I'm back! Well I never really left the planet but I left my blog. There's so much to get caught up with. First I plan on visiting all the blogs I used to say hi to. I didn't realize I missed the blogging community until I was mentioning to my students that I used to have a blog.

That's right I'm a teacher now, I made it!

Wow ok, back to my job, I will find time this weekend to tell my story.

The Joys of Being an Old Married Couple

Mr. Bennet to Mrs. Bennet, "You mistake me, my dear. I have a high respect for your nerves. They are my old friends. I have heard you mention them with consideration these last twenty years at least." (Pride and Prejudice)

I am reading some classics in literature trying to play catch up for this next year of student teaching in a high school. I have seen the movie "Pride and Prejudice" but have never bothered to read the book. May I say that there is some delightfully funny one liners written throughout the story, especially from Mr. Bennet. As a woman who has now been married twenty years I can completely relate to the idea of being very familiar with those persistent complaints that come up, that to the spouse who is listening, are suppose to sound brand new. I wish I could throw out some witty comment like that above and have my man be oblivious to the sarcastic nature, but at last we have been married to long and he completely understands all my sarcastic helpful ideas.

Sunday Movies

I have a one good and one bad. Wait, not bad, horrible. Wait, what's worst than horrible? Let;s start with the surprisingly good.


Easy A

This movie falls under the teen comedy slash romance. Now right away I am feeling a bit queasy about watching a teen film. At 45 I have decided that I  tend to not find too many things funny that say a 14 year old would. But it's on instant viewing (NetFlix) and the family takes a vote, Easy A it is. Short plot summary: Girl starts rumor she slept with someone, rumor spreads, until the rumor becomes her life, good and bad. I think that sums it up. So what makes this movie so great? It is laugh out loud funny. Emma Stone could tell me her grocery list and I think I would be laughing. Her parents, played by Patricia Clarkson and Stan Tucci, are laugh out loud, stand up because laughing gave you cramps, funny. This is a PG-13 movie and it works perfectly. There is no sex, though there is some sex talk but nothing crude. My husband even had to sit up (he was lying down) because he laughed so hard. What I'm trying to say is this movie is good clean fun and my entire family was gratefully surprised.

No Strings Attached

I don't think I'm a prude, I just don't want to have sex hurtled at me for 1 hour and 50 minutes. And that is what No Strings Attached does. For almost two hours you are given nothing more than sex, sex in various places, sex in various positions, just sex. What the director wants you to believe is that these two people who like having sex together, all the time, will eventually fall in love, because after all that is what sex does to people right? This movie is rated R and believe it or not I would say it is more for the dialogue than the sex scenes. This is a raunchy movie, every organ is publicly discussed, rated and inspected. This movie works best when they stopped pushing the sex, then there were small moments of comedy. I found this movie offensive after a while. Not all American women are soooo independent that we just want sex from a man because we don't need or want them for anything else. And not all American women need alcohol to discuss how they feel. Don't watch this movie if you want a good laugh because instead you will walk away feeling dirty and not to proud to be a woman.

Finals

I can't believe I'm finishing my third year of college! I taught this semester for 50 hours at a local high school. I was blessed with the opportunity to work with the English Language Learners (ELL) and I can see myself going back to school to become certified to teach this core.

Now it's crunch time, one non-fiction essay and two history essay's. Keeping my fingers crossed that my last two finals are take home XXXX. (It might help if the computer with all the mindless, time sucking games and of course my beloved Bollywood movies would stop distracting me).

A List by Any Other Name is Still a List

There are lists for everything these days: best movies, worst movies, the very rich, the worst dressed, the best dressed, top 100 lists and bottom 100 list. I’m a list maker myself but usually more on the “Things I have to do” kind. Unfortunately when I start these lists they become pages of things I need to do and then I sit down and watch bad TV because there is no way I will get anything done. There is one list that I have never made, though I think of doing it often, and that is a Bucket List.


