Holiday Redux.

I have been meaning to post about the various holidays we've been having, but have been pretty overwhelmed with other things. Before I get back to work today though, I thought I would take the time to post some pictures that I've been holding onto. Here's one of our pumpkin from Halloween...


...looking at the picture now, I see that it is definitely reminiscent of Strong Bad from the future.

Thanksgiving was a blast! We had Scott over and a couple of Jamie's other friends from Law School. All in all, our biggest Thanksgiving group yet! My new endeavor for the year was brining my turkey.


Having heard only good things about the results, I thought it would be worth the trouble. I'm telling you now, it is worth it. I will be brining my turkey for years to come and just messing around with the flavoring because that was one seriously moist turkey. Despite a roasting setback -- I thought the oven was on for two hours when, in fact, it was not -- the turkey was still juicy.

Jamie made some yummy curried butternut squash with a cilantro yogurt sauce, and of course we had the sweet potatoes, some green beans and shallots, buttermilk biscuits, and stuffing. Dessert was pumpkin pie with a homemade crust and an apple toffee cake. Pretty delish. And, having no Thanksgiving decor pieces, we threw together a centerpiece using various fall foods. I thought it came out festive-looking...


Since Thanksgiving we have discovered the XM radio has five temporary channels dedicated to Christmas music and it has been putting me in the mood for some serious Christmas mirth. Consequently, Jamie and I went to get our first Christmas tree! Artificial, of course (don't worry, dad!). So while it lacks the yummy smell, I think it will be a little safer from our cats.

Although, it looks as though Junior is a little scared of the tree for now (but notice it's reflection in her eyes...) and is more interested in its box.

Scene from the Supermarket.

As a result of having to stay at work past 8pm (the day before a holiday break mind you), Man Boo and I didn't get around to our supermarket shopping until around 10pm. I have decided that this is going to be my new favorite time to go grocery shopping as there are not even crowds there in the days before Thanksgiving. Awesome.

What was potentially even more awesome was this mini-scene from the checkout line. Man Boo had to return some overpriced cereal (I swear it said 4 for $10!) so he went back into the checkout when a little blonde in some short short short (!) running shorts came up next to him.

Running Blonde: [checks Jamie out from top to bottom]
Me: [sensing awesomeness pretends to not be with Jamie and "searches" for someone else in the crowd]
Man Boo: [clueless]
RB: [looks at register] $6.50 for a box a cereal!
MB: I know.
RB: [flirty voice] That's crazy. How expensive were the other cereals?? [bats eyelashes]
MB: [not noticing the flirtitude] I don't know.
RB: [clearly trying to find a way to continue conversation -- perhaps regretting the cereal question]
MB: [oblivious]

This continued, but my cover was busted when Man Boo put something in my cart and I was annoyed that the potential for awesomeness was not realized. Later, as we walked to the car:

M: You know that little blonde was flirting with you! I wanted to see what would happened but you spoiled it!
MB: She was not flirting with me. She just thought the cereal was expensive.
M: She was flirting with you.
MB: No she wasn't. You're weird.

[five minutes later]

MB: [excitedly] Wait a minute. She WAS flirting with me!!!

Most of the time, I feel so fortunate that I found Jamie before someone else could. Very rarely, do I feel like he is fortunate too because he would be so clueless on the dating scene. But, this was one of those moments.

Disturbing.

This has to be quick because I'm running a bath right now, but here is a note that I intercepted from Chawntae:

I Love you you are very sexy! you are my man Boo and I'm have a Bady by You and it is a GIRL [underlined] by your Boo! I Love you! I [heart] U

Despite the fact that this note is very disturbing coming from a 7-year old, "Man Boo" is my new favorite word. Jamie will heretofore be referred to as "Man Boo" on this blog.

Good night.

The Go Ahead.

Finally got the blessing to share the wonderful news...my maid of honor, Abby, just got engaged. ENGAGED! If you knew Abby and her fiance, you'd know that this is a wonderful, beautiful, thing and that this is the best news ever.

So between babies, Bar, and the best ever engagement this has been quite a great weekend.

All-Around Goodness.

So some pretty great things have been happening lately. I have been holding off on sharing much of the great things as they are not really my great things to share. But, people, these are BIG things...and I've gotten the "okay" for most of them now...

FIRST, my wonderful bridesmaid, Eileen, had her baby last Tuesday! A perfect, gorgeous little girl. I finally got to see her today -- I was supposed to last week, but then that whole neck thing happened and I had to reschedule. Here she is in all of her adorable glory...


Never mind that both Jamie and I look sleep-deprived...that is one cute baby. So the birth of Baby Veronica was definitely highlight number one.

Highlight number two from yesterday cannot be shared yet...but check back soon because once I get the "okay" I will be shouting it from the rooftops.

