Dancing With the Stars

So I watch every season. I missed one season and that was because I had night classes and it was too hard to keep up. Then came our DVR and there went my social life... haha.

But really, I love the show, but it never fails that they put some people on there that make you scratch your head or want to throw things. This season is no different.

Cloris Leachman. Really? She's 82 flippin' years old. It's not just the age, she just doesn't look like she's trying. If it's difficult to keep up, I just wouldn't sign up. And people are keeping her around for the "entertainment factor." Um, what entertainment? I find her senile ramblings boring and annoying.

Kim Kardashian. Ugh. I could leave it at that, but I feel like saying more. You people do realize that the only reason she's a "star" with a reality show is because she made a sex tape with a washed up singer, right? I call the glorification of this amateur porn star more than a little ridiculous. Let's not try to make her out to be talented or something. And hell-oooo! She's not even trying. It's like she's afraid to break a sweat or else her layers of makeup will come off and we'll realize she's not much above average.

Everyone else I think I'm okay with. I'm pretty much throwing my votes behind Lance and Lacey. Partly the boy band factor. But mostly that their dances are fun! I love them! Plus I saw Lacey when she was on So You Think You Can Dance. So I'm a little biased for her, even if she is a camera whore.

So what does everyone else think? Anyone watching it and want to give your input?

Monday Confession

Okay, this isn't something huge and life-changing. But I thought I'd share because it came up last night...

I have never seen The Godfather, Scarface or any of those other mobster type movies.

No desire. I don't get it. So no, I will not be seeing them either. And I'm perfectly fine with that.

Nothing really...

Seriously, this is a blog about nothing. Strictly for the sake of keeping my pace of daily blogging. And because I know y'all are soooo entertained by me. haha...

Life right now... good. With the exception of being a bigger size than I want to, but I'm going to work on that. I'm currently deciding what I want to be for Halloween. And trying to figure out what exactly I'm doing that night. Plus counting the days to DISNEYLAND!!! We're going in December for Tad's very first trip! And it just so happens we'll be there on my birthday! So to say I'm stoked and waiting not so patiently would be an understatement. Anyone who knows me knows I love the place. And if you didn't know it, well, I love Disneyland. It's the happiest place on earth for cryin' out loud! Throw in that Tim proposed there and I could easily visit more than I get to right now.

We had the kid this weekend. Taking him home today. He's so fun. And I love being in the car and singing with him. Our current fave is "The Hairbrush Song" from Veggie Tales. It's beyond adorable.

So that's all for now. Maybe I'll have something better to say tomorrow. I'm still deciding on my confession for the week...

Happy Birthday!

To my grandpa. I cannot even begin to describe this man to you so I'm not sure why I'm even trying... but here goes.

If you know me, you know I have a twisted sense of humor. I credit my grandpa for that. Well, at least that side of my family. This is my dad's dad. I spent a whole lot of time with him and my grandma for the first five years of my life because they lived close and took care of my brother and I.

This is the man who taught my brother to say that mushrooms taste like shit. My mom was real pleased there...

This is the man who still jokes about a new crop of hair possibly springing up on his head one day.

This is the man who says it's okay to lie on Wednesdays, but that's it. And this is only because it's halfway through the week, so God is okay with it.

This is the man who shares my love of George Strait and Brad Paisley.

This is my grandpa who I love to pieces and don't know what I would do without.



This is my favorite picture of him. At my wedding. Love you grandpa.

this cracks me up

I don't know how old this is, but I only saw it for the first time today. My girlfriend sent me a link because I hadn't seen it before.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UAZu0vF618

It's a link instead of a video because I'm retarded and don't know how to embed in this format.

Friday Photo

Ta-daaaa! Do you love my Friday photos yet? You should. Because I lovingly hand-pick these photos from the thousands I have stored...


Okay maybe it's not that much work. But you should still enjoy my photos.

This was my first target. It's from the beginning of 2007. I shot a .22, a .45, and a .357 with .38 specials. And I loved it. I have unfortunately not been able to go out lately. Anyone wanna send some cash for stress relief my way?

