passion tea lemonade

grammys 2012

2012-02-13T10:09:00.008-06:00

well, if you know me (and let's be real, all my readers know me. hi sisters!) then you know that i love award shows. the grammys are one of my favorite by far, and i have to say that this year's was truly incredible.

the grand opening was bruce springsteen and the e street band, of course missing clarence who passed away this year. he started the show on a positive note, but it really got going with the host.

ll cool j opened the show in a lovely way by offering a prayer for whitney houston and her family and reminded the audience what music can do and how memorable the grammys can be. he showed a clip of whitney singing "i will always love you" at a previous grammy awards show and really just set the night on a respectful but still joyful tone. the grammys don't always have a host, but i think it was perfect that they did this year. ladies love cool j, and that includes this lady blogger.

bruno mars performed. oh my goodness. i am obsessed. i love his 60s vibe when performing. he is really just good ole fashioned entertainment. with a pompadour.

alicia keys and bonnie raitt performed a tribute to etta james, singing "sunday kind of love." oh, how i love that song! that duo really brought it. a lovely tribute to an AMAZING singer.

the first award presented went to ADELE! can i just go ahead and say now that i am so happy she swept the awards, winning 6 out of 6 nominations. she deserved it! sidenote: in one of her wins, the text on screen revealed that her last name is adkins. it shocked me more than almost anything else that night! adkins?! so tame. so normal. i would've thought something more regal or timeless or majestic or something.

chris brown performed with a combination of good dancing, bad lipsyncing, freaky masked moth dancers, and a lingering reputation as an abusive man that i just can't get over or ignore.

jason aldean and kelly clarkson performed a duet which was nice and all, but the main event was their introduction by REBA! praise the Lord those internet rumors of her death were FALSO! i just love reba. like really. a lot. and so does kelly. so i just feel really unusually happy when they interact. i should probably get over the joy i feel for kelly clarkson being around reba since they've now dueted and toured together for years. whatever.

jack black introduced the foo fighters. again, i liked the introduction more than the performance. later, i liked dave grohl's acceptance speech more than his performance, too, because he spoke his mind about the beauty of real music, not just electronics and autotune. good for him.

the much anticipated duet of rhianna and coldplay was... mostly not a duet. rhi performed. rhi and chris martin briefly sang together, and then coldplay performed. regardless, it was aweseome. rhi and her dancers brought it, the duet was nice, and then coldplay's performance full of blacklight, graffiti, and light-up bracelets was amazing. i love chris martin's dance moves, too.

another part i really looked forward to was the tribute to the beach boys. maroon 5 performed "surfer girl," foster the people performed "wouldn't it be nice," and the boys themselves performed "good vibrations." it was so sweet but kind of sad too... 50 years makes a difference. i don't really know how foster the people got this gig, but i really enjoyed them. my one problem with the performance was the lingering question... where is john stamos?! uncle jesse was nowhere to be seen. a running theme of disappointment in my life.

stevie wonder performed!... harmonica for about 30 seconds while he introduced sir paul. such a tease.

reagardless, paul mccartney was amazing. i just love him. he sang a new song which was just totally xoxo. although i really hope he has an amazing new marriage, i can't help but think that his songs are still all about linda.

the civil wars got to perform for a hot second which was amazing. sadly, they were only really there to introduce taylor swift.

oh, taylor. i will admit, she sounded nice. her voice does seem to get better/stronger with years. but the outfit. really, tay? the theme wasn't quite strong enough for you to not just look like an escaped 18 year old from miss hannigan's orphanage in "annie." and, okay, the face of shock when an audience cheers for you is REALLY. GETTING. OLD!

katy perry performed. now this picture is from the red carpet because i wanted to show how gorgeous she looked, even with her silly blue hair. her performance was pretty much a song titled "hey russell brand, i can get over you. i'm a bad A chick who can sing, dance, and recreate the outfit of a long lost metallic power ranger. i can afford my own diamond rings and look beautiful with blue hair. booyah!"so, yeah, i liked it.

finally, adele performed. i mean, no pressure. she totally nailed it. amazing, emotional, beautiful. loved it.

there was another tribute - this time to glen campbell. the band perry sang "gentle on my mind," which is, of course, a classic, and blake shelton sang "southern night." finally, the man himself came out to sing "rhinestone cowboy." glen did great! it was sweet to see he's still got it and sad to know that his memory is fading.

carrie underwood and tony bennett performed a duet of "it had to be you," and boy, they were precious. i really love carrie underwood, her blonde hair, and her sweet attitude. and who doesn't love tony bennett?! he sounds so great for his age and really any age.

another moment we all were looking for was the tribute to those who died this year including amy winehouse, and most recently, whitney houston. jennifer hudson's singing of "i will always love you" was absolutely amazing. the first note and her silhouette were so reminiscent of whitney; it really took my breathe away. overall, the performance was beautiful and a great reminder that whitney should be most remembered for her amazing voice, not her antics with bobby brown or struggles with addiction.

there was then a tribute to electronic and/or house music. i missed it because i went in the other room. to miss it.

nicki minaj. no words. ugh.

adele won the last, biggest award and had to wipe snot during her teary acceptance speech. bless her little heart.

the night ended in an amazing way: more paul mccartney! he started on the piano with GOLDEN SLUMBERS! it progressed through carry that weight and ended with a guitar-man-a-thon including sir paul, the boss, and dave grohl. pretty legit. fitting ending to night about the music. long live paul mccartney.

God bless the Grammy awards.

God bless 12 year olds.

2012-01-07T16:37:00.002-06:00

i love my students.
i think y'all know that by now.
they are super funny.
i like to encourage that.
most days, when i take attendance, i ask them to say something other than "here," like "say your favorite animal" or "say your favorite ice cream flavor." [shout out to my camp counselor dayzzz.]
recently, some of the favorite animals included "rhino, liger, narwhal, and rats."
another day, i asked what the best gift each had ever received was, and it led to this funny interchange:
student 1: a suit.
student 2: you have a suit?!
student 1: yes, i have several suits; thank you very much!
God bless 'em, everyone.

2012.

2012-01-02T20:44:00.002-06:00

tomorrow morning begins my first "spring semester" as a real teacher.

the feelings of anticipating Christmas have quickly transformed into the anticipation of this new semester.

everything these past few days feels new, alive, and antsy.

new years plans. new semester plans. spring semester jitters. spring cleaning.

i have cleaned my room out in bits and pieces, scrubbed my bathroom from top to bottom, painted my nails the fanciest combination of lavender, plum, and sparkles, started a diary in my delightful new planner, packed up christmas decor, washed my sheets, cooked many new recipes, and planned for a new nine weeks at PA.

i have made resolutions, made plans to enact said resolutions, and toasted to an amazing 2011.

i have been so nervous about going back to school, but tonight, as i sat to finalize plans for tomorrow, i was inspired. i am still learning from my parents, and in their style, i must credit tonight's inspiration to the Holy Spirit. my parents always give credit where credit is due to God, and i swear that is what happened to me tonight. i am so excited to get back with the kiddos tomorrow. i have a goal to teach deeper this semester. my curriculum has less content on schedule for second semester, so my goal is to teach it better than i taught anything first semester. i want to take my students to deeper knowledge and higher level thinking. i want to instruct them in writing, rather than simply assign them to write. i want to read and appreciate books with them, rather than reading books and expecting them to excel without enjoyment.

bring it on, 2012. i'm ready.

christmas movies; my favorite movies

2011-12-24T11:06:00.004-06:00

i. love. christmas.

that should be a given.

and more specifically,

i. love. christmas movies.

and since a few posts ago i shared my top ten movie choices, (remember those hardest decisions of my life?!) i thought i should now, on christmas eve, reveal my TOP TEN CHRISTMAS MOVIES!

now, i'll admit, i'm kind of taking a cop out on numbers 7-10, because many of the movies on my original top ten movies were christmassy anyway!

10) the family stone

this sweet family dramedy revolves around coming home for the holidays, so of course it fits this list. the christmas morning / egg casserole / sjp scene is priceless.

9) you've got mail

again, this isn't a christmas movie. but it's one of my favorite movies and it has sweet christmas scenes, so it's on the list, baby. oh my. the wintery feel of NYC, the warm bookstore, the cute little kids (f-o-x.), and the holiday songs (the clarinet, the clarinet...) make this a christmassy-enough entry on this list.

8) little women

oh my gosh. i love this movie, and while it covers the four seasons of the year, the opening scenes in christmastime are so memorable and precious. "here we come a-wassaling among the leaves so green!"

7) steel magnolias

obviously this is one of my favorite movies of all time, and it is not technically a christmas movie. this chick flick makes the cut because of the fabulous christmas scenes! the festival of lights, annelle's wreath from the craft fair where she "cleared them out of baby jesus-es," shelby's dad announcing sheby's pregnancy at the christmas party, miss merry christmas "with her tinsel... down around her ankles." i love the glitz of this louisiana christmas!

6) meet me in st. louis

this is probably my favorite movie, and like little women and steel magnolias, this movie includes memorable scenes from all four seasons. the christmas piece is so, so incredibly sweet though! there is a moment at the christmas dance when esther waltzes around a big beautiful christmas tree with one partner, and reappears with another. oh my! if you haven't seen this movie, get your act together and watch it! that is my christmas wish.

5) a christmas story.

this movie was originally ranked higher on my list, but then i remembered how overplayed it has become thanks to TBS. i used to love it way more, but i still appreciate the classic humor, retrospective feel, and the childhood perspective on christmas. i try to keep that perspective, so this movie is right up my ally.

4) white christmas.

a true christmas classic. i love it from the musical number "sisters" to the four part harmony in "snow" on the train to the patriotic story about the veteran owning the lodge. bing crosby is just precious, as is the entire cast and the plot. one lesser-known gem in this movie is the dance number "choreography," where the cast bemoans the transition from old-timey "dance" to more modern "choreography." i love that little number so much and even used it in a speech on "how to tap dance" in high school :)

3) home alone.

i stinking love this movie. kevin mcallister is the cutest little rascal ever and i want to adopt him. and i would never leave him home alone. twice. or let him be lost in new york city. (sidenote: i love the sequel as well and it only didn't make the cut for redundancy. it's hilarious.) i loved this movie as a kid, but i think i love it more as an adult because i realize how preciously young and helpless kevin looks when he's really brilliant and schemy and wonderful. this little holiday gem has two of the most quoteable lines ever: 1) keep the change, ya filthy animal. and 2) buzz. your girlfriend. WOOF.

2) national lampoon's christmas vacation.

now many families have annual viewings of "it's a wonderful life," but in my family, i grew up on "christmas vacation." from the opening song "...it's that time - christmas time is here!" to one quotable scene after another, this movie will forever be one of my favorites. as a toddler, i loved this movie so much, that i would walk around my house hollering "hallelujah! holy s*@#!" i guess my parents didn't realize how much i was absorbing from the christmas classic, but believe you me, i was soaking it up. "little full; lot of sap."

1) elf.

buddy the elf. how can i explain this? this movie is the ultimate combination of joy, innocence, christmas spirit, will ferrell physical comedy, zooey deschanel singing, scrooge-y adults regaining faith in christmas, and line after line of quoteable magic. God bless Buddy the Elf.

December

2011-12-20T20:06:00.001-06:00

so
many
good
things
have
happened.

I wish I could type out all the details of these delightful days, and I promise I WILL discuss the highlights soon, but for now, and for my sister Larkin, here are some snapshots of the great events so far this month.

Success!

2011-12-13T09:10:00.002-06:00

Alright, you know the feeling when you have found a delicious-looking recipe in a magazine, or on a blog, or on Pinterest. You think it looks amazing and delicious and maybe-even-nutritious. You plan a night, buy the groceries, plan out the time, and get to cooking. You think you're following all the steps to a T, but you end up substituting this-for-that and rushing the time forward and under- or over-cooking it until it looks kinda like the picture with the recipe, tastes kinda good, and is something you would maybe make again. Or is that just me?

I have had let-downs from recipes for pot pie, chicken tenders, mac and cheese, baked chicken, and the list goes on and on. Nothing too disastrous, but nothing too memorable.

Until last night.

Last night, I made a pork chop recipe from Rachael Ray's December magazine. Each month, there is a weeknight meal planner pullout in the mag, and this recipe came from that. You can also find it online at http://www.rachaelraymag.com/recipes/rachael-ray-magazine-recipe-search/dinner-recipes/crispy-parmesan-pork

Check out the recipe if you want to make the corresponding spinach salad with marinated onions, but I just made the pork and it was SO easy. You just mash together 1/2 cup slivered almonds and 1/2 cup parmesan cheese. The recipe suggested a food processor, but I just put them in a baggie and whacked at the mixture with a rolling pin. Then you beat one egg in a shallow bowl and put the cheese/almond crumbs in another. Dredge the pork chops (recipe calls for 4 4oz. chops; mine were bigger and worked great) in the egg, let excess drip, dab in crumbs and coat them well, then let them all sit while 2 Tbs of EVOO heat up in your nonstick skillet. Once the oil is hot enough, fry up the chops for 4 minutes on each side and then let them sit for a few minutes in the hot pan off the direct heat. We put a lid on with a space to vent steam.

THESE WERE SO GOOD! I will for sure be making them again and I love that the recipe is simple enough to remember and basic enough to cook often. We served it last night with steamed baby carrots and green bean casserole. YUM!