I didn’t know what a Bucket List was until the movie with the same name came out in 2007. Then it was what all my friends were talking about and they would ask me, “Do you have a list?”. “Have you done anything from your Bucket List?”. Uh, no. A bucket list requires a conversation with your soul. This list that will contain your hearts desires, all of the things you want to do, that you feel will make you complete (or at least a life lived well). First off, how do you decide how many things should be on this list? I’m a planner and I require some structure if I am going to make this list. Second, are there rules for the kinds of things I can put on this list? If you’re married do the things have to include your spouse? Where would I get the money to do the things I write on my list? Does world peace seem too extreme?

Probably world peace would not go on my Bucket List because I am under the vague assumption that the items on this list are meant to be about just you and well I don’t see how I could accomplish world peace on my own. I think it all comes back to fear. Fear that there is the possibility that you have wasted this one life given you and that there was so much more you could have done. Which if you think about it seems a rational train of thought because let’s be honest, unless you’re Bill Gates you will not accomplish all of the things you are capable of imaging. I have apprehension that I would make the list and then have too many regrets (depression) that I wasn’t able to do the things I thought I wanted to do. This would then put me back in front of the TV for more really bad reality shows.

I found a book with an accompanying website that will help me create a list. How To Live Your Best Life - The Essential Guide for Creating and Achieving Your Life List, the book contains nine exercises to help you determine exactly what you want from life, as well as a detailed road map to help you achieve it. At 45 you would think that I could decide on my own what I want from life, thank you very much. There are websites out there that divide the list by season or how old you are. But all it really takes is a pen, paper and determination. Look at Susie Mann, a 79-year-old grandmother, who has always been a bit of a daredevil. She's gone swimming with sharks, paddled down a foaming river on a raft, and even harnessed herself to a bungee cord for a 400-foot cliff dive over Africa's Zambezi River. She also has been diagnosed with terminal intestinal cancer. Maybe I need to wait till I’m older to make a list, perhaps old age helps you narrow down the things that really matter.

There is some motivation for making my list now, apparently Princess Cruise’s has a contest for the best Bucket List and I would like to take a cruise, someday. Perhaps the movie the Bucket List has put too much pressure on people to live this exceptional life. After all it isn’t as though I don’t have a life; it just isn’t all that I think it could be. I have a spouse, kids, job and a new career on the way. Plus as a bonus I have three great dogs and two cats, really does life get any better than that? If I decide to jump off a bridge (which I won’t because I don’t like heights) and soar through the air like a bird, until the cord rips my body back up to the bridge, will I have lived a better, more fulfilling life? Personally I don’t think so but there is that part me that wonders if I am missing out on some grand adventure that life had planned for me and I missed the boat. Maybe that is what making a Bucket List is all about, a list of all the possibilities you might have had if you had more money, time and less trepidation.

William Ross Wallace once said, “Every man dies – Not every man lives”. I take that to mean that getting up every morning, brushing your teeth and dressing for the day does not qualify you for living. There was a bumper sticker that I think is relevant, “I believe you should live each day as if it is your last, which is why I don't have any clean laundry, because, come on, who wants to wash clothes on the last day of their life?” That I could live by. Who am I kidding I probably couldn’t even do that, I like clean clothes and so does my family. Plus if I didn’t do the laundry it would go on my ‘To Do” list and that would just give me more anxiety.

A list could be selfish, in that it is all about you (or me if I ever made one). There are other people, usually, in a person’s life that must be considered. Take a spouse for instance, how would my husband feel if I said I’ve always wanted to sleep with a foreigner, so I’m off to find me one so I can cross it off my list. I’m thinking that could lead to some problems short and long term. So what this tells me is that there are rules as to what can be on a person’s Bucket List.

