Music is Good for the Soul

On Monday I had a ton of organizational type work to do at school and I cranked up my mp3 player and got down to it. There is something so utterly liberating to be alone in a building and to have the music blasting and to SING ALONG and know that no one is listening... no neighbors are clutching their ears and cursing the thin walls... And sometimes I felt such joy in that wild abandon that I found myself unable to keep from dancing like... well, like no one was watching. :)

Here are a couple of the songs that brought on the groove.

Go Bears!

This was a fun football weekend. Like a crazy fool I watched all four games after hooking up my TV's antenna & digital conversion box. I didn't realize how much I missed my NFL until I started watching again. I was having Hollywood Video fantasy football flashbacks and was wishing I could be serving up some trash talk to my pal, Rick! This will be a good year for a super bowl party, I think. Fingers crossed it will be the Bears and some team they can easily beat. I'm pretty sure I have a few friends who would be over the moon happy with that. Go Bears!

The Golden Globes

I am usually much more on top of the whole film scene. Year by year, my ability to keep up with current films depreciates. Still, it wouldn't be right to ignore the Golden Globes this weekend, despite the fact that I've seen a mere handful of the films--literally FIVE of the films and three of them were animated. One of my new year's resolutions is to go easy on myself. Keeping up with the latest new movie should not a race, a competition, or even a reasonable goal, really. That said, here are the film nominees. I rarely get too excited about the TV portion and am focused mainly on the GGs as a preview to the Academy Awards, my favorite award show of the year. (films I've seen are highlighted in red--I don't pretend to have a clue who will win)

Best Motion Picture - Drama
Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The King's Speech
The Social Network

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama
Halle Berry – Frankie and Alice
Nicole Kidman – Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence – Winter's Bone
Natalie Portman – Black Swan
Michelle Williams – Blue Valentine

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama
Jesse Eisenberg – The Social Network
Colin Firth – The King's Speech
James Franco – 127 Hours
Ryan Gosling – Blue Valentine
Mark Wahlberg – The Fighter

Best Motion Picture - Comedy Or Musical
Alice in Wonderland
Burlesque
The Kids Are All Right
Red
The Tourist

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy Or Musical
Annette Bening – The Kids Are All Right
Anne Hathaway – Love And Other Drugs
Angelina Jolie – The Tourist
Julianne Moore – The Kids Are All Right
Emma Stone – Easy A

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy Or Musical
Johnny Depp – Alice in Wonderland
Johnny Depp – The Tourist
Paul Giamatti – Barney's Version
Jake Gyllenhaal – Love And Other Drugs
Kevin Spacey – Casino Jack

Best Performance by an Actress In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Amy Adams – The Fighter
Helena Bonham Carter – The King's Speech
Mila Kunis – Black Swan
Melissa Leo – The Fighter
Jacki Weaver – Animal Kingdom

Best Performance by an Actor In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Christian Bale – The Fighter
Michael Douglas – Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps
Andrew Garfield – The Social Network
Jeremy Renner – The Town
Geoffrey Rush – The King's Speech

Best Animated Feature Film
Despicable Me
How To Train Your Dragon
The Illusionist
Tangled Toy Story 3

Best Foreign Language Film
Biutiful (Mexico, Spain)
The Concert (France)
The Edge (Russia)
I Am Love (Italy)
In A Better World (Denmark)

Best Director - Motion Picture
Darren Aronofsky – Black Swan
David Fincher – The Social Network
Tom Hooper – The King's Speech
Christopher Nolan – Inception
David O. Russell – The Fighter

Best Screenplay - Motion Picture
Simon Beaufoy, Danny Boyle - 127 Hours
Christopher Nolan - Inception
Stuart Blumberg, Lisa Cholodenko - The Kids Are All Right
David Seidler - The King's Speech
Aaron Sorkin - The Social Network

Best Original Score - Motion Picture
Alexandre Desplat - The King's Speech
Danny Elfman - Alice in Wonderland
A. R. Rahman - 127 Hours
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross - The Social Network
Hans Zimmer - Inception

Best Original Song - Motion Picture
"Bound To You" – Burlesque
Music By: Samuel Dixon
Lyrics By: Christina Aguilera and Sia Furler

"Coming Home" – Country Strong
Music & Lyrics By: Bob DiPiero, Tom Douglas, Hillary Lindsey and Troy Verges

"I See The Light" – Tangled Music By: Alan Menken Lyrics By: Glenn Slater

"There's A Place For Us" – Chronicles Of Narnia: The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader
Music & Lyrics By: Hillary Lindsey, Carrie Underwood and David Hodges

"You Haven't Seen The Last Of Me" – Burlesque
Music & Lyrics By: Diane Warren

Vacation Day Four-Twelve -- Mission NOT Accomplished

And then vacation got busy and my reading dwindled...