*real post about something fun coming soon*
*get ready - i have an 18 day break from work coming up soon*

trying, failing, trying, succeeding, trying

2011-11-14T17:15:00.002-06:00

so i'm almost three months into my first year of teaching. and i never blog about anything actually going into my life, so i thought today was the day.

in these first three months, there have been many successes and many not-so-much-successes. each of these failures has been what we sugar-coatingly call a "learning opportunity," and i truly have learned, learned, learned this year. i thought my year of interning was the ultimate learning experience, but it turns out the first year of teaching is an equal or greater school.

in so many areas of my life, i feel like my opinions do not change, but in my new career, my opinion of my own performance changes by the minute! even today, in my planning time, i was feeling so happy with today's lesson, but so disappointed in my overall planning for the rest of the quarter. i have so many people giving me opinions, which is great, but sometimes i get those confused with my own gut instincts and regret it. then, in the next few minutes, i was reminded that God has me in his plan and i probably can't do anything that will wrench me from that. i am a first year teacher at this point in my life, and everything is going to be new, difficult, wonderful, and a chance to learn.

i found this quote in an old journal of mine after school today, and it really sums up this back-and-forth attitude i've been having to balance learning-and-moving-forward with not-beating-myself-up...

"since every failure is a lesson, every challenge an opportunity, and every joy a triumph, it's hard to go wrong." -michael addison reed

AND A FINAL THOUGHT...

dream love

2011-09-14T11:39:00.003-05:00

lucy and desi.

sonny and cher.

elvis and priscilla.

what is the tri-bond between those three couples? they are three of the celebrity-couples-that-i-pretend-never-got-divorced. i really do, because HOW COULD THEY?! how could lucy and desi break up after all those "i love lucy" episodes?! and sonny and cher... does "i've got you babe" mean nothing?! but the one that always gets me... elvis and priscilla.

just LOOK how happy they were together cutting the cake at their wedding!

so. in love. so precious!

now maybe i've read a book about them and watched the tv movie one too many times...

the look of love stayed even as he transitioned to the vegas years...

so. glam.

can't we just pretend they stayed that way forever? in a pose of 70s-chic-glamour-on-shag-carpeting? that's where they will forever be in my mind anyway.

*p.s. i am only posting a frivolous post like because i wrote it while home sick and confined to the couch. and because i'm frivolous. sue me.*

come & knock on our 3 hour tour of songs that made the hit parade...

2011-09-13T21:16:00.006-05:00

here i am again, inspired by the new entertainment section on pionnerwoman.com. the most recent post, found here, is about seven great tv theme songs. the post really got me thinking, so i have made my own top seven theme songs list. you're welcome.

7. three's company.

this one goes at the bottom of the list because i actually don't even like "three's company." i'm not into the hijinks and landlord-avoidance, but i am very into the theme song. sing it with me; "come and knock on our door...." i sadly cannot find a clip on youtube. dern.

6. gilligan's island.

this is another show where i love the theme song as much or more than the show itself. this theme song has it all: introducing the characters, introducing the basic situation, a catchy melody, and brilliant special effects in the storm scene. important note: some seasons said "the movie star, the professor, and mary ann," while some said "the movie star... and the rest." what an insult! mary ann and the professor were so my faves.

5. all in the family.

my strange pattern continues here. i don't love this show but, come on, who doesn't love this sweet/weird/sentimental/annoying intro with archie and edith singing "those were the day?!" if you are blessed to know my former 'mate charis, please ask her for her rendition of this song next time you see her.

4. the nanny.

this show is my number one, all of my life, guilty pleasure. i have known the words to this theme song since a very young age. honestly, i still love this show now as much as i did when i was ten on summer vacations. this theme song is a throwback to the old days of spelling out the story-line and introducing the characters in the first minute. if you judge the nanny, then you can judge me. because. i. LOVE. IT.

3. mary tyler moore.

could this theme song be better?! it's so sweet, just like mtm. the theme shows mary's attitude of taking on the big city, several scenes of enjoying her independent life, and of course, the famous hat toss at the end. this song really applies to my life right now as a young twenty-something starting my career, and it also takes me back to my childhood when my dad would work at night. when dad was at work, i would get to fall asleep in my parents' room, watching nick at nite with my mom. mary was always a favorite.

2. saved by the bell.

i cannot even explain to you how much i love this show. i truly don't remember a time in my life where it wasn't one of my favorite shows. from it's saturday morning spot to infinite reruns on tbs, and now a prominent spot in my tv-on-dvd collection, "saved by the bell" has been the best. i have seen every episode, zack morris may have been my first crush, i didn't know that lisa turtle was black into an embarassingly-old age, and the ZACK ATTACK is my dream concert to this day. i should maybe start an entire new blog divulging my feelings on SBTB episodes, but for now i'll just leave you with the incredible theme song. from the ringing of the bell, to the clips of the cast that are now burned into my brain, i love it. sorry this is a janky homemade version; youtube is failing me on this one.

1. friends.

come on, how could i not put the friends theme song at the top of my list? growing up, friends was THE show to watch! i remember not being allowed to watch the early seasons because i was too young, but in later years, i remember rushing home from dance class and standing in front of the tv in my pink tights and cover-up to watch monica propose to chandler so that chandler would propose to her. it was, and still is, one of my favorite friends moments. the show was SO popular during its run and the theme song itself was a hit song! the theme song of this show is so great because we see the cast having fun, we see clips from the show's various seasons, and we hear a song (in true mary tyler moore fashion) that describes the life phase of the characters without giving a play-by-play of their names or something more cheesy. and, just like mary tyler moore's theme song, this song really relates to my awkward phase of life that i'm trying to keep as minimally awkward as possible :) i have chosen to show the intro scene from season 10 in a wave of nostalgia. enjoy.

omg. i just realized i forgot THE BRADY BUNCH. forgive me, readers, for i have sinned. what other theme songs do you love?

vmas 2011: a tribute to my girl crushes.

2011-09-01T21:26:00.010-05:00

well, well, well, it's that time of year again! you guessed it, the MTV movie awards rerun season! and back by popular demand (meaning one request from my sister), i am here to give you my full review of this year's performances...

lady gaga as dude gaga opening with "you and I." I must admit I LOVE that song. brian may from KISS played with her and though I was initially weirded out by the performance, I ended up loving it. I kinda wish I could put on a man outfit and roooock out hardcore. you know? maybe not.

jay-z and kanye. omg. i'm not the world's biggest rap aficionado (shocker, i know.) but i was absolutely enthralled with this performance. they were both so powerful and happy and tough at the same time. i loved what they wore, the way they performed, and the big ole American flag in the back. work it.

ADELE. SO. PERFECT. her hair was perfect. her makeup was perfect. her 60s style dress was perfect. the lighting was PERFECT. the piano player was perfect. and her voice throughout this poignant song "someone like you" was perfect, too. girl crush one.

chris brown. noticeably lip-syncing but also very noticeably dancing and performing Kung-Fu moves. and flying off the stage as his pants rode higher and higher. and lip-syncing. I loved seeing kanye stand up to watch and jay sippin' on his draaaank. at the end of the performance, you could clearly read j.biebs saying "that's my boy" as he fist pumped. if beibs approves, so do i.

a Britney spears video dance medley?! omg. I loved it. even the baby britneys. (i'm choosing to plea the fifth on gaga's introduction.)

there's brit brit looking silly with her TWO awards: the first VMA of the night AND a lifetime achievement. get it, girl. and since that's not her best facial, i'm including a smiling picture. brit is looking her BEST these days!!! girl crush 2.

then! Britney introduced... BEYONCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! she is my idol. her performance was so great. she started it by saying "...music used to make you feel so good. tonight I want you to feel the love that's growing inside me." that's right, she announced her pregnancy! aaaahhhh!!!! yes, in the words of Jimmy Fallon, "beyonce and jay-z's kid will have everything... except a last name." so anyway, B sang the happiest song, her new jam "love on top." she and her back-up dancers/singers wore black pants, heels, tux shirts, and SPARKLY TUXEDO JACKETS. you read that right. at the end, she dropped her mic, unbuttoned her jacket, and rubbed her little tiny baby belly pooch. omg. cut to jay, smiling from ear to ear (like the lyrics to "love on top" said), being congratulated by kanye. they looked like kids on Christmas. so. stinking. cute.

sidenote: one of my favorite shots during B's performance was a cut to Adele in the audience singing along :) here she is rocking the red carpet, mid-performance, and post-performance. i love you, beyonce. ultra girl crush.

oh, and i also loved the cut to katy perry looking like a kristen-wiig-snl-character- come-to-life.

those were all looks from ONE night. yowza.

russell brand and tony bennett gave a brief but very sweet tribute to the life of amy winehouse. bruno mars (who, sidenote: I love!) sang amy's wonderful song "valerie," which has also been covered on "glee!" the song was so great, and just like adele in the audience, I was singing and snapping along. RIP Amy.

also, this is what nicki minaj wore. okay bye.

until next year!

your favorite vma non-corespondent,

noel.

a little reminder.

2011-08-27T23:21:00.004-05:00

this image is courtest of a favorite blogger/artist of mine: paper fashion. apparently this is a quotation from francis ford coppola. and no matter how famous he is for big popular movies of all types, he directed the film adaptation of "the outsiders," and for that, i'll be forever indebted to him. i love "the outsiders," and even got to teach it this year and last. and we have come full circle; do what you love. you'll be better at it.

*side note* please ignore the fact that the quotation as illustrated contains a comma splice. that comma should be a semi-colon, or it should be two sentences. k bye. love, the grammar teacher.

We don't plagiarize in English class...

2011-08-16T21:03:00.003-05:00

...but I am going to on this blog. I just read my sweet friend Jessica's blog post on the first day of school. It is so cool that Jess and I are both starting our first year of teaching as seventh grade teachers! Every word of her blog seems like it was taken straight from my mouth after my first day of school today. So, here it is...

"Day One is complete!! Woohoo! This is how I felt at the end of the day....

I made it! I spent the whole weekend being so nervous. What if I'm not as good as they think I'm going to be? What if the kids think I'm terrible? I didn't want to be too friendly or too tough--just enough of both for the kids to like and respect me....

And after all that worrying, it went just fine. Sometimes, you really do have to let go and let God. I was trying to do it all by myself, but I'm not kidding when I say that there was some definite Divine intervention in my first day of school. I expected things to go wrong all day. I expected major monitoring and adjusting to have to occur. But I walked in at 7:15 AM, collected my thoughts, put an objective on the board, and it was like everything just worked. Now, don't get me wrong. It wasn't perfect. I still have a long way to go toward being the teacher I want to be. But I also didn't feel like my classroom was going down like the Titanic. Not even once. Therefore, I declare today a personal success. I kept my cool, and (hopefully) fooled those kids into thinking I knew exactly what I was doing all day. I'll try to post more on Friday about the first week. Just wanted to share a little excitement and get out those first day jitters. Happy back-to-school everyone! "

Also, please check out her blog -> www.wisdomfromthemiddle.blogspot.com

Yay for Middle School!

the T5. by popular demand.

2011-08-15T19:25:00.001-05:00

well, apparently you nerds loved my movie review and now on an insane ego trip, i'm posting part two today. but you're not nerds; you're precious lovely blog readers who i am grateful for in this weird little blog world. and i'm not really on an insane ego trip; i'm just shocked that people seemed to care about my movie preferences. that's what friends are for, i guess.

for a refresher on numbers ten through six in my top ten, check my last blog post.

and now for the top five!

5) that thing you do!

this movie is an underrated wonder, just like the fictional band it focuses on, the ~~one-ders~~ wonders. this movie is funny, emotional, plausible, and overall clean-cut, which are some of my favorite characteristics of a movie. most importantly, my style icon hails from this movie: faye. not liv tyler herself, but faye the 60s-cigarette-pant-top-know-sunglasses-lipstick babe that i aspire to be. some of my dearest friends know that my favorite compliment is being told i look "so faye."

4) the sound of music.

the hiiiiiiiiiiiiiills are alive! from the sweeping landscapes to the subtle humor of curtain-clad-children-falling-out-of-rowboats, the sound of music truly has it all. maria and the captain have such a precious love story. as a kid, i loved this movie for the musical numbers and beauty, but recently i have realized just how much i love the love story at the center of the movie. maria falls in love with the captain and his family, and he learns that he can love again and open his hard heart. hello! it's beautiful! i honestly used to fast-forward through the "something good" duet, but now it's a favorite part and i melt. dear captain von trapp, i love you. xoxo, fraulein noel.

3) little women.

hold on a moment. i have to go get a tissue at the thought of this movie. okay i'm back. i love every rendition i've seen of louisa may alcott's classic novel, but the winona ryder film is truly my favorite. as the youngest of four sisters, this story resonates so strongly with me. i've talked about it with other friends who are "one of four girls" and they usually feel the same way. i'm the amy in our family, as the youngest, but i always resented her snootiness. does that make me snooty?! anyway, when i was homesick in college, i would always watch this movie and just push myself over the emotional edge into a mess of crying and pining for home. that's normal, right?! anyway, i love this movie for the multiple types of relationships it portrays: romantic, unrequited romance, sister-sister, friends, mother-daughter, father-daughter, husband-wife, and the love of true charity to others. there are, of course, funny moments (it is in my T5, after all), but there are also some sad, sad moments that break your heart. i should probably stop writing now because this is a little-women-length-book already.

2) steel magnolias.

if you haven't seen steel magnolias, please exit this internet window, shut down you computer, drive to blockbuster if you can find one that isn't bankrupt, rent it, drive home, grab some tissues, and watch it. it's not on netflix instant-play [travesty.] so that route is out. you can borrow mine if you're trust-worthy. if you haven't seen this, you are missing the funniest and saddest movie you'll ever encounter. i love dolly parton, julia roberts, sally field, and the whole gang. the classic lines are innumerable, from "sammy's so confused he doesn't know whether to scratch his watch or wind his butt" to "i want to let you know that my personal tragedy will not interfere with my ability to do good hair." you WILL laugh. you WILL cry. you WILL be caught saying "blush and bashful" for the rest of your life.

and now, drumroll please....