Maybe I’m just a realist at heart. I know that if I make this list most of it won’t happen and I’m not sure if that would make me feel worse about myself or even maybe I would get mad at my guy (and myself) for not making more money so I can go do the list. Men are always so great at pointing out the obvious, like Sven Erikkson’s quote, “The greatest barrier to success is the fear of failure”. Really I didn’t know that. I’m much more inclined to positive thinking like when Kris Kringle sings with the Winter Warlock, “You never will get where you’re going if you never get up on your feet”. I think that is the problem with making a list, you have to go somewhere, away from here. I like my here and I like my now, too. Maybe the key is to stop watching Hollywood movies because really is there any way to live up to the big screen version of life?

Lists, rules and agendas are not for the living. Maybe they are for the people who are closer to dying because what do they have to lose? Those that are still kicking it and hoping to be doing so for a bit longer really can’t afford to up and leave those we love and be selfish in fulfilling our hearts desires. Somewhere there has to be a middle ground, somewhere between the teenage angst of not knowing what you want in the world and midlife contentment that what I have for now is good and will hopefully get better. Life is what you make it, or so they say (not sure who the “they” is but whatever). For today anyway I choose not to make my “Bucket List” and save it for another day, when I feel that perhaps my tomorrows won’t be coming around.

Sunday Movies

Charlie St. Cloud

This movie is listed as a romantic drama, which I suppose in a round about way it is. It stars Zac Efron as a brother tormented by the death of his younger brother. It is my understanding that the movie left out a lot of information from the book that would have made the movie easier to follow. My guys and I were trying to guess throughout the movie what was going on, what was real and what wasn't. It does have a choppy feel to it, like an editor had to have a heavy hand to make this movie come together. I will give Zac Efron some props though, he does have some great moments when he acts with his brother ( played by Charlie Tahan). The teenagers watched this (boys) and agreed that it was missing something, it never got you emotionally involved but you did care and wanted to know more so that you would be invested. ☺☺☺

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Saw this in the theatre in 3D, my first advise is don't see it in 3D. There is nothing worth seeing in 3D that wouldn't be the same in normal viewing. The previews were the only part cool about watching in 3D and the best 3D images were from a ad for a 3D camera. This was not my husbands favorite movie in the series and I have to agree. There is only Lucy and Edmond and their really awful cousin. There are only a few Narnian creatures and really no chemistry between the actors. I will say this for the boy who plays the cousin (played by Will Poulter) he eventually steals the movie because while you hate his voice, mannerisms and just his presence at the beginning of the movie, about halfway through you realize he is the movie and it becomes a love hate relationship. So my advise is rent this one and save yourself some money. ☺☺☺

Florence & The Machine - Dog Days Are Over

I love this sound! Makes me want to jump around and smile!

Sunday Movies

How to Train Your Dragon

I can't say enough about this movie. I even watched it twice to make sure I wasn't swayed by my glass of wine. To my joy, it wasn't the wine that made this movie so adorable. I'm not a collector of anything but I want to collect the figurines from this movie, I even want some stuff animals of the dragons. So why is it so good? It covers every human emotion, I cried, laughed, cheered, booed, it pulled me in to movie. Gerad Butler (always a plus) plays the very large viking dad, who never seems to understand his rather scrawny son, who doesn't seem to have any viking potential. The main dragon, Toothless (I so want one), is adorable, fierce, funny and loyal. There are a few things that may be disturbing to young viewers. There is a dragon raid of the village in the opening scene, these are not your friendly dragons. They are carrying away sheep, other livestock and people. There are battle scenes with the vikings and the dragons with both sides having causalities. Towards the middle we see some of the loot that the dragons take being dumped into a large pit, where a even meaner larger dragon lives. At the end this dragon comes out for the biggest battle. Now I don't want to give away anything else but right at the end there is a scene which is very heartbreaking and it will be OK but not for a little bit. Whew, I hope that doesn't spoil it. So I give this movie ☺☺☺☺☺

