On Imperfect Love and Dancing

Returning from a ward "So-you-think-you-can-Cha-Cha" activity last night I drove past this little old couple of the side of the road. Now we all like to valorize cute little old couples walking down the road hand-in-hand after all those years, but really, is that what love is? I was justed warmed over to the brim at the sight of this adorable couple--a true old, in love looking married couple. What did they look like? Well, he was probably 20 paces in front of her, body bent half over with a cane, leaving his wife who was moving very slowly with a walker, in the dust, but atleast he was carrying her purse! :) You would just have to have seen it. She was struggling up the on-ramp of the sidewalk and probably could have used his help with that awkward walker, but he was far ahead of her no doubt anxious to get home and thinking his wife was a little slow. Why is this cute to me? Probably because I can kind of imagine my parents being like that in another 35 years. They just had their 35th wedding anniversary a couple of days ago and they are just funny. I think real-in love married couples are a little impatient with each other at times, but they still go everywhere together and love eachother and the husband carries the wife's purse.

Okay, I am officially rambling now. But it brought to mind the new church radio commerical of a super old couple who are arguing about how neither of them really liked to dance anyway, so why were they doing it after all these years, and he admits he likes to hold her hand, and she admits she danced anyway because she liked to be in his arms. *Sigh* so cute. But I guess that is what love is when you see couples successfully married for years, (I know I have never been married and am therefore no authority), but I think real love is imperfect, but you do things with and for each other because you would rather do things with and for them, imperfect as they are, than anyone else on the entire earth.

So here's to being a bent over old married couple a few decades down the road!

Pond Excursion, Anyone?

So, spring has sprung (again) and apparently I'm (still) a late-bloomer. Everyone seems to be calling and telling me they are engaged, almost-engaged, engaged-in deep like, engaged-in-good dating and blind dates, and having babies and love-love-love. I am excited for you all! I truly am! I'm just wondering what I need to do getting-blooming-in-love myself!

Is it time to do what Michael Scott did on last week's Office and force-conscript people to get me dates? Or do I need to follow the adivce from a student's research paper. Apparently I can find my husband, or at least see what he looks like by either looking backwards in a mirror at midnight (I think this is how it goes) or else go and look at my reflection in a pond at midnight, and apparently the image of my true love will appear next to mine. Hmmm, that would save the trouble of wondering whether or not we would look good together--. Might be a good idea, huh? Heck, while I am there I might as well collect a few frog-samples and start kissing a few of those too.

My students said today, "We need to find you a husband." Yes we do.

Anyone want to come?

Things Fall Apart

Despite the fact that things fall apart when I am not around, I do not regret leaving my kids and going to Italy! I know I am not their mom, but sometimes I feel like one--a mom of 150 kids who say Ms. E, Ms. E, Ms. E, ALL DAY LONG. I think that anyone who takes care of kids, or anyone for that matter needs to get away sometimes from their life, take a vacation and remind themselves that they have an identity that is separate ,or in addition to, their work identity!

I was greeted this morning at 7:30 a.m. with "The week you were gone was the worst week of my life!" from one of my favorite male students. Well, I got a pretty good idea from the substitute that it was one of the worst weeks of her life too! :) Of course the honors class was perfect, and the others were---not.

I slipped into my classroom a few days ago to view the destruction. I was at first mad, and then was like who cares! Don't cry over over spilled milk! The kids will recover--because although teaching is a large part of my life--my particular class is only a small part of their life. And you know, today wasn't too bad.

It sadly, actually kind of stokes up your ego a bit to hear kids soooo glad you are back, and they just can't work without you! So even though they were bad, lazy, and unproductive while I was gone, what can you do? Their grades will go down a little because of it, but I am going to be nice and give them some time in class to get a few things done in the name of "damage control."

GO on vacation. It's worth it. Your life can wait.

A Mini-Tour of Italy!