1) meet me in st. louis.

this is number one, people. this has been a classic in my family my whole life, and i still love it after countless viewings. this movie has it all: family love, musical numbers, romance, christmas, glamour, drama, a cute kid, and a precious old man. watching this movie is just so nostalgic that watching it makes me happy every time. i know all the lines, every word to every song, and still choke up every time esther and john waltz around the christmas tree. it was honestly a tough call, between my top three movies, to pick number one, but meet me in st. louis hits the top because it doesn't always make me bawl like a baby like the other two. it has just the right amount of sweetness and sentiment. and of course, my top three movies all have key scenes at christmas. it's an obsession.

so there's my list. i'm already thinking of movies that could have made the list if i'd written it another day, but these top five are really the best. so, what are your favorites?

the hardest decisions of my life.

2011-08-09T21:48:00.004-05:00

i have a problem. i LOVE movies. like, too much. as in... my netflix account has 279 movies marked 5 stars, which means "i loved it." yikes. bikes. see, right there <--- that was a quote from "never been kissed." it's a disease.

my allegiance to the pioneer woman has only fueled my movie obsession. if you don't follow PW, you are missing out for many reasons, but especially now that she has added a new "entertainment" section, where she discusses 80s movies and tv comedies as seriously as senators talking through this whole debt-ceiling-crisis. and i appreciate that in a blog. then, my friend keri blogged her "desert island" movies (with a book list to come), and i am now ready to share my own. kind of.

i tried to come up with a top 5. that expanded to a top 10. and that list now has alternates. so sue me. but before you do, please enjoy my list of TOP TEN MOVIES!

10) the family stone.

this is a recent addition, but i love this movie SO much. this movie gets mixed reviews, and to be honest, i did not like it when i saw it in theaters. once i saw "the family stone" with my own family, i loved it. it is so real. so complex. so funny. so unpretty at times. the scene with the egg casserole in the kitchen. is. timeless.

9) gentlemen prefer blondes.

as a blonde, i have loved this from the start. i'm not even sure how this marilyn monroe classic became such a fixture in my life, but it has been a favorite for as long as i can remember. i've known the words to the songs longer than i've known how to spell my last name, so for that alone, it makes the list.

8) pee wee's big adventure.

besides being absolutely hilarious, this movie poses some tough questions, like "i know you are, but what am i?" and "can you say 'adobe'?" the scene with pee wee dancing on a bar to "tequila" is beyond priceless. this is a family favorite for sure.

7) dan in real life.

this is another new addition, but i'm catapulting it all the way to number seven. this movie is just SO good. it combines two of my favorite movie characteristics: family-focused-movies-that-include-singing and not-quite-comedies-starring-comic-actors (like "stranger than fiction" with a not-so-goofy will ferrell or "the truman show" with a toned-down-but-great jim carrey.) steve carell plays this role so well, dane cook is composed, and the family love brings a tear to my eye.

6) you've got mail.

call me a cliche girl, but i die for this rom.com. the combination of tom hanks and meg ryan is, of course, classic, but the added bonuses of steve zhan, parker posey, jean stapleton, and dave chapelle make this movie an ensemble flick in my book. the build up to the end is so great, the plot is complex without being contrived, and the sweetness of the romance gives hope in our cynical little world. so there, i love it.

i'm going to have to stop right there. try not to revolt in anguish waiting for my T5 post to come.

hidden gems, y'all.

2011-07-26T23:21:00.002-05:00

in preparation for my new job, which starts in... oh... TWELVE DAYS, i have been cleaning things out and packing up to "move in" to my classroom. and among the files, copies, highlighters, and gradesheets, i found a few hidden gems from my time at my last internship. and by gems, i mean direct quotes from my hilarious and wonderful students.

when asked to share an item from his bucket list, a foreign exchange student said, "i want to make a revolution." that made me laugh, but then made me somewhat nervous. moving on.
when asked to give a celebrity eulogy, one student chose to remember crocodile hunter steve erwin by saying, "he was friendly and informational."
when asked to give a celebrity eulogy, one student delivered this masterpiece; "we are here today to honor tupac, one of the greatest rappers of all time, along with biggie smalls... even though tupac banged biggie's wife." a great start to a great speech.

you can't make this stuff up. and that's why i'm a teacher.

my debut album

2011-07-20T17:43:00.002-05:00

is it just me, or have y'all noticed recently that some songs become self-fulfilling prophecies for the artists? oh, it's just me? okay, well here are the examples i can think of to prove my awesome point: katy perry had to really want some gigs on independence day to write the song "firework." am i right?! i bet as she was recording the song, she was thinking, "man, i wonder what bedazzled leotard will show my patriotism the best on july 4th?!" or taylor swift, for example. she pretty much seems to write songs for the potential performance set-ups. her first single was "tim mcgraw," and i'm pretty sure she got to meet and sing with tim mcgraw. "love story" with the chorus about romeo and juliet was mainly written, according to my flawless theory, so that t.swift could prance around juliet style in a music video. and to be honest, i don't blame her. it's a great way to get what you want! all i'm saying it: jewel nabbed that venus intuition ad with her song "intuition."

so if i were a gifted lyricist (which i am) and vocalist (which i am not), i would write an album full of songs-about-stuff-i-wanted-to-do, songs-mentioning-products-i-wanted-to-endorse and ballads-referencing-celebrities-i-wanted-to-meet and hope for hits. here's the tracklist of my first album:

1) dancing with the stars

2) jimmy fallon is my prom date

3) running through the clouds

4) ms. g (a duet with the sh'boss boys)

5) teacher of the year

6) poppin' bottles (of diet coke)

7) fly me to the mediterranean

8) i said yes to the dress

9) time-traveling hearts

10) the ballad of ravenclaw

11) married ladies (a duet with beyonce)

12) betsey johnson bag ballad

just planning ahead.

what songs would you write in the hopes of a self-fulfilling prophecy?!

day-dreaming?

2011-06-20T21:22:00.005-05:00

tonight i have been super nostalgic and super day-dreamy for the future.

is it still considered day-dreaming even though it has been at nighttime?

i should ask an english teacher. oh, wait...

anyway, i'm now going to share some ramblings with you. you're welcome.

someday i would love to have a living room like this: bright, open, airy, hip but not trendy, current but still personalized.

someday, i would love to lounge in this bedroom, if not at my mansion then on a beachfront somewhere. how wonderful to wake up to windows all around! but man, how terrible when you want to sleep in!
someday, i would LOVE to have a nursery like this. i mean, really, the foundation of a good education starts with parents who love to read to their children and make a child's literacy a priority. yes! such a cute way to be such a good parent.
someday, i would like to own this disco globe. i mean really, could anything be more fab?!

drowning in daydreaming,

noel

inspired.

2011-06-13T11:24:00.004-05:00

well, i have not blogged in a month, which has been a crazy month, but all of a sudden, i am feeling inspired. why, you ask? because i have a day all to myself and just caught up on all the blogs i subscribe to. and here,

is photographic proof of the inspiration. whenever i read a blog entry that i want to comment on, bookmark, reread, or delve further into, i open it in a new window (from the original list format on google reader) to go through later. this morning's blog-reading-adventure led to a very full desktop and the need to write.

one blog entry i read this morning was actually writing advice from shauna niequist, one of my most beloved favorite writers. she emphasized that to write great things you need to be reading great things. i so agree with shauna's point, especially thinking ahead to this school year...

speaking of this school year, i have SO much news to share since my last update, so i'm going to express myself (and all my wild, random, excited thoughts) in a bulleted list for clarity's sake:

monday, may 9 was my last day of grad school.
tuesday, may 10 was my last day of intern teaching.
wednesday, may 11 i got to see the dalai lama, sister helen prejean, and dr. vincent harding speak about respect, non-violence, and love.
thursday, may 12 i celebrated the end of the school year with my MAT classmates.
friday, may 13 i packed and packed and packed.
saturday, may 14 i graduated with a masters degree in teaching for secondary (7-12 grade) english. i never realized until recently how proud of myself i should be for my school achievements. other people have said kind words to me about my academics for years, but these past few weeks have really made me aware of God's gracious gift of "book smarts" and the ability to excel in school. my graduate school gpa was 3.9 and after the very tough year, i know that it was through God given abilities way more than my own strength.
saturday, may 14 i moved home after graduation. i am so grateful to my parents for allowing me to live with them while i transition to full-fledged adulthood (ha! i like to still think i'm 16 and lucky to have a car and a license...)
sunday, may 15 i shopped with my sisters for our bridesmaids dresses for my sweet sister larkin's wedding in august. we found the shoes too, only by God's mercy, 4 women who like to shop and have very different tastes agreed on one pair of shoes.
monday, may 16 i interviewed for a teaching position that i thought i had a small chance of getting as a first year teacher.
tuesday, may 17 i started my summer job at my dad's store. grateful to have it and grateful that retail is not my calling in life.
wednesday, may 18 i got an encouraging phone call from the principal i had interviewed with...
thursday, may 19 i got another phone call from the principal i had interviewed with...
friday, may 20 i signed my contract to be the seventh grade language arts teacher at pulaski academy here in little rock! praise the Lord! i was so excited and overwhelmed; the whole week felt unreal because i did not think a first year teacher would so easily be hired at such a prestigious college preparatory school. if you are not familiar with PA, i'm sure you will hear about it more on this blog after august 8, when i officially start teacher in-service in preparation to teach my 100+ seventh graders starting august 16. oh my goodness.
saturday, may 21 i celebrated the wedding of two sweet friends: anna (formerly stevens) and jordan steinhaus. lovely ceremony, killer reception, hydrangeas everywhere i looked.
week of semi-normalcy, including work, helping my sister register at dillard's and touring PA.
saturday, may 28 i went to nashville with my best friend's parents to meet jenna (said bff) and some of her friends to see jimmy buffett in concert! so. much. fun. parrothead for life :)
week of semi-normalcy, including work and a day trip to memphis to meet my sister's caterer, see the reception venue, and taste-test the cake!
saturday, june 4 i headed to orange beach, alabama for a week of sun, waves, food, games, shopping, and other sorts of family fun with my mom, dad, three sisters, one brother-in-law, one niece, and one nephew. it was truly delightful.
saturday, june 11 we got home to arkansas.
sunday, june 12 we went for a little more family fun of shopping, lunch, and bridal shower planning.
monday, june 13 i wrote this mondo-long blog entry and lived to tell about it.

so there you have it, my crazy last month in a nutshell / bulleted list. tonight i'm off to start the summer fun of hanging out with friends in little rock as i continue to work most days, escape to various weddings and weekend trips most saturdays, and plan the upcoming school year. hopefully, that will include more blogging and maybe even other types of writing, as i am feeling truly inspired by blogs, books, and other things that give me joy including great food, great shopping, and the comfort of being home.

as of today...

2011-05-10T18:15:00.002-05:00

...at 3:06 pm,

done

with

grad

school.

i think the following video best displays my feelings:

or maybe this:

(second sister act 2 included on my blog; you're welcome.)

another haiku.

2011-05-03T17:37:00.002-05:00

as i've become a teacher, i guess i've become a poet, because here comes another:

my brand new red pen

ran out of ink on day one;

i am a teacher.

*this is a true story.

dreams vs. reality

2011-05-02T18:12:00.005-05:00

this weekend has been so full of history-making events; the royal wedding, the most intense storm systems since the 1930s, and of course, the death of osama bin laden. i feel like i should share something deep or poignant or meaningful about all these events, but let's be real; you don't come here for the news. honestly, i don't know what you come here for. i don't know what i come here for. what is the meaning of life? "what is art? is art art?" [name that tv show quote.]

sorry for the tangent. i ramble.

instead of some commentary on the events of the world, i will just point out that some things are dreams and some are reality. royal wedding = dreamy. threat of terrorism = sad reality.

more examples:

dream^

reality^

dream^

reality^

i can't really complain. a lovely floral quilt and easter bunnies in balloons make for a pretty nice reality. maybe someday i'll look like doris day and sleep in that princess bed. someday!

101

2011-04-26T19:56:00.004-05:00

whoops... turns out my last blog post was my 100th and i didn't even notice. actually, i shouldn't be too surprised at my blog faux pas. well, happy blog 101! it may even be a little more exciting, because i, of course, am now thinking of 101 dalmations.

such an underrated disney movie! remember how precious the beginning scenes are? you know, with pongo and perdita and the humans meeting? and all those people that match their dogs?!

oh! and who can forget the cuteness that is rolly?! sweet, sweet rolly, who was so hungry he "could eat an entire elephant."

if i ever get a dog, i hope it's appropriate for me to name him rolly.

school and school

2011-04-18T20:32:00.003-05:00

grad school is so difficult right now.

so, so difficult.

luckily, school is not my whole life.

plus, i love my students at high school...

so that helps.

to tell you guys (and remind myself!) how awesomely hilarious and interesting my students are, i would like to share a few quotations that i've written down over the past few weeks:

this could be titled, "things my students say" OR "things i will probably never say."

"i couldn't tell which blood was the deer's and which was mine."
"wait... i can't bring a dead squirrel to class?!"
"i cut my finger last night. i was sharpening my machete."
"squirrel and dumplin's... now that's a killer recipe."

i've learned so much from this group of students, especially during "how-to" speeches, which included topics like...

how to organize a backpack
how to tie a fishing knot
how to set a live trap and a body grip trap (i'll get back to you if i ever know the difference... or ever set a trap, for that matter.)
how to make duck jerky
how to make bologna and crackers for a snack (it's all about the ratio.)
how to have good hygiene
how to tie a tae kwon do belt
how to change a tire
how to change a fluorescent lightbulb

thanks, y'all! i'm sure many of these topics will come in handy. but who's gonna teach me about squirrel and dumplin's?!

idol.

2011-04-13T19:21:00.005-05:00

i love american idol.

i try to hide the truth, but i.love.television.

now that that's out there, let's dish on this season:

1) casey. i love him. the moment i saw his crazy self, i knew he'd be a favorite.

he has continued to intrigue me and tug on my heart strings with his skills, facial hair, and old parents. that was a very strange sentence i just typed.