Toy Story 3

Before you ask, yes I watch adult movies, sometimes. But its hard to find movies that one female and four males all want to sit down and watch. So, anyway, I liked this movie too, which I was very surprised about. I wasn't a huge fan of the first two, I thought they were good but I didn't want to see them again. This one is the best of the three. It is appropriate for most ages, though the mean teddy bear and the creepy baby doll might scare some of the younger audience (the baby doll does come back around to the good side, not so much for the bear). I cried at the end, not because its scary but because I'm a mom and the ending is written from a mom's point of view, or at least that's how I saw it. The whole child grows up, leaves the house and is no longer a child thing, oh yeah, I cried. So all you adults out there, give into your inner youth and watch both these movies, you won't regret it. ☺☺☺☺☺

Books, books and more Books!

This last semester was all about literature. I had one class about 18th century British literature and two classes about teaching literature and writing to middle school and high school students. I had to read a lot of books. Now that I have this break I wanted to share some of the books that I read, the good and the bad. My boys love to read (not sure where they got that - wink, wink) and I am constantly reading what they read and then trying to find new books to engage them in. So here goes my Saturday Book Club slash review.

First I am currently reading book one in a young adult fiction series called 100 Cupboards by N.D. Wilson. I will let you know next week how it is. Feel free to join me in this exploration of books. They won't all be young adult novels but I am trying to find books that I can use at the middle and high school level.

Now on to a review of a series that I have read. FYI, two of my sons have read this series and my husband is about to start book one. The first book in the series was a required read this past semester as an example of a good book with possibilities for using as a "whole class" read. Meaning I could use this novel to teach literary terms, it has possibilities for teaching writing techniques and with some homework on the teachers part could be used to do a literary analysis.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Let's get the basics out of the way, I liked this series. It was fast paced, easy to read and it kept me hooked until the end. For those of you who care, rumor is they are making these books into a movie. This is a three book series, Mocking Jay (book three) just came out. The premise is a world divided because of war. You have small communities of people with one central government who controls everything (for the good of the people, not so much). Every year they have the Hunger Games. Two people are chosen from every community to go and participate in a game of death, last one standing wins. The story focuses on one particular city and one girl who changes the course of the games and then eventually the course of the world. I think that is as much of a plot summary as I can give without telling everything.

What the book as going for it:

A.     This is not a "mirror" book, this is not written in the way that kids speak everyday. There are new vocabulary words and the dialogue is intelligent.

B.      The author uses description techniques really well, the movie making process in a readers mind needs very little help.

C.      You care about the characters and you can become easily emotionally involved. My boys would tell me that they were upset about how something went down or if they wanted a scene to go a different way.

D.      There is plenty in these books to have discussions about; war, ethics, loyality, decisions, consequences, accountabilty, etc.

Things parents might not like:

A.     Strong violence, battles - group and individual. Children die, sometimes in cruel and visual disturbing ways. Torture, cruel words and hurtful conversations.

B.     There is rebellion, children and adults. There are kids breaking rules and asserting their independence.

C.     There is no sex but there is kissing, though not written in any descriptive ways, just they kissed.

This book is for teens, though I would caution that it should be read by emotionally strong teens. If I were to teach from this book I would use it in 8th or 9th grade. I haven't given it to my 6th grader because I don't think he's ready to process the cruelty that is done, one human to another. This is a book that I would recommend to teens and adults. Happy reading!

Another One Bites the Dust

I can't believe I did it! I have just finished my first semester of my junior year at college. Next semester I start student teaching, it is truly mind blowing.

Now I just have to wait for grades to be posted and I can relax until mid-January when the madness starts all over.

I hope to get caught up on all my favorite blogs and see what's new in the community. Of course I will also be watching junk TV, reading some great books and of course watching some Bollywood movies (still dreaming of going to India).





Unspeakable Joy

Do you remember in the "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" there is the part where his heart grows, so much so that it might grow bigger than his icky green body can contain? Well that's how I felt yesterday for a brief moment and I wanted to capture it here forever.

