Magpie B.

A Picture's Worth a Thousand Words

Blizzard '05

The snow is AMAZING!! School is cancelled for the next two days. Look here for some photos of the madness. Best part? I get to knit for hours and hours. Yay!

Best Compliment Ever!

I teach math for 80% of my day and music for the remaning 20%.  I really love doing both. My friend Kelly, the English/Language Arts teacher, is about to begin reading Romeo and Juliet. She asked if I would show West Side Story in music at about the same time. I jumped on it. I explained to my inner city seventh graders that musicals are a lttle different since the people stop to sing and dance at any given moment. I went on to explain the plot of West Side Story, talking about the gangs and relating it to what the kids see in their own neighborhood on a daily basis. After all of my prepping, I began the movie. All of the kids were hooked, until the dancing gangs appeared. Their reactions were HYSTERICAL!!!!! The looks over the shoulders at me in the back of the room, the comments ("Damn! What is up with this gang? Is this how gangs acted in the old days?"), and the rolling eyes. Eventually they got back into it. And in the end, they all LOVED it!

When the lights came on at the end of the movie, lots of kids were trying to cover their tears. So I brought up how I cry every time I see it and "isn't it the most tragic movie ever?". Then the kids started talking about other really sad movies while I was battling my new and fancy computer projector to it shut off. Someone brought up Stepmom and how it always made them cry. It was then that I got the best compliment ever! One of the kids said I was just like the mom (Susan Sarandon) because I was so understanding and organized but strict too. My head popped up to see who said it. Then another kid said I was more like Julia Roberts because I was cool and knew about kids' stuff. Then the group of kids talking agreed that I was the perfect combination of the two. ISN'T THAT THE BEST COMPLIMENT EVER? My fellow teachers will appreciate it. I felt wierd telling my friends - that they would think I was bragging. So I am sending this out into the universe. It just made me so happy!

My Favorite Things

I love watching the "My Favorite Things" episode each year Oprah. Today's was especially great. She brought all of these teachers to the studio and made them think they were going to film a show on education. Then she told them it was the "My Favorite Things" episode. These people LOST THEIR MINDS! It was so funny/touching/inspirational! My favorite things of the favorite things was the Maytag Neptune Top Loading Washer and Dryer Center. If I lived in a house or a bigger apartment, I would buy the whole kit and kaboodle...if I had the money.

The Red Sox Do NOT Suck!!! (Understatement!)

Okay! The Red Sox did it! I have not even posted about the AMAZING comeback! I went to the parade and got lots of pictures. Three million people!!!!! My friend saw Matt Damon and his girlfriend as he walked down the path next to the river. Celebrity sightings and a big win. What could be better? The win even changed movies!

 

I have found the cutest change holder ever! I keep my change in a big jar and always end up sorting through it to find quarters for the laundry. This would keep me organized! You can get them at lil-tots.

What's up, Red Sox??

All of Boston was in shock today. No one could believe that the game happened last night. Some people would not acknowledge that it even happened. What happened?

My friend Maureen got engaged yesterday. We went to her apartment to drink champagne and coo over her ring! It's so exciting for her and Darryl!!

And last, I have fallen in love with the Pottery Barn Spooky Ghost candles all over again! They come out every October and each year I ooh and aah over them. Aren't they the best??

This one's for you, Jeanne!

School has been in sesson for 6 weeks and I have become a crazy lady!! But I had to post about these slippers. After a day like today (I'm just getting home from school - it was Parent Night.) I would like to slip my feet into these babies! I rarely am drawn to wearing fur, real or fake, but these look FABULOUS!! They are by Steve Madden. Take a look! They even come in leopard!

Best Time EVER!!

For the last few weeks of summer traveled. It was wonderful. I went home to Rochester, NY to visit my famly for a week. I got to stop and see my cousin Jeanne in Syracuse, NY on my way home. A couple of days later I went to Otisville, Maine (Never heard of it, right? Neither has anyone else!) to my friend Amy's summer house. It is on a little lake with the clearest water in the US. I mean it. When I swam 50ft out to the floating raft, I could still see to the bottom. You could drink and bathe in the water. We sat out on their porch and when we got too hot, we would run and jump in the lake.

The day after I got home from Maine, I flew out to Cleveland, OH to see Joanne and her family. I have known and been friends with Joanne since we were in kindergarten. Her children are precious and beautiful and were taken care of by her kind husband for the weekend that I was there. Look at them!! Emma, not pictured, is the oldest and she is a genius! I had a great, sleepless time!

But I am back in town and school is starting tomorrow. I am ... sad yet excited? Can a person have both of those emotions at the same time? I have been fixing up my new classroom and I love how it turned out this year - all primary colors and lots of cabinet space. I get so nervous every year! Will the kids listen to me? Wll they respect me? Will they like me? Eek!

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

I just finished reading The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares. Is that a great title or what? My friend Amy (She's a teacher too!) just finished reading it and thought I should read it too. It's a young adult book that our kids might read. Although...I'd give it to 8th or 9th graders.

Before reading the Pants book, I read The Rule of Four by Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason. It has some of the same elements as The Davinci Code. But it's much harder to understand because the authors look back and look forward. Plus, it's less about decoding and more about the relationships between the characters. I would give it 3 out of 5 stars.

Shoo Fly!

For some unknown reason, I have about four houseflies flying around my apartment. These are some quick flies! After trying to sneak up on them like I am some sort of ninja and still missing them, I have decided that I need advanced technological equipment. I think that I should get the Flip Flop Fly Swatter. Aren't they just the cutest things?