Ramblings of a Thirty-Something

Most every woman and girl that I know (and probably quite a lot that I don't) has likely at some point in their life wanted to be a Disney princess. I mean, between the beautiful dresses, the handsome princes, the animal companions, and the amazing adventures, how could you not want to be a Disney princess? Sure, sure, stereotypes are evident and certain ideologies might be advanced, but honestly, who didn't want Jasmine's hair--or her pet tiger? Well, the other day, I was cleaning my room. Deep cleaning...going through drawers and boxes, trying to get ride of things that I don't need anymore. I sat there, shuffling through junk and trash and dinglehoppers, gadgets and gizmos aplenty, whosits and whatsits and thingamabobs, when I realized something:  I am exactly like Ariel! I keep everything ...and if you don't believe me, you're welcome to come look through my boxes in the barn and attic. Then it hit me:  I am a Disney princess...sort of. I share qual

I had fully intended at the start of the month to do a separate blog post about each of my favorite Christmas movies, but that fell by the wayside quickly. Given my affinity for lists, I have decided the best course of action would be to simply make a list of the remaining Christmas movies. Some you may agree with, some you may not. Some you may have never heard of, but I highly recommend you check them out. 1. Holiday Inn   Bing Crosby strikes again--this time with costar Fred Astaire--as he sings through the holidays in yet another of Irving Berlin's masterpieces. (Fun fact:  the idea for the songs in this film and later the entire production started after Irving Berlin wrote Easter Parade. Without that song, there would be no White Christmas. ) 2. How the Grinch Stole Christmas   The original cartoon starring Boris Karloff. I don't feel the need to say much more because if you haven't watched it, you must have been raised in the woods by wolves. 3. Thomas Kin

Yes, I do. I don't just mean Christmas, either. I mean Christmas break. No school for two weeks...I can't even begin to describe how much I needed this break. I was this close to pulling my hair out on a daily basis. The kids needed the break, too. They were getting restless and antsy and driving everyone up the wall and onto the ceiling. And since I'm such a list-maker, here is my list of the things I plan to do over Christmas break. 1. Sleep In!  Oh my heavens, is this going to be a wonderful thing! Granted, anymore, sleeping past 8:00 or even 7:30 is considered sleeping in for me. Still, a few extra hours would be fantastic...and I have a feeling many of my students will be doing this also. 2. Read! I have so many books on my shelf that I haven't had a chance to read yet. There is no way I will get them all done by the end of break, but I can get started. Plus, I could use the time to just relax. 3. Write! I don't get to write non-blog po

Time for another holiday movie review (and it's a good one!) One of my all-time favorite movies--not just at Christmas. White Christmas starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Vera Ellen, and Rosemary Clooney...my goodness! What a cast! What a show! I can't think of a single bad thing to say about this movie...except maybe that it ends? Oh, and the Choreography song...don't much care for that number. But this movie tells a holiday story like no other--the holiday idea of helping out those you love using what you can. Bing and Danny play Bob Wallace and Phil Davis, and when the movie opens, we find them in the midst of World War II on Christmas Eve, saying goodbye to their current general. One thing leads to another, and they end up being one of the hottest teams in show business. Then they happen upon the Haynes sisters--Betty, played by Rosemary, and Judy, played by Vera Ellen--and the sparks begin to fly. Falling in love on the dance floor and singing together..

After a year of waiting, the second installment in Peter Jackson's The Hobbit trilogy has been relased in theaters. And oh. My. Goodness... Desolation of Smaug? Try the Desolation of my Weekend! My sister and I made a semi-perilous journey to Champaign on Friday night, when the movie had been in theaters a total of nineteen hours. (I say "semi-perilous" because it wasn't bad going down, and when we came back north the snow had stopped, but the roads weren't great...ergo, semi-perilous). I was prepared for the movie to be great...and I was also very worried. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say I watched The Unexpected Journey at least twenty times. And I've been following every news release of The Desolation of Smaug (which I shall henceforth call DOS ) since the first bits were leaked back in March or whenever it was. What if I had overreached it's amazingness in my mind? What if my expectations were too high? They weren't.  They weren&#

For some reason, my posts are happening later in the day. I don't really know why. That's life for you, I guess. Christmas is two weeks away. I don't say this to put everyone in a panic because there is so much left to do (which it's serving to put me in a panic, so that didn't work out so well). I say this because, as the song puts it, the Most Wonderful Time of the Year will be over in fourteen days. Only thirteen days until Christmas Eve. This reminds me that I still have presents to buy for at least five people on my list. I have yet to send out a single Christmas card. I have no idea what dishes I am taking to the various Christmas parties to which I have been invited. All the presents I currently have are as yet unwrapped. I have lessons to plan so that I can fully enjoy my break. I have papers to grade for the same reason. I need to have a plan to take down all my Christmas decorations before leaving school on December 20. My choir has one more practi

First of all, before I begin my rambling of the day, I want to thank everyone who read my most recent post and for all the support you offered me. It is one thing to know your blog is being read; it is another thing entirely when the people who read it take the time to respond to what you have written. Whether we laughed about it at school the next day or you wrote me a message, texted me, whatever...words cannot adequately express what I felt. I'm much better at writing my feelings than I am speaking them, too. I'm terrible at receiving praise--if it's possible, I'm even more awkward in those instances than in regular, everyday conversation. So thank you all. From the bottom of my heart, I'm grateful :) Now to what you've all been waiting for...(or at least I'm assuming this is what you've all been waiting for) My Thoughts on The Sound of Music Live! Of anyone I know (and please forgive me if this sounds at all conceited...that is most assuredly

Okay, I've been posting on this blog for several months now, and I haven't really gone on any rants. You all surely know what I mean by rants , right? Basically my emphatic opinion repeated over and over and over again. But today, now suddenly, I feel the need to rant in two particular directions. I apologize if you get upset by any of this. PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS NOT DIRECTED AT ANYONE IN PARTICULAR!!!!! None of the people I am technically sending this rant out to are my Facebook friends (that I know of). None of this is targeted at one particular individual. I'm just tired of everyone else getting to put their feelings out for everyone in the world to see and being too chicken to do it myself. So instead of being offended, be proud of me, for finally being brave enough to add in my voice (safely behind my computer screen...maybe not so brave?) SCHOOL RANT Dear parents,       Do not blame your child's teacher for your child's grades. The homework that was

December has officially arrived. As my students so cheerfully reminded me, there are only 23 days until Christmas. One of my absolute favorite things about Christmas is all of the movies I get to watch. So for the month of December, I think I will post about some of my favorites, starting with the all-time best Christmas movie. Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown! One of my favorite things about Christmas movies are the touching, emotional moments. And the moment Charlie Brown looks up at the sky to see the twinkling star as Linus's voice repeats the Christmas story from the book of Luke, my eyes well with tears as I try to hold it together. Then I just let it go when his friends decorate his tree and start singing Hark! the Herald Angels Sing. I don't think there is a better Christmas movie that unites adults and children, young and old. All those little kids, trying to put on their Christmas pageant without any grownups to help them. The rockin' band playing songs