fun stuff

A meme stolen from Chatty (who stole it from HHM). Just like Chatty I teach English and thought this might be fun.

Look at the list of books below.
*Bold the ones you’ve read
*Italicize the ones you want to read
*leave blank the ones that you aren’t interested in.

If you are reading this, tag your it!

1.The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)
2.Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
3.To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
5. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)
6. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
7. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
8. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
9. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
10.A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
11.Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
12.Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)xx
13.Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
15. Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
16.Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Rowling)
17. Fall on Your Knees(Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18. The Stand (Stephen King)
19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban(Rowling)
20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
21. The Hobbit (Tolkien)
22. The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
24. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
25. Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
26. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
28. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie(Mitch Albom)
31. Dune (Frank Herbert)
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
34. 1984 (Orwell)
35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. I Know This Much is True(Wally Lamb)
39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)
42. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. Bible (not in it’s entirety)
46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
48. Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)
49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
50. She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
53. Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
54. Great Expectations (Dickens)
55. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
56. The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
59. The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60. The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrew Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolsoy)
64. Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice)
65. Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)
66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
69. Les Miserables (Hugo)
70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
71. Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)
72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
73. Shogun (James Clavell)
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
76. The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According To Garp (John Irving)
79. The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White)
81. Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck)
83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)
84. Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
85. Emma (Jane Austen)
86. Watership Down(Richard Adams)
87. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
88. The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
91. In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)
92. Lord of the Flies (Golding) (my all time fav)
93. The Good Earth(Pearl S. Buck)
94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
96. The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
100.Ulysses (James Joyce)

Oh boy, do I need to read more!

the good, the bad and the just plain bitchy

the good-

We found a house we want to put an offer on. (more on this later)

the bad-

I don't think M can be with me to meet with the agent.

the bitch-

It's his ex's fault. She didn't tell him the event B (his daughter) has tomorrow night is for making honor roll, until tonight, after we made the appointment with the agent. If we had known what this was for, we would have set up the appointment in a different way!

I hate that woman!

Love Day

For months before Valentine's Day M had been telling me I was getting a stripper pole. I really don't want a stripper pole, I don't strip, I don't really want to strip, and feel no need to invite in guest strippers to use the pole.

As it got closer and closer to the big day, he kept insisting that was what I was getting. I kept dropping HUGE hints on things I would really rather have.

On Valentine's Day M shows up at my house with this box...

It's a fairly heavy box, so I know it can't be anything I had asked for. I wanted things like seatbelt bags, the cool Beatles messenger bag I saw at the Love gift shop in Vegas. Small things, light weight things. Not a stripper pole.

Fortunatly for M when I opened the box this is what I found.

Here's a better picture of the necklace...

I love that man. He spoils me, treats me like a princess. I am so lucky. And really feel like the best is yet to come!

YIKES!!!

I have exactly 5 months to finish plannning my wedding.

I have only lost 3 pounds.

I still wear a size way bigger than I want.

I have a really bad cold and really, really can't workout. Hard to workout when you can't breath.

I still have a TON of stuff to get done, and to top it off rehearsals for Birdie start Tuesday!

YIKES!

Don't ever...

forget you are boiling eggs on the stove and go into the other room to do something...

They explode and ruin your really nice cookware.

No pictures...it's just too sad.

Cake

I have started looking for someone to do the cake for the wedding. I really want to do a cupcake tower, and REALLY wanted to use Sprinkles cupcakes, but they don't offer a discount on bulk orders and they only make certain flavors on certain days.

I can't find a bakery in Temecula (hard to do from Anaheim). I'm going to have to make a trip down just to find a baker.

And can I just mention that this whole wedding thing is getting WAY out of control. The guest list keeps growing because we have certain family members who thing everyone and their brother needs to be invited (including people we don't like).

ARGH!!! Do you think it's too late to run away to Vegas?

We Love You Conrad!

The cast list is up, and students are upset. Okay, just my favorite student, but still.

I hate casting. I have to say it is the worst part of my job.

