Skunk Mullet Lady

She was really nice, but how did she EVER decide on this hair???

Home Again, Home Again

It took a winding route, but we're back home again in the Paign. From Glasgow to Dublin to Shannon to Chicago to home, but we got here! It was a great trip, but we are happy to be home safely.

We've come home to a 7 game Cubs winning streak, Mexican food, and fountain Mountain Dew for 74 cents. We left behind Dr. Who, smoky bacon crisps, and kebabs...not to mention family. :(

It's already July, and this teacher needs to make the most of the next 8 weeks: gardening, reading, weddings, Food Network, Graceland, and getting revved up for the new blog. (Isn't it nice how I slyly embedded that info in this random post? I thought so.) Hope we all make the most of the rest of this summer!

On the Eve of Departure

Tomorrow we'll be leaving this friendly island, but before we do, we've had the opportunity to witness some late-breaking British news.

Yesterday saw Prime Minister Tony Blair resign from office. After over 10 years at Great Britain's helm, he's passed the torch off to Gordon Brown. Brown has been constantly described as a 'dour Scotsman,' so we'll see how President Dub deals with that. Will Brown rise to the challenge as Hugh Grant did to Billy Bob's president in 'Love Actually'? Lets all hope so. And now the news that really matters...

You've waited, you've prayed, you've held vigils, and it's FINALLY happened:

The Spice Girls are (officially) back together!

There have been rumors to this the entire three weeks of our stay, but I am so grateful that I've been here to see the official announcement made by the Girls themselves. Oh, it's a happy day! Who cares about politics when you've got the Spice Girls here to take your worries away with a poppy song? NOT ME! You'll have to wait awhile for the tour, though. Baby Spice has to have, her, well her baby. And Posh is too busy hanging out with Katie Holmes to get back in the studio just yet. (I'm also glad to see she still has breasts, as the picture above testifies to.)

Well, Screw

After waiting 6 looooong years for the second season of 'Twin Peaks' to come out I was ecstatic for its release in April. Then, according to tvshowsondvd.com, this is announced:

Seasons 1 and 2 are slated for an October 30 release in a super duper definitive gold box edition. Included will be the pilot (which originally was not in Season 1 because of copyright troubles). Additional documentaries are also in the works for this set.

I hate you CBS/Paramount. I hope for your sake someone wants to be REALLY nice to me for my birthday and get me this super set.

Scary German Guy Comes to DVD

That's right, folks! It's finally happened: 'The Monster Squad' has come to DVD!!! I'm so excited I can't stop using exclamation marks!

And, it's not some humdrum release, either. Oh, no: it's a two disc special edition for the 20th anniversary. The fans have cried out, and the powers that be have listened to us. There are no details about the extra features, but who cares? All you need to know are these three facts:

1. It comes out July 24.


2. It's only $14.99 on amazon.


3. And, YES, Wolfman DOES in fact have nards.

Have fun ordering! Meeting adjourned.

Catch Up Post 2: Princes Street

There is a place--a glorious place--in the heart of Edinburgh, Scotland. It's a street, a long, gorgeous street. It's lined with shops--shops upon shops that have fairly ordinary things like clothes, music, books, movies. There's even a Pizza Hut shoved in here and there. But this street is special. Whenever you exit a store, you are staring at a centuries old castle that stands guard over the shoppers and walkers. It watches over the pedestrians below and beckons them to look up and gaze upon its majesty. But the miraculous castle that's etched out of stones isn't the only thing that's special about this shopping lane. This is also the place that lets me say, loudly and proudly, to Food Network:

SKIP YOU, YOU LAME NETWORK THAT DOESN'T SHOW JAMIE OLIVER ANYMORE. I'LL SHOW YOU!!!

For this is the place where I purchased a three DVD set of Jamie Oliver's innovative, fresh, and original cooking series. FN might resolutely deny him any time slots, but I can now watch him whenever I want (which will usually be when Robin Miller is on).



