Sesame Street

In honor of their 40th Anniversary, I thought I'd follow Allie's lead and post some of my favorite (at least the ones I can remember) skits from Sesame Street.

First, this one because I still quote it.



And then this one because it inspired "Crazy Melvin Day" at school, but we celebrated wtih bananas, not pencils.



This one is STILL funny.



And this one was my all-time favorite song from Sesame Street.



And don't forget "C is for Cookie", "Ladybug's Picnic" and "Number 9 Martian Beauty". I would post them, but this is already getting ridiculous.

Just a test...and pictures of Danny and Makenna!

I'm just testing to see if I know how to make a video on the laptop and make it available for your viewing pleasure via YouTube. If you were able to watch a short clip of Danny and Makenna to the tune of James Taylor's "Never Die Young", then I have achieved success!

Rod Stewart

My parents used to have this magpie who'd come around their house a lot. It'd poke around in the backyard for walnuts and other things to eat. It liked to hop around their deck and we could watch it from the kitchen windows. One day I think it actually flew in the house, but that's another story.
The reason I remember this bird so well is because one day, during Sunday dinner as the magpie was hopping around the deck trying to swallow a plastic toy grasshopper, we decided to name it. The first suggestion of "Maggie the Magpie" naturally lead us to our final choice of "Rod Stewart." We tried it out: "Hey, Rod Stewart is outside trying to swallow Andrew's plastic grasshopper toy." Success!

-Rod Stewart's Relative-

Rod Stewart doesn't come around anymore, but I'll always fondly remember his antics in the backyard.
"Hey guys, Rod Stewart's back...and he's trying to crack that walnut shell off the deck."
"Rod Stewart tried to fly into the house again!"
"Be careful. Rod Stewart's out there and he might bite you."

I think when we get another pet someday I want to name it something along the same lines as "Rod Stewart". You know, like "Phil Collins".

"Come, Phil Collins! Come! Good boy!"
"Phil Collins was trying to eat his poop again."
"Somebody let Phil Collins out. He's scratching at the back door again."

Train of Thought

So, on my drive home from work today I heard a Peter Cetera song. "Glory of Love" to be exact.

And here's the train of thought that followed:

This reminds me of when Hannah and I made Erin and Corinne's wedding video. Erin told us not to put any music from the group "Chicago" on it. So what did we do? We set the video to the song "You're the Inspiration" by, of course, Chicago. Hannah's rationale was that Erin and his friends always said "Chicago" music was the best romantic music (or something like that). So we HAD to use it. Looking back, we probably should have listened to Erin and NOT used it.

What other questionable choices have I made because of cousin influence?

Well, there was that time we showed up at my ex-"somewhat boyfriend's" house dressed as old ladies, lured him to the side of his house and then beat him with handbags.

Then there was that time we made an entire batch of methylene blue brownies and took it to a party some of my high school friends were having. One friend and his brother ate pretty much the entire plate. I felt bad, but not really.

I won't even go into the rice crispy wigs because I still haven't decided if that was good or bad.

I wonder if people still judge me based on bad (or good) decisions I made when I was younger?

Do you ever grow out of the image people have of you from one point in time?
Think about it, I'm sure all of us can name at least one person from high school who we think is crazy because of something they did. Or we think someone is a jerk because of one thing they did. Maybe they're not crazy. Maybe they're not jerks. Maybe they're regular people who just made a bad decision.
Next time I see someone I knew from way back when I'll keep an open mind and not cram them into the box I've been keeping them in all these years. (For the record, I'm talking about a figurative box, not a literal box. I did crazy things with my cousins, but nothing that crazy.)

And that, my friends, was my train of thought as I drove home from school.

Love, Hate and School

Right now I'm at school getting things ready for next week. I needed a break from working and this seemed like the funnest alternative. Funny how blogging becomes a break when I'm working, but it's work during the summer. Go figure.

I have a love/hate relationship with teaching.
I love the feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction I get when I'm doing something I know how to do and that I've done so much that I can actually do it well.
I hate having to be somewhere every morning at 8:15.
I love starting fresh every year with a new group of kids.
I hate having to get subplans together at 3:15 AM because I woke up with the flu. Why can't it be like other people's jobs? If they call in sick they can just call in sick. I have to call in sick, get subplans ready, find a substitute, and then clean up the aftermath when I get back.
I kind of love having every child in the school know my name.
I love getting my room together.
I love stacks of freshly made books, freshly sharpened pencils, new crayons, markers, and colored pencils, and full glue bottles. That means I'm ready.
I hate the feeling I have right before the kids come in on the first day. I don't like being nervous.
But I love the feeling that comes right after the bell rings and the kids start coming in.
I love the drive to and from school. 25 minutes each morning and afternoon to reflect, think and listen to music.
I hate driving that 25 minutes when it's snowing and the roads are icy and covered with snow.
I love love love the people I work with.
I hate that I won't have that association when I quit teaching.
I love teaching kids how to read.
I hate that I don't have enough time to prepare all the fun things I want to do with those kids.

Speaking of prepare...
I should get back to that.

How Boys Play

I used to think I knew how to play basketball. It wasn't until I married a true basketball fan that I realized that playing basketball isn't really 10 girls huddled underneath a hoop each taking turns throwing a ball into the air until, after several grueling minutes, one of them successfully manages to make it into the hoop that's been hovering elusively over their heads. Basketball is more than dribble, block, throw (e.i. shoot) the ball. It actually involves strategy. There are plays involved. Techniques. Moves. Skillz.
None of these I have.
But my hubby does. And he loves to play the game. Lucky for him he happens to know some other guys who love the game, too, and so they play every week.
I decided to tag along the last time they played and do a little playing myself.

...but I played with the camera.

I got some good action shots. Don't ask me what was going on here. I'm just taking the picture.


I just like this one.


It appears that Brad is going to try a granny shot and everyone is giving him some space to do it.


Don't mess with DAN.


But don't be scared of Dan! He's a nice guy!


Zack was popping up for the rebound on this one, but it could also be that he was attempting to dunk the ball and just fell short of the mark.


I like this because it gives a clear shot of Thomas's intimidation shirt (Who isn't intimidated by Porky Pig?) and because it shows how much fun these guys are having.

How To Make A Chipmunk.

First, you take your dogs on a long, dirty, fun hike.

Like this.

And this.

You might even throw in a meadow or two.

Next, you let them cool off however they want.




Then you take them for a ride.

Let him stick his head out the window because you know how much he loves it.


The next thing you know...


You've got yourself a chipmunk.