Edumacation

Tuesday, August 28th, 2007, 12:26 pm

Our kids are starting back to school this week and most of mine are excited with the exception of one. When I was a child, I loved going to school. I still vividly remember my 4th grade teacher. She looked just like Cher. She had gorgeous long black hair that came all the way down to her ankles. She was such a wonderful, loving, smart teacher. I also started thinking about high school and how crazy yet fun it was and it made me remember my first school dance. The lights, the music, the decorations, that magical feeling of being a princess. Oh and lets not forget the cute boy who couldn't dance at all but sure looked good anyways! ;)

Who is your most memorable teacher? What is your most memorable school moment?

I'm just going to have to divide this between junior high and high school. I can't pick. And I'm having a hard time picking between teachers.

Here goes!

Junior High

Now, mind you, I went to a Catholic school so there really isn't such a thing as grade school and middle school and junior high like there are in public schools. My most memorable teacher was Mrs. Evanczyk in Eighth Grade. Wow, that was a tough call. I had many great teachers at Sacred Heart. Mrs. Evanczyk was awesome though. She's very smart and was young and fiesty. She was our general teacher and we went to other teachers for math and english/lit and history. She was awesome. The 8th grade class before us ruined the annual trip to DC for us and we were so bummed. She arranged for a trip to a state park where we got to camp and hike and go caving and things. It was way better than DC.

Anyway, my most memorable moment there? It's great. At lunch one day we (all 24 8th Graders) decided that we would all drop out book on the floor and get up and walk out of the classroom at the exact same time. Dont' ask why? So, we did it as planned. We all got up and went to the doors of the school in our little uniforms and walked one lap around and came back in. Well, we thought she'd be mad. She wasn't. She just looked at us and asked if we were done? We all said that we were in unison. Well, she made us do it all over again because we 'didn't all get up at the same time.' So, she gave us the time to begin and made us do the exact same thing all over again. When we walked out of the school she and the principal locked the doors and told us we couldn't come in until we walked three laps around the school and were prepared to write an essay about our experience outside. It was February. When we came back in she and the principal took pictures of us. They were both laughing. Now, I know that this would NEVER fly today, but it was funny. Even though we were frozen.

High School

There is absolutely no way I can just say one. So, I'll just start mentioning a few.

Mr. McGill and Ms. Polansky-the reason I have a degree in Religious Studies.

Mr. Gilbert-drama teacher. We called him Frank. And he was hot.

Mrs. Jamski-she was my bio 1 and AP bio teacher. LOVE HER! When I go back to my high school to visit she is the one I run to first. She was amazing.

Mr. Cozzens-junior English. He taught us so much  more than English. Ever seen Dead Poets Society? He's our Mr. Keating. He used to ride his bikes to school. So several times in his honor we all met and rode our bikes to school and had a breakfast in the parking lot. He came every single time.

Which teacher did I learn the most valuable lessons from? Mr. McCaa. Also known as PaBear. He was my Senior religion teacher. He only teaches that class. We had a euchre tournament, a spitting and bubble blowing contest. We basically read books and wrote in a journal about them. He's awesome. He taught us something everyday that we all took with us on our separate journies. I just went to my 10 year reunion and that was something that we all started talking about.

I have lots of high school memories. I went to the only Catholic high school in our area so I had known a lot of my classmates since grade school. One particular guy was one of my best friends. When we were Juniors we had a math class together. He made me a ring out of a gum wrapper and we made a pact that if we weren't married by the time we were 25 we'd marry each other. He passed away when he was 21.

I was in a lot of plays in high school so those are always memories that I recall fondly. Being on stage, behind stage, anywhere near a stage. Senior year we all smoked a cigarette on stage. Cast parties.

The Senior prank was probably my favorite memory. A few guys released 250 baby chickens in the school. It was a blast. We all got into trouble and they wouldn't sponsor anymore Senior traditions. So we made these shirts with chickens on them riding bikes. It was great.

Perhaps my best memory of high school was Senior Send-off. It's a huge tradition in my high school and was the only one we managed to fight to keep. Each year all the students get together in the gym and they play a video of pictures and the class gets to pick a speaker. We picked Mr. Cozzens. The principal refused (because he's an a-hole). We told him we would not come if he didn't let us. He told us over and over that we would not have him as our speaker. PaBear convinced us all to go anyway. We all sat and watched the video with a heavy heart knowing that he wouldn't be there to see us, let alone speak. Well, in he walks, sure enough. We all started cheering and clapping and half of us were crying. And every single one of us...all 117 stood on our chair and screamed, "Oh Captain, my Captain." He started bawling. Not a darn one of us can remember what he spoke to us about.

Man, sometimes I really miss high school.

Neighbors

Monday, August 6th, 2007, 8:03 am

I have pretty great neighbors. On the left, lives a single guy who works nights - we don't see him much, but we always wave and say hello. On the right, there's a sweet elderly lady who we help mow her lawn and shovel her sidewalk when needed and exchange baked goods with over the holidays.

Behind me, a new family has moved in. They have kids my daughter's age, and the mom and I share similar interests. We've already spent a lot of time together exchanging knitting patterns and borrowing books or a cup of baking soda when needed. It's been a lot of fun for me to have the sort of neighbor I can stand by the fence to talk and drink coffee with in the mornings.

QOTD: How well do you know your next-door neighbors?