You can also find these various items on Princes Street:

1. Herbal Essence shampoo and conditioner they don't make in the US anymore (my favorite kind)
2. the British paperback version of Harry Potter for your favorite Indianapolis resident
3. a mini Tardis that lights up when your cell phone rings
4. bag pipers piping (always a lovely sound to hear in the distant as you're spending way too much money on things you can't get at home)

A fine place it is!

Catch Up Post 1: Mallorca

Hello, much missed readers! It's been too many days since our last chat, and I've been very busy. We've spent the last week in Mallorca, Spain. Most of our time was spent on the beach at right. Let me give you a quick rundown of our week's activities:

SUNDAY: morning-beach; afternoon-beach

MONDAY: morning-beach; afternoon-seafront

TUESDAY: morning-beach; afternoon-seafront

WEDNESDAY: morning-beach; afternoon-seafront

THURSDAY: morning-beach; afternoon-seafront

FRIDAY: morning-beach; afternoon-seafront

Get the drift? When I say 'seafront,' our hotel looked out on the Mediterranean Sea, and there were lots of outcroppings from the rocky shore. We made base on one of these rocky cliffs everyday. Wunderbar! (Speaking of 'wunderbar,' there were a lot of Germans around. Too bad I only learned how to watch 'Mozart' in German class, because I couldn't converse.)

It was gorgeous, I only got a bit of sunburn (in the most peculiar of places, too), and I got to read--A LOT! I read two large tomes (but no talismans)--Outlander and Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass, and I started re-reading HP-VI (is it July 21 yet?). I HIGHLY recommend the books to all, and you should check out the links to them ASAP if you need some summer reading. It was lovely to do nothing all day. The most trying part of the day, in fact, was choosing where to eat.

Now, just a few words on Mallorcan fashions:

1. man capris


2. mullets


3. bikinis on ANY body type whatsoever

It was amazing(ly horrible). I felt like I was in some disastrous timewarp schism of fashion. I must confess that I did get a couple of pictures of some outstanding hair, and I'll post those once I get home. Other than observing the outlandish hair and fashion statements, it was a GRAND time!

Our time left here is short, but there's still a whole lotta Dr. Who to watch, Edinburgh to visit (again), kebabs to eat, and friends and family to see. We'll catch up more later. (I know you can't wait!)

25 Minutes

What's 25 minutes to you? An episode of 'The Cosby Show' without ads? How long it takes to eat dinner with your family? Maybe how long it takes to read a couple of chapters in Harry Potter? Well, 25 minutes has a new definition for me:

That's how long it took the cinema to start our film yesterday.

We went in to see 'Spidey 3' (yes, I saw it; get off my back!) at 2:40; the film started at 3:05. That would have been dandy if it was 25 minutes of previews. Unfortunately, it was 18 minutes of commercials and then a few previews strung together quickly before seeing one more commercial. Ah, good times. And for some reason, before 'Spidey 3,' 4 of the commercials were for Guinness. I hope the young lads behind us now know what to do when they hit 18 (it's 18 here, y'see).

SCOTLAND

We're here! After getting over jet lag (slept 13 hours last night), I'm ready to relax in style: beautiful lush, green hills surround me, castle and castle ruins are minutes away by train, and delicious, cold Apple Tango is waiting to be sipped down (that's apple soda for those of you who don't know). Not to mention there are books waitint to be read. Yes! Books! Those are the cute little stories bound in paper or cardboard I don't get to touch during the school year because I get to read 6th grade essays the whole time.

Yes, we are excited, but the posts may fall off a bit. I'll get to the 'puter when I can. But know, if there's no post, I'm having a SPECATCULAR time!

SuperMEN

Nice!
I'd vote for him.

All Reds!

If Topher's not in "Ocean's 13", I'm NOT goin'. He's stolen both of the first two. (Oh, "stolen," and they're movies about theft. NICE!)

Guess What I Did Today?

Scrapbooking! Yep, it's official: I'm not only a nerd, but a middle-aged nerd...and I'm not even middle-aged yet. How long will it be before I'm knitting, buying color-coordinated plates and napkins, and making intricate flower centerpieces?

