Lovefest Wrap-Up.

I have to admit that I have been putting off posting about my wedding because it was a very daunting task. There is just so much to write and a ridiculous number of pictures. Here goes...










We chose Elkridge because the staff seemed the most friendly and the most competent. Since neither Jamie nor I knew what we were doing, this seemed to be the best route to go. Ultimately, I am very glad we did because they did an incredible job despite the few curveballs that got thrown their way. Especially that storm.

When we were signing the contract, we were especially drawn to the ceremony site -- I mean, it's gorgeous! So I was dreading the thought of rain...as it turned out, it was awesome. It was especially great because it wasn't a dinky little sprinkly storm -- it was an all-out storm. So, even though we had to move indoors, the storm effectively drew attention away from the fact that I was a sweaty mess and that my bridesmaids had to water me and fan me off right before the ceremony.

See?

Ultimately, whether indoors or out, Jamie and I were married and that is pretty great. Drew, feel free to use the picture as an advertisement for all of your future officiating ventures. You were also amazing under the pressure of Mother Nature.

I have a ton of pictures from the reception but I'm not sure who would take offense at me putting their pictures online so I'll withhold most of them for now. But there are a couple of gems that I need to put up if only because I think the people in these pictures may be the only ones who actually check this sad excuse for a blog.

Looking at my pictures makes me all nostalgic despite the fact that our wedding was a mere two months ago. Still...the night went by SO fast that it feels like it happened much longer ago. Fortunately, I was able to see friends again at another Williams wedding last weekend (congrats Jamie and Joel!) and it was so nice being able to bask in the wedding love of others.

Thanks again to everyone who could make it -- having you there made the night even more special...

Also, can I just say, that going through the pictures of the Father-Daughter dance was just SO painful because I'm sobbing in every single one of them. Then I discovered that looking at the people watching behind us made it great because they were all crying too and their crying faces were just as funny-looking as my crying face...well, not really...but it was a relief nevertheless.

Finally, what I feel is my greatest accomplishment for the wedding (aside from somehow getting my best friend to marry me):

Our program: the one casualty of the storm.

(Don't worry, you know I totally made myself another one when I got home.)

Drunk Monkeys Not Your Thing?

...Then you get Babies Eating Lemons!

Is this a form of child abuse? Maybe. Cruel? Probably. Somewhat hilarious? Yes.

Monkey Heaven.

I think it's really interesting that the percentages among the monkeys that like to drink alcohol and those that avoid it are correlated to the same data in humans. Kind of crazy.

Scary Lady.

There are many things I could blog about. We finally got our digital negatives from the wedding and with it many fun pictures. We also are also 1 week from Jamie's BAR exam. Oh, and let's not forget that we embark from our much-awaited honeymoon very soon.

But what is pulling me out of blogging hibernation is a rant. A very passionate rant.

So, as a teacher on her summer break, I am enjoying a lot of relaxation time in my home. Time is spent cooking, watching television shows about cooking, perusing the internet and very occasionally doing some work. This is important only because these are all activities that I have been doing downstairs in our living/dining room.

Today I was doing my work when I notice that the UPS guy has left a package slip on our door. This is weird because he never knocked, nor rang the doorbell. Also, because I have been downstairs all day had he knocked quietly or rang and ditched, I would have noticed him right away. The package slip is extremely cryptic and says only: "Left at Bell" and a 3-digit number. I immediately got Jamie to take a 5-minute break from the studying to go to the corresponding address (which, incidentally wasn't even a neighbor -- it was down and across the street) in case the 3-digit number was supposed to be an address.

Fortunately, Jamie went and not me, because I would not have been as kind. Apparently, some lady down our street got the UPS guy to leave all of the packages for her "neighbors" at her house. I guess this is her sad way of getting people to come to her house and to meet them. Um. This should be illegal.