Yay!

So it was a good day. I blogged about what I was worried about earlier this week. So I was stressed last night and this morning. But it was a great day.

I looked nice for picture day. Which is always good.

But the highlight... I'm all but guaranteed a job in Fresno Unified when I graduate now. And we're talking as soon as I graduate. I met our area assistant supernintendo. Seemed nice enough. I talked to him a bit while I was out getting the kids this morning. Then he happened to visit our classroom while I was up doing a lesson. It wasn't anything fancy. I was just reviewing our reading for the week and explaining the kids' worksheet to them. But he liked what he saw. So did the principal and vice principal. Yay!

So before he left he got my number and email from Lori (my master teacher) and said he wants updates on how I'm doing and when I pass other tests. Lori filled me in and said, "So welcome to Fresno Unified."

EEEEE!!!

Really PETA? Really?!

Ugh, those PETA weirdos have done it again.

http://perezhilton.com/2008-09-24-this-is-not-a-joke-62

Because I definitely want my Toffee Heath Bar Crunch to have a little breast milk in it. Tasty.

Why do I want to be a teacher?

This may be some heavy reading for today, but I felt like writing it.

I've been asked what makes me want to be a teacher more times than I can count. Short version: it's something that I feel like I've been called to do.

I've actually had one jackass look at me and say, "But you won't make any money." Um, duh. But that's not why I'm in it.

I grew up the oldest in my family, including the grandkids. So I already knew I could manage kids younger than me. In second grade I had a student teacher who I loved. I thought she was cool, pretty and young. And she had fun with us! I totally wanted to do that. Then as I grew up I started tutoring and eventually got a job with an after school program. That's when I figured out that I had classroom control. I finally got into Fresno Pacific and here I am in my last semester of the credential program.

That's a seriously short version, but I don't want to have you sitting here all day.

And you know what? I won't be rich. But I don't care. Ultimately I want sixth graders. They're impressionable. And even though they won't let on, they're still vulnerable. I'm in a sixth grade classroom right now and the teacher has at least one student every week come back to see her. I want to be that teacher. I want students to remember me years later and see what I did as something important. I want to be able to make a difference.

That's way more important than driving an expensive car and having a second home on the beach.

So...

I have to look all "teacherly" tomorrow. The area super nintendo (hello Simpsons reference) will be at my student teaching school. And I've been told that if I make a good impression I can pretty much be handed a job when I graduate.

Score.

So now I have to find my most capable looking outfit. Hmmm... that's tough. I need one outfit that's more grown up than all the others. This is some serious pressure here! Not to mention the fact that it's picture day and I think I'm part of the class picture. So double pressure!

*sigh* Wish me luck with the super nintendo thing. I definitely want a job ASAP when I graduate. At least, I think I do. I may just sub for a semester. We'll see. More on that plan another day though... so for now just wish me luck!

This is a crazy kid

Not too long ago Tim, Tad and I were in the car. Not sure where we were going, but that doesn't matter. I had Tad's CD on and he was just playing in the backseat. Suddenly he announced, "Tia Ashley, I can burp my ABC's."

Um, what?

I asked him to repeat that.

"I can burp my ABC's." And then in his deep voice that he calls his "monster voice" he started saying his ABC's. And it totally sounded like he was burping them.

I looked at Tim and we almost died laughing. Pretty sure I almost peed a little too. Of course my very next action was to take my phone out of my purse and record him doing it.

I am helping raise a little freak.

And no, I did not teach him that. Contrary to popular belief.

Monday Confession

It's Monday people! Let the confessions fly!
Today's isn't incriminating or very embarrassing. But it is slightly ridiculous.
I have an irrational fear and intense hatred of earthworms.
That's right. The mere sight of one wriggling on the sidewalk makes me simultaneously want to run screaming and spew my last meal on the concrete.
I'm screwed when I have kids.

Happy Birthday!

Marco! Polooooo!


