Premiere.

Here is my first attempt at editing film using my Flip. I went against Jamie's advice and decided to make many smaller movies using the video from our trip rather than one big one. At the very least, it would be easier to upload...Enjoy!

Belated Holiday Wishes...

Just got back from my trip out West to see the family. I'm just going to cut to the chase and give you what you want.





Aside from how adorable they are, the thing that struck me most was how quickly they are growing up. Last time I saw them they were 10 days old and not all that unlike blobs. Granted, they were cute then too, but they did little else than sleep and eat. And poop!

This time, they were (much) larger blobs that cooed and attempted to roll and showed their personalities. And poop in larger quantities. I just left yesterday, but I'm already itching to get back so that I can watch them grow some more...

Christmas with the family was pretty great. Jamie and I flew to California on the 24th. Poor Jamie had to work on the 26th and on -- but we still enjoyed ourselves. He managed to pull a couple of strings and get permission to work out of the San Francisco office so that he could at least spend a part of the evenings with us.

I hope that all of your holidays were exciting and relaxing. I will be posting again soon with my first attempt at a video! In case I don't make it back today, I hope everyone has a Happy New Year and enjoys the extra second of 2008!

and Many More to Come...

When we got married, Jamie and I (okay, just Jamie) decided that we would no longer celebrate the anniversary of our first date.  After all, we had a new, more significant date to celebrate.  Instead, we would simply commemorate it with an extra hug and smile and maybe a nice dinner.  While I was a little saddened at the prospect of "losing" the 8 years we had been together before getting married, it did make sense.

BUT, despite all that, today we did celebrate our "date-iversary".  Granted, our actual date-iversary isn't until tomorrow, but Jamie is super busy with work these days, and this would be our only opportunity to get out to a fancy meal.  We decided to celebrate this one because it is the TENTH anniversary of our first date!  10 years!  

I think that's pretty special.

So we went to a nice dinner at one of my favorite restaurants in the District.  Even though it wasn't Chinese food like on our first date, we figured it was a good choice since it was an "asian fusion" restaurant.  Yum!  

I would also like it noted that I abided by the rules laid down by Jamie and did not purchase any date-iversary gifts.  He did not.  However, he is forgiven because he got me really purty jewelry.

More posts soon! 

The One Where I Steal from Other People's Blogs.

I fell off the blog-posting wagon!  Sad.  Well...I will update briefly now.  I say briefly because I need to put together a presentation for tomorrow and I haven't started...at all.

First, the obligatory picture of my nieces as they rounded the jolly age of two months.

So funny.

Next, a video that our lovable best man (a.k.a. my brother-in-law) posted on his own blog about his venture into comedy.  Actually, it's just a little song he performed with his friend at a Thanksgiving celebration in Italy (?) with his graduate program.  Although his Bret imitation leaves something to be desired (there can only be one), it sounded as though the ladies in the crowd disagree with me.

I miss the guy.  He needs to return from Italy yesterday.  Also, there would appear to be a lot of woo-girls in Italy.

And finally, some pugs for no apparent reason.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Hello to everyone from California!  Jamie and I made the trip yesterday and arrived in Los Angeles last night.  It's nice to be back and to see how some things are the same and some different.  For the most part, the same.  

I'll try to post pictures from our Thanksgiving hijinks.  In the meantime, I want everyone to have a wonderful day being with family and giving thanks.

Transformation.

Here's a documentary about the construction of our newest campus (which opened this fall).  Hooray for DC Prep!  To clear up what I know will be confusing, DC Prep currently shares the building with another school called  NIA.  (Our kids are cuter).  We have our own sides and we share a cafeteria.  

Right now, I'm sharing my time between two DC Prep campuses; I am primarily at the Edgewood Campus, but spend my Tuesdays at Benning.  It's amazing how quickly they were able to transform the building and the environment.

Watch Benning school construction in How to Videos | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

No, I don't expect you to watch the whole thing, but it's pretty cool to see how the building started out (around 3:30 to about 4:00) and see how it ended up around 10:14.

Apply now!

Amigos.

I can't decide if this is kind of funny or extremely disturbing.  Help deciding?

Please don't call PETA.

And, if you find that horribly offensive, I'm sorry.  Here is something that is definitively funny.

Okay.  Maybe just to me.

Awesome in a Stalker Sort of Way.

Today I discovered that Google Maps has finally gotten around to "Street-View" mapping Washington D.C.  While I am street-savvy enough not to post my home address on this blog, I encourage those of you who know me well enough to actually have my address, to Street View it.  If you look closely, you can find my cat in one of the windows.

Bonus points if you can find my car.  I'll give you a hint: you'll have to look around the block.

