Cookie Friday

4th quarter is here again. You know what that means - Cookie Friday. Cookie Friday is a beloved tradition between me and nine other teachers at my school. During the 10 weeks of 4th quarter, we deliver cookies to the members of the group. It's ridiculous to think, but a cookie really does make the last 10 weeks of the school year go by a bit faster. To read about last year's Cookie Friday post, click HERE

"Think what a better world it would be if we all, the whole world, had cookies and milk about three o'clock every afternoon and then lay down on our blankets for a nap." - Robert Fulgum

Something Must Be Said

So, I have refrained from blogging about LOST so far this season, but something must be said about last night's episode . . . Best Episode Ever!! Ever since Richard showed up on LOST, he has been one of my favorites. He didn't show up on LOST until season 3 and hasn't appeared in tons of episodes, but every time he does, I get lost (pun intended) in his dreamy eyes. Anyway, an entire episode with his back story was awesome!! To read CNN's recap of the episode, click HERE.

Green Party

Last week, in honor of St. Patrick's Day (and friendship), we had a "Green Party." We met at Christi's house, ate a ton of food, and chatted it up. Here are a few pics:

Kari & Ali

Me with delicious whip cream and strawberry short cake.

Sandra & Christi

Mad Baking Skills

I wish this picture were bigger, but alas. Anyway, my dad said I should post a picture on my blog of my lovely cake to let everyone know Megan's not the only George out there with mad baking skills. That's right, I have a few of my own.

Uprising by Margaret Peterson Haddix

This week I read Uprising by Margaret Peterson Haddix. This is one of the best pieces of historical fiction that I've ever read. The book follows three main characters. Bella is a recent Italian Immigrant who comes to New York in hopes of earning money to keep her family in Italy from starvation. Yetta is less recent Russian Jew who, after moving to New York, is caught up in the garment workers' union and the workers' rights movement. And Jane who, although was born a wealthy American, abandons her father and his money, believing it to be blood money earned at the expensive of the immigrant workers. These three fictional characters are caught up in two main events from history - the Uprising of the 20,000 and the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire.

To learn more about the Uprising of the 20,000, click HERE.

Two of the 20,000 Garment Workers striking for workers' rights.

More shirtwaist workers participating in the strike.

To learn more about the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, click HERE.

Remains of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory after the infamous fire.

Remains of those who perished in the fire.

Community Theatre

Tonight I went to The Midvale Performing Arts Center to see the Pinnacle Acting Company's production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. I had heard it was funny and I was not disappointed. It was hilarious!! Although one of the funniest things about tonight, actually had nothing to do with the play. I had to go to the restroom a few minutes before the play started so I went up and asked someone at the door where the restrooms were located. Now remember, I was at the Midvale Performing Arts Center, which is really just a small theatre located in the city hall in downtown Midvale. Anyways, the person replied, "Downstairs and to your right. They're located right after the teen pregnancy brochures." Ha!! I love community theatre.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Tonight I went to see the movie, Percy Jackson and the Olympians. It's based off of the book, The Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan. I'm currently reading this book with my 7th grade students. I also read it with my students last year - to read a little about that, click HERE. Anyway, both years my students have LOVED reading the book and learning more about Greek Mythology. We've been so excited to see the movie. It's all we've been talking about this week in class. I surveyed my students, asking them if they planned on seeing the movie, and about 80% said they planned on seeing it.

I love the book, and really enjoyed the movie, even though they are SO different. I'm way excited to see what my students have to say about the movie, although I know I'm going to hear A LOT about how the movie "got it wrong." They've already mentioned a few things they noticed from the movie trailer. Anyways, I strongly recommend reading the book and recommend seeing the movie - although if you were only going to choose one, go for the book (of course, a reading teacher would say that, right?)

Two More Days

Me reading my LOST Magazine

Did You Find Everything All Right?

Today I went to Target to get a few things, one of those things being a copy of Entertainment Weekly. I couldn't find it anywhere in the magazine section, and they had some really odd magazine selections. Anyways, I gave up and went to check out. The cashier asked, "Did you find everything all right?" And I responded as I usually do, "Yes." But then I got to thinking, that's not true so I said, "Actually, no. I was looking for a copy of the magazine, Entertainment Weekly. Do you know if you carry it?" She looked at me like I was speaking a foreign language. She then started muttering, "Uh, I, Well, I'm not, Uh . . . " Finally, I just said, "Never mind. It's not a big deal."

