"Don't worry Ginny, we'll send you a Hogwarts toilet seat."

I've been working on 3 different blogs concerning 3 separate ideas: religion/atheism, why mall shoppers are annoying, and what teachers should be allowed to say about their students. I don't know in what order they will actually be posted, those are just some things to look forward to :)

The real point of this blog is to share the happy news that I just got a Nook for my birthday. It's sort of amazing. I've heard a lot of people say that they think it's a terrible thing that people don't even read real books anymore, but I'll still be reading real books as well. I just really like the idea that whenever I want a little Hogwarts adventure, I don't have to lug a 600 page book around. This thing can actually store about 1500 books as is, and more with an SD card. Wow! So basically, anything I could ever imagine wanting to read can fit in here!

One of the perks of having a Nook as opposed to a Kindle or other like e-reader is that whenever I am logged into the in-store Barnes and Noble network, I can read whatever I want for free without buying (for up to an hour) and I can download a lot of free articles to read later. There's also the huge perk of using this as an excuse to people watch at Barnes and Noble, which was a fantastic way to spend a Saturday afternoon alone.There will be a lot more of this in my future.








In other news, if you haven't checked out the Being a 90s kid blog yet, read it here.

It's still in progess...

But here it is!

http://growinup90s.weebly.com/index.html

Oh, Happy Day

I'm bad at resolutions.

We you'd like to travel back in blog land, this post states my three resolutions for 2010:
I did not read Sense and Sensibility, and if you saw either my hairbrush or my itunes, you would know I did not accomplish either of these (though the hairbrush thing at least lasted through the summer). Also, unlisted in that post was "get my driver's license" which was accomplished.

I thought I'd make a new list, but that is obviously just setting myself up for disappointment on January 1 2012. My one and only concrete resolution for 2011 is to find a full time job in my field by December 31 2011. I think that's a fair goal.



So, 2010.There were some really rough spots, but I can honestly say I learned who my true friends were this year. There were times when I needed people, and those people were there for me. There were times I called a friend at 3 am, got a response, and together we made it through that hard time. And I did the same for them. Then there were plenty of times when people who I thought were my friends stood me up repeatedly, talked about me behind my back and were all around mean, accusing, and immature. So, here's to sticking with the people who want you in their lives.

On a more lighthearted note, some of the highlights of 2010 include:
-Living in Akron with 3 of the best friends ever where there was nonstop adventure, Lady Gaga, Pokemon, Sabrina, political references I did not understand and witty one liners. I would never ever ever ever ever again live in that neighborhood, and most certainly not that house with awful neighbors, ants, permanently boiling hot water, etc., but I do not regret for a minute my choice of housemates :)
-The end of my Circle K life, which is still a little bittersweet, since I don't want to see anything I worked on in the club fall to pieces. I hope we left it in good hands.
-Camp. It was the toughest summer of my life for a variety of reasons. It was a lot of work, but again, I don't regret it at all. Lessons learned this summer: 1. 110 degree weather is uncomfortable. 100 wet people in hot dining hall is uncomfortable. The chafing that comes with wet clothes is uncomfortable. Having to pee all the time from the amount of water consumption is uncomfortable. 2. Always check your sleeping facilities for a possibility of falling.
-Getting a car! Possibly the biggest challenge in my life previously was not having a reliable form of transportation, which made an impact on school, work, friends, everything. That has changed.
-Student teaching. It was great. I don't know what else to say but I couldn't have asked for better kids.
-Graduation. I graduated with the honors college and with high honors, both of which I wasn't sure i could do 4 years ago. So, hooray me.


I don't know so much how this blog fits into professional teacher life, so 2011 may be the end of it. I've tried googling myself, and I don't post this link many places, but I'm still a little concerned. So we'll see how this all plays out. Also, my friend and I have discussed the possibility of creating some sort of 90's blog (perhaps sort of like Things 90s Kids Realize ). I can see this being a definite possibility :)


So, that's all for now. Please enjoy this video of a cat cuddling a bear:

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone remembers that today is for Jesus and family and friends.

I have plenty of updates from my post-graduation life, and they will be coming later via new labtop* :)



I love you all! Now go listen to some NSync!

Kudos to Barbie

I hate it when I hear that Barbie gives girls poor body image. For a plastic doll, Barbie takes a lot of the blame for these sort of problems, and it has always upset me quite a bit.

I mean, sure, Barbie is pretty skinny, but she is also a doll. There are those studies that show that if Barbie were a real girl, she wouldn't be able to stand because of the too small waist-too large chest scenario. Having a perfect figure is certainly something that is overvalued in our society, but blaming a toy for it seems a bit much. I have quite a few friends who were not allowed to play with Barbies when they were kids for this reason. That's just ridiculous.

My defense for Barbie has always been her slogan that girls can do anything. That's a slogan we want girls to live by, right? And Barbie certainly can do anything. There exists Barbie dolls for just about every profession: nurses, dancers, scientists, teachers, astronauts, etc. There is also a graduate Barbie put out each year. So Barbie sends off more than just the "you have to look good" message. Barbie tells girls that it doesn't matter that you are a girl, you can still be anything you want to be.