I was also excited to find that I could find my car in more than one location on Google Maps -- the other being at my school.  Sadly, the picture must have been taken on a Saturday or over the summer when I was one of a few people at school and therefore my car was quite easy to find.  

I kind of want to see if I can find my car in even more places...Fun pasttime for all.

If you have 15 minutes to kill...

This link will probably only appeal to a small handful of the people who actually read this blog.  Specifically, the blog reader of the brother-in-law variety as it has to do with Star Wars.  I just enjoyed it thoroughly...because I'm a huge nerd.

You'll have to sit through a commercial or two...but there are moments that are very much worth it.  And, if you have less than 15 minutes to kill, I'd skip the first few minutes...

Half-Decade.

Today marks the fifth birthday of this blog!  Guys, I have a Kindergartner!

It seems kind of crazy to think that I have been "consistently" writing in this blog for that many years.  So, of course, I spent a little time today looking back through my blog and searching for those key things that happened in the lifetime of this blog: graduating from Williams, getting in to TFA, two presidential elections, adopting two cats, buying our first house, getting engaged -- then married, becoming an aunt (!) and so on and so forth.

What I ultimately found was that the more interesting things most of the time were the things that reflected the times.  I also found it amusing to look at this post from Election 2004 in which I sort of complained about how much time Jamie spent volunteering for the campaign.  Present-Melissa wants Past-Melissa to know that she doesn't know the half of it.

Anyway, to commemorate the fifth birthday of this blog, I would like to revisit an old post from January of 2004 and see how successfully (if at all) I was able to beat mediocrity.

I was looking at the "2003 Bloggie" nominees, and I have decided that my blog will never be the stuff of greatness -- it is forever doomed to be mediocre. From what I saw, here are the ingredients for a great blog: 

1. Be married or engaged. This way, you always have something to talk about. You can talk about how your husband farts in his sleep or how he said something uncharacteristically chauvanistic or whatever. If you're engaged you can always talk about the planning of the wedding (which will almost always be wacky and unpredictable). 

1. Done and done.  Despite the fact that Jamie does not fart in his sleep (fortunately), he still provides plenty of fodder for the blog -- unfortunately for him.

2. Be unemployed or have a job with so little responsibility that you can spend hours looking for random news and weird stories on the internet (See #3). 

2. Sort of.  I have a job now.  Boy howdy, do I ever.  That still does not stop me from spending ample time on the internet looking for random news and weird stories.

3. Find and link to random news and weird stories on the internet. 

3. Yep.  I think I do this.  I think I do this a lot.  Dare I say, too much?

4. Have a dog that you treat like a child. A spoiled, rotten child. (This is not to be confused with actually having a child: that makes you not have time for #3 and otherwise boring since you would rather sleep than upkeep a stupid blog. There are exceptions -- see #5). 

4. I think two spoiled rotten cats count.  I also have Puppy Cam!

5. Be pregnant. This makes you wacky and unpredictable and brings hours of fun as you complain about those people who touch your belly or make stupid comments to your pregnant ass. Also, if you're employed you will probably take some maternity leave to relax at home, put your feet up...andsurfthenetandupdateyourblog (see #2 and 3). 

5. NOPE.

6. Take pictures and put them on your blog. 

6. Can do!  I just need fun places to photograph.

7. Be willing to candidly talk about your bowel movements and other such taboo items. 

7. Up to a point, people.  Mostly because I am cognizant that people who read this blog probably wouldn't want to hear about such things.  Besides, the bowel movements of our preschoolers would probably be more amusing anyway...

So it seems as though, five years after starting this blog, I am doing alright.  Here's to five more years of exciting milestones and those not-as-exciting snapshots in time. 

I encourage you to randomly pick a day from the sidebar and read -- I had a good time doing it.  And had I not, I would not have remembered that J-Bomb had accurately predicted the outcome of this year's election almost two years ago.  Though, I don't know if Traffic Light Boy is any closer to Secretary of Transportation...

Lest We Forget.

There are other things going on in my life besides Cody. 

For instance:

How precious is my niece, Leah????

And, oh my goodness, Riley!

Another, non-Cody post coming soon!

Welcome Back Cody.

So!  Cody came home!  Even better, Cody came home after narrowly escaping surgery!

After spending just shy of a week in the hospital, Cody's doctor recommended that he get a "P.U." (perineal urethrostomy) which basically means they remove what's left of his manhood because his urethra kept on getting blocked by crystals or build up in his urine.  Fortunately for him, his last night in the hospital he was able to pee on his own!

