Lana Lou and You

Muppets

2011-11-13T20:35:00.001-06:00

I am so excited for this movie!
11-23-11: Mark your calendars!

<br><br>11

November in Wisconsin

2011-11-11T05:35:00.000-06:00

Early November- This was the same day that it snowed in Utah :)

While most of the trees have lost their leaves, you can still find some beautiful colors.

I don't want the trees to get ready for winter. I'm not ready!

It was a beautiful day!

Hope you're having a great day!

Candy Tiers

2011-11-09T20:22:00.000-06:00

According to this website & Little Lana (me, back in the day),

the candy (pictured above) is the worst possible candy.

This little dish has been at work for a while.

I don't know who's eating it,

but I wish them good luck with it.

This picture is also another exhibit of
"One of these things is not like the other".

Whoops!

2011-11-03T21:35:00.000-05:00

While painting the outside of my parent's house

I dropped red paint and a paint filled brush

from off the ladder onto some foliage.

It was a mess.

I felt like I was in

Alice in Wonderland again,

except we don't have roses.

Work

2011-10-25T06:17:00.000-05:00

I found this sticky note in the Algebra answer key binder.

While I don't agree with it, I sure know plenty of people who do.

For example: J1 and J2

So, if you're a cat lover, today is your day!

Little Guy

2011-10-24T06:17:00.000-05:00

How sweet is this little guy?

His mom is J1,

one of the best co-workers I have ever had

and probably will ever have.

Here's to the good times!

Looking for that silver lining...

2011-10-17T21:02:00.000-05:00

Clark starts radiation today.

He's a little nervous.

We're all a little nervous.

If you could keep him in your prayers

it would be appreciated!

The colors!

2011-10-17T20:54:00.000-05:00

So, it's been a while since the last post.

The leaves are falling and it's getting colder.

But, it's still the best time to be in Wisconsin!

Beautiful

2011-10-02T22:23:00.000-05:00

Isn't this tree awesome? I saw it while on a walk this weekend.

I hope you had a beautiful weekend!

My weekend was beautiful for a few reasons:

1. Clark was home & not in the hospital!

2. It stopped raining outside

3. Clark played his bass in a talent show & was awesome!

4. BEAUTIFUL weather

5. General Conference!

Good laugh

2011-09-27T22:50:00.000-05:00

Sometimes, you need a good laugh.

Sometimes you provide that laugh for others.

I was carrying two slices of apple pie with caramel on them in plastic containers, but managed to get caramel everywhere! In my scarf, on my scarf, on my sweatshirt & on my bag. The best part was that it took me a long time to realize it was there. It took me even longer to discover the extent of the caramel spillage.

This is my mom's reaction:

Exhibit A: A good laugh

Exhibit B: Still laughing

We're still laughing about it.

First day of Autumn

2011-09-23T16:17:00.000-05:00

Happy first official day of Autumn!

Wisconsin doesn't wait for the official dates of seasons;

so, it seems like it's been autumn for a while now.

I don't mind it a bit.

One of the best things about Wisconsin is autumn!

Hope you've had some beautiful days like the one above

(that was last Saturday).

This puts the "video" in "music video"

2011-09-21T22:13:00.000-05:00

So previously, I posted that it had been too long since a music video was posted here;
however, there was no video to accompany the music. Here's another try:

A video with a great song:

It's been too long...

2011-09-21T22:04:00.000-05:00

Since there was a music video posted.
So, to remedy that:

Slang

2011-09-13T05:19:00.009-05:00

This was a funny find from a student's vocabulary assignment,

"Slang term for one seeking upward mobility, used in the '80s."

Answer?

"Yuppie", of course!

Which is interesting since these kids were born in the mid 1990s &

they don't appear to be fans of '80s teen movies.

Homer- probably as far from yuppie as you can get...

Sounds like a bird?

2011-09-12T23:19:00.000-05:00

I was teaching Sunday School at church

and someone's phone alarm went off.

It sounded like my alarm clock and we

all had a good laugh about it.

One guy said that he thought it sounded like a bird.

His older brother said something like,

"If you think that is what a bird sounds like,

we probably need to get you out in nature more!"

