Ember takes top dog-paddling prize at recent family night

A new dog-paddling champion was declared Friday at last week's family night festivities. Ember took the title after defeating reigning all-American dog-paddler and sister-in-law, Adriel.

The night began with a cook-out of steak, sweet potatoes, and grilled vegetables at a local park. Daddy D was the chief chef and even out-did himself by making buttermilk pie, a family favorite.
Aaron and Laura also came in town to join in the festivities. After enjoying a delicious dinner and a game of frisbee, the group packed up the picnic and moved on to the pool, where the real action took place.


Ember, Alina, Aaron, Laura, and Adriel let their food settle before the races begin. Photo courtesy of Daddy.

While Adriel swept the pool as she defeated Aaron, Daddy, and Alina, she was no match for Canadian born and Fred Flinstone-footed Ember.

"It was a tough race," Adriel said. "He's a great competitor."

Photo finish reveals Adriel to be the winner against her opponent. Photo credits: Daddy.

There were no hard feelings, however, and the group ended the night with a late-night movie. The boys saw Inception and the girls watched Eat, Pray, Love.

"It was a great way to end the night," Adriel said. "And who knows, next time I might even beat Ember!"

Ember, Alina, Aaron, and Laura pose for the camera before heading to the movies. Photo credits: Daddy.

Have to or get to?

Lately I’ve had a case of the “have to’s.” I have to wake up early. I have to go to work. I have to go to class. I have to work out. I have to grocery shop. I have to do laundry.

It’s no wonder I’ve been looking forward to the day’s end with great anticipation. Most days I find myself thinking along these lines: Only four more hours ‘til I get off work, then I need to start on my reading homework and make something healthy for dinner…oh great there’s nothing to eat at home…I wish it was Friday…I wish this class was over...

In short, the have to’s have been making me miserable. And being miserable disagrees with my life philosophy: be as happy in the moment as possible, every moment of every day. And so I have been examining the meaning of the verb tense “have” in its modal form and all its implications. By saying I have to, I am implying that I am obligated to something, that it is necessary for me to do something, that I have no choice; it has to be done.

So what if I changed that pesky have to the verb…get? I get to wake up early so that I can go to work and make money to live on. I get to go to school today and further my education. I get to go to the grocery store so that I have food to eat. I get to work out to improve my health. I get to do laundry and wear clean clothes…

Kind of changes the perspective, doesn’t it? And all it took was a little verb substitution. Though I’m sure I’m not the first person who has thought of this, it’s revolutionized my world a little bit. I feel luckier, happier, better.

What do you get to do today?

Places

I have many half-written blog pieces in my head that have formed over the past few weeks, but it seems that is the place where they want to stay for now.

However, one thing I have found myself pondering lately is the notion of beauty; where it comes from, where you find it, what it means.

And while I believe beauty can be found almost anywhere, there are two physical PLACES I have been to in my life that have struck me as being particularly beautiful, particularly special.

Particularly magical.

This is the Gap of Dunloe in Ireland. I went here when I was an eighth-grader, and thought it was the most beautiful place I had ever seen. The foggy landscape with its craggy rocks and verdant grass was almost surreal; I felt as if I had stepped into a storybook.. This place is also special because it was the last vacation I took with my mom. While my father, brothers and I rode up the steep path in a jaunting cart, she forged bravely ahead, a solitary figure on horseback. I can only imagine the wild freedom she must have felt as she strode confidently up and down the hills-English saddle and all! One of the most beautiful memories I have of her.

Another place that has resonated within me is Lake Tahoe in California. This was one of the highlights of a cross-country tour I took with three of my girlfriends from college last summer. The pictures really don't do it justice.

Our attempt at a jumping photo...we didn't quite get the timing right. :)

I could have stayed there for hours, just absorbing the mountains, the clear water, the air. I brought home a really neat stone as a souvenir, but have since felt slightly guilty about removing it from its natural habitat. Though I enjoy having it, I might like to go back and return it someday.

The world is full of beauty. Beautiful places. Beautiful life.

"Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul." ~John Muir

Farting in class

Yesterday I had to present a lesson plan on Hamlet to my class.

