Moving to WordPress

Time for a change. I have migrated by blog to WordPress. Check out the new "Thing" of the Month here.

Persuasive Essay Writing

I have recently started the persuasive writing unit with my class. After months of writing responses to literature, they have been very excited to finally write about personal topics. However, traditionally, teachers give students a few school-related topics to choose from-- gum and dress code being the most popular. Because I wanted their writing to be more authentic, we spent an entire day brainstorming problems or issues that were important to them that might make good essays. I really wanted them to have a personal connection to their compositions. Although there were some unique ideas like prohibiting children from being forced to compete in beauty pageants and forcing the government to literally print more money so they can pay elective teachers (keep in mind they don't take economics until high school), most students picked school topics like allowing personal electronics at school, dress code and gum chewing. I was completely surprised by this because, when discussing cell phone use at school, I informed them that if their phone is confiscated, teachers and administrators have the right to look through their text messages, etc. To say they outraged would be an understatement. I was certain they would want to write about this issue, but apparently the ability to rot your teeth while simultaneously giving yourself TMJ is more important than fundamental privacy. In their attempt to support their position, they cited sound evidence like "Who doesn't like gum?" and "It helps us think." How to argue with that! One student, however, admitted that students would probably spit it out on the floor and walls, but did not see this as a negative side effect. He wrote, "If you have different colors of gum and you stick them everywhere the school gets more colorful." Sounds like someone might have a future as decorator.

It is their silliness that keeps me energized. And obviously I am going to need the energy to help them with these essays!

Ah College Memories

I am still working on my M.Ed. writing. Not even close to being done.

I decided to try a little writing music. I opened iTunes and randomly selected a Genius mix. It turned out to be mostly The Postal Service, which I have not listened to in forever. Suddenly, I had the most vivid memory of a Campus Events Commission retreat in Big Bear. The Postal Service happened to be very big at that time, especially with hipster crowds like the CEC. Naturally, there were 30 of us staying in a cabin that was intended for 9 at the most (but when they calculated that number they didn't include floor space and other sleepable surfaces like pool tables...poor college students are so resourceful). On that particular trip my unit director decided that it would be great for team bonding if we all slept in the same room. Three people slept on the full bed and the rest of us slept on the floor around the bed. My sliver of the room was so narrow that if I laid on my back,  half of my body would be actually under the bed. In all, there were about 8 of us squeezing into that tiny bedroom. Thankfully no one had to pee in the middle of the night or it would have been like a large-scale version of those tile puzzles-- the ones where you have to slide all the tiles around to get a single piece from one side to the other without removing any. Oh memories...

I swear I'm not just procrastinating.

Tomorrow is technically the final day of my10-day writing challenge and while I have not been blogging all 10 days, I have been busy writing. In three days I must submit the fist version of the first chapter of my M.Ed. inquiry. I should be locked in a room somewhere trying to finish but I am experiencing a bit of writers block. I know what I want to say but just can't get my words to reflect that. What a terrible time for my brain to stop working. I thought that perhaps a little personal writing would help but I am feeling no more eloquent or inspired than when my break started. 

Oh no. I am stuck again. Now I can't even write blog posts. Perhaps I should try something else to jump-start my brain.

Arg.

WAGS Against Bad Unis: Butt Sweat

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I am beginning a new segment called WAGS (Wives and Girlfriends) Against Bad Unis. Being married to the sports-obsessed man that I am, I spend a lot of time watching EPSN. We watch all the sports (I really mean all of them) as well as shows where other people talk about the sports we just watched. Sometimes, we even listen to podcasts of people talking about the sports and the shows of people talking about sports. Inevitably, my attention gravitates to the uniforms. It's hard not to notice them, honestly. There are just so may bad ones out there.

Today's issue, butt sweat! This seems like an appropriate place to start since visible butt sweat is at the top of my uniform pet-peeves. Allow me to illustrate:

  

Pay special attention to number 77's derriere. Who wants to see that really?

Not all football pants are made the same. Some specific types of spandex and some colors are worse offenders than others. As you can see in this picture, yellow should not be used for football pants. Although, I could have predicted as much. Other colors that should be banned from football pant production are silver, gray, red and most other light colors. Furthermore, specific fabric blends should be tested for their ability to repel liquid (as opposed to absorb it).