I was putting together scrapbooks/albums for my cousins' graduation gifts. I'm sure they'll be thrilled with that gift. I hope they like them a little bit, though. It's been fun cutting up old pictures, putting stickers on the pages, and adding little anecdotes. I think it's been more meaningful to me than them. Since it's my first time, it's very "primitive." I'll have to do more to get a hang of it.

Also still have loads to do before Scotland departure:

1. Laundry
2. Bills
3. Balance checkbook
4. Make Meghann's book
   
5. Give dad spare key
6. Address birthday cards for when I'm gone (Kendra!)
7. See mom for an early birthday gift giving seminar
8. Get Father's Day presents and cards
   
9. Go to the library to return stuff
10. PACK

Wow, that was boring. And if you haven't figured it out, that list was more for me than you. Cause what will you do with that list? You're not going to Scotland.

I wish I was Martha Stewart: I bet I could get this all done a lot faster...especially with multiple P.A. minions following my every step, longing to please me with their eager beaverness.

Oh, Food Network, How I've Missed Thee

Nothin' like flippin' on the FN at 11:37 a.m. and finding Aunt Sandy making a chicken glaze with ONE CUP of dark RUM. How I'm looking forward to the lazy summer days of FN gazing fun. It's just impossible to keep up with new recipes and FN fun during the school year, even with the help of Food Network Addict.

I'm about to go search for my first ever Booby Fray recipe. I caught it on this weekend's Grillin' & Chillin' All-Star Grillfest from South Beach. I don't much enjoy the Flay, but this spicy chicken rub looked easy and perfect for hot summer nights. I am going to confess that I will not be keeping up with the Next Food Network Star this summer. Um, yeah, I'm bored with that. Final thought/questions: When will "Dave Does" become a part of the daily FN lineup? I'd much rather watch the Lieberman instead of two daily episodes of Aunt Sandy.

Happy Summer!

My Friend Named Her Dog SAMANTHA

This time of year always makes me think of "Can't Hardly Wait." I wonder how many of my students will be going to end of the year parties tonight. I definitely want to go out screaming, dancing, and singing ("Paradise City" of course). I still only own this on VHS, aod if anyone can convince the directors to put out the SPED DVD, I'd be really grateful.

Another school year on the books: done, finished, COMPLETED! There's a restful three months in front of me, and I'm thrilled. We're leaving for Scotland Saturday, and we'll be there for three weeks. Can't hardly wait!

I always tell myself that I'll work on new lesson plans and hone old ones over the summer, but that never happens. Maybe this will be the first summer it actually will. All's I know is I gots loads of good books to read, a garden to tend to, and files to put in order in the spare room. (It's a hot mess in there!) Oh, and did I mention "Smallville" to finish? But y'all already knew that.

Seein' "Knocked Up" tonight: WOO-HOO!!!

Exhaustified

And I still have one day of school left. M & M's graduation was on Tuesday. Field Day was successfully run. I started to make 6th grade schedules for NEXT year's class with my good friend, Lisa. Picked Martin up at 8:30 yesterday, after his three hour delay (poor fella). We started Friday at 8 am, and we still weren't done at 5 pm. I had Miss Catherine's wedding shower today; principal's retirement party tonight; also learned how to play Guitar Hero. (I think I rocked pretty hard for my first time.) Tomorrow is Beef House day with the fam, and then I get to go clean my room out (since I didn't get to on Friday). The LAST DAY is Monday. We're done at 9:45, and then we have two hours of interviews starting at 11. Oh, did I mention that we also have to type up all those schedules we made? Yeah, gotta work on that. Plus, Andrew picked this weekend to move, and we didn't get to help him at all. :( (I mean, he's only had 66+ weekends to move, and he would pick the busiest weekend for us since.)

And this is the most boring and pathetic post ever. Why are you still reading this? You must pity me beyond belief. I promise you this, though: Monday night's post may be the most excited, upbeat post you've ever read EVER. :)

P.S. Hope you got to see "Knocked Up" this weekend. I won't be able to see it until Tuesday...unless I work really fast to get my room clean tomorrow. So, yeah, definitely on Tuesday.