Indigo Robe

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Mum likes reading, decorating, shopping with the girls, and Starbucks. She also feels funny writing in the 3rd person. Papa (also known as Sparky) is currently looking at me with a blank stare having asked him to add something about himself to the blog. (Now he wants to say something) The only thing he loves more in life than music and Coke is his wife and kids. (Awww...) :) Little Lotte is a genius on the computer and makes me fall over laughing every day with her quick wit. She loves computers and animals. Sweet Pea abandoned her family and moved to Phoenix for work and is now married as of 2/28/06. She is beautiful and smart and the most nurturing person I know. She gave me the greatest gift ever when she made me a grandmother. I am the proud Mum Mum to Andrew Christopher. There are no words to describe the joy of having a grandson!

Thursday, January 25, 2007

I hate change

Blogger,

Thank you for letting me have a free blog on your dime but couldn't you have warned me about the changes I would encounter today as I signed in? YOU KNOW I hate change. I have had the same password since I started this blog because I don't want to change it. They changed our phones at work once (replaced the old ones with 9 buttons to one with 37 buttons) and I refused to touch, let alone answer the phone for 3 days. Most recently, our district has grown so much that our prefix has been changed as of last week - don't even get me started about having to memorize these three new digits.

This may be my last. post. ever. because I may never find my way back thru the maze of these wonderful changes that blogger has burdened me with. (Yeah, it's a preposition, wanna make something of it?)

I actually came here because I just heard Maury Povich congratulate a girl on not being a prostitute. Those were his exact words: "Congratulations for not being a prostitute!" How come no one ever congratulated me for not being a prostitute?

Maury should write greeting cards for Hallmark.

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

You Know a Lot About Blogging

You got 5/8 correct!

Your not a total blogging geek yet... give it time.

Kind of a snow day






Yesterday (Monday) had a 2 hour delay and no bus service so less than 100 students for BOTH schools! Each class had about 4 kids. I showed up at 10:00 and the parking lot was a large sheet of ice. We visited other classes and teachers. The only thing I had to do was go to District Office to watch the 1st graders. We put all 4 classes together (total = 27 kids!) and let them watch a movie. Enjoy the pictures!

Sunday, January 21, 2007

Snowy Day Part Two












The snow has now started to lay on the sidewalks and streets. I have never, ever seen this in Tucson! We have a snow advisory until 5:00 p.m. tomorrow. Could we actually have a SNOW DAY?!?! :-)

The Snowy Day In Tucson








IT IS SNOWING!!! IN TUCSON!!! I was SO made to live back east. Anyway, here are some pictures of our walk in the snow. I apologize to the parents who are being smothered right now with questions from the kids about whether or not we will have school tomorrow. When I read The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats to students on Friday and talked about how I had snow days as I child, I never dreamed it would snow here this weekend and make the students entertain thoughts of their own Snow Day!

Saturday, January 20, 2007

zzzzzzz

My leg is asleep.

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Funny AND Smart


I don't know why my family reads my blog when it is soooo much more amusing to read Little L's. (miaturner.blogspot.com)

I am copying her latest post for your enjoyment. AND DO NOT write to her about her spelling errors. She hears that from me all the time - but you know these young ones - it's internet speak so they don't care to correct spelling when it comes to computer journals. Sigh... what's a mama to do?

Enjoy....


Tuesday, January 16, 2007

What the song SHOULD have said...

You know, I was watching the original cartoon Charlotte's Web, and I noticed something at the beginning. Wilbur says his first word and then sings a song called "I can talk", full of the most insane adjectives, nouns, and verbs that even I, a senior in high school, watching a movie geared at little ones, don't understand. I felt kinda bad for E.B White, having just read the Annotated Charlotte's Web, and learning that White edited Wilbur's dialouge a LOT because only Charlotte was allowed to use big words and complicated prose.

Then I thought, dude, I wonder what he really is saying. And decided to dictionary.com everything and put the song the way the dictionary says it would go. I was surprised by some of it...