For the next 18 hours the hospital staff was on bladder-watch and I called regularly for updates.  Jamie dropped him off at the clinic where we had scheduled his surgery, but gave them the instructions to continue monitoring him and hold off on the surgery until the last moment when we would make a last minute call.  Ultimately, we opted not to go through with it...and brought him home last night.

He's been doing well!  See?

Aside for the stylish bald spots on his leg where they put in the IVs, he looks like his old self.  He's is the same, big, teddy bear but just needs to make more frequent trips to the litter box.

Unfortunately, Junior is behaving predictably.

Part of me loves Cody's response.  Complete and total apathy with maybe a little confusion.  I am hopeful that they'll return to their regular loving relationship soon.

Junior and Cody a mere two weeks ago.

All Cody. All the Time.

I'm sorry for the single-trackedness of this blog as of late -- but really, I've just been really concerned about this guy lately.

This is the picture I took on my flimsy little camera phone this afternoon when I was visiting the big guy at the hospital.  He looked much better than the last time I visited him when he was on Valium.  In fact, despite what the picture may convey, he was actually more lively than I had anticipated.  He kept trying to walk around -- but slipping because of the makeshift cast he has on one of his paws for the IV -- and making crazy Marge Simpson noises instead of meowing.  Later, the nurse informed me that he was "doped up".

After plenty of quality time with him and several Cody headbutts, the nurse kicked me out as it was time more medications.  He's got another night in the hospital -- they took out his catheter for the second time this evening -- and will be monitoring him all night.  Best case scenario, he'll be ready to pick up tomorrow morning.  If not, he'll be having surgery and spending a lot more time in the hospital.

Cross your fingers.  And hopefully, I'll have something different to talk about soon.

Jinxed It.

So I guess I spoke too soon. The vet called this morning and told us that Cody is still having some medical issues and needed to have the catheter reinserted. On top of that, he caught some virus from a neighboring cat and now has a fever. So, while I would love to scoop him up and take him away from the other sick animals, I figure I probably wouldn't have much luck taking care of him with that catheter and IV.

I'm just hoping we might be able to get him from the hospital tomorrow evening...

Good News.

We went to visit Cody at the hospital and the vet said that the test results from his blood work that morning wasn't in yet.  The veterenarian had given him some Valium because he hadn't been eating -- apparently, it makes cats hungry -- and he wolfed down lots of food afterwards.  So, when we were visiting him Cody was super groggy from having lots of food in his belly and the Valium.  Fortunately, he was still his sweet self and began purring and kneading his paws frantically when we came.  Although he couldn't really move because of the catheter, IV, and the Elizabethan Collar, he was still same old Cody.

On our way home from dinner afterwards, the vet called with the result from the blood work.  Apparently, everything was back to normal in his system, which points to no permanent kidney damage.  She said she was surprised because his levels were so high yesterday...and so she was planning to continue monitoring him tonight.  The especially good news is that we will get to pick him up from the hospital tomorrow morning (she originally told us Tuesday) if there are no unhappy surprises overnight.  

So relieved.

On Hold.

While I've been waiting on hearing from the doctor about Cody, I've been passing time doing work and having this in the background:

Live TV by Ustream

I've been meaning to post about it for a little while, but I've never been able to get it to work properly.  Anyway, it's a happy little distraction.

So, Jamie assures me that Cody will be fine, but our last update from the vet wasn't a very good one.  Apparently, permanent kidney damage is not unlikely anymore as he had crazy high levels of various chemicals in his system.  They supposedly removed the catheter by now, and I'm just waiting on another update from the vet before going over to visit him.  

This is my curse and I know it.  Despite my love for my pets, I can never really keep them safely beyond 3 years.  Something always happens, and usually something mysterious.  Chasqui ran away (although, a dog just like him magically appeared in a neighbor's yard not long after), Katie contracted some exotic disease which meant instant death at a kennel while we were away, and I'm still not completely clear on what happened to Jesse.  Deep down, I knew Cody was pushing it when he turned four a couple months ago, but I was just hoping he had escaped the curse.

I'm something of a wreck right now thinking about it.  And maybe it will seem silly to some of you (dad) that I'm such a mess over it...especially when it could be okay...but Cody really has been the perfect companion for the past four years.  Always sweet and accomodating, always ready to snuggle, and always providing something to laugh about.  Hopefully, I will have some pictures to share of his triumphant return home...as well as some more stories about how Junior freaks herself out about how he smells.

I'm sorry about the downer post.  This is why I started out with the puppy cam...

Guilt-ridden.

Sorry for the blog silence. After the Obama excitement I didn't really have much else on my mind. And then, I got sick so I was feeling sorry for myself in bed. It was quite possibly the worst possible time for me to get sick as we are having a big Review of our school at the time. Quite stressful, and busy, but we managed to do well.