Then the younger brother said something about a bird

in a video game...

I don't really know what they were talking about...

but it was really funny.

September's a big month...

2011-09-07T22:07:00.000-05:00

September's a big month for Birthdays

of some of my favorite people.

So, have a wonderful Birthday month,

my dear friends!

As for the rest of you...

Hope September's going well!

Belated Labor Day post...

2011-09-05T22:07:00.000-05:00

I hope your Labor Day

was Labor free!

Clark got out of the hospital &

Dad was in town, so it ended up

to be one of the better Labor Days.

September is looking up!

Lost Keys

2011-09-03T18:27:00.000-05:00

I lost my keys in June.

It's not like I'm careless with keys.

I am almost obsessive about knowing where they are

and checking to make sure I have them.

So, how could I have misplaced them?

This is truly one of life's great mysteries...

Yep, that's too much.

Let's keep it real.

It is one of my personal mysteries.

The pyramids, Stonehenge, Easter Island, etc. are much bigger mysteries.

Enjoying the Lake

2011-09-03T17:35:00.001-05:00

While in Door County we were able to enjoy "the lake".

Usually that refers to Lake Michigan,

but I think we might have been at Green Bay.

The bay, not the town.

The best place to sit while your feet dry

so you can brush the sand right off!

A beautiful day at the lake or bay.

Relaxation

2011-09-02T18:20:00.000-05:00

The other day we went to the local driving range

to help Clark relax before his 5 day hospital

stay for chemo.

He says it worked!

Of course, there is anxiety before a hospital stay;

but, I think he was more relaxed.

Plus, it was nice to be outside

on such a beautiful evening.

You have to take advantage of those.

Hope you have had some nice evenings to enjoy!

Hospital Food

2011-09-01T18:35:00.000-05:00

I'm sitting in the hospital with Clark

and we're waiting for our dinner to come.

While hospital food is not BWW's,

it has definitely improved since we've

been frequenting hospitals.

For that I am so grateful.

A new month!

2011-09-01T03:33:00.000-05:00

HAPPY SEPTEMBER!

I can't believe it's already September!

Where did summer go?

Where did 2011 go?

This is the 2011/2012 school year

and it just feels strange.

I always have to double check to make sure

it really is 2011/2012.

Well, here's hoping for a wonderful month!

Clark is starting chemo again today.

Thankfully his tumor's going down,

so it looks like this chemo is working!

Lighthouses...

2011-08-31T05:08:00.000-05:00

Like most people, I love lighthouses.

While the lighthouses in Door County were lovely,

I'm still a fan of the huge lighthouses on the East & West coasts.

The lighthouses in Door County are not easy to find

and generally further up the peninsula than I like...

So, at first I thought this would be the only lighthouse spotted in Door County:

Yep, it's at a mini golf course.

But look at those waterfalls!

After getting lost,

asking drunkards exiting a bar by the sign

for this lighthouse,

we got up to the US Coast Guard sign that said

Absolutely no trespassing.

The friendly drunks had told us to ignore the sign.

We laughed and thought it would be a different kind of sign.

It wasn't.

But this picture will do.

At least for me.

The town that made it all possible...

2011-08-30T05:27:00.000-05:00

Here are a few of my favorite pictures of sweet

Two Rivers, Wisconsin

from this post about the origins of

the ice cream sundae.

I'm a sucker for statues

I'm a sucker for fountains

I'm also a sucker for small towns

I should also mention that

"Mr. Sandman" was
playing at the bandstand...

It was dripping with sweet, sweet nostalgia.

P.S. According to youtube, the Chordettes formed in Wisconsin.

Ice Cream Sundae Origins...

2011-08-29T05:21:00.001-05:00

Did you know?

A nice/crazy lady at the Farmer's Market

in Two Rivers, Wisconsin saw me taking pictures

of their sweet little town and kindly pointed/ordered

me to go across the street and take a picture of this sign.

I know that there is more than one tale of the ice cream sundae;

but, I really like this one. What about you?

Classic Craig

2011-08-26T05:37:00.001-05:00

If you know him, you understand the title.

If you don't know him, you should.

This photo makes me laugh

no matter how many times I look at it.