Haha... ladies and gentlemen, it's time to say Happy Birthday to my friend Marcos.



So I'm ghetto and don't have a scanner so I took a picture of an old picture of us. Good lord I'm lame... anyhow, I love Marcos. I've known him for... jeez, probably seven years now? Which is crazy. We always used to joke that when he turned 20 (which was a couple years ago) we could date. And we would have to get married because we would have beautiful children. But seriously, look at that picture and tell me we wouldn't have had some fantastic looking kids. Can't do it can ya? My first memory of him is from CIY ages ago, when my brother decided to switch rooms to welcome him as "the new guy." And don't get me started on his mom. Whoever ends up marrying Marcos will have the BEST MOTHER IN LAW EVER. No joke. If I hadn't met Tim I might have married Marcos. Screw the age difference.


So happy birthday to my Marcos. I have loved being a part of your life. And it's amazing to see the man you are today. I love you.

Cuteness

So Tim and I went to Target tonight. And as is the fashion I bought more than I should. But oh well. I bought my first Christmas present in the process. Go me! Anyway...

Much time was spent with the Halloween decorations. Sadly the store we went to didn't have nearly as much as the one I usually visit. But during our walking we passed the books. And of course they had some seasonal kids' books out. I took a look, because I love books and I fully intend to pass that love of books to my own children one day. But in the mean time, I'll pass it to my Tad. And something caught my attention...

Goodnight Goon.

Yes. It's a "petrifying parody" of Goodnight Moon. Now unless you've been living under a rock, you know that Goodnight Moon is an insta-classic. Every child should own it and have it read to them enough times to memorize it. Tad loves it and it's a regular bedtime story. So I had to have the parody. I just read it right now.

So. Effing. Cute.

I can't wait for Tad to come over so we can read it together.

Baking

I baked today. I made some cupcakes to take to my sissy's house tonight. I was pretty excited because I bought some silicone cupcake cups last night at the store. And I had bought some red velvet cake mix last week. Mmmm... so yeah, today I tried out my silicone cups.

First though, you have to see the red velvet right before it was poured in...

Then I decided to go ahead and flour the cups. Because with chocolate cake you're supposed to flour the pan. And there is cocoa in red velvet (for those of you who didn't know). And I thought it was better to be safe even though silicone is non-stick.

So I poured the batter in. I wasn't too anal with this batch being the same exact sizes and stuff because this was mainly to test out my cups. So of course the stupid things came out lopsided. I hate when my cupcakes do that. Does anyone know the real reason for that?

You can kinda see the wonkiness in that top right one. Anyhow, like I said, I'm not gonna care too much. These will more than likely be devoured while we're all drunk tonight anyway. So I also happened to buy a big can of frosting when I was a the store. So I could do the frosting all pretty...

So there are the cupcakes. I'm not horribly impressed with the boxed red velvet mix. I'll definitely be doing that kind from scratch from now on. But they're not dry. And not overcooked or anything. So I'll take the silicone cups as a success. I did have to cook the cupcakes for two or three minutes longer than normal. And as soon as they're cool enough to touch you need to take the cupcakes out of the liners. But it was sooooo easy to get them out. And they're easy to wash. And I think I'll swear by silicone for my cupcakes now.

So any recommendations for what you want me to make next? I'm on a cupcake kick. But I also rock at cookies.

OMG WANT!!!

So if any of you readers love me and want to show me some appreciation, head on over to Pottery Barn and shop for me. Below is a link to a blog post that has me itching to head over and buy up some kick-ass Halloween stuff.

http://www.hostessblog.com/2008/09/spooky-chic-halloween-at-pb/#more-2399

Stay in school kids...

Or you might end up like this guy...



This sign was seen in a Home Depot parking lot. And I don't even know where to begin.


If anyone wants some esterio reapair, I still have the number.

Avast! Yer Friday photo

This one be right proper fer the occasion.

Yarr... he be a saucy pirate.

Ahoy, some laughs for me fella buccaneers

Arrr, me gathered some pirate jokes for you readers. Tell yer mates.

