And the Living Is Easy
Ah spring has arrived bringing with it budding trees, swimming season, and silly comedies.

I got to spend most of the afternoon combining two of my favorite activities--reading a book in the pool. What a country we live in! I started out reading by the pool, then I was just going to get my toes wet, and a few hours later I had almost finished the book and gotten a nice tan. All I needed was a margarita to reach nirvana.

We just went to an early show of Blades of Glory. So silly and stupid good. I am embarassed to admit my love of Ferrel. It's the 12 year old in me who loves giggling at the sight of hairy bellys. Still the world of figure skating is fairly amusing without the comedians. Gotta love all that spandex. It's just a sequin world out there.

We're off to Ali Baba's for dinner. Everything is better with falafel. Now that's a philosophy I can get behind.

This is depressing.

In considerably happier news I've cut my 5K time down to 28 minutes and 50 seconds. Booya.

Lord What Fools These Mortals Be
Play practice today actually gave me hope that this might turn out to be less than a complete disaster. The work has everything: faeries, donkeys, sword fights, boys in drag, and extraneous usage of the word "ass." In other words, it is the perfect middle school play.
Somedays I really do relate more to my teenagers than to regular adults. There is probably a fascinating psychological explanation for this, but I'll chalk it up to they are completly unafraid to say, feel, and do whatever they are thinking at themoment. I can appreciate that.

The Stars at Night Are Big and Bright

Perhaps it was during the tractor ride across the ranch or maybe it was while we fished from one of the many ponds, or it could even have been while sitting in front of a bonfire--whenever it was, I had to seriously consider my attraction to the city. Although I cannot possibly fathom the work load, there is something to be said for the sense of utter relaxation and peace miles from the myriad things that make us crazy. In any case, we're thankful to the Turner's for letting us invade their lovely ranch.

Now to create a sort of twisted bookend, I'm off to the 8th grade confirmation that I have to work. It will be beautiful but anxiety attack inducing between dealing with all of the parents and making the kids stand quietly in line.

I did just take a bubble bath to ease my way back into urban living.

Popcorn Hell
I got an evil popcorn kernel stuck in my gums, and now my entire jaw/face is swollen and in pain. Joy.
So far Animal Control appeals to be staying away, so perhaps he will not be arrested this week. Although there is still time for doggie jail.
On the plus side, I am home before 9 for the first time in a few days, so I've got that going for me which is nice.
In other bonus news I have become addicted to the superness that is Laughing Cow garlic and herb snack cheese. Delicious goodness at 35 calories. See, my mood's picked up already.

Samosas and Felons in Iambic Pentameter
When one finally reaches home at 9:35 after an extremely hectic day, the last thing one wants to see hanging from the door knob is a citation from Animal Control. It's perhaps one step ahead of a severed bodypart, but still, not something to relish.
We had to leave Toby outside today because I had a training session and book club tonight and Eric was supposed to have a late class. We did not want him to pee all over the house while he waited for us to return. Apparently he barked all day causing the neighbors to place multiple calls to the authorities. We are supposed to take care of the problem immediately, but I am not clear what will work outside of killing off the dog. Something, by the way, that grows more appealing by the minute.
I'm too frustrated to even finish this post.

Fascinating
Ever wonder exactly what that red thing is in the corner of your eye? It's a caruncle! Oh the amazing world of the dictionary!
Also shocking--the cassowary a relative of the evil emu. If you ever find yourself in New Guinea, avoid them and their bi colored wattles! (Coincidentally, another word for wattle is caruncle!) It just gets better and better.

In Just Spring

In the far and wee spirit of e.e. cummings, Eric and I went on a spring adventure today. For the first time I actually felt I was on spring break. We hit the Dallas Blooms exhibit at the Arboretum which was amazing. The last time we were there was four years ago, right after we got engaged. The flowers reminded me of the spirit of renewal that spring offers. For more pics check this out: http://picasaweb.google.com/ebresie/DallasBotanicalGardenMarch172007

We then went to Kalichandji's for a delicious lunch of gourmet Indian vegetarian food eaten by a babbling fountain. Say what you will about the Hari Krishna's--1) they know how to cook and 2) they all look ridiculously happy and at peace with their lives.

Finally we were planning to see Body Worlds but we were unable to get tickets. Actually I must say I was not too disappointed. It's a little creepy and madly expensive. We ended up playing at the lagoon at Fair Park and viewing the sea horses at the aquarium. I did, however, add fuel to my opinion that moray eels exist solely to scare the pants off of me.

I must go looking for the balloon man.