In an attempt to attract more female viewers, the NFL wears pink on certain days in support of breast cancer research and those suffering with the disease. Some also suspect the recent crackdown on helmet-to-helmet contact in another effort to woo concerned mothers. I, however, think the women's vote could be won by paying more attention to uniform details. Surely I am not the only woman who notices these things.

Unrelated but relevant:
Last night, E and I had a friendly wager on the outcome of our bowling adventure. In the first game, I was crushed by over 50 points. However, in the second round, on a double or nothing wager, I lost by only 2 points. This would have been devastating had E not arrogantly given me 10 points-- meaning I covered the spread and beat him at his own game. Victory!

Challege Day 2: Christmas Shopping

E and I spent the day downtown shopping for Christmas gifts. How I miss living downtown. He wagered that before entering our second store, I would be completely annoyed with crowds and lose my cool. I am proud to announce that I shocked him by making it to four stores before spiraling down into grumpiness. Although, I knew as I entered the going-out-of-business Borders that the mass of people crowding into a hot store for their chance at cheap books was going to put me over the limit. Plus, that particular Borders must not believe in air conditioning because it is always insanely warm in there. My advice for any Borders shoppers is to avoid standing near the computers. People assume that if you are using one that you must work there. I politely told 5 different customers that I was just a shopper. Actually, by the fifth person, I wasn't being quite as polite. We did get some great new comics for 40% off. So, I guess it was worth it.

I am also excited that I found gifts for over half of the people on my list. I hate being a last minute shopper, but I usually am. This year, I am breaking the trend and hope to be completely done by the 20th. I like to set arbitrary goals for myself. It then gives me a feeling of accomplishment when I meet them.

Tonight, E and I will be bowling at his department's holiday get together. The smack talking has already started.

New Challenge

I have been working on blogs projects with my students. After a short lesson on blogs and a crash-course on iWeb, they are now making blogs for the characters in The Outsiders.  I have been trying to encourage them to write frequently and I think learning about blogs may provide them a platform to do so. I, however, feel like a total hypocrite. Looking back at my postings and the dates in my physical journal, they are spotty to say the least. So, starting today, I am issuing myself a 10-day challenge to write every day. I could cite all of the research I have been looking at that explains the benefits of daily writing and/ or reflecting, but I will spare all 5 of my readers the trouble.

Challenge Day 1: Becoming a Cat Person?
I used to like cats as a child. I was terribly allergic, to the point of asthma attacks, but I enjoyed being around them and having one as a pet. Somewhere in my adolescence, I began to hate them and became "dog person." Perhaps it was because my dad's mountain-lion-size cat, Sam, frequently sank his giant teeth into my leg for not petting him on command. Perhaps it was because my grandmother's cat would sit on top of the fridge and threaten to pounce if I tried to get a glass of milk. Or perhaps it was because of the neighborhood cats that would poop in my herb garden. In any case, I am just much happier being around dogs.

When E told me that we would be house-sitting for some people who had a cat, I was a bit hesitant but I am a good sport. I must say, to my own surprise, that I have fallen in love with an old tortoiseshell named Detelina. True, my eyes get a bit puffy and I have trouble breathing through my nose when I come into contact with any furniture she has been on, but she is so sweet. She loves to cuddle and, at night, she burrows down into the covers and sleeps against my legs (thankfully far away from my face). She has a great disposition and doesn't even try to bite or claw me! We are staying with her for another few days and I am already sad about leaving.

Is it possible that I am really becoming a cat person or am I just getting desperate for a pet?

In other news, I will soon be starting a new blog segment called WAGS (Wives and Girlfriends) Against Bad Unis. Being married to the sports-obsessed man that I am, I spend a lot of time watching EPSN. We watch all the sports (I really mean all of them) as well as shows where other people talk about the sports we just watched. Sometimes, we even listen to podcasts of people talking about the sports and the shows of people talking about sports. Inevitably, my attention gravitates to the uniforms. It's hard not to notice them, honestly. There are just so may bad ones out there.

Be on the lookout for the first installment of WAGS Agaist Bad Unis: Butt Sweat.

Chocolate Mint Cupcakes

I love Gordon Ramsay, and although his new show Master Chef is terrible, I watch it because he is in it. Yesterday, after watching the cupcake challenge episode, I felt inspired to comb through my cupcake books and try a new recipe. (It also helps to know that I am currently on a 5-day Labor Day weekend and can finally get to some of the items on my fun to-do list.)