2) jacob. he's not quite my style, but the boy. can. sing.

here he is in all his sassy glory. when he sings, i typically take the opportunity to give my undivided attention to the papers i'm grading. i can only hear a man warble for so long, ya know? i'm sorry if i'm a hater.

3. while i'm on the subject of contestants i-don't-really-like-though-i-appreciate-their-talent, here's james.

i'm a fan of his story, but not of his headbands. i'm impressed by his vocals, but not by his tail. yes, he has a tail.

4. scotty. taking a segue from james's tail that bothers me, let me tell you about scotty's hands that bother me. he has a great voice and seems to be a great kid, but he has CRAZY HANDS when he holds the mic. i'm not gonna judge his crazy facial expressions though...

...after all, he is a country singer.

5. lauren alaina. girl. oh girl. this girl. can sing, girl.

i love her, her big hair, her crazy outfits that are typically focused on animal print, and her southern twizzang.

6. stefano. this man is presh, his voice is sweet, but when he sings, he ALLLLLWAYS looks like this:

enough said? okay.

7. haley. she started as a favorite, then i was weirded out, and now, I LOVE HER AGAIN. she sang "bennie and the jets" a few weeks ago and [drumroll please....] it was the first track of the season that i downloaded on itunes. she's the shiz.

her voice sounds like an adele, amy winehouse, janis joplin, cher combination. that doesn't make sense, but trust me: she's great.

8. and finally, paul.

no one that knows me should be shocked that i'm in love. he has a smile a mile wide, a voice fit for a rockin' show where i could sing and laugh and dance around, and suits bedazzled in roses. amen and amen. and he's southern. and plays a tambourine. okay. i'll stop. except to add that he dances around stage while singing. okay bye.

and now to the judges:

randy, dog, you're killin' it, dog.

steven tyler, i love you and your killer lady-blouses. i wish i was liv tyler's best friend so you could be "my friend's crazy dad mr. tyler." yeah, you drive me crazy, crazy, crazy for you baby. i was cryin' when i met you, now i'm tryin' to forget you. yeah, you're so jaded, and i'm the one that jaded you. pink is my favorite color. walk this way. [someone should be here to stop me. i own an aerosmith tape; i could go on.]

and finally, to dear mrs. jennifer lopez anthony aka j.lo,

i love you and agree that you are the most beautiful human, but you have GOT to stop interrupting the other judges. watch yo' manners, jenny. i bet your mama raised you better back on the block, ya hear?

love, noel.

to all my readers, i'm sorry if you don't watch american idol. 1) because you're missing out and 2) because this blog post probably annoyed you and i try not to annoy my readers. but if you DO watch american idol, 1) you're welcome and 2) i have a spreadsheet of my weekly ratings if you're interested in an e-mail attachment.

a haiku

2011-04-11T20:49:00.003-05:00

drinking diet coke

sitting at the podium

i am a teacher.

*this came to me as though a dream while teaching last week.

mrs. _____, my third grade teacher, you've been an inspiration.

now i just need my blue stirrup pants and matching eyeshadow.

keep on

2011-04-05T18:22:00.003-05:00

many things i've learned in life were learned through nick at nite.

[shout out to dad for spending time with me during the days and then working nights in my

childhood and to my mom for letting me watch "mary tyler moore," "rhoda," "i love lucy,"

and the whole lineup with you when dad was at work. forever indebted.]

from nick at nite, i learned that best friends are meant for sharing life with (lucy and ethel), families are meant for truthful talks and lip-syncing (cosby), every neighborhood has a creeper (bewitched), and some tv shows are crazy (i dream of jeannie).

perhaps the most life-lesson-filled sitcom of nick at nite fame is "the brady bunch."

conveniently, i was obsessed with the bunch for much of my childhood. i loved the series, the scandalous e! true hollywood story, the film parodies, the songs, and even my brady bunch cookbook full of rand-o recipes from alice the fictional housekeeper. i was a strange child, i must admit.

the brady gang taught me to trust my family to get through problems, not to walk in between two boys tossing a football (oh my nose!), and the value of self-identity (marcia, marcia, marcia!). as you can see in the video below, the brady kids knew how to see every situation as a "sunshine day."

and here, in their prize winning performance, the bunch reminds us to keep on, keep on, keep on, keep on dancin' all through the night. not only is the song itself a true anthem of optimism (dear Lord, please let people read this in the proper tone of satire, not as a confession of finding inspiration in a 1970s-faux-family-band. amen.), but the situation in which the kids sang this song is a reminder that when all else fails... just win a talent competition and life will work out fine.

the next time i'm in need of some extra cash (aka the life of an unemployed grad student), i wish i could team up with the brady bunch, dance my rhinestone-bell-bottom-jumpsuited-tail off, and win a cash prize. my parents could probably use an engraved silver platter.

sunday supper on location: an ode to my family

2011-04-03T22:35:00.002-05:00

this post brought to you live from little rock, arkansas.

i did not cook a supper this sunday. things have been a little crazy. i'm sure you all can understand. did i just type out you all instead of y'all? who am i? are you there, God? it's me noel.

sorry, where was i?! oh yes, admitting that i literally can not recall the last time i cooked a good ole fashioned meal. sandwiches and random veggies have been my existence, and my rep in the teachers' lounge has slowly plummeted. which brings me to the beauty of tonight...

i have been in little rock this weekend for the lovely, precious, perfect, fun, sweet, etc. wedding of my dear friend katelind used-to-be-wingfield to her lovely beau, dr. branson bolden. what a delight! perhaps a post to come... but for now, just know that i'm home in l.r. and loving every minute of it, even to the point that i will wake up at five a.m. manana to drive back to fayetteville for class, rather than losing a sunday in little rock. because sundays in little rock often mean family dinners.

family dinners in the gieringer household inevitably become as celebratory as a birthday party or any other special occasion, which i think is appropriate because getting our whole clan together is quite the occasion. dad, mom, three older sisters, a brother-in-law, a niece, a nephew, a noel, two cats, and a dog (or two or three) make up the cast of characters, and the food is always fit for a king. or several queens. that was a weird way to refer to my sisters and mom... anyway, tonight, we feasted on:

pork tenderloin coated in an awesome mixtures of herbs and spices. (thanks, susan branch! and dad!)

sauteed asparagus. (thanks, mom, for granting my request!)

sauteed yellow squash with onion slivers.

sauteed mushrooms with wine, butter, evoo, red pepper flakes, etc. omg. so good every time.

baked golden potatoes. (our family loves any avenue for sour cream.)

sourdough garlic bread. (garlic sourdough bread?)

ice cream sundaes. obviously. it was sunday.

there was lots of sauteing, which looks strange of the gerund form, but oh well.

thanks, mom and dad, for always making a day in our family feel like a special occasion. thanks for making a house that is a home i find very difficult to leave, even after living away for the majority of the last five years. i love you. and i love not cooking my own sunday supper.

half-way there

2011-03-24T14:52:00.003-05:00

my current teaching internship is at a small rural high school in northwest arkansas and i.am.loving.it. while i still miss the super-fun and often silly kiddos of seventh grade, i am so happy to have moved from "rikki tikki tavi" and coordinating conjunctions to a twelfth-grade classroom more focused on literature. and when i say literature, i mean good-old-fashioned-1840s-british-500page-novel-type-literature. i'm talkin' jane eyre, people. an ultimate in canonical literature. and i'm teaching a unit on jane eyre for 6.5(ish) weeks. i have bit off as much as i can possibly chew.

i have loved rereading this novel and preparing for class these past few weeks, even though it is hard to feel confident as an authority on such a mammoth work. last week, to reward the kids (and myself!) for reading half the novel, i wrote a little ditty of a song parody... "reading jane eyre," an homage to "living on a prayer" by bon jovi. my precious roommate was kind enough to record a rendition of my lyrics over a blaring youtube video, and i'm including the lyrics here. i want to upload the audio, which is an mp3, but can't figure out how to... help?

anyway, my students instantly asked for a completed song or a new song when we finish the book, so we are all, myself included, waiting with baited breath to see if that happens... here's to reading the classics!

jane eyre used to live with the reeds; john threw books at her, and then the red room was tough, oooh, so tough.

then she went to school at lowood; brocklehurst was cruel, and then helen died. it's sad, oooh, so sad.

she said, "i need to go out and see the world. it doesn't make a difference if i make it or not. it can't be worse than mrs. reed, oh no. we'll give it a shot!"

oooooooh, we're half-way there,

oooooooh, readin' Jane Eyre!

take your book; you'll like it, i swear.

oooooooh, readin' Jane Eyre!

now jane's teaching little adele; living at thornfield, she thinks it is swell, but oh... mmm... grace poole?!

rochester seems to like jane eyre; but she's a governess, and life just ain't fair. it's tough... ooh... so tough.

jane, you gotta hold on to what you got!

you need to wait and find out if he loves you or not,

we're curious to see what's next for love, so give it a shot!

oooooooh, we're half-way there,

oooooooh, readin' Jane Eyre!

take your book; you'll like it, i swear.

oooooooh, readin' Jane Eyre!

p.s. go watch the movie trailer for the 2011 version of "jane eyre" which released this month. it is not playing anywhere near arkansas YET but i'm holding out hope that i'll get to see it. it stars the girl from the most recent "alice in wonderland" and looks similarly creepily good :)

writer's block

2011-03-17T19:10:00.002-05:00

what does a blogger do when she's struck with a case of writer's block?

she posts this cool picture of paper curled up for decoration, rather than lying flat for writing.

if only this approach applied to school assignments, lesson planning, et al.

reminder to remember

2011-03-13T19:44:00.003-05:00

today at church, we learned about remembering the Lord: how we need to remember what He has done in our lives and how He has helped us in the past (especially on the cross!) when times are hard in the present or we are doubting for the future. it was a great time of worship this morning and i've been trying even in this day to remember Him often.

this evening, while doing some research / resource-hunting for an assignment, i found this quote from e.e.cummings that i also want to remember...

amen, e.e. i love you so much.
for more e.e. brilliance, here are images i found for two of his most well-known, "i carry your heart" and "i thank you god." so, so good.

sunday supper, moody monday, tune in tuesday

2011-03-08T18:41:00.001-06:00

i often write the first sentence of a blog entry, hear a voice in my head that says it was stupid, and quickly erase it to start over. i just did that. and i'm fighting not to do it again. here are three quick updates:

my sunday supper this week was homemade macaroni and cheese with sharp cheddar and pecorino romano cheeses with fusilli pasta. it was not too hard, but not too much better than mediocre. i honestly will stick with kraft three cheese shells, which are the most excellent pre-packaged food in all of time and space.
yesterday was a moody monday because i was feeling homesick, physically sick, and sick of grad school. but i talked to my parents, went to the "doctor" aka sketchy-walk-in-clinic, and did my homework anyway. and today was better on all fronts.
tune-in tuesday: tune-in to the new cd, "21" by adele. oh. my. word. she is so incredible. her voice is soulful, her lyrics are awesome, and every song seems like she ripped it from the diary of my-head-on-a-day-where-i'm-feeling-particularly-poignant-yet-hurt-yet-strong. oh yes, yes, yes to this cd! here is a youtube clip of one of my several favorites, "i found a boy."

you know you're a teacher when....

2011-03-03T18:58:00.004-06:00

...you are in the middle of a perfectly normal conversation with other college-aged girls and suddenly slip into a short monologue about the benefits of wearing knee highs with "loose slacks." i mean, those knee high socks really just keep your legs warm!

the above story, i must sadly admit, is true. but other, less shameful things prove to me that i am, in fact, growing up and morphing into high-school-english-teacher-ms.-gieringer. for example, this week i have given a class lecture on charlotte bronte and the characteristics of gothic novels, given a pop quiz (booyah!), and put stickers on graded papers. and i liked it.

it is sometimes hard to believe i'm moving from the student phase to the teacher phase, but it must be true. it's very exciting, and luckily, i'm planning to stay young forever anyway. so, bring it on, adulthood, i'm sitting here ready, waiting, and eating blueberry muffin tops sugar-coated cereal for dinner.

post-script. please go listen to adele's new album "21." it's the greatest thing. buy it. also, i have the world's cutest nephew. we like to match in patriotic stripes:

amen.

this is not an oscar blog...

2011-02-27T22:01:00.004-06:00

...because tonight, instead of watching the oscars, i was watching THE CHIEFTAINS LIVE IN CONCERT! now, for you poor souls who are unfamiliar with the chieftains (aka people who have never lived alongside my mother or are not irish), they are a group of celtic musicians who have been around for almost 50 years making music of all types. but mostly the type that includes bagpipes and fiddles and flutes.

these are the main 3 current chieftains,
but this is a larger part of tonight's line-up.

the chieftains travel the world and continually release new CDs, which my mom always snatches up, so when i saw online that they were coming to the walton arts center right here in fayetteville, i knew i had to get my mom tickets; they were a big surprise and a hit christmas present! plus, it guaranteed me a visit from the parents this semester, which is always wonderful :)

i was a little weary at first, because i was so used to moaning and groaning when mom tried to replace the beatles or aretha with the chieftains in her car or the 5-disc home cd player, but once we (mom, dad, and i) got to the WAC, i was excited. the music did not disappoint! and neither did the delish dinner we had at jose's before (sunday supper shout-out!)

the concert was a traditional concert of celtic tunes combined with spanish influence, a harpist, incredible irish dancers, a bagpipe band from lyon college, a scottish scatter that claimed she was singing "mouth music...", young irish dancers from a local school, and even a few seconds of some rolling stones' tunes. who wouldn't love it?! the best parts were the instrumental solos where you could really appreciate how incredibly talented these people were.

this guy, the percussionist, also sang solo a couple times. i'd say he sounds like cat stevens turned into an irish kermit the frog. in a good way.

and this, , is a picture to attempt to show you how short and precious the main chieftain, paddy moloney, is. you're welcome.

tune in tuesday: youtube edition

2011-02-22T21:16:00.002-06:00

dear dad,

~~if i get married, can we do a funny dance like this?~~ don't upstage me at my wedding.

love, noel.

