A Title Too Scary to Post!

Amy and I went to the nutcracker last night, and it was really cool. I know as a guy that I'm not supposed to say things like that, but a good ballet isn't as bad as our gender makes it sound. Yes, it is a lot of dancing, and there is no talking what-so-ever, but the majesty of the movements is quite captivating. Of course, I also got to sit by the most beautiful woman ever, so that always helps!













The play was held in the Phoenix Symphony Hall. It is a beautiful building in downtown Phoenix and the inside is awesome. I loved the balconies that overlook the waiting area. The wood paneling lightens everything up, without being too bright, and the seating is really nice. Amy was able to score seats on the bottom tier of the bottom section. They were off to the side and provided a great view of the play.

























I thought the climax of the play would be the battle between the nutcracker soldiers, great name isn't it, and the rat king, but that was the end of scene 1. The climax was traveling off to see a wholebunch of dances from around the world, and it was really neat. I liked it a lot better than the first act. One of my favorite dances was the one pictured above, in which a whole bunch of ballerinas danced around as snow fell. It was visually stunning!

Mr. Ed is Dead!!!

Mr. Ed
why are you dead
just one more more holiday death

you made us wiggle
with laughs and giggles
but now you have no breath

Our hearts were a flutter
when with peanut butter
the producers helped you talk

So for hours on hours
we put off our showers
Away from you we couldn't walk

It was not our desire
that you should expire
But that is life, and we will cope

So for you one last wish
oats and carrots they'll dish
in animal heaven, that is what we'll hope

Goodbye Mr. Ed!

I Got the Message!!!

Yesterday, Monday, I took the day off. It is the first "peronsal" day I have ever taken. I mean, I have gone on vacation once, maybe twice, but this is the first time that I took a day just for myself for the 5 years that I have been teaching. I think God is punishing me for it!

I went back to school today energized and ready to go...until I walked in. My substitute did a horrendous job. For the first 90 minutes of class, I tried to get things back in order, fixing the mistakes she made. It was horrible.

I spend 3 1/2 hours on lesson plans for the substitute. I printed everything out, made detailed instructions, and set everything up in an organized manner. She didn't follow a darn thing! She went off on her own, did things here way, and completely forgot to give the students 2 assignments. 2!!! That is most of the morning!

In the afternoon, she lost the lesson plans and made everything up. The assignments were sitting ON THE DESK, and she didn't bother giving them out.

So, that happens and I'm starting off the day horribly, when boy #1 decides to begin his constant blabbing, talking back, and disruption. He begins by telling me that he doesn't care about any consequences from the day before. Then he says he didn't start working on something they did for 20 minutes. After sitting down, and talking the entire time, he says he couldn't remember what they did yesterday, so I take him in the hall and he says they didn't read anything. I ask the class, and they said that they had, so I asked the kid and he said he doesn't remember. Well, I send him to the office to do his stuff, and he gets angry. Turns out that he had participated and done what he was supposed to do after all, so I bring him back in and apologize.

He continues the day not listening to instructions, turning in unfinished work, mouthing off, and disrupting class. I talk to him, I plead with him, I even left the room for a little bit to calm down. Upon returning, he continues the same stuff after consistent warnings, and then gets mad when I "yell" at him and send him to the office. When I show up later he looks at me, turns around, and says, "Don't even talk to me!"

So, he sits there, I finally get him to talk after math class, and he does just fine, like flipping a switch.

So...a day from hell after taking a day off. I got the message...no more days off!

(The rest of the class still hadn't turned in assignments that they have had a week to do. Everyone was missing at least one assignment, and then the wouldn't be quiet when working. The kept talking, and moving, and talking. Then one of them had the nerve to talk back when I told him to sit down. ARGH!)

Guess I must learn patience....lots and lots of patience!

Frustration Reigns Supreme

As you may know, I am a die hard Arizona Cardinals fan. I have watched the Cardinals since finding out Arizona had a time when I was 11 or 12 years old. I have watched the Cardinals now for 18 years, and it has been a roller coaster of a ride. Last year, they made it to the Super Bowl. I felt like after years of frustration, I was finally able to boast about my team. It was a high point in my sports watching career.

Now, the roller coaster is on its way back down and I feel like throwing a cat through the television. Tim Hightower, a running back, fumbled for the fifth time this year in the first half of the football game. You are a running back. People are going to be pulling and smacking, and hitting the ball out of your hands. It is your job to hold onto it...so do it!

They took Hightower out and put in Stephens-Howling. He fumbled on his first touch of the football. Once again, you are a freakin' running back. It is your job to hold onto the ball. Were you expecting to be playing against fifth graders? No, hold onto the stupid ball.

So Larry Fitzgerald, Cardinal receiver demi-god, goes up into the air and pulls down a tremendous catch. The first good thing that happens in the game, and the refs call it off. I'm sorry, there were three guys around him and he held onto the dang thing. He jumped and fell to the ground, holding onto it all the way down and as he slid on the ground. He was then stripped, but his knee, butt, back, and elbows were already down. How can you call off the catch?

No, our quarterback threw an interception, his first in five games, and we are down 10 to nothing.

We are only in the second quarter and we have most of that to play. We are playing the hapless 49ers, a team that I respect from my childhood of watching Steve Young and Jerry Rice, but I really want to win.

So...my frustration is gone, I am going to eat the pancakes my wonderful wife made me and try not to throw Abby or Ariel at the television. Wish me luck!

Darn the Wind

You know what the title should say...I just don't know how many of my kids read my blog...probably none of them!

I hate the wind. It blows all night, its blowing now, it is too strong to let the kids go to recess, and it will blow all day. I woke up at 3:00 this morning and had to take advil for a wind head ache, and it looks like I'll be dealing with the wind all day. So, in the truest sense of the title, Darn the wind!