Bye-bye hair

I cut all my hair off. By all my hair, I mean ALL my hair.

Here's a nice shot of my before hair. Add a few inches because this picture was taken in April.


And here's my new hair:








I'm not sure what I was thinking. I feel a bit naked. And I'm thinking I'm beginning to look a bit like Kate Gosselin which is never a good thing.

On the bright side, I have a pretty easy Halloween costume. All I need is a Blackberry and 8 babies strapped to me.

What do you think? Be honest!

It's Been a Very Productive Day...and P.S. It's Opposite Day

Kinda how I'm feeling right now.

Growing Up Part 2

I began officially (I think) looking for a home today. I went and met with the realtor and he showed me a few places. It was very disappointing.

I want something like this:


but can only afford something like this:

Very disappointing.

About 50% of the homes that came up in his system he would say, "I can't let you live there. Your mom would kill me."

I responded with, "Why?"

"Lots of crime...you'd probably be killed."

I may have to reconsider my stance on Sugar Daddies...

Ok. Maybe something really good will pop up really soon.

On a happier note...

How I Met Your Mother starts tonight! I love that show!

So Stinking Cute!

After my rant yesterday, I spent some time blog surfing. I came across this blog and now really want a cute little girl (and a sewing machine) so I can make all these great things for her.

First, how cute is this little dress made from an old t-shirt? You have to check out the site to see how cute the little girl looks in it. Plus, it's super cheap and easy to make...perfect.


Next is this fabulous dress made from a woman's tank top...how cute! I think I would wear it.


Then she made a dress out of a too-small onsie...So cute! I love this skirt!


Lastly, there is this so cute dress made from an old button-up dress shirt.

Holy cow. There are so many cute things on this site! I am very impressed.

I'm Moving Too Slowly for My Family

I had a great weekend (as long as I forget about all the bad and annoying things that happened).

On Friday I spent some time with some girls I graduated from Westminster with and we caught up, complained and laughed late into the night. Thanks for hosting Jenn, it was a great night!

Saturday was a surprise party for my cousin's husband. He turned 40 and we had a nice little party for him. This night was the beginning of the baby insanity that has infested my sisters. While at the party, we got to see another cousin who had a baby a year ago. He is super cute. This made my sisters need a niece or nephew. Here was the conversation:

Them: "Oh, he's so cute! Ash, don't you want one of these?"

Me: "Sure but I think I should think about finding a husband first."

Them: "We need to be an aunt within the year. We need to get you married then you need to have a honeymoon baby."

Me: "Oh. Ok." (Cue eye roll)

Them: "Seriously."

Me: "uh-huh."

Onto Sunday. We went to another cousin's house (on the other side) for dinner. Another cousin, who had a baby 9 days ago brought her little one. This is when the baby hunger infestation infected my mom.

My sisters and mom: (in unison and baby voice) "Oh, isn't he a cutie. Goochy goo. Yes, you think Ashley should hurry up and get married and have babies, huh. I know you'd love a cute little baby to play with...we need to get her a husband...blah, blah, goo, goo, ga ga...blah...Ashley needs to have a baby...baby...baby...goooo..."

Then I left and hung out with the unobsessed in the back yard. This is what I come back to about 15 minutes later:

Random family members: "So, we need to find you a husband?"

Me: "Uh, why?"

Random family members: "Because your sisters and mom want you to have a baby."

Me: "Oh. Ok."

A little bit later...

Family member: "I have a few guys I think I could set you up with but tell me what you would like in a guy."

Me: "A good job."

Family member: "Ok. That gets rid of 2 guys, I still have 3 I'm thinking of though."

Me: "College education."

Family member: "Ok. I still have 1 in mind."

Me: "LDS."

Family member: "Ok. Sorry."

Later when I'm holding 9-day-old baby:

Random family member: "I hear you're baby hungry."

Me: "What?!"

Random family member: "I thought we were trying to find you a husband so you could have a baby."

Me: "Umm...No."

Later...

Gay family member: "You could be the surrogate for me and Bri."

Me: "What? When did this turn into 'Ash just wants to be pregnant'?"

From there everything just got weird. I had to leave.

Let's just say that my family is a bit crazy. Sure, I'd love to find a great guy, get married and start a family but really...you're nuts family, I love you but you're nuts.

Sent

Book #40: The Missing: Book 2 Sent by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Ok, I read the first book in this series when I student taught and loved it. That's where my author crush began. I decided to make it my first read aloud when I began teaching (I would have done it as a book group but don't have enough copies). My students absolutely loved it. When we first began reading I told them it was the first book in a series and the second one came out at the end of August. When we finished Found, my students begged me to go buy Sent, the even offered to each bring in a dollar so I would have enough money for it. I told them no but they were welcome to go buy it or check it out and read it.

A few days later, I broke down and had to buy the second book, Sent. I am so glad I did.

