Friday Five: Grateful Edition

Today, since I've been grousing so much here lately, I thought I would post five things for which I am grateful.  In no particular order:

1.  I am grateful that I only work three days next week.  While it's true I've already had six days off work since October (and that does not include holidays), I've been at Jamie's school doing student observations, so they haven't FELT like days off.  I've still had to get up early - in fact, even earlier than I would for work, I've had to dress nice (nicer than what I wear to work), and I've had to interact with people.  So, they haven't really been days "off".

2.  I am grateful that the following week I will have Friday off.  Again, time off with kid to do whatever.  Sounds great to me!

3.  I am grateful that Jamie and I had already agreed on a low-key Christmas this year.  He already knows he's only getting a few things.  He has been limited to buying things for his BB, Joel & his sigoth, Leah, and just a few close friends.  Basically, all my loved ones are getting this year are Christmas cards with our love and well wishes inside.  I'm trying really hard to pinch my pennies this year because of upcoming student teaching, when I will not be able to work outside of my student teaching, which of course doesn't pay anything.

4.  I'm grateful that my work usually gives out Christmas bonuses.  (Hint, hint, hint, if you're reading this, powers that be!)  This is where most of the small Christmas we're having is coming from.

5.  I'm grateful that I have so many good friends and loved ones in my life.  This is what I am most grateful for.  You all rock!

Friday Five: Weekend Happies

Five little things that are making me especially happy this weekend:

1. I'm going out dancing tonight with my friend Julie.  Her husband is playing in the band at a new dance hall here.  The dance hall is adults only.  This is part 2 of my birthday celebration. :-)
2. I have a hair appointment tomorrow.  Nothing fancy, just getting a trim.  I may even get my eyebrows shaped.  No matter how mundane the appointment, it's always nice to get to the hair salon!
3. The weather has cooled off enough that it's cool and breezy.  I love waking up in the morning to a chill in the air!
4. My voice has recovered and I can sing again.  Yay!
5. Last, but not least, I have a blind date lunch on Sunday.  My friend Sally set us up.  Even if nothing comes of it but friendship, hey, I can always use new friends!

What about you?  What are five things that are making you happy this weekend?

Friday Five: Little Happies, TV Edition

I don't get to watch a lot of TV.  I'm busy.  But I am passionate about what I do watch.  To that end, here's my list of five recent developments in TeeVeeLand that make me tail waggingly happy.

1.  Haven (SyFy Network) has been picked up for a second season.  I like everything about this show.  It's got funny, it's got spooky, it's got scary... and it has Eric Balfour and Lucas Bryant shirtless.  'Nuff said.

2.  Warehouse 13 (also from SyFy Network) has been renewed for a third season.  I've seen several recent reports confirming this.  There also are reports of stand-alone holiday specials being forthcoming for WH13 and "Eureka".  This makes me happy, as I love the show but was very unhappy with how Season 2 ended. 

3.  A new season of Mythbusters just started.  YAY!!!!

4.  A new season of Bones just started.  Again, YAY!!!!!

5. The new season of Dirty Jobs (ohhhh, Mike Rowe, you are so dreamy!) will start Oct. 19.  Whee!

There are a few other shows that either have started airing new seasons or will soon, but I won't list them here.  Some of them are my "dirty little secret" addictions.  Others I won't list because... well, that would screw up the whole "five things on Friday" motif, wouldn't it?

What about you?  What are you excited about in TeeVeeLand?

Friday Five: Bad Blogger Edition

I've been a bad blogger this week.  My poor blog has, for the most part, sat here lonely and neglected while I was off doing other things.  In no particular order, here's what's kept me away from the blog:

