Junior.

Sorry that I haven't updated in a while -- it was a combination of things, most specifically the lack of regular internet access. But, things have been straightened out on this end and I should be able to update more often now.

There have been lots of things going on over here, what with the preparations for the upcoming wedding and all. I am nearing the home stretch and fortunately my "To-Do" list is starting to look manageable.

But, enough of that wedding stuff for now. The real big news was the addition of a new family member a couple of weeks ago. His name is Junior. After many, many months of contemplation and pontificating we decided to adopt a friend for Cody. Actually, Jamie and I had been arguing about whether we should go with a dog or a cat. While we both love dogs, I thought that at this juncture in our lives -- one where we live in the middle of a city and in a house without a backyard -- it just wouldn't be right to have a dog. A cat, however, would be awesome. A playmate for Cody would be a good thing, and having another cat would not really be all that much extra work.

Jamie still wasn't siding with me...until I took him to a cat adoption and he saw this guy:


Yes, I know he looks just like Cody. No, I'm not racist (breedist?) when it comes to orange tabbies. But, just look at that face! I wanted to get a tuxedo cat, but this little guy was just so friendly and started purring as soon as we took him out of his cage. As an added bonus, his foster family had named him "Cody"-- clearly it was just meant to be. So we adopted him the following week.

He has adjusted really well -- just runs around the house. The foster mom had told me that he was a finicky and somewhat anorexic-eater and that I would probably need to forcefeed him at first. Not so, he just devours all the food on his plate and then runs to find Cody's food to eat that too. While he was really runty when we got him, he's grown so much with us (he is now a whopping 4lbs!). Cody and him take turns chasing the other around the house. It's good times.

More pictures? We (meaning: I) played around with different names for a while. Gizmo? Hobbes? Lil' Brudder? But Jamie was set with "Junior" because it's cute, and he was originally a Cody. So Junior it is.

And now, naptime.

Cody is still the most excellent cat in the world.

Weeeeee!

We just bought a Wii:

The Wii is fun.

A Dream Realized.

Thought you might enjoy TLB's latest creative writing piece. The students were instructed to write a creative story from the point of view of a raindrop in an April shower.

One day, I was sitting on a cloud. Suddenly I was traveling at 200 mph. Then I feel into the city and onto a traffic light. I made it go out! Then, when I said "on" it turned on. "I can do this all day!" I said. So then next, I said "on" and all of the traffic lights came on. Then I said "RED" and the red lights came on. Then I said "YELLOW" and then the yellow lights came on. When I said "GREEN" the green lights came on. So I worked the traffic lights forever. The end.

I'll give you one guess on the colors with which he decorated his raindrop.

In the Meantime...

I will get back to blogging. Just a little busy right now. In the meantime, I give you: Ninja Warrior.

So awesome.

Two Loves.

Together. At last.

TLB! TLB! TLB!

Today's Black History Month Trivia Question was "who was the inventor of the first traffic light?". Needless to say, my room immediately erupted into cheers for Traffic Light Boy who triumphantly scribbled his answer on a Post-It and ran it in. This kid -- who still has difficulty spelling my name which is actually phonetically accurate and is also spelled out in several locations around my room -- was able to recall and spell the full name of the inventor of the traffic light. He also told me where and when it was invented.

Incidentally, the answer is Garrett Augustus Morgan/Ohio/1923. The final cherry on the sundae was when TLB stated hopefully: "I hope I win a traffic light!"

It was a good day for Traffic Light Boy.

Popular Demand.

Here's one more because my dad said to post more videos.

The Very Last Revue Review.

So, to my extreme excitement, I managed to navigate You Tube and upload videos from last night's Law Revue to share. While, we still don't have access to the actual live performances, I do have access to all the filmed skits. That's because MY FIANCE was the ASSISTANT DIRECTOR and was in charge of all the video production. Needless to say, they were a highlight in last night's show. He's so great.

Anyway, because I know you all are as excited as I am, I give you Law & Order: Big Firm Edition.