After Target, I went to Harmons to get a few groceries. I decided to look in their magazine section to see if they happened to carry Entertainment Weekly. They did not. Again, when I went to check out, the cashier asked, "Did you find everything all right?" Again, No, but this time I'd learned my lesson and replied, "Yep, I sure did."

Friday Night Facts and Commentary

Fact: Tonight Christi, Lesli, and I went to Red Robin for dinner.
Commentary: It was crowded. I haven't been out to dinner on a Friday night in a long time. I forgot how much I dislike having to wait for a table.

Fact: At Red Robin our waitress welcomed us by saying, "Hello. You look familiar. I think I've waited on you before."
Commentary: Until that comment, I hadn't realized how much I eat at Red Robin, but come to think of it, tonight was the third night I've been there in the past 10 days. It's just so damn conveniently located.

Fact: After dinner we headed over to Rocky Mountain Chocolates to get a little snack for the movie.
Commentary: Why do I continue to buy chocolate from Rocky Mt when I know how expensive it is? Eleven dollars for a bag of chocolate covered gummy bears is ridiculous. I know this, and yet I continue to purchase them.

Fact: We met up with Ali, Amy, Sandra and Steph to see "When in Rome."
Commentary: Not only do I hate crowded restaurants, I hate crowded movie theatres. (Commentary on the Commentary: When did I turn into my dad?)

Fact: Josh Duhamel stars in "When in Rome."
Commentary: Holy Crap, He is totally hot. (Commentary on the Commentary: I sound like a 13-year old girl)

What? You're Listening to Me?

Two weeks ago, in my reading class, we read the Greek Myth about Theseus and the minotaur. Because I'm too lazy to recount the myth, click HERE if you want to know more about it. Then last week, I book talked The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. When I finished my book talk, a student raised his hand and stated, "Ms. George, do you know what this book [The Hunger Games] reminds me of? The myth we talked about last week about the minotaur. Remember how they had to send kids to the island every year to face the minotaur? It's kinda the same, huh?"

My thoughts: Holy Crap. You listen to me? And make connections? You have made my day.

Interestingly enough, Suzanne Collins was inspired by the myth for her novel The Hunger Games (well, at least accorrding to wikipedia).

How Do I Love Thee?

According to the LOST countdown, we have 11 days & 21 hours until LOST returns. As many of you know, I love LOST, but the extent to how much I love it was unknown, even to me, until today. Today as I was catching up on a little TV, an advertisement for LOST came on. I reacted by:

First, audibly gasping,
Second, doing a little happy dance,
And Finally, crying. That's right, CRYING.

At first, I didn't know what this said about me. I didn't know if I should be proud of my complete devotion or a little mortified regarding it. But after much contemplation, I've decided I'm proud to be a loyal fan and advocate for what I believe is the best television show ever created.

A similar thing happened to me the first time I saw Morrissey live in concert. I got so excited I cried and threw up in my mouth. Later that night, I also crashed my car. Again, loyal fan and advocate for what I believe to be the most lyrically gifted musician ever. I guess I'm just a very passionate person - at least about TV and British pop music.

Scissors plus Hair equals . . .

Before

After

The Hunger Games

This weekend I read The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I loved it so much, I also read the second book in the series, Catching Fire. Needless to say, I didn't get much done this weekend.

The Hunger Games takes place in a post-apocalyptic country called Panem. This country was formed after the countries of North America were destroyed. Panem consists of a rich Capitol, and 12 surrounding, poor districts. Each year the Capitol holds a lottery in which a random teenage boy and girl are chosen from each district to be sent to the Capitol to compete in The Hunger Games. These Games are a large televised event in which all 24 tributes are dropped in a large outdoor arena to fight to the death. Not only do they provide entertainment for the rich residents of the Capitol, but they serve as a punishment to the 12 districts for a rebellion that occurred 75 years earlier. The message is clear - Don't mess with the Capitol. Each year we kill your children, put we could do much, much worse.