The best part is

this wasn't even staged.

Most of the time,

my life is pretty awesome.

I think this photo is proof.

Paradise?

2011-08-25T05:51:00.000-05:00

While looking through my photos in thumbnail size,

I came across this photo

and could not figure out where this came from.

Hawaii? San Diego? Florida?

Maybe it was from one of my parent's camera?

Not so! This photo is from Wisconsin.

Wisconsin!

Granted, it has been edited a little with a sweet little app.

But, isn't this picturesque?

Trucks

2011-08-24T17:51:00.000-05:00

The men in my family sure do love trucks

& so do I.

Perhaps it's hereditary

because it definitely runs on my dad's side

and not so much on my mom's side.

This beauty was outside our mechanic's place.

For once, Clark was happy to get his picture taken!

Where have you been all my life?

2011-08-23T06:14:00.002-05:00

Public restrooms = gross

Pictured above is sheer genius.

Sheer genius, people!

Bottle it up

2011-08-23T05:28:00.000-05:00

I am currently working on a way

to bottle up the beautiful weather

we've been having...

So that I can open up a bottle

in January or February when

even your ankle-length

down coat (with a hood)

can't keep you warm

and winter feels like it's dragging on

forever and the temperature

is in the negatives...

I definitely need to find a way

to bottle these days up...

But we can't think about winter now,

we musn't.

Only summer thoughts allowed:

When the world starts getting you down...

2011-08-22T08:14:00.000-05:00

Carole King taught me

that when the world starts getting me down...

I should go up on the roof.

Last week my "roof" was on a bike ride

to a beautiful little park.

The bike ride and beauty of the park

cleared my head

and I was refreshed.

I hope you have your own "roof"

to go to when this old world

starts getting you down...

Fresh

2011-08-22T05:19:00.001-05:00

Sometimes eating out on a restaurant's patio

is just so relaxing & rejuvenating.

Even if your waitress is a jerk.

When life gives you a pinched finger...

2011-08-19T05:10:00.000-05:00

The other day I noticed two perfect,

little black dots on my finger.

I have a slight recollection of pinching

my finger, recoiling and then waving my hand around;

because, that always helps...

So, these two little dots became my constant companions.

It made me think of the old saying,

"When life gives you lemons,

make lemonade."

There was no lemonade to be made from these dots,

so I decided to change it a little:

When life gives you a pinched finger,

make a smile:

Not nearly as catchy,

so I don't expect it to catch on :)

But, it made me happy.

Eye catching & yeah right

2011-08-18T05:34:00.000-05:00

I dare you to miss this little product on the shelves.

It's like it's screaming,

"MY DOUGH NEVER DRIES!"

I find that hard to believe.

But, what if it was possible...

Worst Idea Ever.

2011-08-17T10:34:00.000-05:00

In the marketing world, this was probably a good idea.

However, anyone who has ever been a little girl/tween

knows this is a very bad idea.

Little girls/tweens should never think

that the Ultimate Boyfriend exists

who will say exactly what you want him to say

in Ken's voice.

That is setting girls up for disappointment

and setting the bar way too high for boys.

Ken needs to have his own ideas.

Girls need to find happiness through themselves

and not through Sweet Talkin' Ken's voice.

Plus, Ken's shirt looks like a girl shirt.

You never know what the day will bring...

2011-08-16T07:21:00.000-05:00

Usually I think,

"You never know what the day will bring..."

when something bad happens.

Example: Clark going to a dr. appt.

and then finding out he will be in the hospital for 5 days.

OR Clark going to the dr. about a sinus infection

and finding out that he has cancer.

But Monday was different.

I thought

"You never know what the day will bring..."

in a positive way:

-I finally got feeling better and could leave the house (and it was a beautiful day!)

Proof:

-I accomplished a few things on the BIG TO DO LIST

-Clark came home from the hospital!

-The family was finally all in the same place at the same time

and we enjoyed some fire bowl/thesis draft burning time together

(The list was chronological- not in order of importance, obviously)

Mutant Carrot

2011-08-16T05:17:00.001-05:00

This grew in our garden.

