just for the record, the weather today is slightly sarcastic with a good chance of:

Today, at our morning session of Staff Development, we were asked to grab 4 popsicle sticks from a table and form a circle in our gymnasium.

Now, I had some qualms about this from the get-go, because the guy running our "seminar" (in quotes because I'm not exactly sure what to call it) asked us to be "present" during the activity, and to focus on "experiential learning."

Basically, we were given a scenario to deal with: We are on a boat. The boat is sinking. There is one lifeboat, and it seats 4 people.

 Our 4 popsicle sticks were to be given to the 4 people that we trust enough to carry on our messages to our loved ones. When our facilitator (? Again, not sure what to call him) tapped us on the shoulder, we were to go around the entire circle to each individual, look them in the eyes, and tell them if they were going to live or die based on our popsicle sticks.

OH AND THEN IT GETS BETTER. The people with the most popsicle sticks (there were 6 of them - of course, I had to relate it to LOST and claim them as our own Oceanic 6) sat on chairs in the middle of the gym and the rest of us sat on the floor around them. We were in the water, and they were in the lifeboat. We then had to raise our hands and actually give them our messages to our loved ones.

There were various country songs played throughout. "Live Like You Were Dying," and etc.

People were upset, naturally. What a horrific thing to have to do - look someone in the face and tell them that you're not going to give them one of your popsicle sticks, that they're going to die.

The whole purpose was to live in the moment, and "What are you waiting for?"-type ideas, but the whole absurdity of telling one of my coworkers whether they were going to live or die based upon popsicle sticks got in the way of my "experiential learning."

Let me start out by saying that I LOVE my family.
More than most people I know. I'm at least more vocal about my love for my family than anyone else I know. I have a really good relationship with both my parents, and I think that my little sisters are two of the most amazing, pretty, hilarious, wonderful people in the world.

ALL THAT BEING SAID, I still get great joy out of mocking them. We're a family, and what kind of family would we be if we didn't poke a little fun at each other?

(I should mention that my entire family is on Twitter. I use it constantly; my sisters, not so much; my parents? Almost never.)
I tweeted this little gem on Monday morning:

twitter battle 1

Because I did. I was totally unprepared and hadn't gotten enough sleep the night before.
(At this point, I should also mention that my entire family follows my Twitter on their cell phone.)
My dad must have gotten the tweet from his cell phone, and hit the "Reply" button, to respond to the text message. Instead of turning his response into an @reply to me personally, it just went to his twitter, with no mention of my username at all.

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I responded with a simple, "I love when you use Twitter." Because I do. I love when my family uses Twitter. My sister Kathryn tweeted this gem today:

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And, of course, Mom and Dad had to make their voices heard:

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The fact that they both did the same thing, seriously within 5 minutes of each other, just fills me with so much joy.

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The Twitter Battle Of The Day was eventually resolved with a long conversation with my mother about how exactly to reply to specific tweets, and with this:

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FUN FACT: My mother doesn't follow my father on Twitter. What's that about, Mom?

AND RACHEL HAD TO CHIME IN AS WELL:

twitter battle 9

Speaking of Rachel, how pretty is she in her senior picture?

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I feel so honored to be related to her. I got the picture in the mail, with a card from my mom, today, opened it and literally GASPED at the picture. SHE'S SO PRETTY.

Tomorrow night, I fly out to Chicago to begin my HC84 Adventures.
I have outfits planned, I have the cell phone number of everyone I know that's going to be there, and I even have a new pair of Chucks to wear.

Still, though, I'm sort of torn on what to expect. I've never been to an actual HP-Fandom EVENT that wasn't a conference. I've been to 3 conferences (Phoenix Rising, Terminus, and LeakyCon) but never just a solely Wizard Rock Event.

I know it's going to be FANTASTIC, because I'll be with some of my FAVORITE PEOPLE EVER, I'm just a little ... apprehensive? Is that the right word? Whatever the word is, I'm feelin' it.

IN OTHER NEWS - I got highlights in my hair on Monday. It was my birthday present to myself, and I could not be happier with the result. Here's a picture.

highlights

This weekend, I was trying to direct my mother to this blog, but she could only see one post at a time, so I told her to click on the header text. I couldn't remember the exact lyric at the time, so I just told her to "click on the part that says 'the weather is slightly cloudy with a chance of i-don't-give-a-fuck'."