This is the original, with lengthy repetition of the chorus deleted; and I'll bet you don't know at least three of these words:

"I can talk!
I can talk!
I can actually, factually talk!

Isn't it great
That I articulate?
Isn't it grand
That you can understand?

I pop with perspicacity
I'm loaded with loquacity
My vocalized veracity is tops
Semantically each bit of me's
The verbalized epitome
My plethory of patter never stops!

It's wonderous and mystical
I'm hardly egotistical
Because of this linguistical aplomb
But speaking quite pragmatically
My self-esteem emphatically
Dramatically improved since I was dumb!"

And I love how after this song... near the end of the movie, this piece of dialouge goes on:

Charlotte: Of course I can lay eggs. I'm versitle.
Wilbur: What does versitile mean? Full of eggs?

Good job on the consitancy of Wilbur's verbal skills there, you guys...

So without further ado, the literal version of I Can Talk: (prepare to hold in boughts of laughter; I almost died at some of em; they don't fit at all.)

"I can talk!
I can talk!
I can actually, for reals, talk!

Isn't it great
That I utter clearly in distinct syllables?
Isn't it grand
That you can understand?

I pop with astute intelligence
I'm loaded with the state of being talkative
My outspoken conformity to truth is tops
In every sense of the word each bit of me's
The spoken representative or perfect example of a class or type
My not featured in the dictionary of repetitive tapping never stops!

It's wonderous and unearthly,
I'm hardly a big self-serving jerk,
Because of this language-related possesion
But speaking quite practically
My self-esteem with emphasis
Insanely improved since I was dumb!"

Someone was having fun with their new dictionary at Paramount apparently. Some of these don't even fit, dude... One word isn't even in the frikken dictionary. I wish my kid's first words would be that astute... And all the while I'm sure Charlotte is sitting on her web going "....WTF?"

Yes, I have too much time on my hands.

-Chi <3
posted by Mia Turner @ 9:58 PM 0 comments

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Wordly Cares Be Gone




Well, as you can tell from the previous post, Little L knows the password to my blogger account (It's important that she know my passwords because we all know that I am the most forgetful person on the planet) and she did indeed POWN me. That picture she posted of the cat cracked me up but mostly her post. She is truly the funniest person I know. She makes me laugh every single day. What a great kid!

I found it hard to wake up and go back to school - any break (we had off Monday) always messes with my rhythm and it's that much harder to get back into the flow but once I got going, all was well.

I am relaxing before dinner, reading and I found this lovely quote:

"A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul." ~ Goethe.

I must admit that my family's laughter is the sweetest music, their words to me are better than the finest poem, and seeing their smiling faces at the end of the day is the most beautiful thing in the world.

I don't know why I am so sentimental lately but I just can't help but gush about them. Not a day goes by that I am not moved by them in some way.

Ok, family - you can post comments about gagging now! :-) but I do love you! xo

Sunday, January 14, 2007

I BEEN PWNED


I'm sorry. I just realized what a terrible ruse it was to post embaressing pictures of my daughter for all to see, and admit that I indeed, am a bigger fradey-cat than her. I apoligize world, and will promptly send myself to time out for five minutes. Thank you.

Is anyone else scared to open the exploding biscuit packaging?





Little L : "What if someone is prone to anxiety attacks? Or has heart problems?"

Mama: Turns around from the computer.

Mama: See the can of biscuits in Little L's hand.

Mama: Laughs (smirks, really)

Little L : " Don't laugh at me!"

Mama: Follows Little L into the kitchen with the camera.

Little L: "What are you doing? You better not be taking pictures of this!!! Why are you taking pictures?"

Saturday, January 13, 2007

Saturday Night Update




So this week - recap: I went back to work on Monday and I was fine. By Tuesday I had a sore throat, ear aches, a headache, and a general all over feeling of illness. I was asleep each night from Tues - Thurs at 7:00 or 7:30 pm. I was drop dead exhausted. It finally dawned on Sparky and I that I had not been ill once during break. I had not been ill during any of my breaks. I think it's the room I work in. I work in the middle of a pod of an older, free standing building. We had serious mold problems a few years back and this particular building had the worst of the mold cases. We had a leak earlier this year and the tiles were not replaced and the leak was not properly fixed. I truly believe there is mold in that pod again. I told my principal and he said they are sending someone out to check it out. In the meantime, I took Friday off and slept in until 8:00 am and then was lazy all day. I felt much better by late afternoon.

