Somebody owes me some money!

These past few months, I have been reading The Lightning Thief to my students. This is the first book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. The series teaches kids about Greek mythology in a way that they can understand. My kids went crazy for the book! We have been discussing Greek gods and goddesses for months now.





The Lightning Thief was recently made into a movie and it premiered this past weekend.

My classroom somehow became an interactive promotion of the film. I think it's safe to say that 20th Century Fox sold about 60 tickets thanks to me.

Here is some evidence to prove my case:










And now, for the most shameless of my promotions....







Pay up, Hollywood!



`

Top Quotes of the Week

Adult: "Once a supreme court justice is sworn in, how long will they serve on the court?"
Student: "Two hours."


Two men walk into a QT.
Man #1: "What are you gonna get?"
Man #2: "Well, I was going to get a Gatorade, but now I want pancakes."
Men leave and go to iHop.

Student: "One time, last year, people started a rumor about my friend. They said she eats possums."

So Long Gossip Girl

It was recently brought to my attention that gossip is becoming an issue in the 5th grade. We have been confiscating notes and shutting down rumors, all to no avail. Therefore, it was time for an intervention.

Thus, I decided to host a funeral for 'Gossip Girl'. Gossip Girl would represent rumors, lies, and all the hurt they cause.

My fellow teachers jumped on board and in my opinion, today was a hit. Many teachers came to my room throughout the day to 'pay their respects'. We walked around with somber looks on our faces and many of us dressed head to toe in black.

The hardest part of the day (besides my high heels) was keeping a straight face and stifling the laughs. I found that it really helped to carry a tissue with you, so that when you were about to laugh, you could cover your mouth and look like you were crying.

Take a glimpse of our ceremony.






Saying our last goodbye's.


Part of our ceremony was to share how Gossip has made us feel throughout her life. I think my favorite word was 'Doomful'.



Although it is quite lengthy, here is Gossip Girl's eulogy:

Today, we gather together to remember the life of an enemy, Gossip Girl
Gossip Girl, or Gossip to her friends, lived a life of poor character and disrespect

Gossip was an example of all the things that we should not say about each other,
Every time that Gossip was near, others failed to show Respect and Kindness,
Gossip caused us to say things we would regret,
words that hurt our friends,
rumors that ruined our relationships,
and lies that broke others trust in us.

She was like a disease,
Spreading lies everywhere she went,
Those whom she infected became sad and lonely,
Those whom she targeted became hurt and mistreated.

During the last hours of her life, Gossip asked that her final words be shared here today. Here is what she had to say:

“I have lived a sad and lonely life. My friends, whose hearts I broke, lost their trust in me. They did not want to be around me once I began spreading my rumors. I had poor character; I never made the right choices. And often I was so out of control that there was no way to take back the things I had said, no matter how hard I tried.
As you look back on my life, I beg you; do not make the same choices that I made. If you choose to say something about others, make sure that your words are kind. Do not disrespect those around you as I have. Be truthful and considerate. And when you hear me coming your way, ignore me, do not repeat what you hear.
As my final wish, I would like you to make a promise to yourself, that today when you leave this service, you leave me here. Forget I, Gossip Girl, ever existed. Choose to leave me out of your life and I promise, your friends, your family, and you, yourself, will be thankful that you did.”

As we listen to Gossip’s final words,
Let us take to heart what she is asking us to do,
May our words be kind,
Our stories be true,
And may our actions reveal our true character,
Character that reflects good choices and respect for others.



See...we couldn't keep from laughing.

Update #1

As previously posted, I have a lot of reading to do.

(look below to see a VERY large pile of books)

Here is my current progress report:


I finished a book that I had started and then put down after a few pages. The book, Queen of Babble Gets Hicked by Meg Cabot, was the third and last in a series. Therefore, I felt like I should read it first in order to complete the series. The book only took a few hours to complete & was a light and humorous read, as all her books seem to be. Why had I put it down in the first place?

Then I got a little side-tracked. I read a book that was not in 'the pile'. I know, I know! I promised. But it was the second book in a series that I have been reading to my students. It was sooo good, I couldn't resist.




Then, I had to read the book, Dear John by Nichlas Sparks, so that my girlfriend Amanda and I could go see the movie next week when it comes out. If you don't know this, I LOVE to compare books to their movies; it's a weakness. I can't be held accountable for straying off my path if there is a book-movie combo involved.



Next, I had to finish the book I had been reading before I even discovered all of my unread books. This book was also the last in a series. It was a drag! And it took me most of this past snowstorm weekend to finish it. Well wouldn't ya know, it WASN'T the last in the series; there is another one! But I can't even think about that series until I make a serious dent in my 'pile'.



