Who wears short shorts?

Slice of Life, March 21, 2013

Well, according to the 1980s tv commercial, it was girls who used Nair.  Now, I would say just about anyone can wear short shorts because they are so prevalent in the stores. I saw this pair of shorts at Target recently (Size 18 in case you care).  They are indeed short; in fact, they break both of my very important fashion axioms for big girls like myself. 

The first tenet is--"Just because they make it in your size, does NOT mean you should wear it."    The second is related--"If what you are wearing is WIDER than it is LONG, it is not for you." So, I would say BOTH of these very important fashion rules apply.  Just sayin'!

Luke was born a decade ago!

March 20, 2013

Ten years ago today, I was teaching a group of Tuscaloosa County teachers how to do stuff with Intel Teach to the Future at the old Alternative School in Holt. It was our second or third meeting and we had gotten very comfortable with each other.  I found out the night before that my sister, Lindy, was being induced the following day--yes, the day of my workshop.  Usually, the teachers and I took a lunch hour and went to civilization to enjoy sustenance, but on that day, I took snacks and drinks from Sam's so we could finish by 2:00 and I could go to the hospital to see Lindy and the new baby.  We boogied through our workshop that day and were packing up my stuff when my mom called to tell me it was going to be soon and I needed to hightail it to DCH if I wanted to see Luke be born.  My wonderful teacher colleagues were rushing around helping me pack the car, getting the lights turned off and the doors locked so I could go.

And I made it! I was there for the most amazing thing I have ever witnessed in my life--the birth of my nephew Luke.  He was a beautiful newborn and I was in awe of my sister.  We oohed and aahed over him and then let him and Lindy rest.  I came back that night to check on them after the hubbub had settled down. Lindy wanted to be sure that Luke had a new baby page on the day he was born just like I had done for Hallie Grace so we had a little photo shoot in the hospital room with me, Lindy, and brand new Luke. Click here to go to the page.

 

 

I love all of Lindy's kids, but seeing Luke be born has always made him have a special place in my heart.  I have enjoyed his "cwazy hair", his singing before he could talk, his funny impersonations, and his winning personality for ten years.  He is truly a special young man who is growing up way too fast. I visited his class today and took him 10 gifts to commemorate 10 years and took his class a snack to enjoy this afternoon after PE.  Love you lots, Luke!

 

Best Friends

Slice of Life March 19, 2013

Today, I talked to my friend Luanne. We met when I first visited Mt. Zion High School in December of 1990.  She and I really hit it off and she made me feel very welcome. I ended up taking that job teaching Latin and English at Mt. Zion for the 1991-92 school year.  On the first day of pre-planning, Luanne gave me a card and a purse calendar since it was my birthday. I was so surprised and grateful because it was hard being away from my family and on my own on that birthday.

 
We became fast friends. I only worked with her for one year, but we have been friends ever since.  Because I moved around a lot as a child, only my brother and sister are my remaining friends from childhood. Luanne, however, has been there with me for over 22 years; we have both had good times and bad, but we have been there either in person or on the phone or in cards and notes or on email.  I am blessed to have such a friend!

Happy Birthday, Grannie!

Today is my grandmother's 86th birthday! She is a wonderful lady who has been there for me all of my life.  She was a lunchroom lady for over 25 years and was the chief reason I never (well almost never) got to take my lunch to school when I was growing up. She is always ready to go and enjoy a good meal and find a bargain. I recently spent Girlfriends' Weekend with her and I am glad to say she is my friend. She is one of my fiercest supporters and I know she loves me dearly.  I am so thankful to have her!

St. Paddy's Day Fun

 

St. Patrick's Day

So it was my turn to teach Sunday School today on St. Patrick's Day.  I told the story about St. Patrick and how he had been kidnapped by pagan pirates and spirited away from Britain to the wilds of Ireland. I told them about the way he decided to become a priest and return to Ireland to convert the Druids and other pagans to Christianity. I also got to tell the cool story of how he drove all the snakes out of Ireland.

But, alas, nothing much impressed them until I got out the cool photo props for St. Paddy's Day! And then we had cupcakes with green icing and gummy snakes (gummy worms) for snack so, in the end, the day was a success!

Beware the Ides of March!

Slice of Life March 15, 2013

Can it really be 30 years ago since I was first introduced to the Ides of March?  I guess so since I was a freshman in high school taking Latin I from Magistra McNair (for more about her see this previous post).  I did not know much about world history before I began taking Latin in 9th grade. I learned lots of great stuff about the Romans from Magistra.  She taught us about Roman architecture and how it was still evident all around us especially on the University of Alabama campus.  She taught us how to make Roman togas and what it meant to wear a yellow one! (Think red light district and you'll understand what a yellow toga meant.) She told us all the titillating stories of the gods and goddesses and their various love affairs with each other and humans.  Great stuff if you are a 14 year old nerd!

Here are my colleagues posing on the Ides of March when I was a Latin teacher.

But she also took great pleasure in teaching us about Julius Caesar and why we were to Beware the Ides of March since Caesar met his untimely end on this particular date.  She often dressed in a white toga on this day and put fake blotches of blood with knives sticking out all over it. She was definitely a character.  And so even thirty years later, I know to Beware the Ides of March and that it is on the 15th, but the Ides is on the 13th in some other months.  Thank you Magistra for making sure I knew the significance of this day.