Sweet Pea comes home from Hawaii tomorrow. I had a difficult time getting to sleep last night as I wanted to stay up until I knew she was safe. They did have a tsunami watch for their side of the island of Oahu. I called to check on everyone and they were taking turns staying awake and playing cards. The watch was lifted a little after 1 am my time so I was finally able to go to sleep. We talked this morning and they were headed out to the U.S.S. Arizona. Little L and I are hoping to visit her on Monday since we are off but Sparky has to work.

We finally got all the decorations for Christmas put away and the living room is slowly returning back to normal. We enjoyed playing some games with Little L tonight and I also got some winter decorations done in my dining room. Enjoy the pictures.

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Sweet Pea's finally updated her blog...


***Aloha!
My plane for Hawaii leaves in 5 hours and I haven't been to bed yet. It's 3 am. Which is both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, I hate getting up so early in the morning (5:30) on the other hand, if we sleep thru the plane ride, we'll wakeup in hawaii and we land around noon and might have an actual chance at functioning for a few hours post flight. I cn't wait to see if we make it thru the day concious ;-)

love you all!

Aloha!***


Don't you just hate people who (whine) post about their big problems such as we are LEAVING! FOR! HAWAII! in 5 hours and I HAVE! TO! SLEEP! Because I am GOING! TO! HAWAII!

Aloha, ba-loha.

Monday, January 08, 2007

Back to Work, Back to Reality


Well it wasn't too bad. I am experienced enough now to realize that the dreaded OHHHHHH I have to go to wooooorrrrkkk feelings only last a few hours and then I start teaching and it's fine. I had a good day. I told the kids I didn't feel like writing and asked if they agreed. They did. (Surprise!) So I explained that we should make a list of excuses for why we can't write and give them to the principal. I made them write 10 Excuses for why they can't write today. Yeah, I am wicked like that. I had 2nd graders filling up two sheets of paper. And the 4th graders? They were all over it. It was wickedly evil and genius all in one. :)

Tonight we are ordering pizza and wings from Chuy's (the only place in Tucson for wings) and watching the Ohio Buckeyes play. The person who packed our wings, as you can see from the picture, seemed to be happy to be back to work too as they put a little message on our wing box.

Tomorrow Sweet Pea leaves for a vacation to Hawaii! I hope she and Mr. Sweet Pea have a great time together!

This post is rather random again. I think it's time to say goodnight, Gracie.

Sunday, January 07, 2007

We're Back!




Gosh, I am so behind on all the writing/posting I wanted to do. But out of the past 10 days I have been in a hotel for 5 of those night! I think I mentioned that we had fun over New Year's Eve (will post more later) and that I then came home with Sparky on Monday night and drove up to Phx. to see Sweet Pea on Tues. We had a blast. We (wow, I had to stop and think and it was less than a week ago. I seriously think this blog is so when I am old and have Alzheimer's - I can actually remember or read about my great life!!! ) Anyway - uhhhh - we - went shopping? I think that's what we did. I am pretty sure. (Help me out here, Sweet Pea) and I do remember that we played Monopoly Here and Now that night and I won! I think it's the first time EVER for me to win Monopoly. I also played Wii. WHAT A BLAST! I am really not a video game person but I got to bowl, play tennis and golf and I loved it with the Wii.

The next day I do remember we went shopping but don't ask me where. It's still bugging me that I cannot remember where we went shopping the day before. Geesh. Anyway, we had fun. Visiting my Sweet Pea is ALWAYS fun and it's always sad to leave. Actually, I HATE leaving Sparky so it's bittersweet.

