Commercials are Better in Japan.

Hee! I am a fan of this commercial.

Also, this one. Hee!

Spike Jonze is pretty cool.

Eggy-weggs.

Inspired by Julie & Julia -- which I saw with Jamie last week -- I decided to try poaching an egg today for lunch. After all, it's probably among the healthiest ways to cook an egg since you don't use butter. I had heard it was hard to do, so I was prepared for multiple attempts.

But, today everything worked out and I had the most perfect poached egg ever on my first try. I should have taken a picture of it, but it is now residing in my belly. I have decided that I will be making poached eggs instead of fried eggs from now on. SO GOOD.

Accomplished.

Friday was the last day of the first full week of Summer Professional Development -- it has been a great time so far. Our teachers have been troopers through long days of training and having a very positive attitude to boot! The highlight of my Friday (even better than the staff party, which was fun) was this moment:

Yes, that is my board of presentations I had to prepare for Summer PD. And yes, every single box has been checked off. Now I can get started on the other list of things to do. But, I did want to revel in my accomplishment.

Then, this morning, my school got a mention in The Washington Post! I think we can all revel in that accomplishment too. If you don't really feel like reading the whole article...here's the part that pertains to our school.

At D.C. Preparatory Academy's Edgewood Middle School campus in Northeast, reading and math scores also showed steady growth. Since 2006, reading pass rates at the charter school have risen 23 percentage points, to 65 percent; in math, 70 percent of students are now proficient, up 27 points.

Emily Lawson, the school's founder and chief executive, said the gains have been made as teachers have streamlined curriculum and interventions.

In addition, she said, teachers used a new tool this year: Every eight to 10 weeks, students took tests developed by the Achievement Network, a Boston-based nonprofit organization, to determine which standards they had mastered and which they had not. Teachers used the results to tailor their lessons to students' needs, Lawson said.

Together Again.

I know I've probably said this before, but I'm saying it again: I LOVE Netflix Watch Instantly. I think it's the greatest thing ever. At least it's up there. This outpouring of love for Netflix comes from the fact that I am currently watching Muppets Take Manhattan after a long and busy week.

This movie is the perfect way for me to spend my Friday night. First of all, because I was trying to sing this song to Jamie the other night, but only remembered the "he'll make me happy" line.

Now I can torture him with more of my Miss Piggy impression. Secondly, because it's the stuff of good memories. It really takes me back to my childhood when (I hear) I watched this movie very frequently -- I'm sure my brother could confirm or deny this statement. My family might exagerrate and say I watched it nightly, but I think I probably watched Star Wars or The Neverending Story (or maybe Sound of Music) more. Of course, my memories of watching these movies all blend together into one memory of sitting on my parent's bedroom floor (with a pink carpet by the way) and getting out the Beta Max tapes. Good times.

P.S. This movie is way funnier as an adult. I'm actually getting the jokes! That blonde muppet (Janice?) cracks me up. Also, the "Saying Goodbye" song is breaking my heart right now.

BSL.

Today was great! It was the first day for our new staff and I have to say that I am super-excited. Everyone was asking questions and actively engaged...it's going to be a good year. Now I can't wait until we have everyone back.

This probably belongs more on my brother's blog (you know...the one with the adorable babies on it). He was blogging about communicating with his 10 month old twins and how it can be challenging at times. It got me thinking about baby sign language and then I stumbled upon this lady and her signing baby:

As an educator in a school with an early childhood program...and one that has a ASL program to boot, I get to see baby sign language firsthand. It absolutely blows my mind. I was in a supermarket a while back and I saw a woman with a baby and they were walking through the produce section signing a bunch of fruits and vegetables. Never mind that I don't know ASL myself and they may just have been faking it...but still.

P.S. I love how at the end of the video, the baby signs for more cheerios. Hee!

Tomorrow is the first official day of the new school year in my book. It's the first day that we have teachers in the building and we start saying "welcome!" to everyone. Summer just keeps getting shorter and shorter...this year it rushed by...mostly because of summer school, but also because I have been so busy! I am glad we got the trip in when we did...

That said, I am really looking forward to this year. I wouldn't say I feel "energized" -- too burnt out to say that -- but I am really excited. I feel like this is going to be a great year...our school will be in its third year and a lot of those kinks that come with opening a new school will be worked out.