Now, where can I find a bottle o'rum?

What did the prudish pirate say to the horny wench?
Get yer hands off me booty!

Why did the pirate not learn how to bowl?
He had a severe hook.

How does a pirate greet a prostitute?
Yo Ho.

Why do pirates have both ears pierced?
It only costs them a buccaneer!

Arrr mateys

It be International Talk Like a Pirate Day. Hope all ye scurvy dogs and saucy wenches celebrate proper. Hoist the Jolly Roger and break out the rum.

Drink up me hearties!

This week

I don't know what it is this week, but I am a stinkin' zombie. I cannot shake the tired feeling that's been with me all week. I think I ended up taking a nap every day. With the exception of yesterday because I had to go to class after teaching.

So yeah, CANNOT wake up. So sorry for the lack of blog posts. Motivation and creativity are dangerously close to negative levels...

Special day tomorrow though! It's International Talk Like a Pirate Day friends! I'm not teaching so I won't be able to share the glorious holiday with my students. But I'll be sure to sport my pirate headscarf or headband. A pirate shirt if I can find one, but I don't believe I own one. Look for a couple posts tomorrow. In honor of the great holiday!

Hmmm

If you know me, you know I love ballroom dancing. And if you didn't know that, then now you do.

I totally want to teach dance to my students right now. Not just because I love dance, but also to gross them out by making them *gasp* dance with a member of the opposite sex.

Does that make me evil?

Monday Confession

It's kind of tough to come up with these sometimes, but seeing as how it's Monday I gotta try.

Soooo...

The horrible Power Rangers movie that came out in the 90's? Yeah, I probably have most of it memorized. Even to this day.

I used to be in love with Tommy. But what chick Power Ranger fan wasn't?! And now my nephew watches it so I kind of sneak in and watch parts of it from time to time.

Okay, I'm going to walk away with my head hanging in shame now.

Guilty Pleasures

Um... okay.

We rented Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay. Because for some reason we hadn't seen it yet.

I. Love. It.

So I guess stoner movies or downright stupid movies are my guilty pleasure. Because now we're sitting here watching Team America. Because I was really in the mood for more stupidity and lame laughs.

"Freedom costs a buck-oh-five."

Random memory

So I was sitting in my science class this week and my teacher mentioned the periodic table. And I totally remembered some random crap from high school.

Let me preface this by saying up front that it's lame. And you may not find it nearly as amusing as I still do. It could be one of those things where you had to be there.

So a couple friends and I took chemistry our sophomore year (we were smart). There was a super hot senior in the class. We would sit and drool over him the entire class period.

So one day we were talking about class (I think we were telling my friend Kim's dad) and through some weird talks we decided to call our hot guy "The Periodic Table." Because it's high school so of course coming up with weird nicknames for your crushes is normal.

The jokes only continued.

"I can't wait to study the periodic table today."

"He has allll the elements."

And so on.

Obviously to this day I can't hear someone mention the periodic table without thinking of that class. Which is really pretty ridiculous now that I think about it. But it was amusing at the time. And I just thought I should share that I was always kind of a freak.

Friday Photo

Let's try out this "weekly photo" thing. Today I leave you with a favorite wedding photo...

Very little explanation needed here. This was the first time Tim and I saw each other that day. We opted to see each other before the ceremony. I felt like a little kid playing dress up. And that was the first time I almost cried that day. It really hit that we were getting married.

The Cricket Story

So if you're here because you're my friend on myspace, you probably saw my bulletin earlier about hearing a cricket in my apartment and scrambling up on the couch.

I have a major problem with crickets. I can't stand them. I'm fine until they're in my house actually. It's not the sound they make, it's a past experience. So here ya go...

When I was in junior high I was part of our church choir. And every spring we would go on "choir tour" where we went to a few other churches in California and did our performance for them. It was a normal thing for members of the congregation to let two or three of us stay at their house for the night before we left the next day.