I came back on Wed. night and then spent the day Thursday running errands, cleaning, and getting ready to go back to San Diego to pick up Little L. We left on THursday and picked her up on Friday morning. She had SO much fun and claims she was not homesick once. IN fact, she was crying when I arrived because she had to leave her new friends. It really solidified for me that she is ready to leave the nest in the fall, should she so choose to abandon me, I mean, attend college. Haha. Anyway, we have TOOOONNNNNSSS of pics but I have to upload them. In the meantime, here are some more from the website.

Then we spent the day enjoying Sea World (cause the 7 days Little L was there were not enough) - No, we really stayed so she could talk about her week and it was wonderful! It was like paying for a behind the scenes guide! Loved every minute of it. I learned a lot and I learned some funny stuff too. I can see why she is so attached to the animals. She can name all of them (that have names) in the park, especially the Orcas. I also took her Sr. pictures while we were there. I will try to get them posted tomorrow as well but tomorrow is my first day back to work after 2 weeks off so it could be hairy. I many fall asleep at 7 pm. :)

Well, I have ADD obviously, from the ramblings of this post so I will stop!

For some reason, blogger won't accept the pics. Will try again later!

Here are some pics her Daddy took of her while she was posing for me for her Sr. pics!

Wednesday, January 03, 2007

more pictures posted






Little L continues to enjoy Career Camp. Here are some more photos to enjoy. My favorite is this first picture where she is sitting in front of the underwater viewing tank with her friends (that is her on the left - first one seated on the left) and the Orcas are lined up behind them in the tank. Really impressive how they can train the whales to stay there like that.

One time when we were there on a family trip, I had a personal experience with one of the whales there. It was late at night and the evening show was about to begin. There were 3 whales in the underwater viewing tank and they were swimming around in circles as we approached the glass. As the largest whale swam by, I stepped up to the glass really close and the whale did a LITERAL DOUBLE TAKE and backed up to me - and we looked at each other EYE TO EYE. Talk about freaky!!!! I was so in love - right then and there. And the whale just stayed there. People were rushing close to me and ohhhhing and ahhhing that it was just staring at me!!! It went around the tank again a few more times and kept stopping right in front of me! The show was about to begin so we went into the area to take our seats. When the show was over, we asked a trainer why that happened. They said they couldn't say but it does happen sometimes. They said sometimes the person looks like their favorite trainer and that attracts them. They said it could aslo be the color of my sweatshirt. I had on a dark blue with yellow NAU letters on it. Anyway, when the show was over, I HAD to go back down to the tank to see if my new friend was going to come say hello to me again. Well, there were only 2 in the tank and they were on the other side of the tank. I figured they would start swimming around in a circle as before. But then the WEIRDEST thing happened. The middle sized one cut across the tank and headed STRAIGHT FOR ME. I mean I thought it was literally going to hit it's nose on the tank glass!!! I scared me to death! I jumped back and it just stood there - face to face with me. Nose to nose. It was not the same one from earlier, it was smaller. Anyway, it seemed unhappy that I was there! Freaky, I tell ya! Our whole family remembers this whole event and we often talk about it.

Ok, I lost my way in the post ! Back to Little L - There is also a picture of her walking with the flamingos - she is leading the way. The other pictures are : her enjoying some "net" time at Shamu's Happy Harbor (there is always a little time for play after putting vitamins in fish gills to feed the dolphins!) and another of her watching the Orca swim by (Little L is in pink and the ponytail). She is also the one riding the Orca statue with two of her friends standing on the statue of the killer whale.

I can't wait to see her on Friday and here all about the experiences she had!

Monday, January 01, 2007

Career Camp



I have lots to post about but it is late. In the meantime, here are some pictures that were posted at the Sea World website. You can see Little L gutting a fish and the other one is her wading in the water with the batrays. She looks like she is having a blast. I can send her email but she cannot email back.

More to come on the wonderful New Year's Eve with my sweet husband. (Me, him, a beach and a nearly full moon - we walked on the beach at Coronado for almost 2 hours.) Ok ok... more later!