I will post a folder on my facebook account with more pics if anyone wants to see more pics, but here is a highlight or two. Enjoy!




A beautiful man, I'm not going to lie.


Venice; view from Rialto Bridge




Me somewhere in Vatican City.


A view of Assissi.


Venice, obviously.


Cheese and Wine Tasting, Minus the Wine Tasting. :)



Everyone rides bikes in Ferraro.

So there is a small sample! I took 8 rolls of film and 450 digital pictures, not counting what my mom and sister took on their digital camera. LOL.

Tell Me I'm Beautiful and I just Might Fall into your Arms.

It's true--what they say about Italian men. They are forward, and it's refreshing. I had heard it would happen, and it did: I have been starred at all day long, and told I am beautiful on an almost more than twice daily basis for the last 10 days in Italy.

I only felt sexually harrassed on two occasions. All of the rest of the time I just felt admired. I'm not saying I wish American men were like that, and if I lived in Italy, I would be ticked if my husband were checking out every woman on the street! But it made me feel like a woman--. It made me feel beautiful. One of the women I was travelling with was one of my former young women's leaders and she said it was fun to watch me walk down the streets, there was just something about me those men liked! Probably the red hair because I was the only natural red head I saw in my entire stay. I'm not saying it to proclaim that I think I am beautfiul, because I really don't think there is anything particualrly special about me, I am just saying it because it made me think.

One of the people I was travelling with has been to Italy on several occasions and on one occassion she met a man who told her that he didn't like American women. He said Italian women (who I might add are ridiculsouly beautiful) even if they are 50 lbs. overweight walk around like they own the place, confident. He said he doesn't like American women because they beleive if they are not the most beautiful woman in teh room they have nothing to offer. He doesn't understand that about Americans, he said every woman has something beautiful to offer, and Italian women believe that--and that is partially what makes them attractive.

And to the men-folk , I would just like to say--try it. Not every woman would admit it, but we all like to be told we are beautiful. There is some truth in the saying that "women love with their ears," because in a sense we do. There are lots of languages of love, but we are inclined to buckle when a man lets us know in no uncertain terms that he finds us attractive. And American women are trained to beleive is she doesn't currently have a significant other, it just might mean no man finds her attracitve--which I beleive has to be grossly untrue. So women, let's act beautiful, because we are, and men, tell us we are beautiful, and we just might wind up in your arms! :)

And I'm Off!

I write you all in a couple of weeks! I'm off to Italy!!!!!

In Defense of You Video-Gamers Out There (Just Read IT)

We are running this article in our next newspaper, we are doing a video games for-or-against. I'm personally not down with the whole time wasting element, but this is a freaking awesome article in defense of gaming, I have to admit. Enjoy!

The Happiest Place on Earth

By An 18 Year Old Boy

You’re walking down the hall and you see someone talking about World of Warcraft or Portal: What do you do? Make fun of them? Think they are lame? You MONSTER! Little do you know that they spend their time WAY better than you ever have.

Video Games teach you a lot of skills that are valuable in the workplace today, and are quite possibly the most powerful form of education which makes learning many of life’s needed skills enjoyable. There is also a large social element to games which give kids the advantage of learning about tolerance and other cultures. Many games are online and/or on the computer. Many have increased their ability to type drastically, before I started to play, I was typing (on a good day) 25 gross words per minute and now, thanks to these games, I type (on a normal day) around 85 per minutes with no mistakes. There are a whole lot of people who have inadvertently gained this skill simply by enjoying their hobby.

People might say that video games are causing obesity nowadays and is a really bad thing, that is totally ridiculous I demand that everyone take a look around the school, think about all the video-gamers you know, now how many of those people are fat? Maybe one, maybe. Video games and the culture around them do not create obesity; rather they encourage exercise and other such activities.

Video games can be a comforting friend. Like a puppy, they can give you worth when you feel you have none. What is more comforting than knowing that you alone have saved a lost civilization from a grim fate?! How can you feel any better? If you ask me, there is no better way to improve your mood than by accomplishing heroic tasks!