***disclaimer: my dad is a wonderful sweet smart man and i try to be a sweet daughter. i would never really write him a snarky note. and he would never try to out-dance me. except that one time that he did over the snow days a couple weeks ago, but we won't go into that...***

sunday suppers four and five

2011-02-20T21:25:00.004-06:00

hello my sweet readers! well, some of you might not be sweet, but that's another post for another day. here is the update of what i've been cookin' lately:

last sunday, the 13th, i made a meatloaf. i'm not even going to talk about how meatloaf is kinda gross. and if you haven't read the poem "my mother made a meatloaf" by jack prelutsky, you need to go read it here. it's a favorite from a collection i had as a child. anywho, the meatloaf i made was okay - not great, but not terrible. i made a pretty good meatloaf sandwich for lunch one day that week, and one night, sauteed a broken-up piece of meatloaf with some penne, marinara sauce, and parmesean for a yummy and quick pasta dinner! that part was way more delicious to me than the freshly prepared meatloaf had been!

tonight, i made chicken fingers and french fries! i must admit, it was mmm-mmm-good! for the french fries, i just sprayed a baking sheet with pam, threw some sliced potatoes on it, sprinkled them with tony's (cajun seasoning YUM!), and baked at 475 for awhile. delish! the chicken fingers were really easy, too. it was a simple egg wash / crumb mix / bake on a rack for 12 minutes. the kicker was that the egg wash had garlic in it, and the crumb mix was panko, romano cheese, salt, and red pepper! spicy, yummy, goodness. if you want the real recipe, check it out here, at good housekeeping's website.

the french fried goodness

the simple recipe. notice i omitted the zucchini.

the perfect chicken tender. yum-o!

i'm already looking forward to these on a big salad for dinner tomorrow night while i watch the bachelor. but really, i look forward to anything related to watching the bachelor. these are my confessions.

tune-in tuesday: new web obsession

2011-02-15T18:47:00.003-06:00

i have a recently discovered obsession: the clothing on www.outofprintclothing.com

out of print is similar to tom's shoes in that the company is philanthropic and stylish. here's the basic premise, taken from the site:

"Out of Print celebrates the world’s great stories through fashion. Our shirts feature iconic and often out of print book covers. Some are classics, some are just curious enough to make great t-shirts, but all are striking works of art...In addition to spreading the joy of reading through our tees, we acknowledge that many parts of the world don't have access to books at all. We are working to change that. For each shirt we sell, one book is donated to a community in need through our partnerBooks For Africa.

How we read is changing as we move further into the digital age. It's unclear what the role of the book cover will be in this new era, but we feel it's more important than ever to reflect on our own individual experiences with great literary art before it's forever changed.
What’s your story? Wear it proud."

i can't wait to purchase something from this great organization, so i thought y'all might want to as well! here are some of my favorites from the website:

the organization behind the giving
little girl's "pride and prejudice" shirt. get ready, future daughters, for you will wear this.
my current read, "to kill a mockingbird." LOVE this vintage cover image and color.
maybe my favorite.... a classic "catcher in the rye" image on a heathered tan-ish sweatshirt. perfect for curling up and rereading the classic!
and, how could i not choose, my fellow Arkansas, maya angelou?! girl, preach.

go order a shirt and send some books to Africa, y'all!

grammy awards. you're welcome.

2011-02-13T18:52:00.002-06:00

opening with a tribute to aretha franklin? good choice, grammy awards. i was instantly hooked.

christina. martina. florence. jennifer. yolanda.

"ain't no way" is my favorite aretha jam. christina rocked it - to quote one of my favorite movies, christina "you go and do somethin' like this... and TOTALLY REDEEM YOURSELF!" and i was so happy florence was included in all her creative, interesting, rockin'-vocal, alabaster-complexion glory. aretha's little note was presh - love you, girl.

lady gaga's performance was a combination of madonna's "express yourself" + a modern/contemporary dance recital performance + manheim steamroller + a raincoat + madeline's hat. a great combination of entertainment.

the best part of miranda lambert's performance was either her fiance introducing her before or his solo standing ovation after her.

the dancers during muse's performance started out like "newsies," but then quickly devolved into a mob. i was confused.

bruno mars, b.o.b, & janelle monae. b.o.b. wore a manacle and i think that may say it all. but i'll try to say more: i love bruno mars! thank you, seventh grade students, for making me fall in love with him. if you don't know or love bruno mars yet, please check out his grammy performance and your world.will.be.rocked. if you like motown, skinny ties, pompadours, or awesome crooning, you will love bruno.

as though that last trio weren't enough, the grammy awards then gave me the trio of mini will smith, justin bieber, and USHER. i've loved usher since fifth grade, jaydyn smith is probably in fifth grade, and biebs has probably been famous since he was in fifth grade. i love 'em all. usher's dance moves - come on.

the third power trio: mumford & sons, the avett brothers, & BOB DYLAN. shut the front door. mumford was awesome, avett bros. were a delight, and though his old man voice cannot compare to his 60s glory, bob. dylan. is. amazing.

an actual trio, lady antebellum, performed next and it was a great trio of songs. however, it is blurred in my memory like dull filling in a crazy-bread sandwich, because they followed dylan and preceded...

cee-lo green singing "forget you" while clanging away at the piano and wearing what appeared to be an elton-john-70s-flashback-rooster costume. anyone seen rock-a-doodle? cee-lo was awesome, and gwynth paltrow joined in which wasn't awesome, but not terrible either.

katy perry sang a legitimately sweet song as her wedding to russell brand was projected on the screen and then she switched over to "teenage dream" by the introduction, "this is for all the valentine lovers out there." in the words of my dear friend maggie, "you can't make that up." nope, you can't, but katy perry can and did.

and then, as though i weren't already on cloud nine, john myer, norah jones, and keith urban SANG "JOLENE" IN TRIBUTE OF DOLLY PARTON. YES. YES. you should all know, dolly parton is important to me. besides her musical genius, she.is.TRUVY. "steel magnolias" is my jam. i know that doesn't make sense for a movie to be a jam, but just go with it.

the next performance was another powerhouse: rhianna sang an extended intro to her song with eminem while adam levine (of maroon 5) played piano. then eminem came out and did his thing. while i think he is super angry and intense, he has a great knack for including haunting female voices in his songs and therefore intriguing me. skyler grey, i hadn't heard of you before tonight, but your voice was incredible.

a surprise performance from mick jagger. gotta love it. even more, i gotta love that mick makes me think of jimmy-fallon's-impression-of-mick-jagger and therefore, the performance made me happy. as did seeing beyonce and gywneth together in the audience. bff's? i dig it.

barbara streisand bored me. sorry if that's sacrelig in your neck of the woods. i can only speak tha truth.

rhianna came back with a vengeance performing with drake. and dancing like beyonce on a caribbean island. conveniently, she was wearing a swimsuit-like costume.

arcade fire was intense. and i just hope that no one with seizure-inducing conditions watched. two words: strobe lights. two more words: brookhill dramas (reference joke).

and that's the ball game, folks. i'm sure this made minimal sense but i hope it provided maximum entertainment.

a little joy for your snow day...

2011-02-09T13:00:00.004-06:00

...as though a snow day weren't joyful enough :)

but for those of you in northwest arkansas, i feel ya - it's boring after 186 snow days. luckily, i have escaped to little rock for a short break from school and time with my family. shout out, y'all!

but if you are feeling the snow day blues, the stuck-in-the-house-snacking-too-much-wishing-to-drive-the-open-road-blues, then here is your cure in a 1-2 punch of incredible songs to listen to / watch on youtube:

[important: before playing the video, scroll down to the bottom of this page and pause the blog music via the pause symbol button on the little green music player :) ]

this video is a rendition of the classic hymn / piece of music, "joyful, joyful" with a little sister act 2 influence and some mid-90's synthesizer action, too. if that isn't a party in a song, i don't know what is. all i know is, i've owned this song on itunes for exactly one week and i have listened to is approximately 47 times. amen.

and here, for your nostalgic enjoyment, is the clip from sister act 2 of lauryn hill gettin' down on some "joyful, joyful." this clip includes a rap break down, 90's clothes to yearn for, incredible dance moves, and whoopi in a nun's habit. if this doesn't make you smile, we need to talk. and by "we," i mean you and your physician or therapist or priest or rabbi or shaman or pastor. okay?

sidenote: can we talk about how "sister act 2: back in the habit" is one of those rare movies where the sequel is comparable to and maybe, dare i say, better than the original?! it is just so dang good. other film franchises that improve over time include, but are not limited to, home alone ("...2: lost in new york city" still rocks my world when it's on abc-family), toy story (i think i've preached my love of the toy story sage on this here blog before), star wars (duh. i even loved the prequels), etc. but think about "the land before time." that chain of straight-to-vhs sequels went on way. too. long. the kids watching "the land before time 52: the tree star constellation" have no clue what that first, beautiful animated film was even about. oh, little foot, i can't believe you sold out...

so there you have it, my suggestions for joy and my rambling about sequels that will necessitate you re-watching the pick-me-up videos. what sequels do you love? what songs bring you joy on a snowed-in-for-the-umteenth-time-day?

my one true love...

2011-02-04T15:02:00.005-06:00

...besides my family, Jesus, jimmy fallon, and the beatles is definitely PAPER.

and today, reading through blogs, i realized i needed to share this love with my readers. all three of you. just kidding; i know sweet people read this :) i digress.

the mom of one of my (sadly) former students operates an awesome invitation/save-the-date/all-things-paper-and-lovely business and her blog is on my to-read list, of course! they currently have a contest up for engaged/married people to share their engagement stories that involve paper. while i am a single lady (cue beyonce) and don't have that kind of story to share, i DO have a love of paper that i will now share with you. whether you like it or not.

looking around my room or peeking in my school bag or purse on any given day, it should be clear that i love paper through these 5 favorite things:

1.the bulletin board as you walk in my room, completely full of paper joy: save the dates, encouraging notes, postcards, invitations, stickers, favorite greeting cards, and even a die-cut paper arkansas. this view brings joy to my life on the reg.

2.the paper-filled frame next to my back door with pictures of beloved friends, favorite quotes, and another reminder of arkansas all backed by some brown wrapping paper. doesn't plain brown wrapping paper just make you smile? it instantly makes me think of gift possibilities and the precious children singing about it and other favorite things mid-storm in "the sound of music."

3. another major feature in my room: my small but mighty bookshelf. perhaps books are my favorite manifestation of paper. (don't tell that to stationary...) i must admit i am a book glutton and this shelf is entirely full of books i have yet-to-read plus a few journals and extra bibles. the purple trunk on the starboard side of this photo is jam packed of books i have read, not to mention the bookshelf at my parents' home in little rock. remind me never to buy another book until i've read about 100 of these. amen.

4. i must share the paper-related areas of my desk...

the stationary drawer,

the marker drawer, and

the papyrus stationary desk set complete with mix and match cards, lined envelopes, and signature papyrus hummingbird gold stickers to seal envelopes, all in a precious "scribbles" box. obsessed. so very happy every time i send or receive an envelope with that signature sticker.

5. and now, dear readers, the ultimate in paper-love: my sundry school & office supplies.

old mason jar full of my signature writing utensils. delightful.

i LOVE my vera bradley pencils (thanks mom) or a classic yellow and i ONLY buy felt tip pens: favorites are blue and black sharpie pens, the new sharpie retractable pen, and the assortment of colors available with the stabilo 88 (not pictured because, as of yet, i have not found them in fayetteville. moment of silence. now go check them out).

this was the spread of paper deliciousness on my workspace (read: bed) when i first decided to write an extremely long and seriously detailed post on such a strangely specific and seemingly dull subject.

<- my current obsessions in the organizational-but-stylish category. the top left photo is the cover of my accordion file / pen holder / notepad all in one, with the notepad shown in the top right. the bottom left is a weekly calendar that not only includes a bible verse i need to see often [psalm 37:4 take delight in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart] and some lovely flowers, but also a great glance at weekly responsibilities in any categories i make. finally, the bottom right photo - lilly pulitzer file folders with pink leopard print on the inside and a hot pink and bright green jungle themed print on the outside. perfection.

and finally, dear readers if you have indeed stuck through this whole post, i give you MY PLANNER. the barnes & noble 2011 desk calendar to be specific. the cover: a non-tacky teal leather with a gold bookmark peeping out. inside: a handy month-at-a-glance spread AND weekly pages with enough room to write in appointments, assignments, deadlines, and other important things to remember. each week and month include information about important authors as well as their birthdays, so it has already been a good conversation piece in my life and my classroom. and seriously, who could resist the swirly, wonderful, almost peacock feathery patter inside the front and back covers?! i know i couldn't. and i'm okay with that.

so there you have it, dear readers, a crazy tour of my almost-obsessive love for paper. what are your favorites? papyrus? hallmark? vera bradley? dollar store? do you plan with barnes and noble? a daily desk set? a wall calendar only? iphone or digital only? do you obsess over sharpie products like me? bic? ticonderoga? crayola? what's your poison?

have you heard?!

