Yes!

My feminist heart is over the moon--my whole presidential decision up in the air!

McCain Picks Palin!

Ready for Hogwarts!

Mr. Cool received a special birthday gift--his very own Hogwarts scarf, in Ravenclaw-ish colors. I had to knit like the wind the week before his birthday, but I finished! He was totally surprised, as he hadn't seen me work on it in weeks.

Ready for those cool morning motorcycle rides!

A warmth close-up.

Pattern: House Scarf, Year 1-2 by Lauren Kent, in Charmed Knits
Yarn: Cascade 200 in Charcoal & Blue Velvet, 2 skeins each
Modifications: I used the large width, but the small length, and I left off the fringe, as Mr. Cool deemed it not very Mr. Cool-ish.
Mr. Cool's Reaction: "Awesome! It connects the of two houses of Hogwarts--the cunning and ambition of Slytherin and the raw intelligence of Ravenclaw."

Withdrawal

The Olympics are over. Wow--seventeen days went by quickly. I don't even know what I'll watch tonight, without the Olympic games. I just hope I can make to February 2010 in Vancouver!

I now present my favorite moments of the 2008 Olympic Games.
1. All the big, rich NBA athletes stringing their Olympic gold medals around the neck of my favorite coach, Duke's Coach K. Coach, if I can swing it, I will name my firstborn son Krzyzewski in honor of you.
2. Michael Phelps's mom, an elementary school principal, in get-ups I recognized from fellow teachers.
3. The pure excitement of the kayaker from Togo who won his country's first medal, a bronze.
4. All 4 ft. 9 in. of Shawn Johnson marching in the closing ceremonies.
5. Thirty-something Laura Wilkinson, 2000 gold medalist, cheering on all of her fellow divers. You are a class act.
6. Forty-one year old Dara Torres royally ticked that she lost the gold medal. Competitive spirit has no age limit!

I could go on and on--what were your highlights?

A Few Laughs

Mr. Cool's bash was fun, and he received a rockin' knitted object for his birthday I'll blog about tomorrow. But for today, as I worked on ordering transcripts and squaring away fun stuff like that, I was led by some online pals to some hysterical youtube videos. So, here you go. There is a bit of a mature audience warning, but it's all pretty mild.

Eddie Izzard + Legos: James Bond
Death Star Canteen
Do You Have a Flag?

Joe Cocker, Subtitled

And Many More!

Happy Birthday Mr. Cool! Here's to many more years of using logic, complaining, seeking perfection, sketching targets, researching weaponry, reading Tom Clancy, eating everything I cook, armchair quarterbacking, winking, supporting me, cleaning your shop, and planning vacations. I love you!

Lumpy Luke

Whew. My first two days are over, so I've met all the kids in my six classes. I am beat. I can barely move my fingers over the keyboard.

A highlight: Last year, a class I took gave me a great idea for meeting all the kids and remembering their names--we play a game, where each kid comes up with an alliterative adjective for their name (like amazing Amanda), and then we toss a ball around sharing our names and adjectives. The catch? You have to state everyone else who has gone before you. I always go last, and have to remember every kid. It works like a charm, and goes a long way toward helping me remember their names, and for the kids to learn what alliteration is. I always have some classics, including the title, and this year's best were: Cuckoo-for-cocoa-puffs Kyle, Nocturnal Nate, Mouthy Melinda (uh-oh!), Zesty Zach, Shocking Shawn, Shy Chy, and Royal Randy. Disclaimer: the kids seriously all chose those adjectives themselves!

What alliterative adjective would you have connected with your name?

Stress

Tomorrow is the first day of school with students.
Pressure as always: am I prepared?
have I met the administrivia?
can I learn all the new names?