So, with all that said, I was THRILLED when I saw this commercial this morning. You go, Barbie! My mom played with Barbies, I played with Barbies, and I will most likely force my future children into playing with them. This is the most fantastic advertisement for a toy I have seen in quite some time:

A Thanksgiving Survey

10 Things I wish I could say to people...

10. Don't be so stupid about what you post on facebook. Even though we are hardly friends, I can still see everything you post, which is about the people I love.

9. I think of you every single day and I no matter what i do, I can't think of a way to make your situation better. It's way over my head and I just want to move across the country to hang out with you everyday until you are healthy again.

8. I have the world's biggest crush on you, and it is killing me that I can't even tell you or give you the slightest hint.

7. You are the best friend I could have ever asked for. You are the little sister I always wanted. You are the biggest thing that I think of when I consider taking jobs out of state. I worry about you, your friends, your school work, everything all the time. I want you to do good things with your life. Don't screw it up, kid.

6. I'm not ignoring you. I just need more alone time lately. Life is stressful, but I love you and I'll come around soon. I'm sorry I haven't been a good friend.

5. You are the best person to ever come into my life. You are my other half and I thank God everyday that I have someone who understands me and is so dependable. I hope I am the same friend to you.

4. Let's eat pizza I don't really like and watch TV shows I hate. Those have been my favorite memories of college.

3. A lot of people don't like you, but you fixed my life in every way possible, and I'm not sure you'll ever really understand how.

2. Honey, things are going to get better. You are strong. Keep staying strong. We're here for you.

1. It didn't work out between you and I, and I was pretty disappointed, but it's better this way for you. I just wish we were actually friends again. I see hilarious things everyday I want to show you, and get sad that I can't really tell you since I'm the ex-girlfriend.

9 Things About Myself

9. Even though I'm more than ready to be paid to teach, I'm going to miss my student teaching kids a whole lot.

8. I'm thinking of moving somewhere crazy in August...though I know money will probably stop me.

7. I used to have a lot of fun making outfits and wearing crazy things. I wish I wasn't too old for that now.

5. I never remember how to do long division, but I do know more camp songs that any person should.

4. I am obsessed with pink, glitter, Barbies, dolls, ballet, and anything else really girly.

3. iCarly is basically my favorite show, and I am not ashamed.

2.I actually know what the following things are: subordinate clause, independent clause, prepositions, comma splices, appositives, etc. I love sentences! :)

1. I have 10 school days left until graduation!

8 Ways to Win My Heart

8. Buy me the blue Wawa pop. If you lived in Ohio, and somehow found the blue Wawa pop, I'd probably marry you.

7. Take me to Build-A-Bear

6. Take me to Bob Evans, Cracker Barrel, or another breakfast food establishment, and then don't judge me for how much I eat.

5. watch one of my favorite movies with me (Elf or The Wizard Oz)

4. Like my family

3. Don't judge me for my ice cream choices (cotton candy with gummy bears)

2. Hang out with me and Lizzy.

1. The fastest way to my heart is to not only tolerate my dog, but to actually like him and befriend him, and appreciate all of his fat, lazy, stubborn, and unintelligent qualities.

7 Things That Cross My Mind a Lot.

7. If anything I say ever stays in my students' minds.

6. Getting a job after graduation

5.What my friends are up to and how I can figure out how to spend more time with them

4. How Eagle and I can live closer together.

3. How I will decorate my future home with the maximum amount of pink possible

2. What some of my campers are up to during the school year

1. God

6 Things I Do Before I Go to Bed

6. brush my teeth

5. set alarm clock

4. set out clothes for the next day

3. read the Bible

2. check that I set my alarm clock

1. say goodnight to Charlie

5 People That Mean a Lot to Me [ besides family ]

5. Oh I hate this, I'm not choosing five.

4.

3.

2.

1.

4 Things I'm Wearing Right Now

4. tan pants

3. pink sweatshirt

2. ring

1. socks that say "Potter" on the bottom....

3 Songs I Listen to Often

3. Hal and Oates "Make my Dreams Come True"

2.Owl City "Fireflies"

1. Miley Cyrus "Party in the USA"

2 Things I Want in My Future

2. a job

1. to stay in touch with my friends

1 Confession

1. I have "The Dog Who Saved Christmas" set to record on DVR already...

Henry Builds A Cabin

I haven't been updating much, since I'm trying to keep any student teaching experiences pretty far from the internet. And since I teach every day, and then come home and work on lessons and grading the rest of the time, I don't have a lot of not student teaching related experiences to blog about.

I do have a little bit to share today. My students are just finishing up a book on Henry David Thoreau and Walden, and I was searching the internet to try and find images to show them, when I stumbled upon this piece of greatness:

This is one in a series of picture books intended for 2-3 graders. They are to serve as a basic intro to Transcendentalism. Henry is a bear who wants to build a cabin in the woods, and his friends Emerson and Alcott think he's silly (as in Ralph Waldo and Louisa May). The summary on Amazon shows it hits on 3 of the 4 main points of transcendentalism (simplicity, nature, and self-reliance...it's missing the spirituality bit). Do I want to buy this and read it to all future classrooms as an into the literary movement? YES! Do I want to buy this and read it every single day to myself? YES!

Graduation is in 8 weeks and then who knows what will happen! So far, the plan is to ride a bus to New Jersey to visit Eagle around January 12th-ish, and be there for her birthday, and then visit American Girl Place and then Camp Reunion! It's too early to be counting down the days, but it certainly is something to look forward to!





This is the first post that has been tagged with "bears." How did that happen??