At the end of Found, Jonah and Chip, who are both thirteen-year-olds, are trying to contemplate the news that they're both missing children from history, kidnapped from their proper time period. Before they can fully absorb this revelation, a time purist named JB zaps Chip and another boy, Alex, back to the fifteenth century, where they supposedly belong. Because Jonah and his sister Katherine do not want to lose their friends they grab Chip's arms just as he's being sent away. As a result Jonah and Katherine also end up in the fifteenth century, where they do not belong.

Chip's true identity is Edward V, king of England, and Alex is his younger brother, Richard, Duke of York. But Chip is convinced that his uncle, Richard of Gloucester, plans to kill them and seize the throne for himself.

JB promises that if the kids can "fix time," he will allow them to return to the present day. But how can they possibly return home safely when history claims that Chip and Alex were murdered?

Now that I have read it I'm really wanting to read it to my students because it takes place in the Middle Ages (one thing I have to cover with my 6th graders) and it's just as riveting as the first. I'm stuck. I wanted to make sure I read a different genre each time I do a read aloud but now I'm torn. This book is more difficult to categorize than the first. It obviously has elements of science fiction (time travel) but it also has historical fiction (the entire story takes place from 1483-1485). Maybe I'll just call it historical fiction and read it to them.

My Desk

During the last week of school, I took a picture of my desk because it was such a mess. A few days later I was reading through older posts and I came to this one and had to laugh at how spotless my desk was.


Before:

After:

Goal: Be more organized when I go back on track.

The VMAs...Always a Good Time

Oh, wow. Those are the only words I have after watching the VMAs (in fast forward...I love Tivo!).

Here's a run down on me watching and my reaction to everything.

Show starts out with the host heckling Lady Gaga.

Host: 'Gaga is a hermaphrodite...' [Cut to Gaga]

Me: "What?! Are those feathers? Who's wearing the other half of her mask?"

More show happens...nothing involving The Gaga but I did get to try to find her in the audience. It was kinda like a game of Where's Waldo? but it was more like What's Gaga Wearing Now?

Lady Gaga performance--otherwise known as The Best 4 Minutes of the Show--

[Time frame and my reactions to the performance.]

0:04--"Wow. All white like angels."

0:10--"Nice Pierrot. This is obviously going to be amazing."

0:26--"Ok. She looks like the Easter Bunny's crazy uncle."
0:30--"Is that guy wearing underwear on his face?"

1:00--"Ooo...sparkles."

1:02--"Yes! She has a cape too!"
1:07--"Yes! Another costume change."

1:13--"Why is that guy still wearing underwear on his face?"

1:18-1:34--"Sweet choreography!"
2:16--"Bedazzled wheel chair...Why?"

2:22--"Cane...Why?"

2:31--"I think the cane made her very angry."

2:49--"That guy was on So You Think You Can Dance. I think his name is Mark. He has weird fingers."

3:05--"Playing the piano with your leg up = super classy."

3:21--"Is that blood?"

3:24--"Yep. It's blood. Why?"

3:34--"She should really go see a doctor. That's not just a paper cut."

4:00--"There is still underwear on your face, dude."

4:15--"Holy cow! Blood in your eye. Yuck."

{This section was at one time the video of Lady Gaga's performance. However, I keep putting up videos that the person doesn't own and MTV takes them down. If I ever find an "official" video I will put it back up. Until then, click here to watch it...it's classic.}

You think Lady has no more tricks up her sleeve? Oh, you are wrong...so wrong.

There is yet another wardrobe change (this one's the best...make sure you're sitting down before you look).

A see-through, red lace dress with a mask, gloves and crown. Who saw that one coming? Really. No one.

Then you think it's over. She cannot get any better, right? WRONG!! Last wardrobe change.


I have no idea what that is...a wreath made of feathers...the left over hair from one of her many crazy hair styles...an old costume from Cats...trimmed and styled Santa Claus wig and beard? I don't know but I do know it's awesome and I'd like to know what Gaga was thinking through the night.

That was the last crazy thing the Gaga did. But Kanye West was a different story.

If you haven't heard...Kanye got on stage while Taylor Swift was accepting her award and said how Beyonce had the best video of all time (and implied that it was ridiculous that Taylor would have won.)

Kanye: "Here. Hold this moonman while I take the microphone."

Taylor: "Ok but I thought I was supposed to talk."

Look at her face...she's so confused.

But in the end Beyonce was a class act and let Taylor give her speech during the time Beyonce was supposed to give hers.

Kayne = word I don't use. Read Kelly Clarkson's blog about it. I think she sums it up nicely.

The Higher Power of Lucky

Book #39: The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron

Lucky, a 10-year-old girl who lives in a small town called Hard Pan (population 43) with her guardian Brigitte. Lucky became the ward of Brigitte after her mother died two years ago from being electrocuted. Brigitte is Lucky's father's ex-wife. Brigitte is asked by Lucky's father to come to the United States from France to take care of Lucky. Lucky fears that Brigitte is tired of being her guardian and of their life in Hard Pan. Her experiences led her to believe that Brigitte will abandon her and return to France. This anxiety prompts Lucky to seek help from her "Higher Power", a notion she gets from eavesdropping at her town's 12-step meetings. After discovering three "signs" to leave, she runs away with her dog, HMS Beagle, and Miles but realizes she needs to come back home. Before she leaves the dugouts, she casts her mother's ashes out in the wind. Brigitte takes Lucky home and explains the papers Lucky had found in Brigitte's suitcase were actually to legally adopt Lucky.