Well, this particular trip we made a stop up in Oregon. And I stayed with two of my girlfriends at an elderly woman's house after that performance. She seemed weird already. Then throw in her small annoying dog. Who pooped in the bathtub. Apparently all the time. And it didn't get cleaned. There went our showers...

The three of us were sitting around talking, debating who would sleep on the sofa bed or if all three of us could fit... and we saw a cricket crawling across the floor. One of us killed it (I actually think it was me) and we all eyed the floor for a while. Pretty soon we started seeing more. Over in the corner behind the chair, against the wall... and we were freaked. There were a lot. Then the old lady comes in to tell us good night. And our conversation went something like this...

C: Ummm... there are like, a lot of crickets in here.
Old lady: Oh yes there are. (like this is totally normal)
C: Like, a lot.
Old lady: Well in China this would be called a happy house. (still like this is normal)
C: Oh, well, ummm...
Old Lady: Crickets are good luck in China. This would be a happy house. Good night.

And she totally walked away.

We were freaked. If it had been the days of cell phones I would have called one of our adults right there and demanded they pick us up. Obviously we all decided that the sofa bed would fit all three of us. And then we were too scared to get up and even brush our teeth or use the bathroom...

Most. Horrible. Night. Ever.

We told our story several times the next day. And I have obviously told it many times since then.

And that's why crickets horrify me.

Sorry for the seriousness

This one will be a quickie. I had something written out and then changed my mind about it when I woke up this morning.

Everyone knows what today marks. And if you don't, then you either weren't impacted enough to remember, too young to remember, or have a bad memory. I remember. I've remembered every year.

I'm not going to launch in to what the attacks meant for our nation. Were we paranoid after the fact? Probably. Have we finally let some of the paranoia die? Possibly.

I will say that even if you weren't directly affected by the attacks you should still care that they happened.

So stop for a minute today. Read a blog. Hug your kids. Hug a firefighter or police officer. Hug a soldier. And if you're the praying type, say a quick prayer.

Don't treat today like it's meaningless.

Feedback please

So I want a semblance of a system to this blog. I've already made several repeat posts. Like, "Really?" and "Confessions." Those are fun. And while I can't really schedule when something frustrates me, I think I have plenty to confess about. So I may make confessions weekly. And invite what readers I have to join in by leaving comments.

I think I want to do a photo every week. It will be something I took, not something I jacked from somewhere. It won't always be artsy, in fact it will probably rarely be artsy. But it will be something that lets you into my life a little. And I will always explain where needed. Because let's face it - some of my pictures need explanation.

Monthly I'm considering a recipe. Not a weekly thing because I usually blog ahead of time and schedule my posts. But once a month I could share a recipe I love. And you know as well as I do it will more than likely be dessert. :)

I will probably do birthday posts like I did for my sis yesterday. Because I like recognizing the people I love on their birthdays. Same may go for anniversaries and other big things.

What about some other things people? Do you care what I think of movies, TV shows and books? I could always throw in a weekly review. Not necessarily the same type of entertainment every week. But a review nonetheless. I own enough movies to get me through a couple years if I choose to stick with this! And TV... don't get me started. I think I'm a little bit of an addict.

So give me some feedback friends. And start letting me know when you're enjoying what you read. Just a quick comment so I know how I'm doing.

Gracias. :)

Happy Birthday!

To my sissy!!!


Yup, my sister-in-law turns 25 today. That's a whole quarter of a century. And she can't even go out and have fun because she's still recovering from surgery (hernia - almost two weeks ago). So if you know her, give her a call today. Or leave her some love on her myspace page. I myself will help her celebrate properly when she's good and ready!


Love you sissy! Happy birthday!

Politics

Okay, so I'm not about to get into my views here, but I will say that things have gotten quite ridiculous.


I understand that if you and someone else are competing for the same position you want to be the one looking better. But if this was a job interview at a bakery, would you really bring up the personal things that your competitor was going through? No, because how is that even relevant?


