A lovely weekend

The SATs were profitable and I worked out afterward. Then, I baked some cookies for Consultant Boy and was off to Delaware. He took me out to dinner here. I had an amazing meal with pasta, broccoli rabe, and sausage. We had bananas foster for dessert. On the way home, I stopped by Panera to grab an Asiago Cheese bagel (Thanks Prep-E Girl for reminding me of something I always used to crave) and stopped at the Trader Joe's. It was bigger and nicer than the one in PA. I got to the gym in time before it closed for another weekend workout. I taught today and took a walk with one of my collegues. Pilates and yoga kicked my butt tonight, but I met a girl who is new to gym who is from CT and has a sister who went to my high school. We know several people in common. Yeah for a new friend in the area!

Getting in the Christmas Spirit after a long week...

Getting in the Christmas Spirit after a long week...

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper- once I learned how to wrap neatly, it is great.
2. Real or artificial tree? Artificial because I am away for about 10 days around Christmas.
3. When do you put up the Christmas tree? First weekend in December.
4. When do you take the tree down? By January 2nd, after my New Year's party.
5. Like eggnog? Not really...
6. Do you have a nativity scene? Unfortunately not.
7. Favorite gift received as a child? GeoSafari circa 1992- LOVED it!
8. Easiest person to buy for? Neighbor.
9. Hardest person to buy for? My father.
10. Worst Christmas gift? My grandmother gave me a denim shirt one year with a handpainted birdhouse- dreadful.
11. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail, of course. I love doing picture cards. Do people actually email cards now?
12. Favorite Christmas movie? I love A Christmas Carol because of the message it sends.
13. When do you start Christmas shopping? I do it throughout the year. Usually, I get a start at a Lilly sale.
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? I always use a bad gift from a student in our family "White Elephant" swap.
15. Lights on tree? Yes, white lights.
16. Favorite Christmas Song? Traditional- The First Noel, Fun- Christmas Wrapping.
17. Travel during Christmas or stay home? Travel to CT, then Maine.
18. Can you name Santa's reindeer? Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, Rudolph, Dasher, Dancer,Vixen.
19. Star or Angel on top of Tree? Angel.
20. Open presents on Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas morning.
21. Most annoying thing about this time of year? The blowups on people's lawns... competitions for best lights... whiny, spoiled children... people forgetting the true meaning of Christmas.
22. Favorite ornament? A wooden figure skater that moves when you pull a string.
23. What do you want for Christmas this year? Peace on earth, but I will be happy with a KitchenAid mixer and maybe some ski accessories.

SAT Saturday

I am making the easiest $95 I ever make this morning at the SATs. I get up early and sit and read instructions until about 1PM. I can read during the test and it is a somewhat relaxing experience- as long as I am not taking a test! Tonight, I will drive down to Consultant Boy's for a date which may involve meeting some of his friends- ah!
Last night, I went to the outlets and it was not crowded at all. There were so many good deals! I behaved myself and only got a pair of brown ballet flats at Gap, dress and earrings at Ann Taylor Loft, and my favorite Home Sweet Home Yankee Candle and a Candy Cane one for my classroom during the holiday season. I guess I did get a lot, but not too much.

Worth it

Even though I got in at 2:45 AM on a school night, going into the city for the holiday party was worth it. The people I met in high school were unique, special people and it was so fun to reminisce with people that know me so well. I need to stay in touch with these people beyond these reunions.

I plugged through the day today and am now going to bed.

First cup of coffee this year

I am having my first cup of coffee this year at school. I am exhausted and cold... Tonight I am going to my alumni holiday party at the Yale Club in NYC. It is going to be quite the trip for a Wednesday night, but these people are very important to me. I did not go last year and feel like I missed out... I will also see friends from college afterward for dinner. Yeah! Let the crazy holiday party season commence... My outfit:

Peppermint Joe Joe's....

These things are addicting.... I am officially calling this the Peppermint Joe Joe incident of 2008... They are worse than thin mints, Oreos, etc...

Pants I do not have to hem!

Any other petite girls out there who are tired of adding $8.50 to the cost of any pair of pants? Why $8.50? Hemming, of course! I was bound and determined to find pants that fit (chinos) without hemming or that were not capri pants to begin with. After J. Crew (too long), LL Bean (too long and boxy), Lilly (much too long and big in the hips), Gap (yes, too long), Ann Taylor (too big in the butt), and some others; I finally found the perfect pair of chinos in an unexpected place-- Ross Dress for Less. They are Docker's and are Petite Short. Yeah! They are not bad looking and for $9.99 I am wondering if Ross will get more colors in soon... Where do other people find petite pants?