I just read that this book has been censored by many school libraries because of the use of the word "scrotum" on the first page. Holy cow. Give it a rest. At the end of the book, Brigitte does an excellent job of telling Lucky exactly what a scrotum is. If you read it at school, yes, kids will ask about it. Is that a bad thing? Stupid people annoy me.

Rick Richter, the President and Publisher of the Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division, is quoted as saying, "Simon & Schuster ultimately hopes that readers will recognize this wonderful book as a whole, and the charm and innocence of its main character Lucky, and will see beyond one word and the controversy surrounding the book. Susan Patron has written a masterful novel celebrating small town values and we can only hope that her deserved Newbery winner is recognized for the treasure that it truly is." Well said Rick, well said.

I'm Tired

For real this time...I get a break after tomorrow. I'm so excited.

I've been so tired this week. I think my body and mind were just so ready for the off track time that they went on vacation even though I worked this week.

One more day, one more day.

Are You Stalking Me?

I just read this post about Obama's education speech. It's funny because it's true!

Onto better things...me and my narcissism. If you've taken a look at my entire blog, you've noticed the counter. I just like to watch it go up a few numbers after I post. It's fun for me and tells me that someone cares about what I say (or you like to laugh at the stupid things I do and say...either way, you're reading my blog). It usually goes up about 10 views after I post something. Cool, people read my blog.

Since my last post about Obama's speech the counter has gone up about 10,000 views. What the heck? I'm thinking the counter just doesn't understand place value and thinks that you can add numbers anywhere...ones place, thousands place...it's all the same.

Here is my conclusion to the counter mystery...Either my counter needs a good second grade teacher or I have many more blog stalkers than I originally thought.

Hope, Education and Trying Your Best = Something You Don't Want Your Kids to Hear?

Being a teacher I was given the opportunity to show today's presidential speech to my class. However, there were some hoops I had to jump through. First, I had to write a lesson plan (complete with pre and post activities) and submit it to my principal to be pre-approved. Second, I had to have a relevant tie to 6th grade core curriculum. Third, I had to prepare work for those students who don't have permission that would be equivalent to what we did with the video. And fourth, I had to send home letters to parents to get approval from them.

With what went on in my classroom last week and the fact that I was supposed to be off track today, I didn't have the energy to worry about it. Now that I've watched it online, I can't believe it was so controversial. I also fully plan on showing it when my class goes back on track. I'm writing my lesson plan now. Sure it's going to be a month later and some kids may have seen it already but I'm going to make sure that all kids have the opportunity to see it and talk about it.

Since when do we not want the leader of our country to encourage students to work hard in school?

I would love for someone to explain to me why this is a horrible thing. Seriously, I'll listen. I just want to know what the big deal was.

Here's some quotes from the speech that I enjoyed:

"I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself. Every single one of you has something that you're good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That's the opportunity an education can provide."

"Don't be afraid to ask questions. Don't be afraid to ask for help when you need it. . .Asking for help isn't a sign of weakness, it's a sign of strength because it shows you have the courage to admit when you don't know something, and that then allows you to learn something new. So find an adult that you trust -- a parent, a grandparent or teacher, a coach or a counselor -- and ask them to help you stay on track to meet your goals."

"And even when you're struggling, even when you're discouraged, and you feel like other people have given up on you, don't ever give up on yourself, because when you give up on yourself, you give up on your country."

"Now, your families, your teachers, and I are doing everything we can to make sure you have the education you need to answer these questions. . . you've got to do your part, too. So I expect all of you to get serious this year. I expect you to put your best effort into everything you do. I expect great things from each of you. So don't let us down. Don't let your family down or your country down. Most of all, don't let yourself down. Make us all proud."

The Year of the Dog

Book #38: The Year of the Dog by Grace Lin

This novel follows Pacy's adventures during the Chinese Year of the Dog. As she celebrates with her family, she finds out that this is the year she is supposed to "find herself." As the year goes on, she struggles to find her talent, makes a new best friend, and discovers just why the Year of the Dog is a lucky one for her after all.

Though this was an enjoyable book, I wanted more from it. I think it would be a great book for younger grades but it didn't have enough substance for grade 5+. I would say read it 2nd-4th grade.

Change of Plans

You know how I said I'm off track and I'm going to have a super lazy first day off? Well, change of plans.



The A track teacher called me earlier to tell me that over the weekend she fell off a curb and sprained her right ankle and broke her left in 3 places. So she has to stay off her feet for 6-8 weeks.



So I'm subbing for her this next week. I can't decide if I want to do it the whole time I'm off track or just this coming week. Decisions, decisions. So I may or may not have any time off this off track time.

I better do my homework tonight. Oh! I forgot to mention this! I decided to take one MEd class this semester. I don't know if I'm crazy or not but it seems like I can handle it even with the craziness that is my first year teaching.