santa goes to my church

we took a break today from our crazy christmas baking extravaganza (which has now lasted several more days than initially anticipated) to remember the real meaning of christmas.

we put in our christmas finest,

ignored the blizzard warnings and the substantial layer of sleet that already covered the ground

climbed into the 4 wheel drive and headed to church. all went well until dad tried to adjust his parking.... and adventures were had...wheels were spinning, finally the car slid sideways so we could back back up the hill. the kids waiting for church in the car next to us had perhaps the best church ever. this of course gave us time to plot our next move. pictures with the manger.

nick got excited about cheese, wallace and grommet style.

I prayed with mary over the baby Jesus

did the church thing, bad homely, and then....SANTA. Im not sure what to make of this. church is supposed to be the reminder that jesus is the reason for the season. and then there's santa. at least he prayed over the baby jesus before going on his rounds for the night.

baking extravaganza day 1

the baking list grew longer this year...and some christmas shopping still needed to be done. so extravaganza will be lasting two days this year. here are the moments of day one.

all the happy helpers

even the cookies are smiling

sugar cookies

dad tries to eat a cookie

and he cleans up the mess afterwards so he can eat more

baked today:

mexican wedding cakes/russian tea cakes

sugar cookies

ginger bread boys and girls

molasses cookies

peppermint chocolate meringues

chocolate fudge

triple chocolate chip cookies

oatmeal raisin walnut cookies

spritz

still awaiting tomorrow:

more fudge

chex mix

raspberry pinwheels

buckeyes

chocolate covered pretzels

that is if my minions don't start a revolt.

day 2 and all the finished products tomorrow!

16 signs christmas is coming

other people have been b-logging about christmas for days. I will provide you with a condensed version of my christmas cheer with 16 signs that christmas is coming. why 16? you ask. because that's how many pictures I have of christmas that doesnt ruin any christmas surprises.

1. we run around in the cold looking at lights and taking fantastic pictures incorporating ourselves into the shot. I piiiinch!!

2. when you participate in (or just cheer at) various athletic events they give your reindeer antlers! go rudolph rumble!

3. there are wreaths just asking for your picture to be taken with all over the city.

4. snowmen moon you at lighting parades

5. nick turns into a burly mountain man

6. we get up early in the morning so that little bear has time to write her letter to santa before we go to work.

7. I make a penguin cake

8. I steal music from church that is needed for flute wars. thank you camera and chruch hymnal

9. stocking extravaganza for my homeroom and advisory

10. I create assignments that require my students to bake cookies and bring them in for my enjoyment.

11. I eat, drink, and sleep with matching penguin attire thanks to my penguin fleece pants, pillow, mug and plate.

12. our Christmas tree gets turned into a homage to disney characters despite our best efforts. this is what happens when you have received at least one mickey mouse for the past 25 years and your sister at least one winnie the poor for the last 20 (and just about every other disney ornament for a period of several years

13. I make christmas baking extravaganza list. game faces and aprons on. (this is also the time of year when family and friends unfortunate enough to stumble upon my house become indentured servants)

14. the soldering iron comes out to fix broken light strands.

15. all the clothing I pack to come home is red or green. (and I have been wearing christmas socks for WEEKS)

16. I actually have time to write this blog

"look ms. becker! molecule dogs!"

allow me to set the stage....

students at lab tables doing an activity that involves building molecules out of molecular lab kits to help them visual the actual 3D structure of the molecules.

students asking needing my help because they don't get it. don't get it because they refuse to build the molecules because they are there during the seminar time and would rather be having free reign of the school then actually using their time constructively.

me running around attempting to help all sixteen of them at the same time. gimping around with HUGE blisters on both feet forming, because of yes a unfortunate self inflicted shoe choice. spinning around to to repeat....just build it! when I hear:

"look ms. becker! molecule dogs!"

apparently I am teaching myself as a student because I almost stopped helping other people so I could admire.

and now maybe they sit on my desk.

"did you ever know that you're my hero"

8:51 pm: phone call from claires

c: "ams, the metra was supposed to come at 8:42. it's not here"

me: "claires, its only 8:51...nine minutes late is totally on time for the metra."

c: "is it weird that there is nobody else here waiting?"

me: "well it is 9 pm on a saturday night...why would any one be riding the metra now?"

c: "its dark. and I'm IN THE SUBURBS"

me: "ok claires call nick on his phone mine is dying and Im driving"

after discussing if claires knows how to read the metra schedule we decide to do a quick internet search for the metra schedule ourselves...thank you data plan that save me money AND saves the day.

of course there are no red lights to be found, and so frantically search the internet while driving and dodging the multitude of cops that lined oakton. finally handing the phone over to nick.

nick: "does this thing scroll sideways?"

me: "no. why?"

nick: "well there was a 7:42 metra....and the next one's not till 11:12"

c: "what? but I read the schedule"

nick: "there was one at 8:42 AM"

frantic map scrambling...megabunny taxi is on its way. to retrieve claire from the *gasp* SUBURBS!