My 15 yo son and I were running some errands in our small little town and getting him some driving time on icy roads. We were at our last stop the Dollar Store, the parking lot was icy except for by the front of the stores, there it was slushy with puddles. As we leave the store and are on the curb, I am looking at the slush trying to find the least wet spot when my son reaches over takes my hand and says "OK on the count of three!" and we jump the slush. He doesn't let go of my hand right a way and in that moment I know that I love him. Not the he's my kid or he was a cute baby kind of love but the love that expands your heart and you know beyond a shadow of a doubt this love will last forever not matter what might come in the future.

The Future Looks Bright I Oughta Wear Shades

I just got done reading the Hunger Games series because, a) my kid was readying it b) my teaching class suggested them since they are high on the young adult novel list. Here is what I think or though after I finished.

1.  The books are entertaining and easy to read.

2.  Young adults will not (most of them) understand or grasp the truth and sadness in the books. The idea that another human would treat someone so cruelly and cause so much pain seems unreal or unlikely to a young adult. That a government would destroy another country filled with innocent people is unfathomable.

Today I read about North and South Korea shooting missiles at each other and the rest of the world is sitting back doing nothing or passing judgement on who's right and who's wrong. In the books that is what the Districts (mini countries) do. They have become complacent and accept all that is told to them without thought or checking it out for themselves. It is the teens in the book, the children who cause a rebellion to stop the madness, will it be the same for us?

Writing

I haven't actually blogged in a while, partially because with school and family I've been very busy. However the other reason is that this semester I've had to do some writing, duh English major, and it hasn't been very good. Well OK not all of it and I suppose a "B" is good for some but I wanted to do better.

The one comment I keep getting is I don't have enough voice and my transitions suck. These comments led me to start thinking about how I would teach kids to put voice in their work. Like blogging when I write I tend to hold back, worried about what the person might think when they read the piece. While I know that a writer should not be so worried about this, as long as they are writing to their attended audience, it is still something I struggle with. (So are run-on sentences, but one thing at a time).

This idea of not censuring yourself to cater to others made me think about blogging and who I admire in the blog world who write to please themselves and two blogs stand out to me for two very different reasons. First up WaystationOne aka Brian. Here is a man who can write about anything, in any format. In the three years of college and the half dozen writing classes and a lot of books, he is one of my favorite writers. As far as I can tell there isn't a subject he can't write about and no format is to hard. I laugh, cry and sometimes just sit back and think about what he's written. to me he is what a writer is meant to be and say.

The second blogger is a little different but just as powerful. Over at Life Accourding To Candice you will always be surprised, sometimes shock and other times down right embarrassed that you like reading her blog so much, though to caution those with sensitive eyes it should sometimes come in a brown wrapper. Candice writes with the most extreme honesty, I've never read anything like it, is it shocking, R rated and even X rated at times? YEP. But she writes what she feels and regardless of what people might think she says what's on her mind. Her words are witty and metaphors and similes are priceless. I hope before I leave this earth I am able to capture a little bit of her in all that I say and do.

Sunday Movies

It's Thanksgiving break and  I can read what I want for fun and get caught up on movies! Yeah Me!

First up - The Karate Kid

I liked it, though it was predictable because of course I've seen the original. My boys who I don't think have seen the original loved the Kung-fu moves at the competition. Actually I was a little worried that afterwards they were going to try them in my living room by common sense prevailed. It gets a little cheesy with scenes between the boy and girl but roll your eyes through those and the rest will slightly entertain you older people and younger guys will really like this.

The Last Airbender -

I have a son who loves this series on TV and he was so mad that he left watching the movie to come tell me how bad it was. The characters are portrayed incorrectly, even down to their names being said wrong. The story lines have been changed, etc. I asked him if he hadn't been a fan would he have liked it and he said no. I thought perhaps he was biased so I asked my other son who doesn't watch it on TV and he thought it was lame. So if you're a fan don't watch it because you'll be knit-picking it apart and if you haven't well it sounds like it would be a waste of your time.