And now, a backpacking cat.

See more funny videos and Cute Animals Videos at Today's Big Thing.

The Lobsterfest.

Although one might argue that the entire trip was a lobsterfest, the true Lobsterfest takes place in Rockland, Maine. As luck would have it, the first day of the Lobsterfest happened to be my and Jamie's last day in town. Even better, our flight out of Maine wasn't leaving until about 6pm (or so we thought) which gave us ample time to partake of the festivities before heading back to Portland.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

After a couple detours inland (not intentional), we managed to get to our destination. Despite being the least expensive hotel on our trip, the view from our final room was the best of all.

Granted, the hotel wasn’t all that refined and looked more like a Motor Lodge, but in the end it had among the nicest amenities of all of the ones that we went to. Among the amenities was a fancy-pants game board (that apparently is worth $289 -- yowza), a huge plasma t.v., a desktop computer, a fireplace, a fridge and wine chiller, and binoculars with which to enjoy the aforementioned view. A pretty great value! Thanks Ledges!

We ventured in to Camden to enjoy some New England Clam Chowder. It was tasty! Easily my favorite type of soup out there…and I’m glad we did, because I had been so focused on lobster that I had forgotten that clam chowder was also something Maine was known for. We did some window shopping, and some actual shopping. We laughed at some of the souvenir shirts and placards, oogled some of the Maine fruit spreads, and then ducked into a yarn store. (Incidentally, there are yarn stores ALL over Maine!) Jamie actually requested that I make him a scarf – it should be known that Jamie has not requested that I make him anything since the dreaded gorilla sweater – so he picked out some yarn for me to use.

After a good night’s rest, we went to Rockport for breakfast at a local shop that had a great reputation. Apparently, it was where the lobstermen went for breakfast, and they had Eggs Benedict with crab for $5.99. So excited. Unfortunately, the article where we had read about it was a few years old and in the time since then (probably not long after the article was written) they had commercialized a little bit. The food was still great, but they no longer had the lobstermen or the cheap crab. Jamie did get some delicious blueberry oatmeal pancakes with fancy high-quality maple syrup (he paid extra).

Then, Jamie and I ventured to the U.S. Coast Guard base to tour the facilities – part of the Lobster Festival offerings. A very young and muscle-y coast guard guy (officer?) showed us around and took us on a boat. It was pretty impressive to see these boats up close – they basically are floating tanks. One of them had an engine so powerful that it could propel the boat upside-down for five minutes (it would contain enough air in pockets as well) before righting itself. At least that’s what Officer Muscle-y told us.

We then headed back to the festival and gawked at the giant Lobster Boilers. Since time before we would have to leave was ticking, Jamie and I made our way to the Main(e) food tent to get our Lobster Festival lobster. The way that the line worked out, the batch of lobster that we saw going into the boiler across the fairground also happened to be the lobster that we were served.

So Jamie and I each got a lobster and split an order of steamed clams. Pretty delicious...not as good as Lunch and Lobster (the teeniest bit overcooked) which will remain the best meal in Maine. After our lobster, Jamie and I wandered around the fair for a little longer before heading to the airport.

Of course our flight was delayed by four hours. I have yet to be on an AirTran flight that left on time. So we spent a little more time in Maine (well...the airport) than we had anticipated but in the end we managed to get home intact and with very good memories of our trip.

I then got to check off Maine from my list of places that I wanted to go...although, I do want to go back and backpack for real. That will have to be for another time.

An IOU.

This is my attempt to get my post in before midnight. I started work again today so, of course, I'm swamped. But, I intend to keep up with the posting and updating so consider this my post for today, and I promise to update with the final day of our Maine adventure tomorrow...

I wouldn't be so lame and would actually post about it tonight given that I'm a little restless, but I heard an interesting, yet disturbing, piece about sleep apnea and sleep deprivation on NPR this morning. Suffice to say that I want to do my best to get some sleep tonight.

Instead, please enjoy the new look! My bloggy geekiness is in rare form tonight!

Beautiful Acadia.

Acadia was the most highly-anticipated destination point on our trip. I'm cheating a little bit, because some of this was done actually before we drove into Bar Harbor -- we figured it would be great to do a drive around the loop around sunset. So this post actually covers more than one day...some of this was pre-lobster ice cream (thanks to Jess for the article.)