To make it even more creepy, she proceeds to tell Jamie that she does not approve that our rental unit downstairs has a Certificate of Occupancy since it doesn't have two points of egress. I'm sorry, lady, but the building inspector thought it was just fine and gave us the CofO. Then adding that if we were good people we would put in an additional exit. Why on earth you know all of our business and about our building permits is beyond me.

Oh, and she doesn't like that we keep our BACK GATE LOCKED and that we shouldn't keep our BACK GATE LOCKED because it's a fire hazard.

Crazy lady, don't tell me not to lock my gate. I will lock my gate and my door to keep creepy people like you, out. Also, don't go through the walkway behind my house and check to see if my gate is locked. I will set up a booby-trap (or at least coat the handle with honey and ants) if I find out you're lurking behind my house again. It is only a fire hazard for people who are walking in the 3 feet of space behind my house that is the walkway which should not include you.

Jamie thinks this is kind of cute and charming. I think she's nuts. She's nuts, right?? Or am I paranoid?

Okay, I'm off to write an angry letter to UPS for leaving our package with a total stranger before even attempting to deliver it to us...

Simple Pleasures.

I don't know why this cracks me up, but it does.



If you laughed as hard at this as I did, then we are soulmates.

Girl Fight.

So I was watching television this morning -- hurrah for summer break! -- when I saw a commercial for some new reality television show. While the subject matter would normally not catch my attention, I will be tuning in to Fight Girls tonight. Why? Because my husband used to date one of the contestants.

I say "date" very loosely. One of the consequences of marrying a high school sweetheart is that all "exes" can barely be considered exes. Jamie dated Jeanine for, like, two days in ninth grade. Still, that's pretty awesome and I'm happy for her -- she's a really great person. A great person that can kick my ass with two hands tied behind her back. And standing on one foot.

Horse Whisperer.

And we're back! We've actually been back for a while, but it's been pretty hectic ever since the wedding...But, we're back and I'm officially a Missus! Very exciting.

While I don't have any pictures of my own from the wedding, I do have pictures from our minimoon -- so I will share those! Since Jamie is enrolled in a bunch of BAR classes, he could only take a day off for our minimoon. We decided to make the trip to Shenandoah Valley (one of our favorites) to relax and unwind. This time, rather than hiking it up and suffering through leg cramps, we decided to visit Jordan Hollow Inn for some pampering. It was most excellent. We got to relax in our gorgeous cabin with a fireplace and jacuzzi tub, and take in the beautiful scenery from our private porch.













I have a million photos of the view from our porch, but I'm going to try and lay off. We did get to go horseback riding -- although it poured on us at first (a theme for the weekend I think). We still got out there and enjoyed ourselves. Jamie's horse, Whalen, was full of hutzpuh and spunk. My horse, Dancer, was just slow -- I guess a result of a many years of life as a racehorse. This is Dancer taking a bow:

So we got some really great food at the restaurant and played with the horses...we even got to share the morning with a resident farm cat. At night we watched the fine film, Dave, as a tribute to our first date (Dave being the movie that we didn't watch because we were so distracted by each other).


We also went to Luray Caverns which was a good time. We saw lots of caverny things -- like stalagmites...and stalactites. Pretty neat trip and highly recommended if y'all are ever passing through Luray, VA.


That's actually a picture of a pool of water on the cavern floor -- it reflects the ceiling perfectly so those stalagmites -- are actually stalactites. It kind of makes your head spin after a while.

So I know I didn't talk about the wedding at all -- I will. Once I get some pictures in I will share more about that incredible day/night. I will say this: it was perfect and I am so glad that I could share that incredible experience with friends.

It's Official!

I'm going to marry a bona fide lawyer in just one week! Today, Jamie graduated from law school (with honors) and is now officially has a J.D. Very excited.


That's Jamie hugging the Dean...because a simple handshake doesn't suffice. Jamie even got a shout-out from the Dean in his commencement speech. As you can probably tell, I'm very proud to be marrying this guy.

