Ashamed

That's the best word to describe how I've been feeling as I've been typing up the journal I used when I was 14-15 years old. Here are the top 3 reasons why I'm ashamed:

1. I wrote the word "tommorrow" incorrectly about a million times.

2. I complained A LOT

3. This entry:

"Later on we went to a church dance.  I had a pretty good time.  Hardly anyone I know was there but we made the most of what we had.  ______ asked me to dance w/ him.  What a surprise.  He’s asked me at every dance.  I wouldn’t mind it so much if he didn’t scare me.  There is this other guy that is stalking me.  He goes to summer school.  I hope I don’t see him there.  He asked me to dance with him at the last dance too.  Why can’t any hot guys ever stalk me?"



P.S. I did end up seeing that guy at summer school ALL the time. Only a few years later, I decided that both of the young men mentioned weren't so bad after all.

Practical

I am a pretty practical person.  So, I was pleased to see the practicality of one of my students today.

My class was solving a math problem that went something like this:

Jane bought 9 pieces of candy.  Each piece of candy costs 10 cents.  How much did Jane spend?

This student wrote 90 cents at first, but then changed it to one dollar.  

Why?

Sales tax.

Talk about students who are prepared for the real world. 

Take that Common Core Standards!

And now for some intriguing inventions I came across while searching for impractical things:

via

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There are 2 types of people in this world...

...those who like Neil Diamond. And those who don't.

This weekend, I discovered that I'm a part of the latter group.

I also discovered that hosting a "What About Bob?" party can be a lot of fun.

As the guests arrived, a Neil Diamond CD from the library was playing.

I had to turn the volume down really low so as not to go insane.

 My new pet, Gil, was excited to see his namesake on the screen,

 so we started the movie.  

I love "What About Bob" more and more every time I see it.

There is almost always something new to find humor in.

One of my very wise guests pointed out that

Dr. Marvin's children are named after Sigmund Freud and his daughter Anna.

Bob loves that Fay's corn is hand-shucked.

After the movie ended, we had a corn shucking contest.

It was intense.

 And the winner of the Salt Substitute is...

Jen with 10.5 seconds!

Unfortunately, Dr. Marvin didn't show up for a book signing,

but we did enjoy reading the cover of Baby Steps.

If you ever need "a vacation from your problems,"

let me know and I'll gladly watch Bob with you too. 

My Special Present

As I went outside to greet my amazing, little students the other morning, one girl told me that she had a special present for me. 

Once we were inside, she opened her hand to reveal...

a breath saver!

How did she know that I was really hoping for an unwrapped mint that

had been held by 8-year-old hands?