26 posts tagged “meme”

The uber-cool Bethany of Bethany Actually took part in a round-robin interview a while back and asked for volunteers to be interviewed. I said I do it as a writing exercise as only about 5 people read this blog and might not want to participate in the round-robin-ness of it. So here it is.

1. You are a teacher of the gifted. How did you come to that career? (Did you start out teaching something else and wind up with gifted students, or did you always know that was your calling?)
I have been teaching for a long time. Next year will be my 20th year of teaching. EEK! I actually student taught at the school I am at now. I started out teaching third grade, moved to first, and then looped with my last first grade class. That was a wonderful teaching experience. I loved having the same students for two years. That first day of the second year was so easy and comfortable for everyone. After that, I had a choice to make. I couldn't stay in second grade because my class was the extra in that grade. I could go back to first or try another grade where there was an opening. Sadly, the woman who had run the gifted program for many years was ill and could no longer run the program the way it needed to be. When I approached my principal about it, he told me he was happy I asked because he thought I'd be great at it. Turns out it is my true calling. I love working with gifted kids. In my very small district I am the lone gifted ed teacher and once kids are identified I have them forever. Right now my students range in age from first to eleventh grade. I was never identified as gifted as a child but I get these kids. I understand their quirks and I easily switch gears or stay on a subject according to their interests. I have been blessed because I have very supportive principals who don't flinch when I say, "I've been thinking..."

2. What was the worst job you've ever had, and what did you learn from it?
I have been very blessed and cannot remember ever having a job I didn't like. In high school, I babysat, worked at a small clothing store, and was a life guard. None of these were terrible. In college, I was a desk assistant or a resident assistant and enjoyed those too. I have had some issues with teaching that have been tough. I don't always get along with my co-workers and once had a panic attack (it was after school) when one of them told me I was a self-centered b*tch. This came about because I wanted to do something with one of her students and went to the principal who supported me and she was angry. Some teachers don't like to let anyone else teach their students. In that case, I learned to think ahead about how a classroom teacher might react when I go to the principal and say, "I've been thinking..." I usually go ahead with the idea anyway but I try to consider how the classroom teacher will feel.
 
3. You're a talented artist who loves to dabble in many different media. Is there any type of art you have not yet tried, but would like to?
I would like to learn more about photography. I love to take photos but don't know about the technical aspects. I'd like to do that soon. Here are some of my favorite photos.
4. How many tattoos do you have? Will you get any more?
I currently have seven: right foot- dragonfly, right calf- sun, left foot- luna moth, left calf- moon, right hip- honeybee, lower back- sunflower, right forearm- butterfly. I definitely want more but I think a lot about new ink before I get it. It needs to mean something.  I also have my nose pierced, an upper cartilage piercing, and stretched lobes. Funny story- my mom hates my piercings but loves my tattoos. Two summers ago, I trook her to get her first tat. They traced the dragonfly on my foot and now she has amatching tat on her ankle.

Meme from the blog of the lovely Bethany. Items I have completed in bold.

1. Started your own blog~ more than once
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band~ jazz band in HS
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower~ I try to do this with the kids at least once a year
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland~ just Disney World
8. Climbed a mountain~ depends on what you consider a mountain!
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo~ many. I was a musical geek in HS and have participated in many church choirs where I've been a featured soloist
11. Bungee jumped~ but I would love to some day
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea~ I LOVE to do this.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty~ it was the 70s and we climbed the endless spiral staircase
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill~ have done this when the kids are sick
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping~ when I was young and skinny ;)
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset~ Sunrises are easy this time of year ;) Sunsets are easier still as I'm usually coming home from work about that time. But I do remember staying up all night and watching summer sunrises back when I was a skinny teenager.
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community~ there are many within an hour's drive. One of the Wal-marts we visit has the bank of stalls for carriages. A few months ago I had to laugh as we stopped at a convenience store for gas and a young Amish/Mennonite man exited the store, walked over to his carriage, and started smoking the cigarettes he'd just bought. Seemed quite the contradiction.
36. Taught yourself a new language~ I taught myself basic Italian so I could teach my students
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied (in general)
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud~ I have great memories of playing in the mud from college
54. Gone to a drive-in theater~ We did this a lot when we were kids. We'd get in our pajamas and load up the station wagon with pillows, blankets, and the little pottie.
55. Been in a movie~ in college but nothing major
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies~ as a child and as a mom
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy~ many!
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square~ many times
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car~ we used the money from our wedding to buy my first car- a brand new Hyundai Excel
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper~ again from HS- musicals and local competitions (voice, oratory, Winter Carnival Princess)
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House~ a friend from college had parents who worked for the first Bush president. We got to go on a behind the scenes tour. It was very cool.
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life~ no but my sister and another wedding guest kept my Nana alive with CPR when she collapsed and died at my cousin's wedding
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous~ In the mid-nineties, our friend Scott worked for the company that managed the band Live. We got to go backstage and hang with the band after the concert.
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby~ 2!
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a lawsuit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee~ I was allergic as a child and would always swell up
100. Read an entire book in one day

