It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Last year, Marisa and I entered the holiday door decorating contest under the "California Holiday" category. This year we decided to go with "Best Fictional Character." In an effort to remain non-denominational, we chose "The Twelve Days of Winter." The kids were amazing and did almost all of the work. We won!

The doors in full (the top reads: "All You Need This Winter is Hot Cocoa and a Good Book"):


On the first day of Winter my English teacher gave to me... A list of amazing books

On the second day of Winter, Mary Warren gave to me... 2 poppets
The Crucible, by Arthur Miller

On the third day of Winter, James Jarvis gave to me... 3 jugs of milk
Cry, the Beloved Country, by Alan Paton

On the fourth day of Winter, Lennie gave to me... 4 soft mice
Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck

On the fifth day of Winter, Edgar Allan Poe gave to me... 5 black gravestones
American Gothic, 19th Century Literature

On the sixth day of Winter, Jack gave to me... 6 pig heads
Lord of the Flies, by William Golding

On the seventh day of Winter, Mark Twain gave to me... 7 jumping frogs
The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, by Mark Twain

On the eighth day of Winter, Ms. Murray gave to me... 8 grammar corrections

On the ninth day of Winter, John Proctor gave to me... 9 torn confessions
The Crucible, by Arthur Miller

On the tenth day of Winter, Ms. Meinhardt gave to me... 10 helping verbs

On the eleventh day of Winter, Odysseus gave to me... 11 sirens singing
The Odyssey, by Homer

On the twelfth day of Winter, the Dead Poets Society gave to me... 12 carpe diems

It's All Worth Waiting For

"Windmills," Toad the Wet Sprocket

I'm currently:

Reading: Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card; The Road, by Cormac McCarthy
Listening: Kings of Leon, Only By the Night; The Killers, Day and Age; Kenny Chesney, Lucky Old Sun
Enjoying: Sleeping in, 7-11 hot chocolate, The Office re-runs
Procrastinating: Grading Poe/Twain essays, laundry, packing

Some of my favorite moments from the last few weeks:

Marisa, in fear of getting sick before her holiday trip to China, wore snow boots and cotton balls in her ears (to keep the cold air out, apparently) to school:


Holiday parties with old friends:


Melissa came to visit and made AMAZING margaritas (Minute Maid lime-aid, tangerine juice, and Cazadores):


Bailey snuggling under the covers:


Picking out and decorating the Christmas tree:


Holiday pictures:

I'm what I am and I'm what I'm not
I'm sure happy with what I've got
I live to love and laugh a lot
And that's all I need...

"Never Wanted Nothing More," Kenny Chesney

The Time Has Come for Colds and Overcoats

"I Will Play My Game Beneath the Spin Light," Brand New

Tim: I love dumpster diving.
Me: What'd you find?
Tim: A brand new iron. Black and Decker. And new headphones. Bose!
Me: They're probably broken.
Tim: (pause, after a few seconds, under his breath): These are broken. Yeah, these are crap. But I'm keeping the iron.
Me: Okay...
Tim: It's cordless. Come on.

5 minutes later...

Tim: Wait! The headphones do work!

10 minutes later...

Tim: I totally just dumpster dived more.
Me: What now?
Tim: Oh my god. I got a flashlight and an underwater camera. An underwater digital camera!
Me: Does it work?
Tim: I don't know!
Me: Where were those things?
Tim: Sitting next to the trash.
Me: Do you think our neighbors saw you?
Tim: I don't know. I don't care.
Tim: (under his breath, in realization): I need the power cord...oh! The cord might be out there! Alright, I gotta go back out. I'll be back....

10 minutes later...

Me: Did you find it?
Tim: Yup!
Me: Seriously?
Tim: Yes! It's the cord! Sweet!
Me: Cool. Do I still have to get you a bazooka for Christmas?
Tim: Yes.
Me: Why?
Tim: I'm cool. I deserve a bazooka.
Me: Maybe you should be kind of embarrassed.

You Impress Me So Completely

"These Stones Will Shout," The Raconteurs

Me: Why is there barbeque sauce by the front door?
Tim: It's Fuel Injector Cleaner.