This led to me completely crashing on Friday with a fever of 102. So I skipped work and slept pretty much all day.

Unfortunately, I wasn't the only one sick on Friday. My precious Cody was moping around and vomiting EVERY where. His vomiting on my bed was my cue to get out of it...so after that I spent the rest of the day mopping up after him.

Not only is Cody the most precious cat ever -- trust me, Jamie can attest to the fact that I am fawning over that cat constantly -- but he is never sick. Except for that one time. And that other time. So maybe, he gets sick, but he never acts sick and it's never serious. This time it was serious. I grappled with taking him to the vet, but a combination of me being sick, and the fact that we had taken our cats to the vets for various reasons three times in the past two months (and they were relatively useless visits because turns out they were fine and we were overprotective) made me decide to wait one day and see if he was feeling better the next day. He wasn't vomiting blood as Junior had been earlier this month -- and that turned out to be nothing according to our vet. But, after closing time I began to regret my decision as he didn't seem to be getting much better.  He was throwing up less - maybe once -- but he was still moping.

Jamie took him to the vet this morning while I was at work and it turns out that I could have killed my cat had I waited a couple more days. I feel like such a horrible pet owner! He had some blockage in his urethra, so much so that his kidneys were being affected. He had been throwing up the toxins that were backing up in his body since he couldn't eliminate them any other way.

They unblocked him and put in a catheter and an IV. He has to stay at a hospital for a few days before he can come home again. Hopefully, by then he will be fine again and this incident is not a symptom of a bigger problem.

Because, as I mentioned before, he is the most perfect cat ever. Also, we canceled our pet insurance a little while back because Cody had always been so healthy and now we are seriously wishing we hadn't.

America for Obama.

Although I am not at some fancy-pants rally celebrating with tons of other people right now, I am just as content sitting in my home with the windows open and listening to the Washingtonians celebrating in the streets and watching fireworks go off.

Yes. We. Can.  More importantly, we did.

Preschoolers for Obama.

Today while observing a preschool class, they were electing a new line leader.

Ms. M: You want to vote for someone who you think will do the best job leading the line and will lead by example. Who do you think will do the best job leading the line?

3-year old: BARACK! PICK BARACK!

Ms. M: Obama is running for President, not line leader.

Another 3-year-old: I WANT TO VOTE FOR OBAMA!

Seriously. The kids know it. Every time I think about the elections and all we have riding on it, I can cry. While I'd like to think that race plays no part in who I voted for, I still get misty when I think that two hundred years after Abraham Lincoln was born, we are at this point in our history. It took a long time, but I'm glad to be a part of that time now.

There have been a few of those moments in my life when I think about future generations of Americans reading about it in history books. Up until this point, they have been memorable for bad reasons: 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, the New Depression we're in now...

But this.

This has the possibility to be a New Deal or Neil Armstrong moment.  An "I Have a Dream" moment.  A moment in American history of which I am so thankful to be a part.

Or the other guy could win...I am mere hours away from total exultation or despair.

I think the preschoolers are right: Barack Obama would be the best candidate to lead our line.

Peruvians for Obama.

I love how there is absolutely no commentary in this newsclip from CNN.

It just speaks for itself.  I'm guessing, a white skull being waved in front of your face is good, and a red skull is bad...

So Long, Saturdays.

I'm sorry for the ranty nature of the last post. Despite the fact that I'm still at work today, I am feeling a lot better about it all.

As some of you know, our school has really high expectations for our kids. This is a good thing. In order to help our students meet these high expectations, our school also has a Saturday Academy. Last year, I was somehow roped into volunteering to teach for Saturday Academy. This year, I vowed not to be a part of it...I wanted my Saturdays back. But, we needed someone to coordinate and run it. Despite my efforts I somehow, again, got roped into doing it.

Last night was the scramble to prepare for today -- the first day of Saturday Academy. It was also last night that I decided to own it and try my best to make it great.

So...I felt like today went great! The kids were amazing and eager. They really helped me recharge. It also showed me that 3rd graders truly are the very best grade to work with. (I had to teach 1st grade on Friday for a little bit, and I'll just say now that it didn't make me miss teaching at all.) Staff was incredibly flexible and just so inspiring.

In sum, the late night and early morning was worth it. I just hope it continues to be worth it...

Not to Complain But...

...you know what sucks??

Being at work on a Friday at 10:30pm...when you got to work at 6:30am...and having to come back nine hours later...on a SATURDAY.

Also, not having eaten dinner. AND, missing an Ice Cream party with the husband and friends because of being stuck. at work. at 10:30. on a Friday.