Letters to Juliet -

This is a beautiful movie to watch but then so is any movie shot in Italy. The story line is cute and predictable. I don't know I can't really tell you much because it didn't say or do much. The acting was fine but there were moments where it felt more like cue card reading? It's rated PG so young girls can watch it, my boys thought it was dumb. I liked it because it entertained me but when I was writing this I thought that it was the scenery that kept me going not the story line.

PEOPLE ARE AWESOME

Are they talented or crazy?

Christina Perri - Jar of Hearts Official Video

Woodchucks - GEICO Commercial

Sunday Movies

Again I have to give you some recommendations from my family because homework has left me with very little time ti actually watch movies. I would have watched a movie last night but instead I had to pay to watch the UFC fights which were ok, except the main fight, which was to go 5 rounds, last a little over a minute! Ok so I transgress here are some movies that my guys (yep I am the last of the females) have recommended for you. (Please be warned I have not personally watched any of these in their entirety or some not at all).

Ok first up Jake (youngest) would like you to watch the Sandlot Kids and he would also suggest that you watch all three. Uh he thinks they're great and fun to watch. He wants me to tell you to have a nice day (such a great kids).

Next we have Sean (middle) he thinks you should see Date Night. It's really funny and he thinks Tina Fey and Steve Carrell are way funny. He likes the part about the kill shot and how Tina's character can't control herself around Mark Wahlberg when he's shirtless (which is the whole movie).

Lastly Zech (oldest) he thinks if you have Netflix you should watch the Robin Hood series. This is  a very well done BBC series that seems to have lasted 3 seasons. I have watched a few and they are decent family entertainment. The boys in the family do seem to get a bit worked up though when a character gets out of line or does something contrary to what they think should be done. Alright then have a great week, see you on the Web!

Sunday Movies

I haven't had time to watch movies a lot recently with school and now midterms but I did take some time to see a few.

The Sorcerer's Apprentice - Nicolas Cage is delightful, charming, witty and fun to watch. This is really his style of movie lately. However as good as the movie could have been I couldn't stand the guy who plays his apprentice and it ruined the whole movie for me. His name is Toby Kebbell and he played the part so wimpy it made me cringe. He always looked uncomfortable in all his scenes and I get the idea that the apprentice was suppose to be reluctant but ugh, he just made me want to look away. I will say to Mr. Kebbell's credit this way of acting worked really well in the very funny and highly recommended move "Fan Boys", but no so much in this movie. If you are a Nicolas Cage fan watch the movie, otherwise I'd skip it.

Me and Orson Welles - I didn't like this movie but wait my husband really did, go figure. I thought it was long and boring and kept getting up to go do other things. However, my husband thought it was funny and very interesting. He liked the dark humor and thought the guy playing Orson Welles (Christian McKay) did a great job. So my only recommendation is if you like Orson Welles or if you are a big fan of Zac Efron you might like this movie. There is no action and it moves along really slow.What I did learn was the Orson Welles slept with just about any female who walked by, literally.

Something Old is now Something New

I’ve just discovered the ………………..Beatles! That’s right at 45 (just had my birthday Monday) I have discovered something that the rest of the planet has known about for – well forever. I just never seemed to care for their music, not sure why. Then yesterday and this morning (at 8 am because I had to drive two boys to a soccer game, which I then have to drive one boy to a football game at 9, watch the soccer game and then go to a different field to watch the football game 10, just wanted you to have a play by play of my morning – all on one cup of coffee!).


Where was I, oh yesterday and this morning I was listening to NPR and they are featuring John Lennon because it’s his birthday today and out of the blue I hear some explanation of the meanings of some songs, they play a clip and I love it, can’t wait to put it on my MP3 love it.

So folks I have final found another way to enter into the human race with my new found love and joy of the Beatles.