I found a recipe in one of my books for After Eight cupcakes which have a very dense, but not super sweet chocolate cake with a mint butter cream frosting. 

I am not sure if I think the color of the frosting makes it more or less appetizing. I think that perhaps I put too much frosting on my cupcakes because I always have to scrape the bowl for the last one. Cupcake recipes never have the correct cake to frosting ratio in my opinion.

So Jealous

As a child, one of my favorite movies was The Little Mermaid. My sister and I would have contests in the pool to see who could best swim like a mermaid; the winner got to pretend to be Ariel and the loser was a nameless mermaid friend or sister. I constantly sang the songs from the movie around the house, to my family's annoyance. However, I think what most captivated me was the ability of the animators to draw sparkles. I practiced hours upon hours, trying to draw sparkles, specifically the sparkly dress that Ariel wears at the end of the movie. 

I love that dress and have always wanted a pale sparkly dress all my own. To this day, I have yet to master the art of sparkle drawing and do not own a sparkly dress.

All of these memories resurfaced the other day when I was watching the Emmy Awards.  I am watching Ryan and Julianna's painfully awkward red-carpet coverage and what did I see...

Claire Danes in a Ariel-esque sparkly dress!  I would never wear that dress; I don't think I will ever go anywhere that requires such formal attire but I still want it! Although, I like Claire Danes much more now. I imagine that she also loves The Little Mermaid and chose that dress for the same reasons that I would have.

It has been too long...

Last week I started my first student teaching placement. I am currently in an 11th grade English Language Arts class. My cooperating teacher is very nice and I am excited about this part of my program. I am, however, a little scared of the 37 students in the class who are all taller than me and look at me like they hate me. I choose to not take that last part personally since it is first period and I assume they are mad that they have to be at school...not at me. I taught my first little snippet of a lesson the other day.  If any of you are interested in a graphic organizer illustrating how noun categories overlap, you know who to call.

In other exciting news, I made an impromptu trip to L.A.'s Fashion District in search of wedding supplies and discovered that they have so much cheap stuff! I found ties for the groomsmen in the perfect shade of yellow for $5. (This was a huge victory because I had been searching everywhere but all the yellow ties were too gold or too buttercup.) I also found a really cute hair piece for me for about 75% less than what I would have paid for it retail.

Countdown to wedding: 36 days!

Treasures from the Renegade Craft Fair

What a perfect Southern California day!  We went to Los Angeles today for the Renegade Craft Fair.  We started with a little basketball at Venice Beach.  Well, Ethan played basketball; I saw a group of people dressed as zombies dancing down the boardwalk to "Thriller" and talked to a homeless man who looked like Robert Downey Jr. and was wearing women's skirts (plural) and thigh high socks. 

We then ventured over to the craft fair with some of our friends.  The weather was perfect, the crafts were amazing and our picnic was delicious.  Last year I found this great Darth Vader Pez linoprint (below).

Keeping with the Star Wars theme, this year, I found another great print.  Jose from Mis Nopales Art creates caricatures of famous people as Dia de los Muertos calaveras.  Below is the print I purchased.  He also has a Han and Leia design but sadly sold out of a prints a while ago.  You should check out his Etsy shop; he has some awesome stuff!

Status Report

1. I am sunburned from my fun weekend in Oceanside.

2. There are many overdue items on my wedding to-do list.

3. I have been in school for a whole week now and feel tired a lot.  I haven't been in student mode for a while.

4. I can't stop listening to Justin Bieber's "Baby." I now know all the lyrics by heart. What can I say, it gets me pumped for number 3 above.

5. I am unbelievably excited for the Renegade Craft Fair, Los Angeles in exactly 7 days!

Becky v. The Radio

Several years ago, Ethan had an XM radio receiver and an AUX port installed in my car as a birthday present.  I am sure this was mostly because he was tired of hearing me complain about the lack of country radio stations in Los Angeles.  The XM player, until recently, has been great and the AUX port even better.  I have more radio stations than I could ever want AND I can listen to my iPod in the car.  However, these luxuries came at the price of regular AM/ FM radio.  I was sure that the people who installed it had made a mistake but I was so content with my new setup that I kept forgetting to take it back in. Months passed and it was too late to have them fix it for free and I just accepted the fact that I would no longer have regular radio.  At the time, I didn't really care.