Wow! Is this a question for me! I need much more space! I am actually writing a book about this very subject! I have MARVELOUS neighbors. My Mom still lives on the street that I grew up on. We moved one time. It was a big move! Across the street! My Mom will never move! Our block is so spectacular. The kids I grew up with...their parents still live on the street. Now we're all making our way back to the street as well. I can just go on and on!

My neighbors next door are our best friends. Nancy is my Mom's best friend. They've been friends since my family moved onto the street. Cara (Nancy & Sammy's daughter) is my best friend. We've been best friends since birth! Her brother (who is now deceased) was one of my best friends too. There's Julie down the street. She just had her second child. We've always been really close. Her parents still live in the house she grew up in. Our friends (the Whiteheads) moved away. But now their child and grandchildren have just moved back! It's insane. We lovingly call it the Twilight Zone. There's just so much. It's a long and great story!

But you'll have to wait for my book to hear it all!

:)

Happyness

Tuesday, July 31st, 2007, 9:49 am

I had this question asked to me at a party not too long ago. It's been on my mind and I have actually changed my answers (some of them) too many times to count. It's all about happiness. How many times have we each said "I'd be so happy if I had XYZ? And once we get them, we realize they don't really make us happy? So here is the prompt for today....Name 10 things you think are crucial for you to be happy..and why."

Wow! This is a great topic! I'm pretty much speechless! I'll make a go of it.

1. God. God comes first in my family. Without God we have nothing. God is the reason that we have each other, that we are blessed, that we have trials, etc. Reason for EVERYTHING! Without God I have no foundation. I have no home.

2. Family. Family is always second. That kind of sounds bad to some people. My future hubby and I often say that Family comes first in terms of things on this earth. My family has always been the first ring! If things of importance are arranged in rings around each other, God is in the center and family is the first ring around the center. Wow, that's easier to explain in the little drawing I keep in my journal. My family keeps me grounded, keeps me safe, keeps me on my toes. Without my family (and I'm talking parents, siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, etc...) I am nothing. I am meaningless.

3. Love. That kind of sounds like the first two, doesn't it? Without love our lives have no depth. There's no real meaning. I mean love in many senses of the word. I love my fiance. I love my family. I love my closest friends. I love this planet that I get to walk upon. I love life. I love animals. Love in the sense of service. Love in the sense of giving. Love in the sense of my life being over if I don't have it.

4. Ability. Ability to gain knowledge. Ability to seek. Ability to be me and no one else. Ability to remember how important these are. Ability to write troubles in the sand and blessings in stone. Ability to better myself and learn from mistakes. The ability to make mistakes!

5. Books. I know this is cheesy! I know it sounds stupid! I have learned so many things from books. Text books. Novels. Children's books. Suess! Fiction. Non-fiction. I guess having imagination goes along with that!

6. My habit for giving and helping others. I am a firm believer in the pay it forward method of living. I strive to be this way. I strive to find a moment to teach someone something in every situation. It's what I do for a living. I look for teachable moments everyday!

I'll have to agree that all other things are secondary. I mean, it's nice to have trust, and money to have the things that I have to have to survive. It's nice to be liked and successful. It's nice to have all these things. It's not a requirement to make me happy. All I need are those 6 things and I'm good!

(p.s. has anyone seen the movie Happyness? If you haven't, please run [don't walk] to your nearest movie store! And get Pay it Forward while you're at it!)

Toys!

Tuesday, July 24th, 2007, 1:13 pm

I was recently helping my daughter remove a pot holder from her weaving loom and couldn't help but reminisce over toys of old. My 8 year old daughter has just about every toy I ever loved or wanted including an easy bake oven, every Barbie accessorie known to woman, skates, a skooter and all the paper dolls we can find these days. She may not have a Playstation or Nintendo but she certainly has a toy collection that anyone my age would have drooled over back in the days.
What were your favorite playthings as a child? Are they still available today? Have you or would you get them for your own children?

When I was a child all I ever wanted was a Snoopy snowcone machine! Cara had one. Julie had one. Everyone had one. Everyone but ME! It was sad. I'm sure I had great toys as a child, but I wanted this one. And why couldn't I have it? I asked for one each year for Christmas straight through age 7 until high school. Then I gave up. My cousin/godmother bought me one two years ago for Christmas!

I did have great toys. I carried around a stuffed Cookie Monster until I was about 6. Who needs a blanket when you have Cookie?! And if I couldn't find him? I'd walk around the house saying, "Cookie...come here." Only I couldn't say 'r's really well. I also had some pretty cool Barbies that were my aunts. I never played with them though. My toys were usually things found outside or books! I'm such a geek!

:)

Overdue it!

Friday, July 20th, 2007, 9:52 am

What's overdue for a good cleaning?

My car! I'm about to get a new one. As soon as it gets to my area from Virginia! I have to do it! STAT!

What's overdue for some kind of professional examination, service, maintenance, or upkeep?

Can I say the car again? Uh...I guess I don't care after I get my new one! Somethings wrong with a circuit in our house. I think that qualifies! 

Who's overdue for a phone call or letter to you?

My friend Oscar from Colombia. I've been trying to email and call him. I haven't talked to him in about a year! It's stressing me out. I never know if he's ok or not!

What's overdue for an appearance in your neighborhood?

Easy! A block party! We've been talking about having another one latelyl! We used to have the best parties! And my neighbor owns a party supply place! Why hasn't this been done??

Who's overdue for a good comeuppance?

Wow! The list! I won't even go there!