You Spin Me Right Round
Last night Eric and I were up really late singing all of the 80s songs we could think of, rekindling love for Guns n' Roses, Dead or Alive, Poison, Def Leppard, and even music from Annie and The Sound of Music. I don't know what time we finally fell asleep, but I haven't laughed that long in a very long time. The highlight was Eric's rendition of Enter Sandman by Metallica. To keep on the 80s theme, it was gnarly.
I always love my husband, but sometimes it's hard to put into words exactly why. Here it is: I love him because he's the only one with whom I'm comfortable singing bad songs off key until late into the night. Plus I love him because he knows more words to The Sound of Music than I do.

Toss the Cabers All Day Long
I need to go to Scotland to see a caber tossing competition. My passion for the dictionary quest has been revived by the Cs. For example, I now know that I would like a necklace of cabochon rubies while I drink cachaca --a Brazilian white rum. Despite my writing a thesis on Herman Melville I did not know that cachalot is another name for the sperm whale. The very idea makes me want to cachinnate or laugh loudly. Perhaps I will be struck by cacoethes and will do someone inadivisable. As I grow older every day I fear caducity because I value what little is left of my mind. I hope none of my students in the Bahamas this week suffer from calenture. Today is rainy and gross, one might almost say it is caliginous.
Here's my favorite--those people with really nice butts are callipygian! Who knew? It stems from the Greek words used to describe Venus! The word, however, that really got me going is cama--a cross between a camel and a llama. I asked Eric if we could get one, but all I got was a non-committal grunt. We would have to get a cameleer to ride it though. Or we could please my mother can get a camelopard, a giraffe.
There's a tasty sampling--for the rest you too can check out the New Oxford American. I know this post is going to create a rush at the Barnes and Noble.
This is about the point in my vacation where I will either go crazy or invent strange hobbies for myself. I just saw a piece on dog sled racing--perhaps it's my new calling? If only I could get rid of my dislike for dogs and hatred of being cold it would be perfect.
Now I need relate the sad tale of Ebony, my parents' crazy old cat. For the past few years he's been having a problem keeping himself groomed. Mom decided that they would solve this by bathing him. Unfortunately this bold move irritated the cat but did nothing for the fur problem. Then, in their infinite wisdom, my parents decided to cut out the gross spots. This plan resulted in my father cutting the cat's back! To literally add insult to injury, my father began treating the cat's cuts with peroxide. Now they have a black cat with bleached blond spots!!!! It really is one of the sadder sights I've seen in awhile. Although it did give me an idea--maybe I can get some peroxide and bleach nasty words into Toby's fur?
I'm heading to Ft. Worth today to have lunch with my baby--it will be my first business lunch!

Okay, That Was Nice
Day one of vacation was pretty nice, but I'm really ready to go back now. I've realized that vacation is only cool when you actually have something to do and someone to share it with. Otherwise it's just a chance to watch crappy tv and spend time with a dog you hate.
Still, my day was productive. I had a good work out, finished my book club book and, most importantly, reached the letter C in the dictionary. I am currently at calaboose which is an informal term for jail. I had thought the Bs were challenging, but the C section is a bear (actually technically that was covered in the Bs). Just a little dictionary humor there, folks. Perhaps what I need is a dictionary support group. Cheerleaders who spell out words with pompoms? It certainly bears consideration.
Eric is downstairs tinkering with my computer, attempting to upgrade it to Vista. It's times like these I wish I had a mac, because this has taken up the better part of a day. These graphics better be really ubercool.
I really must get a more legit hobby.

Revolving Door
As far as Clementine is concerned I was put here on earth for the sole purpose of letting her in and out and in and out. If you think about it, being called to serve a cat really isn't so bad as far as purposes go. It's better than, say, being called to rid the world of evil or at least telemarketers.
We saw Zodiac last night which legitimately creeped me out. We saw it in this smaller theater that doesn't do much business. By the time the show let out, everyone had almost gone. I had to go to the bathroom, though. When I got there, it was entirely deserted. After the movie I was almost too scared to pee. I had to look under all the stall doors before I went. Eric also went to the bathroom, and he said he about died when the door opened and someone else came in. Then on the way home we passed a car that was acting funny. I became irrationally convinced that they were going to kill us just like the Zodiac killer, so I made Eric lose them. They were probably just some old people losts in Grapevine, but I was pretty convinced of their serial killer potential. Actually the movie is more about obsession than about death. The deaths are really not the point. The movie is so claustrophobic that I couldn't really breathe right for about 35 minutes after it ended. Darn good flick.
I have been on vacation for two whole days now, and no one has delivered me a pina colada. In fact I haven't seen a single cabana boy. Perhaps I should re-evaluate my plans.