The highlight of the (long) graduation ceremony was the singing of the National Anthem by my fiance. Seriously -- he sang the National Anthem in front of thousands of people today and he sounded amazing. Wanna hear? Of course you do...

That's going to be my HUSBAND in one week! Okay. Enough with the cheese...I am just very proud. Here are some more pictures from today...

The State of Affairs.

So I know that almost one week before my wedding I shouldn't be writing downer posts...but this article in the LA Times today sort of prompted me to. Not only because it's such a terrible, horrible thing to happen at any school, but that it happened at my school.

I have felt increasingly sad about our schools. Things like the story above happen relatively rarely at a school like Harvard-Westlake, but they happen too many times to make the news at schools like where I now work. Last week we had the fourth murder within 3 blocks of my ELEMENTARY school since January. That is almost one murder a month within 3 blocks of my school.

I have watched as one of my most intelligent (albeit difficult) students from my first year of teaching has become the recruiter for a local gang at our ELEMENTARY school. When 10 year olds are recruiting more 10 year olds to join their gang I cannot help but feel like what I do is pointless. Any amount of knowledge or character that I can teach my kids in the 7 hours I have them, is erased on their way home when they are exposed to the dangers of our neighborhood.

It's sad. And I have no answers.

Nerd Corner.

My life has been devoid of Conan O'Brien for too long. What a triumphant return. I, personally, am a fan of "Herniated Disc C3PO".

So Soon.

Yikes. I'm lame. Here's the quick update:

1) The wedding is SO SOON. Things are falling (have fallen) into place and I'm just so excited for the chance to finally be married to this guy.

2) After a check-up with the vet it turns out that our little Junior is actually one of those rare female orange tabbies. Good thing we didn't try to get her neutered right away -- that would have been embarrassing.

3) The wedding is soon.

4) I have vowed to post more often. Maybe even daily? I figured that even if everybody has given up on this blog, I'll be able to look back at it someday and remember this period of my life right before Jamie and I got hitched. So with you as my witness, I promise to post more often...at least until I'm completely overwhelmed, grouchy, stressed, etc. with wedding plans. If that happens. (It probably will).

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...

Go Traffic Light Boy. It's Your Birthday.

Today was Traffic Light Boy's birthday. To commemorate, I would like to share with you an excerpt from his sensory descriptive writing. His subject, of course, is a traffic light "...with glittering ponds of light with colored grass." (Just a note, this boy is incapable of writing a complete sentence on anything else.)

Also, today on the bus for our field trips he pointed out that his very favorite thing about Maryland was that they have "all-new" traffic lights.

I. Love. This. Kid.

A Quiet Sunday.

First some important news: hours of enjoyment for all those involved is as simple as a ping-pong ball, a bathtub, and an orange tabby.

Second, I'm a little stressed out as the big shopping season begins and I'm watching as things on our registries are sold out before I even got a chance to share the registry information with my guests. The plates I fell in love with are on backorder now! So sad! I want to bust the collective knee caps of all those pushy shoppers taking the last item off the shelves.

Give our registry a chance...

Yam Withdrawal.

I know Thanksgiving has come and gone. I know that I shouldn't even be talking about food at this point, but I have to blog about this. For many, many, many, years my family had Thanksgiving with our closest friends. Everyone would share the cooking, but one unfortunate family would have to host at their home. However, this was fair because the host family rotated between the three families.

While the family hosting the event would change, and the people present at our official Thanksgiving dinner would change, one thing would not change: the yams.


The sweet, delicious, yams topped with marshmallows. My favorite Thanksgiving item without contest. I know in my heart that the pilgrims found some way to manufacture marshmallows using a churning device and that they had their own platter of authentic yams topped with marshmallows at the first Thanksgiving dinner.