Much like you would find in a high school, video games give expertise on certain useful career options and teach you skills that you can use to your advantage in the professional world. First, there is the physical dexterity needed to be competent in video games, many studies have shown that surgeons who play video games have a much lower rate of accidents and inaccurate cuts due to the physical dexterity that they gained from their hobby. Accounting and even balancing your own checkbook is a big issue today, with many required to be able to competently plan and save their in-game cash to be able to purchase the more expensive items. For example, in the popular game World of Warcraft, there are auction houses were you can sell your items to other real players in the world. You have to know a lot about supply and demand, and also about saving and making money to be able to earn what you need. And, to make sure that this economy is as close to the real thing as possible, the developers have hired consultants to help with the creation of this economy. Don’t try to tell me this is not a useful real life skill.

Now, how many of you cannot wait for that next episode of The Office, or to find out who wins American Idol? How many of you spend a lot of time on MySpace or another similar site? What are you doing? Mindlessly sitting there WATCHING others have fun. Why not has some fun yourself? Why not interact with the environment that you are a part of? Watching TV and reading about others lives on MySpace is pathetic, not like playing video games, where you are accomplishing a goal and outsmarting an opponent.

So next time you are walking down the hall and you see me or some other person engaged in a rather excited conversation about a video game instead of thinking, “Wow, those guys are lame!” Think: “Wow, those dudes (or ladies) spend their time most wisely.”

Life is Short: Scrapbook your Leg Hairs

I confiscated the strangest item from a student yesterday. A duck-taped, maroon binder filled with page protectors displaying peices of duck tape with names written on them in sharpies on one side, and on the other, ripped off, male leg hair. A whole catalog of the "coolest kids" in school's leg hair. GROSS. There were pages and pages and pages filled with leg hair.

I have almost never been more disgusted in my life. When I asked why in the world he would ever do a disturbing thing like that? "Life is short Ms. E!"

WOW.

The prom queen who is also in that class, has been growing a strip of her leg hair for 4 months to be able to say she was the first girl in the leg-hair-scrapbook. She was just pressing on a peice of duck tape to her legs when I snatched the binder away to dissipate the students.

Where I Work According to Disney!

Okay, so these photos are not as interesting as I thought they would be, but they are filming a Disney Channel Origional Movie on Main Street about a 1/2 mile from where I work! We do have a lovely, quaint Main Street area with narrow, one-way streets, but I promise it doesn't look like this everyday! Apparently this is what small-town America looks like!

The movie is going to be called Hatching Pete and stars several of my students as extras! And the high school drill team and marching band will be in the movie as well. The movie premise is a small town high school mascot does not want his identity to be discovered--it would be the end of his social life!!!!--and eventually his secret rooster-costume-wearing-identity is hatched! Oh, no!

p.s. Now that I look at these photos again, they didn't actually have to doctor up the town too much.... :)

People Outside of Utah

Are not freaky, devilish, and strange--at least not all of them. LOL. A student teacher at my school was talking about how "scared" SCARED she is of the thought of EVER living outside of the state of Utah. SCARED of the people out there. I held my tongue, but wanted to say hey, I grew up outside of Utah, and I am a little scared that you have that opinion of people outisde of this state, and think it is a little close-minded of you to never even desire to live outside of the state. I am not trying to be critical of those of you who want to live in Utah forever, I am just saying--from the point of view of someone who grew up outside of Utah, we are not strange, and I did not feel endangered or weird living in Washington. There are good people everywhere, there are scary people everywhere, and as a high school teacher in the state of Utah, there is sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll here just like everywhere else--.

Utah was an adjustment for me, as it is for a lot of people who move into the state, but I like it, I really do. But it is healthy and wonderful to have the mix of cultures and peoples that you find in other states. I think it is probably likewise very healthy to live in another state at one point in your life, or atleast travel around and see that life outside of Utah is intersting, and wonderful, and there are good, conservative people of other faiths out there, who are not scary, and make nice neighbors.

