Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Brotherhood Survey

1. Your name:
Amy

2. Your Web page:
This is it!

3 What have you been up to this past year (please be as detailed as possible, because we actually want to know)?
I have been teaching 24 fourth graders, mourning my dog, remodeling the bathroom, reading some good books, playing with my nieces, torturing my husband.

4 How much longer do you think you'll be doing what you're doing?
I'll be teaching until I'm old and grey, oh wait, I am grey.
Mourning my dog, I don't know.
Remodeling the bathroom- hopefully VERY SOON!
Reading good books- Always
Playing with my nieces- until they tell me to get lost.
Torturing my husband- 'til death do us part

5 Why are you doing it?
Because I love teaching.
Because I love my dog.
Because the bathroom was retched.
Because reading is vacation!
Because my nieces are the cutest things ever!
Because I have no children to torture!

6 What do you want to be doing?
If I wasn't teaching I would want to be an archaeologist.

7 What's next in your life?
Teaching, traveling

8 How You Doin'?
Fine?!?

9 What's the best book you read this year?
Children's (young adult) : Looking for Alaska By John Green
Adult: From a Buick 8 by Stephen King

10 Describe a perfect day.
Waking up without the alarm, having it be sunny and warm and going on a long motorcycle ride.

11 Assuming that all things come to an end...how do you think humans will go extinct?
I don't know. I just hope I'm not here.

12 How are you feeling about kids these days?
I like kids. I'm a teacher. I don't know if I want any of my own yet. You can't ride a motorcycle when you're pregnant.

13 (- In this space, compose your own question, and answer it -)
When's the last time you combed your hair?
About 4 weeks ago... the last time I got it cut and colored.

14 Ambrozzo tastes better than anything else, what does ambrozzo taste like?
Kettle corn

15 If you were a cliché, what cliché would you be?
Hell hath no fury compared to a women scorned.

16 What is your least favorite part of any given day?
When my husband's alarm goes off.

17 Do you enjoy science fiction?
YES, YES and YES!!!!

18 Cheese or Chocolate?
Cheese. Chocolate makes my teeth hairy.

19 Where would you live if you could live anywhere?
On a lake, in Montana, in a log cabin.

20 What was your first concert?
Chicago. I was 13 and went with my sister and her friends. It was really bad!

21 If you could start a business that would be instantly successful, what kind of business would it be?
A used book store.

22 Invisibility or Time Travel?
Invisibility! (DUH!)

23 What's wrong with the world?
Parents who don't teach their kids to take responsibility for themselves and their choices. (It wasn't my fault!)

Monday, February 26, 2007

The Cuban-American

Over mid-winter break, Ed and I did this ski trip that we do every mid-winter break. He has now given it the name, "Beers and Boards". Beers is for the microbreweries that we visit in Idaho and Montana and the boards, is, of course, for the skiing. The trip is 1800 miles in 6 days. Yeah, we're movin'.

So, to pass the time, I go to the library to get books on tape as our Subaru has both a CD player and a cassette player. Since I am the one who is dubbed "library visitor" I feel that it's my choice as to what books we get to listen to. No, I'm not that cruel. I wouldn't subject Ed to some Fabio romance novel. But, I did, however subject him to Janet Evanovich. We listened to books nine and ten on our way from home to Boise to Lewiston.

Now, here's the funny part. The woman reading the books, does a great job with the voices for all of the characters. (She gives me something to work toward during my own read aloud with my class!) If you've read any of the Evanovich books, you know that there is a character named Ranger. (Cuban American, tight body, skin the color of coffee mocha...YUM) The reader gives him this great Cuban accent. Ed became very interested in the love triangle that happens between Ranger, Stephanie Plum and her boyfriend Morelli. He kept asking me "what's so great about Ranger", trying to get some insight to the female brain of course. And then proceeded to try to tempt me using this same accent, to which I just giggle. (He really can be funny sometimes!)

So, we stayed over night at the Super 8 Motel in lovely downtown Lewiston, Idaho. (Don't recommend it.) The next morning, we wake up at our usual time and this how our conversation goes:

Ed: You want to get up and get in the shower first?

Me: I think I'm paralyzed! My hands and arms are asleep!

Ed (using his Ranger Cuban accent): Jou want me to wake them up for you?

Me: All out, hysterical, snort- laughing.

Ed: Smiling like a Cheshire Cat.

We didn't listen to any more Evanovich books on our trip.

Just Not Ready Yet

We had to euthanize our dog last November. She was our first "charge" together... this tiny, fat thing who had more interest in us than her 10 brothers and sisters did. She moved into our house 3 weeks after we did and stayed for almost 13 years.

You don't realize how much they permeate your life. She was in every part of it. She went camping with us, on the boat with us, to get ice cream and to Christmas at "Munka's" h0use. She loved our nieces and nephews and treated them as her own brood. We were her everything and she was our love. She slept next to me in her bed in our room from day one, and, on very many occasions, she would go to bed without us when we stayed up too late for her.

When our friends found out what happened to Jessie, they did the greatest thing. They found a local guy who does sand blasting on stone and bought us a gift certificate to have a stone made in her memory. We finally got it in place at her burial spot after she'd been gone 12 weeks.

We miss her so much. Some of our other friends have asked when we are going to "get a replacement" for her. How can you replace a family member? You can't. It's a little infuriating when they say this to us. I want to scream, "It's only been 14 weeks, damn it! When are you going to get a replacement grandparent?!?!?!?" I know, not very nice, but, that's how it feels.

I keep wondering when I'll stop wondering where she is when I open the door when I get home. Sometimes I still go down our back hallway to let her in the back door and get half way down there before I remember. One night, Ed even called her to go to bed when we were shutting down the house for the night. That nearly killed him.

Today one of my former parents brought in their 11 week old yellow lab, Cassie to my classroom. She was so darn cute. It made me want another lab for about a minute. I can't get the memory of the day we took Jess to the vet out of my mind.

I am definitely not ready yet.