Oops. I should have known. I did manage to read five books during break:

Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld
Escape! The Story of the Great Houdini by Paul Fleischman
Once Upon a Time in the North by Philip Pullman (audiobook)
White Cat by Holly Black (audiobook)
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

I really enjoyed all of them. During break I started three others:
My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell
Moominpapa at Sea by Tove Jansson
Does Anybody Have a Problem with That? by Bill Maher

While I've still not completed any of those I did take a brief break and read Ender's Game for my RRVWP book club and really enjoyed it. I am hopeful that I'll get back to these three again soon since I am also determined to read Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout in the next few days before the Great Reads Book Club at the library next week.

Already January is half done and I managed to pick up another fine stack of tantalizing books when I was at Half Price Books in the Twin Cities over Christmas break.

Vacation Day Three... Audiobooks

Merry Christmas!

Today my sister and I drove to see my dad for the afternoon and I was thrilled to discover her willingness to listen to a book. Since I was equally excited about all the choices I'd picked up at the library for my holiday, I let her pick.

First we listened to the full cast recording of Once Upon a Time in the North by Philip Pullman -- a prequel to The Golden Compass. The main character was Lee Scorsby and in this episode we also get our first glimpse of the armored bears-- Yorick Bernison, in particular.



Then on the drive home we started White Cat by Holly Black. This is a young adult story of a boy named Cassel whose family is full of "curse workers." So, I guess you'd call this part of the fantasy genre too. We got nearly to the halfway point and as I am packing for my trip to The Cities tomorrow I hope to hear the rest of it. Perhaps my pal, Rebecca and I will listen to another one on the drive there--I have some other gems picked out.

What's been particularly fun this holiday break is seeing my sister devouring books via her kindle. In fact, when she got home she downloaded White Cat on audio so she could continue to listen to the story at home. It's fun to have people who share my enthusiasm for books and reading.

Vacation Day Two... More Books!

Well, Behemoth is done and as satisfying as it could be with its unresolved ending. I do love the Steampunk genre and this book's alternate history (set in a version of WW I). The Darwinists and the Clankers, the Beasties and the Stormwalkers are actually a lot of fun for the likes of me.

I've finished my Houdini book too and I can wholeheartedly say that I love the juvenile nonfiction genre tremendously. Or perhaps it's just Fleishman whom I admire. For a girl who thirsts for knowledge the book serves up just enough to whet the appetite and then if I can't resist I can always dig deeper. I've had similar experiences with the Catherine Gourley volumes on "Images and Issues of Women in the Twentieth Century" and Elizabeth Partridge's fantastic biography of Woody Guthrie. As a wee Christmas present to myself I did indulge in another Sid Fleishman biography -- Sir Charlie, but that is for another day.

Today's a day for multiple volumes and possibly no finishes as there is this thing called Christmas Eve happening at my mom's tonight.

Today I officially started the following books:
Let it Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle
Moominpapa at Sea by Tove Jansson
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

Vacation--Day One, Book One

A few weeks ago I planned to take on the challenge of reading a book a day over Christmas vacation. Then I started planning some reading choices. Well, I'm already behind before I begin because I'm in the MIDDLE of a book I was going to read for the challenge. Will I put it aside to pursue today's daily book? I'm afraid I just can't do that. Instead I will not take this challenge so literally as to assume I will complete a book a day each day... and instead aim for a grand total of 12 (or 13 since I'd already started Behemoth before the challenge). I am a fan of reading a multitude of books at once anyway.

I'm currently reading Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld














and today's read in my #bookaday challenge is ...

Escape! The Story of The Great Houdini by Sid Fleischman

Wordless Wednesday -- The Christmas Edition

Free printables here at Craftily Every After

Happy Solstice.

I have a fascination with the equinoxes and solstices. I'm a time oriented girl who operates on many schedules and calendars -- the school year, the fiscal year, the passage of the moon and the broader calendar nature provides with the equinox and the solstice.

Those happy seasonal landmarks draw nearer the days I'm longing for or grant me the satisfaction of knowing that I'm saying goodbye to the days I want to be done with. The winter solstice smacks of the latter. I find that dark mornings make it increasingly difficult to leave the shelter of my cozy bed and I crave morning sunlight. What's funny is that Dec. 21st is the first day of winter, but for me it's a reminder that each day's dose of sunshine increases from that point forward. The Winter Solstice reminds me that spring is coming...nearer and nearer every day and that seems like a reason to celebrate.

