A quarter of a century...wow

This Saturday is my 25th high school reunion. I don't think I am going to go. If you are as old as me, have you been to yours?

I did go to my 20th. It was fun, well planned (thanks Krissy!) but... I spent most of the night talking with people who never talked to me (or I to them) in high school. Good to see that we have all matured. The people I would have liked to see again didn't come. The people I really want to see, I see.


It's not that I want to hide. Part of me would love to pull a Romy and Michelle...show up and convince everyone that I invented post-its. Don't all high school reunions turn out the same? The jocks are now fat and bald; the geeks are now rich, still geeky; the fast girls are still fast yet wrinkled.


I hear your gears moving, that brain churning...where, responsible one, does that leave you?

Still thinking about your reunion? Check out this post at Reel Life Wisdom some great movie quotes about reunions.

Tired of the arguing? Tired of politics?

Sneak Peek of Boston Legal: Mad Cows

I love Boston Legal, and this clip is just too funny. Politics and friends... please watch, and giggle a little.

NaBloPoMo

OK, I have committed myself --3 days late to blog each day this month as part of NaBloPoMo wanna join me?
We'll see how long this lasts....

Right now, I am going to sit down and watch the John Adams mini-series and remind myself again what a great country this is, and what great roots we have. To remind myself, as I tire of OPINIONS--left and right, never ending political phone calls and commercials, CONSTANT debates... that this country is GREAT because of the men and women that had the courage to make a stand.

Stay tuned to hear me wax poetically about my love of history, particularly US history. I imagine I'll come back whining about my need to reconnect to my 20 year old intellectual self. She whose only concern was reading, writing papers, drinking some beer and hanging out with friends.

New Guitar Hero 4 World Tour 2008 Commercial: Ad Feat. Kobe, Phelps, A-Rod, and Hawk

My house is full of Guitar Hero nuts...rock band nuts... and now I know what they want for Christmas.

Check out Michael Phelps on the sofa! Claie that's for you!

Darius Goes West: The Vehicle

Are you feeling disgruntled about life? Are you the parent of a teen or have get to hang out with teenagers at all? You NEED to watch this movie. What an amazing story. A story of friendship, of young men who are making a difference. A story of hope, love and a little goofiness. You will not be sorry.

I work in a high school. In our high school there are 4 young men who suffer from the same disease as Darius. One is our class. Today we watched it as a class in lieu of our community trip. Talk about hitting home... In December the Darius Goes West crew is coming to our school. We just have to convince the English Department chair to "strongly encourage" the english teachers to show this movie before the rally. They all really need to see this. THEY can make a difference in someone's life and by doing so, they may learn that that person has changed them.

Let's hope it all works out. Let's hope that there is room among the QCC's, standards, goals and NCLB rules to live outside the box, students and teachers alike.

The Part where I reveal I have the mentality of a 12 year old

OK, so I have a brain filled with useless knowledge, or so I thought until I tried playing the movie quote game. What I thought was so OBVIOUS, because these 10 things come up in conversation quite frequently in my insane household, were not so obvious. And vice-versa. T had me stumped -- and I did want to cheat. I may still over #9.

Here are my titles -- and strong recommendations to head back to the 80's and 90's and watch some good flicks and have some harmless fun...

1. She's Having a Baby -- despite being a John Hughes classic, makes me cry at the end EVERY TIME. This movie seemed to have a long run on TNT and I remember for a while it played every Sunday afternoon. This just happened to coincide with a good family friend, a priest's, visit everytime. I swear he thought we were nuts crying over this movie again and again. Kate Bush's This Womans's Work is an awesome song.
2. Moonstruck -- Most of you got this one
3 Waterboy -- Kathy Bates + Adam Sandler add some cajun fun and football...
4. Stripes - classic. It doesn't help that I have relatives in Wisconsin, and hubby says this EVERY time the great state of Wisconsin is mentioned.
5. Cheaper by the Dozen
6. Mr Mom-- I can never look at carpool the same...
7. Caddyshack
8. & 9. So I Married an Axe Murderer a family classic, Mike Meyers at his best, a MUST see for anyone with scottish roots.
10. A Fish Called Wanda still makes me laugh, everytime...wait what was that middle part?

Movie Line Meme

Another fun post-- I have been so NOT creative these days... Here is a challenge by Shelly at Keeper of the Keys. I just can't resist a quoting contest!

OK, check out my answers Shelly-- won't post them in your comments less someone find themselves in the near occasion of sin and feel they must CHEAT:
1. Planes Trains and Automobiles 2. Mystic Pizza (?) 3. Mr. Mom 4. Great Outdoors? 5. Happy Gilmore 6. Over the Hedge 7. 16 Candles 8. ??? 9. Breakfast Club 10. The Jerk (also one of our FAVORITE quotes!)