I don't know what we put in the soil

to make it mutate like that;

but, if we could grow a few more

who knows what the possibilities could be...

XLERATOR

2011-08-16T00:02:00.000-05:00

I love these hand dryers.

In my humble opinion,

they have revolutionized public bathrooms.

It just seems right that your hands should be dried

at speeds that will make your skin move.

Glad the weekend's over?!?

2011-08-15T12:02:00.001-05:00

This is my version of a thumbs-down.

You know your weekend was junk

when you are relieved that it's over:

Clark was in the hospital,

I was sick and couldn't visit him,

I missed Tocaya's visit.

But, it's a new week

full of new possibilities...

This is my version of a thumbs-up.

and painting my parent's kitchen

and finishing all of the summer projects

that need to be finished by the end of August.

Yikes.

(I need to find a good picture for "yikes")

Clouds...

2011-08-13T05:02:00.002-05:00

I know this is no surprise

if you've made it past 1 blog post...

But, I love clouds!

Especially the big puffy ones.

So, enjoy this lovely cloud formation

courtesy of the clouds over Wisconsin.

Learning to love to sew

2011-08-12T05:03:00.000-05:00

Many moons ago,

I learned to sew in 4-H;

but, most of the teaching came from my mom.

I was not a natural at sewing

(that might be an understatement).

Recently, I thought it might be good to try again.

The first thing I made was this pillowcase.

I loved making it.

I thought,

"I'm starting to love sewing!"

It was very exciting.

Then I made pajama pants

and there were some major frustrations.

We'll see what the next project brings...

Reason #5 that I am not allowed to grill out

2011-08-11T22:02:00.000-05:00

These are two different views of the same object.

It used to be a hot dog.

Until I destroyed it on the grill.

This is not the first time I destroyed food using the grill, sadly.

I was officially "fired" from the grill.

But, then it was time for dinner one night

and everyone else was busy...

So I had no choice.

I had to fire up the grill.

Luckily, we had more hot dogs in the fridge

so Clark did not starve.

Hospital...

2011-08-11T21:46:00.000-05:00

Can't keep a good man down.

Clark was in the hospital Saturday-Monday

because of a fever, cough and infection.

Now he's back in the hospital

for chemo

for the next few days.

The most recent round of chemo didn't work,

so they're trying something else.

It's a bit more intense.

Right now he has a bag of chemo

that will run for 22 hours.

That's forever!

I'm going to be honest.

It sucks.

Cancer sucks.

But, Clark is so optimistic.

We're in awe at all of the advances of modern medicine.

And the Lord's merciful hand in our lives.

But, we can't wait until he's home

and neither can he.

Bandages

2011-08-08T05:19:00.000-05:00

It looks like my gym uses band-aids to hold up their speakers.

It also appears that this does not work.

They should have used duct tape!

Holding hands

2011-08-05T06:07:00.000-05:00

Back in the day, I used to do a lot of team-building activities
and ALWAYS dreaded the activities where you had to hold hands with people.
I just don't like touching the hands of strangers.
This cartoon from Savage Chickens spoke to me:

http://www.savagechickens.com/2011/08/teambuilding-tip.html

2011-08-04T10:59:00.000-05:00

This was my favorite part of the zoo last night.

Seeing his gum line and teeth made me think of
the gorilla in George of the Jungle:
(hopefully it will start at 6:29)

Happiness anywhere

2011-08-03T05:33:00.001-05:00

Happiness.

These pictures make me so happy.

Very different places,

but happiness can be found everywhere, right?

You just have to let yourself find it.

Hydration

2011-08-02T05:06:00.003-05:00

Stay hydrated, people!

It's HOT out there!

On a similar theme...

Enjoy this picture taken in the bathroom

at the USS Constitution Museum.

It's so clever.

Flowers

2011-08-01T09:59:00.000-05:00

Happy first day of August!

I can't believe summer is coming to an end.

While it's a sad thought

(especially for those of us with rough winters),

let's focus on enjoying summer while it's still here...

Yesterday was BEAUTIFUL.

The kind of weather that makes it so you

can't help but feel happy.

Wisconsin may have CrAzY weather,

but there are some perfect days.

I think yesterday was one of those!

