Yes, I love technology

I love that every question I have in my life has an answer to be found on the internet.

Which kind of fillings are better, silver or white? (pros and cons to both)

Should I floss before or after I brush? (Dentists are divided, it's important to just do it)

What is the best eye cream? (Doesn't matter as long as it's a rich one. For daytime All About Eyes by Clinique is preferred)

Who is the singer for the band Owl City (Not Ben Gibbard, which was my guess)

Are Pink and Carey Hart back together? (Yes, it would seem that they are)

What group exercises are at my gym this week (Schedule is on the website)

How do I get to my work bbq today? (I love you mapquest)

How far did I run/bike/walk outside today (I am going to marry mapmyrun.com)

How did we exist before the internet?

Routine

Do you ever have something in your life that deeply fascinates you, for no good reason. Like you want to tell people about it, except they would think you were crazy for wasting their time with it? 

That's what blogs are for.

I have developed a deep appreciation for my own night time routine. I have read that a routine is good because it helps let your body know you are ready for sleep. That might be part of it, but I think I am just rather proud of myself for consistently sticking with it. I haven't missed a night since...St. Patrick's Day, I believe. And that was an unfortunate incident with mixing alcohol. But other than that, tipsy or tired, I have stuck to my routine.  And I never used to be that way. If I was too tired, I skipped it. When I lived in the dorms, sometimes going down the hall to the bathroom was just too much effort. If I came home past midnight, it probably wasn't happening. But, I am a new woman. And I must say, my skin has never looked better. My calves aren't half bad either (see routine below).

Just to complete my incredibly self-indulgent post, here is my nighttime routine:

1. Brush teeth (I try to do 50 calf raises while I do this, although that does not happen every night)

2. Floss

3. Mouthwash

4. Wash face

5. Take off eye makeup (when I do this first, I inevitably can't get it all off and then have to do it again. Blerg.)

6. Put on night cream (which is actually an anti-acne one, so it's kind of drying, thus making step 7 absolutely necessary...)

7. Put on eye cream (Which I researched, and any rich moisturizer is fine, so you don't have to waste money on it. I use Clinique Moisture Surge, which came in my gift with purchase at some point. I like it.)

8. Put on lip balm (Khiels is the best lip balm ever. I want to marry it.)

9. On a good night, I put lotion on my feet after I get into bed and turn out the light. This one doesn't happen every night either.

If you are still reading, you must be bored. My apologies. But you knew going in that this was ridiculous.

Musings on Dangerous Minds

First of all, Gangster's Paradise over the opening credits totally holds up, even if they overuse it a bit in the movie. Let's just say that.

This is the first time I've watched this movie since I became a teacher, and I have to say it's much more realistic than some of the other ones I have seen (don't get me started on Freedom Writers). She's missing management 101 when she starts, but the first thing her classroom neighbor told her is "Don't try to talk over them," which is probably the best advice to give someone. The first day is horrible until she grows a pair. Although the cowboy boots on the desk with a plaid shirt might not intimidate inner-city kids, and it seems like karate could easily turn into a full blown fight. 

I like that she gets better in fits and spurts, which is pretty realistic. Although it is damn hard to get them back if you start out struggling. 

I like that she keeps caring, even when they don't get it and act like assholes. Also pretty realistic. And they try to teach her to dance, which my kids have totally done. I got laughed at trying to learn the jerk and the reject last year.

Also, I like that not all of the students make it. It's a more realistic portrayal than, "Look I am super teacher and I saved all of my students who are now in college and make speeches about how great I am." They don't all make it, no matter how great you are. I like that this movie owns that.

Unrealistic: why, in all movies, do they make it seem like they only have one class throughout the day? I mean, I know I get that it's less confusing. But can they not even acknowledge somewhere in there that she has a full schedule of classes?

But, she totally teaches bell-to-bell. Well done Ms. Johnson. 

Interesting...

Tonight I went to a music festival and got to see a few different local bands, which was fun. Then, I got to see the Cold War Kids perform, which was super fun. Also, I ran into two of my old Jr. Highers from youth ministry who are now Juniors in college. But, here is my new experience of the night:

I was holding my friend Juliet's four-year-old daughter, Eva, who has short blonde hair.

Man behind me, to Eva: "You have the same haircut as your mommy!"

Me, apparently too quietly: "Oh, she's not my daughter."

Man, to me: "She looks just like you!!"

Now, this is interesting for two reasons. One, obviously Eva is not my daughter, so it's funny that we resemble one another enough to have someone say she looks just like me. I know who to borrow if I need a fake daughter. But secondly, and weirder for me, I apparently look old enough to have a four-year-old. Which I mean, I am. And I know that, but I don't think I've ever been mistaken for a mom before. I usually have people think I am younger than I am, so it was weird to have someone assume I am a mom. And a little disconcerting...I am nowhere near having kids right now. Kind of puts the pressure on.

But, Eva is adorable, so I am going to go with the compliment that she looks like me and stick with that. :)

Things of all sorts

The annoying thing about being a grown up is that when you are vacuuming and realize that the vacuum is not sucking it is you and you alone who must flip it on it's side, take scissors to it and pull out enough hair to make a disgusting wig. 

The awesome thing about dry clean only clothes is that when you get them back they are not only clean, but pressed perfectly. I am terrible about taking my clothes in the the dry cleaner and about ironing in general, but when I got back skirts and shirts that look better than they did when I bought them, I can't wait to wear them and I am in fact glad that they are dry clean only.

The annoying thing about lift class tonight was that the instructor didn't even do the workout with us. She walked around and assisted and then would demonstrate with a bar that had no weight on it. She kept saying, "It's your workout, not mine." Listen. It makes it more bearable if we are all suffering together. When you say, "four more!" I can tolerate it because you are doing it too. When you are just standing there and say "four more!" I want to punch you in the face. Except I can't because my arms are so fatigued from the millions of reps we just did.

It's beginning to look a lot like August

I kind of forgot I had a blog. Huh.

So, for whatever reason I have been on an organizational rampage this week. I think it comes from my annual need to get my act together in August. August is when I finally make all my doctor and dentist appointments so I don't have to go when I am working. But this year I extended my to-do list into territory of my house. This week I have...

-cleaned out my closet

-cleaned out my dresser (HOW do I accumulate so many t-shirts? I swear they mate and reproduce in there...)

-re-organized and cleaned out my CD rack, DVD drawers, and bookshelves

-Cleaned out jewelry box and organized all earrings into pairs

-bought canisters for my flour, sugar etc.

-bought a lazy susan for all of our spices

-rearranged some of the kitchen drawers

-took in a crapload of dry cleaning (including my coats, which I swear I've probably never had cleaned. Maybe I shouldn't admit that in a public forum, but oh well.)

-cleaned out and re-organized all toiletries (which mostly involved throwing away expired medicine.)

-Re-organized linen closet

-Cleaned out my car, including glove compartment (no small feat, but this is the one I most want to keep up with)

And I can't stop. Tomorrow I am washing all the dish towels and pot holders, vacuuming, and hanging more things on my walls. I would like to think that if I can get everything organized before school starts, I will somehow be able to maintain it throughout the year. I would really really like to be that organized and just do the maintenance, however generally this falls apart. Clean laundry ends up stacked on my bed instead of hung up. Books overflow into all the nooks and crannies of my room. Dirty clothes end up on the floor. Jewelry is taken off all over the house instead of being placed in my jewelry box. But, since it's August, I am pretending that I will be able to maintain this. Just like I am pretending that I will only wear jeans on Fridays to work this school year. Sigh. Check in with me in November-we'll see how I do this Fall.