1. Swimming.  Jamie and I were - due to the lateness of the season - able to get a steeply discounted family membership to a private swimming pool in a nice, quiet neighborhood less than 10 minutes from our house.  We try to go several times a week - that is, when the thunderstorms and rain will let us.  Not that I'm complaining about the rain.  We need it!  Most of the times we go, no one else is there.  Or, if there are other people there, there's only one or two.  I have NEVER seen this pool really crowded.  The last four or five times we've gone, people outside of our group of friends only show up as we're leaving.  It's like having our own private pool, without the maintenance.  I'll be investing in a membership again next year, even if I do have to pay full price.
2. Homework.  While it's true that grad school homework (so far) is not difficult, and the homework itself is not terribly time consuming, the preparation to do the homework does take up a lot of time.  I'm still working on getting a good system going for tracking what's due when, best organizing my notebooks, filling out all the stinking paperwork to be able to do observations, securing liability insurance (luckily, it's free through an educator's organization I've joined), and looking ahead to see what types of things will have to go in my portfolio.  The portfolio takes the place of the thesis in the Master's program.  I have to contribute items from all my classes into it and then submit it for review to my advisor during my student teaching semester.
3. Spending Time with Jamie.  When I was an undergrad, I had to be constantly on the computer doing homework, or reading assignments, or whatever.  Jamie felt very left out and neglected.  I was determined that he not feel this way while I'm in grad school.  Since I'm taking fewer classes, and Jamie is involved in more churchly things, and doing more stuff with his BB on the weekends, I am able to do most of my homework and prep while he's off doing other things.  While he's home, I try to spend time with him - whether we're playing Battleship or Monopoly, watching TV together, taking him and his friends somewhere, going swimming, or just doing chores together.  It doesn't matter what we do, as long as I'm paying attention to him.  He told me the other night, "Grad school's not as bad as I thought it would be."
4. Reading.  I'm a book junkie, and being in grad school hasn't changed that.  I'm still reading 7-10 books a week, on top of my text books and stuff I have to read for work.  I can't seem to inhale them fast enough.  Books I've been reading here lately:  The Stephanie Plum novels by Janet Evanovich (thanks for the recommendation, Tooz!), The Morganville Vampires series by Rachel Caine, Charlaine Harris' older mystery series (plural), and too many others to really recall at this moment.  Search Amazon.com Books for Janet Evanovich , Search Amazon.com Books for Rachel Caine, Search Amazon.com Books for Charlaine Harris
5. Doctor Who/Torchwood.  I'm trying desperately to get all caught up on Doctor Who and Torchwood so I can start watching the 6th Doctor Who season and the 2010 incarnation of Torchwood live on TV when they premiere.  I don't know where I've been for the past several years to miss these shows, but I really want to get all caught up!!!  Luckily, this also falls under the "Spending Time with Jamie" category, as he's as hooked on them as I am!  Search Amazon.com Video on Demand for Doctor Who Season 5, Search Amazon.com Video on Demand for Torchwood

So, that's what's been keeping me away from blogging.  I'm sorry I've been lax to post, but I'll try to do better once I get all my ducks in a row.  So, tell me, what's keeping you busy these days?  Has it affected your blogging or other daily activities?  Let me know in the comments, would ya?

Friday Five: Aging Edition

Despite my occassional jokes about getting older, I don't really think much about it.  In many ways, I don't feel much older than I did in high school.  But there are exceptions.  Listed below are the five major ways in which I have noticed I'm getting older.

1. My hands.  I NEVER used to need lotion.  No matter what I did to my poor hands, the skin never got dry.  Here lately, my hands get so dry they hurt, so I have to go slather on lotion.  Also, they get dry enough that you can see white, ashy traces of lines all over them if I don't put on lotion several times a day. 
2. The gray is taking over.  I've been getting gray hairs since 1996, but it was usually only one or two here and there.  Now, I've got enough grays growing in that my natural hair color always looks washed out, and certain areas have so much gray they show up as streaks when I look in the mirror.
3. Laugh/frown lines. For the most part, my face doesn't look much different than it did in high school (well, except a lot more fat).  But, I'm starting to notice laugh lines around my eyes and frown lines on my forehead that don't immediately go away.  If I look really closely, they don't really go away at all.  I make it a point to not look really closely.
4. Diet.  I still crave those rich, ooey gooey desserts and greasy pizzas, but find my body exacts revenge later if I do.  So I've been modifying my diet (for the most part).  Sometimes I break down and have a brownie or some pizza, though.
5. Attitude.  I used to not notice or pay much attention to age differences between me and people in their 20s (or younger).  Now, I notice a VAST difference in our attitudes.  I have very little tolerance for their party-hardy, irresponsible, whiny ways.  I used to just do a mental shrug and figure, "well, they'll grow up eventually."

So, what about you?  Have you started noticing the passage of time?  Do you notice differences in how you feel about things now versus how you felt about things then?  Or have you started using certain phrases that you heard your parents use, and swore you never would?  Let me know in the comments, or talk about it on your blog and leave me a link here so I can go take a gander.