Sadly, Jamie declared that yams with marshmallows were airing on the side of (for lack of a better phrase) "white trash" and that they should not be part of our Thanksgiving dinner. Of course he is wrong. For two years an epic battle ensued, and I fought and fought for my yams. For two years I was victorious.

That is...until this year. Yams were absent from our bountiful Thanksgiving spread and some other fortunate family got to enjoy those yams pictured above. Jamie announced that instead of yams we would be making a "maple autumn blend" of veggies with butternut squash, acorn squash, and parsnips. Butternut squash is no yam, my friend, and parsnips are definitely not marshmallows.

Ultimately, I conceded because we discovered that marshmallows are not vegetarian and therefore, I would be the only person at Thanksgiving eating the yams since Scott would never lower himself to partake.

Candied Yams? This one's for you...

Thanksgiving Recap.

Happy Thanksgiving to all! I know it's actually not offically Thanksgiving anymore, I just figured I would check in anyway. I hope everyone had a lovely holiday spent with loved ones. I spent mine with two of my very favorite men -- an intimate Thanksgiving. Even though there were only three of us, we still managed to whip up a lot of food (in addition to the aforepictured turkey masterpiece):















It was yummy. On the menu was a simple roast turkey that I basted with a mixture of orange juice, garlic, and a littl soy sauce. Totally improvised, yet surprisingly good! Yummy mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans and a roast with autumn vegetables. We had some crostini with roasted red pepper and goat cheese for our appetizer.

Scott approved of the food so that was good.

But now I am exhausted from cooking and cleaning dishes all day. And the bellyful of turkey probably doesn't help. I am thankful for the warm, soft bed that's awaiting me as soon as I finish this post.

The only casuality (aside from the turkey) was a wine glass that fell victim to Scott's fork-flinging antics. We are down to 3 sad little wine glasses thanks to the brothers Long. I think we should register for plastic wine tumblers instead of glasses.

Germ Central.

So I'm sick and many of my students are sick. The result of which is that the classroom is a veritable paradise for germs right now. Here is quote from today to illustrate:

Jordan: [coughs weezily]

Diamond: [clears the phlegm out of her throat]

Ms. U: [honks nose while blowing it]

Dre'Kwon: It sounds gross in here today.

I promise you I do have other children in my classroom other than these three -- although I do realize that I have mentioned all three of these students in previous posts. Dre'Kwon just cracks me up on a daily basis. The other day he brought me a stress ball that was in the shape of an apple.

Dre'Kwon: [puts apple/stress ball on the corner of my desk]

Ms. U: ???

Dre'Kwon: It's so I don't have to bring you a real one everyday...

Ms. U: Thanks Dre'Kwon!

D: ...and so when you get mad at me you can just look at me and squeeze it a lot.

Sometimes, I love my job. Even when I can't breathe out of my nostrils.

Found Treasures.

So in our packing frenzy, Jamie and I found some long-lost items. Here of two of note. The first was my acceptance letter into TFA - Baltimore. Once we were assigned a region in the country, they sent us a pretty standard welcome letter. Attached was a letter from a student in the Baltimore City Public School System. It was a cute letter and I vividly remember sitting in my dorm room reading it over and over.

It wasn't until I found it again today that I realized that I actually taught the kid who wrote my letter. Tell me -- what are the chances?? This was long before I knew what school I would be teaching at -- even long before I knew what grade I would be teaching. Of all the kids, in all of Baltimore City, the letter they ended up sending me was from a future pupil of mine! Now, I can't wait and find her tomorrow to show her the letter she wrote four years ago.

The other awesome thing was from the same era. Right around when I was finding out where I would be teaching, Jamie was applying and getting into law schools. When he got into GW I made him this drawing:

(I know it's crappy quality, but I don't have a scanner)

I don't know why exactly, but I think this totally encapsulates our relationship. Please note: Jamie's spiky head of hair in all but his infant stage of life, and the fact that he always has that big ol' grin. Also note the fact that there are piles of CD (cases) in the back of our car as we drove across the country because Jamie insisted that they come with us and get prime seating while they did. Meanwhile, all clothing got piled on top of our car and pounded down by the elements (including but not limited the most incredible rainstorm ever).