That was before XM radio started broadcasting commercials as often as regular, free, radio and before they started using programs with annoying DJs.  I prefer to have my morning radio free of the call-in-and-tell-us-your-most-embarrassing-sex-story hour. As irritating as my satellite radio has become, I love some of their stations too much to cancel it.  I slowly started wishing I had the option of just listening to regular FM radio every now and then.

My radio frustration came to a peak today when I realized that I would not be able to go to the Toy Story 3/ Eclipse double feature at the new drive-in because they broadcast the audio for the movies over an FM station.  I went out to my car and tried removing the XM receiver and antennae but still no radio.  I decided I needed to be a bit aggressive and removed part of the dashboard and stereo box (carefully documenting each step so that I could put my car back together).  I found a cable dangling behind some wires and a matching port on the back of the stereo box.  I plugged the cable into the box, turned the key in the ignition and prayed that I was not about to short circuit the whole car.  To my amazement, the radio came blasting on and was able to successfully scan the local stations.  I can now listen to XM radio, AM/ FM radio, my iPod, and more importantly, Edward Cullen's beautiful voice at the drive-in tonight!
 
I realize that I merely plugged in a cable but I feel like a genius right now.  So much so, that I am not even irritated that my water is turned off until 5pm tonight.

After a 4 year battle, victory is mine!

Disneyland!

Disney's California Adventure has launched its new attraction, the Wonderful World of Color.  It is an amazing new show where movie clips are projected onto GIANT sheets of water/ mist.  Throughout the program, they also shoot colored jets of water (and fire) hundreds of feet into the air to various movie scores.  I saw this as a perfect opportunity to play with some of the fancy features on my new-ish camera. Thankfully Ethan's aunt was there to help me since I had no idea what I was doing.  I quickly learned that night shooting is quite difficult.

As it got darker and the show lights got brighter, I had a hard time getting the camera to focus (it is just a point-and-shoot after all).  I played with the ISO a bit and the exposure values and white balance, etc.  Finally, I was able to get few pretty good shots (although far less exciting as the amazing shots Ethan's aunt was getting on her paparazzi camera).

You will have to pardon the giant head in the bottom of the picture.  It is hard to take pictures when you are a foot shorter than all the people around you.

Here is a shot of the giant water jets. To be in front of all of the arches and sound equipment you have to line up about an hour before the show starts.  Since there is no place to sit, we opted to for a later arrival.  I don't love the obstructed view but the silhouettes do add a little contrast. 

It is a little hard to make out the images, but this was a scene from The Little Mermaid. 

At the end of the show, all of Paradise Pier is illuminated and they leave the water jets on (low).  I wish my camera took panoramic shots; there is even more to the right. 

I love Disneyland and miss being an annual pass holder.  I especially missed that perk when I found an awesome Wonderful World of Color shirt that was an AP exclusive.  They wouldn't let me buy it which of course made me want it even more! 

It's the (second) Most Wonderful Time of the Year

First things first, I have slacked on the blog postings.  I try to post about once a week, but I think it has been about three or four since my last post.  Right as the school year came to an end, I found out that I got accepted to the teacher prep. program I applied to AND that I was offered student housing.  Student housing is in Goleta, not nearly as cute and charming as downtown SB but significantly cheaper and closer to campus.  To take advantage of this opportunity, I had to move in June 16th (still in the process).  So, for you loyal few who read this, I apologize for my absence.

While packing, I came across this photo from one of my family's many summer camping trips. (Note my hair, hiking boots and awesome killer whale shirt with the airbrushed effect).  It started making me feel very nostalgic...

While some families (like Ethan's) went to Disneyland and spent weeks lying on sandy beaches and boogie boarding, my family went on camping trips through northern California, Oregon, Washington and even British Colombia, Canada. We would go fishing (as you can see from the picture, we were pretty good), ride our bikes through the campground, hike, pick berries, catch lizards, inner-tube down rivers, whittle sticks into pointier sticks, make campfires and get absolutely filthy. 

I love summers... such fun memories...

Proof of My Black Thumb

I have been watering and tending to my garden every day and my lettuce is still dying.  It could be because Santa Barbara is experiencing hurricane force winds and we had a two day heat wave right after I planted.  However, it is more likely that I just suck at gardening. 