2011-02-01T11:11:00.005-06:00

have you heard?! it's a snow day again in northwest arkanasas! and by snow day, i really mean blizzard day. it is nuts out there! it has been snowing heavily and constantly since i woke up. some of these flakes are quarter-size and there is a layer of ice under all the snow and considering this: is the forecast of high temperatures, this may be the first of a few snow days. p.s. i may have embellished that, but the temperatures are legit.
did you hear... today is langston hughes' birthday! and the beginning of black history month. if we had had school today, i would've been teaching a poetry lesson focused on hughes and his beautiful words from the time of the harlem renaissance. click here to go listen to langston hughes explaining and reading one of his most poignant poems, "the negro speaks of rivers."
have you heard?! the harlem globetrotters were NOT originated in harlem! they were founded in 1926 in CHICAGO but the founder chose the name harlem for its close identity with the african-american community at the time. this wikipedia tidbit i discovered while lesson planning rocked.my.world. how could the harlem globetrotters NOT be from harlem?! what's next?! french fries are not a french delicacy?! oh wait...
hey bachelor watchers, have you heard that crazy michelle is an actress?! click here for her imdb page my lovely roommate charis pointed out to me. you can even watch a trailer for her new movie "midway to heaven" which will be releasing in theatres in three days. what the heck?! dear brad, please don't let this woman be the one you pick in the end. i will lose the shred of hope i have in "the bachelor." thank you and amen.
lastly, did you know it took me almost an hour to redesign my blog? yikes. hope you like!

sunday suppers three-ish

2011-01-30T14:40:00.003-06:00

this week i am posting my sunday supper update a little earlier than supper because i am cheating. whoops! i'm not cooking tonight but i am going to share a sunday dinner recipe i made before i started blogging about them. "bowtie lasagna" from the pioneer woman was a quick and easy meal with an easy-to-follow step-by-step photo recipe. the biggest con in my book was that the recipe made a HUGE quantity. thus, it will be my sunday supper again this week since i froze half the pasta and am now thawing it out. yum!

i also recently made a quiche when we had snow days; it was so delightful and very simple! i got the recipe from molly's aunts at her bridal luncheon last year and finally tried it for myself. all you do it fill 2 store-bought pie crusts with 1 lb of bacon, cooked and crumbled, 1.5 cups shredded swiss cheese, and then a mixture of 4 eggs, 1 cup heavy cream, 1 cup half&half, 1 tablespoon flour, 3/4 teaspoon salt, some pepper, and some nutmeg. you bake them at 375 degrees for one hour. so simple and SO good!

enjoy these both! i know i did :)

sunday suppers two: comfort food

2011-01-23T21:03:00.006-06:00

sunday supper was tonight and i'm excited to share it with you guys! i made... "skillet chicken pot pie" and it was great! basically, you cook carrots, celery, onions, and garlic in a skillet of melted butter and then add flour to thicken before adding chicken broth and heavy cream. once all that is combined, you simply add shredded cooked chicken, frozen peas, and dill before rolling out a premade pie crust with an egg wash and popping it all in the oven. the above photo is the recipe from country living, but i wanted to include something new to this blog: my own play-by-play photos of this recipe! now, keep in mind, i'm no pioneer woman, and i was only working with an iphone, a wing, and a prayer.

yum! 1) veggies starting to cook. that part smelled like thanksgiving. 2) rue-ing it up with the flour... 3) liquid goodness settling in. 4) the peas and chicken and DILL (best.) 5) on the verge of boiling and being ready to transfer from stovetop to oven. 6) the pie crust top and egg wash on it, which basically looks like a disgustingly huge scrambled egg in the making. speaking of which, i made an omelet for breakfast with squash, zucchini, onions, potatoes, and cheese. um, yum! 7) the finished product, which i wish i had taken out of the oven a few minutes earlier... and 8) my dinner! it really was delicious, filling, and dilly.

can we all take a minute to appreciate the herb that is dill? i love it so. not only is it a deliiiiiicious flavor for this pot pie and any time i cook fish (weird? i don't know... i'd like to shout out to my old 'mate hannah for that one!), but dill weed is also an A+ name to raz your friend or sibling with in days of youth. just a pearl of wisdom from me to you...

snowed in!

2011-01-21T19:53:00.003-06:00

that's right, dear readers, i am snoooooowed in! thank you, sweet Jesus, for not one but TWO northwest Arkansas snow days in a row! and this: is what my front yard has looked like when i woke up thursday morning. it has been really fun to be home from school these past two days with my roommates and a dear friend who has stuck out the weather with us. cabin fever has led me to:

bake muffins
workout (twice! what?!)
bake quiches
organize my bookshelf
do laundry
go through my old magazines (i am my mother's daughter)
clean my closet
bake cookies
watch episodes of dawson's creek season 4

and now i'm bored. so bored. someone help me get out of this hizzouse!

Tune-In Tuesday: My Golden Globes Acceptance Speech

2011-01-18T16:54:00.003-06:00

In honor of the Golden Globes this past Sunday night, today’s Tune-In Tuesday will be in the form of an acceptance speech. After watching the Globes, there are just some things I need to say:

Ricky Gervais, I may have missed your opening monologue, but I really don’t care. You were borderline offensive the entire night and your shout-out to atheism was a strange and inappropriate end to an awards show.

Christian Bale, I would just like to say that although you are beautiful, you may want to cut your hair and learn to take a hint when the music plays you out of your acceptance speech. P.S. You were so precious as Laurie in "Little Women"...

Chris Colfer, congratulations, you sweet little angel boy. I loved your speech calling out the bullies. The shock on your face when you won the award was refreshing.

Sue Syllvester, you are so great. Glee is so great. Okay. Glad you won!

Steve Bushemi, I would like to thank you for calling out the “sad music” that was drowning out so many speeches that blabbed on and on.

Angelina Jolie, when the cut-to-commercial-random-audience-shots showed you fixing Brad Pitt’s bow tie, I started to like you more than ever before. You’re no still no Jennifer Aniston, but don’t worry… in my book, few people are more loveable than the cast of FRIENDS.

Toy Story 3, I would like to thank you for being wonderful. Of course, I’m for any movie with Tom Hanks in it, so congratulations. You soooo deserved the GG for best animated movie. I may have teared up just remembering that movie. (Readers, feel free to add that to the blubbering list from two blog entries ago.)Tom Hanks and Tim Allen presenting together, you are a classic combination. Woody and Buzz forever.

Robert Downey, Jr., you are awesome. Okay.

White witch from Narnia, you may be just as creepy or even creepier in real life than in the Narnia movies. Helena Bonham Carter, the same goes for you…

Claire Danes, you are so precious!

Tina Fey and Steve Carrel, you are a magical combination of humor.

Jimmy Fallon, thank you for being you. I just love you and I don’t care who knows it, as evidenced by your multiple mentions in this here blog.This picture of Jimmy is so precious! I also think his wife, who I am only slightly jealous of, is really lovely.

Natalie Portman, you are so preshy presh, even if Black Swan was so freaking freaky. Congrats on your award, your baby, and your precious dress. I’m choosing to refrain from commenting on your laugh during your acceptance speech. Mama always said, “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.” She also always said, “A job worth doing is worth doing well,” but she usually said when I was sweeping the kitchen floor poorly. In my mind, that was never a job worth doing, so her logic was faulty and I didn’t do it well. Sorry, Mom. Love you, girl.

And lastly, to the American Foreign Film Academy of People who vote on the Golden Globes, I’d like to thank you for a classic night of moderately entertaining entertainment and this opportunity for another Passion Tea Lemonade awards shoe review. You like me; you really like me!

sunday suppers volume one

2011-01-17T17:15:00.002-06:00

hello, dear readers.

college is such a transitional time - in so many ways - including the world of groceries/eating/junkfood/cooking/takeout. in the past two and a half years of living off-campus, i have had my ups and downs of cooking wisely, as in often, healthfully, and deliciously. this year, to be honest, i have been living in survival mode of lean cuisines, pasta, scrambled eggs, and the like. so this year, i have resolved to cook more! healthy food, interesting food, good food. hence, the title: sunday suppers.

each sunday night, i am going to cook a meal from a recipe i've never had! and, of course, you will get to share this food journey with me. yum - i hope!

last night, the first sunday supper dinner i made was "golden chicken hash," a recipe from redbook magazine. basically, the meal was a mixture of sauteed chicken, potatoes, squash, onions, and spices.

the finished dish was supposed to look like this: but mine was much less well-done. i would say overall it was good, not great and i probably would not make it again too soon. the main problem was that the recipe called for more ingredients than could easily fit in my skillet, so the vegetables and chicken weren't able to brown as deliciously as the picture suggests. on a scale of 1-10, i give this meal a 6 and i'm excited for next sunday's supper!

change of seasons

2011-01-15T18:01:00.002-06:00

WARNING: This blog entry may include clichés, sentimentalism, and/or nostalgia. Okay, let’s go. The older I get, and the more things change around me and within me, I am so glad to know that some things never change.

For example, I have become less and less a night owl and more and more a “I get tired at 9 o’clock and get in bed which is good because I get up and go to work every day” person.

Also, I used to be able to sleep through ANYTHING. I would never wake up in the middle of the night for anything, let alone worries or thought racing through my head, but now… Last night, I woke up two different times to write down TEACHING IDEAS. LESSON PLAN IDEAS. WHO. AM. I ?!

With all these small changes happening in my life, one thing that remains the same: if I watch “Meet Me in St. Louis” I am almost guaranteed to tear up multiple times. For example, remember the scene when the father tells the family they are moving to New York (the movie’s enemy is not a person, but a city… love it) and they all are so upset? They all go upstairs to get away from the terrible news, but the mother starts playing the piano like she hasn’t in years. Then the parents sing a duet called “You & I” and the children slowly wander back down the stairs because family is like that – you can forgive anything and deal with anything because you love each other. Then, they listen to the song and eat the cake they refused minutes earlier, including Judy Garland feeding cake bite-by-bite to her littlest sister, Margaret O’Brien. Remember that scene? If you don’t, then you haven’t seen the movie and need to Netflix is ASAP. It’s on instant play. Anyway, every time I see that scene, and to be honest, the “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” scene, too, I cannot help but cry a little. Call me sentimental. I don’t care. That movie is just the best. Okay, while we are on this semi-embarrassing subject of movie-crying, I would like to warn you to not watch any of the following movies with me if you are a I-feel-awkward-when-people-cry-especially-when-girls-cry-randomly-in-movies-or-tv-or-folger’s-coffee-commercials kind of person:

Meet Me in St. Louis

Beaches

The Family Stone

Little Women (basket case EVERY TIME that Beth dies)

The Other Sister

Step-Mom

Some of you readers could probably add more...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljxuSgvkKSE is the link to the scene... it won't let me embed it here for some reason.

gender studies

2011-01-06T10:27:00.002-06:00

gender studies is a loose term; i am talking about juniors in high school, not the specialists in the anthropology department. really, i just had to share a funny conversation i overheard in my internship:

teacher: what's interesting about gender? how could we research gender?

male student 1: women are good; men suck.

teacher: that might be the key to happiness as a male... does anyone disagree?

male student 2: men are cool sometimes, too!

teacher: prove it - who? when? where?

male student 2, without hesitation: GHANDI AND JESUS! HELLO?!

point, counterpoint. game, set, match. etc. good job, students. not only did you have a discussion similar to day one of gender studies 101, but you also made me laugh and remember to love teaching, even when it is frustrating.

the people have spoken

2011-01-05T20:00:00.002-06:00

dear readers,

i hope you are excited as i am that it is time for a passion tea lemonade award show review. tonight's edition: people's choice awards 2011.

per usual, i will organize this post by performances (and select other highlights)

opening number: queen latifah (you had me at queen) opened the show with a rendition of the song "dynamite." queenie looked good, and though her voice was at times shaky, she got me amped for the show.
first award exchange between jennifer aniston, adam sandler, rob schneider, and david spade: as you can imagine, it was uncomfortable.
selena gomez performance: her song was pretty cute, as was her dress, but her voice was so quiet. more importantly, she's dating justin bieber (PSA.)
there was a lame skit that only got lamer when it ended with kathy griffin as the punchline. (warning to hannah.)
"keeping up with the kardashians" won an award for tv guilty pleasure. i plead guilty.
kid rock was given an award called "the people's voice" and performed. why. do. all. award shows. love. kid rock?!
queen latifah started strong (relatively speaking) but she is RAPIDLY going DOWN. HILL. i think she's attempting to imitate the chris farley snl skit where he's a terrible interviewer to celebrities like paul mccartney. at least, i hope that's what she's doing.
last award presented by: ashton kutcher and natalie portman. pretty sure latifah pronounced his name without the H. rookie mistake. but natalie portman did look precious. and the favorite movie award went to... twilight. ugh. i'm done. most awkward acceptance speeches ever.

all in all, this award show was uncomfortable to watch. i wanted to love it, because i love award shows and don't want to be a hateful person, but. well. that's all i can say. people's choice, you are not quite my choice.

christmas.

2010-12-27T13:32:00.004-06:00

christmas is such a wonderful time of year, not only for the presents and cookies and lights and traffic, but for the thrill of hope this weary world needs. this christmas, i got to experience both the weariness and the thrill.

on december 22, a dear friend of mine lost her bother and sister-in-law in a tragic place crash. words were insufficient to comfort, giving a hug could only be a temporary comfort, and i felt comletely helpless as a family i love was torn in two. the comfort is that the dearly departed have wonderful relationships with God and with their families. i mourn with my friend for her terrible loss, and i'm sorry i cannot take her pain. this embodies the weariness we so often experience on planet earth.

on december 25, after the presents had been open and a breakfast feast was being prepared, my sweet sister eve walked in the kitchen and announced that her water had broken! and a short 12 hours later, at 11:27 pm, my sweet sister and her husband colin welcomed baby henry robert into the world at a very healthy 9 pounds 2 ounces, 21 inches long. i love him so much already. holding him the next morning felt like a sweet response to the loss i know so many have to experience everyday. there is hope in the form of a newborn baby; not only for my family, but for the world.

O holy night! The stars are brightly shining,

It is the night of our dear Saviour's birth.

Long lay the world in sin and error pining,

'Til He appeared and the soul felt its worth.

A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,

For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

Fall on your knees! O hear the angels' voices!

O night divine, O night when Christ was born;

O night divine, O night, O night Divine

merry christmas, everyone.

tune in tuesday: the sing off.

2010-12-14T21:59:00.003-06:00

attention, world.

if you are not watching "the sing off" on nbc, you are missing out. it's on monday and wednesday nights. i have no idea how long the show is on, but i do know they knock those groups out of competition like kingdom comes tomorrow, so you need to get on this fast!