I spent hours working on it, researching ideas, writing, and revising.

I aligned my lesson around the TN state standards for teaching English and literature.

I planned activities according to Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences to accomodate different learning styles.

I planned alternative activities to allow student choice.

I created handouts, rubrics, instruction sheets, visual aids, and character charts.

I thought I was prepared.

That is, until my teacher said the word fart.

"Pardon me?" I inquired, perplexed and already turning red in the face.

Apparantly the acronym for the writing strategy I used - RAFT - reminded her of the word fart.

"You have to be careful when teaching middle and high schooler's," she said, "not to use words that can easily lend themselves to other words."

And that was the only teacher feedback I received on my lesson.

It did get me to thinking, however, that if nothing else my students would definitely remember the RAFT, or FART writing strategy for the rest of their lives. Besides, how funny would it be to say, "Hello class. Please take out your writing journals. Today we are going to work on FARTs!"

New Bedspread and the JCP 4th of July Extravaganza

Remember how awful my bed looked in the previous post? Here is what it looks like now:

(Excuse the old sheets laying in the corner, please).

Much improved, right? (Oh and don't worry, my brother picked up Clara Wednesday night so this comforter should be safe, haha. It was nice getting to see him! We listened to music and played air hockey on his iphone, who knew you could do that?! Not me!) Anyway, I really like that the comforter is reversible and I love the bright colors and patterns in the quilt. I couldn't afford both so my sister got me the quilt for my birthday. Thanks sis! I think we spent close to 3 hours in JC Penny last Sunday picking everything out. Neither of us could believe the amount of time we were in there but we had so much fun! We also looked at clothes, shoes, accessories, men's clothing...pretty much everything! Since the bedding was so bulky, a nice salesman helped us by getting us a cart. I couldn't resist being punny by commenting to Alina, "J.C. Penny-it's all inside...my cart!" as we rolled through the aisles. I even found a cheap-o rug to put in my room which I've been wanting to do pretty much since I moved in...over a year ago. I still would like to have some curtains eventually, just taking it a little bit at a time! We had hoped to make it to Old Navy and Belk as well that day...but clearly JCP sucked us right in and we ran out of time. Alina also convinced me to purchase a pair of these:

I thought they were kinda weird, but Alina convinced me they look like something Miley Cyrus would wear...and if you know me you know how much I love her. (Party in the USA!) My suspicions were confirmed later that night at the 4th of July fireworks/concert however when my dad innocently inquired, "What happened to your pants?" haha! I was tempted to come up with a bizarre bleaching incident story to tell him but just decided to go with the more boring response, "They're acid wash, dad," as if that was something he should know. ;) He played with the Murfreesboro symphony on the 4th and I was very proud of him!

Anyway, hope ya'll had a nice 4th of July weekend! I can't believe another weekend is already upon us!

This is Why I'm a Cat Person

Meet my brother's dog, Clara, who I have been dogsitting this week. Notice the bits of fluff and blanket strewn about?

This is what I came home to last night. Although she was safely locked in her kennel at the M.O.D. (Moment of Destruction) she managed to pull my bedspread THROUGH the gate before she preceeded to shred it into tiny pieces.

Rest in peace, dear bedspread. You kept me warm many a night.

At least her kennel looks comfy now.

How I Became Popular...or Not

“Popular!

You're gonna be popular!

I'll teach you the proper ploys

When you talk to boys

Little ways to flirt and flounce (Ooh!)

I'll show you what shoes to wear

How to fix your hair

Everything that really counts

To be popular

I'll help you be popular!

You'll hang with the right cohorts

You'll be good at sports

Know the slang you've got to know

So let's start

'Cause you've got an awfully long way to go”

-From the musical Wicked

If you are familiar with the Broadway musical Wicked, you have heard this song. It is sung by the pretty, popular character Galinda at the point of the play where she decides to give the rather unfortunate looking Elphaba a makeover. This is my favorite part of the play, not only because the song is cute and funny, but also because I can totally relate…

“I’m going to give you popular lessons,” my sister (the Galinda in this story) announced one day to my nine-year old self. A year and a half my senior, she had graciously decided to make me, the Elphaba charity-case, her newest project.