But there's hope...

Ol' McBrewer Had a Farm

As much as I love the idea of gardening, growing my own vegetables, surrounding myself with beautiful flowers, etc., I do not exactly have a green thumb.  I usually draft a great garden plan, buy lots of seeds and starters, force Ethan to spend a day preparing the garden and planting only to have all of my plants die a few weeks later.  Sometimes they die because cats or raccoons trample the, but most of the time they die because I forget to water them.  Working with children, I have learned the power of incentives and rewards.  So, I am trying it on myself.  If I can keep my new garden alive for 2 months, I will expand and add berries (I really want berries), when I get to 6 months, I am going to buy this really awesome urban composting kit and at the 1 year marker, I am getting a rain barrel.  May I present, the new vegetable garden....drum-roll please...

Since the area I wanted to use has very bad soil- or rather clay- and even worse drainage, I decided to try a raised bed this time.  I had some old wood lying around from a worthless bookshelf I purchased and decided to repurpose it for my raised bed.  I got some metal brackets, screws, washers, hex nuts, potting soil, and plastic liner at Home Depot and voila...a new home for my veggies. So far, I have baby lettuce and a cucumber in the planter. I purchased some seeds but didn't want to risk them being smashed by animals and am starting them indoors in some recycled aluminum cans.

Hopefully, I will soon be able to add romaine lettuce, eggplant, dill and basil to my box of tasty goodness.


**Credit for the title of this entry goes to my childhood friend Leslie Austin who created that song (and sang it at school) upon learning my family had sheep, goats, chickens, etc.  I still insist that I did not grow up on a farm.**

My Friend Bodhi the Dog

I REALLY want a dog. I am currently petitioning my landlord for permission and she is "thinking about it."  I am sure that she, like most people, uses that phrase to delay a rejection.  I am, however, trying to stay positive until I get a definite answer.

My fiance frequently dog-sits for a few of the people in his department and we get to pretend that we have a dog, if only for a short period of time.  It is great.  We go on long walks to the pier and the harbor.  We go hiking.  We play frisbee at the beach and play in the water. 

Today, Ethan had Bodhi and they met me at a nearby park for lunch.  I feel so refeshed for the rest of my day now.  Below are some of my favorite pictures of our adventures with Bodhi.

I love this one becuase it looks like a lost shot from the sound of music. 

Great action shot.  He is an AMAZING athlete and truly excells at frisbee but he hasn't leanred to bring the frisbee all the way back to you.  There is a little fetching for the thrower too...

How can you not love that face!

That's Amore!

Today was my first attempt at homemade pasta; I have been meaning to try this for a while now. It took a few hours but it was fun and tasty. 

 First, I gathered all the ingredients and setup the pasta machine.

Then, I made the pasta dough.  You have to slowly incorporate the flour into the pool of eggs in the center.  This is much harder than it sounds.  In spite of my constant kneading, the dough stayed pretty flaky.

You can see the flaky texture of the dough.  Also, it was very tough and hard to knead.  Once it is mixed it has to be wrapped in cling-wrap and let set at room temperature for 30 minutes.  It was much more cohesive after that and it had a more elastic quality.

Finally, the fun part! The dough has to be divided and rolled through the machine about 20-30 times (at different roller widths) to make long thin sheets.

The sheets are then passed through the noddle cutters and out comes fettuccine.

I found a great recipe on Epicurious.com (originally from Gourmet Magazine) for a pancetta and sun dried tomato cream sauce to showcase my homemade fettuccine.  At last, it was time to eat!  A little garlic bread...a little Pinot...yum...

My pasta making skills need some work but it was a good first try.  I feel so gourmet.  Maybe my skills will improve enough to impress my Italian in-laws. 

Kids say the darndest things

I think the thing I love most about working with junior high age students is their insatiable curiosity.  It is impossible to prepare for the questions I am asked each day.  I have been collecting student quotes and questions since the beginning of the year.  Below are a few of my favorites. 

1. You know how sometimes men dress like women...do they want to be called 'he' or 'she'?

2. In your opinion, if President Bush had not been president, do you think we would have still been attacked on September 11th?

3. Have you heard of this band called 'KISS'?

4. Is there a rule that says you have to shave your armpits?

5. If are pregnant with twins how many placentas do you have?


Their fresh minds make me smile.