An interesting fact: the opening voiceover is the actual Law & Order guy! They pulled out all of the stops for this show! I guess someone on the cast had the guy's email address and asked him if he'd do it...it just made the skit even more awesome.

One more because I know you want it:

Oh, there's more. But I'll stop there for now.

A Good Sunday.

It's snowing outside. Maybe I'll spend the day sitting by the fire and watching the Oscars.

Last night I got to see Jamie's final production of the Law Revue show. While I don't have any pictures to share, let me assure you that it was the best one yet. We laughed the whole time and Jamie was brilliant. Hopefully, I'll be able to find a way to share some of the goodness with everyone.

Now I'm just glad to have my fiance back.

Extreme Room Makeover.

We got our new dining set delivered yesterday! Hooray for transitioning into adulthood and away from our IKEA furniture. After our cat almost killing himself (when he toppled the 100lb box and just barely managed to get away in time), and some wrench work, we got our brand new dining set.

The transformation: (the rug's new too!)




















The only problem is that the new rug is Cody's dream scratching post/mat. We'll see how long it lasts.

Mmmm...Bacteria-y.

So first there's this article about the suspicions that salmonella might be spreading through the consumption of Peter Pan Peanut Butter:

Strike One.

Then there's the recall out for all PPPB that has a serial number beginning with "2111":

Strike Two.

And, finally, there is this:

Strike Three.

My fiance has single-handedly consumed almost an entire jar of salmonella butter. I'm guessing since he hasn't gotten sick yet, he's safe. Still, the jars are going in the garbage can and Jamie will not be eating any more PB & J sandwiches for lunch.

P.S. Another inexplicable snow day today. Most awesome.

So Worth It.

I know it's way past my bedtime, but I don't really sleep so well until Jamie's home anyway. This is worth the post. You guys, I have found the single most incredible television program. It knocks all of my other guilty pleasures (since getting cable) out of the water. It is called...NINJA WARRIOR. Seriously. These people compete to be the next NINJA WARRIOR. They climb up walls and jump across caverns. They spin and flip. It's amazing.

Really, the only thing good enough to tear me away from NINJA WARRIOR is sharing the Ninja-goodness with all two of my blog readers. Japanese television is the best thing ever.

Game Over.

Normally in 20 minutes I would be watching Beauty and the Geek. However, I am boycotting it tonight because they eliminated my favorite couple, thereby ruining the rest of the season. Without Mario and Nadia, Beauty-and-the-Geeking is just not worth it. Damn you, Ashton Kutcher!


Instead, tonight I will watch "My Cousin Vinny" if I'm lucky. "Good Night and Good Luck" if I'm not. Yes, I'm perfectly aware that GNGL is supposed to be a great movie but...snooooooore.

[clears throat].

ahem...

SNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!

That is all. I'm going back to bed.

Remember the Children.

This is part of a pretty unfunny interview from The Colbert Report, but I felt the need to post it since it's all about TFA. I think Wendy was so intent on getting the (crucial) message across that she just complete shut Colbert down every time he tried to get a joke in. Enjoy (or not).



Phone update (because I know you were on the edge of your seat): I am a fan of phone insurance. Truly, the only reason I purchased insurance was because I work in a school where cell phones disappear on a daily basis. One of my colleagues had her phone stolen, smashed, and waterlogged in the span of two months. Her stories alone convinced me to pay that extra $50/year to get insurance.

It has been so smooth. Within 24 hours of making my claim on Monday, I had a brand new phone shipped to me. They never gave me a problem -- I just filled out an online form. Good times. Thankfully, I also had just downloaded my phonebook onto my computer with that new Verizon program so I don't even have to write a sad email to all my friends asking for their contact info.

To summarize: if you (a) work at a Title 1 school, (b) are very accident-prone, or (c) like to do laundry when not completely sober than I highly recommend phone insurance.

Enough to Warm My Frozen Heart.

Tomorrow will be the 100th day of the school year. In preparation for our celebration, my students drew a picture of themselves in 100 years and wrote a story to go along with it. Here is an excerpt from the favorite of the bunch:

In 100 years I will be shriveld and old. I will be sad caus Ms. U will be so old she is ded.