"the sing off" is basically a combination of many awesome (and awful) reality shows. imagine 10 incredible a capella singing groups. then, imagine that they perform awesome routines week after week, narrowing the competition down to one group. last season's winner, "nota," was a great group, but i was pulling for "the beelzebubs." look both of them up on youtube, stat. this is a very bossy blog entry, but i don't have time to apologize.

this year's groups are so competitive; one of my favorites, "the whiffenpoofs" of yale, went home on the second episode! i love "straight no chaser" from oregon because, what can i say, i'm a sucker for the college boys crooning in harmony, but my true favorite is "committed," a sweet group of church singers who are kicking tail on this show. for example, here they are singing "apologize." omg. i die.

and if you thought that was good, wait until you see them sing "i want it that way" by the backstreet boys from last night's "guilty pleasures" round. i was slightly offended that BSB made it in the guilty pleasures category, because as you all know, i love backstreet boys like it's 1998.

and, i promise: last clip. rest in peace, whiffenpoofs, you were awesome:

look up the show details on nbc.com, watch old episodes online or clips on youtube, love it like i do, and forgive me for being so bossy. it's for your own good.

cold tangerines

2010-12-12T21:18:00.000-06:00

“What really knocks me out is a book that when you’re all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it. That doesn’t happen much, though.” –J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye

I have to agree with Holden/Salinger; it doesn’t often happen that a book just hits you like a ton of bricks. But we all (hopefully) have a few books that resonate with us long after we put them down. Simply put, I die for Cold Tangerines by Shauna Niequist. You need to read it if you have ever been happy, sad, searching, found, content, curious, overjoyed, distraught, or grateful. I love this book because it feels like the best version of me could’ve written it; it’s like reading a diary of a long-lost twin. There are so many sections that stand out to me. If I put all my favorite parts on here, I would essentially type out the book, so instead, here are a few choice excerpts for you to enjoy:

“I know that life is busy and hard, and that there’s crushing pressure to just settle down and get a real job and khaki pants and a haircut. But don’t. Please don’t. Please keep believing that life can be better, brighter, broader, because of the art that you make. Please keep demonstrating the courage that it takes to swim upstream in a world that prefers putting away for retirement to putting pen to paper, that chooses practicality over poetry, that values you more for going to the gym than going to the deepest places in your soul. Please keep making art for people like me, people who need the magic and imagination and honesty of great art to make the day-to-day world a little more bearable.” –page 228. Yes, yes, yes. I love this. Although I want to be a teacher and semi-settle down in a 9-5ish job, do not – I repeat DO NOT – let me get a daily uniform of khaki pants and a sensible short haircut. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it is SO not me. I want to keep making art, whether it’s for me, for sale, or forced on a friend as a gift ;)

“Do something creative every day, even if you work in a cubicle, even if you have a newborn, even if someone told you a long time ago that you’re not an artist, or you can’t sing, or you have nothing to say. Those people are bad people, and liars, and we hope they develop adult-onset acne really bad. Everyone has something to say. Everyone. Because everyone, every person was made by God, in the image of God. If he is a creator, and in fact he is, then we are creators, and no one, not a bad seventh-grade English teacher or a harsh critic or jealous competitor, can take that away from you.” –page 229. Love this. So much. YOU are important. YOU have something to say. God created YOU with a purpose so don’t shut yourself up to the point of conformity. Be you because you are great and you’re the only you. We need you.

“I think life, just life, just breathing in and out, is a great gift. God gives us something amazing when he gives us life, and I want to live with gratitude. I want to live in a way that shows how much I appreciate the gift. If life were a sweater, I would wear it every day. I wouldn’t save it or keep it for a special occasion. I would find every opportunity to wear that sweater, and I’d wear it proudly, shamelessly, for days on end.” –page 232. This is the thought behind naming this blog Passion Tea Lemonade: to live with passion everyday, sipping it in like a refreshing cup of ice-cold sweetness. I want to live a life full of passion and creativity and invention and uniqueness and fire, but so often, I don’t. I choose to be mediocre. I choose boring or bored. Shauna’s words remind me why I need to live with passion: this life is a gift. An amazing gift. A gift that deserves a huge thank-you note in the form of a life well-lived. A life that praises the Lord for what He has given. Amen.

*Besides writing one excellent book, Mrs. Niequist has a new release called Bittersweet that I would love to get my hands on. She travels and speaks and raises a son named Henry with her husband who has a cool website. I’m not a stalker; I just follow her blog and twitter. I say all this to show that she is real and approachable. In fact, I once sent her a cheesy fan e-mail and she responded. Thanks, Shauna. You are an inspiration and a reminder of what is important.

chivalry in 10th grade

2010-12-09T17:56:00.002-06:00

Today in class we are watching "Shrek." Why, you ask? We're talking about myths. Fairy tales. Chivalry. Tradition. Ogres. Donkeys.

Chivalry. What is it? What was it then? What does it look like now? Can we even find it now? This was the topic of discussion recently in one of the Sophomore classes I am observing at Springdale High. We asked students to get in groups and make a list of what defines “Chivalry.” Answers included:

· Opening doors

· Respectful

· Having manners

· Pulling out chairs

· Taking a bullet

· Taking off her clothes (for her)

· Giving red roses

· Paying when going out

· Carrying her books

· Buying dinner

· Bailing her outta jail

· Giving flowers

· Remembering her B-day

· Tell her she looks good (when she does)

· Soft-spoken

An interesting list, right? Right. My personal favorites are, of course, take off her clothes for her, bail her out of jail, and tell her she looks good when she does. When asked to define chivalry, one young man simply said, “Just be there for your lady.” That’s right, young sir, just be there. ‘Cuz she’s your laaaaaaady, and you are her maa-aaaa-an” (to be read in the style of Celine Dion, the great). Welcome to the world of 10^th graders, people. It’s gonna be a wild ride.

hark!

2010-12-05T13:10:00.003-06:00

today in church we sang "hark the herald angels sing" and i must admit i had tears in my eyes for most of the song. i had never really thought twice about the words, but they really hit me today. also, i looked up the definition of "hark," because, come on, who ever says "hark"? it is an imperative verb (a command) saying "listen!" and i agree with the songs command; LISTEN to what the angels are singing: God sent Jesus as a baby to grow up and die for our sins so that God and sinners (aka all of us) could be reconciled. Jesus is our Emmanuel, dwelling as a man among us on earth. He was "born that men no more may die, born to raise the sons of earth, born to give them second birth." in this christmas season, as advent leads us closer to celebrating Christ's birth and the joys of family, generosity, and love, let's us sing "Glory to the newborn King!" i am so grateful for Jesus, for Christmas, and for carols like this that remind me of salvation, grace, forgiveness, family, and home. i've included the lyrics and a few clips from youtube :)

Hark, the herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!
Peace on earth and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled"
Joyful, all ye nations rise
Join the triumph of the skies
With the angelic host proclaim:
"Christ is born in Bethlehem"
Hark! The herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!"

Christ by highest heav'n adored
Christ the everlasting Lord!
Late in time behold Him come
Offspring of a Virgin's womb
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see
Hail the incarnate Deity
Pleased as man with man to dwell
Jesus, our Emmanuel
Hark! The herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!"

Hail the heav'n-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Son of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings
Risen with healing in His wings
Mild He lays His glory by
Born that man no more may die
Born to raise the sons of earth
Born to give them second birth
Hark! The herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!"

this version, though a little fancier, than christ the king in little rock, reminds me of singing this song in church growing up. i love the choir and musicians they put together every year for the ctk christmas services, and i miss hearing the awesome production. we normally go to church at a smaller church now for christmas, which has other good qualities for our family.

this is a version of the song i am also so familiar with. growing up, i was always so impatient to get out mom's box of christmas CD's (like mother, like daughter) so i could put MC in the 5-disc cd player. disc number one every year: Mariah Carey Merry Christmas. this cd reminds me of growing up, and especially of my sister jill :)

this version is Take 6 singing the song. their voices seem so genuine and the a cappella version is amazing.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

p.s. feel free to expect lots of christmas posts every year. christmas is my favorite thing. period.

december playlist - tis the season!!!

2010-12-02T22:25:00.002-06:00

dear readers,

IT'S THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR! IT'S THE HAP-HAPPIEST SEASON OF ALL! IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS! I'M IN A STORE AND I'M SINGING!

okay. you should all know - i LOVE christmas. SO. MUCH. and now, in honor of the BEST month (my parents' anniversary, my birthday, grandma's birthday, Jesus's birthday, new year's eve, etc.) here is the december playlist (with slight commentary):

i wish it was christmas today - snl (a high school favorite)
i've got my love to keep me warm - judy garland(!!!)
kissin' by the mistletoe - aretha franklin (a non-trad of the christmas world, but i love it)
all i want for christmas is you - mariah carey (duh.)
rockin' around the christmas tree - brenda lee (brenda lee is mandatory for a christmas playlist.)
baby, it's cold outside - dean martin (a favorite by a favorite)
santa bring my baby back to me - elvis (elvis' christmas album is in my T5)
wonderful christmastime - paul mccartney (i'm so glad he made a x-mas song i can stand behind. paul mccartney is probably the love of my life.)
pretty paper - willie nelson (family classic.)
mr. grinch (mandatory)
christmas all over again (no idea who it's by, but it's a noel gieringer christmastime mandate)
run run rudolph (it's okay if you instantly picture the "home alone" run for the airport)
thank God it's christmas (oh, i do. i do.)
a holly jolly christmas - burl ives (let's start naming babies burl again.)
jingle bell rock - brenda lee (it's okay if you instantly picture the "mean girls" talent show dnace)
i wish you a merry christmas - big dee irwin (50s style christmas tunes.)
run run rudolph - lynyrd skynyrd (skynyrd + christmas = unforeseen awesome.)
o come let us adore him - shane & shane (Jesus is the reason for the season.)
what are you doing new year's eve? - (SWEETEST song. of all time.)
a baby changes everything - faith hill (i can't deny that this brings tears to my eyes every time.)
linus and lucy - vince guaraldi trio (at the first few notes, i feel christmas.)
dance of the sugar plum fairy (magical.)
winter in st. louis - mgm studio orchestra (must-have instrumental from my fave year-round-christmas-movie, "meet me in st. louis." okay, really, it's tied with "elf.")
merry christmas, here's to many more - relient k (sweet and sentimental, which is good at the end of a christmas season.)
panis angelicus - barlow girl (so, so beautiful.)
very merry christmas - dave barnes (new christmas tune of 2010. God bless dave barnes.)

dave barnes's song "very merry christmas" is on my compilation as the new addition of 2010. i think a track from his new christmas cd is free on itunes right now, but he's so great so i'm sure the whole cd is as well. his true gift in the holiday season is really his series of christmas youtube videos starting circa 2006. here is the 2007 edition, my personal fave. a little christmas gift from me to you. enjoy.

my review of the AMA's

2010-11-22T16:11:00.002-06:00

little did i know, when i sat down to watch extreme makeover: home edition (unashamedly) on sunday night, that i would instead have the unique experience of watching the american music awards. so here, my friends and readers, is my second annual award show review (click here for the first annual), outlined performance-by-performance. warning: the AMAs contained a lot of performances. a lot.

rhianna - weird. the performance started out cool, with rhi sitting in a tree, but then there an anti-climactic fall off the branch, leading to an odd/semi-barbadosian rendeition of her songs...
enrique iglesias ft. pitbull - yikes. enrique sounds like a robot. and he was going crazy afterwards begging for more applause a la a football player
miley cyrus - besides awkwardly following enrique with nothing inbetween, miley was majorly channeling stevie nicks: candles, standing at the mic stand, long wavy hair, long black jacket/dress/trenchcoat/witchcostume, etc.
puff daddy - i don't really know what you're going by these days, so i'm going to revert to how i first knew you: puff daddy. where's your oversized, michelin-man-esque puffy coat? though your name / chameleon-style personality is confusing, i did like your performance, especially those girls who sang at the beginning.
kid rock - i'm not really a fan of him, but i was relieved that his performance was simple and straight-forward: just kid, another singer, and a guitarist sitting on three stools. no girls in bikinis, no cigarettes, no furry hats or american flag-printed trenchcoats.
the black eyed peas - new single from new cd, "the beginning," which is confusing since their last cd was "the e.n.d." this song samples "time of my life!" OMG! i die for patrick swayze. at the end of "dirty dancing" when he is dancing with baby and lip syncs "and i owe it all to you!" i just love it. and i love the black eyed peas. true confession. and i loved their robotic dancers, moving cubes, fun outfits, and especially the dance moves of the 2 black eyed peas who aren't fergie or will.i.am.
katy perry - started with a boys choir in all black and red bowties. interesting. i couldn't help but think of the creepy boys choir* in the music video of "total eclipse of the heart." anyway, katy lowered in on a retro looking sunshine orb seat in a fun and beautiful red dress. she sang her firework song, so it all seemed approptiate, especially when her troupe of male dancers dressed in all black ripped her dress off to reveal a red jumpsuit (a la britney in "oops... i did it again"?!) along with some real sparkler action.
justin bieber. i have to admit, here and now, i love him. bieber fever is happening. he sang a ballad as he played a piano. most of it sounded okay vocally... i mean, i'm no simon cowell. it was getting a little rocky, until he busted out the ultimate savior for award show performances: church choir. thank you, justin bieber for this gospel / africa / michael jackson / disney movie soundtrack song and performance.
bon jovi - first song... i zoned out. second song - you give love a bad name. oh yes. third song - it's my life. love that crazy noise sambora gets to make on this song.
pink! - introduced by kelly osborne as one of her heroes. and apparently she recently announced her pregnancy. congrats, pink! (i heard she reads this...) her performance was fun and included zero nude body-suits, so i was happy. (dear larkin, do you like my review of pink! which excludes the use of the word "woof"?!)
a rapper whose name i missed performed. whoops. sorry, dude. i'm sure you have fans.
taylor swift - omg. so exciting. opens with taylor playing piano in the sky. omg. tay with straight hair and bangs. love it. yes. her voice sounded good. i'm so proud. i love her slow, semi-bitter songs, and "back to december" definitely fits that bill. the stage had a wintery background. oooh. i love her. if the wintery loveliness of "back to december" wasn't enough, taylor turned it into a mash-up with "apologize"! yes. yes. thank you and good night.
christina aguilera - a performance from burlesque. aka moulin rouge: 2010.
usher - always an awesome performer, let's be real. the voice, the dancing, the appearance. all around entertainment. did i mention the dancing? and how cute he is? okay, i'll stop. oh, one more thing! please go look up how precious his little sons are. okay, that's all.
train. at first, they didn't sing "drops of jupiter," "hey soul sister," or "meet virginia" so i wasn't really paying attention. but then, i heard it. that non-stop anthem of 2010... "hey, soul sister." i looked up to the tv, saw the lead singer's glittery jeans, and couldn't look away until the performance, complete with dancing women in "soul sister" shirts, was over.
kesha - well, obviously, when this performance started, i was scared. and ke$ha did not disappoint, if of course, you were hoping for a freaking crazy performance.
santana, with vocals by gavin rossdale, or as i like to call that duo, "gwen stefani's husband and the famous guitarist who my dad really likes."
the finale performance... new kids on the block + backstreet boys = NKOTBSB. aka TEENAGE FANTASY! OMG I'M LOVING EVERY MOMENT OF THIS! is it normal that this performance gave me goosebumps? i mean, step by step, everybody, i want in that way, the right stuff, brian, joey, nick, jordan, larger than life. i need to see that tour. that's all i know.

dear santa, all i want for christmas is to see the NKOTBSB in concert. i've been nice. love, noel.