I am happy with the casting for the most part. I'm upset about the samething my fav is. She didn't get on of the two parts she really wanted, and she didn't get the part I really wanted her to have because she's an alto and "Kim" is a soprano.

I know we will all survive and it will be a great show, just upsetting non the less.

The vocal director (VD) pissed me off during the whole process. He had told his students how he does casting...1. Musical talent, 2. Movement, 3. Looks, 4. Acting.

ACTING, last! In a play! Acting last! He told kids that! What he was really telling them is that you don't need to take drama because ACTING IS THE LEAST IMPORTANT!!!!!!!!!!!! A student reported this to me.

Then during our meeting about the cast list he told me the same thing! I could have killed him. M left the room in a hurry when he heard VD telling me this. I proceeded to get in VDs face about the fact that would rather work with actors who can sing, than singers who CAN'T act. It was about to get ugly, but I changed the subject because I wanted to have a good rest of my day. (See I can be the bigger person).

Anyway, rehearsals start in a couple of weeks. I have an opera singer playing one of the leads the in a 1950's style musical, who isn't the strongest actor on the planet. This should be interesting.

house hunt

M and I have started that all too frustrating house hunting process.

I am working with the same person who did my refi on my townhouse. Mainly because he set up the loan so the townhouse can remain a rental so I am relying on him to get us approved for a second home. I can't sell the townhouse for at least 3 years because of the loan I'm in.

So, we got our first list of homes about two weeks ago, we took a day and went and looked at all the houses to see which ones we might be interested in. And let me tell you, there were some scarey neighborhoods on that list. M travels ALOT so I won't buy anywhere I don't feel immediately comfortable because I will be spending a lot of time alone.

We found a house we really really liked and I emailed mortgage guy that same night. This was last Monday. He tells me he will set up appointments to see the property, I say okay great, Thursday! (By the way, the Monday M and I looked at the houses mortgage guy was supposed to be with us, but cancelled.)

I email mortgage guy on Monday to comfirm for Thursday, no response.

I email mortage guy again on Tuesday, email that says he is working on setting up appointments - appointments that should have been set up a week prior.

I talk to mortgage guy today, says he hasn't heard back from anyone, but will call me back. He calls me back two hours later, tells me he has been told their "super key" doesn't work and the reality company won't show the house by appointment.

He sends me the contact information thinking maybe they will do it for the buyer.

I call reality guy on his cell phone and get his assistant who proceeds to tell me said perfect house is in ESCROW!!!!!!

ARGH!

I can't help but think that perhaps if mortgage guy had done what he told me he would do I might have actually had a chance to grab this house.

I called mortgage guy to tell him that the house was in escrow and he couldn't believe it. It figures the house had been on the market for 3 months, price lowered twice. An idiot could have figured out to move QUICK! But not my guy...take your time, put your client on hold, let them call you three times before you get your stuff together...

ARGH!!!!!!!

M and I are back at square one. And let me tell you, we can't live in my townhouse. It won't hold two people, much less the four it would have to hold when his girls are with us.

Once again...ARGH!!!!

We booked the site!

The wedding plans are well on their way. I booked the location just 2 days ago. We are so excited. The wedding will be held at Longshadow Ranch Winery in Temecula.

It's great, the price we will be paying covers almost everything. I think all I need to do still are invitations, the cake, photographer, champagne, and any minor details we come up with. Oh, and my dress.

The only thing that bothers me a bit, we are having BBQ food. I'm more worried about nice dresses and BBQ than people thinking it's not classy. I'm known for having many a BBQ during the summer. M likes the idea of a BBQ, and I really want him to have a say in the planning (he really didn't get to his first time around). So, BBQ it is. And I know it means a lot to him that I am okay with that. I told him I wasn't totally excited about the it, but I knew he was and that made it okay for me. He really appreciated that.

Here are some pictures from Longshadow ...

Aren't the horses cool. They are actually at the winery, so they will be attending the wedding.

This is as you walk in from the parking lot.

This is where the majority of the event will take place. The picture was taken from the near the front of the tasting room.

