I was at New Teacher Orientation today, and afterwards I went outside to leave about 3:00pm. The air was still chilly (from that morning) and I paused on my walk to my car to look at the beautiful scenery. You know Fall is here when the reds and oranges begin to scatter across the mountainsides. Then... ...you turn your head to look at Mt. Nebo to the south and you see the snow dusting the trees. That is telling you that not only is Fall here, but winter is right on its heels! This is something that Houstonians certainly miss out on. Call outto those down south who are still "enjoying" humid 85 degree weather ;)
I am so excited! This is my favorite time of year, especially here in Utah where we get to enjoy, cool, wintery weather. Bring on the holiday season!
So revisiting Bonnie Wedding week... I was at home in Seattle trying to figure out if I should arrive at the wedding with a date. Yup, you read that right. Seeing as of the SIX of us bridesmaids, 2 were married, 3 had at least one baby, 1 was in a "serious" relationship, and just 2 of us were Happy Singles, I didn't want to stick out like the out-of-town single friend. It ended up that my lil' sis had someone already in mind. Now who is the lucky one? So yes, Eneras and her bf called me up one night soon before the wedding to go out on a double date. Trusting that Eneras would not set me up with a dud, I said yes, and was ready by 10:00 to go out dancing. The boys said they knew exactly where we were going. Uh, or so I thought; when we drove downtown Seattle and arrive at a pretty busy nightclub. When we made it in:
"I think this is a gay bar." I lean over and whisper to my Eneras.
She skooms the crowd, "I have to go to the restroom. I'll be right back."
I skulk around the edges of the dance floor, and cement it in my own mind, that I am not looking for the same thing as the people around me. I try to catch the eye of my date, who was currently securing me a diet soda. When Eneras comes out of the bathroom and utters the words that will get us out of here;
"Yeah, its a gay bar. Lets get outta here."
THANK GOODNESS. But what to do next? Oh, yeah how could I forget the hookah bar. The what? Pretty much it is the place of the best gyro [year-ro] I. have. ever. eaten. And if you could forget the big "bong-ish" things everyone was sipping out-tuv, I could really appreciate the delish food that I was eating. I recommend. That and dating a guy whose name you could pronounce :) No worries, I finally got it down by the time I made it back to Provo and was telling my story to Yanaj and Bone Jr. Fondly dubbed "My Date and The Gay Bar."
In remembrance of September 11th, I was in my classroom today, and was overcome when we were discussing what being a hero means. I asked the kids to write about what a hero means to them. I then put the words of this song by Alan Jackson up on the overhead and we discussed what the verses meant.
Where Were You When The World Stopped Turning Written by Alan Jackson
Where were you when the world stop turning on that September day Were you in the yard with your wife and children Or working on some stage in L.A. Did you stand there in shock at the sight of that black smoke Rising against that blue sky Did you shout out in anger, in fear for your neighbor Or did you just sit down and cry
Did you weep for the children who lost their dear loved ones And pray for the ones who don't know Did you rejoice for the people who walked from the rubble And sob for the ones left below Did you burst out in pride for the red, white and blue And the heroes who died just doin' what they do Did you look up to heaven for some kind of answer And look at yourself and what really matters
I'm just a singer of simple songs I'm not a real political man I watch CNN but I'm not sure I could Tell you the difference in Iraq and Iran But I know Jesus and I talk to God And I remember this from when I was young Faith, hope and love are some good things He gave us And the greatest is love
Where were you when the world stop turning on that September day Teaching a class full of innocent children Or driving down some cold interstate Did you feel guilty 'cause you're a survivor In a crowded room did you feel alone Did you call up your mother and tell her you loved her Did you dust off that Bible at home
Did you open your eyes, hope it never happened And you close your eyes and not go to sleep Did you notice the sunset the first time in ages
Or speak to some stranger on the street
Did you lay down at night and think of tomorrow Go out and buy you a gun Did you turn off that violent old movie you're watchin' And turn on "I Love Lucy" reruns
Did you go to a church and hold hands with some strangers Stand in line and give your own blood Did you just stay home and cling tight to your family Thank God you had somebody to love
I'm just a singer of simple songs I'm not a real political man I watch CNN but I'm not sure I could Tell you the difference in Iraq and Iran But I know Jesus and I talk to God And I remember this from when I was young Faith, hope and love are some good things He gave us And the greatest is love My fourth graders were amazingly insightful, and as we got around to listening to the song, I looked around at each of them and thought "This is why we are working so hard keep the freedoms that we enjoy, these children deserve all that we can give them." Not to focus on the tragedy of the attacks on the Twin Towers, but to see heroes being born within a few minutes. That is what I really wanted my students to walk away thinking about. How can we each be a hero to someone?
I have recently been accused of spoiling my cat. I don't know what people are talking about! Does it seem so weird that my cat comes running every afternoon that I walk in the door after school? Does it seem so odd that he "follows" me wherever I go in the house? Especially if that means literally being underfoot 98% of the time? I don't think so! But just in case...
You be the judge. Although remember pets of your own. How did you get along with them? And all I have to say is "No Judgement"
on your human-pet relationships.
And I am NOT the crazy cat lady. I have ONE Ronald.
You have seen everything when you are at a local IHOP
[International House of Pancakes-
for those of you who didn't catch on to the acronymn]
casually finishing your breakfast, when out of the corner of your eye you notice that the group of teenagers have left the table next to you. Their leftovers were left on the plates, just waiting for the waitress to clear them away. Not so strange. Until you factor in the small army of a family coming in. Like five kids march by our table. Then [this is the part even I can't believe] one of the adults most casually walks by the now empty, but not yet cleared table, and grabs one of the pancake plates! GRABS. THE. LEFTOVER. PANCAKE. PLATES! EWWW! I mean if you really are that hungry I bet even IHOP would not deny you a couple of packages of soup crackers.
And dedicated to Bone Jr.- who I have it on good authority- was treated to a Bone Family delicacy a couple of times at a young age.
Looking for an Eggs Benedict recipe in this book, I came across the rarebit recipe. So I TOO could enjoy the Bone Family delicacy.
Look carefully under the Winter Weekend Breakfast, first item...
