a real bed. At first it wasn't the worst situation. Fairly comfortable and I only had to pump it full of air every now and then. And it was easy to move. I just deflated the thing and stuck it in a box. Ta Da!

However, I am now beyond sick of sleeping on a life raft. I'm waving the white flag. I've put up the S.O.S. I finally got my taxes filed and as soon as I have that refund money in my little paws, I will be buying myself a new bed. I look forward to not having to put my sheets back on every day because they have fallen off. I won't fall into the middle in a dent.

The only downfall is that if my apartment ever becomes a river, I will need a different life raft.

Commercials-My Strange Sense of Humor

Tonight as I was watching American Idol, I saw one of those commercials that made me think, "Hmm...that's odd. Kinda funny." That got me to thinking about commercials I really find hilarious. Typically they're really dumb commercials. The ones that are SO dumb that you can't help but finding them hilarious. Therefore, I dedicate tonight's blog to those commercials that I find memorable in some way or another. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

I'll start with the commercial that both confused and amused me tonight. Miracle Whip. Which side are you on?

The next two commercials are a staple when it comes to my friend Lindsey and I. The first one combines a great cartoon and some tasty fast food. Spongebob and Burger King. What a winning combination.

Ahh...the memories of watching TV and quoting Spongebob No Pants. Lindsey and I also shared a ridiculous love of this lovely gem. Anyone want a Starburst? Berries and cream for you?

Creepy isn't he? I'm sure there are many other memorable commercials. However, my brain is currently shutting down. If you can think of any other gems I'll try to add them to the list.

Mysterious Avocados

I have recently starting going to a new grocery store. The tiny town I live in has the charming grocery store, Bill's Food Mart, but I have only gone there once. After that shopping experience I have refused to go back unless I really need to pick up a last minute item in a pinch. It's a small and over-priced local grocery store, and I won't spend more money on off-brand items than I would for name brand at another store. 

I used to go to Pick N' Save in the town I work in. However, that's another small town and includes all the perks of small town price gouging. So, I've started going to Woodman's in Madison. The first time I went to that store, I felt like I was taking my life in my own hands. Never, I repeat, NEVER, go to Woodman's on a Sunday afternoon. You're lucky if you can even move your cart around. There are people everywhere. Honestly, you'd have thought that there was going to be some sort of nuclear apocalypse the way people were pushing and shoving. Heaven forbid you try to push a cart somewhere! 

Knowing what I learned about shopping on a Sunday, I went there today, a Saturday, at dinnertime. I thought this would be a safer bet, and even though it was busy, I didn't wait in line to check out, and I was able to push my cart freely in the aisles. I went about my business and then I went home. I hauled my bags up to my second story apartment and then began putting things in the refrigerator and cabinets as I cooked a frozen pizza. I want to make fajitas this week so I had some peppers in my bag and I bought an avocado for them too. Everything tastes better with avocado. 

As I'm pulling various bags of produce out I pull out a bag with four avocados in it. I stare at it confused. Four? I bought one avocado. Either the one I bought just multiplied or someone stuck a bunch of avocados in my cart. Sure enough, I found the single avocado that I picked out, and continued to stare at the four fruits I had unknowingly paid for. I've become the victim of a shopping avocado dropping. Now I guess I need to make some guacamole or something equally as delicious because I've got five ripe avocados. Anyone want to bring over some chips and have a fiesta? 

S.A.D. -The Other Half of Valentines Day

I don't recall ever liking Valentine's Day. I probably did when I was in elementary school, when it meant we were going to have a party and I got to eat a bunch of sugar. I liked sugar, in fact, I still do. Then I got cupcakes and didn't have to learn multiplication tables. That made Valentine's Day fun. 


That being said, now that I'm older I don't recall really enjoying Valentine's Day. My college roommate never liked it either, though she was usually in a relationship when it rolled around. I, however, with the exception of a short lived relationship last year, have always been single this time of year. Valentine's Day has a way of making you painfully aware of your singleness. Tiffany was always amused at my nickname for today-Singles Awareness Day. 


I'm convinced that on no day more than today, I've been made painfully aware of being single. It's as though the entire greeting card industry gangs up on bunches of single people as if to mock and say, "Nah nah nah nah, no one loves you." 


That being said, all the lovely-dovey people out there ooing and ahhing about how much you love your significant other, to you I say, "Lucky you." However, for the sake of all of us singles in the world, please, shut up and oogle over each other in private. We just don't care to hear it. 

The Longest Shortest Month

It's February in Wisconsin. It's only the second month in the year, but it's about the 5th month of winter. It's been cold, below zero in fact, and it's been dark. It seems to be there comes a point during February every year where I just run out of patience with winter. I've come to the conclusion that I've reached that point. 


My dad and I hit the trails this past weekend on the snowmobiles. It was a really nice ride. The trails were well snow covered in most places, and we drove over very little dirt. We knew if we wanted to get another ride in this year, yesterday was our last chance. As we were coming back to where we trailered the sleds, it started to snow. I'm not talking about a few flakes here, either. This was huge cotton candy like snowflakes. As we were driving along, I caught myself thinking, "Isn't this pretty? It's like we're in a snow globe!" And then I realized that winter isn't over, and I'm ready to be done with it. 


February is technically the shortest month of the year. It's only got twenty-eight days. I'm quite certain that it feels like the longest month though. It's supposed to be warm this week with temperatures in the forties. I need to make sure to remind myself not to get too attached though, we've probably still got another snow storm to look forward to. 


Boo.  

