Wish List!

Danielle posted her wish list last week mostly using pictures, which I thought was pretty neat, so I decided to post one, too! All of my lovely wishes can be purchased on my favoritest website of the moment, Etsy.

I love how delicate and romantic this necklace is. :)

 

I fell in love with this dress when I saw it on Etsy because it reminded me of the dresses Zooey Deschanel wore in "500 Days of Summer." I would love to wear it on a date with le boyf (as soon as this cold weather goes bye-bye, of course).

Such a cute purse! I love how vintage it looks. The price is pretty reasonable, so I might snatch it up next paycheck. (:

This shirt is too cute. I've been on such a Star Wars high lately, plus I like the Mexican Dia de los Muertos style imagery they're going for here, so this shirt is right up my alley at the moment.

This bag is by the same person who designed the Star Wars shirt above, in case you couldn't tell. Like much of their products, it's quirky and cute all in one. I'd probably use this bag to lug my papers to and from work.

Got a wish list you'd like to share with me? Post it on your blog and leave me the link in the comments! :)

Happy Friday!

Happy Friday, dear bloggy friends! As I wrote in my Facebook status a few minutes ago, I have absolutely nothing planned for this weekend and I'm absolutely okay with that. I just want to SLEEP.

I know that I've neglected this here blog all this week. Want to know why? Here, I'll show you:

Yep, the Olympics has been pretty much sucking up all of my time these past two weeks. I'll watch anything -- skiing, hockey, speed skating, heck I'll even watch curling. But my absolute favorite Winter Olympic sport is figure skating.

Last night was the ladies' final figure skating program, and the girl I was rooting for, Kim Yu-na of Korea, won! So happy for her. I just think she was the best skater out of the bunch, and she combines grace with skill in a way that is truly gold medal worthy.

I think the girls who earned 2nd and 3rd place deserved their medals, too, especially Joannie Rochette of Canada, who got the bronze. If you didn't know, her mother passed away last weekend, and she had to make the heartbreaking decision over whether or not to compete in the Olympics. She decided to compete in the end, and I admire her so much for it. You could see the emotion welling up in her last night, both when she completed her program and when she received her bronze medal. I felt my eyes welling up in sympathy, watching her. If there's such a thing as heaven (and I hope there is), I'm sure her mother was smiling down at her last night.

As fun as the Winter Olympics have been, I'll be relieved to resume a more normal sleeping pattern next week! Going to sleep past midnight almost every night has been killer.

When I wasn't watching the Olympics this past week, I was reading The Hunger Games, The Swan Thieves, and Eat, Love, Pray. (All three are great -- click on the individual titles to learn more.) And when I wasn't reading, I was grading my students' work. I've been very industrious this past month as far as my work goes. Earlier this school year, I was having issues grading and planning for the three preps I teach: English III (for FCAT retakers), AP English Language, and SAT/ACT Verbal. And the more stressed I got, the more I just let the work pile up in frustration, which of course would only stress me out more. It was a vicious cycle! But I finally found a way to break free, and I'm so much happier for it. What's my secret? It's so simple, it's almost silly -- just divvy the work up and do it in stages. One day I'll grade just English III work, the next day I'll just grade AP English Language, and I'll save SAT/ACT Verbal for the third day. It's been working fabulously for me thus far.

Well, before I close, I'll leave you with my answers for this week's Fill in the Blank series. If you want to play along, just make sure you link back to Lauren's post!

1.  When I'm nervous I bite or tear at my nails. Not good for my manicure!

2.  My favorite item in my closet is  my purple flats. They are super comfy and super cute, so it's a win-win. (Go here to see them.)

3.  Listening to music is my favorite thing to do when I need to relax.

4.  My favorite childhood memory is  spending the summer at the beach with my family and cousins -- we used to spend two weeks staying at a hotel in Miami Beach, just soaking up the sun and relaxing. I miss that!

5.  Something you may not know about me is that I don't drive -- in fact, I hate driving and can't wait to move somewhere with decent public transportation .

6.  A true friend  will share both tears and laughs with you .

7.  Something I hope people think of when they think of me is that I am kind. This is a trait I value highly in others and try to emulate in my own life .

 

 Have an awesome weekend! :-)

Tune in Tuesday! {Neko Case}

I first heard of Neko Case thanks to my boyfriend. Every new band I know and love is thanks in large part to my boyfriend, who not only has great musical taste but also happens to have the best luck when it comes to finding great new artists.

So he mentions this awesome new band one day, and they have a really funny name -- they're called The New Pornographers. I am of course dubious as hell. I mean, that is one funny band name, right? But then he plays them for me, and oh my God, I lurve them and need them in my iPod now.

But this week's Tune in Tuesday is not about The New Pornographers. It's about one of the singers in the band, Neko Case. The band is composed of many different singers who have their own projects but come together every so often to play under that ridunkulous moniker, but the one whose voice always stays with me is Neko Case. Her voice is somewhere between the throaty warble of a country singer and the sweetness of a bluebird. She can hit notes that I had no idea existed, and her lyrics will break your heart.

Her song below, "This Tornado Loves You," is probably my all-time favorite song of hers. I hope you enjoy it! Please don't forget to tell me what you are listening to in the comments. :) Oh, and if you want to learn more about Neko Case, visit her official site.

P.S.) It's been a blast coming up with new tunes to share with you every week, but I'm going to put this feature to rest, at least momentarily, because things are getting scary-busy at work. Who knows? This feature just might be revived in a future post, so stay tuned. :)

Lolcat of the Week

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

A cat after my English teacher's heart... I speak to my cats in complete sentences, and sometimes, I could almost swear they understand what I'm telling them. (It's a good thing cats can't talk back, though! Hehe.) 