Also, someone on the Ravelry Harry Potter Knitting/Crochet House Cup linked a ridiculous website where you can turn yourself into a doll using Hogwarts House colors. Obviously, I had to spend hours on this side this afternoon and make myself into a Hufflepuff.

Holy short skirt, Batman. I actually do want a skirt similar to that one (yellow and black plaid, specifically) but longer.

And with that, friends, I am off to pack for my Whirlwind Wizard Rock Weekend. (I like alliterations.)

SCHOOL STARTS NEXT WEEK.

While I am semi-prepared and semi-excited about it, I think the thing I'm most looking forward to is some of the ridiculous things the children say.

I went back through my entire Twitter profile a couple weeks ago, and found that I tweet about it being freezing cold in my classroom and quotes from children the most. Here are a few gems, copy/pasted from my Twitter profile.

• 7th grade boy, in reference to a child who kept walking in front of the camera during our concert: "Come on parents, HANDLE YOUR YOUTH!!"
• me: "guys, what did i say about quiet?" 6th grade boy: "to be it."
• "miss, would you hate fridays if they were the new mondays?" I DO NOT HAVE THE TIME FOR YOUR MIND GAMES, CHILDREN.
• me to 7th grade boy: "you just made up a cereal name." 7th grade boy: "i'm not smart enough to make up 'frank n berry'"
• kid 1: "hey, kid 2 - who's your only friend on myspace? tom?"
• wow, the children are super intense and super annoying this morning. all up in my grill and etc.
• i swear i just heard a child use the term "buttgoblin." NEW FAVORITE WORD!!
• to get my attention, one of my beginning girls just PATTED MY STOMACH. WHAT.
• "achilles had a bad knee. that's how they killed 'im, shot him in the knee." - 8th grader. *headdesk*
• "there is an appropriate time and place for the macarena, and this is not it." - me, to a child doing the macarena instead of getting ready.
• a child just asked me "miss, what size are you in the foot?" i just stared at him.
• "miss, let's go to narnia!" exam week has clearly fried their brains.
• "ms. [my last name], we should play 'stairway to heaven' for festival." BEST QUOTE EVER. (FUNNY STORY: I actually bought an arrangement of "Stairway to Heaven" for them to play this year!)
• "you're cold like cereal and milk on a tuesday." DIRECT QUOTE FROM A BEGINNER. WHAAAAAT.

I've been planning to move my bedroom furniture around for a while.

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See? I even made a scale model.

Today I actually did it. No more procrastinating. No more blowing it off. IT WAS TIME.

The total time it took was around 3 hours.

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This is the view from my doorway. (And yes, that is a Twin comforter on my Queen bed.) I have a new comforter set coming (my birthday present from my mom!) that includes a bedskirt, so this will look much, MUCH better once the Queen comforter is on it. My TV is right across from my bed (I'm actually typing this from my bed, while watching the SYTYCD results show) and my desk is next to the TV. The 2 calendars on the back wall are LOTR and The Office. Next to my bed, on the wall, is a little bedside table with a lamp on it.

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I stood by the bedside table and took this picture, so you can see the desk. And you can (sort of!) see my little Backstreet Boys poster above the desk!

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Wall with dresser, bulletin boards, and floor lamp!

And then you can see my entire Knitting Area. 3 containers for yarn storage, and 4 bags cluttered about with various knitting projects in them.

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Okay, so I am an instant gratification sort of girl. I put that post up last night, read feedback and comments this morning, and set out on adventures this afternoon.

In our adventures today, Jessica and I hit the mall. I had a very specific list:

1. Bow (for my hair)
2. Leggings/tights
3. Rubber bracelets
   
4. Black lace fingerless gloves

Oh, while we were at the mall, I also did this:

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Second hole. FYB! My mother can now say that she has A Rebellious Daughter With Multiple Piercings.

We went back to the Deseret Industries store and I bought that black dress. (#6 from yesterday's post.) I really loved it, and it was only $8 so I was FLABBERGASTED that I didn't just buy it on the first go-round. The lady at the register asked me if I was going to a funeral. I replied, "No, I'm going to an 80s dance party, and the bows just scream 80s to me."
"Well, we didn't wear bows in the 80s."
SHE TRIED TO TELL ME THEY DIDN'T WEAR BOWS IN THE 80S. WHATEVER, WOMAN. BOWS RULE.