Why Kids Are Fun

I'm suddenly cool because I can sort of draw a tree waiting to be decorated.

I feel like a commissioned artist when my "little director"
is shouting now blue, now green.
Make a yellow one for my mom!

My tea bag dish repurposed

Taste is a Curious Thing

I just discovered Taste Test Etsy via Swiss Miss. If you love Etsy, which I do, you might agree that it's a bit overwhelming with all its awesomeness. Tons of choices. Tons of fantastic products. Well, Taste Etsy determines your particular "taste" based on choices you make between different groupings of items.

I actually think they might be on to something because this little black polka-dotted briefcase was among the items Etsy recommended to me, based on my taste and they were right on. You can buy this for me here! :)

How Do You Know

How Do You Know (2010)

For the first time in a long time I saw a movie on its opening day and I really enjoyed it. How Do You Know's star-studded cast was only one level of appeal. The writing was great, which translates--somewhat quirky and unpredictable. Ebert didn't love it, but I thought it was 3.5 stars at least. I realize it's a bit shallow but there are such gems in the film that I forgive its weaknesses. Lisa's (Witherspoon) reference to Bambi, George (Rud) literally running away from bad news, Matty's (Wilson) unbelievable apartment fully stocked with all the amenities of the one night stand and the scene at the hospital. Watch it. See if you agree. If you, like me, have been waiting for a romantic comedy worthy of the Nora Ephron legacy this one comes close.

Thai Today, Gone Tomorrow?

Demers and Philadelphia Sushi Rolls

Recently a new Thai restaurant opened in my area. For months, the rumors had been circulating, but I wasn't sure when or where it would appear. I've been eagerly awaiting its arrival and was even more excited to learn that it came with yummy sushi options too. Little Bangkok & Wasabi is on the corner across the street from Cabela's in East Grand Forks and my heart sank a little when I saw the location. It's the Bermuda triangle in the restaurant circuit. I think we've seen an Irish Pub, an Italian restaurant, and something else too all reside in that location for a brief time before poof it closes its doors for good or gives way to something new. Now, I may be wrong on this, but I think this new restaurant is a branch of the successful Fargo Thai places: Drunken Noodle, Thai Orchid, Wasabi.

Pad Thai

My first visit was two weeks ago and I had pad Thai and shared a rainbow sushi platter with my pal, Anna. This time I ordered the basil stir fry with chicken and I shared some sushi--one sushi roll from the regular (Philadelphia) and one from the deluxe (Demers Ave). Both times I had a small garden salad (mainly iceberg lettuce) but the ginger salad dressing? To die for. Tonight, we made the meal complete with some heavenly coconut ice cream. Yum!

Basil Stir Fry with Chicken

Coconut Ice Cream

Tonight was my second trip and I suspect I'll need to keep working my way through the menu. I hope this place sticks around long enough for me to do that!

P.S. Rumor has it we'll have an Iraqi place called Babylon down the street from The Toasted Frog. Yum! Things are looking up!

Never the Same Day Twice

Teaching has its extremes. Some days pure joy. Other days, well, not so much. After 15 years I thought I'd seen it all, but this year keeps proving me wrong at every turn. In one week, I've been accused of "giving up on a student" by a frustrated parent and then I've also had a colleague tell me she met a former student of mine now living in Minneapolis who said I "changed her life" and I think she meant for the better. Two summers ago in one of my gardening moments I caught up with a former student who said I was the person who "got her reading for fun" and that she reads all the time now. Of course, I have a few who are doing time for all sorts of sad crimes. I wish I knew where more of my students ended up or in what ways I influenced them for good or taught them useful things like when to use it's and its... One boy admitted that was the one thing he learned in my class. Thanks, Kiah. Well, it's something, eh?

One thing can be said for teaching. It's never the same day twice. I have a dynamic job with unique challenges and I get to be a "teacher/parent/social worker/mentor" 185+ days a year and my "kids" never really age. I just keep dealing with that same sophomoric behavior and can't figure out why they can't figure it out... Hmmm... perhaps because it's a fresh crop of kiddos every fall! Forget the challenges for a minute and ponder these gems--moments that made me grin from ear to ear this week.

Two spelling errors made by two different students:
S. Cargo (Escargot)
Hycute (Haiku)

And today?
Today I watched a 5 month old baby kangaroo hop around in the hallway at school. He was wearing a diaper with a little hole cut out for his tail. A former student whose family has a small petting zoo brought this little guy in for the teachers to see.

He's tucked up in his "pouch."

Wordless Wednesday