Our Thanks.....

I know, I know....I keep doing it! I'm a slacker.

Recently my mom sent my kiddos some amazing chex-mix and some presents (cool pencils and Halloween rings!). The kids were very excited and sent this message:

My First Attempt.....

Alright folks, trying something new here.....I am using my iPod touch to write a quick entry to see if it will post to my blog. My fingers are crossed......

Isn't technology amazing?


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

My Favorite Night of the Week.....

Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to my favorite night of the week: Monday.

I know, some of you are reading this and wondering...."Monday? Why on Earth would anyone like Monday?"

If you're asking that simple question, then let me introduce you to the best shows on television that you're not watching: How I Met Your Mother and The Big Bang Theory. These two shows have brightened my Mondays for the the past two years and I just realized a few weeks ago, that these shows have made Monday, the only night of TV that I won't miss.

How I Met Your Mother (HIMYM) is a comedy on CBS at 8 pm EST on Mondays. The premise behind the show is that a father (Ted) is telling his children the story of how he met their mother (thus the title). So far, the story is on it's fifth year and occasionally the kids joke about how long of a story it is, but the show is hilarious. It's added a ton of new phrases to the American language, including The Crazy-Hot Scale, "crazy eyes", and my personal favorite, The Platinum Rule.

The show costars Neil Patrick Harris, yes--Doogie Howser, and his character is fantastic. For those of you that don't know who he is, he also hosted the Emmys last month, which received rave reviews.

Some of calling the show the Friends of this decade. A show about a group of friends, living in New York City and watching their lives unfold. Don't believe me? Check out this article:

http://www.tv.com/story/18467.html

The other addition to my Monday line-up is The Big Bang Theory, a show about two scientists and their adventures in the real-world. The show is intellectual funny, although more so making fun of the intellectuals than anything else. The show is on at 9:30 pm EST on CBS. For some reason, I feel old because I'm watching CBS, but I'll go with it. For a bit more info on the show, check out this link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/05/arts/television/05bang.html

Trust me....give them a chance and you'll love Mondays as well!

My Favorite Message.....

I normally don't do this, but as a teacher, I thought this was hilarious. Luckily most of the parents I've had are fantastic, but this was too good not to pass on to you. Enjoy!

Just click this link and you'll love it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pwghabw4N80

God bless

My Foam Finger.....

I have to be honest, I love a good pep rally, especially at a small school where everyone is involved. My school down here has roughly 650 students from JK-12th grade, of which 212 are in the Upper School (high school). Homecoming is this week and since we don't have a football program, soccer and field hockey games serve for our HC celebration.

It is our tradition to have the entire school meet in our big gym for a pep rally the day of/before our HC games (which this year will be on Saturday, sometimes they're on Friday). The little kids get so excited for this day because they get to be out of uniform and this year they were allowed to wear blue wigs to the rally. One of my boys even came to school with a foam finger that said "LCS #1! It was fantastic.

So as we're heading over to the gym, the kids are getting so excited.....they're starting to talk, they're getting a little nervous (because we've been talking about being loud and supporting the team) and we get caught in a line outside the gym....which adds to the building of excitement.....we finally file in and the music is loud, the pep club was going nuts....cheering, waving their flags/signs......two students are dressed up as a titan and an amazon (our mascots). It was glorious.

And my kids had huge smiles on their faces. They loved it! They cheered as loud as they could, they yelled, clapped and made their teacher proud. Even when they asked grade by grade who could cheer the loudest, the 4th grade were the winners!!!!

A glorious afternoon it was and my favorite part was my one student, with his retro Collegiate t-shirt and his little foam finger.

God bless.

My Newly Earned Street Cred.....

Greetings to my two faithful readers that still follow this thing....even after months and months of inactivity!

I played a game of pick-up footy for the first time in years yesterday and had a blast. I met my buddy Clint at Seneca park to kick a soccer ball a bit and we ended up playing a pick-up game with some guys that just graduated from high school. Too be honest, I was quite nervous about the 7 v 7 game, mostly because it had been a while since I played.

Luckily, I held my own for a while.....(although they made us be skins....so it was there fault that a hairy 28 year old was running around the pitch)....until 30 minutes into the game when I was exhausted. Obviously, my fitness isn't what it used to be.

After missing a terrible shot....I got a cross on the ground.....as it came to me, I used my left foot to pop the ball in air and then hit it with my right towards the goal. I hit the ball better than I thought and it blasted off the keeper and into the goal. Needless to say, I was pretty excited. All of a sudden, the young guys were yelling about how "dirty" that goal was (which, apparently, means it was a pretty good strike). After receiving a round of hi-fives....I started to get the ball a bit more.

Sadly, it was the only goal I scored, but I enjoyed my Saturday afternoon. Hopefully, more to come later.

God bless

For A Devoted Reader......

To be honest, I realize the delay in my posts.....and again, to be honest, there has been one post which I have been neglecting to write. It's not that I didn't think the subject was worthy, because she is more than worthy of her own post....I suppose it's just that I haven't wanted to confront the subject (and that's being truthful).

This Winter we lost a grandmother, mother, wife, sister, aunt, reader (occasional poster) and friend. My aunt Lola Clatt passed away after a long battle with cancer, which had it's ups and downs. Sadly she had been struggling for the past few months and ultimately cancer claimed her life.

To put it simply: Lola was an amazing woman. She was caring, honest and always willing to lend a hand when needed. I'll always remember one of the first times I walked into the office she worked at in Indianola and she asked me if I'd seen her "brown ass" yet. I was a bit taken aback and surprised and then of course she showed me the picture of her new donkey (she had it framed on her desk).....this is one of my favorite memories.

I will also always remember her for her kindness. For two years she would pick me up after high school soccer practice in Indianola and then drive me the 20 minutes home to Lacona (passing her own house 10 minutes into the drive). She did this every Monday-Thursday for two years. Her only request was that I would come and mow her lawn....just once.

Now those of you that know me, know that I tend to procrastinate. I always said, "Sure, yeah, no problem. I'll be there!" And I wasn't. : ) I even tried to get my father to pay my debt for me, but he was paying off his own debt (she let him stay in the guest room when he would come visit and in exchange he would mow and help around the house).

Finally, about two years ago, I made good on my debt. I helped her and Butch bale hay one afternoon. To be honest, it was one of the hardest things I'd ever done. My arms felt like jello and I didn't think I'd be able to lift anything for a week.

I came back for the funeral during the winter and I'll be honest....it was cold (way too cold for me). However, it's not the cold that stood out to me, but instead, my uncle Butch (Lola's husband). Butch was the epitome of strength during that trip. Without a doubt, he had just lost one of the most precious people in his life and he was nothing but humble, gracious and accommodating. He welcomed folks into his home, shared stories, recounted Lola's last moments, all when it could have been much easier to just hole-oneself up and want to be alone. I couldn't believe the strength I saw in him during those days and it will be one of the memories that sticks with me through the years.

I'll be honest, I miss Lola already. Sure, we didn't talk daily, weekly, or even monthly, but I miss her comments on here (telling me to hurry up and post something or sharing her thoughts). I'll miss chatting with her at the family reunions (I actually got the call for my job here in Kentucky at her house on the 5th of July last year). She was always supportive. I hope that the next time I head back to Iowa, Butch won't mind if I stop by and chat for a bit. I also hope he'll let me help with the hay.

God Bless