OBVIOUSLY I HAD TO COME HOME AND TAKE PICTURES. (You are absolutely more than welcome to leave feedback on these outfits, but it's not required. I am super happy with either outfit, it will just be a matter of what I feel like wearing when I get to Cincinnati.)

(When looking at these pictures, you have to keep in mind that every effort will be made to make my hair as big as humanly possible. I don't have enough hair to do a side-ponytail (SADFACE!) but, hopefully, my hair will be big and glorious in addition to the ridiculous bow.)

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So, black dress with hot pink tights, rubber bracelets, Single Lace Glove, and hair bow.

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And the purple/blue dress with tights, bracelets, Glove, and bow. I almost like the purple better, with the tights and everything. The colors are just so perfect and ridiculous.

And seriously, I want to bring back the Single Lace Glove look. LOOK AT HOW BITCHIN' IT IS. Who's with me??

Okay, so I know it's been forever and a day since I've updated here. I'm sorry about that. Really, I am.

This is the only blog I have that is completely PUBLIC, and I have a very specific purpose in mind for this post, so here we go.

At the end of August, I will be attending something called Hogwarts Class of '84 (MySpace, Blogspot, and Twitter for more information). To participate in this blog/poll, all you really need to know about this event is that it is 80s-themed, complete with an 80s Dance Party. 80s dress is strongly encouraged, but not required.

For the past few days, I have been in search of the PERFECT dress to wear. (Because, OBVIOUSLY, I must go all-out.) I have some options, and I have pictures of each option. Next to the picture number will be the store/location that each dress is currently in.

#1: Target

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Pros:

• POUFY SKIRT!
• Super freaking cute.
• Comfortable.
  

Cons:

• Sleeveless.

#2: Target

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Lovely turquoise dress.

Pros:

• COLOR!
• POUFY SKIRT!
• I love the rouching on the sides.

Cons:

• Again, sleeveless.

Both of these dresses from Target are $29.99 each. Not the most expensive in the world, but it might not be worth the money for a dress that I may only wear to this one event. And, let's not lie, a dress that will probably have booze spilled on it at one point.

#3: Goodwill

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Ridiculous red/burgundy probably-bridesmaid number.

Pros:

• SLEEVES!
• COLOR! (I'm all about color.)
• From Goodwill, so I know that I wouldn't feel bad about A) probably only wearing it once, and B) probably spilling booze on it.
• Just gonna say it, I freaking love that neckline.
  

Cons:

• The fabric was really heavy.

Pretty sure this dress had no price tag on it. IT'S FREE! (jk, jk.)




#4. Also Goodwill. (Actually, the same Goodwill as the other dress. I swore I'd hit the jackpot!)

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Another ridiculous burgundy probably-bridesmaid number.

Pros:

• Again, COLOR!
• The sleeves had ridiculous BOWS on them.
• Bustle on the butt. (Picture below.)
  

Cons:

• COULDN'T BREATHE. (Seriously. That picture to the left is me standing up super-straight because the dress would literally not allow me to stand any other way, because all the airflow would be completely cut off.
  

My dear friend Dani had to literally squeeze me into this dress. It was hilarious. I mentioned the fact that I couldn't breathe, and Dani just said, "Yeah ... but your boobs look AWESOME! Perfect for snagging one of those Harry Potter boys." And I laughed. (Well, as best I could in the dress.)

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This one was marked $16.99. We tried to see if we could have it let out, but there wasn't really enough fabric left to let it out anywhere.










5: Goodwill (A different Goodwill store)

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RIDICULOUS WEDDING DRESS
Honestly, there's no way I'd go back to Goodwill and get this dress. It was INSANE: beading, A FREAKING TRAIN, and there's no way that it was under $50, because every other wedding dress in this Goodwill store was upwards of $60.

But LOOK AT THOSE SLEEVES. So poufy and glorious!

When I was making my ever-so-helpful roommate Jessica take this picture, a woman who was walking into another dressing room stopped to tell me how good it looked on me.