Have a great week!

Happy Friday! That must mean it's fill-in-the-blank time. =)

Friday has never been more appreciated than today. SERIOUSLY. It's just been a crappy week, despite the fact that I had Monday off. I had an eye twitch that annoyed me and a migraine that haunted me like a pesky ghost. I had a student yell at me, which almost never happens. (I think she was just having a bad day.)

Despite the general crappiness of this week, some good things happened, too:

-> I learned who my new pen pal was (see Nicole's post on that to learn more), and it turns out she's a very cool girl by the name of Tam*Jam. You can check her out her most excellent blog here.

-> I read an awesome new book, The Hunger Games. I'm hooked and can't wait to buy the second part PLUS I just found out there's a third book coming out in August. If you haven't read it, do so!

-> I hung out with my boyf last night, and we ate pizza and and drank red wine (just a glass), and just relaxed. It was good. I needed that.

In fact, I think it was the hanging out with Ricky last night that finally got me to relax, that cured me of my eye twitch and my migraine. Last night I slept well -- about 8 hours worth, which is unheard of in my work week. I missed seeing the men's figure skating finals, which irks me because the one I was rooting for, Evan Lysacek, won. I wished I could've seen that! But oh well, at least I am well rested now and can properly enjoy my Friday night (and not fall asleep on my poor boyfriend -- do any of you do that, too, or am I turning into a granny before my time?!).

Before I close, here are my responses to Lauren's fill-in-the-blanks for this week. If you want to post your own, don't forget to link back to her!

1.  If I could medal in an Olympic event it would be  figure skating -- if only I were that graceful .

2.  If I was stranded on a deserted island I'd take  Ricky,  my journal, and my cat Tigger.

3.   Spiders  are my most irrational fear. (And the worst part is that they seem to follow me EVERYWHERE.)

4.  I'd rather clean everyday,  than   cook   everyday. Do you hear that, future husband? ;)

5.  I am  stoked that it's Friday -- looking forward to watching movies with le boyf and just relaxing.

6.  I should really be working on my master's thesis, but I can't seem to find the inspiration at the moment .

7.  One of my favorite things in all the world is   going on a road trip -- there's just something about the open road ahead of you and the feeling of disconnecting yourself from Real Life that is so intensely satisfying for me.

I hope you guys have an awesome weekend! Don't forget to say hello in the comments. :)

{photo cred: Casey}

Twitch.

So I've had this eye twitch since Monday, a little pulse under my right eye. Sometimes it comes and goes, other times it's consistent. Sometimes it comes with a headache, sometimes not. I've never had an eye twitch like this -- normally I have the jumpy kind of spasm that I can actually feel and that is more sporadic (and annoying) in nature. I can't feel this one, so it really wigs me out to look in the mirror and see it there. You can only see it if you're close to it, but still. DO NOT WANT. It makes me nervous every time I see it, like I'm developing a chronic neurological issue or something (hypochondria much?).

When I came home from work today and I still had the darn eye twitch, I decided to google the bad boy to see what might be to blame. And this is what I found:

Causes for eye twitches may include:

• stress
• lack of sleep
• caffeine
• eye strained induced by such activities as computer use

Um, ding times four?! I am four for four on this, people. Proof: 1.) I was stressed out yesterday when I had a minor altercation with a student, which of course messed up my whole day, even after the matter was resolved; 2.) I have not been sleeping that well this week (curse you, Winter Olympics! *shakes angry fist*); 3.) I have been abusing Starbucks; 4.) I have had contact lens issues, and as a result, have been forgoing use of them and squinting instead (because I hate wearing my glasses).

So clearly I know what I need to do -- give up caffeine, sleep more (aka watch less late night Olympics), wear my glasses, and oh yeah, don't freak out if my students misbehave (I'm sure the kids will looooove that last one.).

Speaking of the Winter Olympics, did you guys see the male skaters last night? I may or may not have a crush on the following American skater:

His name is Evan Lysacek and it's a platonic crush, so don't go rushing off to alert the boyf. I was just captivated with his skating last night. He showed so much passion -- you could really tell he was doing this for love of the sport, not for anything else. I hope he wins. Who are you rooting for and what are your favorite sports to watch in the Winter Olympics? I also love snow boarding and speed skating.

Okay, well I'm off to make some chamomile tea and take a nap. Hopefully that will cure my eye twitch. I notice I've gained some new followers -- please don't be shy! Come out and say hello. =)

Tune in Tuesday! {Camera Obscura}

 

I first heard about the band Camera Obscura from a fellow blogger, Lauren (the same Lauren from fill-in-the-blank Fridays). She raved about them on her blog and something about their album cover art just drew me in... so I decided to give them a listen, and to my very great surprise, I wound up loving them, as Lauren writes, "at first sound."

You know I'm a sucker for lyrics, being an English teacher/writer and all, and their lyrics are at once quirky and universal. Here is sample from the song "French Navy" :

You with your dietary restrictions
Said you loved me with a lot of conviction
I was waiting to be struck by lightning
Waiting for somebody exciting
Like you

They're a very new love for me, so I don't know that much about them other than they are from Scotland and have the most curious accents. I own their most recent album, My Maudlin Career, which I cannot stop listening to. It's one of those rare albums where every song is magical. They harmonize beautifully and remind me a bit of She&Him.

Here is the song that first turned me on to this band, "French Navy." Tell me what you think and let me know what you're listening to in the comments! :)

Don't forget to give me your recommendations for yesterday's blog post, What's in your makeup kit?