Step one to becoming popular: handwriting lessons. (Who knew handwriting had a direct correlation with popularity? Why, my sister, of course!)

“Your writing isn’t bubbly enough,” Galinda, er … Alina said. She handed me a sheet of notebook paper with the ABC’s written neatly across the top in her perfect handwriting. “Try to make it look like more like mine.”

After I had painstakingly copied her letters, we moved on to phone etiquette.

“How many phone numbers do you know?” she demanded, a question that confused me. I started rattling off our own phone number but was quickly stopped. “Not our phone number, how many other people’s numbers do you know?”

“Oh!” I said, “Well I know Ginger’s and Jessica’s…”

“Tell you what, Galina interrupted. “Let’s have a contest to see who knows the most phone numbers. I’ll go first.”

And with that we started spouting off the phone numbers we had memorized. Since she obviously had more friends than I did, I’ll let you guess who won.

I’m a little fuzzy on what else my popular lessons entailed, or if they even went any further past that first day. Who knows, maybe after the phone number contest I was given up as a hopeless case. Meanwhile I taught my little brother to say “thank you” if anyone ever called him weird.

“Consider it a compliment,” I said. “It’s cool to be weird!”

No wonder my sister was worried.

I LOVE Top Banana!!!!

Good morning Top Banana! Time to get up!!

I looooove Top Banana!

I like to pretend to be just like him!

Us going bananas!

Stop tickling me Banana!!

I got a lil mad at him...

But I still think he's number one!

Besties!!!

I'm the top banana!

My dance teacher has a thing with bananas. I'm not sure what started it all, exactly, but over the last couple of years she has been collecting plush toy bananas (with faces on them) and bringing them to dance class. She loves them so much, in fact, that she convinced her husband to win a human-sized stuffed banana at a carnival recently by knocking 3 pins down with a bean bag. That banana now lays prostrate across the shelves where we keep our shoes and dance bags. But I digress...

Anyway, she has started giving out "top banana" awards to the dancer who impresses her the most in class each week. It's kinda like when you are in kindergarten and your teacher lets you take home the class stuffed animal for the weekend, only we get a banana instead. Sometimes she forgets about the banana and no one gets it. Sometimes she isn't pleased enough with anyone to give the banana out. But last night was a different story. Because last night....I got the top banana!!!
FINALLY! I have never gotten it before and I was sooo excited. Possibly the most exciting moment of my dancing career, hah! Okay maybe not, but still! I'm top banana!

I also got my first solo dance dress last night!

I bought it used and need to replace a few crystals on it, but I think it is sooo pretty. I can't wait to wear it at my competition in September. Let's just hope the judges think I'm top banana as well! But until then, I have a plush banana at home to remind me that for this week at least, I'm at the top!

Workout Timesavers

Lately I have become somewhat addicted to exercise tv videos. There are so many quick workout options geared specifically toward certain problem areas that it's hard to resist on days when I don't have time to do a full-blown workout. And just 20 minutes to better abs and a tighter core-sounds great right? But as anyone who has done such a workout knows, it actually takes more time out of your day than 20 minutes. I’m talking about sweat folks. And after 20 minutes of intense ab and bun fat blasting, it happens.
So what’s a hardworking, busy girl supposed to do when pressed for time? We don’t want to forgo the workout, but what if 20 minutes really is all the time we have?
Enter DRY SHAMPOO. A recent time-saving discovery that has also helped save my hair from over-exposure to heat from my blowdryer. You can do a quick workout, hop in the shower to rinse off, spray on some dry shampoo, and you're good to go! I've been using Tresemme Fresh Start dry shampoo. It definitely makes my hair look less oily, but also tends to make it look a little more blonde than normal. Has any one tried any other kinds? What works for you? What do you do when you only have a few minutes to work out? I'd appreciate any suggestions. Now if you'll excuse me, I have another abs video to do.

Screwed

Literally.

Cooper's new look

Apparantly Cooper is a size 8 in running shoes. Guess I'll have to pick her up a pair so she'll stop wearing mine!

