The Little Black Dress

Well, Soda Chicky and her friend Chatterbox left earlier this evening to attend the Bat Mitzvah of Flying Monkey. The girls looked stunning. Far too grown up for a couple of fourteen year olds heading to synogogue. The Chick is wearing "a little black dress" with spaghetti straps, an empire waistline with rhinestones at the waistline. Looks better than it sounds. I put her hair up in a chignon bun and she had black hose and some sweet slingback shoes. Chatterbox had on a similarly designed dress in a lovely shade of fuschia.

They will return late tonight after having way too much fun. These events usually mean a bag load of stuff comes back with the party goers. Monogrammed sweatpants, socks, photos, things that light up and glow in the dark. We spent less on our wedding and honeymoon combined. And we went to Europe for two weeks!

The big worry early on was whether or not Chatterbox would be able to break her Ramadan fast before the food was served tonight. (This is an eclectic group of girls.) Fortunately, the sun set before the service was totally over. They will party with no hitches.

When did they get so grown up, though?

Black is good. Red is bad.

My friend Megan is off in South Korea this year teaching English. I love reading her stories and knowing she is safe and sound. (Hooray for technology!) The following story was so dear and funny, I just had to share it.

So one funny(ish) story. Last week I was told of an old Korean superstition (that people and kids today still take seriously) concerning red ink. It is said that if you write or somebody writes your name in red ink... a death wish is laid upon you. So one day (three weeks ago before I knew about this) I was handing out new green workbooks to my students and asked them to write their names and classroom at the top with my marker. All I had was a red marker. The kids were all "No teacher" "Teacher No".... that's as far as their limited English could take them. I thought that of course they don't want the red because it doesn't match the green. So through the "Teacher No Red"s I said "Yes, red!" And then I got annoyed and made them write their names in the pen... I JUST PUT A DEATH WISH ON MY STUDENTS!! So when I heard about the superstition I was soooo ashamed once again at my ignorance. But evidently the students don't hold it against me because they don't seem to hate me...

Friday Five of Thanks

This week the list is simple: five things you're thankful for.

1. The Bug Man called me this morning to say he loved me. This is unusual for a man so very practical. (Although he did say he'd be late getting home from work. But on the other hand, he suggested ordering a pizza for dinner.)
   
2. Soda Chicky is starting to enjoy school again. Finding her place in high school, with her friends at other schools has been hard. She seems to be settling in after a tough few weeks. I am thankful she is more adaptable than her old mother.
   
3. That I have work that I enjoy and colleagues who make the day blessed.


4. That my parents are still having fun in their retirement. They make it look so good!
   
5. That I didn't run out of gas on the way to work this morning. I ignored the little red light and just kept on going. Definitely gotta get gas before I go home though. Bug Man hates it when I call and tell him I've done something really stupid. Sheesh! ;-)

For all these things, dear Lord, thank you!

Tag! You're It!

I was tagged by the Dog Blogger. This one comes in sets of four. They're a collection of strange little tidbits.

Four jobs I've held: Avon Lady, Babysitter, Weekend Housekeeper in the dorm (disgusting), LCA Youth Staffer.

Four films I could watch over and over: The Americanization of Emily, Crossing Delancey, Indiscreet, Charade.

Four TV shows I watch: reruns of The Gilmore Girls, Ugly Betty, Dr. Who, Top Chef.

Four places I've lived: Ava, Missouri; Canoga Park, California; Aurora, Colorado; Aurora, Illinois.
Four favorite foods: bread with real butter, peanut butter and chocolate ice cream, curry, steak.

Four websites I visit every day: RevGalBlogPals, AOL, my bank, Internet Scrabble Club.

Four places I would love to be right now: Woodland Park, Colorado; Paris, France; Monterey, California; Holden Village, Washington.

Four names I love but would/could not use for my children: Amy (it was already taken), Jacob (my colleague said, "You would name your child after The Deceiver!?!), Jack (it would sound bad with our last name), and Hepziba (fun to say, but not a good name for this century).

Lutheran Zephyr, Pink Shoes, Wills Mama, and Songbird- consider yourself tagged if you haven't already played this one. And if you don't feel like it, no problem!

Oh dear..... now what?

So Britney has to surrender the kids to her ex-husband. I must admit, I am not a big Britney fan, but I feel bad for these kids and all those who love them. These photos are going to follow these boys around for a very long time.

What bothers me the most is that this is a top news story. I don't really need to know the ins and outs of Britney and Federline's legal actions. I don't need to know if the latest 12 step program was successful. I don't want to know that Britney has issues with her employees.

I wonder if I would care more if I liked her music more. I'm not sure. I do know that it seems like People magazine has been less fun to read since so much ink is dedicated to Paris, Lindsay and Britney. I'd like to read about some older people.... Older people who don't carry lap dogs around in their purses. Older people who are relatively healthy. Older people, you know, ones born before 1980!

Sigh....