Getting Used to Mindlessness

I'm so glad I'm not traveling this Christmas. I'm home with my family, eating well (not too many sweets), exercising, about to take my daily nap, and watching lots of movies. I'm going to work on National Boards, but I'm giving myself a few days completely off - it's sooo great.

I love this time of year. The last five emails in my inbox say "thanks." So awesome. So fun blessing others over the holidays.

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

My Brush with Fame

Mary Elizabeth came today. Sweetest person ever. I have two signed posters for my classroom. I think we could be friends :). The best part was talking to her grandmother and realizing that she's dating younger, and her guy is starting out in writing film. Apparently, she's been dating him for a while. It was so good to hear all of that.

It was also really funny to see all the kids getting her to sign stuff and taking pictures with her. Even high school students can be amazed by something. . . .

I also starred in a little acting role of my own this week for the school news show. Our school has added 6 more trailers in a pod. We named it "Sunny Acres." I run madly out of the school pushing a cart with all kinds of crazy papers on it, almost knock some kids over, and run out towards pod heaven singing "Sunny Acres is the place to be; pod living is the life for me." Close up on my face, "I just can't wait to own my own pod." Probably the best acting I've ever done. We did it all in one take.

Speaking of owning my own pod: soon, I will own my own townhome/apt. something! I've decided that instead of being nomadic when my lease ends near the end of March that I'm going to move in and set up a home for Burton and I for after we're married. This is so exciting. I don't even know what it will completely end up looking like, but it's going to be fun!

Poetry

I just felt I should have more than one post (who knows if I'll have time next week?)

I'm thankful for speakers who come into my classroom this Christmas:
Mary Susan, Peace Corps Volunteer from El Salvador, visits Wednesday (she's already written letters to all my students!)
Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Daughter in the latest Die Hard movie and born in Rocky Mt., speaks Friday!

National Boards is making me smarter. I'm going to analyze a poem to death for the students and teach them AP stuff so they can analyze their own. This will also prepare me for the exam I have to take sometime in April. I think this poem has a lot to say:

"The Death of a Toad" Richard Wilbur
A toad the power mower caught,
Chewed and clipped of a leg, with a hobbling hop has got
To the garden verge and sanctuaried him
Under the cineraria leaves, in the shade
Of the ashen heartshaped leaves in a dim,
Low, and a final glade.

The rare original heartsblood goes,
Spends on the earthen hide, in the folds and wizenings, flows
In the gutters of the banked and staring eyes. He lies
As still as if he would return to stone,
And soundlessly attending, dies
Toward some deep monotone,

Toward misted and ebullient seas
And cooling shores, toward lost Amphibia's emperies.
Day dwindles, drowning, and at length is gone
In the wide and antique eyes, which still appear
To watch, across the castrate lawn,
The haggard daylight steer.

Welcome!

Since this is such a busy time in my life, I've decided that the best way to let everyone know I'm still living is to post. I haven't had as much personal creative time, so I'm hoping the ability to post will renew some of that for me. I hope it will only be much more sophisticated as time goes on (hoping for digital camera additions).

Today's post is about Plants - Yes, Plants:
A student just told me a story about how her Dad named his plant Audrey, like the plant in Little Shop of Horrors. Her Dad's girlfriend "scratched" the plant often. Apparently, it just died. As I type, two students are studying plants for bio.

My Mom has a plant named Croton. She talks to it. I remember meeting the plant in September. "Come here, Nicole," my Mom called from the kitchen. "I want you to meet someone." It was quite the event. The plant didn't say much in response, but I'm impressed: she's kept it alive for four months now.

I got to interact with a real Christmas tree this year. Many of you may wonder why ours is now gone, especially since we had quite the party to welcome Grimace home. Candice was allergic (I'm so glad she's feeling better). It now has a happy home with Kim. I'm taking Burton out to dinner because he carried him across our apt. complex. According to Friar Laurence (God how I love Romeo and Juliet):

"In man as well as herbs--grace and rude will;
And where the worser is predominant,
Full soon the canker death eats up that plant."

So, a plant meant to bring great joy didn't. That's okay, we have ol' faithful faux.