Flood 2010: A day in the Life

Unless you've been living under a rock, you've heard about the recent flood in Nashville. Below, a play-by-play of my life yesterday. (Side note-I drove from my house in Nashville to Murfreesboro around lunch time Saturday afternoon. The rains came soon after. This account begins late that night).

2 a.m. Wake up to a torrential downpour. Have trouble falling back asleep.
2:30 a.m. Give up trying to fall asleep. Decide to watch t.v. Watch The Prince and Me. Think how terribly cheesy the story line is. Wonder what happened to Julia Stiles? Think it probably had something to do with this film.
3:15 a.m. Return to bed. It is still pouring outside.
9:00 a.m. Wake up and get ready for church. Decide not to wash hair, as it will only get rained on.
10:50 a.m. Go to Jozoaras coffee shop with Kris. Order a hot tea. Kris spills boiling hot coffee on himself. He is not happy.
11:00 a.m. Head to church. Try to drink my tea. Burn my tongue.
11:15 a.m. Toss my still full cup of piping hot tea in the trash, as beverages aren't allowed in the sanctuary.
12:15 p.m. Leave church. Wonder aloud if I should try to head home in the rain. Kris, who is still unhappy about the coffee incident, does not respond.
12:35 p.m. Flip on the news to check the weather. Realize I-24 is closed due to flooding. Realize I won't be able to get home. Watch people riding in boats where there should be land. Watch buildings float down roads. Watch the Cumberland rise over more and more steps. Watch the mayor warn people not to get out on the roads.
12:40 p.m. Begin to panic. Call sister who is out of town. Urge her to stay put.
12:45 p.m. Kris tells me to calm down and take a seat. Meanwhile, he heads out in the torrential downpour with a cat scoop and set of barbeque tongs to clear water from the sidewalk/dig something? Think perhaps I am being the more sensible one in the situation, but don't say anything.
12:46 p.m. Text roommate to see if our house has floated away. Although the roof is leaking, she reports everything is fine.
2:00 p.m. Rain has subsided a little. Convince Kris to take me to Kroger for emergency "provisions." (i.e. chocolate chip cookie dough)
2-4:30 p.m. Invite James over from next door. Make potato soup, cookies, and cheese dip while the boys watch some sort of mystery-cop movie.
5:00 p.m. Try and convince Kris, who is trying to nap, to play in the rain with me. I am rejected. I go around to the back of the apartments and tap on the window. I convince him to throw the cats out the window to play with me. He convinces me to do a cartwheel in the small river that used to be the backyard.
5:10 p.m. Climb back in through the window.
6:45 p.m. Stress-eat an entire bag of pop-corn while watching the news. Wonder if I will ever get home. Wonder if I will have work in the morning. Call co-workers. Don't receive answers.
7:15 p.m. Head out in the rain to hang out with Ginge, who lives one street over. Look at old pictures. Laugh a lot.
8:40 p.m. Receive a text message from Kris telling me not to stay out late in the weather. Text him back that I am leaving soon. Receive another text asking to pick up a carmello bar and a sundrop. Hmm...
8:45 p.m. Pick up snacks at the gas station. Am asked if I am doing some late-night studying or if I just have the munchies. I respond with, "a little bit of both" even though I have nothing to study for. Wonder why I said that.
10:00 p.m. Go to bed. It is still raining.
8:00 a.m. Make it to work without problems. Blog.

But seriously folks, things are pretty bad in some parts of Nashville, especially in the Bellevue/Franklin area and downtown. I don't ever remember there being a flood like this. I have been extremely lucky in all this but not everyone else has. Please pray for our community and for everyone's safety.

After a month-long hiatus...I'm back!

Actually, make that a month and a half. Excuse my absence, dear friends, I took a bit of a blogging sebbatical, if you will.

So what have I been doing with myself the last 6 weeks? Well I'm so glad you asked! To sum it up in a sentence: New cat, spontaneous beach trip, death yoga, cooking, and flood of 2010. Oops, that wasn't a sentence. Oh well, you get the drift.