Ode to a Lesson Plan

Slice of Life March 14, 2013
Oh, the joy of lesson planning. I have been working on a lesson for an interview presentation and have decided to write a poem about it for my slice of life today.

Ode to a Lesson Plan

O Lesson Plan, O Holy Lesson Plan
You are so wordy, yet so mundane
You help remember why I chose to refrain
From creating a lesson that goes on forever
Like a lonely road ending never
Lesson plan, you are sometimes tedious and sometimes clever.
O Lesson Plan, O Holy Lesson Plan

My hair stylist

 March 13, 2013

I have been getting my hair cut by the same person since I was 19 years old.  This is for a really good reason--I had long hair past my shoulders and thought it would be a good idea to put an ENTIRE bottle of Sun In on my light brown locks.  Not a good idea. I ended up not with the blonde hair I had imagined, but very orange and very long hair.  It was Mechelle who fixed it.

Mechelle Massey was a friend of a friend who worked in the hair salon in Ferguson Center on campus. My friend assured me that Mechelle could fix my hot mess; and she did.  I got some of my hair cut and the rest colored back to a more natural highlighted blonde for a very reasonable price. Mechelle made me promise right then to NEVER do this to my hair again; she said she would color it for me and we could even arrange a payment plan if  I couldn't pay for it all at once.

 Well, 25 years later with a few exceptions along the way, Mechelle still cuts (and now colors) my hair.  She does a great job and she is good about fitting me in when I need it.  Today, I got my hair cut by my friend. It is a wonderful privilege to have her as a friend.

Headache, Headache Go Away

 

March 12, 2013

So it's never good when you are dreaming you have a headache and then you wake up and actually have a migraine. This happened to me today.  I woke up about 6:30 am (in the dark courtesy of Daylight Savings Time) and had a pounding headache.  Not the best way to start a day when I am supposed to be at work by 9:00 am. I texted my department chair and told her I was going back to bed to doctor the headache and would be there for the afternoon meetings.  My "doctoring" consisted of taking 2 generic Imitrex tablets and 4 Advil liqui-gels and washing them down with a healthy dose of warm Diet Coke. (I was too tired to get a glass and ice.)  Then, back to bed I went with my volcano pillow on my head. Yes, really, I have a pillow filled with volcanic sand (or is it ash?) that I put on my head when I have a headache. It works great!  After a 4 hour nap, I got up and got ready to go to work with no headache and only feeling slightly hung over. (since the meds make me feel that way.)

Pajama Day

March 11, 2013
Nothing says stay at home in your pajamas and read all day like a rainy Monday. I did not have anywhere I had to be and I loved just lolling around in my jammies for most of the day.  I read books on my iPad going back and forth between The Inner Circle by Brad Metzer and Chicken Soup for the Girlfriend's Soul.  Great reading for a lazy day.  I also had a good time just hanging out with Gus and the cats. We took naps, we ate, we read and we watched TV.  Then Gus and I went out to Swen for some great Chinese food. A good day was had by all!

Daylight Savings Time-Yay!

Even though I am a little groggy for it to be 1 pm in the afternoon, I do love changing to Daylight Savings Time!  We are getting our things together to pack in the car to head home, but we can get a later start than we thought since it will be light until almost 7 tonight.

I know that some folks don't like changing and I saw a Facebook post about a family with small children and head colds that really are hating the time change.  I, for one, though love the later light in the evenings. I am much better at getting in exercise if I have more daylight in the afternoons because I just cannot seem to wake up early for exercise.  I hope to be getting into better shape soon.

Girlfriends

Today, we had our full day of Girlfriends' Weekend. We got up when we wanted, we ate when we wanted, and we shopped!  We surfed the web on our various electronic devices and talked about all kinds of things--kids, jobs, life in general.  It is great to be friends with your family! 

We had a good time shopping in Anniston. I love Dillards and Dress Barn. We all found something great to buy. Lindy got her kids their Easter outfits and found 4 dresses for herself--something she hasn't done in a very long time as the busy mother of four kids.  Jenny got cute clothes for the littlest Ballantines--Delilah and Isaac.  Grannie found a dress for her after much trying on and discussion. Trish also got a great red dress on sale. And I found some great shells to wear with my interview suit and a maroon skirt and a fabulous pair of navy heels and some make-up.  Great fun!

We then went out to eat at Longhorn and feasted until we were stuffed.  In fact, we were so stuffed we were basically became slugs on the couch. Everyone began to fade, but Lindy, Hallie Grace, and I started watching Downton Abbey, but only made it through one episode.

My Favorite Aunt

Slice of Life Post March 7, 2013

She was just 13 years old when I was born and it seems we have been more like sisters than aunt and niece. I have loved every minute of my relationship with my Aunt Jenny. She was the fun, cool aunt taking me to do stuff all the time.  From the time I was her home ec project as a baby (we got an A!) to taking me to the beach to being there for me when life's bumps happened, Jenny has been my aunt, my mentor, my confidante, and my friend. I learned to be the fun, cool aunt from her and I think I am doing a pretty good job with Hallie Grace, Luke, Eli, and Ella Kate!  Today is Jenny's birthday and I am so glad she is in my life!

Hallie Grace and Jenny

Jenny, Lindy, and me