Oh no, they didn't.

I started bawling when this Pedigree commercial came on.

Now you all can, too!

p.s. The nose through the kennel action is just too, too much.

A tinker, a tailor, a gingerbread maker...

It's a little late for new year's resolutions, but let me just say that my $1.99 gingerbread loaf on clearance from Target is 1. super simple (mix with water, butter, 2 eggs; pour into pan; cook) and 2. making my apt smell deeeeeeeeeelicious.

How's about in 2007 we make some stuff that smells awesome, and eat it in moderation. Deal? Deal.

Terror-bithia

When I saw the trailer for the upcoming movie version of Bridge to Terabithia, my first thought was, "whoa... I don't remember it being that scary."

In fact, I remembered it being a real weep-fest that sometimes inexplicably shows up on banned books list. (What? Why? Apparantly: "witchcraft, magic, evil spells, or related material.")

I re-read it this morning at 4am, when I woke up and could not get back to sleep. The "magic" in the book is really subtle, certainly less detailed than the movie billing (no walking trees, sword-wielding insects or evil "Dark Master"s), albeit rich with filmmaker potential:

"Can't you see 'um?" he whispered. "All the Terabithians standing on tiptoe to see you."
"Me?"
"Shhhh, yes. There's a rumor going around that the beautiful girl arriving today might be the queen they've been waiting for."

2008 Presidential Elections

It's a sad day.

I only have three episodes of West Wing left before it's all over: six glorious hypothetical seasons (and one not-so-glorious season) of a collective vision for how democracy should work.

What's keeping me afloat is the fact that the current line-up of presidential nominees looks more like something off of West Wing than I ever would have hoped or dreamed for.

I want to elect them all!

When You Wish Upon A Shooooe....

I wish I'd had these "Peacemaker" flats when I was teaching:



"Children! I come in peace."

It might have stopped Ernesto from hurling a book across my room... but probably not.

In other news, I have forgotten how to link an image to a website, and before any smart ass tells me to "google it," it appears that I can no longer follow directions.

Ice Storm Alert

It's not even raining yet, and all the schools are cancelled.

Growing up on the northern-most edge of a county in Maryland, I'm biased by years and years of waking up to: "Yesssss!!! It's SNOWING!!!" followed soon after by the sinking announcement of "Montgomery County schools are *open and *on-time" [*two words I now loathe].

During my three-year tenure with Houston schools, I never once enjoyed the Texas equivalent to the snow day, the "flood day." The Flood Days I get, because there's all this water and no place for it to go, and what can you do but sit in your car and wait?

So, in sum, I think you all are being a little silly. Just throw down some sand. It's not like we don't have sand on hand: there's a beach not 45 minutes away. And that is the end of my cold weather superiority post; I hope I don't die on my way to work tomorrow.

It's a New Day

When I was growing up, my parents taught me, "We buy AMERICAN cars."

Nowadays, it's "we buy FUEL EFFICIENT JAPANESE cars."

Actually, the rest of my family drive American cars, but if I have a kid I imagine that's how the dialogue would go.

Also, today the definition of a lovely romance is that couple in the Valtrex commercials. "I have herpes, and she doesn't, and we want it to stay that way."

What kid doesn't sometimes wonder, Will I make the same mistakes my parents did? How could we? It's a completely different world. There are so many new mistakes to be made!

But I Don't Wanna.

Ok, fine.

Sooooo... hihi. I had a solid two weeks of visitors this past month, which was wonderful and productive and really nice company, even if my cat tried to smother Heather in her sleep.

Even if it took her 12 hours to get back to Maryland, and my boyfriend was almost swept away by a tornado.

But the weather did not seem to deter 2007 from rolling right along in, with a few street fireworks, Garrison Keillor, Mystery Train, some bubbly (Korbel, not Andre), and one pretty solid kissing partner.

I went right back to work, where we had a minor case of Y2k7 all week, and I found myself set for a date this weekend with 2 DVDs of West Wing, a pretty drastic case of PMS, and... due to an unexpected sweater mishap...

legwarmers!:


Plus the entire text of The Evening Star by Larry McMurtry, which, at 637 pages, is no small accomplishment.

So, there's that.

For those of you keeping tabs, I'm not so great at these post-visitor weekends. Sometimes I revel and recover in the hermitage, but more often than not I find them grating and wish I were better at seeking out company... or showering. Maybe my new year's resolution should be to make better use of the time with myself, when it's just me. So as to enjoy more fully the weekends when it is not.