First thing we did was go to Cadillac Mountain -- which is the first place in the United States that sees the sunlight every day.

From the top, we could see the various islands that made up Acadia National Park. It was truly lovely. We also went to Thunder Hole -- which was a formation of rocks along the cliffs that made a very loud booming noise when the waves crashed into its caves. Although we weren't there at the best time (which is supposedly a couple hours before high tide) we did get a few loud booms minus the huge waterspouts.

Then, we went to the Sand Beach...to snap some pictures of the Maine coastline.

The next day, Jamie and I opted to rent some bikes and take to the Carriage Roads. Aside from the bike ride through Kennebunkport, this would be the first time since my knee surgery that I rode a bike for a prolonged period of time. Still, we were only in Acadia for a day, and there was a lot to see...I figured it was the best and most efficient way to see the park. It was!

We ended up bicycling about 20 miles throughout the park. Unfortunately, as is the nature with riding bicycles, the going uphill part always took three times longer than the going downhill part. But, I survived it -- despite fleeting moments of cursing my existence during the longer uphill climbs. I'm hoping 20 miles was enough to knock out my part of that Whoopie PIE's demise.

After taking in Acadia, we returned our bikes and set course for our final destination of Rockland, Maine. Home of the Maine Lobster Festival which just so happened to kick off on our final day in Maine...

A Lobster-ful Day.

After seeing the Bush compound, we ventured north towards Bar Harbor. We figured on our way we would stop at Freeport and get some Outlet shopping goodness in. After all, it isn't often that we get to be in the home of L.L.Bean.

Note: This picture was taken with my Pre!

I don't know what I had envisioned for Freeport. Probably something more like the outlet malls I had been used to: a giant parking lot surrounded by stores. The only reason we decided to brave Freeport despite what we had expected was because Jamie and I are not big shoppers and instead rely on a few HUGE shopping sprees to cover all of our shopping needs for a year. We had decided ahead of time, that this would be a one of the HUGE shopping sprees for the year. We were long overdue.

Freeport turned out to be much nicer than I had expected. It was more like a "quaint" shopping town...with a main street and any parking lots tucked away from sight. The stores were built to look like more traditional architecture...so the Banana Republic outlet looked like a Victorian house, the Abercrombie and Fitch outlet was like an old bank, and the J.Crew store resembled the post office. Of course, the L.L.Bean was ginormous...and it was our first stop.

Of course, I didn't bring my camera with us while we shopped, but suffice to say it was impressive. There was a fly-fishing demonstration going on INSIDE the store at its indoor trout pond. I finally bought the real raincoat I needed for our camping trips. Both Jamie and I bought many items of clothing that we were in need of at the various stores, and Jamie bought some shoes. Finally, our big purchase was a new carry-on and a bigger suitcase from the Samsonite outlet so that we could take all of our bounty home. (Don't worry, we paid much less than the listed price...thank goodness for outlet stores.) And I have to say, our new luggage made me feel much more adult.

But the shopping is neither here nor there. The most important thing was what happened after the shopping. Of course, I mean the food.

Another place I had heard about through my research was a lunch place called Harraseeket Lunch and Lobster. The reviews I had read about it all mentioned it being the best meal of their lives, etc. I have had many good meals in my life -- thanks mostly to Peru and very generous parents. But, I was ready to give Lunch and Lobster a chance.

We programmed the GPS on my Pre (another thing that the reviews mentioned was that it was very difficult to find) and headed off to find our lobster lunch. Thanks to the magic of GPS technology, we found it:

It was 3pm by the time we finished shopping...so we were hungry for lunch and we were just hoping it wasn't closed. It was open...and absolutely packed. The weird thing about Lunch and Lobster was that there were three different windows. One window had desserts only. A second window had their cooked stuff (i.e. lobster rolls, french fries, clam burgers, etc.) A third window around the corner at the back of the building sold only whole lobster (live or boiled) and steamed clams.

Fortunately, I had read enough to know about the secret window...and since we had shared that delicious lobster roll in Kennebunkport, we opted to go with the Lobster Lunch Special offered to locals at the secret window. Two 1lb lobsters with butter for $15.99. A great deal -- so we decided to split one of the specials and order some sides. When I walked around the corner, there was the lobster boat with the men unloading the lobsters directly into the kitchen. Right off the boat.

