Yet another meme....

Lil' Peanut at the dog park today, asking to play.

This came from Sunday Stealing, of course.

Be honest, who texted you last?


My friend TS, who is also Mr. Mamie's boss. He sent this link with the follow-up "Need. Tin. Foil. Hat." GoogleGlass freakin' terrifies me, and it seems like I am forced (in a class, at a conference, etc.) to watch their stinkin' video about once a month... argh!

Do you sleep with the bedroom door open or closed?

About half-closed... Copper and Icarus tend to come and go through the night.

Do you drink tea?

Absolutely! We have about 20 different kinds in the house. For the warm months, I LOVE iced tea made with equal parts Tazo Zen and Tazo Refresh. Mmmmmm, just made some a little while ago and it's in two glass jars chillin' in the fridge.

Do you have plans for tomorrow?

It's Spring Break, yaaaaaaaay! We will be taking Mr. Mamie's brother "Insamity" back to the Las Vegas airport so he can return to Texas. His flight isn't until late afternoon, so we're planning to leave early and do some geocaching along the way.

What’s worse: dry skin or chapped lips?

UGH, dry lips! I ALWAYS have one of these in my pocket: Badger organic lip balm, Burt's Bees classic peppermint oil lib balm, or Natural Ice mentholated lip balm in cherry.

Would you be surprised if Facebook started charging?

Nope, not at all. I'm sure it's in the works.

Would you rather go to Canada or California on vacation?

Canada - I've seen pretty much all of California. I've only been to Victoria Island in British Columbia, so that leaves A LOT of Canada still to explore!

How many social media sites are you registered with?

LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest.  

Are you wearing jeans, shorts, sweatpants or pajama pants?

Light brown cargo pants. Still dressed after a day at the dog park/hiking/geocaching.

So, what if you changed lives for one day with the last person you texted?

I'd be 10 years younger, the opposite gender, parent to two children under the age of 5, and almost have a PhD. Whew, that makes me tired!

Last person you told a secret to?

Ummmmmm... no idea. At the conference I was just at three colleagues and I stayed up until 2:00 a.m. the first night blabbing and gabbing in a hotel room... no doubt secrets were told, but we all were too tired the next day to remember them!

What are you listening to at the moment?

Dishwasher; Mr. Mamie and Insamity talking geekiness; Copper squeaking and whining because he thinks there's not enough room on the couch for him.

Where was the last place you fell asleep other than your bed?

Bed at the Hilton Garden Inn in Sandy, UT, night before last.

Is there someone that you believe you will always be attached to?

Of course, several people: My family, the Littlest Mermaid, some very specific friends.

Are you going to any concerts this year?

Not that I have planned, but you never know. But we really want to make it to the Utah Shakespeare Festival this summer, particularly The Tempest.

Do you believe in Karma?

For the most part.

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

Long time, no post...

 ...and this silly little meme is all I got:

Three names you go by, other than your given name:

Mamie, Teeeeeeeeeacher, Sweetie.

Three screen names you've had:

MamieUtah, Eeyore, OtterGirl.

Three things you like about yourself:

Brains, Loyalty, Humor.

Three things you don't like about yourself:

Laziness,  Procrastination,  Gluttony.

Three parts of your heritage:

English, German, French.

Three things you are wearing right now:

Black fleece pajama pants with colorful polka-dots, charcoal grey t-shirt, black fleece pullover top.

Three favorite bands/musical artists:

Sting, Indigo Girls, Hothouse Flowers [I don't even know any "modern" groups!]

Three favorite songs:

Anything by the three musical artists listed above.

Three things you want in a relationship:

Honesty, humor, security.

Three things about the preferred sex that appeal to you:

Intelligence, humor, stability.

Three of your favorite hobbies:

Reading, cooking, hiking.

Three things that scare you:

Not feeling secure, national economic collapse, scary noises in the night.

Three of your everyday essentials:

iPhone, Badger lip balm, ice water in my insulated Kleen Kanteen.

Three places you want to go on vacation:

Alaska, Scotland, Australia.

Three careers you have considered/are considering:

Teaching (currently), professional dog rescuer (someday), national park ranger (fantasy life).

Three things you want to do before you die:  

Visit my vacation destinations, learn to knit, get EVERYTHING in my life ORGANIZED!

Three things you want to do really badly right now:

Win the lottery, get a bunch of stuff organized, finish my tech class homework.

