My Real Life

So, you may recall that a week or two ago, 15 of my co-authors met up in Chicago for the BlogHer conference and a book signing.

I stayed home to do some laundry.

While they were there, they did some really sophisticated stuff, like lay down in the Sky Tower of the Sears Tower, make videos in empty conference rooms about “How to Win Friends and Affluence People” (spelling error on purpose), and take pictures of themselves making “Shakey Face.”

My co-author, Kerry, of House Talk’n, made a how-to video while they were all out to dinner, and then posted the pictures on her blog.

Check out her post about Shakey Face, here.

She’s asked us to participate, and I’m a good sport, so I went along.

And now, for your viewing pleasure, and because on Wednesday, we all need a good laugh, here is my “Shakey Face.”

(I think the black eyes make it look like I’m being punched)

I couldn’t stop laughing, at first, but then I got to shakin’…

…and so, ladies and gentlemen, there is my contribution to the “I Just Want to Pee Alone” authors collection of “Shakey Faces.”

Okay, perhaps “color me”  excited isn’t the correct way to introduce this post, considering the topic, but it’s all I have this morning.

I just found out that I was featured in a list of 25 “Gray Hair” Bloggers That Rock!

You may remember this post, where I described my feelings about going gray.

Apparently someone read it and liked it and included me in a list of very classy women who wrote about their experiences with gray hair.

I am honored to be included among them and am hoping you will go check out the article and read their blogs.

I’ve spent a long time, this morning, reading through them and have thoroughly enjoyed what they’ve had to say.

I love to read about women who are embracing the gray and these women say it well!

Please check out the article and the list and celebrate with me, this morning!

I’m not sure how long ago, but it was awhile, I stumbled across “Humans of New York” on Facebook.

It has become my favorite Facebook follow.

It was started by a man named Brandon who set out to create a photographic census of New York City.

Over time, it morphed into something completely awesome.

I’ll be honest…there are some Facebook posts that I simply skim through, but every single post by Humans of New York is one that I enjoy.

When he photographs people, he chats with them and often shares the conversations.

I love them.

I’m such a people-watcher, in general, and Brandon caters to that part of me.

He also has a web-page, which you can find here, so if you aren’t on Facebook, you can check it out there.

Enjoy!

1. Where in the theater do you like to sit when you’re at the movies?

I like to sit in the center in the center. (You understand that?)

Close enough to have the screen look huge, but far enough away so I’m not straining my neck to look up.

Right in the middle so I don’t have to look to one side or the other.

Real Man and I go to the movies at a mall in a nearby town that has stadium seating.

Perfection.

2. What characteristics does the ideal movie companion have?

The ideal movie companion must:

Like popcorn and soda during a movie, so I don’t feel like a pig when I get mine.

Not chew loudly or crinkle the bag when it’s a quiet scene.

Absolutely must not lift the bag up and pour the last kernels in their mouth.

Not act like a movie I am enjoying is terrible.

Realize that I am going to want to see every movie that they preview before the main event.

Have napkins or tissues prepared for my tears…both during previews and the show.

3. What memory do you have of things not going quite as usual at the movies?

Remember the movie “Contact” with Jodie Foster and Matthew McConaughy?

So, Real Man and I went to see that film.

We got all the way through to where Jodie is back from her visit with the aliens and they are telling her it was a dream and then one of the government officials says, “Well, there was something very interesting on the recorder that was in the ship.”

Suddenly, the film (those of you who are only old enough to see digital films will have no idea what I’m talking about, here) burned and dissolved on the screen.

Everyone is like “NO!!!!” and they assure us they will get it back up in a second.

After ten minutes, the lights dim and the movie starts back up, just as one of the other government officials says “Well, that IS interesting.”

Lovely.

Another time, we went to see “Heart of Darkness.”

In the first fifteen minutes, this movie also burned on the screen.

They got it back, but the soundtrack didn’t match the film for the rest of the movie.

People were so angry, they were yelling and throwing popcorn at the screen.

I don’t remember exactly, but I think they gave us all free passes to come back another night.

4. What are your feelings about commercials and movie previews playing before the film you’re there to see?

Commercials, no, thank you.

I just spent a bajillion dollars on my tickets and food, so please don’t try to sell me something else.

Previews, absolutely.

I will sometimes watch the movie preview channel on tv because I love them so much.

It’s nice to think about what movies you want to see in the future.

A great preview is almost better than a great movie.

Okay, maybe that’s stretching it.

But I’m totally in for the previews.

5. Who is an actor or director whose involvement in a film is enough to make you want to see it?

The first person is Joseph Kosinski – director.

Joe is married to a childhood friend of mine.

I danced at his wedding and just think he and his wife are just some amazing, down to earth people.

So far, Joe has directed “Tron: Legacy” and “Oblivion.”

Clearly, I’m not just going to his movies because I know him.

He does great work.

The next person is Jennifer Garner.

She doesn’t necessarily make the best movies (read: “Elektra”), but she does make some cute ones (read: “13 Going on 30”) and I have loved her since “Alias.”

There’s just something about her.

I think I might add Matt Damon onto this list.

I’m sitting here thinking of movies I love and he’s been in quite a few.

Oh, and speaking of, Justin Timberlake.

Sorry, but I can’t help myself.

Is there anything that guy doesn’t do well?

I’ve also seen everything Reese Witherspoon has made.

I think that has more to do with the fact that people are always telling me that I look like her than the fact that she makes great movies.