Here are some pictures of the beach trip I snagged from Erin...

This was a fun and unexpected trip with the lovely Erin! She asked me if I would like to go to the beach one Wednesday afternoon, and we left the next day. Luckily I was able to get Thursday and Friday off work! While there, we went parasailing, saw dolphins (which I chased along the beach for over a mile, leaping over marooned jellyfish the entire way) and sunned on the beach. We also met a nice Free Spirit Surfer Dude type who let us borrow his kayak. Me being the suspicious type that I am, made Erin tuck her credit cards into her swimsuit for fear of our stuff being stolen as we paddled away. I felt bad for being suspicious, but you just never know. As we ungracefully heaved ourselves into the kayak (I insisted on pulling it out past the breakers, which led to some interesting manuevers getting into the thing), we wondered, just how long is a free kayak ride supposed to last?

Not long, it turns out. After paddling around for a little while, we spotted a frisbee floating in the water, which we decided to try and grab. Once we got semi-close to it, however, the current quickly pushed us in. "I guess that's how long a free kayak ride lasts!" I said. Our stuff was still there, right where we had left it. Turns out Mr. Free Spirit Surfer Dude was a nice guy after all!

But anyway, back to the business of filling you in on the past six weeks. I've also been trying to cook more recently. This was a particularly delightful meal I enjoyed one drizzly afternoon while sitting on my front porch.

Other cooking endeavors have included stuffed bell peppers, 7-layer cookies, and potato soup. Well friends I think it is time to wrap this post up. More on death yoga, the great flood of 2010, and the new cat to come...

Jump to bangkok at the Grand Ole Opry

Last night I had the privilege of dancing at the famous Grand Ole Opry with my Irish dance group. It is our schools 11th year to dance there and has become a St. Patrick's Day tradition!

We are teeny tiny in this pic but here we are on stage! We opened the show. The announcer introduced us, the curtains came up, and we leaped on stage! Usually when we are just rehearsing I have on a fake smile but this time it was for real! Kris also came to watch with his family. It was very nice of them to come. So much fun!

My night started with hair and makeup by the famous Rockette and makeup artist, Alina, aka my big sis. She was ready and waiting with makeup tools in hand when I arrived. She even made a batch of rice krispy treats to take to the girls for a quick energy boost, and trust me- those things didn't last long! What a great stage mom! She did a wonderful job and was super sweet to help me. She even re-did my wig for me three times just to get it right. Those things can be tricky.

I'm so mad I didn't get a picture of us from last night, but here's an old one for your viewing pleasure, hah! As we drove to the theater I described our dance to her. We do a step together at the end of our dance called "jump to bang bang." Alina thought it was called "jump to bangkok." She's gonna kill me for this but it kinda reminded me of the time she thought the word "foliage" was pronounced, "foilage." Tehe.

Back in my street clothes after the show. You can't tell from this pic but I had super long fake eyelashes on. When I got home I saw my roomate's boyfriend's car in the driveway. Seems like everytime he is over I am either slugging my harp around, wearing a crazy wig or wearing major stage makeup, lol! Oh well, such is the life of an Irish dancer! Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone! :)

Week without sugar-epic fail

Well friends I was called out this week. While I had good intentions of not eating sugar for a week, I caved on Sunday and ate a piece of chocolate cake. Naughty naughty.
However, I have new motivation for cutting down on my sugar intake. My sister informed me last night that sugar contributes to cellulite. You know what I'm talking about-that ugly fat that gives your legs the cottage cheese effect. Euw. So while I will never give up my sweets entirely, I have one more reason to try and cut back. I'm gonna try this sugar-free week thing again. I'll let you know how I do next week.

Cookie Monster

After eating nearly a dozen cookies plus a reeses egg or two (or three...ahem) this past weekend, I have once again come to the realization that I have a serious problem. Hi my name is Adriel, and I am a sugar-holic.

An otherwise healthy-minded individual, I just can't seem to shake the sugar cravings. It's gotten out of control. So I've decided that starting tomorrow I will stop eating sugar for...dum da da dah-a week. Which gives me just enough time to polish off that pan of brownies after work. :)

Celtic Rhythms on Fire!