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

Meme

1. Do you live close to where you grew up? Why?

Not really. I was born in western Kansas and moved to southern California 3 months before my eighth birthday, so I mostly grew up in San Diego county. My father was still in KS, and we spent plenty of weeks each year there and then later in TX and OR as he moved.  As a young adult I lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for almost 12 years, and certainly did a lot of growing up in that time! Now I live in the intermountain west, where the desert meets the alpine forest.

2. Have you ever been so angry that you almost lost control?

Yes… I've tried to learn from those situations.

3. Are you a fan of a musical act that slightly embarrasses you?

Not really, other than a small spot in my heart for "Air Supply," the music (if you can call it that) of my 7th grade self.

4. Is there a movie that always makes you cry?

Hmmm… I'm sure there is but nothing comes to mind at the moment.

5. Who is the most famous person that you've met?

I chatted with Brad Pitt at a car wash in Sherman Oaks for 10 minutes in 2004.

6. Before you leave your home, what must you have?

iPhone, Burt's Bees or Badger lip balm.  Wallet and keys also, obviously.

7. What do you miss the most about being a kid?

More time to read!

8. Tell us about a passion of yours that your readers would not expect.

Ummmmm… passions would be reading, cooking, hiking, and dogs and those are all pretty well-documented here!

9. At what age do you think you'd be to think, “I've had a great run”?

To hard to predict. let's just see how things go!

I got this from her.

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

Tumblr

I'm playing around on Tumblr. It seems pretty fun, and it's really easy to share multimedia items. You can check me out there at: http://mamieutah.tumblr.com/.  I think you can even add it to your RSS feed. I may do more over there for a little while, as I don't have the time or energy to do long posts on the regular blog right now. So yeah, go check that out!

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

ABCs of Me

Yet another silly meme.  Kinda fun though. Can't remember where I picked this up.

The ABCs of me:



A- Age: 41, 42 is coming in a couple of weeks!



B-Bed size: California King. Nothing else will suffice!



C-Chore you hate: Emptying the dishwasher. Good thing I rarely have to do it!



D-Dogs: Laprador (age 13, adopted from the Berkeley, CA dog pound in December 1997) and BeagleDog, a purebred Beagle I acquired from my brother’s neighbor a few years ago.



E-Essential to start your day: Crystal Light Sunrise Grapefruit – I take statin drugs and can’t have real grapefruit. Also, hot tea on most days (various flavors from Republic of Tea, Tazo, and Celestial Seasonings).



F-Favorite color: PURPLE! Who didn’t already know that about me???



G-Gold or silver: Silver. I do have set each of diamond studs and opals set in gold that I inherited from my grandmother and mother that I occasionally wear.

H-Height: 5”6 with a 30” inseam – short legs.



I-Instruments you play: Kazoo. Not really.



J-Job title: First Grade Teacher.



K-kids: 19, in my classroom! Plus Niece and Nephew, who are “mine” when their parents have had enough of them. And of course, The Little Mermaid – I was her nanny for a gazillion years (starting at age 3, and now she’s a junior in college!).



L-Live: Intermountain West.



M-My mom's name: Squatty Wombat… at least, if you asked me or Igor.



N- Nicknames: Mamie, Teeeeeeeeacher, and recently "Badger." Of course, I've been calling Mr. Mamie "Hedgehog," so....


O-Overnight hospital stay: None of my own; plenty with my mom in her last months. Ugh.

P-Pet peeve: Tardiness.



Q-Quote from a movie: “I’ll bite your leg off!”



R-Right/lefty: Is this a anatomical question or a political inquiry?



S- Siblings:  Younger brother, younger stepsister. Both awesome human beings!

T-Time you wake up: 6:00 a.m. on school days.



U-Underwear: Usually coordinated with other parts of the day’s ensemble.



V-Veggies you dislike: The tree part of the broccoli – terrible texture!



W-What makes you run late:  Getting distracted.

X-X-rays you've had: Teeth (oodles of orthodontia in my youth), feet (bone spurs).



Y-Yummy food you make:  Many things!

Z-Zoo animal: Penguins, rhinos, elephants.

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

How I feel right now....

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

Weekend

 The Igor Family's Pumpkins

It has been a nice weekend here - the fall weather is beautiful!