It’s like imagining myself on the screen, which is something I do frequently since it was always a dream of mine.

I would also watch anything that involves JJ Abrams and Joss Whedon.

They’ve made some of my favorite television shows and they have made amazing transitions to the big screen.

I want to say Mark Wahlberg, because, seriously.  Mark Wahlberg.

But, some, I just can’t get into.

Maybe I could just watch them on mute.

I think that might be my “Must-see” list.

Until I read this tomorrow and think of five more.

Okay, I’m mixing my Brady references, but believe me when I tell you, I am feeling every bit a Brady these days.

Marcia, to be exact.

Not the cool, beautiful, brushing her hair exactly 100 strokes per night, Marcia.

The one who gets her nose broken by an errant football.

On Sunday, I was having a catch with Monkey in the Middle, which I’ve done a thousand times before.

Either my game was off or the Benadryl that I had taken earlier that morning hadn’t yet worn off, but I misjudged a hard, fast ball that he threw my way.

I swore my glove was right in front of it.

It wasn’t.

Guess what was?

The bridge of my nose.

This picture was taken on Tuesday, and you can see that the swelling on the bridge of my nose had gone down a bit, but now my eyes were starting to swell.  It is now Wednesday morning and I’ve got two, dark shiners which are actually kind of fun to sport because I am thinking of all kinds of stories that I can tell people, although from the looks I’m getting, I think the stories they are making up on their own are probably more interesting!

I’m guessing that the ball hit a bit more to the right than to the left, but even the left is starting to get the tell-tale blackening underneath and in toward the tear duct.

Thank goodness my glasses didn’t break.

THAT would have been awful.

Everything I read online said that there is nothing they can do at the doctor, so I didn’t bother to go.

I’m tough…I’ll survive.

Here’s how I see it.

Life with Monkey Girl is going to leave me with a lot of emotional bruises and scars, as life with a teenage girl is apt to do.

Life with the three active little boys will involve a lot of physical bruises and scars, and I think I’m pretty lucky that, so far, this is the worst I’ve gotten.

Saturday night, I was working on a migraine and needed just five minutes of alone time.

Just five.

So, I snuck into my room and lay on my bed and pulled out my phone to check my email and Facebook.

Within two minutes, this is what my room sounded like:

Memo (3)

I pretended like I was still on my phone and recorded it all, because if I had let them know I was recording, they would have stopped, and I’d have no evidence to share.

It started with Monkey in the Middle coming in with his trumpet, followed by Baby with the guitar.

Then Monkey Girl brought in Tiny, who was, apparently asking, “Where’s Mom?”

Then Monkey Girl started singing.

One day, it’s going to be very quiet in my house, and I’ll miss all of this noise.

That day was not Saturday night.

I haven’t written a lot lately.

Not because I haven’t wanted to, but because I’ve wanted to write this post, but wasn’t quite sure what to say.

You may remember that I wrote a post that went mini-viral (in my little world, it was totally viral) and then was picked up by the Huffington Post.

That post can be found here.

It was a good post.

It was heartfelt, poignant and true.

It was about the last days of school from a teacher’s perspective, and had I known that it would actually be my last last day of school as a teacher, I can’t even imagine how much I might have cried while I wrote it.

See, I have a new job.

I’m no longer an 8th grade World History teacher.

I’m now an administrator.

My official title is Supervisor of Instruction (our district is moving away from the Vice-Principal title, for those of you who are wondering what the heck a Supervisor of Instruction is) and I’ll be the Supervisor of Social Studies and Language Arts in our building.

I’m thrilled.

I went back to school for my Principal’s certificate, and obviously, I wouldn’t have gone back for the certification if I didn’t intend to use it.

So, please know that I am absolutely thrilled with this turn of events.

Yet, I have shed some tears over the fact that the days of having my own class of children are over.

I will miss that daily give and take.

I will miss the relationships that form.

I will miss teaching.

I am so excited, however, to give back to our students, our school, our community, in this new way.

I’m ready to work with teachers and students, together.

I believe in public education.

I believe in the other administrators in my building.

I believe in the teachers with whom I work.

I believe in the students that attend our school.

I believe that I have made a difference over the past 18 years, and I cannot wait to make a difference in new and exciting ways moving forward.

So, those last days of school I wrote about will now be indelibly inscribed on my heart as my very last days as a teacher.

And as I look toward my first days as an administrator, I am embracing the challenge and looking forward to all of the new things I am about to experience.

The times, they are a-changing, and it is only out of change that great things can occur.

Last July, almost a year ago exactly, we took the kids to the Land of Make-Believe in Hope, New Jersey.

I wrote about it here.

We had a blast.

This past weekend, we decided it was time to visit again, and once again, had a great time.

It’s like an amusement park without the lines.

There’s a water park attached, but we didn’t hit that part, although it was in the high 90’s while we were there.

Maybe next time.

If you are in the NJ area and feel like Great Adventure might be a bit much for you, the Land of Make-Believe is a good bet.

Just remember, they only take cash and Discover because they have a beef with Amex and Master Card fraud policies, whatever that’s about.

One of my amazing co-authors, Johi Kokjohn-Wagner, has a regular feature on her blog called TMI Fridays.

On TMI Fridays, she interviews someone with interesting, random questions.

This week, it was me!

Somehow, Johi is under the impression that I am “sweet” and “precious,” so, let’s go support her by reading the interview and hanging around to check out the rest of her awesome blog, “Confessions of a Cornfed Girl.”

You can link to the interview here.