Here we go...these are probably too easy, but I am tired:

1. "...it's grouper. I try to make you happy and you mock me!"
2. "La luna, la bella luna"
3. "...well a snake don't really have parts. I guess you could call it, the knee."
4. "Wisconsin? I got my ass kicked in Wisconsin once."
5. "You soaked his pants in meat? ... You have a gift, a dark gift"
6. "...you're doing it wrong. North to pick up, south to drop off."
7. "where did it go? Right in the old lumberyard."
8. "Head, pants, now!"
9. "Piper down! Piper down!"
10. "Don't eat the green ones, they're not ripe yet."

So ladies, take the challenge! See if you know all my movie quotes and come up with 10 of your own and tag a few more people. I tag:
Julie,
Lori,
Bridget,
Colleen
T and
Rachel

You can leave the answers in my comments or put them on your post. Don't forget to let me know how you did! My quotes are much easier than Shelly's!

Tag you're it

So after a busy day of Special Olympics Bowling, carpools taxi-ing, laundry and an orchestra concert, I am finally ready to confess about bad hair.

My friend Sara has challenged me along with Rachel, Shannon, Kalynne and Big Mamma to describe our worst hair disaster. I bet you have been there. Well, most of you. It always happens when you crave a change. I have to say my sister-in-law has had the exact SAME hair since she was 8 (42 years ago). She looks the same now as she did at 17... long, BLOND, parted down the middle, silky smooth hair. Maybe it has varied in length by a few inches over the years. Hair disaster for her? Oh no, they cut 1/2 inch too much!

Me on the other hand? No, as Sara put it, she has seen me with lots of different 'dos in the 10 years I have known her. My personal philosophy? Go for it! It's just hair, it will grow back.

So to play along, I decided to take a trip down memory lane looking for my best disaster. Out came the photo album my mom gave me a few years ago as a Christmas gift. It is full of all the old pictures of me. What a trip! I know, you want to see them, all of them, pictures of hair from hell. However, in good conscience, I can not post forever to the Internet the horror of my mushroom-cut in 1990 (+ a 50 lb pregnancy gain... beautiful). Nor can I share the myriad bad perms of the 80's-especially the spiral perm I had just a week before my wedding. I won't share the poodle-perm short cuts of the late 70's or "chick-mullet". That was a personal best. After a few years of having my ponytail freeze in the morning after swim practice and before school, I began my super short pixie days. Easy maintenance!

This also made my mother happy --- her personal mantra for all of us, "You look so much nicer with shorter hair..."

I finally ran across this lovely picture. Me at 12 years old. See how smart I looked sporting these rocking glasses? I was so proud of them. This picture represents the end of my who-cares hair days and the beginning of my gooberhood. I was on the edge of cool for so long. This was 1977, there was no "product" then... just a little Breck or Flex Shampoo and you were done.

What a great horror pic to post.

Then, it hit me, holy shit!! I have the same haircut today! Proof positive? A picture of me taken at TONIGHT's orchestra concert. See Sean hiding behind me? He's invisible isn't he? All 6'3" of him. What goes around comes around I guess.

We'll discuss the grey later, and my recent decision to go natural (see how my hair is now at least 3 colors?) and maybe a little philosophy on self esteem too...




So now I tag:
Bridget, who also "looks so much nicer with short hair..."
Julie, a sister from another mother...
Lori who has a great hair cut now but I know has a secret or two..
the other Sarah who might take a break from her thoughtful, cerebral posts to share a story or two...

Thank you

Thank you so much for all your thoughts and prayers. There is not much you can say or do at a time like this, but get busy and pray. I have been mentally working on writing something about last week, about the years to come for my aunt. And it just won't come out coherently, yet. It will.

I would love to hear your thoughts on Mary and Martha-- and a woman's struggle for balance between to two. Somehow, though I think if you are a Mary you don't sit around wondering how you could get busier... I am pretty sure most of us Martha's are hoping for just a little touch of Mary.

Maybe tomorrow.

Sometimes life is more than not fair. I can't even put into words. But lately words have been my solace.

Tonight I just ask for your prayers.

My cousin Desha was killed in a car accident last night in Portland. She left behind a mother and 2 sisters and an amazing boyfriend.

Dear Jesus, please keep them in strong. Hold them in the palm of your hand. Let them KNOW your love, feel your strength. Mary, as a mother who knows too well the grief of losing a child please bestow your grace on Maureen.