1) today my schools are observing president's day. not only do i get the day off, but most of my kids don't have classes for the entire week, which makes it a 20-hour work week for me! yay :) 2) so on my day off, i decided to do some shopping at michael's to pick up some things for ry's mom's birthday. i love this store. not only do i find cheap reinforcers for my students, but it sparks up the creative side of me that i like to show off every year or so.
3) i remember watching lost in translation years back when things appeared to be going wrong in my life. charlotte's character is so believable and was almost automatic for me to empathize with. the way she portrays loneliness gives a realistic feel to the movie. her relationship with bob is so tender, innocent, pure...finding comfort in the unexpected.
4) with an award-winning cast, and winning 2 emmys for best comedy series two different years, everybody loves raymond was one of my favorite sitcoms. coming from a neurotic, competitive, catholic, comedic family, i'm sure that's why i'm drawn to the show.
5) my creative side kicks in every now and then. inspired by the cupcake pops on bakerella.com, i made these sweet treats on a stick for ry's mom's birthday. after a trial and error batch that i screwed up because the chocolate hardened quicker than i had anticipated, i got it down. the final product ended up individually wrapped with a pastel bow placed in a vase.
6) we had dinner at sushi maru with ryan's family to celebrate amy's birthday. i think it's precious how every year, although it's her birthday, she still puts together a care package for us for valentine's day.
7) the opening night of the westminster dog show was tonight. i wish i understood the criteria for each breed that the judges base their decisions on. i usually just watch to see the terrier group (my westie), the herding group (ry's corgi), the hound group (for the beagles), and the occasional dog that catches my eye (the chow chow).
8) i've been sitting on a southwest rapid rewards award for nearly five months now. ry finally earned his with our trip to las vegas last week. within minutes, he cashed in his voucher and we are officially booked for chicago to watch james and the zamar boys run the rock n' roll half marathon! (and maybe try out a restaurant or two)
9) a fairly new sport to the winter olympics, snowboard cross is a competition involving four snowboarders racing down a course to the finish line. seth wescott who won the olympic gold in 2006 at the sports' debut, defended his medal tonight. he started the race in fourth place and amazingly came back to steal the gold from canadian snowboarder mike robertson on the final jump.
10) as defiant as i am about being domestic, i am actually starting to enjoy the concoctions that are created in my kitchen. aside from a few disasters, i think i've made some pretty substantial dishes.