Finally, I chose a second book from the pile and got to work. It is The Gatecrasher by Madeline Wickham. I love her books under her pin-name 'Sophia Kinsella'.

So far, I am liking it. There is a slight problem though: I have a job, chores, errands to run, American Idol to watch, and papers to grade. I need another snow day in order to make adequate progress.


So in the end, I am making progress with only minimal distractions. Three books would be considered 'minimal' distractions, right?

2 down, many to go

Boo You, Groundhog Day!

Today is Groundhog Day. That little rascal, Phil, saw his shadow. Therefore, according to our furry friend, we have six more weeks of freezing temperatures, snow, and sweaters.

If this news makes you feel sad like it does me, then take a glance at these warm and sunny photos.

Oh and yes, you're welcome!

St. Maartin


Orient Beach, French St. Maartin


Myself and My old friend, the sun
Magen's Beach, St. Thomas


awwww....

He's on FIRE!

Well kids, I'm here to say, "Dreams do come true!'

The first day of Kevin's dream job has finally arrived. Yesterday was day one of Owasso Fire. When Kevin came home, his eyes were lit up and his smile stretched from ear to ear.

And he received loads of new clothes too!







Today (Day 2) when my dad asked Kevin how his day was, his response (without skipping a beat): "Best day of my life."

I am so very proud of him. Who wouldn't be?




~

Read, Cara, Read

That's quite a stack of books, wouldn't you say?

Well I agree. And let me tell you, that stack of books makes me mad.
And ashamed.


Why, you ask. Let me tell you why. That stack of books is something that I discovered this week. A discovery that makes me bow my head in shame. Those are the books that I OWN, that I have NOT read. I have either started them and not finished, or never even opened them. Yes, I know, I am a READING teacher. I am a person who tells children to finish what they start, to not give up, to read, read, read. And here I am with a mini-library of unread books!

I have removed them from the dark corners in which they were hidden and placed them out in the open. I will not rest until they are ALL read. Also, I will not purchase or check out a single book until I am finished. With you and the rest of the world wide web as my witness, those books WILL be read.

Catching You Up to Speed (really quickly)

Hannah cheered.



Rylee was an Ice Princess.


Anna & Hannah were Rosalie & Alice from Twilight.


Avery was a Lady Bug.


Rylee caught a fish...


and lost all her teeth.


Lindsay wrote a song.



Hannah, Anna, & Cara waited in line for New Moon.



Kevin set the table.



Joey made potatoes.



We were hungry.


Kevin made me laugh.


Avery hung ornaments...


and more ornaments.




That about sums up the past few months. Well not really. But it's a small glimpse and it'll have to do for now.



~

Christmas Comes Early for Sherpa

Tonight we bought Sherpa one of those 'dog stockings' that they sell this time of year. It was a over-sized plastic stocking full of Christmas themed toys.

It took about 5 minutes for Sherpa to start his typical destruction process.







Merry Christmas Sherpa. Your other gift will be a new vacuum cleaner.

Hello Old Friend

My Dear Blog,

I would like express my apology for neglecting you these past few months. My lack of attention is inexcusable. I have failed you for many weeks now and I am well aware that your forgiveness is not easily achieved. I can only hope that you will accept my apology and forgive me for my selfishness.

I understand that in order to regain your trust I have hours of stories to type, pictures to post, videos to upload, and jokes to tell. I am willing to work diligently in order to prove my commitment to you. I WILL make you proud again.

Just know this my dearest Blog: these past few months, it wasn't you, it was me.

Yours Always,

Cara

C.A.R.A

This video was made by my brother Joey. The suprising thing is, he actually does love me.

I'm questioning that though. You decide.

Christmas Battle Royale

So my family has interesting and unusual ideas of entertainment. For example we have a Christmas tradition of competition. (aka bringing it on) Last year, we hosted a family karaoke competition. This year, we are taking it up a notch with a commercial contest. Everyone is required to create a product or use an existing product, then we have to write and perform a commercial. There will be no judges but somehow we all think that ours will 'win'.

Here is the commercial that my brother made in order to promote the making of commercials. However, he says that it is a "warning".



In case you cannot read the words, here they are:

Cooley Christmas Battle Royale 2009

You can see the fear in the eye.

It will pit brother against sister.

There will be blood.

Not even reindeer are safe.

There is no mercy for the weak.

Only the strong will survive.

It will play with your mind.