These flowers looked really happy

maybe they'll make you feel happy too!

No way!

2011-07-29T05:49:00.000-05:00

Did you know that candy bar vending machines existed?

This one was at the zoo.

I mean, it makes sense to keep chocolate refrigerated...

But it was just so funny to see these glowing on the dark path at the zoo.

There was also an M&M machine

but I thought taking a picture of that might be overkill...

It's just so funny to see these buttons as options!

Music- TMBG

2011-07-29T00:12:00.009-05:00

Heard a great interview with They Might Be Giants & loved it.

I highly recommend it. Click here to read, listen or download.

One of my favorite quotes: "...Flansburgh says that "Three Might Be Duende" is like the Three Musketeers with vocabulary words...Duende is a delightful word that I think, in at least one definition of it, the first part of the definition is: It's hard to define," Flansburgh says, laughing.

They also performed an NPR Tiny Desk concert.

Enjoy it here.

AND of course...

A few of my favorites:

They're on tour and will be stopping in Milwaukee at the end of October.

Hooray!

The Zoo at Night

2011-07-28T11:49:00.000-05:00

The Milwaukee County Zoo had a few nights this summer

that they were open late.

Last night was one of those nights.

We braved the intermittent rain,

enjoyed the band The Love Monkeys

and saw some VERY lively cats.

We saw other animals too, of course, but this post is about the cats.

As you know, domesticated cats are not my favorite.

BUT, I love the big cats & am scared by them.

It's a complicated relationship.

The tigers really put on a show when they heard the zookeeper.

They ran all around inside, jumped across logs and played with each other.

It was probably the best part of the night!

When we first saw the lion he was just sleeping with his back to us.

So, all we could see was his nappy mane.

After the tigers were going crazy, the lion woke up.

He looked so majestic.

The picture doesn't really capture it...

Sleep

2011-07-26T23:29:00.000-05:00

This guy can sleep pretty much anywhere.

Even in a noisy waiting room at a hospital.

Yes, I am jealous.

Dye it

2011-07-25T17:02:00.000-05:00

We had a little too much fun dying hair the other week.

If that's even possible.

If coloring hair could be a hobby,

it would be one of my favorites.

My brothers & I went varying shades of blonde & mom went dark.

Craig's still trying to decide if blondes really do have more fun.

Sunday Stroll

2011-07-25T09:49:00.000-05:00

While on my Sunday stroll last night

2 events made me laugh:

1.) 2 adults + 4 kids + 2 bikes on the ground = just a neighborly chat

(or so I thought until I noticed the kids were not happy

and the 2 adults were lecturing about slowing the bike down

when you come down the hill that merges with the bike path...

So, it ends up that the solution to our previous equation was

a bike crash

The lady told me, "There was a bike crash, but everyone's ok now."

If this was a major intersection, it would not be funny. However, this is a small bikepath that winds between homes and there is no foliage blocking the little merge. Poor kids.

Everyone was so serious about it that I thought they were going

to exchange insurance information.

2.) When I got to "major intersection" on the bike path,

where you have to cross a busy road with a hill to continue on said bike path,

I noticed a woman on a bike.

Having just found out about the kiddie bike crash,

I thought I would be a good pedestrian

and wait for the woman on the bike to go past me before crossing the road.

She apologized for me having to stop to cross the road

(which was weird because she clearly had the right of way).

Maybe "the right of way" is old fashioned...

Anyway, the next thing she yelled helped to explain everything:

"I'm trying to go into labor to have this baby!"

Oh yes, she was very pregnant and riding a bike with an empty kiddie seat.

I hope that lady has already had her baby! She sure was pedaling!

$1

2011-07-22T05:25:00.000-05:00

The day this cart was in the library lobby

was probably one of my favorite library visits.

The entire cart was filled with the large print Romance novels

on both sides.

Have you ever seen so many pink bindings?

They also had ridiculous front covers.

Just like you would expect.

Smelly markers

2011-07-22T04:58:00.000-05:00

I love smelly markers more than most adults.

J2 gave me a box of Mr. Sketch and I LOVE them!

I was so naive to the scented markers world,

that I thought they were the only ones.

