Have you heard about the new "no-poo" craze? I know it sounds like a constipation medication, but it's not. It's an eco-friendly beauty regimen. You can read an article about it HERE if you want... but here's the basic idea: You stop using shampoo. Forever.
I know, I know. It sounded disgusting to me at first, too. I read various articles about it, and it turns out that the chemicals in shampoo are actually pretty damaging to your hair and to the environment (am I a horrible person because the "bad for your hair" bothered me more than the "bad for the environment"? Hmmm...) Anyway, they also said that your hair follicles produce oil, and when you're constantly stripping your hair of its natural oils then your oil glands start overproducing. This is why your hair gets greasier faster if you shampoo a lot. Interesting. Well, I hate greasy hair, so the promise of letting my body regulate its own oils and avoiding constant shampooing sounded like a good idea. A shortcut, if you will.
After reading testimonial after testimonial about how this "no-poo" thing gave people Pantene-Pro-V-commercial hair by only rinsing their hair with water, I decided to go for it. Plus, I was almost out of shampoo and didn't feel like buying any more. I figured it was as good a time as any to try my new eco-friendly hippie experiment. The articles told me that there would be a "transition period" where hair would feel a little greasy because my body would still be regulating its oil production. In the mean time, I was supposed to shampoo and condition with baking soda and apple cider vinegar until I was one of the cool kids who only needed to rinse with water.
Ummm...putting baking soda and vinegar in my hair sounds like a fifth-grade science experiment gone wrong. In my quest for beautiful hair, though, I decided to go for it. Full-steam ahead on the no-poo movement! Anything for beauty! Let's make a volcano on my head!
It was five weeks later that I decided perhaps no-poo wasn't for me. I know. I went five weeks without using shampoo. Gross. To be honest, it wasn't terrible. My hair didn't look greasy, and I didn't have to wash it often. My hair did feel a bit thicker, but I actually think my hair is too thick anyway so that wasn't a huge plus. I thought my no-pooed hair felt a bit waxy, like I never got it actually totally clean. That wasn't too fun. The part I missed most about shampoo was the wonderful smell of freshly shampooed hair. Hair that smells faintly of vinegar isn't nearly as exciting. I gave up on my no-poo experiment yesterday, when I finally broke down and broke out the Garnier Fructis.
I apologize to my fragile hair follicles that are apparently crying out from their chemical burns, and I apologize to the baby polar bears for ruining their habitat with my eco-destructive habits. My hair finally feels light and fluffy again, though, so I'm a happy camper. It's been over a month since I had light fluffy hair. Excuse me while I go swish it around for a while.
Monday, February 17, 2014
Thursday, February 6, 2014
Letter to Myself at 30
Hello me-as-a-30-year-old,
It feels a little ridiculous to be writing this letter. Don't you think we're getting a little old for this? I do. But since I've written letters to myself at 15, 20, and 25, it seems a little weird to stop the tradition now. I don't want to get to 30 and think "BLAST! WHERE'S MY LETTER!?" so I guess I should go ahead and write this.
Hmmm...well, you're 30. I guess I should console you. Are you having a midlife crisis? Probably. You're probably freaking out that you haven't won a Newberry Honor yet or hit the bestsellers list. You're not J.K. Rowling, okay? You're fine. And actually, I think she was over 30 when she wrote Harry Potter anyway, so you're really, really fine. Do you realize that you might never hit the bestsellers list ever, and that would be okay too? Because it would. I just think it's cool that you're thirty. You're old enough to be wise and experienced but young enough to be hip and cool. So fab.
Let's see... You probably want to know what I'm up to. Well, I'm surviving the polar vortex of 2014. You know, the one where you had SEVEN snow days!? Actually, possibly eight - they're talking about closing tomorrow because of a -20 wind chill. And February just started. Sheesh. I'm living in the cute green house on Pembrook Street with Rex and Elvis and Elsie. Cara's trying to figure out where to go to college. I'm trying to sell my book about the librarian assassins, and Scholastic has requested the manuscript (which, really, is actually a pretty cool thing even if they hate it. At least they're reading it.) I'm writing a third book, and I'm 44 pages in even though I only started it a couple of weeks ago (thank you snow days). Writing basically keeps me sane. I'm teaching junior high at Providence (actually, I wouldn't be disappointed at all if you're still teaching there as you read this). It's a pretty fabulous school.
