all you want to know about me (or not; play along)

It's the Fab Four Meme! Which I originally thought was all about The Beatles and it confused me; clearly I need a bit of a break. Visit my superfriends who tagged me: mamamilton & katydidnot. That's a command.

4 jobs I have held ~

1. Waitress at Kow Korner - I was going to community college at the time and a HS classmate commented to a friend after seeing me working the drive-thru, "Stephanie? Huh, I thought she was smart..." That's what wearing a cowboy hat & bolo tie will do for you, gang.
2. Sales clerk at White Drug Store in Pullman - WSU athletes had accounts there; I met Drew Bledsoe and Jason Hanson! I'm sure they totally remember our encounters.
3. Bookseller + Community Relations Coordinator at Barnes & Noble - "Will work for books" about sums up that job; I did meet Norton Juster (kind of a curmudgeon), Lawrence Block (pleasantly wacky), Whitney Otto (very casual & cool), and Caprial Pence (outrageously, sincerely nice).
4. Teacher at a group home - The epitome of extreme good vs. deep despair; adjudicated youth attempting to earn GEDs while trying to overcome rotten parents, wicked addictions, and other bad influences. It was hard for all of us.

4 films I could watch again and again:

1. When Harry Met Sally... ("I've been looking for a red suede pump!")
2. Princess Bride ("Anybody want a peanut?")
3. It's a Wonderful Life ("Merry Christmas, you wonderful old Building and Loan!" Oh, I'm going to start weeping...)
4. Billy Elliot - great music, great dancing, cute boys, a little social commentary; it's all good

4 TV shows I watch:

1. Survivor
2. LOST
3. The Soup (so I can just avoid the crap it makes fun of in the first place)
4. Ellen

4 places I have lived (not including my current home):

1. Oak Harbor, Washington
2. Pullman, Washington
3. Richland, Washington
4. Hillsboro, Oregon

4 favorite foods:

1. pepperoni & pineapple pizza
2. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (shhh, don't tell Wild Oats)
3. cheese
4. crusty bread + butter

4 websites I visit everyday:

1. my blog BFFs (links above)
2. My Yahoo
3. school web portal (I know, I am totally lame)
4. IMDb - because I always have some trivial movie question burning in my brain

4 of my favorite colors:

1. red
2. plum
3. navy blue
4. sage green

4 places I'd like to be right now:

1. a place where my children's arguing cannot be heard or even imagined
2. Disneyland (I always love it and my kids don't argue much there because it's the happiest frickin' place on Earth!)
3. the living room theater at Cinetopia - dinner & wine served to my lap, no one under 21, ottomans (ottomen?) & pillows for my feet while I watch something mindlessly entertaining
4. my front yard in the setting sun is pretty inviting actually

4 names I like but wouldn't or couldn't use myself:

1. Seth (saying it with our last name creates a lisp)
2. Lucy
3. Shane (old boyfriend, bummer)
4. Pilar (it's stuck with me ever since I read James Dean had a girlfriend with that name)

I'm tagging my fellow Northwesterner Kirsten at Ready or Not (even though she's not ready, because she's having a weekend away) and Elaine at Blog In My Eye, who was until just recently a meme virgin (gasp!), and anyone else who wants to list stuff. Go forth and be fab.

thirteen things i'm doing today

Not exciting, but here it is...Maybe it will make your everyday life seem much more interesting

1. not walking around the block at dawn's early light
2. buying folders for my Advocacy (like homeroom) class before school starts
3. making the folders seem like the best, most amazing tool my students have ever seen in their school careers
4. getting these students to actually insert the items I instruct them to within 20 minutes
5. drinking gallons of VitaminWater (<-- click!)
6. teaching metaphors, similes, and imagery (oh my) to the most apathetic freshmen I've ever encountered (yesterday, one's lying on the table during discussion was a vast improvement over his slumping in the chair with his head down; at least his eyes were open and directed toward me)
7. biting my tongue when one of those freshmen tries (again) to insult me with questions about my clothes, hair, glasses, or children
8. locking my classroom door at 2:01 and blasting the 'naughty mom' playlist
9. attaching all 89 of son's Cub Scout badges & pins to his vest before tonight's meeting
10. some kind of dinner
11. taking my best friends to preview the school district's 4th grade 'Human Growth & Health' movie (we'll try not to giggle throughout)
12. having a good grown-up drink (or six)
13. getting a decent night's sleep and thanking God for tomorrow (it's good to be grateful in advance, I've found)