Halloween at school on Friday was... tolerable. I've experienced worse, though having my most challenging little boy toss a full, fortunately-closed carton of milk at some older kids and thus REALLY pissing off the head custodian did NOT add to the joy of the day. I'll post some pictures later - not of the milk projectile, but rather, of cute kids in costumes.

Being that Friday was the last business day of the month, it was also payday. That afternoon/evening we took GrandmaT out on a little adventure, beginning with Red Robin for dinner where we all ate entirely too much. We were planning to go to a movie, but as it was rather early, had some time to fill beforehand. First we hit up Albertsons where we scored 10 bags of assorted baking chips (semi-sweet and milk chocolate, white chocolate, and butterscotch) for a mere $1.50/bag - an excellent deal. We purchased some other sale items, including two MASSIVE bags of Halloween candy. The irony is that we don't actually turn the light on for trick-or-treaters, as it stresses the dogs out, among other reasons. But we have candy for Niece and Nephew and the cute family across the street, and most importantly, FOR MR. MAMIE. He keeps marveling at the "perfect combo" of Heath, KitKat, Reese's cups, Almond Joy, Hershey bars, and Whoppers. After Albertsons there was still some time before the movie, so we went to Barnsie (of course) where Mr. Mamie polished off a gift card a lovely friend sent us by buying a THRILLING tome on HTML-5 (from which he reads tidbits aloud approximately every 5 minutes). GrandmaT and I both picked up some light reading for cash. I guess I should mention that I had used slightly over half the gift card the day before on... yes, books for the classroom. Touche.

Finally it was time to go to the movie, which was Red starring Bruce Willis, John Malkovich, and Helen Mirren. Hilarious! Definitely worth a couple hours and a few bucks. GrandmaT had seen the ads and expressed interest, so we thought it would be fun to take her. She liked it, though her first comment was that it was "awfully damn loud!" Too true! But that's an ongoing issue at that particular cinema.

Saturday it was time to bite the bullet and do a MAJOR shop. We've been eating down our pantry and freezers for the last couple months, so we had to hit up the Village grocery store, Costco, and The Walmartz. Add in haircuts for both of us, new wiper blades for both vehicles, and a fairly icky lunch at Del Taco and it's no wonder we came home exhausted, nauseated, and about $500 poorer. Sigh.

We did have a really nice evening though. Where we live Halloween activities took place on Saturday. GrandmaT went over to the Igors' to make Halloween Casserole (still gotta post that recipe!) and man the front door while Mrs. Igor took Niece and Nephew to "trunk or treat" events at the Village grocery store and the local church.  They then hit up our neighborhood and their own for some door-to-door action. Meanwhile, Mr. Mamie and I enjoyed a nice evening at home eating a Costco take-and-bake pizza (and Halloween candy) and watching streaming Netflix - first Lady Jane, one of my favorites, and then The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.   I really wanted to see the Swedish scenery and hear the Swedish language, and was not disappointed in this regard. I did have to explain a lot to Mr. Mamie in terms of back-story and that seemingly-random events will connect to things in future books. Once he resigned himself to the subtitles, he got into the mystery. We didn't actually quite finish, as sugar-comas overtook us. Perhaps tonight.

Sunday has been pleasant. Did our Maverik run for morning caffeine and newspapers, then pondered how to accommodate Mr. Mamie's desire to have chili for dinner (yes, deviating from menu plan!) when the enormous quantities of ground beast and ground gobble purchased at Costco yesterday are already in the freezer. However, the 5 pounds of stew meat was still in the fridge, as the butchers at Costco apparently think we have mouths the size of a T-Rex, and the stew chunks needed to be cut down to human size. So, we came up with a chunky beef chili and the house currently smells fabulous! Can't wait to eat it.

Amazingly, I created another recipe today as well: Peanut Butter-Oatmeal-Chip Bars.   Usually I am a follower of recipes, not a creator of them. I am really happy with both my efforts today!

And now I must stop procrastinating and return to lesson planning.

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

Monday Meme: A Big Ol' List

1. What is the color of your toothbrush? Purple, of course!

2. Name one person who made you smile today. Mr. Mamie, of course! And the doggies. 

3. What were you doing at 8 am this morning? Sleeping ('cause I'm writing this on a Sunday).

4. What were you doing 45 minutes ago? Eating a quesadilla for breakfast.
 
5. What is your favorite candy bar? Depends… Snickers, if they are frozen; Reese’s cups are perennially popular; Skor or Heath bars have a place in my heart.