So. What are YOU doing? You have a pug, right? Because you and Rex agreed you could have one before you guys turn thirty. If you don't have a pug, go get one RIGHT NOW. Like, stop reading this and go get a pug. Have you been out of the country lately? I think going out of the country once every five years would be cool. Are you really going to go to Italy for your 10 year anniversary? Because that's been the plan since you got married, and as of now it's still the plan, so I think that would be super cool if you actually do that. Did you sell any books yet? Did Scholastic buy anything? Because if you sold a book to Scholastic, then just go ahead and label your life "SUCCESS" and then you can chill for the rest of it. Ha ha. Just kidding, obviously. But that would be way cool. Do you have any kids? Hmmm... if you have a kid then I hope it's a girl. What are you going to do with a boy? He'll have a wardrobe of entirely camouflage and know how to hit a baseball before he can walk. Rex will make you sing country music lullabies. Ewww. Definitely go with a girl.
Are you fat? Just wondering. It seems like a lot of people get fat in their late twenties. I hope you're not fat. Go to the gym if you are. Right now. And on your way home, pick up that pug that you're getting. If you're fat, though, then at least I hope that means you learned how to cook a lot of delicious food. Do you still make that tomato spinach cream tortellini? Because that's my personal favorite recipe right now.
Have you read the whole Bible through from start to finish yet? I only ask because 20-year-old you wanted to know, so 25-year-old you is passing along the message. You're probably reading the Bible on some fancy gadget, like the iBible or something. Is Barnes and Noble still in business? Because I'm actually kind of afraid that books are going to become extinct like dinosaurs and VCRs. That would be a major bummer.
Who's the president? It's not Obama, so that's cool. Did Kim Jong dictator dude ever bomb anyone from North Korea? He seems like kind of a loose cannon (no pun intended). Have you met Meg Cabot? I'm so excited to meet her, even though I'm not sure when I'm going to do that yet. She's like the Kim Kardashian of my genre, except talented. Ooooh....speaking of which, what's Kim Kardahian doing? Actually, never mind. I don't want to know.
I know this letter isn't very serious, but I think that's okay. Your life's not very serious right now. You're chilling out and enjoying your mid-twenties, because if the late twenties go nearly as fast as the early twenties then you've got a lot of fun to pack in during a very short amount of time. You don't have time to take life too seriously.
Hasta la Vista,
25-year-old-you
It feels a little ridiculous to be writing this letter. Don't you think we're getting a little old for this? I do. But since I've written letters to myself at 15, 20, and 25, it seems a little weird to stop the tradition now. I don't want to get to 30 and think "BLAST! WHERE'S MY LETTER!?" so I guess I should go ahead and write this.
Hmmm...well, you're 30. I guess I should console you. Are you having a midlife crisis? Probably. You're probably freaking out that you haven't won a Newberry Honor yet or hit the bestsellers list. You're not J.K. Rowling, okay? You're fine. And actually, I think she was over 30 when she wrote Harry Potter anyway, so you're really, really fine. Do you realize that you might never hit the bestsellers list ever, and that would be okay too? Because it would. I just think it's cool that you're thirty. You're old enough to be wise and experienced but young enough to be hip and cool. So fab.
Let's see... You probably want to know what I'm up to. Well, I'm surviving the polar vortex of 2014. You know, the one where you had SEVEN snow days!? Actually, possibly eight - they're talking about closing tomorrow because of a -20 wind chill. And February just started. Sheesh. I'm living in the cute green house on Pembrook Street with Rex and Elvis and Elsie. Cara's trying to figure out where to go to college. I'm trying to sell my book about the librarian assassins, and Scholastic has requested the manuscript (which, really, is actually a pretty cool thing even if they hate it. At least they're reading it.) I'm writing a third book, and I'm 44 pages in even though I only started it a couple of weeks ago (thank you snow days). Writing basically keeps me sane. I'm teaching junior high at Providence (actually, I wouldn't be disappointed at all if you're still teaching there as you read this). It's a pretty fabulous school.