I had to say it.

This Title Does Not Reflect the Awesomeness of this Post.

Remember in that blog post a little while back when I mentioned that one of the sad things about not being a classroom teacher is that I have fewer stories of my own.  Instead, most of my stories begin with "...so a friend of mine..."

This is one of those stories.

So a friend of mine teaches first grade.  The first grade asks parents/guardians to supply a snack for the class based on a "snack calendar".  Parents are encouraged to bring in healthy snacks, but occasionally you get a parent that brings in fruit snacks or cookies.  So, this friend of mine, brings out the latest addition to the snack stockpile that was brought in by a parent.  It was a bucket of chocolate chip cookies...

...that clearly says "Dog Treats" on the front.  At second glance, you notice that chocolate is actually spelled "chocolit".

At the time, I had a hard time deciding if this was hilarious, or really sad.  But after looking at the bucket of dog treats and inspecting the ingredients I determined that I would consider it hilarious (I even labeled it "awesome").  There was nothing bad in the ingredients -- aside from the garlic powder, it had everything else you'd expect in a chocolate (or chocolit) chip cookie.  Also, as it was made with carob rather than chocolate, it would probably even fall under the healthy snack option.

Don't worry, my friend did not give out the dog treats for snack.

As a side note, I had actually been sitting on these pictures for a while now.  They were on my phone, and I did not discover how to transfer them from my phone to my computer until just now.  I feel like I have opened up a whole new world!

Mine-o.

So I bought myself a new toy.  Actually, it wasn't meant to be our new toy but rather a gift for someone else on Christmas.  My mistake came when I had it shipped to work which is where the need arose for something just like it...quickly.  That is how I came to open the Christmas gift that wasn't for me, and the Mino became mine.

It's a Flip Mino!

To be honest, I don't really need it at this point in my life.  My life is not all that interesting and there are very few things (if any) in that require videographic (see how I just made up a word?) documentation.  Still, it's pretty darned cool.  I predict that there may be some ridiculous videos of my cats showing up in the next couple of days.  

Don't say I didn't warn you.

Cody Muffin Top.

[Singing]: Big cat in a little bowl.  Big cat in a little bowl.

This is actually one of Cody's favorite sleeping spots.  It should be noted that we have a similar, but larger bowl on the other side of the couch.  I think he opted for the one under the warm lamp that night.

Heartwarming (if not grammatically correct).

Even though I don't have my own students anymore, at least I still have my old ones...

This could not have come at the end of a more hectic day for me.  Warm fuzzies.

The Haunted House.

In order to help my brother and sister-in-law keep their sanity, Jamie and I opted to stay at a nearby hotel rather than crashing on their air mattress.  One thing that was unexpected was the fact that almost every hotel in the area was booked because of Fleet Week in San Francisco -- people love the Blue Angels!

Very fortunately for us, there was one room available at a nearby B&B.  It was only a few hilly blocks away from their house, and was relatively affordable (when you think about San Francisco prices).  The one catch?  That house was haunted.

Actually haunted.

These are all things that were in our room.

But, the room was actually very comfortable...and as I mentioned before, convenient.  Good times.

The Cutest Zaki Sauces Yet.

Jamie and I just got back from our short trip to San Francisco.  The flight over and back went well and there were no unexpected twists or turns.  In fact, we managed to get back a little early!  I downloaded the pictures from this weekend, and here are a few (of many to come!)...

This is Leah (with Riley in the background).

And here is Riley, rocking her pink jumpsuit.

Although it is still very early (there are only 12 days old, after all) I feel like we can see a little bit of difference in their personalities.  Leah's a little more vocal and is able to bust out of her swaddle (earning her the nickname, Houdini).  Whereas, Riley is more laid-back and will pretty much tolerate anything.  Even when her dad somehow zips her knee up to her tummy.  Twice.  Leah gets a cute little dimple on her cheek when she feeds, and Riley can down a bottle in record time.  Both of them are beautiful.

The proud abuelita (holding Riley) and abuelito (holding Leah).

Leah.

The family!

I had a wonderful time visiting my nieces...it was really hard to tear myself away from them.  I loved every little coo and squawk from them, and learned a lot about caring for teeny-tiny babies.  I can now prepare and clean a bottle, feed a newborn, change the ultimate in poopy diapers (thanks, especially to Leah), and burp like a pro.  I cannot wait to see them again...

A Promise.

Mark my words -- more updates are coming soon!

I actually have been stockpiling things to blog about. I have been dutifully taking pictures and preparing them to upload into my computer. A couple of things getting in the way of blogging about them now:

1) I'm in San Francisco! Totally loving my beautiful twin nieces.