* * * * *

Tim: Sometimes I think I'd like to have a gun. Some of my buddies go shoot skeet over in Oceanside.
Me: Are skeet birds?
Tim: (pause) No. They're clay disks.
Me: Oh. I thought skeet was a plural form of some type of bird. You know, the singular being "skit."
Tim: ...
Me: What kind of gun do you use for that? Like a magnum?
Tim: A magnum is a handgun. Do you think people shoot birds...or disks...with a handgun?
Me: Maybe! I don't know anything about guns.
Tim: You would use a shotgun to shoot skeet.
Me: I think you should get one of those guns that the Joker shoots out of the van in The Dark Knight.
Tim: A bazooka?
Me: Yes.
Tim: Okay. That's what I would like for Christmas. A bazooka. You'll need a permit.

Magic Soakin' My Spine

"Read My Mind," The Killers

We had Thanksgiving at Tim's dad and step-mom's house in Murrieta. It was wonderful; family, friends, good food, and great company. A few pictures...

Sara was in charge of the football pool (I won the first quarter!):


My dad ROCKED the Wii:


The beautiful spread...


The dogs indulged:





The day after Thanksgiving, we went to Sea World with Tim's dad, step-mom, brother, and sister-in-law. So fun...


Tim in the "Fish of the Pacific" Aquarium....he was DROOLING over these White Sea Bass and Yellowtail for probably an hour.

First Time Was a Great Time, Second Time Was a Blast...

"The Right Stuff," New Kids on the Block


Last night Marisa and I went to the NKOTB show. It was outrageous. My top six favorite moments from the concert, in no particular order:

1) Joey yelling, "Holy shit!......That's right, I said 'Shit!'"

2) The revolving piano in the center of the arena that the boys all awkwardly and pathetically danced around, yet no one actually played.

3) Jordan Knight, wearing an unbuttoned white women's blouse, trying to be sexy while singing his solo "hit" song (circa 1995), "I Can Give it to You." During this number, Jordan's chest was slathered in a vaseline-like substance (fake sweat?), and there was a wind machine strategically placed to make his shirt billow seductively. Ridiculous and amazing.

4) Donnie Wahlberg (who, by the way, has been arrested a number of times, one of which I know was arson-related) trying entirely too hard to be the "bad-boy-gangsta-hardcore-rapper" of the group: He swore, wore entire ensembles bedazzled in what I can only assume he believed to be "bling," wore an oversized "Black Rock" shirt adorned with a HUGE marijuana leaf, and pretended to unzip and pull down his pants. Twice. Needless to say, he is now my favorite.

5) The fact that, on two different occasions, Danny and Jonathan didn't even grace the stage with their presence while Donnie, Joey, and Jordan sang. Now, everybody knows that those two are in the group solely to round out the number to 5, seeing as neither one of them contributes anything (vocals, dance moves, or otherwise). But really? For two songs they didn't even come out? At least Jonathan is cute...

6) There was not ONE SINGLE person in the ENTIRE audience-- NOT ONE-- that wasn't doing the dance and screaming along to "Hangin' Tough."

There were fans of all ages, although mostly women in their early-to-late 30's. There were women wearing old-school, tye-dye NKOTB t-shirts. There were women dressed so scandalously that I'm CERTAIN they were trying to go home with a New Kid. There were girls in the audience crying, pawing at Jordan, throwing their underwear on stage, and holding up signs saying, "Joey, the baby's yours!" In short, it was a chaotic fiasco. It was a debacle. It was immature, embarrassing, and shameful. And it was FANTASTIC. I'd go again in a heartbeat.

For Every Moment of Joy...

"I've got great expectations
I've got family and friends
I've got satisfying work
I've got a back that bends
For every breath, for every day of living
This is my Thanksgiving"
-Don Henley

My family and friends are healthy and supportive. I'm in love with my best friend. I love my job. Life's good and I have a lot to be thankful for. Today, Sunday, November 23rd, I'm especially thankful for:

Ahi Tuna for dinner (caught by Tim):

Knowing how to cook risotto (thanks, Amanda!):


A full wine rack:


Karaoke:


Our new(er) bed-set (thanks, Mom!):


Our Christmas lights (complete with Bailey peeking out the window):


Bailey and Tim:

And finally, the fact that, come Thanksgiving, I no longer have to dress up like this:

A Devastatin' Backstroke

"The Kids Don't Stand a Chance," Vampire Weekend

Tim joined the gym. He has decided he hates the monotonous run that we do a few days a week (rightfully so), and instead wants to get back in the water. He went two days in a row and immediately started lifting the same weights (machines and amounts) he was lifting in college. He currently can't feel his arms, and watching him put on a shirt or itch his face is the most pitiful and adorable thing I've ever seen. However, I don't think 100 years away from the pool could take away his speed or grace...