So. What are YOU doing? You have a pug, right? Because you and Rex agreed you could have one before you guys turn thirty. If you don't have a pug, go get one RIGHT NOW. Like, stop reading this and go get a pug. Have you been out of the country lately? I think going out of the country once every five years would be cool. Are you really going to go to Italy for your 10 year anniversary? Because that's been the plan since you got married, and as of now it's still the plan, so I think that would be super cool if you actually do that. Did you sell any books yet? Did Scholastic buy anything? Because if you sold a book to Scholastic, then just go ahead and label your life "SUCCESS" and then you can chill for the rest of it. Ha ha. Just kidding, obviously. But that would be way cool. Do you have any kids? Hmmm... if you have a kid then I hope it's a girl. What are you going to do with a boy? He'll have a wardrobe of entirely camouflage and know how to hit a baseball before he can walk. Rex will make you sing country music lullabies. Ewww. Definitely go with a girl.
Are you fat? Just wondering. It seems like a lot of people get fat in their late twenties. I hope you're not fat. Go to the gym if you are. Right now. And on your way home, pick up that pug that you're getting. If you're fat, though, then at least I hope that means you learned how to cook a lot of delicious food. Do you still make that tomato spinach cream tortellini? Because that's my personal favorite recipe right now.
Have you read the whole Bible through from start to finish yet? I only ask because 20-year-old you wanted to know, so 25-year-old you is passing along the message. You're probably reading the Bible on some fancy gadget, like the iBible or something. Is Barnes and Noble still in business? Because I'm actually kind of afraid that books are going to become extinct like dinosaurs and VCRs. That would be a major bummer.
Who's the president? It's not Obama, so that's cool. Did Kim Jong dictator dude ever bomb anyone from North Korea? He seems like kind of a loose cannon (no pun intended). Have you met Meg Cabot? I'm so excited to meet her, even though I'm not sure when I'm going to do that yet. She's like the Kim Kardashian of my genre, except talented. Ooooh....speaking of which, what's Kim Kardahian doing? Actually, never mind. I don't want to know.
I know this letter isn't very serious, but I think that's okay. Your life's not very serious right now. You're chilling out and enjoying your mid-twenties, because if the late twenties go nearly as fast as the early twenties then you've got a lot of fun to pack in during a very short amount of time. You don't have time to take life too seriously.
Hasta la Vista,
25-year-old-you
Letter to Myself at 20
I turned 25 years old this week. For some reason that sounds SO much older than 24. Like, last week I was still in my "early twenties," which means I was in the phase of life where I graduate from college and putz around for a little while until I decide what I want to do with myself. Now I'm closer to 30 than to 20, which means, "You've better get your crap together. Time is ticking." Eeeeek!
One fun part about turning 25 is that I got to go back and read a letter that I wrote to myself five years ago, when I was 20. If you're settled in and you're going to be here a while, you can check out that letter HERE. I figure now that I'm 25 and got to finally read the letter that was addressed to me, it's only fair that I write back. To myself. Which sounds a little trippy, actually, but I'm doing it anyway. Here we go:
Dear Me-at-20,
Would it make you feel better if I tell you that everything turned out exactly as you wanted it to?
Because really...it kind of did. Perhaps it doesn't make for a very exciting letter, but you basically stuck to your life plan and rocked it. You graduated in three years, married Rex when you were 21 (you're about to get engaged, by the way), moved to Las Vegas (yes, you read that right. VEGAS.), zipped around the country doing fabulous things for a while, wrote a book, eventually moved back to Kalamazoo to chill with your siblings (Rex's end up feeling like yours too), and landed your dream job at a fantastic school while freelance writing for magazines on the side. Health problems are basically nil. Your brain is doing fine. And you were so worried...
Can you breathe a sigh of relief now? Can you stop freaking out? Because everything is OKAY. And really, even if that entire first paragraph was lies and you didn't do any of that cool stuff, you would still probably be okay. You need to stop worrying about the future. Stop writing letters to me and spend some time enjoying being you (20 year old you. I mean me. I mean...this is confusing). Not that I didn't like your letter, mind you. It was great. I'm just saying that you have to be careful to not spend so much time planning out your life that you forget to live it.
