Monday, April 19, 2010

The baby is 30...

That's my little brother on the far left. I realize he's not so little anymore, and hasn't been for quite some time. In fact, he turned 30 this weekend, and in true form, he celebrated in style.

Of course this involved a little bit of beveraging, a little bit of dancing, and a little bit of gambling, all at the same time. As a witness of this foray, let me just note that my little brother can party with the best of them. I, on the other hand, was dead asleep by 11 p.m.

So, while he is able to do all of these things legally, and while in a matter of five or six weeks he is going to be a proud papa to an already-loved baby boy, he's still my little brother, and I'm stickin' to it. He's the one I used to stick in a stroller and push around while I played house, the one who I made play Barbies with me for countless hours, the one who I gave homework to so I could play teacher, the one who I created ice skating routines with in our very small living room, the one who I co-wrote and co-sang the song "Cute Little Lovers" (don't ask) with, the one who helped me secretly glue back together the broken pictures frames after our rousing games of knee-soccer, and the one who gracefully allowed me to carry him into my bed for literally years, just so I could get a good night's sleep.

In fact, while he is technically my little brother, he has often been the one to take care of me and he always had my back. When it comes to little brothers, I really did get the best of the best.

I love you, Gonzi!!!! Hopefully in your next 30 years you will eat a few more salads and not stay out so late. Happy Birthday!

Friday, April 16, 2010

Deep Thoughts Form Students, Entry 4:

I cannot stop laughing. I am sitting back at my computer with the giggles and I can't stop.

Let me set the scene...

In my Freshman English class, we are getting ready to begin our final unit of the year, which revolves around the novel "To Kill a Mockingbird." As students are finishing up their essays on poetry, I thought it would be good to show a movie called "Pride" - which deals with issues of racism and perseverance - as a sort of pre-reading activity.

As we were reviewing the part of the film we watched yesterday, my student Joyce noticed the picture of Trevor and I on my computer desktop, which was being projected onto our big screen before I started the movie. The picture was taken when we were on our trip to St. John, and the background shows the turquoise waters of the Carribbean.

Joyce says: Hey, I like that picture.

I say: Thank you!

Maria says: Look at that beach! Where was that taken?

I say: On a little island called St. John. It's in the Virgin Islands.

Joyce says (very seriously): The Virgin Islands? Maria, you can't ever go there.

The entire class - including me - bursts into laughter.

The thing is, the kids have let it go, and here I am - still giggling.

I love my job. I really, really love my job.

Monday, April 5, 2010

Good Ole Tennessee

I am just going to get straight to the point. When one of the first things you see while driving around Nashville is the sign below, you know you are in for a good time.


In short, this is what we did...

1) While Trevor filled his belly with whiskey, I filled mine with glasses and glasses of sweet tea. I love sweet tea. I want to fill up a baby pool with sweet tea and swim in it...let's just pretend that visual never happened.


2) We posed with every Elvis we could find. Enough said.
3) Candace hooked us up with NHL tickets, so we watched the Nashville Predators beat the St. Louis Blues. To make it even better, in between the first and second periods, Winona Judd appeared out of nowhere to sing a fews songs. I pretty much lived the childhood dream of Alissa all in the matter of a couple hours. It rocked. I loved it.
4) We visited the Jack Daniel's Distillery, which happens to be in a dry county. Nonetheless, we rocked in some rocking chairs, we posed with Jack's statue, and we smelled whiskey being made at every stage, which brought some of us back to our college days.

5) We met our friend Beverly for lunch. Beverly was with the Tennessee group on our honeymoon and spent most of the trip making us laugh and laugh and laugh. We loved meeting her husband and catching up over some pretty impressive Mexican food. Let me just say that in Tennesee, no matter what restaurant you go to, they feature "Cheese Dip" on their appetizer menus. Cheese Dip is delicious, and I have evry intention of bringing this trend to Washington.
6) And, of course, we went to the Grand Ole Opry. Trevor wore his new hat, I wore my new boots, and we all got the giggles after every single "Used-to-be a Country Music Singer 50 years Ago" graced the stage. Nonetheless, it was absolutely worth the experience.
In conclusion, I just have to say that I am not quite sure how our friendship with Candace and Kelly has become what it is, but when the four of us are together, it is like we have known each other for years. I love that, and cannot wait until next time.