42% complete

You can see that I have never been west of the Mississippi or out of the country. I'd love to do both some day.

There are a few things I do not wish to do: 27, 57, 87

And of course I wouldn't want the bad/unfortunate/icky stuff to happen to anyone.

How about you? Let me know if you do this.

found at the lovely Bethany's.

Sitting on the green swivel desk chair that I brought home from school this summer and haven't taken back to work because everyone here likes to use it with the computer. I guess that gives me permission to buy a new one for school ;)

Smelling popcorn that Lydia made a few minutes ago.

Listening to TrueBlood on the TV. I'm still enjoying it though it gets a little raunchy when the brother is on.

Drinking 4C Iced Green Tea.

Reading The Condition: A Novel. It's okay so far but not great. Again- I am not connecting with the characters. They're not very likable. I'll give it a few more chapters. Waiting to be read is The Graceyard Book by my beloved Neil.

Loving the crisp weather.

Dreading nothing at the moment- thank you God :)

Eagerly anticipating Luke's field trip to the Philadelphia Zoo tomorrow. I took a personal day so I could play Mom instead of teacher for the day.

Worrying about my mom and dad. They had a tough time paying for their oil last winter and this winter doesn't look to be much easier. And on top of that, my dad is worried his plant may be closing. He's a year and a half from retirement and this would be a terrible set-back for them.

Wishing for a best friend.

Praying every morning in the shower for daily mercy.

Grateful for our security.

Sharing with you!

As seen at BethanyActually's.

Ten Things I Wish I Could Say to Ten Different People Right Now:

1-   I don't want to.

2-   Tell me what I'm supposed to be doing.

3-   You need to take care of that now or it will get much worse.

4-   Stop complaining about work.

5-   It's hard but it won't always be like this.

6-   I love you but you drive me crazy sometimes.

7-   I thought I knew what you wanted but clearly I hadn't a clue.

8-   I wish you'd include me.

9-   I'm sorry.

10- Don't do it...it's not worth it.

 

Nine Things About Myself:

1-   I LOVE to watch movie previews.

2-   I have an addictive personality and while I don't use drugs or alcohol, I am addicted to collecting stuff.

3-   My current favorite color is orange. 

4-   I am trying out a new nail regimen and I love the way my nails look.

5-   I'm also trying new skincare routine and am happy with that too. It sucks having acne at my age.

6-   While I am a little more comfortable with turning 40, I still can't believe I will be forty in a few months. How can I be 40!?!?!

7-   I hate socks.

8-   I like to let glue dry on my hand and then I like to peel it off.

9-   I love the smell of scotch tape (it has to be the actual Scotch brand though).

Eight Ways to Win My Heart:

1-   Rub my feet.

2-   Massage my hands.

3-   Bring me chocolate covered cherries.

4-   Show kindness.

5-   Show creativity.

6-   Listen.

7-   Don't laugh at my crazy ideas.

8-   Love the Earth.

Seven Things That Cross My Mind Alot:

1-   I could make that.

2-   I hope they're okay/safe.

3-   I need more time!

4-   Why didn't I do that?

5-   Remember to...

6-   Just ten more minutes!

7-   That person shouldn't be able to drive.

Six Things I Do Before I Fall Asleep:

1-   Pee.

2-   Brush my teeth.

3-   Wash my face.

4-   Plump my pillows.

5-   Pray.

6-   Wiggle my toes and flex my feet to relax.

Five People Who Mean Alot:

Okay...this is really hard!