Friday Five: "Too Damn Hot" Edition

It's HOT, people! I had to spend my lunch hour zipping from pediatrician's office (to pick up school medication forms) to the middle school (to drop off said forms and the medication that goes with said forms) and back to work. All that zipping in and out of the car and into the heat and then into over-air-conditioning back to the heat and then to the inadequate air conditioning just about zapped me, people. In honor of this, and because it's too damn hot, my Friday Five this week is all about five cold things I'd rather be drinking and/or eating right this very moment.

1) Root beer float. It's so durn hot, and a nice root beer float is just so creamy and cold. I can nearly taste it going down!

2) Margarita (I'm with you on this one, Jessi!) I lurve me some tequila, and I lurve it best when it's in a salty, slightly sour, ice cold frozen margarita. Don't give me any of that strawberry margarita, so sweet I could puke, stuff. Gimme the original - but make it with Cuervo Gold, would ya?

3) Popsicle. The kind made with real fruit please. There's just something about eating cold, frozen fruit off a stick that brings out the kid in you and cools you down quickly. Plus, it's entertaining to try and see how much of it you can eat before it melts off the stick!

4) Frozen lemonade. I just love the brain freeze you get from its creamy, pucker-inducing goodness on a hot day.

5) Strawberry cheesecake ice cream. Heck, any ice cream would do as hot as it is today. If I could, when the weather is like this I could take a bath in it. ANYTHING to cool down!

What about you? What do you crave when the weather is so durn hot you think you accidentally got on the train to hell? What's the first thing you reach for when you just have to cool down?

Friday Five: Weekend Edition

This'll be short and sweet. In no particular order, here are five of the things I plan to do this weekend. It's all in the planning, people - but this in no way guarantees the planned activities will actually get accomplished. I make and break plans all the time. But, anyway, here are five things I'd like to get done this weekend.

1. Wash all the dirty dishes. We have trouble following through on getting the dishes done when they're supposed to be done. This could be because Jamie has inherited my hatred of washing dishes (duh, that's why that's his chore!). Or it could be because we're lazy. Or both.
2. Put the last few finishing touches on cleaning the living room, tidying up the bathroom (still mostly clean), and scrubbing the kitchen floors so Jamie's friends can start coming over again.
3. Get a reasonable start on the study - maybe 2 - 3 hours total, so it doesn't seem like such a big job to tackle.
4. Take a break and head to the library for half an hour or so. This is a welcome (and free!) diversion when we're tired of being stuck in the house.
5. Laundry. It's getting close to time for Jamie to go back to school, so I need to find and wash all his uniform shorts/pants, find the white uniform polos I bought on sale at the beginning of last school year since I knew he'd have to wear that color polo in 7th grade and wash all them. This is so I can hang them all up and take inventory of what he needs new for this school year. I know some of his pants will be too short, some of the shorts will have holes, etc. I want to have his closet all organized so I won't have such a battle when we go school shopping next week. He will need a few pairs of "regular" clothes for free-dress days, weekends and holidays, also.

So, those are my big plans for the weekend. Lots of drudgery and cleaning. This is why I make plans to do things, but they don't always get carried out. So, what about you? What are you doing this weekend (or what have you planned to do but know you probably won't do?) Inquiring minds want to know!

Friday Five - Back to School Edition

I know I still have quite a while to go (Aug. 23), but I thought I would do a Friday Five list of my favorite things about "back to school" time. There's just something about the start of the new school year that gets me in the heart (and the wallet) and makes me love all the brand new starts, the new possibilities, etc.

In no particular order, they are:

Coming home from work to find the house is EXACTLY the way I left it. No Legos spread all over the place, no pile of dirty dishes that mysteriously got dirtied during the day, no finding my bed turned into a fort - in other words, no extra chores for me to have to tackle in addition to getting supper started and a load of laundry or two.

Hearing my son's excitement as he tells me what cool/interesting/gross thing he learned in robotics/science olympiad/computer lab. I think this is the year they dissect frogs in science and the year he'll be learning how to write iPhone apps in computer lab (the wonders of a magnet school program!).

Having peace and quiet in which to eat and read when I go home at lunch time.

The wonderful possibility that THIS will be the year when he fully engages in reading real books, not just comics.

The fun of shopping for new school supplies and clothes (and the added fun that some of the expense of this has been taken out by the fact that I knew 2 years ago what his required uniform would be this year, and bought all the shirts when they were on sale for $3/each).

So, what about you? What do you most look forward to at "Back to School" time? Is it the prospect of peace and quiet? Is it getting back into a routine? What is it? Please share with me in the comments or drop me a note letting me know you've done this on your own blog. Enjoy the rest of your summers!