Boy howdy do I have a crush on my fiance.

Leader of the Pack.

Actually. Jamie would prefer if you called him "The Packing King" in deference to his mad packing skills. Here is a boring picture of him in action:


Yes. After 2.5 years we are packing all of our accumulated junk and getting out of Greenbelt and moving into D.C. Into a real house! One that has nice floors and brick walls! And its own washer and dryer! And a fireplace! [does a happy dance]. It's awesome -- so awesome that I don't mind the addition 20 minutes of driving it adds to my hour long commute to work. Wanna see? (You may also want to appreciate the most awesome Harry Potter scarf I made for Jamie).

That "Under Contract" sign is because of us! That's us! Standing in front of our new house! So now, we pack and get ready for our big move in December...

Better Than Some Stupid Bond Movie.

So yesterday we celebrated my brother-to-be's birthday. Actually, it was one of my BTB's actual birthdays -- but he's far away so we couldn't really celebrate it with him. Scott had his birthday earlier this week so we took him out for some dinner, fed him some ice cream cake, and watched a movie.

The whole day I had been dreading seeing the new Bond movie. I knew that's what Scott would want to see and as it was his birthday and all, there was little that I could do to stop it. There's nothing I really hold against the Bond movies...except that they all suck and I have yet to see one that I enjoyed. But last night the movie gods were smiling upon me and sold out all the showings of Casino Royale and plopped Stranger Than Fiction in the only convenient time slot. That was awesome.

As I had been wanting to see this movie for quite some time now, I was setting it up to be a huge disappointment. It was not. I liked it -- which means you should all go see it. And while you're at the theater, glare at the Casino Royale poster.

And because I now can, here's the trailer:

Just So You Don't Have to Look At Captain Planet...

...I update.

I feel like this last week has been all wedding, all the time and I'm finally getting to check some things off the ol' list. The biggest accomplishment came on Tuesday-- I finally picked out my wedding gown! It really is as dramatic as is in movies. You try on a dress and you start crying because it's so overwhelming. So I forked over the money and now I get to wait around for it.

Yesterday, Jamie and I visited a couple of stores and scan-gunned to our hearts content. Of course, we've been adding things to our registry ever since we got home, but the scan gun is also as awesome as it seems.

Finally, we went dancing to check out a band we've been thinking of having. They were great and I'm happy to report that at no point did I wipe out on the floor completely. But listening to the band raised a good question. We decided that if we were going to get a band -- this would be the band to get. Which also means making a decision that would completely affect the entire atmosphere of our reception. While Jamie and many of his friends are big fans of swing dancing and the like, I lack rhythm and grace. Also, unless my friends have been harboring a secret passion for dance, they might not be as willing to get on that dance floor for jazzy music.

The band is really good. They will definitely entertain and Eric Felton seems like an excellent master of ceremonies. But, I want everyone to feel included. So the big question is: should we risk getting a D.J. that might botch things up, or go for the classy band? Opinions?? Help.

Finally: I know that I have been seriously lame lately as far as updating goes. To make up for it, here's a little gem from Friday's class.

[Kids are cutting up grocery circulars to put together a shopping list for our lesson on money.]
Kid 1: Oooooh! Let's get some sausages!
Kid 2: I want Mac n' Cheese!
Kid 3: Let's get some bleach!
1: Why [sic] you want bleach???
3: It's good!
1 & 2: [laughing]
3: What? Ms. U! Can't you drink bleach??
Ms. U: [horrified] What??? NO!
3: Ya you can! Like, mixed in with some water??

After much panic and discussion, we determined without doubt that Kid 3 does NOT drink bleach at home, but rather lemonade that comes in a similar looking container. Jebus.