1-   Hub

2-   Lydia

3-   Luke

4-   My Mom

5-   My Dad

Four Things I'm Wearing Right Now:

1-   my bad hair day pajama pants

2-   a grey t-shirt

3-   my platinum eternity band

4-   my clear lucite plugs (2g)

Three Songs I Listen to Alot:

1-   Imogen Heap "Hide and Seek"

2-   The Postal Service "Such Great Heights"

3-   Mates of State "Goods"

Two Things I Want to Do Before I Die:

1-   Travel to Italy or New Zealand

2-   Learn to play the guitar

One Confession:

I spend too much time on the internet. It is a definite timesuck. There is just so much I am interested in and meanderlinking gets be lost in a baaaaad way!

Care to play? Let me know in comments.

 

 

from the most lovely Darlene 

Here’s how you play:

type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr search.
using only the first page, choose an image.
copy and paste each of the URL’s into the mosaic maker over at FD’s image maker.

The questions:

What is your first name?

What is your favorite food?

What high school did you attend?
What is your favorite color?
Who is your celebrity crush?
Favorite drink?
Dream vacation?

Favorite dessert?
What do you want to be when you grow up?
What do you love most in life?
One word to describe you.
Your Flickr name

Here's mine.

 

from studying this morning. I spent the last hour wading through the 100+ blogs on my feeder. Though I didn't get very far...I managed to read about 30. Too many blogs...too little time when you're reading about the history of folktales and how to think the fun out of analyze children's literature while using words like iconoclastic, politic, epistemological, normative,phenomenology, impinge,paradigmatically, and hermeneutic. Blech.

So during my blogrolling this morning, I came upon a meme. Here are my answers.

1. What did you do 10 years ago?

Ten years ago, Lydia would have been three. Three! I am fairly sure that this was during our rebuilding of family after almost breaking up and so we probably were doing something together. Hub would have still been working in an office and therefor would have been at work. Lydia and I probably went swimming and then had dinner with hub. Nothing exciting. I was a teacher even then.

2. Five items on your to-do list today:

* I'm treasurer for the local playground program. The director and I are going to buy games and supplies this morning.

* I have to work on my classes. I have to write a response paper to the research I've read this week which includes an assertion that Chris Van Allsburg's Polar Express is representative of a Nazi Youth Rally and that he must have had something like that in his family history that is comintg through. Yeah. Right. I'm am so not looking forward to writing that paper.

* I'll probably take the kids to the park since it's too cold for swimming.

* I want to finish Luke's clubhouse. We're decorating and painting his backyard play area to represent his current interest in sharks and the ocean.

* Clean the kitchen.

3. Snacks I enjoy:

I LOVE Chex Mix Turtle Mix.

4. Places you have lived:

Minersville, Kutztown, and Reading, PA. All within a 75 mile radius. Woo-hoo. 

5. What would you do if you were a billionaire?

Quit my job. Make art full time. Not worry about college for the kids. Give more money to my church. Give more money to art-for-public groups. Go on a vacation to Italy. Buy a beach cottage.

6. People you want to know more about:

Anne Sexton (I originally thought about who I'd want to meet and wrote Amelia Earhart and Georgia O'Keeffe but realized I know a lot about them. I'd love to sit down for dinner with them, but I really want to learn more about Anne Sexton.)

 

 

I can't believe it took me this long to post a meme but let's face it...I haven't posted that much in 2008. Still busy unpacking and keeping this new house clean. I am rpoud to report that most of the house is looking fine and when we had someone drop by unexpectedly last night, I wasn't mortified to walk them through the house.

So here's a meme I culled from the ever-lovely scrapping Joy:

Yourself: content

Your partner: playing D&D with the nerd herd

Your hair: needs a style

Your mother: needs a new house

Your father: is ever helpful

Your favorite item: a book

Your dream last night: I don't remember! But I did have a funny dream the other day about buying a whole bunch of clocks since hub falls asleep downstairs and it's a pain to walk all through the house to wake him up in the morning.

Your favorite drink: iced tea

Your dream car: a volvostation wagon or some cool hybrid

 Your dream home: this one! Just not as beige. 

The room you are in now: the family room 

Your fear: losing those I love 

Where you want to be in 10 yrs: I'd love to be doing more with art as a career. 

Who you hung out with last night: Lydia and I watched Trading Spaces. Yay! Paige is back.

You’re not: ready to go back to school tomorrow! But it's a 4 day weekend coming up :) 

Wish list item: this camera 

Last thing you did: said good-night to Lydia 

What are you wearing: black and green skirt and green sweater (I never changed after church!) 