9:45 arrive at the glenco station to pick this up.

c: "thanks guys"

me: "no prob. we'll have a metra schedule lesson and a discussion about the difference between AM and PM when we get home"

c: "guys it's confusing"

confusing? you be the judge....when would you catch the metra?

feelin' guilty

my phone was taken....or even better snatched, off my desk by a student of mine determined to make my life miserable.

I tried requests, i tried threats, I tried scaring them with police action, i tried guilt, I even said fine keep my phone, just give me back the sim card that's useless to you, no luck, devil children who steal things have no desire to return.

I told my senior homeroom on friday and they made me an honesty box, so people could return it unidentified. they carefully designed the box hole so it would be large enough to fit my phone, but small enough that no one could reach back in and steal it back.

sadly no luck. but it would have been really cool if it had. :( Friday Im off to buy a new phone and say good bye to all the pictures and photos collected on my phone. This is what I get for not getting the free one.

SLINKS!

add some lighting wire, vinyl tubing, a screen door spring, brown leggings and a brown shirt, tan gloves and mittens, green materials, some stuffing, and a couple of yards of tan and brown felt....and what you do get ???

SLINKS! aka my contribution to the science department does toy story....halloween 2009.

the whole group:

Slinks's favorite cowgirl Jessie

and favorite cowboy, Woody.

.

puke and rally

during my years as a notre dame student I noticed many of my fellow classmates were good fans of an old fashioned puke and rally. where you've

been partying too hard, (hence puking) but not learning your lesson and thus going back for more.

I was never one to do this, (never really did the puke part required for a puke a rally) but I now seem destined to experience it on a weekly basis thanks to this years football team.

they like to start strong. then give up for awhile. and then finish strong. four of our five games this year have literally come down to the last seconds. 3 of them turning around thanks to a strong rally following a dismal second and third quarter.

being an ND fan is not for the faint of heart. it is however, for the crazy fun characters that we met at the ND club game watch for the USC game. allow me to introduce my favs:

exhibit 1: rediculously drunk girl. having a good time and giving out free hugs and high fives after only a bloody mary. trying to get the bar to participate in uniform cheers one beer later. and the beers kept coming.

exhibit 2: adorable old man with a fabulous hat. not a ND alum...but a HUGE ND fan. claires wanted his hat. in all honesty we all did.

FEAST!

when the science department has department meetings we eat.

when I have food duties for science department meetings we feast.

phone conversation i had the night before my turn:

caller: how is your evening going?

me: good good, just cooking a feast for my deparment meeting tomorrow.

caller: oh should i call back later?

me: no it's ok. I'll still be cooking then. I did say feast after all.

and feast we did.

with peanut butter pumpkins

pumpkin cheese cake

pumpkin pie trail mix

apple cider

orange pop

pumpkin log

and sweet potatoes.

spirit week 2009

ever so long ago we had spirit week at my school. like a good teacher with sprit I complied.

well monday I did not....but I did wear a res t-shirt

and tuesday my walk-a-thon shirt...as we walked to the movie theater and saw fame.

then wednesday...TOGA day! and sadly I didnt take pics.

then thursday....grade school day. (well high school day for me...since I have nothing with me of the supercat or eagle days) i rocked the skirt, with sweatpants on since the skirt just wasnt as long as it used to be, the white polo, pigtails, kairos cross, and STA class ring.


then friday...would you still be my friend if I dressed like this. my wacky day outfit from the summer with some fabulous improvement: a horrendous tie from nick, and my half kitted hat atop my head.

thank you (practice) ACT

my students are taking a practice ACT...Im supposed to be studying for a genetics test I have to take this afternoon. which means that Im bored, and will post blogs instead. blogs about all the things i havent blogged about in ever so long. bear with the entourage of entries that may follow. Im trying to get caught up.

which is apparently the theme of my day....since this is my route.

first stop delish german bakery so I can use my groupon before it expires and get my 3 FREE DANISHES (even though the lady didnt believe me it was thursday).