Many Numbers
I am not sure numbers exist for the amount of blood spilled in the movie 300, at any rate I would not want to count the drops. It is a silly, ridiculous movie that still managed to entertain me. Perhaps this was in part due to the plethora of amazing male specimens on screen. Dang. Eric said he thought he would spontaneous grow ovaries just by looking at him.
Anyway it's Spring Break. For 9 days I get to sleep in, drink my coffee in my pjs and not even think about teenagers. Sadly I promise I will be crazy by Wednesday. Oh well at the moment it sounds pretty sweet.
We're having waiting on the fire to die down in the pit so we can grill tonight. E's pouring me a glass of wine, I think I will stop writing about having a good night and will get to actually having one.

I just had one of those quasi transcendental work outs where you push yourself beyond the breaking point and keep going. My entire body aches, and I'm deadly tired. Despite this, I feel great. I just shaved another minute off of my 5K time which does not sound like much but amounts to a lot as my lungs are bursting and my legs are becoming increasingly jelly like. Then I did weights and found I could keep going even after I thought I should probably give up.
I find it really odd taht I always hated the gym before, but now it almost defines me. I am myself on the days I work out. Or at least that is what the mad endorphine rush is telling me right now.
Tomorrow is the last day before Spring Break. The kids will be nuts, but it's the price we pay for having a week off I guess. I am always hopeful on Fridays and can deal with most anything. Besides, if I can cut another minute off of my run time, I can handle irksome students.
I hope.

Cinco
Yesterday I had a fairly dreadful day, but I have decided to counter fate and write five positive things that happened before I go to work this morning.
1) A student was talking about something being for "skinny people like Ms.Bresie." He was probably just sucking up, but it was cool.
2)There were fruit and yogurt parfaits for lunch. Sometimes it's the little things that make a day ok.
3) When I wanted to vent, there were several people there who were happy to listen to me and offer help.
4)I made it to the 'Bu' section of the dictionary
5)I have a boy who rocks my word every day, especially the bad days.

Cinco
Yesterday I had a fairly dreadful day, but I have decided to counter fate and write five positive things that happened before I go to work this morning.
1) A student was talking about something being for "skinny people like Ms.Bresie." He was probably just sucking up, but it was cool.
2)There were fruit and yogurt parfaits for lunch. Sometimes it's the little things that make a day ok.
3) When I wanted to vent, there were several people there who were happy to listen to me and offer help.
4)I made it to the 'Bu' section of the dictionary
5)I have a boy who rocks my word every day, especially the bad days.

Cinco
Yesterday I had a fairly dreadful day, but I have decided to counter fate and write five positive things that happened before I go to work this morning.
1) A student was talking about something being for "skinny people like Ms.Bresie." He was probably just sucking up, but it was cool.
2)There were fruit and yogurt parfaits for lunch. Sometimes it's the little things that make a day ok.
3) When I wanted to vent, there were several people there who were happy to listen to me and offer help.
4)I made it to the 'Bu' section of the dictionary
5)I have a boy who rocks my word every day, especially the bad days.

Those Spying Eyes
I've had my proverbial panties in a twist all week because I had my observation today. Having someone observing me drive my nutty although I cannot put my finger on exactly why that is. In fact I think this is more a check on how well I've done my paper work than anything else. Anyway it went ok although in retrospect I should have known better than to do a lesson that could have opened the doors to the ridiculous amount of questions and opinion offering that I got. Aat least it's over and I don't have to do it again until next fall.
I also had my weigh in with my trainer, and it was a good month. I lost five pounds, one percent body fat, and several inches. Baby steps, right?

Notations Times Three
1) After posting about the belly noises this morning, I suffered from a grumbling,whining belly all day. That will teach me to read the dictionary.
2) I stayed after work today to watch a few basketball games, and I was glad I did. I reaally love seeing the kids in a different context. It allows me to appreciate them a lot more, especially those kids who do not shine academically. Plus they seem to appreciate my caring. I also have to go to work tomorrow. We're holding a confirmation retreat. I've spent the evening writing the kids letters, telling them that I am proud of them. Everyone likes to hear that.
3)Mediterranean food, wine and the hot tub really do make everything better.

Gurgle
I have no time right now, but I felt it really was necessary to share my new found dictionary information. That gurgling noise in your tummy is called borborgyimus! Now you know.