Example: college is SWEET. I would love to go back to college for a while, but I can't. I'm too old. You're still there, though! Whoooo hooo! You're going to meet a girl named Katie in a couple of weeks. She's basically nuts, but also pretty cool. You're going to be the maid of honor in her wedding this summer. Spend more time with Elle too, because she ends up being your neighbor in Las Vegas (again, so weird that you lived there), and she's one of the best friends you'll ever have. Hmmm....what else should you know.... Oh! Get football tickets. You keep trying to save money, which is really admirable, but now I'm too old to get student tickets and I wish I would have. Big Ten football is where it's at. And MSU beats U of M in overtime this year, so go to that game. It's pretty awesome, but I didn't get to go. Start saving up now, too, because MSU is going to the Rose Bowl in 2014 (and they win).
Let's see... I guess you want to know about the family. Cara turned out fabulous. Shame on you for thinking she would be nuts! Although...remembering Cara at age 13...I can definitely see why you thought that. Mom and Dad are doing well. They're talking about retirement soon and selling "the big house," which I'm pretty sure they were actually talking about five years ago too. Jake goes to Michigan State for college, which is deliciously ironic. Tom is at Western, and Michelle is graduating from dental school this year on the same day that Rex is graduating from physical therapy school (May 18!). Everyone's fabulous. Nana still thinks that the internet is going to run out of cyberspace. Grandma and Grandpa Koopsen are both gone, which actually is really sad, but they're together in heaven so at least that's good.
Your family has grown a little bit since you were 20. (No kids - don't freak out). You and Rex have a beagle named Elvis and a cat named Elsie. They're so cute and fun. Elsie is a little evil, but that's really just part of her charm. Elvis is a total dork, but you will love him. OH - and this is very important - you think that pug dogs are really ugly and strange looking, but that's because you're horribly unenlightened. They're actually the cutest dogs ever and now I want one really badly. You meet an eight-week-old pug named Gus next year, and he basically changes everything about your dog perspectives.
You're still trying to read through the whole Bible in order (sorry that that isn't done yet...), but you're making good progress. Also, you've done a pretty good job of actually looking at your faith as a relationship with God instead of a checklist of "Christiany things to do." So actually, the fact that you're not through the whole Bible yet doesn't really bother you a ton. The fact that you're reading it is what matters.
Cars don't run on water yet, sorry. Maybe when you're thirty.
Sincerely,
25-year-old you
One fun part about turning 25 is that I got to go back and read a letter that I wrote to myself five years ago, when I was 20. If you're settled in and you're going to be here a while, you can check out that letter HERE. I figure now that I'm 25 and got to finally read the letter that was addressed to me, it's only fair that I write back. To myself. Which sounds a little trippy, actually, but I'm doing it anyway. Here we go:
Dear Me-at-20,
Would it make you feel better if I tell you that everything turned out exactly as you wanted it to?
Because really...it kind of did. Perhaps it doesn't make for a very exciting letter, but you basically stuck to your life plan and rocked it. You graduated in three years, married Rex when you were 21 (you're about to get engaged, by the way), moved to Las Vegas (yes, you read that right. VEGAS.), zipped around the country doing fabulous things for a while, wrote a book, eventually moved back to Kalamazoo to chill with your siblings (Rex's end up feeling like yours too), and landed your dream job at a fantastic school while freelance writing for magazines on the side. Health problems are basically nil. Your brain is doing fine. And you were so worried...
Can you breathe a sigh of relief now? Can you stop freaking out? Because everything is OKAY. And really, even if that entire first paragraph was lies and you didn't do any of that cool stuff, you would still probably be okay. You need to stop worrying about the future. Stop writing letters to me and spend some time enjoying being you (20 year old you. I mean me. I mean...this is confusing). Not that I didn't like your letter, mind you. It was great. I'm just saying that you have to be careful to not spend so much time planning out your life that you forget to live it.
Example: college is SWEET. I would love to go back to college for a while, but I can't. I'm too old. You're still there, though! Whoooo hooo! You're going to meet a girl named Katie in a couple of weeks. She's basically nuts, but also pretty cool. You're going to be the maid of honor in her wedding this summer. Spend more time with Elle too, because she ends up being your neighbor in Las Vegas (again, so weird that you lived there), and she's one of the best friends you'll ever have. Hmmm....what else should you know.... Oh! Get football tickets. You keep trying to save money, which is really admirable, but now I'm too old to get student tickets and I wish I would have. Big Ten football is where it's at. And MSU beats U of M in overtime this year, so go to that game. It's pretty awesome, but I didn't get to go. Start saving up now, too, because MSU is going to the Rose Bowl in 2014 (and they win).
