September 2010
Thursday, Rain, White shoes, Rainboots
September 30, 2010
Today is the last day of September so I figured that since September has been so short of posts I'd add something on here before I had to move into October. I've got about ten minutes until I have to go get ready for my next class so this may or may not be a short one.
Woke up this morning to a horrible rainstorm, the sub-pump was doing it's job and someone had thrown Fletcher outside because he'd eaten a whole chocolate bar yesterday and was throwing up big brown blobs all over the place. I'd cleaned up my fair share of them so I didn't have any pity for him, I left him outside despite his whining. Rain won't kill him, he weighs 37 pounds. Not much can kill a 37 pound Welsh Corgi.
Anyways, I was ready too early so wasted time reading a forensics book I picked up at the library and ended up getting to school late. While running out to the Jeep through the rain I took a shortcut through the yard and sank ankle deep into mud because my dad planted grass a few weeks ago and it hasn't grown yet. That was lovely. My white shoes were covered in mud but I got them cleaned off at school. Fortunately I got paid today so I'm going to go to the mall later and go shopping. September is a three paycheck month so this paycheck can pretty much go to whatever I want it to. Believe me, it is wonderful to have money again.
While trolling the popular news websites (a hobby) I came across this article out of Ontario, Canada which really, really makes me wonder about the sanity of the our neighbors to the north. Basically what they've done is struck down the prostitution laws in Canada and are making it legal to...yeah. All I can think about is that verse in the Old Testament where God specifically states that you shouldn't do things like that. Specifically. And I'm not going to get into it here.
Music class is next, I can't remember which grade I'm teaching today. Third I think? They're a good class. We're learning songs, that's pretty much it.
Have a great day everyone!
Oh! Yeah! Saturday is Odenton Day! If you're in the area come to the Volunteer Fire Department from 9 - 1 and stop by the OBC booth! We've got TONS of free stuff like stickers, magnets, pens, pencils and candy!
Later on that same day...
Wow, just when you think you know what's going to happen the insane happens. We were getting ready for a Spanish I test and we got called out into the hallway, all of us, because there was a tornado watch in our area. They had apparently touched down in Millersville which is just north or south of us (I don't know which). So yeah, we wasted like, a half of Spanish class sitting in the hallway, lots of fun. I was really scared there for a bit, lol, and since we didn't know what was happening it occurred to me that maybe I should save some stuff. So I grabbed my phone, a library book and my Bible. There is really nothing else in this room that I would be too worried about if it got carried away because, for the most part, none of it is mine. I think now, looking back on it, I'd have saved my laptop too, but that's about it. We're just under a tornado warning now, no more watches, but it is supposed to rain all day. But to make it all better Chick-fil-A brought in two platters of spicy chicken nuggets so I'm set for the day.
So just remember, you've got no guarantee of tomorrow! Me, I'm going to go buy rainboots and an anchor.
Hogan's Heroes
September 27, 2010
I love Hogan's Heroes, specifically Hogan and Newkirk. Lebeau is a close third followed by Kinch and then Carter. Sorry, Carter, you're cute but the dopeyness just sorta kills it for me. This website right here really cheered me up this morning. Unfortunately he's a bit old now but he's still adorable! I've determined that I'm going to marry a guy with a British accent thereby sealing my fate forever (because the only other guy I'd ever consider marrying other than Newkirk is Drake off that video game Uncharted and he doesn't even exist!). My ideal man looks like a mixture of Newkirk and Drake with a British accent. XD lol!!! I'll let you know how that works out.
Was at a teacher's conference on Thursday and Friday. I didn't know that being a teacher required such extensive travel. One week I'm in Florida the next Pennsylvania. I've also gone to western Maryland with the school. It's a perk. Sorta. The conference wasn't the greatest one I've been to but, hey, two days off, I'm not complaining. Got to hear a guy named Rand Hummel preach/talk. If you ever get a chance to go listen to him, do so! He is absolutely fantastic. I heard him speak on humility, discontentment and a personal walk with God. Some of the teachers deliberately went to every single one of his sessions just because they like hearing him so much. Next year I'll do that. If I'm still here.