then off to school...for 4 hours of working/studying/staring at students who are cowering in the face of the ACT.

next stop genetics test...aced the last on in 20 min. so this should be quick.

the off to the north shore performing arts center to get tickets to DANCE SLAM 2009

and then REI for my FLEEEEEEEECE! (to be paid for my giving up my saturday morning to procter a REAL ACT

home via sam's for some much needed gas (hopefully there won't need to be an additional stop on the side of the road when i've run out of gas) and then home to do laundry. this is my drive:

I HATE the USPS

remember how I hated the USPS when I first moved here. if not never fear the recap can be read here.

since then we had gotten on to better terms. I learned that if I added a c/o line then my mail happily made it to my mailbox or at the very least I had my PO box option...something like $12 for 6 months. I could handle that (turns out the walk to the post office was annoying, so I didnt ever give that address and never received a piece of my own mail there...lots of stuff for previous owners of box 6001 but none for me) I continued my love affair with sending and receiving actual mail instead of just the electronic kind on birthdays and holidays and just because...and sent out my usual 3 dozen christmas cards, remembering of course to include the require c/o line in my return address incase someone decided to return the sentiment.

and then the post office decided to implement their new policy. their new policy of not leaving packages, even though they were behind locked doors, because too many people's packages were disappearing. ok fine I accept this policy. you're looking out for my stuff, thats cool.

what is not cool then you ask, why do i HATE the post office now? because I asked for my package to be redelivered on saturday, because I dont work on saturday, and I waited on saturday for it, and it didnt show. and I didnt get a we tried again slip. so I asked for it to be redelivered on monday. and it didnt show. and I didnt get we tried again slip. so I called. and filed a complaint. and the branch head person called me back today. and said I dont know how it happened but the carrier didnt get your request. DIDNT GET MY REQUEST??? TWICE??? REALLY????

so I went to pick it up. and there were literally 17 people in front of me. and then a lady said if you're here to pick up a package I'll take your tickets come over here with me. so I got out of line, and the lady gathered up our 10 slips, spent 10 min in the back then came back with 2 pieces of mail. TWO. and one of them wasnt mine. I insisted mine was there since I'd just talked to the supervisor 45 min ago and my box was right in front of her. post office lady says ok well maybe its at the counter go wait to go to the window. WHAT !!!!!! get back in the line you just made me get out of????????

I'll need my slip now I need to go put more money in my meter before I get a parking ticket trying to pick up my package. and then I stood in line again. literally an HOUR after I arrived at the post office I made my way to the counter. told the lady at the window what had gone down. and she said...if the other person couldnt find it I cant. but then someone took my id and slip, went in the back, and came out moments later my box in hand. apparently it was right there. UGGGGG

that PO box where the slips go in for packages and the packages stay right at the nice close branch doesnt seem like such a bad idea now. and a little walk and a little exercise is never a bad thing.

Inversely proportional relationship

Dear blog-

how I miss you. I have sadly realized that my relationship with you is inversely proportional to my busyness factor.

when the busyness goes up the blogging goes down.

right now I could blog about how I spent last saturday taking a 125 chemistry content test for my IL teaching certification and I didnt come to the first chemistry question until question 90

or I could blog about my 30 mile bike ride on sunday when I chucked my full water bottle not once but twice out of my bike bag at the riders behind me because despite my not having any empty water bottle racks I couldnt bear to pass up free swag.

or I could blog about how I got a $1 bill in the mail as bribery to try and get me to go online and fill out a survey about my new car purchase.

but instead I will go and make a power point and student note packet for unit 2 chapters 2 and 4.

sometimes the bad day may just be worth it

yesterday was a long day. got to work someone was in my parking spot. 40 min later with blisters covering the entirety of my heels and baby toes, I finally made it to my classroom to start the long list of things I needed to do before school started.

sat through mass for two hours, which translates to telling girls to stop talking to their neighbors, discovered web CT wouldnt let me get online for my online class, still couldnt see any surface of my desk, worked till much later then I wanted.

ventured out into the rain for a delicious dinner, then back home to complete night number two of post midnight working, but first checked the mail to discover my parking spot privileges have been terminated so they could give my spot to an apartment renting individual, so little bunny is going to demoted to the street :(

but then came home today after a 12 hour at work day, to nickface standing in the doorway, goofy smile on his face, arm behind his back, beautiful flowers in hand. all becaused I'd had a bad day.

nickface, bustedface

e-mail I received from my mom moments ago: "I thought that you would take a picture of Nickface's face and post it on your blog. You take pictures of your injured car, your injured bike but not your injured Nick?" apparently the public demands drama (with pics!)