I ordered our lobsters and they put them on a scale and dumped them unceremoniously in a pot. 15 minutes later, we had our lobsters.

While I was at the secret window, Jamie was in the other line ordering some sides and drinks. It should be noted that the line for that line was so long that we did not get said sides and drinks until about 40 minutes after we had already consumed the lobsters. It was fun to see people cheer as though they had won the lottery when their number was called to pick up their food.

THE LOBSTER. Oh man, the lobster. This lobster was the hands-down best thing we ate on our trip to Maine. It was cooked perfectly, fresh off the boat, and so simple. But GOOD. The lobster was New Shell Lobster, which I guess means that you don't even need any tools to get to the meat...so even the regular work that goes into eating lobster was gone.

We ended the meal with a stop at the dessert window to pick up a Whoopie Pie -- that New England treat! This Whoopie Pie was much larger than expected...it was a Whoopie PIE.

So the Whoopie PIE provided Jamie and I with some yummy snacking on the 4 hour drive to Bar Harbor...our next destination. Bar Harbor is a kitschy town near Acadia National Park. Upon checking in at the hotel, the front desk lady began to gush to us about how the room we were staying in had the best view in the entire hotel and that it really was one of the best rooms. Of course, the catch was that it was on the third floor and there was no elevator which was a small price to pay for the best view in the hotel!

Of course, we got to the room and found that "the best view of the house" meant a great view of the hot tub containing loud people with strong Bostonian accents. Granted, if you craned your neck out and looked around the rest of the building you could see a strip of ocean. Bah.

Despite having eaten the best lobster ever for lunch, Jamie opted to go all out lobster with dinner. He got a lobster pizza and...wait for it...lobster ice cream. When we got to the ice cream parlor, Jamie asked for a sample of the lobster ice cream and another flavor. When he actually ordered the lobster ice cream, the lady working there immediately blurted out: "REALLY???" This was a bad sign. Most people would heed that sign...Jamie did not.

He ate the ice cream. It was okay to eat...as long as you didn't get any lobster chunks. Which were salty and frozen and gross. He was determined to eat the whole thing, though...and save for a few lobster chunks that he snuck into the trash can...he did it.

We made a point of not eating any lobster the next day that we spent in Acadia and Camden.

The Place With a Funny Name.

After enjoying our Becky's breakfast and seeing the Portland Head Light, we headed to Kennebunkport. This place was the little splurge portion of our trip -- we decided to stay at a more hoyty-toyty inn and spend our day walking through the fancy main street area and looking at seaside mansions.

We stayed at The Breakwater Inn & Spa and our room was right by the water so we had a nice view of the boats as they passed by. See?

That's the view from our balcony.

The inn was about a mile from town, so we took a nice stroll to the main street. We got to duck into stores on our way, made a few purchases and eventually found our way to The Clam Shack. In my research, I had heard that this place had the best Lobster Rolls and so we had to give it a go. Plus, even at 3:30pm there was a long line of people waiting which is a good sign. Since Jamie and I had eaten a pretty tasty brunch at Becky's we weren't all that hungry...but we figured we could not miss Clam Shack. Plus, lobster rolls aren't all that big...so I decided to get one and urged Jamie to do the same. Of course, he said he would just have "a bite" of mine, and OF COURSE, that turned into half of it...which turned out to be perfect anyway.

That was the best half of a lobster roll I'd ever had and our memories of the Street & Co. meal from the night before began to fade.

We then rented some bikes and explored the rest of the town that way. It was a nice way to get to see the gorgeous houses on the beach, and explore the tree-lined streets. However, it wasn't the best way to document the town of Kennebunkport as I didn't have that much faith in my abilities to ride a bike and take pictures at the same time. Still, here are some pictures from our time in Kennebunkport:

On our way out of the town the next day, we stopped by the Bush's summer home...which looked menacing and scary in the fog.

Then, we made our way north towards Acadia National Park with a stopover in Freeport...

The Other Portland.