It will stop at nothing.

It will steal your youth.

Trust no one.

December 24, 2009

The Epic Battle Continues

Are you ready to fight for your life?





And to answer the question at hand. Yes, I am ready to fight for my life.

Flu Season

Having the FLU is not all it's cracked up to be. Sure you stay home from work and you are bundled up with covers. Someone brings you a cool glass of water and puts a cool washcloth on your head. It looks great on the commercials; but commercials lie!

Having the Flu is miserable. You sweat and then shiver and then sweat and then shiver. You talk like a crazy person and no one understands you; then you get frustrated because you have to repeat yourself and it hurts to talk in the first place. EVERYTHING hurts. Everything. And nothing makes it feel better. I won't even go into detail about the vomiting. I will just say: Vomiting, lots of vomiting.

Your parents won't even come into your house because they don't want your germs. Your husband sleeps in the spare bedroom because you used all the pillows and rolled onto 'his side' when you were napping during the day. Apparently, their love IS conditional.

And now on day 2, you are forced to drink gallons of liquids because on day 1 you were so afraid of the vomiting that you didn't drink any. So now, instead of being afraid of vomiting, you are afraid of dehydration. Your husband actually gives you a timeline: "Drink one whole bottle of Gatorade before 12:30."

Speaking of day 2, I am so proud of myself for accomplishing a few things today, things that were impossible yesterday. I can type. I walked to the door to let Sherpa in. I poured my own Gatorade. Currently, I am working up the courage to take a shower. But standing for more than a minute or two, frightens me......See! The flu lowers you to an embarrassing level. I am proud of myself for walking. Walking!

So, I guess what I am saying is: Don't wish for this. No, I will not cough on you so you can miss work. Get your flu shot. And oh yeah, don't be a teacher. Those kids are nothing more than germ-spreaders.








*The last comment about not being a teacher is not true. It's the flu talking.

Slacking on the job.

I got this email this week:

You have a blog? Really!?!
You haven't updated it in a month? Seriously? Really?!?
It takes a rabbit thirty-three days to go from pregnant to momma! Really!!!
But you can't even log on to your own blog and entertain us! Seriously!!!
Really! Your blog should be named "Ancient Memories"!! Because that's all I see!! Seriously!!!

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.

Sincerely,
With warmest regards,
All my best,
Your brother,
Supremely handsome,
Infinitely talented and wise,
Joey

P.S. I also want to see more pictures of Rylee and Avery. Please comply.





I guess I need to get to work. =)





~

Exploring at Nana & Papa's

This weekend, my nieces and I went on a 'hike' around my parents yard. The girls spent time looking at butterfly's and rollie-pollies, collecting acorns, leaves, & rocks. Here are a few pictures from their expedition.





There is a tiny spider in the tree


King of the Mountain


Pockets are for collecting...


Bug shells for example


"Look, it's orange & black! Just like OSU" Atta-girl!


Finding Rollie-Pollies...


And catching them


18 eggs + no basket = we improvise


And of course, use our pockets





Little ones can make an adventure out of anything! I love that about them.




~

Gigi's Birthday Extravaganza

For my grandmother's 80th birthday, she asked that all her family members (who have talent) perform at her church on her birthday weekend. The church program referred to us as "The Glenna Long Singing Group" =)

As a family member with a lack of musical talent, I chose to read a poem that I had written for her. As with anything I write, I went for two things: laughs & tears. My mission was accomplished. =)

However, there are a few members of my family who do in fact have some talent. So here are a few videos that I took. Copy & Paste the links into your browser bar and it will take you to YouTube where you can watch the videos. Sorry, I am still perfecting how to load videos; as you can see I haven't mastered it yet.

Here is Taylor, my nephew, singing & playing 'God of this City' by Chris Tomlin. Please keep in mind that he learned this song the NIGHT BEFORE he played it. He seriously impresses me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnFzgAsMXAI

Gigi wanted Rylee, my niece, to sing "You're a Grand Ol Flag", which she learned in Kindergarten last year. Rylee agreed, but none of us were certain that she would do it. See, she has never sang in front of anyone before, much less a congregation and her entire family. However, she did it without a second thought and surprised all of us. She was really cute too. And when asked later if she liked singing, she said yes and that she is all ready for American Idol.



What a little cutie!

Taylor's second song was, as always, a crowd pleaser. It is 'How Great Thou Art' and he did the arrangement himself.





~
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lgMJ1xDzA4

Gigi was one proud grandma! And her birthday celebration could not have represented her any better. She is also, always a crowd pleaser.