Friday Five - Jamming Edition

Not too long ago, Jessi posted a Friday Five list of music that makes her immediately think of summer. This was a fine list. I was going to do my own summer music list, but instead I decided to do a list of the five songs that always ALWAYS make me crank up my radio and jam, whether I'm at home or in the car and no matter who I'm with. In no particular order, they are:

1. John Cougar Mellencamp - Jack and Diane




2. Soft Cell - Tainted Love




3. AC/DC - Shook Me All Night Long




4. Def Leppard - Pour Some Sugar on Me




5. Bowling for Soup - 1985



So, there you have it. Yes, I know I'm stuck in the past when it comes to music, but it seems like it was just so much better back then. So tell me, what are five songs that you just have to turn up the radio when you hear them?

Friday Five: Books Edition

I've been doing a lot of reading here lately (as in ~2,000+ pages a week). I think it's because I know I won't have much time to read this fall when grad school starts. Or it could be that I read so fast that I practically devour the books in one gulp. Or it could be that I love to read so much that I never want to put the durn things down. Anyway, here's a list of five book series I'm currently reading and loving the hell out of (I went ahead and stated "series" because just about everything anymore is a series and I kind of like it that way. I was really disappointed that Robin McKinley has stated so emphatically that there NEVER will be a sequel to "Sunshine" because if ever a book ended in such a way as to make me want a sequel, that book is it!)

1. The Red Pyramid (Book 1 of The Kane Chronicles) by Rick Riordan. This is the same man who brought us the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. I. loved. this. book. Now I may have to go filch all Jamie's PJatO books and read them, since I never got around to reading them before. The Kane Chronicles also addresses mythology, except this series is based on Egyptian mythology, gods, deities, etc. If you like Egyptology (and I do) you'll love this series. The first book has a lot of good twists and turns. I'm eagerly awaiting the next books!

2. Darkfever, Bloodfever and Faefever (Books 1-3 of The Fever series) by Karen Marie Moning. This is a very interesting series about the sidhe set in modern-day Dublin. There's a battle brewing between the Seelie and Unseelie sidhe (isn't there always?) and the humans are going to be the greatest casualties, unless the sidhe-seers (humans born with the ability to penetrate the sidhe glamour and percieve what monsters are really lurking beneath). This isn't your average Tinkerbell fairy tale. It has teeth. I originally downloaded the eBook from Barnes and Noble because it was free. Once I read the first book, I was hooked, though and have buzzed through the next two in the series. I'm glad I discovered this series after she had established it and written several books. I love when I get to discover a series I've never read before and can read several in a row before I have to wait for a new book to come out!

3. Mona Lisa Awakening (Book 1 of The Monere series) by Sunny (no last name). This is a series about shapeshifters that is heavy on the erotica! I'm giving you fair warning in advance. This is not a book to be left lying around near a curious, precocious child who is liable to pick it up and start reading. It can be gory, sexy and downright carnal on many different levels. But it is a good series and very original.

4. Bullet (Book 5M of the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series by Laurell K. Hamilton. It's not really the five-millionth book, but it's probably getting close by now). I've raved about these before. All I need to say is, Yowza!

5. Saturday, I'll be picking up the Lily Bard novels (by Charlaine Harris, author of the Sookie Stackhouse southern vampire mysteries) from the library. I should have all of them read by sometime next week. I'll let you know how I like them. Judging my some excerpts I've read, I shoudl like them just fine.

So tell me, what are you reading right now? Has anything just knocked your socks off? Please tell me, either in my comments or by posting a Friday Five: Books Edition to your own blog. Just please make sure to leave a comment here letting me know you've done so.

Friday Five: Movie Edition

Okay, so it's summer movie season. This is the time when a lot of movie theatres put out their summer wanna-be blockbusters. I love movies! In honor of the summer movie season, here's my random list of five of the hundred-gazillion or so movies I want to see this summer.

1. Toy Story 3. I'm jealous; my son got to see it last weekend with his BB Bill. Seems like I don't get to go to the movies that much any more. Oh well.

2. The Sorcerer's Apprentice. I'm a sucker for Nic Cage, sarcasm and movies about magic. Seems like this movie will have them all.