The Hunger Games follows Katniss Evergreen, the girl tribute from District 12, as she fights for her life in the arena. Not only does she fight for her life, but in her own way, she fights against the Capitol by refusing to play the Games their way. By doing so, the Games become even more deadly.

I highly, highly recommend this book. It is one of the most riveting books I've read in a long time.

mi mamá y yo

My mom bought me this hoodie for Christmas. She also bought one for herself. Yesterday we went out to dinner and we both wore them (not on purpose). I thought it was an excellent opportunity for a photo op.

Weekly Walk/Weigh In

So I don't really write new years resolutions. I do, however, think the new year is a good time to re-evaluate life. Well, this year, while re-evaluating life, I realized I could do better in some aspects so I set some goals . . . so, I guess I do write new years resolutions. Anyway, in the physical realm of my life I've decided I want to walk more, drink less soda, and eat more veggies. To help with this goal I asked for (and received) a pedometer for Christmas. I've heard that a person should walk 10,000 steps a day. I have no idea where this number came from or who set it, but that's what I've been measuring myself against. I'm not reaching that number everyday. I think it's because of the cold, crappy weather. I refuse to walk in it so that leaves me to walking in buildings that I frequent - my house, my school, Target. Yep, that's about it. Anyway, here are the numbers from last week:

Monday - 12,057
Tuesday - 6,138
Wednesday - 6,306
Thursday - 13,327
Friday - 6,433
Saturday - 7,680
Sunday - 3,440

Weight Lost - 2 pounds

Oh. My. Gods. by Tera Lynn Childs

I haven't written a book review for awhile so I thought I'd write one about the book I read today. Today I read Oh. My. Gods. by Tera Lynn Childs. I bought this book about a year ago, but for one reason or another it kept getting pushed to the bottom of my pile. Well, I couldn't put it off any longer - I had to read it. This week I started teaching Greek Mythology. I have some books about Greek Mythology that I recommend to my students, but I need more. Because of this, it was time to read Oh. My. Gods. I'm glad I did because I liked it a lot.

Phoebe Castro is the main character in the novel, Oh. My. Gods. Phoebe is a 17-year old girl who loves to run and is banking on an athletic scholarship for college. She has it all mapped out - all she has to do is maintain good grades during her senior year and continue doing well in cross country. All that is put into jeopardy when her mother announces she's remarrying and both her and Phoebe are moving to Greece. Things get even worse when Phoebe learns her new step-father is the headmaster of an exclusive private school with only has one admissions requirement - students must be a direct descendant from one of the Greek Gods. Reluctantly, the school makes an exception for Phoebe. Needless to say, in a school in which the entire student body has the blood of the Gods coursing through their veins, Phoebe has a difficult time fitting in. She has run-ins with the popular descendants of Zeus, the Goth-like descendants of Hades, and cheerleader descendants of Aphrodite.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to read about Greek Mythology with a little twist.

2010 Mocktail Party

Last weekend I attended the annual mocktail party. Now I'm not a huge fan of dancing, but I am a huge fan of an open bar - even if it is only serving "mocktails." Here are a few pics:

Me waiting patiently for my drink.

I love this picture of me and Aly.

Christi, Me, and Aly.
I got stuck holding Dusty's drink so she could dance.

LOST

What are you looking forward to most in 2010?

LOST

Advent Blog - Christmas

Christmas Day. We always have lunch at my grandparent's house at noon. Today after lunch my grandma broke out the chimes. Us grandkids used to play songs on the chimes when we were little. I had completely forgotten about it until my grandma brought them out. I don't know who's idea it was, but they figured now that some of the grandkids have kids of their own, the chimes should be played by the great grandkids. Unfortunately, they were interested in the chimes for about half a second; fortunately, us adults LOVED them!! Here's some hilarious videos of us adults playing some Christmas songs.

We didn't quite have it together on this one. We were short one chime. Anyone recognize the song? It's the beginning of I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.

I love this video. It's us playing the second half of I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day. I love it for so many reasons. First, we're horrible. You can barely tell what we're playing. Second, I love my dad's little head bob. Third, look at our pure joy when we finish. We think very highly of ourselves.

This video is great because I think Mitch is singing "Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow."

Our best performance yet - Silent Night.