This last picture is taken from the front of the rest rooms, which look like wooden outhouses but have full plumbing, looking at the side bar area right next to the tasting room.

So, more rustic than people would expect, but you know what, we LOVE this winery. They have some of the best wine in the valley, everyone is really nice, and it is beautiful in the summer. So, I will live with rustic, I won't regret it when I look back at my pictures and I know that M is really happy with the choice. And that makes it even better.

Wedding Plans!

Planning for the wedding has officially begun.

We went and looked at the where we really would like to have the wedding. And the more I think about it the less it fits with what I want to do, even though I LOVE this place. If you want to see where we are thinking about check out Longshadow Ranch Winery in Temecula.

Here's the lowdown on what we would get...

Full use the facility, it would be closed to the public at 5:00 pm.
BBQ chicken and tritip, green salad, a couple of sides, coffee, tea, sodas, hot chocolate.
Tables, chairs and linens.
Serviceware, black plates and clear utensils, napkins.
A DJ, the owner of the ranch says he's good.
Use the barn for the kids if we want (at a small extra charge to pay the girls working it).
3 drink tickets per person.
Veggie and fruit platters for during guest arrival.
Set up and take down.

The cost does not include the cake, offiant, center pieces or photographer. And I'm not sure if there is a place for me to get ready there or if I have to arrive ready. I wouldn't have to worry about decorations, because the facility is in the middle of wine country and is BEAUTIFUL in the summer.

The downside of having it here...it is very casual. I want a cocktail party. We can do our own food, but does that end up costing more money? The orignal idea was just little snacky foods. But M thinks since we are asking people to drive all the way to Temecula on a Sunday night we should provide them with food. That is fine with me. But do they serve BBQ at cocktail parties?

M really wants to have the wedding here. I might just say, okay we are splitting the cost between the two of us. We will each put in 5-6 thousand to make this really want WE want and just say to heck with the budget.

I will keep you posted on what happens. The last nice perk of having the wedding at Longshadow, just about all the planning will be done! Wouldn't that be nice!

Shoes anyone?

So, I was cleaning out my shoe rack, okay the two shoe racks, and found these totally cute Bruno Magli dress shoes.

I remember buying them, I also remember them fitting when I bought them. They don't fit now! I am totally bummed.

If anyone is interested in buying them from me, they are for sale. They will hit Ebay in the next couple of weeks.

Cost...$50.00 plus shipping

They have NEVER been worn and were purchased from Off 5th, the Saks 5th Avenue outlet store. Just let me know.

Oh No!

I go back to work on Monday!

I haven't looked at a single paper, script, director's proposal, NOTHING!!!!

I'm screwed.

Farewell 2006

I am so glad that 2006 is OVER! I can honestly say that it was THE worst year of my life. I figure things can only get better from here.

A few resolutions...

1. Get more organized.
2. Get into a shape other than round.
3. Spend more time with family and friends (a lesson learned from 2006).

I hope you all have a fantabulous 2007 filled with much love and happiness.

Merry Christmas!

What a fab Christmas I am having. Everyone is together this year and it's great!

Saturday was the big family Christmas at my aunt's house. Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, the whole shibang. It was so much fun to have everyone together.

The family got the news about the engagement, they are so happy. I think B is going to be fine afterall. She did well with all the family, only a few down moments.

Christmas Eve was at Mom's with just the immediate family (which included, wait for it...future step-kids). We had so much fun, presents, food and games.

This morning M and I slept late, opened presents and then went back to bed for a couple of hours. Finally got up, dressed and almost ready for the day at 12:30. He leaves for Oregon for the week today, makes me sad a bit.

Anyway, I hope you are all having a wonderful Christmas! Be merry and bright!

ex-wives, step-kids and engagements...oh my!

My engagement euphoria has been smashed to bits. I am sure I will be able to get it back, but let me tell you M's ex-wife is the biggest psycopath EVER!