2) The brother's internet is down -- making it impossible to post during the day in between the twin naps.

3) I forgot to bring the cable to connect my camera to the computer -- something sort of necessary to upload the pictures I have been taking.

But, there is the promise of new pictures and posts to come! Stay tuned...

Short Post.

I wish teachers were as entertaining as students.

One of the drawbacks of my new position is that I spend a lot of time teaching teachers about new strategies and doing research myself on instructional breakthroughs.  However, I don't get to actually implement them myself in the classroom.  Sometimes I wish I could.  But, right around Sunday afternoon, when I don't have to write lesson plans, I am happy that I have my new position.

So, it's October and we are having gorgeous weather over here.  It's nice and cool, and some leaves are just beginning to change.  It makes me miss being at Williams where there is real Fall weather.

First Lady.

This is another thing I'm not sure I ever mentioned in a previous post: Jamie is now the president of a volunteer group supporting Obama. As part of this role, he must schmooze and put together events, and fundraise. Somehow, I have avoided having to go to all of these events and schmooze/fundraise. In fact, I've only been to one. It was today. I figured it would be the best option for me since it was an Energy Panel -- something I'm interested in! -- and would involve less schmoozing than most other events. (I'm anti-schmooze, pro-mindyourownbusiness.)

I felt sort of like a celebrity since everyone knew who Jamie was. I also got to shake Bob Sussman's hand. I hear he is important. After I shook his hand, I learned that Sussman was the Deputy Administrator of the EPA under Clinton and a current Obama energy advisor. Important!

Apparently, while I am interacting with 3 and 4 year olds all day, Jamie is mingling with the bigwigs. I bet my interactions are 100% more cute.

Life Update.

I've decided that I should try (yet again) to be more proactive on the blog-front. What prompted this decision was the fact that looking back at the last month of blogging it has been 1) sparse and 2) relegated mostly to internet videos or gossip. I should be posting more about my life.

Aside from the obvious -- most exciting -- part of my life: the birth of my two new nieces, I have been very, very busy with work. I got "promoted" into my new position last year and was working all summer (so long to the chapter in my life that included summer vacation). I feel like I've adapted to my new position very well. At times (read: all of the time) I feel like I'm doing my job along with the jobs of many others, but that is the norm when it comes to teaching/education.

Sadly, I no longer have the wonderful stories of my students at cocktail parties. However I am privy to many of the stories of my mentees. Which can be just as good, once you get past the fact that most of the stories begin with "A friend of mine..." What I have found is that many of my new "students" (i.e. the teaching staff) are just as interesting and full of drama. Just fewer poop-related stories. I love my staff. Most days, I love my job.

Jamie is doing well. My one complaint would be that he seems to be in love with Barack Obama. While I can't really blame him, I do get jealous that Jamie spends more of his time concerned about, thinking of, planning for, and devoted to Mr. Obama. Hopefully, it will all pay off in November and I'll get my doting husband back.

So that's a very incomplete look at what's been going on in life lately. It's been a lot of Barack, a lot of weddings, and a lot of work.

Wondertwins.

Seriously...

Most. Beautiful. Babies. Ever.

(That's Leah on the left and Riley on the right.)

Today!

Today the sun shone a little brighter, the birds sang a little louder, and the flowers smelled a little lovelier than normal.  The simple explanation is because there are TWO new additions to our family today.

A BIG welcome to Riley and Leah -- my newborn nieces!  

So I know I haven't really mentioned the approaching birth of my twin (!) nieces, but I wasn't sure if my brother and sister-in-law would be okay with me sharing out their life on the internet.  Then my brother went and made himself a blog and, in my book, that makes it fair game for me.  I will, however, hold off on putting up baby pictures until I get their approval.  Y'know, them being the proud, protective, parents (!) and all.

The Longest PSA Ever.

Maybe not, but it seems pretty long.  (I still quadruple-checked that I was registered).

I also thought it was funny that Ashton (he and I are on first name basis now) is wearing a HW cap.

Money Maker.

Last night something remarkable happened.  The Book Fair that I organized at our school raised $1,157.75 in its first two hours!  All of the advertising, the organizing, the rallying of troops, and the stacking came together and, seriously, we raised $1,157.75.

Which is more than we raised last year in the entire run of our Book Fair.  Also, we raised an additional $200+ in two days of collection in our Coin Drive.

I am completely inspired by the generosity of our families.  This is a good feeling.

Not a Hater...

...it's just too funny.

Okay, maybe I am a little bit of a hater.

Edited to add: They took down the video! Now you have to suffer through the ad to watch it. But it's worth it!