Silly me. I was proven wrong in a grad class.

My professor brought this magnificent box of Foohy

scented markers (pictured above)

They were so awesome.

Have you used them?

Have your kids?

They have a different tip than Mr. Sketch,

so I don't consider them competition.

So, using them was not cheating on Mr. Sketch.

A little treasure

2011-07-21T05:41:00.000-05:00

The other day I was cleaning out some boxes and found a little notebook

from my Arizona teaching days.

One of the pages was particularly funny:

During an inservice meeting,

the presenter threw a squishy ball

to a fellow participant,

but hit the head of the person in front

of the intended participant...

The presenter's face went red and she said,

"Sorry, I've never been very good at soccer."

Nope, I did not make a typo.

She really said soccer.

I think she might have been thinking baseball...

Air Force Museum

2011-07-20T05:34:00.000-05:00

Should you ever find yourself in Dayton, Ohio...

I highly recommend stopping at the Air Force Museum.

There are so many cool things to check out.

I wish we would have had more time!

Here are some of my favorite pics:

Changes

2011-07-19T16:03:00.000-05:00

Hi! Have you seen the new header?

It includes some of my favorite pictures

of this summer (so far).

I've been meaning to make one

and I finally made the time yesterday while

hanging out with Clark while he had chemo.

Also, the title "Polka Dots and Plaid" was

replaced with the actual url of the blog.

Simplicity, people. Simplicity.

At least that's what I'm striving for...

McWhat?

2011-07-19T05:57:00.000-05:00

We drove by this McDonald's in Ohio and knew that we had to have breakfast there.

We think it used to be a bank.

At the bottom of the staircase was the counter. Crazy.

Burning the thesis!

2011-07-18T05:17:00.002-05:00

I saved the old versions of my thesis

so that one day I could ceremoniously

burn them.

That day came and it was glorious.

Life is...

2011-07-16T06:15:00.000-05:00

"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." -John Lennon

Pirate Fest

2011-07-15T10:27:00.000-05:00

J2 and I went to Pirate Fest after work.

She was wearing her OCHS sweatshirt and

these pirates were trying to guess what the letters stood for.

It was hilarious! Their thoughts:

Our Crew Has a Stench

O Captain, Have Some (Scandalous!)

Obsessive Compulsive High School

Just some random pirates.
That's what makes Pirate Fest so awesome.

Waiting.

2011-07-14T06:48:00.000-05:00

So, Clark was diagnosed with cancer a year ago.

In February they said he was cancer free.

In May they said it was back.

Waiting at the hospital involves a lot of staring at the ground

and staring at my feet.

Hence, the picture.

Waiting, waiting.

2011-07-13T06:38:00.000-05:00

Last Sunday I gave a talk at this beautiful building.

It's one of the church buildings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,

but looks a little bit different than the other buildings we have.

It has a beautiful history (which is steeped in faithful German immigrants)

and it's 75th birthday was celebrated a couple of years ago.

I love it!

Biopsy.

2011-07-12T11:38:00.000-05:00

Last week Clark had a biopsy.

Mom and I went with him and to our surprise,

Day Surgery has an awesome pager.

Like at restaurants.

But, the best part of the day was that Clark

DIDN'T have to stay overnight!

He came home with us!

We'll get the results back soon.

Ahhh, summer.

2011-07-12T11:31:00.000-05:00

It's pretty difficult to find a decent shaved ice

refreshment in these parts, so I was ecstatic to find this

and it was on a beach at a local lake.

My personal favorite is Tiger's Blood.

I tried to explain to my mom what it was

but for some reason I couldn't.

When we got to the window they had a description of

favorite concoctions (one was Tiger's Blood, of course).

Tiger's Blood: strawberry & coconut.

Duh. That's why I love it. My two favorite flavors.

Obviously, it's been too long.

Isn't this sign funny?

Michael Bolton?

2011-07-12T05:42:00.001-05:00

Have you seen this yet? We love it!
Full disclosure: I would rate this a PG-13.