She doesn't want us to tell B (M's youngest daughter) until after her birthday in....JANUARY!!!!! She says we are going to ruin the entire holiday season for her. The kid's 11, they have been divorced for 5 years. I know this is hard for her, but for goodness sake lady, help your child get over it, don't enable her to stay sad about it. She actually said that B may "never be right", now what in the world does that mean? That nobody should move on with their lives because B might not like it, she might not be "right"?

While this woman says she is doing everything in the best interest of the child, it is really about her doing what she feels is best for herself. She doesn't want to deal with the fact that we're getting married so she says it would be best for B to not have to deal with it. We have a TON of family stuff planned for this weekend, how in the world am I supposed to keep this quiet. Not to mention it really hurts that I would even be asked to (yes, I know that is selfish, I don't care). And by the way, I'm not taking that ring off!

My thoughts on this, if he doesn't tell her it looks like he either is 1. ashamed of his relationship with me or 2. he doesn't care about her enough to include her in this. She knew it was coming, he had told her that months ago. He just needs to tell her it has happened.

I think M is going to tell her today when he picks her up for us to go to Slava's Snow Show, but I'm not sure. I am really afraid of how it is all going to play out. I don't want B to be sad, I want her to be happy for her dad, that her dad is happy. But her mom has gotten the child so brainwashed that she feels that if she is happy for her dad she is betraying her mom. And mom doesn't do anything to encourage her otherwise.

If I didn't love M so much I wouldn't put myself through this mess. Sometimes I feel like it just isn't worth it. Fortunately, HE is! He is the most amazing man, but I will post all about him another time.

Parents, what are your thoughts on the subject?

Look what I got!

Last night Michael and I went to Disneyland and he proposed next to the Castle, in Snow White's Grotto (which is actually one of my favorite places in the Park).

He was so cute. Apparently he wanted to do it during the snow after fireworks, but it was so crowded we didn't want to stick around that long, so then he wanted to do it in front of the Castle but that was closed for fireworks (2 hours later), so we were walking around and he took me to the grotto. We stopped on the little bridge and he told me he had a present for me, and that is when he took out the ring.

It's beautiful, if you ask me. I am so excited and so happy. I didn't think the thought of getting married for a second time would make me feel this giddy, but I am. It was very special. Espcially since I knew it was coming...in March. He got me, I was totally taken aback.

We are planning on a summer wedding. Anyone want to come?

shows, shows and more shows

So, I told you I was in New York. That I love New York. Well, here is one of the big reasons why...

THEATRE!

There is so much to see. I was lucky enough to get to see four shows while I was in

town.

1. Spamalot - what a fun show. I really wish I had been able to get tickets sooner. Seeing Tim Cury as King Arthur would have just been too much. If you're a Monty Python fan this show is a must.

2. Regrets Only - this was the MTC show that we saw. It was mildly entertaining. Really reminded me of the first season of Will and Grace, you know when they just went for the really funny one-liners but the rest of the script sucked. If you have seen A Day Without A Mexican you can pretty much understand this play, only it's done with gays taking the day off. I would only recommend this if you got free tickets.

3. Suddenly Last Summer - This is probably my second favorite Tennessee Williams play (the first...Cat on a Hot Tin Roof). One of the other teachers and I were able to snag tickets to this sold out show. I am so glad I did. I always forget how powerful this show is. Not to mention Blyth Danner was amazing.

4. Evil Dead, the musical - yes, you read that right. What a fun show! For a campy, off-broadway production it was really well done. The music is fun and it had some really cool special effects. I have never seen so much stage blood in my life! The first three rows of the theatre are called the "splatter zone". This is because as the demons get killed they squirt and splatter the audience with all the blood they can. Ah, good (not s0) clean fun. If you can catch this one, do. You will laugh...alot.

So, there is the recap of my theatre adventures. I was actually surprised I saw so much. When I was making my show plans, there really wasn't anything I was needing to see...Almost four hundred dollars later, I've seen four new shows.

Man, I love theatre!

Note: I upgraded to the blogger beta, I HATE the new dashboard...TOO much stuff!

New York!

I LOVE NEW YORK CITY!!!!!!!

I love everything about it, the crowds, the noise, the energy.