I am sorry if I offended anyone!

The Hope of America

I have a good friend who every time he talks to me asks me, "How is the hope of American doing today?" meaning my teaching experience and my kids. And today if I responded to that I would have to say, the hope of America is all worn out! If you want to know what teaching is like click on Katie's blog link and read about all of her worries! I share them! :D

I do what I can for my kids, some I help, some I don't, and that is a trick to teaching. Who do you help? I had a kid come to me yesterday with a 69.50% in my class and he is in super-trouble with the law and has to go to court today and bring a transcript of his grades. He needs to have at least a C- or is is in BIG trouble. Now, he comes to class, is not super-smart, but he does come and tries, so I let him make an extra credit project (see above) for 25 points that will roll him up to a 70.15% in my class, and thus a C-. Saved a kid from jail.

Student #2 came to talk to me the other day, and said he has to go to jail if he skips one more class. He skipped one more class--mine. "Please Ms.E, please just don't mark me gone, or I'll be going to jail!" I refused to help him. Not only because that would make me a liar, but because he has only shown up to my class: TWICE. I told him I would never lie to him, but would have been more inclined to be sympathetic, if he had had his bum in one of my seats at least "most" of the time. Jail for him, and has he reformed now that he is out? Well, he has come ONE more time to my class.

I will have to say though, I do have some hope for America when I recieve responses like the following for novels I teach:

"The most important lesson I learned from Huckleberry Finn was it doesn't matter what time you were born in. Or what kind of environment you were raised in. You can still have a good heart and do what's right. Huck had a good heart in a warped society. He treated Jim kindly and helped him escpae to help his family. Huck could have turned him in any time but didn't."

AND one of my students left one of our journalism cameras in another teacher's classroom for two days and it was still there this morning when I retrieved it! Still sitting on the SAME desk, NOT stolen, but YES, full of pictures of people's nostrils. LOL.

Nice. Hope for America.

MY 10 ADDICTIONS

1. Scrapbook Paper

I was buying some scrapbook paper yesterday and realized I am addicted! I then thought about all the things I am legally addicted to. I weaned myself off of shoes and purses, only to focus my attention elsewhere! So, I thought I would let you all know a little more about me by telling you 10 things I am absoultely addicted to!



2. Cafe Rio



3. The Radio




4. The Internet

5. Lipstick


6. Chocholate

7. Novels

8.Cliff Bars

9. The Color Black




10. Work

The L-I-S-T

1. Scrapbook Paper
2. Cafe Rio
3. The Radio
4. The Internet
5. Lipstick
6. Chocholate
7. Novels
8. Cliff Bars
9. The Color Black
10. Work

(going to the gym would be a close-11)

National Good Grammar Day

So it has been brought to my attention that today is National Good Grammar Day, and according to MSN one of the top reasons good grammar is important is because "Good Grammar is Sexy," women will overlook men who have grammatical errors in their personal ads and dating profiles! :D Take or it or leave it; it is National Good Grammar Day.

And in honor of what probably should be every good English teacher's favorite holiday, (even though I have bad grammar in my blogs because it tends to be stream of conciousness), I will tell you all that I solved a long standing family argument a few days ago. One of my students said she constantly argues with her mom as to whether "nuther" is a word. She said her mom will say, "There is nuther basket of laundry for you to fold," and she will tell her mom nuther is not a word, it is another. And her mom will say, "No it's not, you don't say, 'here is "a" another basket of laundry for you to fold!'" And so they argue..... She came to me to settle the arugment: "Ms. Baker, is "nuther" a word?" :D My 11th grader really wasn't sure...esp. since we are reading Huckleberry Finn, and he says "nuther" all the time, which shook her faith in the belief that "nuther" is not a word.

Too funny.

Where I will be in 30 days!!!