Music

2011-07-11T06:31:00.000-05:00

Yes, I still love Mumford & Sons. This is my 2nd favorite video:

Patience

2011-07-09T06:10:00.000-05:00

"Patience, he thought. So much of this was patience- waiting, and thinking and doing things right. So much of all this, so much of all living was patience and thinking." -Gary Paulsen (Hatchet)

They're back!

2011-07-09T05:46:00.000-05:00

HOORAY! The Muppets are always so clever:

Miracle

2011-07-08T06:00:00.001-05:00

"There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle.

The other is as though everything is a miracle." -Albert Einstein

I'm working on making the second part come more naturally.

Music

2011-07-07T14:30:00.000-05:00

Oh, I love this song so much:

2011-07-07T13:59:00.000-05:00

Pulling up next to this Tacoma truck

and reading this bizarre sign in R.I.

was the moment I decided I needed

my blog back.

In case you can't read from all of the glare:

"THIS TACOMA HAS BEEN

TO THE MOON AND IS

HEADING BACK TO EARTH !"

Did you notice that I added the space between "Earth" and "!"

I still don't know what to make of this sign.

I believe Liz Lemon said it best: "What the what?"

It's time.

2011-07-07T13:55:00.000-05:00

It's time to return to the blogging world.

Hello again!

Tangled Web

2011-01-31T05:39:00.000-06:00

A student did this to the office next to our classroom.

For our door he used paper towels instead of business cards.

Apparently he doesn't want to graduate. ever.

"It's So Fluffy"

2011-01-30T22:48:00.000-06:00

We finally watched DESPICABLE ME this weekend!
Everyone in the family LOVES it!
(This rarely happens.)
The video is one of my favorite scenes.
"IT'S SO FLUFFY!"

Delightful

2011-01-10T07:47:00.001-06:00

Here are a couple versions of the same song.
This is the order that I "discovered" them.
(The first one was posted on fb by a friend, so I don't take credit for it.)
I like this song. What do you think?

<br><br>Up

The Decemberists

2011-01-06T22:11:00.000-06:00

I think The Decemberists are great.
I listened to their new album
(Thank you NPR)
You can listen too, click here.

Goodbye 2010

2011-01-04T05:50:00.000-06:00

I know it's already the 4th,

but I couldn't find a picture

that showed how glad I am that 2010 is over.

I mean, 2010 started out ok,

Craig came home from his mission (yay!).

BUT

Job disappointments, the thesis,

Clark's cancer diagnosis and treatments,

Craig and Clark's summer surgeries,

finding out that dad had cancer

and Craig having a surgery just before Christmas

was more than enough.

I'm glad 2010 is done and I'm hoping 2011 will be good to us.

AND I hope it will be good to you too!

Sunset

2011-01-03T20:06:00.001-06:00

This beautiful sunrise

(it was really hard to capture and this doesn't do it justice)

made going into work easier this morning.

Surprise

2011-01-03T09:24:00.000-06:00

Not "Surprise, I'm back to blogging now that Winter Break is over."
Although, I guess that would work too.
This "Surprise" is meant to show that nice people exist
because I got a nice surprise at Church when I returned to my seat last Sunday:

My FAVORITE!
This surprise was left in secret, but yesterday I found out who left it
and I had a sneaking suspicion it was her for 3 reasons:
1. She's awesome.
2. I think she's the only one that would have remembered that it was my favorite.
3. She had a big gift bag that she was carrying around.

Too scary for words

2010-12-28T23:45:00.002-06:00

I wasn't joking.

Stubborn Gum Drop

2010-12-26T05:31:00.000-06:00

It is a truth, universally acknowledged (in my house), that Clark will eat parts off of our gingerbread house. He tried to get that purple gum drop, but it was stubborn and did not want to be taken captive.

Unlikely

2010-12-24T10:29:00.000-06:00

We were at Menards (a huge home repair/lumber store)

and even though Craig wasn't with us at the time,

he was there in spirit:

Yes, this was my first time seeing "iCRAIG"s.

When I showed Craig the pictures, he said he had already seen them in Cali.

So, he was not surprised by it. Sad.

However, he was surprised that they sold them at Menards!

I'll take what I can get.

Overheard

2010-12-22T09:20:00.001-06:00

This was heard over the walkie talkie this morning

and it made me smile:

A: Can you send Johnny over to our room- quick, like a bunny?