happy new year

Why September is the real time for resolutions & new outlooks

• it comes right after my birthday, which is already rife with introspection
• people expect you to have a whole new look & personality when school starts
• the NFL season officially begins (woohoo! Hope springs eternal for my Cowboys...)
• it's impossible to resist buying school supplies (part of why I became a teacher and had kids, really)
• a sharp new pencil & fresh cute notebook spell 'potential'
• no one thinks it's weird to label everything right now
• Congress is back in session (i am not a geek)
• fall is the reason for the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale & that is the perfect incentive to fit into new clothes
• autumn colors look best on me
• nothing is as life-changing as a classroom full of fresh new faces relying on your wisdom (ha)
• everyone starts out with an A and perfect attendance
• it's too cold to really party in January

are you ready for some football?

Or, are we ready for me to mentally check out from meaningful family duties, sundays 11-8, for 16 weeks?

TO DO TODAY:

• shower (even though it disrupts the lucky "no-shower-on-game-day" pattern for my Cowboys, but it's a new coach so we'll see)
• figure out tasteful yet team-supportive outfit
• church (because God is kinder to my 'boys when I worship Him first...Ha.)
• lunch with friend (she needs my support more than the Seahawks this afternoon)
• football
• some laundry
• football
• more laundry
• call Dad before Cowboys game (so I can read Harry Potter to kids during halftime - see, I'm not all bad!)
• dinner (focus on family for 15 minutes...focus on family for 15 minutes...)
• football
• post-game wrap-ups and highlights
• back rub for kind & loving primary caretaker

Oh, I'm so excited!

fix-it gal

A list of the random assortment of stuff in disrepair that needs my attention. But will probably not get it any time soon.

• tiny wipe-off noteboard (magnet fell off; it's never actually been used because about all I could write on it would be "TO DO")
• bear magnet without its heart (You've had it all along, you just didn't realize it, dear)
• picture frames that keep coming apart (The definition of insanity...)
• two paddle balls, balls disconnected - Is there really a way to fix these or am I setting up my children for severe disappointment?
• fairy with broken wing (Sounds like a sappy 80s song)
• $10 jelly watch (band detached; I really shouldn't be wearing a jelly watch as a grown-up anyway)
• Harry Potter glasses missing a nose cushion

My radio alarm clock should be in there since it doesn't actually turn off properly anymore; I have to hit "SLEEP" five times to get it to shut off. And occasionally I pick up strange music or talk shows, which makes the NPR news decidedly less serious.

At what point does "Stuff to be Fixed" simply become "Sanford & Son Junk"? Is there a space limit? So long as I keep it confined to a small basket on the counter and not an entire room, I think I'm okay. I'm hoping it's really a magical basket and once the items have spent a significant amount of time in there, they will heal themselves.

in da 'hood

For MammaBlogga's September Group Writing Project

What Motherhood Means to Me

Giving some things up for awhile:

• Going to the movies at the last minute
• Waiting till dinnertime to figure out what to make
• Watching commercial TV between 7 am & 7 pm
• Long, warm, relaxing baths
• Spending an entire Saturday going to garage sales
• Reading a grown-up book while the sun is up
• Dogs
• Three rooms in the house
• Sleeping in
• The backseat of my car
• A consistently clean & orderly house
• Dry-clean-only clothes
• Privacy
• Sick days
• A modeling career
• Weekends in Vegas
• A life of crime

(Okay, the last three are made up)

Finding unexpected things very cool:

• Rainbows
• Petting snakes
• Ants
• Sword fighting
• Grocery carts
• Stomping in puddles
• Forts built from furniture & pillows
• Picnics (if only in the front yard)
• Thunder & lightning
• Airplanes
• Escalators
• Petting zoos
• Flowers blooming
• Skateboarders
• Dancing in the living room
• Walking to a store
• Checking the mail

Learning new things:

• Never pass up an opportunity to nap
• My right hand is actually functional
• Your own child’s barf is not so gross
• How to power-clean the house quickly
• The mall is a torture chamber
• What I do means more than what I say
• A well-timed snack can do wonders (for kids & grown-ups)
• Accept only the first appointment of the day when scheduling anything
• Which businesses offer drive-through service, free food samples, & kid-friendly carts
• Always have on hand stickers, lip balm, washable ink pen, & a lump of clay
• Ice cream is a legitimate breakfast food
• Kids will repeat anything that comes out of your mouth
• Nothing I gave up is worth as much as being a mom