Let's see... I guess you want to know about the family. Cara turned out fabulous. Shame on you for thinking she would be nuts! Although...remembering Cara at age 13...I can definitely see why you thought that. Mom and Dad are doing well. They're talking about retirement soon and selling "the big house," which I'm pretty sure they were actually talking about five years ago too. Jake goes to Michigan State for college, which is deliciously ironic. Tom is at Western, and Michelle is graduating from dental school this year on the same day that Rex is graduating from physical therapy school (May 18!). Everyone's fabulous. Nana still thinks that the internet is going to run out of cyberspace. Grandma and Grandpa Koopsen are both gone, which actually is really sad, but they're together in heaven so at least that's good.
Your family has grown a little bit since you were 20. (No kids - don't freak out). You and Rex have a beagle named Elvis and a cat named Elsie. They're so cute and fun. Elsie is a little evil, but that's really just part of her charm. Elvis is a total dork, but you will love him. OH - and this is very important - you think that pug dogs are really ugly and strange looking, but that's because you're horribly unenlightened. They're actually the cutest dogs ever and now I want one really badly. You meet an eight-week-old pug named Gus next year, and he basically changes everything about your dog perspectives.
You're still trying to read through the whole Bible in order (sorry that that isn't done yet...), but you're making good progress. Also, you've done a pretty good job of actually looking at your faith as a relationship with God instead of a checklist of "Christiany things to do." So actually, the fact that you're not through the whole Bible yet doesn't really bother you a ton. The fact that you're reading it is what matters.
Cars don't run on water yet, sorry. Maybe when you're thirty.
Sincerely,
25-year-old you
Thursday, January 16, 2014
We Need Your Phone
I love my junior high kids. They're so much fun. Three boys stay after school frequently - we'll call them Nate, Gus, and Walter. Nate and Gus are the principal's sons, so that's why they're here, and Walter is their best friend who lives right next to the school. The three of them have such a blast after school, and sometimes if I need a break from my work I'll go join them in a volleyball game or a ping pong tournament.
A few weeks ago, the three boys went into the kindergarten room and played the piano. They sang along with it at the top of their lungs. My room is at the opposite end of the hall, and I could hear them yelling. I went into my friend Trish's room and said, "WHAT are those three doing?" She didn't know, but we decided to go find out. We went into the kindergarten room and found the boys rollicking in their kindergarten sing along. I did what any good teacher would do in this situation:
I got it on video.
Yesterday after school, the boys were making fun of Trish and I for our volleyball skills (which really is quite unfair since I was playing in a skirt and heels). I told them that it didn't really matter, because I would have the last laugh when I played the video of them singing kindergarten songs at their graduation in May.
They demanded to see the video, not believing that I actually had it. Of course I did have it, so I showed it to them. They freaked out and said they needed my phone so they could delete it. There's no chance that I was going to give it to them, but they persisted about needing to "borrow my phone" for the rest of the day until I left. I left school and went home, thinking the issue was over.
That night I got e-mails from both Nate and Gus saying "We need your phone!" I chuckled and deleted their e-mails. By the next morning, I had forgotten about the entire thing. I got to school, though, and I suddenly remembered because my door was covered in papers that said "WE NEED YOUR PHONE!"
Then I walked in, and this was right inside the door:
They had written "WE NEED YOUR PHONE" on a bunch of papers and put one on each desk:
And this was on my whiteboard:
"SC" stands for student council, which periodically provides pizza lunches for the school. All three of the boys are on student council. I guess I'm not getting any more pizza.
Last but not least, this was on my desk (each paper said "We need your phone!" and the papers were shaped into the word "NOW":
What goofy guys. It was a really funny way to start my morning, though, and I laughed a lot. Then I sat down and typed up a "bill" for all of the paper, tape, and markers that they used up. I even threw in an extra $100 charge for the labor to take it down and $1000 for the emotional trauma caused by the entire experience. I gave it to them during class.
Phewf - tomorrow's Friday. Thank goodness!