6. Have you ever been to a strip club? Um, no.

7. What is the last thing you said aloud? "Can you back the TV up - I missed that!" (LOVE the ability to pause/rewind live TV - yay DVR!)

8. What is your favorite ice cream? Any flavor that we make ourselves! Coffee/cocoa/chocolate chip has been the top flavor recently.

9. What was the last thing you had to drink? DietCoke, of course!

10. Do you like your wallet? Yes, it is purple.

11. What was the last thing you ate? Quesadilla.

12. Have you bought any new clothing items this week? No.

13. The last sporting event you watched? Currently watching Redskins at Bears on FOX NFL Sunday. Last night it was Sooners at Mizzou


14. What is your favorite flavor of popcorn? Mmmmm, butter and salt! No funny stuff. We pop it ourselves the old-fashioned way: On the stove, in a pan with oil.

15. Who is the last person you sent a text message to? Mrs. Igor.

16. Ever go camping? Yep, lots as a child, though not too recently.

17. Do you take vitamins daily? Yes, and also fish oil and niacin.

18. Do you go to church every Sunday? Church of the NFL, Baby!

19. Do you have a tan? Kinda. I don’t seek it, but it builds over the summer here.

20. Do you prefer Chinese food over pizza No. Pizza rules, especially my homemade pizza! Zachary’s in Oakland/Berkeley is a close second. I don’t like most Chinese restaurants, though I make good Kung Pao chicken, curry chicken, cashew chicken, and Szechuan beef at home.

21. Do you drink your soda with a straw? From fast food and convenience stores, yes. At home, not usually.

22. What did your last text message say? Me: "Am taking Gma and kids to your house." Mrs. Igor: "OK." Scintillating, I know.

23. What are you doing tomorrow? Teaching first grade.

24. Favorite color? Purple, of course!

25. Look to your left; what do you see? A chair at my dining room table with my "teacher bag" on it.

26. What color is your watch? Titanium (like my car, see #46).

27. What do you think of when you hear “Australia”? That I would like to visit… and “The Thorn Birds!”

28. Would you strip for money? Um, no.

29.Do you go in a fast food place or just hit the drive thru? Depends on the place, time, mood, etc.

30. What is your favorite number? The one on my paycheck! (Though it could be bigger.)

31. Who’s the last person you talked to on the phone? Mrs. Igor.

32. Any plans today? Lesson planning, laundry, ironing, fix breakfast-for-dinner.

33. In how many states have you lived? 3

34. Biggest annoyance right now? Never feeling like I have enough time!

35. Last song listened to? "We're Going on a Bear Hunt" on YouTube (downloading for school).

36. Can you say the alphabet backwards? Yes. In two languages.

37. Do you have a maid service clean your house? In my very rich fantasy life!

38. Favorite pair of shoes you wear all the time? A couple of pairs of Nikes, my black “Simple” slides, my raspberry Terra-Soles Mary Jane flats, my purple Crocs, my red Old Navy felt slippers, my brown North Face down slippers, my black Nine West boots....

39. Are you jealous of anyone? Not specifically.

40. Is anyone jealous of you? Highly unlikely.

41. Do you love anyone? Most definitely. Many people!

42. Do any of your friends have children? Yes, many. And some don’t. It takes all kinds!

43. What do you usually do during the day? Teach first graders, which is akin to herding house cats.


44. Do you hate anyone that you know right now? I try not to hate. There are people who disappoint me, anger me, hurt me… but these are temporary.

45. Do you use the word ‘hello’ daily? Yes.

46. What color is your car? Toyota calls it "Titanium."

47. What size wedding ring do you wear? Fat fingers – I think a 9 or so.

48. Are you thinking about someone right now? My students - took a break from planning for next week to write this, but am still thinking about school.

49. Have you ever been to Six Flags? Yes, Magic Mountain in Valencia, CA (north of Los Angeles).

50. How did you get your worst scar? No scars! Weird, huh?

Okay, break’s over. Back to work! ☺

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)

Monday Meme

As always, thanks to Mrs. Chili for providing good stuff to steal (which she, in turn, steals form others...)


1. What is your favorite color?

PURPLE, always purple!

2. Have you ever slapped someone?

Not that I remember. Slapping seems so petty and gratuitously violent.