#6: Deseret Industries (similar to Goodwill, but run by Mormons.)

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Black formal.

Pros:

• LOOK AT THOSE BOWS!
• POUFY SLEEVES!
• Fit like a freaking DREAM.

Cons:

• A little too formal for a dance party.

Seriously, that dress was amazing. Obnoxious bows, shoulder pads, and it seriously fit really well.


The next 2 dresses are dresses that I actually BOUGHT.

#7: MY CLOSET!

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Okay, I don't categorize this one as specifically 80s. It was just a dress that I wanted to try on because the sleeves were RIDICULOUS. Beads + fringe = AMAZING!

Pros:

• Fits well.
• Good color.
• The neckline is incredibly interesting.
• INSANE SLEEVES.
• Slit of DOOOME.

Cons:

• Not necessarily 80s.

This one was only $15, so I bought it. I'll find SOMEPLACE to wear it!

#8: MY CLOSET!

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Purple/blue off-shoulder number.

Pros:

• COLOR!
• Bitchin' neckline.
• It's got this insane swirly pattern on it.
• Fits well.

Cons:

• I wish the skirt more poufy.
• Also, sleeves could be bigger.
  

This one was marked at $6.99, but it rang up as $3.99. Great purchase, Y/Y?? I decided to take the picture as I'd wear it at HC84, so the leggings are a GO, for sure. I'm also in the market for a single black lace glove. AND A BOW FOR MY HAIR.

#9: My mom's closet!

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Pale pink bridesmaid dress. (The picture is from a photoshoot I had with myself and my first digital camera in the summer of 2006. YIKES.)

Okay, this one is ACTUALLY an old bridesmaid dress. (I asked my mom who got married that made her wear that dress and she responded with, "Well, OBVIOUSLY we're not friends anymore!")

Pros:

• POUFY SLEEVES!
• BUTT BOW!
• Color!
• Relatively full skirt.
  

Cons:

• The color doesn't really look the best on me.
• It might be more Little House on the Prairie than 80s.

Now, here's where you come in! (YES, YOU!) I bought the purple one. I really did love the 2nd one I tried on at Goodwill, even though I couldn't breathe. What I'm asking YOU to do is comment to this post, or email me at newandhorrible at gmail dot com with opinions!

So I'm coming down from, like, a two-hour freak out.

We're doing a Beginning Orchestra Festival. One May 6. (Two weeks.) This was just finalized today, and I had a crisis trying to decide WHO would play, WHAT they would play, and WHEN the hell we were going to rehearse it!

I eventually settled on about 25 beginners who are really good, and who always act right in class, and who would be able to handle performing on a stage. These beginners are also going to play for the Elementary feeder schools when they come to visit on May 5, 6, and 7.

I'm getting really good at writing parent letters at the very last minute.

So, in the last month or so:

• My Advanced Orchestra went to Festival and got two 2's and one 3. I told the kids that it wasn't about the numbers, all that mattered was their experience. (Not just bullshit, I really do believe that. No one will remember in 5 years that we got a 2 overall at Festival.)
• DONE A LOT OF KNITTING.

• My Intermediate Orchestra went to Festival on Monday of this week. They did pretty good. Some strange things happened onstage that had never happened in rehearsal, but it was Monday, and no one expects perfection on Mondays. I had them listen to their CD yesterday in class and grade themselves (A - F) on their performance. Most said about B or C, which I agreed with, but I know where they came from, so I gave them an A for hard work and effort. (I told this to my mentor teacher, and she said that I was talking like "an experienced teacher!") One of our judges was one of my favorite high school directors, and he said we did a good job. The other judge was a HS director who used to be the director at MY school, and he wrote on the comments sheet that the kids "are in good hands."
• I got a new phone! LG Rumor. Lime green. I spilled iced tea (not Long Island, unfortunately) on my Razr, and it had been working funky (or NOT working, really) for a while, so I got a new one. The new phone was worth the money for the peace of mind that it will actually work.
  
• Jessica and I went to New Orleans! I have pictures, but Vox is taking too long to upload, and I am impatient. You'll get those later.
• I bought the new Panic! at the Disco album. Thank goodness I only spend $10 on it, because it kinda sucks. Not nearly as awesome as the first one.
  
• I hit 10,000 miles on my car. :D