Favorite weather: warm and sunny 

Favorite book: Time Traveler's Wife 

Last thing you ate: 2 slices of pizza for dinner 

Your life: is pretty good 

Your mood: is better than it had been 

Your best friend: don't have one 

What are you thinking about right now: going to sleep 

Your car: Scion xB 

What are you are doing at this moment: typing 

Relationship status: married with children

What’s on TV: Rock of Love 2 (I know! I know! I'm terribly addicted to trashy "reality TV shows.) 

Last time you laughed: with Luke

Pass it on... 

It's that time again. I almost always wanted to be a teacher. I still get excited by school supplies and newly waxed hallways. I love the smell of crayons and scotch tape. (Not together...but separately!) Here's a meme regarding high school. I guess this could also be in honor of tomorrow night's premier of HS Musical 2. Anyway you look at it- it's back-to-school time for me.

First read

1. Who was your best friend? My BF from 6th grade through 12th was Angel...but she was definitely NOT an angel when we were younger. By the time we were in HS, she'd done a total 180 and was wearing make-up and curling her hair- a long  way from smoking cigars behind her grandpop's truck and threatening to beat me up if I snitched.

2. Did you play sports? Nope. I was not cut out for sports. My only two connections to sports were being on the archery team in 9th and 10th grade and being the cross-country manager in 11th and 12th.

3. What kind of car did you drive? No car for me. I borrowed the family station wagon in times of desperation.

4. It's Friday night. Where were you? In 9th or 10th grade- probably at home. I was a late bloomer when it came to dating. Towards the end of tenth, I started dating Bill (mentioned in a previous post). Up until then, I mainly hung out at home with my girlfriends or watched TV with my Nana. In 11th- probably at a sporting event and in 12th probably with my senior year boyfriend.

5. Were you a party animal? Not at all! I went to cast parties for 3 years and the after-prom party my junior and senior years. That was it. I went to slumber parties and such but nothing else. It was popular in my hometown to go drinking out on the back country roads or down the railroad tracks to spots hard to get to. I never went to any of those parties.

6. Were you considered a flirt? Not at all. And I'm also one of those people who has no idea when other people are flirting with me. My girlfriends would always let me know afterthefact!

7. Were you in the band, orchestra, or choir? I played the keyboard in the jazz band briefly but my true love was choir. I sang in the choir all four years and participated in select choir in 10th-12th.

8. Were you a nerd? Sort of. I did well with no effort. I liked school. I liked learning. But I was super-involved too. That's not very nerdy.

9. Were you ever expelled or suspended? Not in HS.

10. Can you sing the fight song? We didn't have one. I did know the alma mater though.

11. Who was your favorite teacher? Miss Beatty. She was my English teacher and the director of the school musicals and the yearbook advisor- two activities I loved.

12. What was your school mascot? A miner... I gradulated from Minersville.

13. Did you go to the Prom? Yes. Both junior and senior years. The junior year, I'd broken up with the guy before the prom but we went anyway. It was sort ofa bummer- even though I did have fun with my friends.

14. If you could go back, would you? Absolutely not! Even though I did well in HS and enjoyed many activities, I would not go back to that angst for anything!

15. What do you remember most about graduation? We had graduation outside and that was nice. It was on a Friday the 13th though!!!

16. Where were you on Senior Skip Day? We didn't have one.

17. Did you have a job your senior year? I babysat but I only had steady jobs in the summer.

18. Where did you go most often for lunch? We weren't allowed to leave for lunch.

19. Have you gained weight since then? Um...yes! I am double the weight I was when I graduated from HS. I still have the dress I wore for HS graduation and recently my 12yo tried it on and it fit her. You've seen pictures of her. Yep- I was that small. And the weird thing was that I ate soooo much when I was in HS. Dates always commented on how much I ate. My metabolism must have been supersonic.

20. What did you do after graduation? I worked through the summer as a life guard and then went off to college.

21. What year did you graduate? 1986

22. Who was your Senior Prom Date? My senior boyfriend George.

23. Are you going/did you go to your 10 year reunion? We didn't have one. I did however go to the 15th but it was a bore. Many of my classmates were still happy to hang out and drink beer. I doubt I'd go to another one. Every few years, I get together with my group from high school. That's good enough.

Care to reminisce?

 

 

Courtesy of Create a Connection.

Here are the rules:

1. Go to the Billboard #1 Hits (scroll down and you’ll see them separated by decades on the left in the sidebar)
2. Pick the year you turned 18
3. Get yourself nostalgic over the songs of the year
4. Pick 5 songs and write something about how these songs affected you.