Soon after highlight number two, Jamie and I went to the Opera to see Don Giovanni. During the intermission we learned that JAMIE PASSED THE CALIFORNIA BAR EXAM. So, yes, California and D.C. have yet another lawyer. While I knew all along that he would pass -- it was really great to know for certain that the supercomputer taking care of all the grading didn't crash. It's also a relief to know that all of that studying over the summer paid off...

When we came home after the opera, Jamie set up my new Tivo and it's honestly the most amazing thing. Life is good.

Meant To Be.

The kids today were great. I taught. They learned. So it should have been a good day...except for the fact that a first-grader projectile vomited on me within minutes of the start of the school day. Then there was the fact that it was Picture Day...and I had barf in my shoes.

Thursdays are miserable because I don't have any time away from my kids -- no break, no lunch, no planning period. I didn't go to the bathroom between the hours of 7am and 5pm. So it was a pretty bad day.

Then I got home and was reminded of how lucky and happy I am in other areas of my life. I have a horrible habit of being more excited about giving birthday gifts to Jamie than he is to receive them. When I have what I think is an especially good one, I can't even wait until December. That was the case for this year when I got him this:

It's XM Radio! How much would Jamie like XM Radio?? A LOT. So I was very excited to get it to him -- especially since I thought of it right after his last birthday. That is a full year of waiting, people. So he got it on Tuesday (I'm lame, I know). So, as Jamie and I wallowed in the greatness of this gift, I jokingly told him that he should buy me my equivalent...Tivo. He scoffed.

But inside, he cringed because he had already bought me my birthday present which was this...



It's a TIVO! Jamie assures me that the only reason he gave it to me early was because he didn't want me to think that he bought it as a result of our conversation. So once again, I read his mind (the last time being when he was going to propose to me).

Jamie and I are so in synch. It's almost like the time we both bought each other picnic baskets for our anniversary. Except this is more awesome because -- honestly -- TIVO!

The day is less sucky now. Hooray.

Neck Pains.

Sorry for the long hiatus. Again.

This weekend was a glorious long weekend because of Veteran's Day yesterday. Sadly, I didn't get to enjoy too much of it.

Friday morning as I was getting ready for work my neck decided to spaz out. Literally. My neck made a LOUD crack noise and then I could no longer move my head in any direction. It was painful. After some crying and much stressing over how late I would be, Jamie finally called the boss and let her know that I would be calling in my first sick day.

Eventually I made it to the doctor's office and sat in that waiting room for a couple hours. Only to be told that I needed to get to the emergency room for some x-rays. After several more hours in the emergency room, an IV full of painkillers, and a few x-rays later they deduced that I had a muscle spasm. Apparently, all the stress from work has made me incredibly tense in my shoulders and neck. So much so that my vertebrae is absolutely straight (not normal), rather than curved (normal). Sadness.

But, I quickly learned that sitting in the emergency room can be wildly entertaining -- that is, after they have given you the necessary painkillers. While I know the curtain separations are more of a space-saving/flexible module thing, it also allows for some great eavesdropping. Excellent.

The rest of my weekend sped by as I puttered around with my neck brace and heating pad. We hosted a yummy brunch for Jamie's singing group (Lawcapella -- *sigh*). I made homemade bagels and cinnamon buns and we had lox, fruit, and eggs and then I got treated to a free concert as the group rehearsed.

Okay. Now my shoulders are dying. Time for a bath.

I promise, I'll actually write about interesting stuff soon.

Because Jamie'd Appreciate It.

Keep on it until the very end. I have not watched SNL in a very, very long time.

4 Minutes and 36 Seconds.

That was the length of the phone call I just received. And that was all of the time it took to erase all of the trepidation, exhaustion, and regret of the past 3+ years of teaching.

Dre'Kwon's mother called me to thank me for changing his life.

You may remember Dre'Kwon from here or here. Needless to say he is a character and was easily one of my more challenging and exciting students. Anyway, Dre'Kwon's mother told me that when he was held back in third grade two years ago, she was certain he would end up in jail. He had been involved in fights, had failed all of his academic subjects, and had been suspended too many times to count. Then he was in my class and all that changed (albeit, not immediately) and she told me that now he's an honor student.

She had gotten a letter in the mail at the beginning of the school year, saying that Dre'Kwon had gotten top scores on the MSA (the big standardized test). She told me she got a letter today that said that Dre'Kwon is now categorically "gifted" after further testing. She told me that I believed in him before even she did and that she would never make that mistake again.

When I spoke to Dre'Kwon he told me the first person he thought of when he saw the letter was me. Then he started to cry. And then I couldn't stop crying. (I still haven't).

At the end of our conversation, Dre'Kwon's mother told me that I not only made him a better student, but had made her a better mother. She actually said "you was the best teacher he ever had. And, you was the best teacher I ever had."

Seriously. I'm a wreck right now.