So. Hilarious.

Disconnected.

After a long hiatus, I return. Sorry -- but things have been really busy around here, with work, with the wedding, with trying to be a good homeowner. I keep on taking pictures of the house, but every time I take the pictures, something else gets added that I want to include.

For example: last weekend Jamie and I found a whole new set of furniture for our living room. Umm...because the week before that we bought a new flat-panel television (it was an awesome deal - by the way - costing less than $600 for 32" of non-squinty goodness). Yesterday, Jamie and I finally got around to ordering a new dining table and chairs. When they come, they will be great, but now I kind of don't want to put pictures up until all of that is here too. All in all, it's been great feeling like an adult and looking for deals. Sadly, my wallet is getting progressively thinner, but I'm hoping that we're getting things that will last a long time.

In other news, I have no phone right now and I feel completely disconnected from my life. Not that I spend hours and hours on the phone, but it was always nice to know that people I loved were only a button-push away. So...if you have been trying to call me for the past few days, the only reason I haven't been picking up is because my phone went through the washing machine. Seriously.

Thursday and Friday were "Professional Development" days at school which means we didn't have students. Some colleagues and I decided this would be a perfect opportunity for a Girl's Night Out (no link for the last one because I don't remember the name). So we had a grand ol' time. The result of which was my phone going through the washer. Luckily, I have been paying insurance and they will hopefully replace it...because I cannot live without my phone.

Interestingly, the phone does sort of work. It turns on and looks great -- cleaner than normal. But the battery got waterlogged and is no longer reading properly. The phone keeps telling me to use a "genuine battery" and then shuts itself off. Still, not bad for going through the wash.

Okay. Off to finish watching the Super Bowl.

Mmmmm...Sleety.

So I'm stubbornly sitting at my computer in my robe just waiting and waiting for Baltimore City to jump on the bandwagon and delay school for two hours. There is a bunch of snow on the ground outside my window and there was a bunch of sleet last night. Of course, when you are supposed to leave the house for work BEFORE the announcement for snow days is due it's a little bit of a dilemma.

Sometimes the commute just REALLY sucks.

Edited to add at 5:59am: Still waiting.

Ol' One Eye.

So being a homeowner turns out to be quite a lot of work. There were the locks, the alarm system, the washer/dryer, the stove, the cable, the internet, the lights, the washer/dryer again...and again. Still, we are making it through -- albeit hundreds of dollars lighter.

But, I did almost gouge Jamie's eye out.

One of the problems was that our dryer didn't dry things. In order to fix it, Jamie needed to punch a hole in the "filter" that was blocking the exhaust vent so that no air passed through. Easier said than done given that the vent was over a storage shed in our backyard -- a good 8' to 10' off the ground. Once the hole was punched, Jamie needed to find a way to get back down, so he handed me his hammer and screwdriver.

At this point, I had no idea that his intention was to jump from said roof. I assumed that he would turn around and climb down backwards. But, apparently he is not as much a granny as I am, and he jumped down. He jumped down and fell forward onto the head of the hammer that I was holding for him. When I say "head" of the hammer, I actually mean the pointy side that you use to pull nails out of the wall.

I screamed, Jamie cursed, and blood ran. Thankfully it was a good three inches above his eye and did not actually strike all that hard (although I'm sure it did from Jamie's perspective). Needless to say, the alternative life that could have been flashed before my eyes and I am so grateful that things turned out the way they did.

While it was a freak accident, I will never hold a hammer again. Just in case.

Welcome Back.

I know it's a downer note to celebrate my return, but it seems significant enough. This was my thanks this afternoon for all the blood, sweat, and tears I put into my job:

Ahhhhh...inner-city schools. I can't say I wasn't expecting it and maybe I should be honored that mine was one of the last cars standing in The Great Keying. It's sad that I'm not even considering getting this fixed because I am almost certain that it will be keyed again if I do. My poor little Prius.

I promise I'll have a happier and bigger post coming soon. LOTS has happened! We are in a HOUSE! More later...