Something to Brighten Even the Smoggiest of Days

The weather here is a little bit frightful, as in the inversion of smog is slowly killing us all. (Optimism is my middle name.) (I just heard we were ranked the most unhealthy air in America.) This tends to cause me to be a bit grouchy; however, last night I was reminded of the healing quality of Miss America. Ever since I was in college, we have been watching the pageant. Even if we were gone, we faithfully recorded the pageant, baked up some treats and sat back for the drama to unfold. Saturday morning I awoke at 6:30 am, looked out the window at the smog, shook my head and flipped on the t.v. To my delight, a show called Countdown to the Crown was on. (It has challenges for the contestants to perform to earn a chance to be in the top 15 at the pageant.) (How fun, I know!) I spent three and a half magical hours cheering the girls on to win a golden sash. It was a perfect bonding time with the contestants, and so when I arrived to watch the pageant I knew who I wanted to win, and more importantly who I didn't want to win. Unfortunately, my picks did not win, but it was still delightful.

Every time we watch the pageant, we reminisce about our all time favorite Miss America winner. We watched this clip every time we were feeling down. Once we popped it in our day was always a little brighter. The enthusiasm, the up and down movement, the dropping of the earring, and the eyes popping out; it all leads me to grin every time I see it. And so when you're feeling down on the smoggiest of days, just take a look at this little delight.

Thirty, Flirty, and Thriving

I am a firm believer that when it is your birthday there are a few rules that apply:
-You may eat whatever you want to eat (two kinds of cake, homemade cookies from a student, and a hamburger, It's all fair game.)
-You don't have to eat things you don't want to (your oatmeal, V8 juice, or your daily carrot and apple combo.)
- Whatever you wear will look good.
-Nobody is allowed to be mean to you.
-You don't have to go to the gym if you don't want to.
-You don't have to feel guilty about not going to the gym.
-You don't have to lift a finger in housework.
I also believe that when it is your thirtieth birthday, you have to do something youthful, impractical, and out of the ordinary. Therefore, I decided that even though I had only been back from Arizona for four days, I was going to fly out to Texas for my birthday weekend. If you have ever been to Texas, you know why: Everything is bigger and better there. (That's what they tell me.) While there, we bought these Texas sized rings with fake diamonds glittering in the sun to document all of our experiences. There is nothing greater then 30 glittering ring pictures at delightful and crazy places to remind you that birthdays are a little slice of heaven. It was fabulous. Pictured are only a few of those delightful moments: The old school roller rink, Texas's largest flea market, and NASA (which is highly educational, yet as you can see, fun filled. I even touched a moon rock. How fabulous is that?)

As much fun as Texas was, I'm a sucker for celebrating my birthday with my class. There is something delightful about being at school with my kids for my birthday. And so, I came back and found my room decorated with streamers, balloons, and banners everywhere. To my delight, not only were there Happy Birthday banners but Congratulations banners. I guess I had made too much of a fuss about how important this day was. Then my class brought in cake, pop, and a karaoke machine. How can you not have fun with a karaoke machine blasting out tunes, you standing up on a stool, 30 kids chanting your name with their hands in the air swaying to your song? (Which happened to be The Itsy Bitsy Spider.) As one of my students told his mother about my performance, "She gave it her all."

That night I went out with my best friends and we had a bowling extravaganza of fun. (In case you didn't know, crazy socks always help you bowl better.) One of my friends brought the most beautiful cake into the bowling alley, where they gave us a candle and applauded when I blew it out. I've always wanted to have a birthday party at a bowling alley, and it was all that I had hoped it would be. Sadly, the birthday is over, but that is okay, because even though I once again have to eat my oatmeal and V8, I am now thirty, flirty, and thriving.

The Break

My students write a little story called Fortunately. They start out with an event, then something unfortunate happens, then something fortunate happens, then unfortunate, and then fortunate. You get the picture. My favorite part is their imaginative unfortunate events. The craziest things always happen in their stories. Well, Christmas Break was just like their stories, except I didn't make up any of the crazy parts.
Here is my story:
A few days after my break started, I received a phone call from my mom.
Unfortunately, my grandma was sick in the hospital, so I immediately flew home.
Fortunately, she miraculously defied the odds and was able to come home. (Yeah!)
Unfortunately, the day she came home I became sick as a dog (miserable, moaning, awful sick), the basement flooded, and the ceiling began to leak. (My poor mother and father.)
Fortunately, I got better, we got the basement dried, and the leak stopped. (Phew!)
Unfortunately, I then started to break out into unfathomable, horrible hives. (A mystery still.)
Fortunately, they weren't the kind that stop you from breathing, and we had a fabulous Christmas. We even went out for a little run in the middle of the night.
Unfortunately, when we got back, the basement was flooded again. (Insanity!)
Fortunately, you can't keep a good person down.
Unfortunately, sometimes a good person will fall down while cross country skiing and do a little something, something to their ankle. (However, can you see the beautiful snow and sky? It was worth it.)
Fortunately, I gave it a little wrap and a little rest, and it is doing better.
Unfortunately, I had to leave the promised land of the hometown.
Fortunately, I got to visit friends in the Valley (or should I say Phoenix area?) and had a delightful time, they even turned on their air conditioners. (Air conditioning in January?)
Unfortunately, Utah isn't so accommodating and during my flight back it began to snow, and they shut down one of the terminals. We had to wait and wait, and then drive through ice to get home.
Fortunately, we're use to the snow and ice and got home safely.
And that is how the break ended, a little insanity sprinkled throughout, but as all stories should end, happy.