That Damn Tape

I recently started toying with the idea of listening to a "book on tape" while I was running at the gym. I was getting tired of the same music that I listen to every time I was on the machines. However, for years I've had a painful hatred of audio books. I blame my 10th grade ALA teacher who made us listen to A Separate Peace, Animal Farm, and Julius Caesar on tape. They were always read by boring old men who had very little inflection in their voice are read too slow. Meanwhile, I'd be staring at the page knowing that if I were reading the book on my own I'd be about thirty pages ahead of that damn tape. 

Because of my disgust toward audio recorded literature, I decided that my idea to listen to a book instead of some heart-pumping tunes in the gym was probably not worthwhile. Then I saw a commercial for a free subscription to Audible, a part of Amazon.com. This caught my attention. I signed up and was able to get a twenty-six dollar audio book for free. Apparently having someone read the book to you is as expensive as actually purchasing the text copy. Who knew. 

The book I got is called The Help by Kathryn Stockett. Maybe it's because I don't have the book physically in front of me now, but I am loving listening to this book. It's long too which means I'm definitely getting my free book's worth. I'm primarily listening to it while I run, but also have listened to it on long car rides. It's great! I've found a great new way to multi-task. In addition this book is fabulous. So whether you read it in hardcover or listen to it on your iPod, I highly recommend it! 

Does It Really Get Any Better Than a Snow Day?

The snow day. When I was in school it was a magical experience. I would wake up extra early and sit in front of the T.V. to watch the school closings slowly creep by on the bottom of the screen. One by one they would tick away until I saw "Green...Lake." Seriously, I'm pretty sure kids in Green Lake never had to go to school while in Green Bay we would fight the blizzard-like conditions and drifting snow to drag ourselves to school. Now, don't get me wrong, we did have time off from time to time, but Green Lake was always flashing on that screen. Perhaps I was just bitter about the situation. Perhaps I still am.

When I got to college, snow days still had that same magical appeal. It meant not going to class, sleeping in extra long, and hunkering down in the dorms with everyone else for a day of ridiculousness. I mean really, what can a couple hundred college kids crammed in one building do for a day but cause trouble? I recall my first snow day as a freshman waiting two hours for Chinese food to make its way to us and the poor delivery man who nearly wiped out in the door way in his black moon boots straight out of the 80s.

One thing I don't think that kids in school realize is that the teachers want there to be a snow day as much as they do. Tonight I got the "phone call" from the Superintendent. The really happy one that says, "School is closed for Wednesday." I couldn't have been happier. Not only do I get a free day off of work tomorrow, I know before 5 a.m.. So, I don't have to wake up early and then try to fall back asleep. No alarm clock for me tomorrow. So tonight, I can relax on the couch without worrying about doing any real productive work and tomorrow I can take it easy as well. Sounds pretty fabulous to me. Happy Snow Day!

The Packers-Superbowl Bound? I Hope So.

I can remember it very vividly. It was 1996 and the Packers had just won Superbowl XXXII. There was a very electric buzz that took over the city of Green Bay. It was a great place to be and a great time to be there. I'm starting to feel that electricity again.

Last night, the Packers absolutely dominated the number one seed Atlanta Falcons at the Georgia Dome. The beginning of the game was touch and go, but there came a point in the second quarter where the Packers turned the game around and just didn't stop. It was great to watch. As I saw the number of empty red seats increase, I couldn't stop smiling.

Then this morning I stumbled upon a YouTube video all about the Packers. It was the third or so new Packers song I've heard in the last week or two. That got me thinking back to Superbowl XXXII. One of the things I remember very specifically are all the Packers songs that were out on the radio. Therefore, I dedicate the rest of this blog to a few little diddies about my favorite team-The Packers. I'm ready to watch them finish out a pretty fantastic season-in Dallas? I hope so.

More Active

The last few months I've been on a quest to be more active. I really enjoy moving around and getting out and about and doing physically active things. I've also been trying to navigate the waters of a new social scene and really haven't had much luck. I'm hoping there should be a way I can combine the two together. 


That began my brainstorming the last few days/weeks/months. Initially my goal was that I wanted to run a 5k. Now, being, in most general terms, a non-runner, that seemed like a fairly solid goal. I can run about a mile. However, I didn't really have the push to run further than that because I wasn't going to be running a race anytime soon. Then, of course, my mind gets to thinking and the wheels get to turning, and I start researching 5k races around Madison. There are some in January and February, but I'm going to be honest, it's Wisconsin and winter, there is no way in hell I'm going to be running around outside. 


Then I started to think about other runs I knew about and I looked up the Bellin Run in Green Bay. Until I looked it up again, I had forgotten in was a 10k. Coincidentally, it happens to be on the same day as a concert I'm going to in Green Bay, so I'll already be there. I could sign up for this run and my cousin said she'd do it with me. 


Now I'm certain I need to find some 5k runs between now and June to get me into the running mentality. I've also found a program online called Couch to 10k which if I follow it should have me running a 10k in 13 weeks. Which gives me lots of time to get ready for this run in June. 


I also found an ad on Craigslist for a women's beginner soccer class in Madison. The last time I played soccer was high school gym class. There is a reason for this: I'm not coordinated. My feet and my brain are never really on the same page. It can wind up disastrous. I told my brother and he agreed.  But I took the first step. I sent out an email to the guy who runs the program. Seems like it might be a fun way to get out and get active. And maybe meet some new people. 


I'll keep you updated on my running progress, and if you want to run the Bellin or join me on a 5k please do! I'm now on a quest for running partners!