This one's for you, Dad...

...it's old, but still great. Enjoy.

Is This Weird To Anyone Else?

But, Ashton Kutcher coaching football?

At my high school?

What is not weird, is the fact that the bleachers are completely bare in the background.

Howdy from the First State.

So Jamie and I are now in Delaware. Some good friends of ours are getting married today and it wasn't until late last night that we realized we had made two nights worth of reservations at the hotel. Once Jamie got back from the DC United game, we hopped in the car and set off for beautiful Wilmington, DE. We got here around midnight and got to sleep on the king size bed.

For some reason or another, Jamie and I have not actually been to many weddings since our own. One reason for that is that many of our friends are opting for the long engagement. Being someone who also opted for the long engagement, I can see the major benefit in it: more time to plan --> less stress --> less pre-marital disharmony. What that means for us now is that we have a lot of weddings coming up. A lot.

Not that I'm complaining -- I love weddings and getting to catch up with friends. That's just a lot of love floating around.

The Bad Kind of Geek.

In the time since my last post, my computer died and we have bought a replacement. Not only that, but we bought a Mac replacement. I hadn't been having so much luck with the PCs and Jamie and I finally made the switch. Ironically, I still spend most of my time on the PC side of my new Mac since all of my old programs are not Mac-friendly. The greatest thing, though, is that there is a PC side of my new Mac. I can actually boot up in either operating system and it runs both of them super-fast.

It kind of makes me regret not having made the switch earlier.

To tell the truth, we had actually already ordered the new computer before the old one died. I dutifully went to Costco and purchased a big hard drive to back up all of my digital pictures and any important files for the switch. I am not kidding when I say that I was just about to plug in said hard drive when the blue screen of death came up and I never saw my computer desktop again. I am convinced my computer wanted to screw me over just one more time.

So long pictures.

As I don't care for the computer anymore I would be perfectly fine just recycling it if not for those pictures. So I took it to Geek Squad. I had heard good things about the service and I tend to enjoy Geeks. Unfortunately, they apparently are not actual geeks and do not know how to fix my computer. What they do know is how to charge me a ridiculous amount of money to "diagnose" my computer. The result of the diagnosis? "It's broken. $200, please."

After having the computer for over a week, they let me know it's ready. I head over, wait in line for a couple hours only to have them tell me I need to bring in the Restore CD so they can Reinstall everything. Naturally, I was upset that they did not give this information to me over the phone so I could have brought the CD with me and not had to wait two hours for nothing.

As I am quite the geek myself and am perfectly capable of erasing the hard drive, I opted to just forgo all that and have them just back up the folders with all of my picture. This, they say they can accomplish "in a few hours". Since I did not have hours at the time I leave it there with the intent on picking it up when they call me. I had to call them a week later to inquire on it. They inform me that they are working on it now and that I'll be able to pick it up that night when they call. They do not call.

Finally, today, they do call. Not to tell me that my computer is backed up, but that they need me to purchase a hard drive so they can start the back-up. I dutifully take a hard drive there, wait in line, and he tells me to shop around for one hour and the computer should be ready. When I return an hour and half later, they backup will now take THIRTY FIVE HOURS.

If my stupid, crap computer is not backed up on my FIFTH and FINAL trip to Geek Squad -- so help me -- the air will be filled with the sound of breaking eyeglasses and snapping suspenders.

Another interesting note: the Geek Squad website option that would allow me to check the status of my repair has been out of order. Also, the link they sent me for a customer satisfaction survey doesn't work either. Touche, "geeks".

Great Danes.

Junior is still acting nuts. Cody and I are still confused. hopefully, he'll start smelling like his old self soon and Junior will reaccept his big buddy.

Now, on to Copenhagen: the last stop on our trip. To be honest, I didn't write a blog post for this day. As soon as we got home we were on a whirlwind back into our normal lives. But, here are some pictures...


We got to Copenhagen and took a whirlwind tour. Of course, we got to see the "Little Mermaid" up close and we also visited various castles including Rosenborg (home of the Crown Jewels) and Kronborg Castles (Hamlet's Castle).


After visiting the castles, we spent an evening at Tivoli Gardens, ate some authentic Danish food, and drank some authentic Danish beer.

It was wonderful to spend some time with my parents -- I had not seen them in a long, long while. Even though this trip was planned at the last minute, it really did work out perfectly. It was just the right length, we had great destinations, and it also fit into Jamie and my schedules.