Jamie and I have been traveling through Maine over the past few days. I had been meaning to update as we went -- not unlike when we went on our honeymoon. Or our trip to Europe. I

made sure that all of the hotels in which we were staying had internet access, packed my fancy camera, and took lots of pictures. Unfortunately, I forgot the cord with which to upload pictures from said camera to the computer. Bummer.

So now...as I have been doing a lot of...I will be doing a retrospective account of our trip. Starting with day one: Portland, Maine.

We flew in to Portland, Maine on Saturday evening. We had made reservations for a late dinner, so Jamie and I were able to drop off our bags at the hotel and then walk around Old Port. It was a beautiful little town...lots of good restaurants and bars. We ducked into a bunch of kitschy stores and played around with the items...I did take the best picture of Jamie with a sailor hat...but unfortunately, I have been vetoed from posting it. You know it's hilarious when Jamie vetoes that picture, but not the ones of him with the various mustaches...Alas, I must preserve my marriage and you will just have to be satisfied in knowing there is an awesome picture of Jamie in a sailor hat floating out there. Jamie and I walked around the pier and then grabbed a beer at Gritty's which had been recommended to us by a friend.

After our beers, we headed over to Street and Co. and...oh...man. SO GOOD.

Jamie and I got the Lobster Diavolo for Two and it was the best way to kick off our Maine trip. In retrospect, I think Jamie and I would vote it our tastiest overall meal...although not the best thing we ate on the trip (that would come later.)

The next morning we went to see the Portland Head Light. But not before we went to Becky's Diner ("Nothing Finah") -- a place that had been recommended to us by another friend. We were still full from dinner when we woke up, but it made a good brunchy meal. Something must be said for the teeny-tiny but-oh-so-good Maine blueberries. They make tasty pancakes.

It was a very foggy morning, so we got to see the Head Light the way it was meant to be seen. While that was cool, the pictures were not as impressive. I'll share anyway:

After exploring the Head Light and Fort Williams we went south towards our next destination: Kennebunkport -- stomping grounds for the vacationing Bush clan. But that'll come tomorrow...

We Interrupt This Vacation...

Jamie and I are traveling through Maine...tomorrow's festivities include the Maine Lobster Festival! If all goes as planned, we'll be back in D.C. tomorrow night...but I am looking forward to my lobster lunch.

I will be posting pictures of our trip soon -- I forgot to bring my cord to upload pictures from my camera. Instead, I give you this gem from Conan:

Edited: I linked to a different source of the video since my old one stopped working. The second video was added just for kicks.

Food for Thought. (Teachers only?)

In a departure from my usual procrastination track, I thought I'd share a study that I thought was interesting. If you're actually interested in the material, check out the comments (I especially liked Jon Dreyer's comments...food for thought.)

New Study of Boston Charter and Pilot Schools Finds Charter Schools Have Positive Effects on Student Achievement - News Features & Releases

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When Did This Happen?

Tim Burton is doing Alice in Wonderland?

Of course it has Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter. And a pretty great cast.

Also, in honor of the latest Harry Potter movie, I give you Brokeback Harry.

Google Rules the World.

So last Friday, I received a very special email inviting me to use Google Voice. I had put my name down on the waitlist a little while back and then promptly forgot about it…so it was a very pleasant surprise. I went ahead, created a new phone number and have been using it ever since. Incidentally, if you are someone who calls me and did not receive an email from me with my new number, shoot me an email and I will give it to you. Still, my old phone number would still work – it just wouldn’t have all of the fancy Google Voice features.

The coolest thing is receiving voicemail as emails or texts. Seriously. If you leave a voicemail, some super-computer will transcribe it and send it to me instantly so I don’t need to bother with listening to my voicemail and writing pertinent information on a post-it that I will then misplace. At first, I thought someone at a call center in India would know all of my business, but I have since learned that it’s actually completely automated.

What has been really fun is to see how well the computer can transcribe different people. Jamie – with his radio voice and perfect enunciation – is 100% accurate. Whereas my beloved mumbling brother-in-law, Scott, is not quite so accurate. See an example transcription from a phone call yesterday:

hey sis it's me just calling to check in i guess i forgot you guys and then i think mister got that so anyway i was just see how you all are doing haven't going to summer and then yada yada…

Now, Google Voice will gray out words it’s not sure about…I will say that most of these words were gray. Scott will blame the fact that he was calling from France and the connection was probably weak. Everything after “check in” and before “yada yada” was just a total mess. When I actually play the message it goes something like this:

Hey sis, it’s me. Just calling to check in. I guess I forgot you guys were gone. I think Maine. I just forgot that. So anyway, I was just seeing how you all are doing…how everything is going for summer yada yada yada...

