Halloween Happenings

Halloween is coming! It hasn't been very festive at our house. We're all old and busy. No fun. On a lighter note, I broke down and got a laptop. A Mac of course. I've been holding out for so long but it's just so detrimental and frustrating at times not having one. So a MacBook it is. I decided to christen it by taking some pictures to coincide with the season:

Creepy? Weird? Yes? Happy Halloween!

Friday Freebie on Saturday Night

Happy Halloween! Here's a cool freebie HERE! There's a whole bunch of other free stuff other than Halloween too. See their homepage HERE!

The Lady Liberty

Today I bring you an addition to the "High-Fives and Knuckles" library. First, let me take you back to the days of dorky youth-hood. Remember when you made rabbit ears on every person possible in every photo shot?

i.e.

Yeah. That was so 15 years ago.

Today... I bring to you The Lady Liberty.

I'm here to let you know that you don't have to give up those dorky days. Just enhance the method a tad and you're set to go. Let's keep it fresh people. See HERE for past High-Fives and Knuckles.

Princess Hermione

We girls at home, we're big fans of this movie:

Naturally, we're also big fans of any movie that features this girl:

So when I came across the following trailer I almost felt as though I'd been struck with a blow to the back of the head. How did I miss putting one and one together?! Whoever put this together was inspired. True, the graphics aren't terrific but what it lacks in clarity, it more than doubles in spirit. Unfortunately, embedding the video in this post isn't an option so you'll have to click on the link to view it HERE. Enjoy.

and Break

It's October Break. I started it out with a quick jaunt to San Francisco to see my dear uncle, aunt, and cousin. Just what the doctor ordered, I mean, I guess, what I ordered. I felt so filled being with them and look forward to visiting again. In life there are people you don't see for years and when the time comes again for reunion, from that moment of greeting and on feelings of friendship and close familiarity flow seamlessly. Conversation carries on like not a day has passed since last communion. That's how it is with this fam. The above picture is missing Uncle Dave (he's taking the pic) but this photo was taken when we attended the U.S. Navy's Blue Angels show (see HERE for details). They were thrilling and the photo below doesn't do them justice but gives you a tiny glimpse.

After the visit, I arrived home and met my grandma at the airport. She came to visit for the week and it's been so good to have her. She is such a comfort to be around and I think she is so stately and noble. Do you have a grandma as wonderful as mine? I think not (unless of course you are my cousin on my mom's side)! She leaves tomorrow and I'm bummed about it. I wish so badly that we lived closer together. You cousins in Idaho are so lucky to have Grandma. Sorry but I don't have a picture of Grandma visiting!

As far as the rest of the break goes, I haven't done much to make a name for myself. James and I had a torturous game of Scrabble last night. Torture. I don't think we made it past any four letter words. Toward the end I made James let me look at his letters in hopes that I could aid our dire situation. I wasn't much help. I should have focussed more energy on producing my own quality submissions. We even fudged on some spelling. How lame was our game and by what measure? Aside from the measurement factor that I was tortured to the point where I broke and could only laugh to make it through, here is a picture for your "lame measurement" consideration:

As for this Thursday evening, James and I went out long-boarding. Las was gone so I texted her to see if I could borrow her board. She never answered back so I took the liberty of taking it out for a ride. I thought that it'd probably be kosher since she rarely spends bonding time with it. I'm pretty sure it was an o.k. thing to do. If not, she'll probably find out about it via this post (Hey Las) and I won't be in the room. If she does care, I'm pretty sure it won't be enough to remember to bark at me. She's got a stellar boyfriend to occupy her time and thoughts with who's way more interesting than a sister-who's-bored-on-a-Thursday-night-that-takes-her-stuff-for-a-few-breif-moments. Anyway, it was fun to go out with James. It wasn't enormously fun though, so we didn't stay out for long (sorry James).

Here's the photo op of James in motion. He took one of me but the shot made my hips look way to huge. No thanks. Too bad the picture of him is blurry. He's such a handsome young man (minus the knee-high, white socks).

Tis the season...

So two years ago this time while James and I were at D.I., a wondrous rack of Halloween costumes popped out at us. James was feeling the festive spirit so he chose a costume to adorn himself in. May I present...

...the young man in all "Hallowed" glory. So yeah. Happy Halloween to you!

As for the student teaching, I'm in a regular 4th grade class. I miss my other students so so so so much but I really like this group of 4th graders. Oh the strings that tug at the heart.

Today I caught a student talking about me to his seat partner. After he said "If you look at her eyes, they sparkle at you" he realized I was standing right by him and heard everything. He was so embarrassed. What a crack up. Anyway, I think it's the nicest compliment I've ever received from a kid (besides the time when Brock, while soaring through the air on the swings yelled out, "Miss Erica! I love you more than my pet dog!"). Good times. Maybe more stories to come. Who knows? I don't. I don't have time to think about bloggy kinds of things. I'm thinking about 42 students. I'm swamped but loving it. Lovin' it.