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
Day 3 of My Confinement
I have not left my house - not even stepped foot outside - for the past 65 hours. There's a good chance I won't get out until tomorrow morning, which would bring the total to 86 hours in my house.
I know that might not seem like a lot at first glance, but think about it for a second. SIXTY-FIVE HOURS. If you stay home for a full day and do nothing, maybe you spend twelve hours sitting around? And, if you're anything like me, by the end of that you're going stir crazy because you're bad at sitting around and you want to do something.
Well, I've been doing that for SIXTY-FIVE hours.
Kalamazoo is experiencing a record-shattering blizzard, so we've had school called off for the past few days. Church was cancelled on Sunday. I haven't been able to leave. The wind-chill outside has been in the -30's. It's not that I don't like my house...I do...but I'm getting a bit sick of it. I've reorgazined cupboards that don't need reorganizing. I've cooked more food than Rex and I can eat. I've sat in our rocking chair reading random children's books while slowly rocking my sanity away.
I never thought I would say this, but I really hope we don't have another snow day tomorrow. This storm has got to stop. I've got to get out of here. I have no clue how Anne Frank did this for two years. I mean, not to minimize her situation - I've spent three days cooped up because of a blizzard and she spent two years hiding from murderous Nazis, but still. She stayed in their little three-room apartment for two years and never left?! How did she not go insane?? I guess by writing that fabulous diary of hers. Maybe I should start a diary. I've started to think of my confinement in terms of a prison sentence: "When I finally get out of here..." Actually, that complete thought was, "When I finally get out of here...I am so going to get some pie." I don't really know why that was my first thought...it just sounds yummy. A new Grand Traverse Pie company just opened up down the road, and I think that would be a good way to celebrate my freedom. What will really end up happening, though, is that my first act of freedom will probably be to go to work tomorrow morning. I don't think I will have ever been so happy to get to work, though. I'll probably have horrific flashbacks of snowdrifts trapping me inside my house.
Welllllp... it's 10:48 AM, and I've already blogged twice. What did Anne do when she wasn't writing in her diary? I guess she crushed on that Peter guy and fought with her mom. I can't do that because I'm alone. Hmmm... I'll have to think of something else. Perhaps I'll write a post-mortem sympathy letter to Anne. That must have been really horrible. I guess maybe I don't have it so bad after all.
I know that might not seem like a lot at first glance, but think about it for a second. SIXTY-FIVE HOURS. If you stay home for a full day and do nothing, maybe you spend twelve hours sitting around? And, if you're anything like me, by the end of that you're going stir crazy because you're bad at sitting around and you want to do something.
Well, I've been doing that for SIXTY-FIVE hours.
Kalamazoo is experiencing a record-shattering blizzard, so we've had school called off for the past few days. Church was cancelled on Sunday. I haven't been able to leave. The wind-chill outside has been in the -30's. It's not that I don't like my house...I do...but I'm getting a bit sick of it. I've reorgazined cupboards that don't need reorganizing. I've cooked more food than Rex and I can eat. I've sat in our rocking chair reading random children's books while slowly rocking my sanity away.
I never thought I would say this, but I really hope we don't have another snow day tomorrow. This storm has got to stop. I've got to get out of here. I have no clue how Anne Frank did this for two years. I mean, not to minimize her situation - I've spent three days cooped up because of a blizzard and she spent two years hiding from murderous Nazis, but still. She stayed in their little three-room apartment for two years and never left?! How did she not go insane?? I guess by writing that fabulous diary of hers. Maybe I should start a diary. I've started to think of my confinement in terms of a prison sentence: "When I finally get out of here..." Actually, that complete thought was, "When I finally get out of here...I am so going to get some pie." I don't really know why that was my first thought...it just sounds yummy. A new Grand Traverse Pie company just opened up down the road, and I think that would be a good way to celebrate my freedom. What will really end up happening, though, is that my first act of freedom will probably be to go to work tomorrow morning. I don't think I will have ever been so happy to get to work, though. I'll probably have horrific flashbacks of snowdrifts trapping me inside my house.
Welllllp... it's 10:48 AM, and I've already blogged twice. What did Anne do when she wasn't writing in her diary? I guess she crushed on that Peter guy and fought with her mom. I can't do that because I'm alone. Hmmm... I'll have to think of something else. Perhaps I'll write a post-mortem sympathy letter to Anne. That must have been really horrible. I guess maybe I don't have it so bad after all.