The media has been having a field day ever since John McCain announced Sarah Palin as his running mate. And do you know how much has been positive? Well, I haven't seen much. Are you really going to hold it against her that she has a Downs Syndrome child and continued to *gasp* do her job?! And so what if her teenage daughter is pregnant? Have teenage girls never gotten pregnant before? It's not unheard of in this country.


Not that news outlets read my little ol' blog, but I'd like to think enough intelligent people do to really take note of what I'm saying. The mudslinging has got to stop. It's reached the point where it isn't even relevant to how the politicians would do their jobs. Write your papers. If they're anything like mine they're ridiculously biased and don't hide it. Tell people you're sick of it. Refuse to buy into the crap.


I swear I'm buying my own island nation.

Lame

Britney totally isn't performing at the VMAs. That is all.

Tad moments

Tim was on the computer this afternoon checking out a forum he frequents. Tad was sitting next to him and saw that someone had posted a couple pictures of guns.

"Wow, uncle Tim those would be perfect for you."

"You think so? Tell your tia Ashley that!"

Tad turned to me. "Tia Ashley, those guns would be perfect for uncle Tim!"

"Yeah, tell uncle Tim to dream on."

I may...

... watch the VMAs on MTV. There's a video of Britney rehearsing for something with her dancers. And she's lookin' closer to her old self! So excited!

Target + Halloween

Two of my favorite things. Ever. Coming together every year. *sigh*

So we went to Target last night. And as we tend to do, we got distracted and bought more than we meant to. Which means...

Halloween stuff.

That's right friends. The stores have finally started putting out their Halloween fun things! And this year I'm especially excited about Target. You know that little brown furry monster guy? He's basically a rectangle with arms and legs? His name is Domo. And he's Target's little Halloween mascot for the year! Tim bought me a fuzzy Domo bag. And it had Domo candy bracelets!

Expect me to be spending a looooot of money there in the next couple months...

Teaching update

Still loving student teaching. Had some needless mini-drama that doesn't need to be covered. But it was little, and I had people on my side.

Love my master teacher so much! She's awesome. I'm totally learning stuff from her. And I present my first lesson with my mentor in the room tomorrow. Totally ready for it.

I'm feelin' a blog soon about why I want to be a teacher. Because I've actually had a moron ask me why more than once. And because it's something to be blogged about.

And no, it isn't only because of the summer vacations.

Tad's music

Probably more than a year ago I downloaded some kid songs to my computer so Tad would have music to listen to in the car. I searched stuff from SpongeBob, Backyardigans, and everything else we watched when he was over. He loved listening to it in the car.

Now whenever we get in the car he says, "Tia Ashley, put on my songs please." And I usually do. Because secretly, I enjoy them too. They're just fun! The Backyardigans has got to be one of my favorite kid shows now. That and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Anyway...

Tad has learned the words to most of the songs now. And he'll specifically request that I find certain ones. Tim and I even sing along loudly with him. Last week a Veggie Tales song came on that always makes me laugh. For those of you who know Veggie Tales, it's the cheeseburger song. So Tim promptly sang it. LOUD. And Tad found this hilarious. So he did the same. And continued to shout, "CHEESEBURGER, CHEESEBURGER!" when we got to his house. Awesomeness.

I love little kids singing. I can't wait for him to come over so we can do it again.

<3

Watching the new 90210 on the WB tonight.

Loving it.

Am I a little lame? Maybe. But oh well. TV drama is awesome.

Confession

It's time again.

I loved The Fast and the Furious.

Yes a large part of that was probably Vin Diesel and Paul Walker. But I loved it. Went with my best guy friend at the time and some people from church to see it in the theater. Bought the DVD as soon as it came out.

Then came the weak excuses for sequels. Didn't even bother watching those. Although I contemplated the third movie because it featured drifting and Tim and I were pretty into that for a good minute.

Now I got on my home page for myspace this week. What do I see? Another sequel. Only it will have the original cast. I think I got a little too stoked at the thought. And honestly, if I can find someone as lame as me, I'll totally see it in the theater.