Jamie and I hopped back on a flight from Copenhagen through Newark. Fortunately, the plane back did have electricity. This made the flight much more enjoyable. Even better, Jamie and I got good seats -- extra legroom. When we checked in for our flight, I had attempted to change to a direct flight. The man at the counter took pity on us since we weren't able to change, and changed out seats so that we were the row directly behind the Economy Plus section (P.S. do you remember when it was just First-Class? Now it's First Class, Business Class, Economy Plus, than Economy. Confusing.) Each seat had it's own t.v. with videos and games.

But the best part was that the plane had cameras that showed the view in front of the plane, and straight down underneath the plane. I'll admit it was a little harrowing to watch the plane land through the camera in front -- it made me a little motion-sick. It really is amazing to see how much the plane rocks before the runway is where it's supposed to be. Fortunately we straightened out and landed safely.

As I had said before, things have been pretty busy with work, but I can definitively say that I love my job again. More soon.

Free Kitten.

Sorry for the small hiatus. Work exploded in my face and I haven't had a chance to update.

But, before I get back to our trip, a quick update from today. So, Jamie took Cody to the vet today. Let's just say there was leakage where there shouldn't have been leakage. He has been in very good spirits -- as lovable and cuddly as always. He was perfectly healthy except for the leaking.

Everything went fine at the vet. She gave him some medicine and he's good to go. The problem is now with Junior. While Cody was gone, she was looking for him everywhere and meowing around. Since the two of them are bosom buddies -- playing around, cuddling together, etc. -- I thought it was very touching that she missed her best friend. BUT, when he came back she gave him a sniff, figured he wasn't Cody and is now hissing, growling, and howling at him. Cody is just puzzled. While she's hissing at him, he will just stare at her. At first it didn't seem to bug him, but now he is following her around meowing after her quizzically.

It is kind of breaking my heart.

I am hoping that she will get over it. Once the scent of other cats or vet office is gone, she'll realize that it's Cody and all will be well again. Let's hope. Otherwise, I have a free cat with a short-term memory that needs a home.

The final chapter of our Baltic cruise soon...

Ich bin ein Berliner*

Despite having been back from Copenhagen for a full week, I am still jet-lagged and exhausted. At some point I will (hopefully) get back on D.C. time. But for now, I'm still struggling to function properly around 5pm.

Work is going to be kicked up a notch next week. Not to imply that it hasn't been busy, but next Wednesday our newest staff are returning. In my new position, the teaching staff makes up my new class. I haven't really had the time to be nervous about it, but every once in a while, I realize how scary it is.

I hope that I keep up with posting even when I'm at my busiest. I was looking back through some of my old posts yesterday, and it reminded me how nice it is to have this blog as a record of the various changes in my life. When the teachers return on Wednesday, I guess I'm starting a new chapter. Scary.

But first: Berlin.

* While we were in Berlin, we learned that this actually translates to "I am a jelly donut." But, I guess the Berliners knew what JFK meant anyway.

July 27, 2008:

We are in Germany! Warnemünde to be exact. But, we hopped on a train to Berlin and saw the sights there. Still, Warnemünde looked like a great place to visit if we were ever able to return…

View from our balcony this morning.

At this point, I have to say that we have been very fortunate with the weather. I’m a little scared that I will jinx Copenhagen tomorrow, but really – we’ve had perfect weather the past few days. Today was definitely no exception.

After a three hour train ride, we ended up in the eastern part of Berlin and started on our superfast-paced tour through the city. Our first stop, of course, was the easternmost part that remained of the Berlin Wall.

Three different parts of the Berlin Wall

Because we had such a short time in Berlin, our trip was very quick, and we saw alot in a little bit of time. Here are some of the things we did get to see…

Brandenburg Gate.

The Reichstag

The sign at Checkpoint Charlie

Checkpoint Charlie

I don’t know what I was expecting from Berlin, but it was a surprise to me how beautiful this city was. Because of all of the damage from WWII (more than 70% of the city), it truly is a new city. Unlike some of the other places we visited where the old style buildings really clashed with the new style (I’m looking at you Tallin), Berlin made the jumble seem much more fluid. Many of the buildings were rebuilt according to the plans of the original buildings, others literally wrapped themselves around old buildings and incorporated their architecture.

We also got to visit the Allied Museum where they were celebrating the 60^th anniversary of the airlifts.

An original candy-bomber.

The exhibit and the gushing of our tour guide (including her obvious love for Barack Obama) made me warm and fuzzy about being an American. Something that can be somewhat rare when touring around Europe.

Also in the museum was this discovery…

It’s an informative pamphlet on venereal diseases given to the soldiers during the war. I’m not kidding. I personally like the italics emphasizing what nice guy he was. Awesome discovery. In Berlin.

Tomorrow: Copenhagen and last day. Wah.