*for your enjoyment, please go to youtube and search for "literal video total eclipse of the heart." it is a remix of the song that plays the original music video with dubbed lyrics that narrate the video. hilarious. rated PG.

thank you notes

2010-11-20T00:26:00.003-06:00

it's friday, so i'm going to completely rip off jimmy fallon's friday night gag and catch up on my thank you notes.... if you have never watched jimmy on a friday night, go watch some clips on latenightwithjimmyfallon.com - thank you notes were the origin of "hubble got you!" which is a classic. classic, i tell you!

Thank you, blinding sunrise on my way to work or school, for reminding me on a near daily basis of the opening scene in “The Lion King.”

Thank you, McRib sandwich ads, for ensuring that I will not eat McDonald’s during the weeks of the year that you are available.

Thank you, TBS, for showing enough episodes of “Saved by the Bell” throughout my entire remembered life to help me realize that my students may not love me like Mr. Belding, but they definitely like me more than Zack and the gang like Mr. Testaverdi.

Thank you, cardigans, for being back in style and letting me think more often about Mr. Rogers.

Thank you, Dots, for being so delicious that I always forget how much I hate having you stuck in my teeth for hours.

Thank you, Burger King in the student union, for not only being a place I’ve never eaten, but for being the one thing one of my students recalled from his 6^th grade field trip to the University of Arkansas and ere go, the first topic of conversation with a student as I awkwardly try to bond with high school sophomores.

Thank you, Facebook, for helping us all predict now who will be our friends sending crazy chain e-mails when we are middle-aged.

Thank you, tourists’ reactions to the potentially crazy guy who rocks an electric guitar and amp outside the Walton Arts Center most weekend nights, for always making me feel like a local.

Thank you, Arkansas, for Altus.

Thank you, dear readers, for putting up with my madness. Peace and blessin's.

tune-in tuesday that i wrote and forgot to post until wednesday

2010-11-17T18:57:00.002-06:00

Attention, Muggles. Friday is the day. The big day, people! HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 1 will premiere in movie theaters across America. I die. Oh my gosh. The suspense is building now. And yes, there will be midnight showings Thursday, and yes, I will be at a midnight showing. And, so help me Ron, if I hear any juicy details before the movie, i.e. where in the book the movie stops, I will throw a copy of the book at you. And that will hurt. Because it is 759 page hardback book. That I am currently rereading. And obsessed with. Thursday night, BRING. IT. ON. I can’t wait. If you are not lucky enough to already have secured tickets, as I have along with 3 of my best friends, then get online or drive to your local theater and get ready.

non-epic fail

2010-11-14T00:00:00.002-06:00

it's midnight.

saturday just turned into sunday.

i didn't blog seven days in a row.

life goes on.

que sera.

etc.

see you soon, readers. thanks for reading along with my ridiculousness :)

"She's my best friend."

2010-11-12T08:38:00.004-06:00

Happy Birthday, Jenna!!!

I love you and am so glad we are best friends.

Please go reread all of our past yearbooks, palankas, etc.

for the mushy-gushy side of this blog.

Here, I will recap our lives in a few pictures:

In high school, we had the most random, wonderful life...

including catalyst team,

geishas at the toga party,

dominating dinosaurs,

jumping on cars,

prom (if only i had a picture of prom angels...),

and so much more.

Of course there were great times from 4th-8th grade too, but I'm pretty sure those are all engrained in your memory already. (Along with a lot more history, if you remember what I mean...)

Our friendship continued in college even though we went our separate ways to school.

I would visit TCU,
sometimes for your sorority's formal.

Yyou would visit fayetteville,

sometimes we'd meet at the lake,

and we always had home sweet home.

I love you, Jenthang. Have a great day and year!

pre-thanksgiving thanksgiving

2010-11-11T17:40:00.003-06:00

In preparation for Thanksgiving, which is but two weeks away, I thought it would be a great day to post about some things I am grateful for in this season of life.

· My family. Oh my goodness, they have to be number one. I’m obsessed. My dad is the most encouraging person I could imagine having in my corner. He would do anything to make me, my mom, and my sisters happy and safe and secure in how God created us. He loves my brother-in-law like a son and supports him in the many great things he does in life. My Mom is incredible. She has such a fun approach to life – creating joy and silliness wherever she goes, but also always wanting to learn more and teach others. I look up to her so much and want to be like her in so many ways. Plus, she has a picture of John Wayne in her classroom at an all-girl’s school, so I love her. My sisters are my best friends. Jill is so silly and fun, and such a good mom to MK, my precious, precious neice. Jill really enjoys life and works hard to balance all the things in her life. One of my favorite things about her is seeing her play with little kids like our cousins’ kids and babies. Her face just lights up! Larkin has become my life partner J We love spending time together, whether it is shopping, going to a movie, eating, cooking, or having a real, deep conversation. I love her dog, Samantha very much, too. Larkin is so Larkin, which is the best compliment I can give to really describe her. Eve is such a precious person. Her heart is so generous and she is definitely the most considerate person I have ever known. I am lucky to have her as a sister. I am so glad she married Colin! He is my favorite brother. I have grown to love him and he is just as important in our family as any other member. A family dinner would not feel complete without him. I am very grateful that they are about to have a sweet, precious, cuddly gentlemanly baby named Henry Robert. I will hold him every time I’m home, the WHOLE time I’m home. I’m so excited to have a nephew, and I already have the best neice a girl could have. MK has been such a big part of my life. She was born when I was in 5^th grade and now, it’s hard to believe, but she is in 6^th grade! What a doll she is. She is really fun to be around and it is crazy to see how much she is growing up recently. I hate that I’ve lived in Fayetteville for her 2^nd-6^th grade years, but I am SO excited to potentially be in Little Rock for her junior high and high school years, and maybe even be her English teacher someday!!!!!

I just realized the first entry on my gratitude list turned into a novella, so I will simply list the next few things. You all probably know my love for these things, because I have a semi-addictive nature towards things I love…

· My incredible friends

o Jenna, my forever best friend. Words cannot describe her imapct in my life and the laughs we have shared.

o Leslie, my college partner in crime who I have learned so much from and had so much fun with.

o Sambo, my little angel who I like to pretend to mother, even though she can teach me way more than I could impart to her.

o My sweet roommates throughout college: Charis, Kristen (two of them!), and of course, you Lori. (I see you reading this. Guttentag.)

o My camp friends like Molly, Sarah, Carol, KitKat and so many more that I could never forget and will always be able to pick up “right where we left off” with. Those quotation marks seem silly, but I’m trying to say that no matter how long it goes between conversations with sweet camp friends, every time it’s like we were in the staff room yesterday or sending carnival notes last night.

· ARKANASAS

· The Razorbacks! Woo Pig!

· Books

· Words

· People / cultural anthropology

· Arts & crafts, especially painting and handwriting

· Diet coke.

· Summer camp!

· CHIRSTMAS!!! I’m obsessed. It’s a problem.

· Candles

· Macaroni and cheese

· Fayetteville

· Blogging.

done and done.

Bravehearts for Life.

2010-11-10T21:53:00.002-06:00

Well, dear readers, I know I should have blogged about this about 10 days ago, but better late than never… I’d like to share with you the joys and sorrows of my last day at Helen Tyson Middle School. My goodness, I loved it there. Loved the kids, loved my mentor teacher and the teachers we worked with, loved the fun building covered in student work and bright colors, loved being a Braveheart. And man, did I ever learn that kids say the darndest things.

[Sidenote: I’d like to take a small moment of tribute to the one and only Bill Cosby. I love that man. The Cosby Show is like an un-official idol to me because I once heard my Mom say our family was like the white Cosby’s. I was so proud of that idea and loved it and looked for fun comparisons all the time. That sitcom holds a place in my heart akin to Little Women or Meet Me in St. Louis or Christmas Vacation, on the lighter side. And Bill Cosby is just SO. DANG. FUNNY. God bless him.]

Okay, all tangents about comedians aside, let me get back to the comical happenings of my last day at HTMS:

First, in Homebase (aka Homeroom) my students were acting a little sucpicious… but some were as cool as ever. For example:

o Ms. Gieringer, do you straighten your hair?

§ Not usually, today I just did bits and pieces.

o Yeah, it’s pretty frizzy.

Seventh graders are awesome at giving you the beginning glimpses of a compliment and then pulling it right back into an insult. Yes, they have mastered the art of the complisult.

Back to Homebase, and I notice that some of my students who are not on our team are filtering in. And then it becomes clear: we’re having a surprise team meeting / celebration.

· All 125+ students fill up our Commons area, along with all the teachers on the Braveheart team. I see a huge card with “Best Wishes, Ms. G! Love, The Bravehearts at HTMS.” hung up front, and the sweet celebration began. First, students were given awards for 100% Attendance, All A’s, and All A’s and B’s. Go Bravehearts! THEN, the whole group stood up, turned to face me, and recited an entire Emily Dickinson poem for me! What a surprise treat! We hadn’t worked on that poem for weeks, but I guess they had secretly been practicing on Mondays when I was gone. Then, a student recited Newton’s Laws for the science teacher who was also leaving. Before concluding the celebration, one of the teacher’s asked the students if there was anything they’d like to say to either the other intern or me, and one of my favorite students yelled, “You’re welcome for the sucker!” Classic. Finally, a teacher wheeled out a cart loaded down with Capri Sun and Do-nuts for all the kids to party with. So sweet. So fun! So blessed.

· When I returned to my desk, I realized there was a sweet gift basket from my mentor teacher with all kinds of fun, because they were decorative, teacher necessities like a stapler, files, a basket, and post-its. I was so grateful and her sweet card meant to much to me. I, in turn, gave her a book of wit and wisdom along with my thank you note to her.

Throughout the day there were sweet moments and laughs with kids, as well as hugs with girls who had tears in their eyes, like I later had while reading their sweet card.

o Scenario One: Young boy student, sweet as pie, walks up to me and says, “I remembered this morning right before we left the house that it was your last day, so I yelled, ‘Mom! Do we have a gift for Ms. Gieringer?!’ I was hoping we could give you a candle or something nice, but here…” and proceeded to hand me a bottle of bubble bath. Oh goodness. Thank you sweet young man.

o Scenario Two: I said to one group, “Oh I wish I had my camera; I need a picture of this class.” To which one awesome boy replied, “Oh, well, you’re really trying to say you need a picture of me to frame in your next classroom. That’s okay, I’ll send you one.” Classic.

o Scenario Three: “Ms. G, are you wearing lipstick?” –girl student. “Yes, I am.”-me. “Oh.”-girl student. Again, another perfect example of the complisult.

o Scenario Four: In the hallway during class, while I was roaming, one of my inspiring Spanish-speaking students who is usually a complete goofball, looked me straight in the face and said, “I’m really going to miss you.” Ugh, be still my heart. It was the sweetest thing.

o Scenario Five: One of my cut-up students, who typically had me calling him out multiple times per class, said, “Man, Imma miss you! You are fun and funny. And you teach.” That was the perfect complimentary goodbye from him.

o Scenario Six: One of my favorite students was absent, and I was truly sad to not see her one last time. Well, then, through the window in the classroom door, I see a precious mom holding a gift bag with a huge G on it, the mom pointing back and forth from the bag to me and mothing, “ARE YOU MS. G?!” Sine I AM Ms. G, I went out in the hall and met her. She was that student’s mom and said that her daughter was sick and couldn’t come to school, but because of that, she was crying and crying the night before that she would not get to say goodbye to me. Oh my goodness, the sweet angel. They got me a precious notepad stack with sweet adjectives on the side in fun, bright colors. The student had been asking me all week what I wanted for a present, and I kept saying “a hug” or “your love” until she finally said, “Come on, Ms. Gieringer, what kind of stuff do you like?!” to which I responded, “I like words and paper and bright fun colors and cute stuff.” Her gift completely nailed it – what a doll.

For the rest of the day, I got to flit around the school however I pleased, observing teachers, saying goodbyes, tucking notes in mailboxes, and touring fun classrooms I hadn’t yet been in.

Goodbye HTMS, I will miss you. Go Hornets! Buzz Buzz!