In 30 days I am going to be an irresponsible teacher and take a week off before spring break and go to Italy! We will be going to Rome, Florence, Venice, Asisi, and Pisa! I'm sooo excited!

And I give it 4 STARS!

You absolutely have to see this movie! This is seriously the best movie I have seen in a while. It has the perfect blend of fairy tale/reality, modern/Victorian Mod, fun and love/coming of age and hard times. Without being didactic it has a good message about sense of self, and is also very, very romantic!

And this guy is growing on me, the male lead, he is in Narnia and Becoming Jane, but he is definitely cutest in this movie. He does the hesiate-before-kiss moment so well! :D

Apparently this is what I look like when I am throwing up in front of hundreds of people!

Who: Mr. Rockwood and I eating Alkaseltzer and Sprite.
What: The Spirit Bowl
When: February 2008
Where: The Lion's Den
Why: I have NO IDEA!



I promise I had NO IDEA these photos were being taken of me. So attractive, I know. I tried not to look ridiculous, but what can you do? I tried to hold it in and then I just--exploded!

Count your many blessings!

I have a really good friend in my ward, that none of you know, so don't worry, who just finally told me last night about her divorce. I didn't know she was divorced, that she was married for 3 years to a man that had lied about having a pornography problem, and then destroyed her life and their marriage over pornography and cheating. This girl is amazing, and I can't believe some people have had such hard things to go through, but it just made me realize I need to stop being in the little pity party I have been in for the last week or so and count my many blessings.

I have a very good father who has always been a righteous priestood holder and a wonderful, faithful mother. I have good siblings and a stable home life. It is true I am not married, and gett'n up there, but I have not had to worry about a husband with a pornography problem and all that brings with it. I don't feel like I am any better than this friend of mine, by any means, but I do feel very blessed that albeit I am still single, I have not had to go through what she went through.

I know none of us are devoid of the possibility of serious trials in our lives or the possibility of family members struggling with serious sin, but I feel, (a) really blessed this morning, (b) renewed in my desire to stay away from the evil things of the world and do all I can in the future when the opportunity arises to be a righteous mother who does my very best to raise good children in a hard hard world!

Love Stories

Take the Quiz here!

Not inspired by, but strangely coincidental with Scully's post on the fantasy love affairs in Austen novels, I wanted to post on a similar vein.

I have decided my favorite drug is reading! I had today off from school and I laid in bed for 5 hours (ridiculously starting at 6 a.m.) and finished Elizabeth Gaskell's Wives and Daughters, (thanks to for Scully for the Christmas present!)I read the last 250-ish pages this morning and finished with a feeling of contentment about life that I have not experienced in weeks. It has been a hard couple of weeks, and the secular-solution was reading a good love story. Somehow, when I read a good love story I feel like everything in life is wonderful, and that a million possibilites lay before me. And it must have worked, at least to some extent already because I talked to a cute guy after FHE for 20 minutes! Ha ha. Alas, it may just be the total relaxation into a world other than my own, but I love to read a good love story, be it Twilight, anything Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, Gaskell, Hardy, Scott, whatever--it's my happy drug.

Too bad I can't spend every morning wrapped in warm blankets reading love stories!

Happy Valentines Day!

We got a foot of snow last night while I was in parent teacher conferences, and it is still snowing this morning! Happy Valentines Day!

A Pause to Vent

I am cold, tired, in need of a vacation, sick of grading papers, sick of students asking me why I'm not dating anyone, sick of hearing about V-day and it hasn't even happened yet, and sick of Parent Teacher Conferences! Why PHS has to have 4 PTCs a year, I don't know! I will be at the school tonight sounding like a broken record, "I'm sorry, your son/daughter is not passing my class because they are not reading Huckleberry Finn," until 8:30 p.m. tonight. I see on average 50 parents with students a PTC. Why?!?!?! Can't I just move to Hawaii or Mexico and not come back until summer time?