No-this is not my normal hair!

It's that time of year again! Hold on to your seats, because Celtic Rhythms on Fire is BACK!

For those of you who may not know, I take Irish-step dancing. I fell in love with it after watching Michael Flatley and Jean Butler perform in "Riverdance" on t.v. when I was in sixth grade. I was home with a broken arm from landing a back handspring incorrectly-major bummer!- and was looking for another activity to try, since I knew I definitely did NOT want to go back to gymnastics class. While I was captivated with the dancing, I also noticed there was little to no arm movement involved. What could be more perfect for a girl with a sense of rhythm and a crushed elbow?!

Anyway, since St. Patrick's Day is in March, it is a big month for Irish step-dancing. Every year my dancing school puts on a show called "Celtic Rhythms on Fire." So come out this Saturday or Sunday and see the magic happen!

It's a feet stomping, wigs-flying good time! Can't wait to see you there! :)

http://www.nashvilleirishstepdancers.com/Pages/PerfCROF.htm

Adult braces...oh the horror!

I went to the dentist to get my teeth cleaned yesterday. While I came away with a good report, (no cavaties! yea!) apparantly that is not good enough. "You have nice teeth," my dentist said, "if we could juuuuuuust pull that top tooth down.....and those bottom ones are all over the place....I'd love to get an orthodontists hands on that!"

Oh dear. Talk about a self-esteem boost.

And while I would love for my teeth to look like this, adult braces are just, well....kind of embarrassing.

I mean it's one thing for a child to have braces. It's accepted, it's normal. But say you are attending a presentation for work. Perhaps you are sitting in a conference room full of people, perhaps the presentation is on, oh I don't know, employee benefits. So the insurance representative in his fancy suit walks up front to make his presentation, and you notice a flash of metal. You're going to take a second look, right? So for the rest of the presentation you just sit there and try not to stare at his brace face, and in the process totally forget to listen to what he is saying. Anyway, all this to say that I find adult braces to be somewhat...distracting.

Why does everything need to be perfect anyway? While I am completely aware that I have a snaggle tooth, (pictured below) I like to think it gives me character. Besides the fact that a drinking straw fits perfectly in that little space between the snaggle and my bottom teeth.

And sometimes I think it's kind of cute when people have a few wayward teeth. Gives their mouth a little bit of personality. Perhaps a little bit endearing, even. I don't know...should I continue to embrace the snaggle? Or would enduring the embarrassment of adult braces for a couple of years be worth it in the end? Let me know what ya'll think!

Dogs are people too

This past weekend I babysat my dog-neice, Darby. She is the BEST dog, very sweet and well-behaved. I took care of her for a few months when she was just a wee pup and she looked like this...

Isn't she cute? She lives with my sister now, but I still get her on the weekends sometimes when Alina is away...

"Mom where are we going? I hope it's Aunt Adriel's house!!!"

"YESSSSSS!!!! It is Aunt Adriel's house!!! YAYAYAYAYAY!!!"

This is also her expression when she learns she is going to the dogpark, or anywhere, for that matter! I love her expression here-such exuberance! We went to the dogpark on Sunday and she had a blast! She loves playing fetch and she is always the fastest dog in the park! Seriously, this dog runs like a deer!

I think we may have worn her out. Kris looks a little sleepy too...hah! Anyway, I had a lot of fun playing with her this weekend. Animals add so much enjoyment to life, don't you think? I totally understand why people with pets tend to live longer. Animals are so funny and great stress relievers! It's always been interesting to me how much animals seem to understand us. I took her to a friends house on Saturday night and she kept looking at me as if to ask if she was allowed to sit on the furniture. So cute! I pointed to a chair and she hopped right up! I think Darby thinks she is actually a human. At night she even slept with her head on my pillow. hah! Silly girl! Now if only she and Cooper could learn to get along...poor cat sat on the kitchen table the ENTIRE time Darby was over. Oh well...maybe next weekend they will become friends! :)

A Winter Haiku

Winter continues.

The street is covered in white.

Scrape the ice and drive.