Now I am really done...

Everything is DONE... all comment letters, exams, grading! Hooray! I am back at my parents' house in CT.

My dinner date was very nice. He cooked a three course meal with wine pairings (in the proper glasses, too!) from his latest trip to California. The Chilean sea bass was amazing! I made him some chocolate truffle brownies-- he loved them. We played Scrabble and Boggle. I beat him in Scrabble and he blew me away in Boggle. Overall, it was a good night and I can't believe how much he did for me.

I am off to Maine tomorrow morning for a relaxing Thanksgiving! Of course, we will stop at LL Bean and J. Crew in Freeport... I hope I can be good.

First Day of Vacation

I got the last two girls in a car to JFK this morning at 6:30 AM. I was ready for a Power Yoga class. I am going to be SO sore tomorrow from all the one legged squats and headstands! I feel unreasonably great after a long term, usually by Thanksgiving Vacation I am about to collapse and can't get out of bed for a few days. I am muddling through comment letters (one paragraph comments I write about each student I teach) and hope to get half done (26) by the time I go on my fourth date with the guy I have been hanging out with since September. He is cooking me dinner at his house! Enjoy the weekend!

Lilly sale update...

I did not go bananas at the Lilly sale as I did last time.

I did end up with a few cute things...

The choice of the day was skirt! This skirt looked cute and it is definitely an appropriate length for teaching.

These capris looked really fun.

I also got a cute ribbon headband.

After the sale, I ran to Trader Joe's and then got back on the highway to come home to put the girls who have flights tomorrow morning to bed.

Sorry these are not my own pictures. I am tired tonight... All the exams are corrected... Comments are being written and I will be off for 10 days!

Dreams of Lilly are dancing in my head!

I am ALMOST done correcting my exams and then I will be off to the Lilly sale tomorrow... I can't wait until my big decisions will not be how much credit I should give to Student X on his or her essay on the exam, but whether or not I should get the wonderful navy and white horse print in capris or a skirt- or both!

KitchenAid Mixer?

I have so many things and am not desperate for any one thing for Christmas. I was considering asking for this:

Does any one have one? Do you like it? What do you make? I love to bake and think it would be a perfect piece to add to my kitchen gadgets. I also thought about a food processor--any suggestions???

Procrastination or not?

Well, I have been procrastinating by doing things I have been putting off for awhile.

What I was supposed to do today:
1) Write exams
2) Write exams
3) Write exams

What I did
1) Submitted medical receipts for reimbursement
2) Cleaned out my car-- the beach bag, bike helmet, tennis racquet, and swimsuit do not need to be in at the same time as the skis, ski boots, and snow shoes
3) Organized all my receipts from my wallet and cleaned out my purses
4) E-mailed someone I have wanted to e-mail since May
5) Organized my pantry- I found 5 each of the following: onion soup mixes, diet peach iced tea mix, white beans, boxes of spaghetti, and artichoke hearts (note to self: check before I grocery shop and I am not going to need to go shopping for awhile)

Now, I am going to really write my exams, which are due first thing on Monday!!!

Note from a student

Ms. LPP- I'm so sorry for my test, and I know it's really not happy and shiny, I will study much harder, I'll promise.

Ah... this week has been crazy getting my little munchkins ready for their exams. The student who wrote me the e-mail is just learning English and is so funny. I felt so bad that he failed his test, but I need to get them to study hard for the exams. I had such an amazing victory today--the student who barely could pass any of my tests early on got a 90% on a really challenging test! I immediately dialed his mom's cell phone so excited to tell her that I FINALLY had some good news for her! I am off to see a Yale acapella group with my charges... should be fun!

Pulled it off

I ran an election for the entire school yesterday and 83.45% of the students participated. It was a lot of work to put together, but we had so much fun making posters and ballot boxes. I also got a bonus shout out from the headmaster thanking me for all my efforts!

Now, everyone should get out to vote today! I am walking with my 7th graders today (and then stopping by DD to get them hot chocolate to reward them for all their hard work).

I had some favorite election videos, but this one (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgEGtYWonds) has quickly jumped to the top.