Sunday, January 5, 2014
The Snow Day Game
I forgot this wonderful part of living in Michigan - The Snow Day Game.
What, you don't know The Snow Day Game? Yes you do. It goes like this:
"It's supposed to snow tonight? How much?"
*In a panic, go online to check the weather. Check really quickly because maybe the forecast will change if you don't check it fast enough.*
"Whoo hoo! You're right! It is supposed to snow! Wait...when are we going to get the most of it?"
*Go back to your online search. If the snow is supposed to hit between 10 PM and midnight, you're screwed. Get your lesson plans ready, cuz you're going to work tomorrow. If it hits between 12 midnight and 3AM, you've got a shot. If the bulk hits between 3 and 6AM, you've got a good chance. If the worst isn't supposed to hit until after 6, then you're back to lesson planning.*
"We're supposed to get five inches between 3 and 5AM? SWEET! I'm gonna skip lesson planning and watch a movie!"
Then you keep your fingers crossed that you do actually have a snow day, because you never really know. You do the bare minimum of work that you'll need for the next day, and you go to sleep praying for as much snow as the clouds can drop. You wake up, run to the window, and think "YES - THIS HAS TO BE A SNOW DAY," but you don't really know until you see the glorious name of your school scrolling across the closings list. And then, when you finally do see your school's name, then you react like you just won the lottery and Miss America at the same time:
"SNOW DAY!!! I HAVE A SNOW DAY! THIS IS THE BEST DAY IN THE HISTORY OF EVER!! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! THIS IS SUCH A SHOCK!!! OH MY, A SNOW DAY?!?!?! THIS IS SO GREAT!!!" and you hop around for about five more minutes to celebrate your victory, and then you promptly go back to bed for three more hours.
I've been living in Nevada for the past two years, so I haven't been able to play this game. In Nevada, you never get a surprise day off. They're always planned. Only in their wildest dreams to Nevada students get to hear, "Go back to bed. You don't have school today." For Michigan students, this is practically an annual certainty. Still, for some reason it never gets less exciting. Even when we don't end up with a snow day, the excitement of maybe getting a paid day off for no reason is still really fun.
I love snow days. Right as I type this I'm playing The Snow Day Game. West Michigan's having a blizzard to end all blizzards, and we're supposed to get more snow tonight. There's a good chance of a snow day tomorrow, so I'm blogging and catching up on some magazine reading instead of doing lesson plans. I really should do lesson plans since we could potentially have school tomorrow.... but I'm really hoping for a snow day. It would be a great way to start the new semester.
Here's to winning The Snow Day Game!
What, you don't know The Snow Day Game? Yes you do. It goes like this:
"It's supposed to snow tonight? How much?"
*In a panic, go online to check the weather. Check really quickly because maybe the forecast will change if you don't check it fast enough.*
"Whoo hoo! You're right! It is supposed to snow! Wait...when are we going to get the most of it?"
*Go back to your online search. If the snow is supposed to hit between 10 PM and midnight, you're screwed. Get your lesson plans ready, cuz you're going to work tomorrow. If it hits between 12 midnight and 3AM, you've got a shot. If the bulk hits between 3 and 6AM, you've got a good chance. If the worst isn't supposed to hit until after 6, then you're back to lesson planning.*
"We're supposed to get five inches between 3 and 5AM? SWEET! I'm gonna skip lesson planning and watch a movie!"
Then you keep your fingers crossed that you do actually have a snow day, because you never really know. You do the bare minimum of work that you'll need for the next day, and you go to sleep praying for as much snow as the clouds can drop. You wake up, run to the window, and think "YES - THIS HAS TO BE A SNOW DAY," but you don't really know until you see the glorious name of your school scrolling across the closings list. And then, when you finally do see your school's name, then you react like you just won the lottery and Miss America at the same time:
"SNOW DAY!!! I HAVE A SNOW DAY! THIS IS THE BEST DAY IN THE HISTORY OF EVER!! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! THIS IS SUCH A SHOCK!!! OH MY, A SNOW DAY?!?!?! THIS IS SO GREAT!!!" and you hop around for about five more minutes to celebrate your victory, and then you promptly go back to bed for three more hours.