Well, the only upcoming events are jury duty next Tuesday, Tim leaving for boot-camp on Monday and then the trip to Mexico in November. I don't have a whole lot to look forward to. Haven't heard from the historical society so I still don't know if I'm doing a website for them. I also need to get going on that orphanage website and I've got some new stuff for the Dorr website which I'll update in my free hour before lunch. No point in doing it now. What I really need though is internet at the house which my dad refuses to get because he has an iPhone and doesn't use the internet for web design or writing like my mom and I do. Don't know what I'm going to do about that short of paying for it myself which I really don't want to have to do. -sigh-
Enough of that. I hope you all have a great week! I'm getting my routine down so I'll be back to updating on a normal schedule from here on out I hope. ^^ Ciao!
Masquerade - Nancy Moser
September 20, 2010
Bethany House Publishers sent me four books which they asked me to review on my website and on another site such as Amazon. They sent me the books for free and this is an honest review, my own opinions of the book.
Masquerade is set in the 'gilded age', an era I didn't know existed until I read this book. Apparently it was stuffed chock full of gross luxury as several of the avid descriptions in this book portray enormous mansions and excessive dresses. The author contrasts this rich setting against the horrible tenements of Five Points, another area I was unaware of.
The plot goes as follows: Spoiled rich girl from England ends up involved in an unwanted arranged marriage to the son of one of the most well known families of New York City. She seems determined to marry for love and because she is spoiled and has always gotten what she wants she figures she's just going to get out of this marriage as well although it seems rather nice. The rich family in New York sends first class tickets come over to America and so Charlotte (spoiled rich girl) and her lady's maid (Dora) head off. Dora does not go as her maid but rather as a friend and companion and along the way Charlotte teaches her about being a proper lady. On the boat they have many adventures. The boat trip is nice but Charlotte, being who she is, doesn't have the experience she was expecting and so decides that when they get to New York she and Dora are going to switch places. Dora agrees with trepidation but she does agree and so she's stuck. Once in New York the two girls split up. Dora ends up going with the rich family and all seems to be going well until she accidentally meets up with one of the young men that she men on board the ship and realizes that she really does love him and not the rich son that she's arranged to marry although he is also really nice. Charlotte, on the other hand, takes on the name Lottie and ends up in the tenements with an Italian family working in a sweatshop.
The whole book is full of crazy twists with Lottie eventually becoming a maid in the rich family's household and running into Dora that way. And who does Dora decide to marry? The rich son or the man she met on the boat? That's the question that kept me reading the whole entire two days. Another nice thing is the accurate descriptions included in the book. It is plainly obvious that Nancy Moser did her research. She even names the types of fabric used in Dora and Lottie's dresses and has included some real life characters such as Ward McAllister and places such as Thorley's House of Flowers. In the back of the book she explains where she got all of the people and places from in a special section that even includes pictures of the dresses she describes Charlotte and Dora wearing. That's probably my favorite part.
The only weaknesses in the book might be a few of the characters and the fact that Nancy Moser seems to hem and haw when it comes to including God in her book. She liberally mixes in Catholicism and Church of England which, yes, were the predominant religions of that period, but neither of her characters has a true walk with God and seem to enjoy talking to the moon as opposed to actually praying which makes this book definitely more of a historical fiction book with a slight 'Christian twist' and that's it.
I chose Masquerade to read first because it was the thickest of the four books Bethany House sent me and it was well worth it. The price on the back of the book reads $14.99 which I can't see being too steep if you really love historical fiction but I must say that I lucked out by having it sent to me as opposed to having to buy it. It'll stay on my shelf though, I really enjoyed it. Is it a re-read? Maybe in a year or so.
Uhh...
September 19, 2010
Okay, alright, so this has been one of the busiest months in a long time. I've been gone on retreat this last week, Wednesday through Friday so there was no update this Friday and something happened on Monday but it was so long ago that I forget what. I have a teacher's conference this Thursday and Friday so no guarantees on an update this coming weekend but hopefully I'll have some breathing time tomorrow or Tuesday (most likely Tuesday) to sit down and do an actual, interesting update.