As I transcribed it myself, I’m realizing that it wasn’t all that far off. I had to listen to it a few times to get it right. Scott speaks really fast. That being said, I cannot wait to see what happens when my dad leaves a message. Hee hee!

Weekend Update(s).

I've been mediocre at best for a while. Let me explain...actually, best not to explain. Just know that there have been many times that I have wanted to update all three readers of my blog and just have not found the time. Things are busy. Between Summer School (going pretty well, by the way), preparing for next school year, and just trying to survive each day on no sleep...updating of the blog has been infrequent.

But I'm here now. So it's time for a quick update at blinding speed.

Our friends Rob and Mo got engaged. Jamie and I and some other friends all went to Artomatic to see Rob perform some songs from his new CD. It was good! To make it even better, he ended the night with his acoustic version of Beyonce's "Single Ladies", got Mo on-stage, and proposed

to her in front of the crowd. It was romantic. I may have cried.

Jamie and I also went to the Peep Show. Not that kind, perv. We went to the famous "Peep" Show at Artomatic. There were some pretty funny entries this year. My favorites were both D.C. related...the first, of course, is a reference to the madness that was the Purple Ticket holder debacle at inauguration. The second is a reference to something that happens every summer when the tourists flock to D.C. and do not obey the "Stand Right, Walk Left" rule on the metro escalators.

A Capitol Fourth. After three years with little luck, Jamie and I FINALLY won the office lottery and got invites to view the fireworks on the 4th from the rooftop of his building. Considering that they have a pretty straight shot to the Washington Monument, this was pretty sweet.

We saw Elton John (!) and Billy Joel (!!!) in concert! You may know that I have a shameless love for Billy Joel. I remember fighting in the backseat of the car with my brother over whether or not we could listen to the Billy Joel tape again. And Jamie surprised me with tickets! Actual tickets to see him! I was half-expecting disappointment...after all, I knew he wouldn't be able to hit many of those high notes any longer...but he did! It was most awesome.

Splendor in the Grass. Skip forward to this weekend when Jamie and I went on a date to the movies -- which we hadn't done in a long while. We saw the newest Harry Potter movie and went to a yummy dinner. Today, we took a picnic brunch to the National Arboretum with our friends, Ben, Ragan, and their adorable son, Carter.

All in all, a pretty great weekend! Now that you're all pseudo-caught up...I will leave you with one more morsel of information to digest. Today, my father joined Facebook. Hee!

Krazy. (With a K)

It's time to revisit good ol' Barats and Bereta. This one is for all my teacher friends:

Someday, I will be able to post again. Someday soon...but for now, Summer School is eating away all of my time. Take comfort in knowing my life is not all that exciting these days as it consists mostly of Summer School and work-related things...

Although, I did get to see Billy Joel and Elton John in concert last weekend. That was exciting! But, like I said...pretty uneventful.

Too Busy...

...for a real update.  

In the meantime, enjoy Kittens, Inspired by Kittens!  (Apologies if I've posted this before.  It's an oldie but goodie.)

Boom Goes the Dynamite.

It was bound to happen.  I was just thinking to myself about my wonderful driving record.  Over a decade of driving and a squeaky clean record -- no tickets, no dings, no nothing.  I should have known better than to congratulate myself on my driving.

This morning I got into a car accident.

Nothing serious -- everyone was fine and the car is still able to drive.  Geico was very quick and efficient with my claim and it'll all be taken care of Monday morning.  While I choose not to dwell too much on the actual accident (it makes me mad), I do feel as though I handled myself in a calm and collected way.  I am proud. 

In other news, the Pre is coming out tomorrow!  Perhaps my obsession can come to an end!  Jamie and I are going to make a trip to the local Sprint store to check it out.  I do feel as though I already won a little though: today, Jamie told me in a quiet little voice, "now, I want a Pre too."  Huzzah.  The battle has been won!   

(P.S. I think Jamie now has seen Code Red of Obsession Alert.)