3. The Last Airbender. I am a HUGE (read: obsessed) fan of the animated series. I want to see this movie for many reasons. First, I want to see the live-action interpretation of it. Secondly, I want to know what I'm talking about when I blast it for not being like the cartoon. ;-)

4. Despicable Me. Again, from the previews, sarcasm abounds in this animated tale. What's not to like?

5. Cats and Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore. The first C&D was hilarious, so I'll give the sequel a try. Plus, Neil Patrick Harris and Sean Hayes... C'mon, you know you wanna see it!

Now I ask you, my loyal readers. What movies are you dying to see? Or what movies do you think sound horrendously stupid? Leave me a comment here, or leave me a note telling me you did it on your blog. I'm curious to see what cinematic tastes you all have!

Five Little Things: Lovey Edition

We all have things we love about our kids - things they say, things they do, and those little things that make them uniquely themselves. I love my kiddo for lots of reasons, but these are the five little things that make him uniquely himself that fill my heart full to nearly bursting:

1. His crooked little pinkies. Since the day he was born, I've loved his little pinkies. The very tips of his pinky fingers slant in toward his ring fingers at nearly 45-degree angles. I don't know why, but I lurve his crooked pinkies all to pieces, and have since I first noticed them on the day he was born.

2. The way he still will run up to me and give me a great big hug for no reason (although he won't do it in public anymore). But when I get home from work, he still loves to give me a big hug and tell me he loves me. For a 12 year old, this is a rare thing!

3. The way his mind is always working. He's really into building "contraptions" with his LEGO blocks - ones to do chores better, make space exploration easier, etc. He also likes to plot out ways to make his chores easier at home (but which usually make the work take longer. I have to give him points for trying, though!)

4. His kindness and patience with kids much younger than himself. He loves to babysit our friends' preschool and pre-K children, and often works with them in their Sunday School classroom at church. And they all love him, too. We can't walk through church without little ones lisping out "Look it'th Jamie! Hi, Jamie!" and running up to hug him around the waist.

5. His laugh. I love to hear him laugh and see him smile. He could light up a room when he beams a real smile.

So, those are the five litte things I love about my kid. Sure, I could go on and on and on about the things I love about my boy, but I limited it to those little things that help make him uniquely himself. What about you? What are the little things you love about your kids (or your pets, if you don't have kids, or your significant other, if you have neither kids nor pets?)

Friday Five - Addiction Edition

Today I'll list for you my Friday five; five little things to which I am addicted, not literally, of course, but which, as Pioneer Woman says, "Make my skirt fly up." In no particular order, here they are:

1. Bones. Several of my friends watch this show and I had seen a rerun here on there on cable, but I had never seriously followed this show. In the past few weeks, the first four seasons of Bones were added to instant streaming on NetFlix, so I watched. Then I got addicted. I've averaged about four episodes a DAY since I added it to my video library - more on weekends. We are now halfway through the last season (streamed from Amazon on demand because it wasn't available on NetFlix) and I'm already jonesing for the next season to start in the Fall.

2. Warehouse 13. The second season debuts on Syfy next month, and I'm giddy with excitement. I was going to cancel my cable subscription, until I saw that W13 Season 2 was getting ready to start. I love this show in all its quirky complexity. And I'm STILL confused/baffled/awestruck by what happened in last season's cliff hanger finale. I have got to see what happens next!

3. The Fablehaven books by Brandon Mull. Original, exciting and lots of fun, these books are supposedly for adolescents, but - much like the HP books - are full of complexities, plot twists and just plain good storytelling that readers of any age will enjoy. I'm dying right now because I got the first four books as paperbacks from Big Box Retailer on steep discount. There's a fifth book, but it's still in hardback, so I can't afford it. This means I have to wait until it comes out in paperback, and I don't think that will be for a while yet.

4. A nice, strong morning cup of French Vanilla flavored coffee. Sure, it's hot out, so it would make more sense to reach for a caffeinated soda when I first get up, but my day doesn't feel right if I don't start it with a cup of FV joe. Even iced coffee doesn't give me the same jolt as does a nice steaming mug of FV coffee.

5. Shoes. I lurve me some shoes! I don't have as many pairs as I used to. Between Jamie leaving a favorite pair of my flip flops out where a certain stray could chew them up, moving several times and just plain wear and tear, my shoe collection has diminished. But - OH! - the joy of a new pair of shoes! I hate to go shopping for clothes, but will spend hours trying on shoes.

So what about you? What are your little addictions, your guilty pleasures that give you a little zing and make you squeal aloud? Leave a message about them in the comments, or just drop me a line letting me know you posted about this yourself in your blog.