I turned 18 at the end of 1986. I'd just finished my first semester of college. Here are the songs from the Billboard list that made me smile.

March 29-April 18 Rock Me Amadeus- Who can forget that? It had a totally different sound from anything I had heard in my podunk little town.

May 3-May 9 Addicted to Love- This one is more of a video memory. Those oft copied glamazons stepping to the sounds of Robert Palmer. Those girls were just bizarre.

July 26- August 1 Sledgehammer- Also a video memory. I wondered how long it took them to make that crazy clay video. I really didn't like the song at all but the video was certainly intriguing.

October 25- November 7 True Colors- I LOVED this song. I still do. I fancied myself a creative force to be reckoned with and loved Cyndi Lauper. I wanted to be her. I wore plenty of dresses with crinolines and wild hair too. But this song was different. Not the wild, wacky side of Cyndi but the romantic. Oh how I wanted to have someone see me for who I was...my true colors and that's why they'd love me. I loved the raw quality of her voice. So different from other mainstream artists. Long live Cyndi!

December 20- January 16 Walk Like an Egyptian- Loved dancing to this one... and whistling along. I have a very vivid memory of standing in the hallway of my dorm with Chris (who later became my boyfriend and then my husband) and hearing this song and bopping about him. I don't know why I remember that. It was before we dated and it was nothing special. But I remember it.

How about you? Any musical memories to share?

 

Over at Create a Connection a new Get-to-Know-You has been posted. It looked like fun; so here it is.

Where were you in 1987? In school? Working? Single? Married? Attached? What was important to you?  What were you doing creatively? Tell us a bit about your life then.

I has just finished my freshman year of college and was back home for the summer lifeguarding and spending time with my HS boyfriend. I loved college but was still attached to home mostly because of the boyfriend. We had dated all through senior year and freshman year of college and would continue through another winter. At this point, I had met the man who would later become my husband. We lived in the same building.

At this point my main creative outlet was fashioning my own thrifted and recycled outfits. I LOVED the Good Will and Sally Ann. I also lived in a college town filled with antique stores. Lots of vintage goodness. I had discovered Keith Haring's art and was smitten. He was born in the community where I went to college and I even got to meet him once.

I also discovered a whole new world of music at college- Siouxsie and the Banshees, OMD, Depeche, Echo and the Bunnymen, the Cure, and the B52s. I know a lot of people feel high school was the "golden time" in their lives but for me- it was college. Loved it.

Where were you in 1997? What would you like to share about the nineties?

By 1997, I was married for 7 years and was the mother of a 2 year old. This was also a very tough time in my marriage and I almost left my husband. He was too busy off doing his own thing and really hadn't grown-up. I felt so alone and found support with someone else. (Love but nothing physical.) When hub found out, he vowed to change. He did. He did a total 180 and become very clingy. He's lightened up but because of what happened, I don't feel he totally trusts me. 

However- having Lydia was a wonderful thing! I marveled at the little person she was. Such a personality packed into such a tiny little girl.

Where did you plan to be or think you'd be in 2007?  Have your realized your goals? What is one thing about your present life you love and one you'd like to change?

I always thought I'd be more settled at this age. But on the contrary, I keep coming up with these ideas and wondering what I should be when I grow up! I am however realizing my goal of raising two wonderful children. Even when they are driving me nuts, something will happen and I am in awe. They are such creative, compassionate, smart, beautiful children. I am truly blessed.

I love the fact that as a teacher I get to spend the summer with them and we can spend lobg stretches just being around each other.

I'd like to turn into the organized, tidy woman I thought I was supposed to be! 

How do you see your life in 2017?   Do you have any goals or dreams for your future?

No! 2017!!! Lydia will be 22! And Luke will be 16! No. Not my babies!!! Hopefully, Lydia will be finishing up school and will have studied for a fulfilling career. Luke should still be in HS and hopefully, he is happy too. I will be approaching 50. Fifty? No!!! I feel like I'm 25 yet! Though I must admit that each new grey hair (and there have been a lot this week!) chips away at that inner-vision.

I hope to have accomplished the following by this time:

moved to a new house where I will remain until I move to the beachhouse ;)

traveled to Europe (perferably Italy) 

continued to raise my children to be good people 

continued to teach students to be good people

learned new things

moved forward as an artist

stayed happy and healthy

So there you have it. Me- yesterday, today, and tomorrow! Why don't you play along?