3. Is your hair curly?
It has quite a bit of natural curl and wave… and some "cowlicks" in inopportune places.

4. What was the last CD you bought?

Physical CD? NO idea! Possibly "Supernatural" by Carlos Santana. I've been an all-iTunes girl for quite awhile now.  I think the last full album I bought on iTunes (that wasn't kids' music for school) was the "Hope for Haiti" compilation.

5. Do looks matter?
Truly, no. Cleanliness does though!

6. Could you ever forgive a cheater?

What type of cheating?  I have dealt with certain types as a teacher… as for the more intimate variety, I don't know.  That's hard to predict or imagine.

7. Is your phone bill sky high?

No, though I think we're being robbed blind by the landline phone company.

8. Do you like your life right now?

Yes, except for the lack of my mom, which I still feel acutely.

9. Do you sleep with the TV on?
Our ritual is to get in bed, set the TV timer for 30 or 60 minutes, and watch an episode or two of "King of the Hill" (which we TiVo daily).  We pause the TV to comment and chat, and then snuggle up and drift off when the TV timer turns off.

10. Can you handle the truth?
I hope so. I try to.

11. Do you have good vision?
No, terrible. I have worn glasses since age 8 and contacts since age 16. Lately I seem to need reading glasses on top of my contacts... depressing.

12. Do you hate or dislike more than 3 people?
I try to avoid that type of negativity. I am "processing" some very angry feelings toward one individual right now (don't worry, it's none of YOU), but hope to reach a place of closure soon. Yes, I know, that was very…. "something"-sounding.

13. How often do you talk on the phone?
Daily. Not my favorite pastime, but it's part of life, so there ya go.

14. The last person you held hands with?
Mr. Mamie, often!

15. What are you wearing?

Black t-shirt, charcoal gray knit skirt, black flip-flops.

16. What is your favorite animal?
Aside from Beagle and Laprador? Penguins!

17. Where was your favorite picture taken?
Zion National Park, May 1, 2010: The "foot picture" from when the Mamies got hitched!

18. Can you hula hoop?

Sorta. Kinda. Maybe.



19. Do you have a job?

1st grade teacher and university adjunct instructor.

20. What have you most recently bought?

A cold, delicious fountain diet Dr. Pepper.

21. Have you ever crawled through a window?

Not that immediately comes to mind, but it's entirely possible that I am banishing such an event from my active memories!

MicroPeeve

Yes, it's a small peeve - micro-sized, really. BUT - I find it really annoying when people don't "clear" their left-over time on the communal microwave at work.  Not doing so adds another step to the process for the person who comes along behind. NOBODY has any extra time at lunch (we're educators, ya know) and it bugs when you realize that the microwave isn't working becasue some dope left 7 seconds on the cook time.

So, there! Ppppppptttttttttfffff!

Image credit

Telling Stories on Myself

Here are a couple of little stories I'll tell on myself, just so you can giggle at me:

My former teaching partner and good friend from OakTown sent me a message on FaceBook saying that she and another teacher friend of ours had just returned from a professional development conference in a distant city. At this training they apparently met MY "twin." Here were the lines of evidence presented:

1. The twin ALWAYS had TWO dietCokes on her table at all times.
2. Jack-in-the-Box was involved (presumably as the purveyor of the dietCoke).
3. The twin "did all her work on her computer and it was all color-coded."
4. The twin's personality was apparently "dead-on" MINE.

And, obviously, the twin is also an educator. Clearly my two buddies must miss me ENORMOUSLY if they're out there bonding with my twin!!!

When I told Wombat this story, her comment was "and did the twin have everything labeled, as well?" Okay, yes, I do love my labeling machines (that's right, plural - one at home and one at work) quite a bit, but... well, thanks Mom for adding to the mockery!

And then there's what will no doubt become known as The Great Lemon Pie Incident. You can read all about it on Wombat's blog, But Not For Lunch.

Really, I'm laughing WITH myself, not AT myself! But... does it matter? :)

Image credit

How do you know when...

...it's time for reading glasses?

At night, reading in my fabulous purple leather recliner at home, I notice that it is MUCH easier if I am wearing glasses rather than contacts. But perhaps this is due to some sort of lighting issue (such as glare from the overhead recessed lights)?

However, while I can certainly see and read my computer screen at work (it is, after all, a giant Apple Cinema monitor that sits about 18 inches from my face; and yes, I can also easily read the MacBook itself which is off to the side of my desk) I do note a feeling of... strain. Like the eyeballs are really workin' it.

Am I THAT old???

Image credit