"...to be a sailor of the world, bound for all ports..."
-Walt Whitman

It's A Flawed Work of Art

"Take Back the City," Snow Patrol

A few of my favorite things from this week so far:

The hole in our guest bathroom ceiling (note: don't visit us this weekend):


The (surprisingly well-written) essay I received entitled "I'm a Straight Up G:"


Bailey waking up this morning:


Tuesday Night sunset in front of my house:

I would rather be ashes than dust!
I would rather that my spark should burn out
in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry-rot.
I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom
of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.
The function of man is to live, not to exist.
I shall not waste my days trying to prolong them.
I shall use my time.

-Jack London

Just Get on the Floor and Do the New Kids' Dance

"Hangin' Tough," New Kids on the Block

There is a ceiling leak in the guest bathroom. I found out in the middle of the night, at about 2:00 AM, in the pitch-black dark, when I stepped on the bathmat and thought Bailey had had an accident. I can't find the phone number for our apartment managers (I looked really hard for about 45 seconds), so instead I sent an e-mail to the "Maintenance Request" address I found on the wall in the laundry room. At about noon today the metal pot--the one holding the dripping water-- filled for the first time, and the water had a slightly reddish-orange tint to it when I poured it into the tub. A normal person might assume the reddish hue is simply from pipe rust, however since I have CLEARLY watched too many murder-based Lifetime movies lately, I can't get the idea out of my head that one of our upstairs neighbors has been attacked and now is lying, lifeless and bleeding, on the bathroom floor.

In other, less demented news (well...I guess that's actually debatable), Marisa and I are going to the NKOTB concert on the 25th. I'm really not kidding. As I type, New Kids songs (both "classics" and well as titles from their new CD) are being downloaded onto my iPod. You know, so I can sing along when I'm rocking out at the Cox Arena. As a rule, large quantities of alcohol will also be required.

I heart Joey McIntyre...


In the meantime, I'm eagerly anticipating Maintenance's e-mail reply. I need somebody to alleviate the fear that the liquid dripping from the ceiling isn't just water...

Prepare for the Best and the Fastest Ride

"Everything's Magic," Angels and Airwaves

"We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for. To quote from Whitman, 'O me! O life!... of the questions of these recurring; of the endless trains of the faithless... of cities filled with the foolish; what good amid these, O me, O life? Answer. That you are here - that life exists, and identity; that the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse.' That the powerful play *goes on* and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be?"

-Dead Poets Society

Pumpkin Faces in the Night

"Halloween," The Misfits

Tim's "Catch of the Day":

Signs that Caution: "Sixteen's Unsafe"

"Anthem Part 2," Blink-182

It's true what they say. Teenagers can be cruel, selfish, lazy, unmotivated, and apathetic. However, they can also be incredibly smart, witty, passionate, creative, daring, and truthful. Every day my kids challenge and impress me. We are studying 19th century American literature right now, and I LOVE it. We started with transcendentalism, and got to read Thoreau, Emerson, Wordsworth, Whitman, Longfellow, and Bradbury. We moved into American Gothic last week, and read William Faulkner and lots of Edgar Allan Poe. The kids analyzed classic Gothic poems and modern Gothic songs and made posters:


They also wrote their own Gothic poems:


We're now focusing on Realism and Mark Twain, but during the Transcendentalism part of our unit we read and listened to the "Sunscreen Song" from 1999. Since the lyrics praise the importance of being your own person, following your own dreams, and appreciating nature, the connection to transcendental life seemed fairly clear. We decided to come up with our own "words to live by," and posted our ideas on a 20 foot stretch outside the classroom in the hall. This is only a portion:









A few of their words of wisdom.....

You know yourself better than anyone else.
Think green.
Go to the beach.
Be fair.
Belly dance.
If you have the opportunity, take it.
Have no regrets.
Eat buttermilk pancakes and smile.
Know your neighbors.
Respect everyone; don't blame others.
Keep the people you love in your life.
Wear your favorite color.
You can't shake hands with a clenched fist. -Gandhi
Life's a garden...dig it!
Take a drive with your best buddies.
Chances are, you were right.
Say good morning to Ms. Murray.
Hate is easy, love takes courage.
Eat sushi at least once!
Sometimes the dreams that come true are the dreams you never knew you had.
Live every day as if it were your last.
Respect yourself. Keep your own identity.
Watch the sunset.
Leave the nest.
Memorize the lines from your favorite movie.
Lie in the grass at night and appreciate the beauty of the stars.
Drive slower.
Leave a legacy.