I've been living in Nevada for the past two years, so I haven't been able to play this game. In Nevada, you never get a surprise day off. They're always planned. Only in their wildest dreams to Nevada students get to hear, "Go back to bed. You don't have school today." For Michigan students, this is practically an annual certainty. Still, for some reason it never gets less exciting. Even when we don't end up with a snow day, the excitement of maybe getting a paid day off for no reason is still really fun.
I love snow days. Right as I type this I'm playing The Snow Day Game. West Michigan's having a blizzard to end all blizzards, and we're supposed to get more snow tonight. There's a good chance of a snow day tomorrow, so I'm blogging and catching up on some magazine reading instead of doing lesson plans. I really should do lesson plans since we could potentially have school tomorrow.... but I'm really hoping for a snow day. It would be a great way to start the new semester.
Here's to winning The Snow Day Game!
Thursday, January 2, 2014
2014 To Do List
I love to-do lists. I'm not sure why... I guess they keep me organized. Maybe it's the sense of accomplishment I get when I cross something off of the list. I've become sort of addicted to that feeling. Back in August when I was prepping for the beginning of the school year, I actually had to make a list of all of my lists so that I would be able to keep track of them. No lie. A few days ago Rex asked if we should stop by Meijer, and I went into panic mode. "We CAN'T!" I exclaimed. "I haven't even made a grocery list yet!" It would perhaps be funny if I was joking, except I wasn't. Going to the grocery store without a list is like going into battle with no weapons. It's complete lunacy.
So anyway, I like lists. Therefore, instead of making New Year's Resolutions, I'm just going to make a New Year's to-do list. Then I can come back next year and see how many of the items I checked off (hopefully all of them... Unchecked items taunt me). I guess any items that don't get checked off can be rolled over to my 2015 list. Okay. Here we go.
THINGS TO DO IN 2014
(not in order of importance)
1. Join a volunteer organization
2. Go on a snowmobiling trip
3. Celebrate my 25th birthday by doing something cool
4. Watch Rex graduate in Vegas
5. See some of my old Vegas students
6. Start seriously looking at houses to buy
7. Read the entire Bible
8. Get my librarian book published
9. Write at least four more magazine articles
10. Go on a girls' weekend to somewhere cool
11. Learn at least two new recipes per month
12. Pay off all of my student loans
13. Start paying off Rex's student loans
14. Start writing my new book (but I don't know what it's about yet)
15. Run a 5k
16. Go to Lake Michigan at least twice
17. Go visit Cara at college
18. Grow a plant from a seed (it has to actually flower to count)
19. Do an anonymous random nice thing
20. Make cookies (I had to put at least one thing on the list that I already did this year - that's how you make a good list. Put at least one thing on that you can already cross off so that you feel like you have a good start).
Well, if I do all of those things it will officially be a successful year. I wish I could fast forward and see how many get finished!
So anyway, I like lists. Therefore, instead of making New Year's Resolutions, I'm just going to make a New Year's to-do list. Then I can come back next year and see how many of the items I checked off (hopefully all of them... Unchecked items taunt me). I guess any items that don't get checked off can be rolled over to my 2015 list. Okay. Here we go.
THINGS TO DO IN 2014
(not in order of importance)
1. Join a volunteer organization
2. Go on a snowmobiling trip
3. Celebrate my 25th birthday by doing something cool
4. Watch Rex graduate in Vegas
5. See some of my old Vegas students
6. Start seriously looking at houses to buy
7. Read the entire Bible
8. Get my librarian book published
9. Write at least four more magazine articles
10. Go on a girls' weekend to somewhere cool
11. Learn at least two new recipes per month
12. Pay off all of my student loans
13. Start paying off Rex's student loans
14. Start writing my new book (but I don't know what it's about yet)
15. Run a 5k
16. Go to Lake Michigan at least twice
17. Go visit Cara at college
18. Grow a plant from a seed (it has to actually flower to count)
19. Do an anonymous random nice thing
20. Make cookies (I had to put at least one thing on the list that I already did this year - that's how you make a good list. Put at least one thing on that you can already cross off so that you feel like you have a good start).
Well, if I do all of those things it will officially be a successful year. I wish I could fast forward and see how many get finished!
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