5 Things

My friend Nicole just posted a blog with five things she likes-she mentioned choosing to focus on the positive in life. I liked her list so much, I decided to make mine:

1. Bagels with cream cheese. I have recently been eating these for breakfast again and it is the thing I look forward to the most in the morning. The crunch of a perfectly toasted bagel, licking that little bit of extra cream cheese off my finger. Yum!

2. Men who respect women. And not just in the chivalrous way (though who doesn't love that as well?), but I am thinking of men who truly value women's opinions as equal to men's. Who are friends with women, who can admit when a woman is better than them at something, and who realize that these traits make them no less of a man. Frankly, these kinds of guys are few and far between, but whenever I meet one, I like him.

3. Middle School students. But only at school, not out in public. But I love that my kiddos say hi to me enthusiastically when they see me in the hall, even if they just left my room five minutes before. I love that they have boundless energy and can make me laugh every single day. That even when they make me crazy, I still kind of enjoy them.

4. Great pictures-part of the fun of being the yearbook adviser is that I get to see all sorts of fun pictures. Whether it's Ms. Aguilar and Mr. Stowell decked out in their search & rescue gear pretending to pry open a door with a crowbar, two girls jumping up and down at the school dance, or a great 8th Grade Favorites picture, where the "Most Talkative" kids made signs that say, "Dang, does she ever stop talking?" and "OMG I wish he'd shut up!" I love good pictures of people looking like themselves and having a good time.

5. Live music. Concerts are perhaps my favorite thing of all. And tomorrow night I get to go see the Foo Fighters perform at the taping of VH1 Storytellers. Super small venue, we get to ask questions, possibly meet the band, and it was free. Expect a blog on that in the next few days!

Movie/TV on DVD recommendations???

Well, I officially have bronchitis again. Blerg.

So, besides watching my Thursday shows and the latest episode of Glee on Hulu this weekend, I am looking for ideas of movies or TV shows that I can rent this weekend.

I plan to sit at home, eat Natalie's crock pot recipe (see the comments on my last blog), read (library here I come!), and watch TV/DVDs. That's it. If anyone wants to risk catching my disease by parking it on my couch next to me, lemme know. Especially if you can bring a movie I don't already own.

Cheap "Meals"

So, I have been googling "cheap meals" to try to get some ideas of cheap, easy things I can eat for lunch and dinner.

The problem is my definition of a meal is different from most people's. I mean, don't get me wrong. Those recipes sound great. And I have my go-to cheap recipes like Keri's taco soup and frittatas. I would say those count as real. I can throw a baked potato in the microwave and find some fixins in the fridge. A can of tomato soup with grilled cheese is great on a rainy day.

But listen. I am single. I am cheap. I am lazy. No one depends on me to cook for them. And sometimes, I just want something in my stomach. So where are the websites with suggestions like these:

Dinner: Half a can of pinto beans, a slice of cheddar cheese, and a quarter of an avocado (and the avocado is a splurge). Use stale chips that you have been meaning to throw away to dip in the beans. Put the other half of the can in a tupperware container with cheese and another quarter of avocado to have for lunch tomorrow.

Dinner: Pancakes (made with just add water mix) topped with jam, jelly, honey, spray butter or whatever you happen to have in the fridge. Make sure you are too impatient to wait until they are all done, eating them with your hands as they come off the pan. (The bonus here is that you lose track of how many you eat and can claim it was only a few.)

Breakfast: Peanut Butter and Jelly on slightly stale bread. But toast the bread and you can't tell it's stale as easily. Especially if you slather on the PB&J. This one I actually stand by. It's delicious. It just means I have to be ready with time left over to toast the bread in the morning, which does not always happen.

Dinner: Sliced tomato with garlic salt. Wait fifteen minutes. Bag of instant popcorn (snack sized). Wait fifteen minutes. Last three potstickers in the freezer. Wait fifteen minutes. Pudding cup. Wait fifteen minutes. If you're still hungry, just go to bed.

I've been interviewed...

I did this "interview" because I am all about pimping out my blog. Oh, I mean, all about education. Look!

http://certificationmap.com/blog/

Hanging by a Moment

I am rereading Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert for book club this month, which I LOVE. This is one of the parts I underlined last night:

"The other problem with all this swinging through the vines of thought is that you are never where you are. You are always digging in the past or poking at the future, but rarely do you rest in the moment...If you are looking for union with the divine, this kind of forward/backward whirling is a problem. There's a reason they call God a presence-because God is right here, right now. In the present is the only play to find Him, and now the only time."

Which is a great quote. I am constantly out of the moment-imagining interactions with people, thinking about what I will say to someone or what I should have said, or how they will react to what I am going to say. So, last night while I was getting ready for bed I tried to be completely in the moment. My internal dialogue was as follows:

"I am taking off my eye makeup. I am taking off my eye makeup. I am putting on moisturizer. I am putting on moisturizer. I am putting on moisturizer. I am putting on eye cream. I am putting on eye..."

I stopped when I was so focused on my narration I put eye cream on my lips like it was lip balm.

Sigh. Being in the moment is hard.

Food for Thought

One of my co-workers sent me this article.  I thought it was thought-provoking and I can relate. But I'm sticking with teaching. :)

When I woke up this morning...

1. I was almost late this morning because I did not get up until 6:45 and then left the house at 7:15 and still decided to stop at Starbucks. Which could arguably be considered a bad idea. Except that I had a gift card and my caramel apple cider is delicious.

2. This morning I just let my hair air dry on the way to work (see number one). Which caused one of my students to say, "Oooh, did the rain mess up your hair?" when I got into the room. I told him I just didn't do it today. And now it is in a ponytail.

3. When I went to turn on my laptop to show the kids a video, it decided not to turn on. Just nothin' going on. I have it plugged in and I think I will try it again in a little while. BUT. I do not have high hopes. On the bright side, I backed up my computer on Sunday night. On the not so bright side, my computer is out of warranty as of August. So if it dies, I have to just buy another one. So much for saving money this month.