Ramblings of a Thirty-Something

Tomorrow is Halloween, and as I have a violin lesson in the evening, I will do my Halloween post tonight. I apologize for being so long in posting...all the elements of my life are currently in a battle for my attention...I cannot wait until November 11 because that means everything is over and I don't have school so I can sleep in and maybe get caught up on myself. Right now, it's murder trying to carve out an hour to watch television or read. I have to put other things I really should be doing on the back burner just so I don't lose my sanity...but that's an introverted thing, I guess. Anyway, Halloween is tomorrow! I love dressing up, and if I could, I would wear a costume to school tomorrow. But alas, I cannot, so I shall resort to daydreaming about it (although I probably won't sit with my head in my hands, arms propped on my desk, staring out the window and sighing happily about this...that isn't what I mean by daydream). Even though I am not in a coup

Dating is hard--everyone knows that. It's hard to find someone to date, it's hard to decide what to do on your dates to keep things interesting, it's hard to decide if you should continue dating someone (or maybe it really isn't, and that is just me...) I was just flipping through stations and caught about five minutes of a show on MTV called The Hook-Up. From the brevity of my viewing, I was able to pick up the basic concept--it's just a dating show. First you narrow it down to two potential dates, they come out, you learn pros and cons, and the person makes a decision on who he/she will go on a date with. Now, maybe it's the introvert in me who has a hard time just going up to members of the opposite sex and talking to them in a place I feel completely secure and safe (like, I don't know, places a person might work, like say, a golf course or an elementary school...completely random choices, of course), but I feel like trying to decide if I should date

Today I turn twenty-five. A quarter century. The big 2-5! Am I at the place I should be at twenty-five? I would like to think so...if I were supposed to be somewhere else, hopefully I would have gotten there somehow. Yes, twenty-five sounds old to me. But it also sounds mature...and I have a list for that! I'm not a typical person, so why would I be a typical twenty-five-year-old? I'm 25, and I have more kid movies in my DVD collection than movies meant for people my age. I'm 25, and I like visiting antique stores. I'm 25, and I have slippers that look like foxes (and they are awesome, Uncle Tim!) I'm 25, and I like going to bed early. I'm 25, and I still buy stuffed animals. I'm 25, and I have the knees of a 75-year-old. I'm 25, and as I write this post, I'm eating a doughnut, drinking a Strongbow, and watching How I Met Your Mother ...to which I will now quote my favorite character from said show, "I'm awesome." Stay g

As I write this rather short blog post, I find myself contentedly sipping on a Halloween mug of hot apple cider. I love this season of autumn (I referenced this in another post). One of my favorite things include all the delicious tastes and scents that accompany fall. Spicy cinnamon, apple, pumpkin, nutmeg..yum! And I love getting to enjoy them all at once. I'm drinking apple cider now, but this morning I had a cup of pumpkin spice coffee with pumpkin spice creamer. I have pumpkin flavored ice cream in my freezer and a bag of apples I picked in an orchard on the counter. Two different students have brought me caramel apples at school. The cooks made a pumpkin cake for the lounge. My coffee-flavored Scentsy has the other teachers popping into my room all day long. And my Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin hand soap leaves me smelling my hands long after I've washed them. My two favorite stores at this time of the year are Bath & Body Works and Yankee Candle. The smells just drive m

I have always been a lover of history. Throughout my life, I've been attracted to different eras at different times...sometimes in the same week. Recently, I've become more interested in colonial history, and so when I noticed that Fox had a new show called Sleepy Hollow, I was intrigued. Not only do I love history, but I have an affinity for ghostly tales and legends and folklore (not like Paranormal Activity... more like Haunted Hotels on the Travel Channel). The Legend of Sleepy Hollow has always been a favorite, and when I heard Ichabod Crane was waking up in the 21st century, I decided this would be my new show of the season. Truth be told, I can't decide how I feel about the show as a whole. I like the characters. I like the whole "I've been dead for two hundred years and know nothing about anything modern" storylines. I'm all for supernatural themes (though I prefer them accompanied by Sam, Dean, and Castiel). I just can't decide if this show

Did you ever have to do that thing at school where your teacher made you try to do things without your thumb? Like open a candy wrapper or write your name, etc. And you found that your thumb is absolutely essential to do a variety of menial, mindless tasks that you never thought of before, and you realized just how lucky you are to have a thumb. Well, I'm in that spot right now. My thumbs are both still attached--no worries there! But after a freak accident with a frosting container (don't ask...it's a long story) I now have a deep cut right on the end of my right thumb. I can't do anything! I can't play my violin--the part of my thumb that rests on the bow is right where that cut is. I can't hardly write legibly--although it is still better than some of my students' handwriting, just sayin'. And I can't pick anything up. It was a pain to try and put stickers on my AR chart or post-its on the pages I need to copy. I feel bad for ever having taken

I have been an avid tv watcher since high school. I am loyal to the shows I watch, staying through until the end of the series, whether it be planned or unexpected. And I have sat idly by while some of my favorite shows ended far too soon. I was angry when The Class was cancelled after one season but quickly appeased by the introduction of one of my favorite shows, The Big Bang Theory. I was annoyed when Eli Stone ended after the second season finale, but I think I knew it wasn't going to be renewed, judging from the closure everyone got. I was pissed when New Amsterdam , the only good thing to come out of the writer's strike, was never picked up for a second season. But none of that compares to my fury, my depression, my heartbreak at the cancellation of Copper. I have written about it once before--one of my very first blog posts. I honestly do not think there was a more well-rounded show on television (aside from possibly Hell on Wheels ). The characters were deep and r

Hawaii has some wonderful things to offer...or so I've heard. I've never actually been there, but I visit every week. Before I truly begin this declaration of love for the CBS show, let me preface it by saying that I understand why people do not like remakes. Very rarely is the new version better or even comparable to the original version, whether it be a song, movie, or television show. And when a person has only see the remake, they are allowed to like it! You can't get mad at someone for being born at the wrong time. Therefore, I understand why people who grew up in the 60s and 70s might prefer the original Hawaii Five-O. I love it myself! Jack Lord, Kam Fong, Zulu, and James MacArthur were am amazing team. Those who love the original grew up watching the original. But here's the thing...even though I was born in the late 80s and grew up in the 90s, I grew up watching the original, too! Sure, I may not have been around when the episodes originally aired, but I

Time to nerd out, so if this upsets you, feel free to stop reading and go about your business. The second trailer for The Hobbit:  The Desolation of Smaug came out today, and I am beyond freaking out. Perhaps because the Internet wasn't quite as pervasive when the Lord of the Ring trilogy came out, I wasn't able to just watch trailers and read interviews and see new photos released all from my phone while laying in bed. But now I can. And it is incredible. First, can I just say that Peter Jackson is a genius? If you didn't already think so, you really ought to watch his films. Not just because the storytelling is great, but everything he puts into it is phenomenal. Camera angles, lighting, character placement...everything about the Middle Earth Jackson created is spectacular. And I'm sorry, but the fangirl in me cannot hold back whenever I see Legolas on screen. I mean, come on! He was my first movie crush--I'm fairly certain I had a photo of him in my locke