I just got back from a week long trip to the Big Apple. I have returned energized and excited to be teaching theatre (although my English classes are sapping that right out of me rather quickly).

I go every year at this time because of a class I teach. Let me tell you about it...

I have the amazing opportunity to work with an organization called Manhattan Theatre Club. They are a not-for-profit organization that produces wonderful theatre and does tons for the educationional community.

They run a project called Theatrelink. In this project students from around the world (about 18 schools in total) work in groups of 3 schools to write plays and produce theatre. I am so fortunate to have been selected to be a part of this 9 years ago and to have been asked back every year.

The kids love it. They have the opportunity to read a play and communicate with the playwright (this year's play is Brooklyn Boy by Donald Margulies). Once they have studied the life out of the play they are turned loose to write their own scripts, with guidance from myself and a professional working in New York, this year we are working with a playwright by the name of Carmen Rivera (I can't wait to read some of her work).

Once the plays are written we trade scripts and begin production. The kids do everything. Direct, design, act, they learn so much. And they have a great time as well.

I am so excited to begin the project. I learned so much during this last trip. I feel like this project helps make me a better director and a better teacher.

If you have some time check out the MTC website, they are fab!

http://www.mtc-nyc.org/

If you're in New York, check out some of their shows...amazing theatre work!

Mom

The past year I have been consistently amazed by my mother's strength and courage.
Last October she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

Last November she went through a single masectomy.

Last December she got engaged to an amazing man, Rocky.

Last January she started chemotherapy.

Last June her fiance was diagnosed with a inoperable brain tumor.

Last July her fiance passed away.

Last July she began radiation treatments.

Last September she completed radiation.

Last October her mom had open heart surgery.

Last night we had craft night and she was laughing and happy and moving on.

She and Rocky loved to dance, loved to create art, loved to enjoy the company of family and friends.

Today she will starts a dance class. A dance class she and Rocky where going to take together once she was feeling well.

With everything my mom has been through this past year I am so impressed with her ability to carry on. To still do the things she loved doing with Rocky. Yes, she has her down times, we all do. Rocky was her ideal, her soulmate. But she knows that he wouldn't want her to sit around and grieve forever. He would want her to get out there and do the things she loved to do.

Last night at craft night we talked until 2:00am about Rocky. About how we still have a hard time believing he's gone. About how sometimes she feel guilty for moving on and being happy. How some days are harder than others, and the mornings are the hardest, she misses her daily "Good Morning" call. But she is moving on.

With everything my mom has been through this past year and the fact that she can look at live and still smile, that is a strong woman to me.

She has a strength that I can only hope I have an once of.

I never really thought about looking up to someone, of having someone I want to be like. But today I think I really hope that when I "grow up" I'm like my mom. Strong, independent, and able to carry on through the toughest of times.

Note: I wanted to post pictures of my beautiful mother, but blogger wouldn't let me. I'll try again later.

a word about sophomores...

The word sophomore means "young fool". There is a reason why 10 graders are called sophomores, they are fools! IDIOTS! Dumb asses! I hate sophomores.

I stayed at school until 7:45 pm (on Friday, I might add) so I could finally update grades. 98% of students have got to be failing.

They aren't failing because I suck (although I'm beginning to wonder), they are failing because they don't turn anything in.

I have some students where the only things they have turned in are tests. Now, I know I should have caught this sooner, called home, had the translators call home (because for most of my students the home language is not English), but with 140 English students and 60 drama students when am I supposed to call home? Like I said, I left the school at almost 8:00pm, it was me and the custodial crew, now who wants to call parents at 8:00pm on Friday, the whole dozen or so I could have actually communicated with.

Monday will end up being the what are you going to do to pass my class day. As I walk from student to student, show them their grade and ask...What are you going to do to pass this class? Do you plan on getting a diploma? Do you plan on every having a job? I don't think they think about the fact they actually have to pass classes to get out of high school with a diploma (not to mention the Exit Exam).

Our future isn't looking too bright!

On a happy note...I leave for New York on Tuesday!