Managed to get the Jeep registered finally, check out Facebook for evidence. The sales tax wiped out my entire paycheck and $100 more so I'm flat broke pretty much plus I owe my dad $1000 for the safety inspection fixes. Sometimes I despise living in Maryland. It really disgusts me that these people do these sort of things. Whatever, it's okay, I voted intelligently so yes, I have a right to complain about the government.
Most likely going to pick up another website job, that'll be fun, more information about that forthcoming if it ever comes to fruition. I'll probably know this week. To everyone I promised boxes to (Angela and Lauren) I have them but as you can see, Maryland has taken all of my money so I can't actually pay to ship them just yet but I do have them and I'm working on it, I swear.
Anyways, choir practice is about to start, I've got to go, I'll hopefully be back on Tuesday morning. Pray for me!!
Gyaah!
September 8, 2010
It's September already! Time is going by way too quickly! I haven't had a chance to update the last couple of times because things have gotten in the way. On Friday I went over to a friend's new house to translate for her because the person she hired to paint her house speaks mainly Spanish and a little bit of English. Then Monday was a free day and I went and joined a gym and went to the thrift store and didn't have a chance to update at all. Tuesday was insane because of all the piano students I have on that day and so that leaves me with today and a half hour to update because that's all the time I have before lunch.
Thrift store shopping was fantastic because I managed 11 new skirts which is practically un-heard of for me. It comes from the quantity = quality idea of shopping. Basically I just went down the skirt aisle and picked out anything that A. looked nice and B. was generally in my size (lol, 8 to 14). That ended me up with 26 altogether and by this time the other customers in the store were staring at my cart because it was so piled high with clothes. The people in line for the changing closets weren't exactly thrilled to see me there but it worked out. Only 11 of the 26 were long enough and loose enough but still, 11 skirts! One of them is a long jean skirt which is fantastic because I've been needing another one for awhile now. It's light blue, a color I didn't have. The rest of the skirts are all dress skirts, things I can wear to church and school. One thing I didn't take into account though was the fact that, even though the skirts are loose and fit nice, a few of them are a tad bit too big. So if you're going to buy super loose skirts so that they hang lower on your hips check to make sure that your shirt will completely cover the waist when you are sitting (especially in the back) and make sure they don't easily pull off. If you feel as if you can just pull it right down off your hips, the skirt is too big!
I've come to the point where I take joy in the little things, like the fake garden app I have on my iPhone for instance. Basically the only work I have to do is press one button which waters my plants. That's it. But I could sit there and do that for at least three minutes. Three minutes because that's the only actual free time I have during my day, three minutes in between the time the first bell rings to dismiss the classes and the second bell rings to inform everyone that classes have begun. I can understand now why my teachers were a little bit 'weird' when I was a student. It's because they enjoy those little free moments of time and they've figured out ways to take advantage of them. At least, that's what I think. Three minutes when I'm just standing there with absolutely no obligations. I have two planning periods throughout the day where I don't have to teach but since it's a whole 50 minute block usually I use those times to write tests and quizzes or grade papers or work on what I'm going to teach next class period (lol, I do plan further ahead than one period) (this, by the way, is one of those planning periods that I'm using to update OF). Anyways, since there are things that I can be doing during my planning period, I feel guilty not doing anything. So that's a constant pressure. But during those three minutes between bells, it's beautiful. Because what on earth am I supposed to be able to do other than water fake plants?
So even though I'm busy, this whole teaching thing isn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. I am beginning to enjoy Spanish II much more than Spanish I just because the 10th graders are a whole lot easier to teach than the 9th graders. The 10th graders are a bit more mature and still get into the funny little things we can do during class. There's a test on Friday but I've got a fun thing planned on Monday that we're going to do to learn 'left', 'right' and 'straight'. Plus use numbers.
All the other teachers here are great. I love working here.
Have a great week everyone! I'll try to post again on Friday, sorry about the missing days and I'll move September onto its own page here whenever I get a chance. If ever. XD
