It’s time for the Wednesday Hodgepodge! Yay!!! C’mon and play along. You know you wanna! Just link up on Joyce’s blog!
1. Share your Christmas Eve traditions.
Ahhh…Christmas Eve…
First of all, we all go separate ways to do some frenzied, last-minute shopping. Grand Pooba is notorious for having nothing under the tree for Coupon Queen, so the Mr. and Super D (his brother) get roped into shoving their way through the mall with about a gazillion other last-minute husband shoppers. It’s quite the sight, let me tell you…three grown men, heads hung low, as they head out the door. The women folk “pretend” like we don’t know what’s going on, but it’s all part of the charade.
The rest of us split into groups. Everyone gets a turn with everyone.
Last year, I got my hair cut on Christmas Eve. I found an amazing hairdresser. It’s too bad she doesn’t work in Podunk, USA! I’m hoping to schedule another hair cut for this Christmas Eve. Maybe this could be my new tradition!
As far as the evening goes…when Chicky, Rooster, and Super Sis’s kids were little, we would gather up the families and go to the children’s service at church. As the kids have gotten older, we’ve created a new, unofficial tradition…playing board games around the kitchen table. Because Super Sis and her family live two streets over from Coupon Queen and Grand Pooba, it’s not too far of a drive for them to get home when they’re ready.
The kids go to bed early, although now that they are older, the time keeps getting pushed later and later. Santa is having a hard time waiting for them to go to sleep!!
2. What was the best book you read in 2010 (not including the Bible)?
Oh boy. How bad am I going to sound if I say that I really haven’t read many books this year? I know, I know. I am an English teacher! But you see, prior to July, I had aspirations of teaching history. Plus, I was still burned out from reading so much during my return to college three years ago.
I can say that the book I remember the most is Keeper, by Mal Peet.
It is about a male soccer player and the transformation he undergoes during the process of becoming a world-class goalie. This is a book I highly recommend, even if you are not a soccer fan. There is an incredibly beautiful mini-lot woven in, along a little mystery too! I love it so much that I told one of my students, M, that he had to read it. He doesn’t read for pleasure much, but he does enjoy sports…especially soccer.
By the way, my student is a tenth grader, and he decided to create a blog after watching his older sister and brother, whom I teach, create their own. Please visit his blog and leave a comment. It would really encourage him. He’s a wonderful writer-in-the-making.
3. Do you have pets and if so, do you allow them on the furniture?
Ha, ha, ha! Do I have pets? My pets think they are the owners, and I am the pet!!
Yes, I have three dogs…Aubie, Pele, and Molly.
Once upon a time, Aubie, who is the oldest, was NEVER allowed on the furniture. She was the almost-perfect dog.
Then, we got Pele.
Pele ruined us. He did whatever he wanted and looked at us with the Goth eyes that he has, and we melted and allowed him to do whatever he wanted.
By the time Molly came around six months later, we were long gone. Once she got big enough to jump on the furniture, it was all over.
I will say that a year and a half ago, I quit letting them get on my couches. Pele was devastated. He still tries to sneak onto them, so I have to put dining room chairs on the couches to keep him off.
The dogs are still allowed on Rooster’s bed and my bed. Molly often snuggles with me on cold nights.
4. What event from 2010 are you most thankful for?
I am most thankful for finding a teaching job. After being unemployed for almost two years, God finally led me to the right place, and He moved my boss’s heart to hire me. I am so grateful to have my own classroom and my own students. Teaching is both an honor and a privilege. Most of all, it is a dream come true.
5. What did you do in 2010 that you’d never done before?
I took my oldest child to college. It broke my heart. I blogged about it here. Saying goodbye, even a temporary one, was probably the hardest thing I ever had to do.
6. Brussel sprouts…friend or foe?
I despise brussel sprouts. My mom made me eat them periodically when I was a child. There’s not a whole lot I won’t eat, but brussel sprouts is one of the things that will never, ever grace my table. Should I ever go on Survivor, and all the show tries to feed me is brussel sprouts, I will eat tree bark instead.
7. Who would you nominate for man/woman of the year?
I’m just gonna tell you. I don’t believe in this naming a person as a person of the year. I don’t believe in elevating people to some high status. It’s completely subjective, and we all have different values.
In 2006, Time Magazine had the nerve to name “You” as the Person of the Year.
Seriously? We might as well just name me because we all know that I’m all that. And if you didn’t know this before, now you do. 😉
Call me a bah humbug kind of person. Whatever. These are my answers, and I can say whatever I want. heehee
8. Insert your random thought here.
I don’t know why, but I’ve been using this slot as a mini-gripe forum. I can’t help it. I won’t disappoint this time either.
Here’s my random thought.
Why do students ask for “one more point” if they are on the verge of making a higher letter grade? Today I had two different students approach me because they found themselves in this situation. My thought is why ask me to grade an extra credit report or project when I’ve already given plenty of opportunities for earning bonus work throughout the nine weeks? Grading can be subjective, but if you choose not to turn in work or earn bonus credit the rest of the term, why ask at the last minute?
That’s my random “teacher” thought.
Filed under: This-n-That | Tagged: Wednesday Hodgepodge | 6 Comments »
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