8:01 am I am awakened from my 4th attempt at sleeping-in (yes I'm trying to do this as much as possible before the dreaded school year begins next monday at 7:45 am) by my cheerful alarm clock with its cheerful ring and on the other end of the line is a not so cheerful nickface and a

"can you come pick me up"

"um ok, did you have another flat on your bike"

"no I wrecked my bike and smashed my face. bring something to sop up the blood"

and I'm out the door, hat shoved on my just got out of bed ponytailed-head brand new roll of paper towels in hand.

and then I'm back in the door, perhaps I should put on real pants instead of my polka dot pj pants, oh and a bra, probably don't want to be standing on northwestern's campus loading a bike into a car dealing with a bloody boy without slightly more presentable attire.

8:15 am nearly to campus, phone gives its cheerful ring again and on the other end

"are you almost here? people keep asking me if I'm ok"

I was coming as fast as I could, but this made me want to come faster, because well we don't like to talk to people.

drive up to a boy sitting on the sidewalk next to his bike, side of face COVERED in blood. head wounds bleed. bleed like it's their job.

load bike into car, drive around till we find student health services, since this isnt the kind of thing you walk into a new doctor for for the first time, get nick all bandaged up, and then head to the emergency room, since apparently this isnt the kind of thing you just stumble into health services about either (it's not mono after all...not mono by any stretch of any imagination, not even a university health services doctor's imagination, and thus out of their league).

check into the ER, apparently it's head trauma day here as the person in front of nick is in with a bleeding head wound in the back of the head. take our seats for the short wait...(side note...will always try to plan future emergencies for before 9 am...not so crowed then). Nick goes back, I call my mom, mom tells me I'm a bad girlfriend for not going-in with him, I ask nice security guard if Im allowed back there, nice security guard lets me in and gets me a stool, and I resume the roll of the good girlfriend just in time for the boyfriend who is scared of needles to get his tetanus shot.

tetanus shots hurt, he opted for concentrated pain all in the same arm. x-rays taken, numbing shots to the face (this time I'm totally there ready to be the hand-holding-good-in-a-crisis-girlfriend that I am), 12 stitches later, and the doctor gives us the clearance to go, letting me know to watch for weirder than normal behavior indicative of a more serious head trauma.

and we return home. scraped-and-sore boyfriend nick, ready-to-be-strong-and-carry-heavy-bike-up-three-stairs-then-administer-tylenol-on-a-6-hour-regiment-girlfriend me.

boycott list

sometimes I send mean e-mails when I get mad. here is today's

I was just in the store to pick up two bikes a wheel that we dropped off last thursday and arrived to several not so pleasant experiences.

first, the wheel was no where to be found. the mechanic we talked to on thursday didnt fill out a separate ticket for it, and so there was no record of it in the shop. while yes we should have stood there and insisted on a receipt for all three things the fact that your mechanic questioned us not once but multiple times about whether we were telling the truth about bringing in the wheel, because he didnt remember us bringing it in. no, I've just paid you $100 for work on the other bikes and now am trying to get a free wheel out of you. I have no problems with small things like a wheel getting misplaced, but the response from the mechanic was rude an unprofessional.

second, one bike was in to have the brakes adjusted, something the mechanic last thursday assured me was not a big ordeal. when I was called and told my bike was ready this afternoon, I was informed that the mechanic got frustrated with the front brakes and so replaced them. He began by wording the conversation as a question, is it ok if we do this, and when I asked how much longer it would take to fix, told me that he'd already done it. and it would be $10 more then I had been originally quoted, and I didnt feel like I had much of a choice, since it was already done. I feel as though it is VERY unprofessional to do work without asking the client first. I had never had any trouble with the front brakes, they were a little loose, but didnt need replacing. When I arrived at the store I saw that different parts had been used then were on the bike, not a big deal, except that one is small and black and the other larger and silver. two matching parts that in no way match any more, and something that I had no say about. this whole situation leaves me feeling like I got charged $10 for a service I didnt ask for, because your mechanic couldn't put back together what he took apart, and I paid to get my bike back in worse condition then I brought it in.

I have been seething since arriving home, and thought that this needed to be addressed.

this one apparently worked....my ghetto bike will be no more...perhaps I should take a pic of gimpy bike and gimpy car together...they are matching at the time