B: He's hoppin'!

"Johnny" is an elementary student,

so there is a pretty good chance that he was hopping!

Hoppy Holidays :)

(I couldn't resist!)

Inspiration

2010-12-21T08:35:00.001-06:00

I found this great article and recommend it to you:
Her guiding principle when working with at-risk teens: Never, ever give up
(You don't even have to work with at-risk teens to enjoy it.
The "Never, ever give up" idea applies to everyone.")

White Elephant

2010-12-21T05:30:00.000-06:00

This was my bounty from the white elephant gift exchange:

The middle one was half full: I just love the tacky-ness of white elephants:

They smell really sweet, so we'll see if it gets used.
We have some smelly smokers, so this would be an improvement.

bagpipers

2010-12-20T23:30:00.000-06:00

You probably already know this, but I just love bagpipers.

Especially when they're cute little tins that have shortbread cookies in them.

What would be even better is if bagpipe music played when you lifted the lid.

Then you would know when someone was stealing your shortbreads!

Overheard

2010-12-17T09:35:00.000-06:00

Yep, you know the "overheard" comments are the best.
This one is from work when I was walking by a dance class for little girls.
A grandpa and grandson were leaving the room and this is what was overheard:

Gramps: Don't you want to go to the lumber store?
Little boy: (mumble mumble mumble)
Gramps: What? You want to sit and watch ballet?

The little guy was a couple of years younger than the girls, but maybe he's starting early... or maybe he dreams of being a ballerino (is that even a term???). My friend said that her little girl in kindergarten and a little boy in her class would kiss during recess. Another friend's daughter was doing the same thing, this is not an isolated incident. Now, that's starting early!

Christmas

2010-12-16T05:20:00.000-06:00

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

so exciting!

A gem.

2010-12-15T05:44:00.001-06:00

I found this in my youtube history the other day

and couldn't believe that I haven't shared this.

It will blow your mind:

Gingerbread House

2010-12-14T05:45:00.000-06:00

'Tis the Season for the Gingerbread Houses!

Yep, there was a gingerbread marshmallow man war on the right side.

I guess this is what happens when you only have brothers.

It was so fun!

Copy Center

2010-12-14T05:38:00.000-06:00

Here's another gem from a math textbook.

You're welcome.

Here's our copy center:

"Inspiration Board"

2010-12-13T05:24:00.001-06:00

Many of the amazing blogs I read showcase pictures

of their inspiration boards. This is what I've got so far

(on the printer by my desk).

J2 colored the ducky for me

and I clipped the gem (bigger below)

from an old textbook before it

was claimed by the recycling dumpster.

Yep, this really was in a math textbook

with the caption:

"No time to loaf."

So awesomely bad!

Snow + Delays

2010-12-10T07:54:00.000-06:00

On my way home from work on Thursday night I had some snowy delays.

It took 40 min. longer than usual to get home.

This morning I left earlier than usual- just in case.

I wasn't surprised to hear that I-94 West bound was closed...

Until they said it was because of a police stand-off.

The stand-off started at 4:20 am and was still going on when I heard about it at 7 am.

Yikes!

Police re-routed everyone (including my co-worker) and this stand-off

wreaked more havoc than the snow.

What a mess.

Mystery solved

2010-12-09T07:55:00.000-06:00

My mom took 1/2 of the mint!

At first she said she didn't eat them.

But then she said that when she saw the little package

with 2 mismatched halves, she took the smaller one.

So, I think we can safely say those two little guys did not belong together.

One less thing to worry about, people!

Too late.

2010-12-08T07:59:00.000-06:00

Too late- somebody got to the other half before I could solve the mystery.

I guess it's like the Tootsie Pop...

The world may never know.

A Puzzle

2010-12-07T05:30:00.000-06:00

I'm pretty sure the two pieces in this little package do not match up.

I think they both say "LIFE".

Also, they just look too big for each other.

Why don't I just open it and try to put them together?

Mostly because I am warm under a blanket and

do not want to get up until absolutely necessary.

Perhaps there will be a follow-up to this post.

Intrigue!