Thursday, January 21, 2010

Random Thoughts on Finals Day 1...

  • Peanuts covered in maple glaze sometimes just hit the spot
  • Telling 14-year-olds they can't talk until all the tests are turned in NEVER works...even if donuts are involved
  • Politicians suck
  • Politicians who preach about charter schools and merit-based pay for teachers suck the most
  • Sears sucks sometimes, like when they send you a broken treadmill that you paid a big chunk of money for and then won't return your emails or your phone calls
  • I really, really, really don't like pork chops
  • Sending money to Haiti just doesn't seem like enough
  • Suffering sucks
  • Brand new, sharpened pencils bring me joy
  • Tomorrow Melanikis turns the same age Jesus was when he was crucified...my mom likes to point this out anytime someone turns 33
  • My mom is random, but she cooks a mean arroz con pollo
  • Speaking of random, I must remind myself to explain to my SET students certain American colloquialisms because ever since I told them they were "driving me nuts," they have been telling each other "Stop driving MY nuts"...not good
  • One final done today, two more to go

Monday, January 18, 2010

A Weekend in Winthrop

Let me begin by saying that I am embarassed at how our weekend away started. I just have to get it off my chest because I feel like a total ass...when we walked into our cabin in Winthrop and there clearly was not a DVD player like the ad had stated, I started to cry.

I know.

I'm pathetic.

And irrational.

And over-emotional.

What else is new, right?

But this is exactly why I'm putting it out there because I want the world to know that I KNOW that I am pathetic. With that said, I have to tell you, the missing in action DVD player turned out to be a blessing in disguise, and here is why...

For our 3-year dating anniversary, Trevor and I rented a cabin to get away and enjoy some quality time together. It truly is amazing how much more quality your time becomes when television is not involved, and I'm not blowing smoke up your wazoos here. I really, really mean it. We strolled through the cowboy town of Winthrop, sipping on coffee and caramel apple cider, and browsing through the many shops. In one of those shops, Trevor picked out a book (which he never does) and in another one we bought a deck of cards and a cribbage board. So at night, instead of zoning out to movies, we snuggled up on the couch and read together (ummm, can you say best foreplay EVER?) and over the course of the weekend played 10 rounds of cribbage. I'm not competitive or anything, but for the record, I won eight times. You do the math.

We also enjoyed one day of intense snowshoeing. By "enjoyed" what I really mean is that in the span of 4 miles and 3 hours, I laughed, I cried, and I puked. Yes, I puked. I don't want to talk about it. I also yelled at my husband and told him I was never going to snowshoe with him again, but that was a lie. The truth is, it was amazingly beautiful out there and as much as it hurt to climb up very, very steep hills, spending that time with Trevor who never, ever gives up on me only reiterated that I will indeed snowshoe again and again and again.



You may ask yourself, what is Sara doing in that picture below? The answer is, Sara is laughing her ass off after falling down AGAIN. Who falls snowshoeing, which really is a glorified way of saying WALKING IN THE SNOW? Ummmm, me, that's who.

We also enjoyed a horse sleigh ride that ended with a cowboy dinner in a tent (thankfully it was warm) in the middle of the mountains. The ride was so much fun, the food was amazing, and the company was hysterical. Besides Trevor and I, there was a group of six men who had gone to high school together and who meet up every year to go skiing during this particular weekend. One of the guys is the guy on the MacSnack commericials for McDonald's. No joke. I asked him if he would sign our Big Mac box we had back in our truck. I'm not so sure he was as amused as I was. Needless to say, I never got his autograph.
In short, our weekend in Winthrop was wonderful (apparently I'm a genius at alliteration), and maybe, just maybe, we will turn off our own TV more often.

Friday, January 1, 2010

A New Year


Dear Universe,
School starts tomorrow and I'm lining all my ducks up in a row - the grocery shopping is done, one set of papers is graded, clothes are washed, hair is clean, legs are shaved, and the internal pep talks have begun. With that said, it's time for a heart to heart.

I'm not quite sure how to break this to you, so I'm just going to say it - I am a bit displeased. Displeased, you ask? Yes, displeased. I know, I know, I know...I have so much to be thankful for and I am truly blessed in numerous ways. NONE of this goes unnoticed or unappreciated, trust me. I just need a little help here, and being that this week marks the start of a new year and a new decade, I thought I might just ask for some.

I guess what I'm asking is, can you PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE just give this girl a break? You know what I'm talking about, so I'm just going to leave it at that. I need you to tilt your axis a bit in my favor, if you know what I mean, and I promise you I will do my part.

You see, I am going to slow down and get back to what I have always loved to do - read and write and knit and sew and travel and go for walks and love my husband and spoil my animals and laugh with my friends and appreciate my family and be kind to my students. And when June rolls around, I am not going to work one measly second this summer and I am going to try to convince Melanikis to do that same so that we can host a wedding (hint, hint Andria), go to the pool, and can just like our grandmas used to do. And I'm going to finish our honeymoon scrapbook, put together a wedding album, and maybe, just maybe, actually organize all the pictures on our computer so we can make Smith family photo albums.

In short, I'm going to get back ME and just thinking about it makes me want to throw myself a little party.

So, dear Universe, if you can hear me, I would really appreciate your help in all of this. I believe I have paid my dues and weathered the storms in a relatively dignified fashion (let's just pretend that whole breakdown on Christmas never happened) and I need the stars to align for me. I figure if I align my stars then you can align yours. Fair? Fair.

Until we meet again,


Sara