Kickback

My mom has always said that I should keep a journal of the things my middle school students say so that I can write a book later on. How could I forget when two years ago, one of the seventh grade students who had a crush on me stated, "You could be my R Kelly, Ms. Nettels!"

Today, my students enlightened me on what a "kickback" is. Two of my lovable knuckleheads stopped by after school to inform me they didn't have the work for their portfolios with them (even though they knew they were due today because it was up on my board all week AND it's the end of the quarter). I informed them to get their butts to school tomorrow, or I was going to enter a zero for both of them. They then proceeded to stay in my room...and chat. They mentioned they were going to have a "kickback" this afternoon.

I looked at them clueless.

One of them noticed my expression and said, "Oh come on, don't you know what a kickback is?"

To which I replied, "No, I was a geek in school."

After a big sigh, knucklehead one responds, "It's when a bunch of people just go over to someone's house and hang out."

That sounded pretty boring to me, so I said, "That's all you do?"

After a look was exchanged between the two, knucklehead one said, "No, stuff goes on."

Gross-er-roo I immediately thought to myself! I actually said out loud, "Eww," but then they assured me that THAT was not the stuff that goes on. (Yeah right.)

Truth be told, a little kickback with some fromage and a nice merlot sounds fabulous right now, but I will wait until tomorrow afternoon for that. Happy Thursday!

Overcast Day= No Motivation

Alright, alright...I am using the clouds as an excuse. I really just did not want to do anything today. I keep thinking about how things will be next year when I will not be involved in a Gate program, a Character Education program, or master's classes. I will be able to do absolutely nothing and not worry or feel guilty about it. However, that is not the case now. After driving around to three different Targets today to find a lamp, bumming around on the internet, and finishing the above titled book, I am just now going to right the reflection essay I need to for my character education class and create the power point I need to for my classes tomorrow. I do like to procrastinate. Oh well, here's to a quick work week for all of us. =)

Single Ladies-Obama Style

This is HILARIOUS! Do watch.

Mildly Obsessed

Does anyone else watch Jon and Kate plus eight? I don't regularly turn to this show, but whenever I flip through channels and it's on...I am hooked. I am sickly obsessed with it. I have no desire to start a family of my own what-so-ever just yet, but I cannot help watching. I cannot imagine what it would be like to have THAT many kids. It's just odd. I will not watch that Duggar family though. The parents are just a bit too creepy. Jim Bob? CREEPER.

Btw, if you go the Duggar website, it's a bit more scary. They state that using birth control was "selfish." Are you kidding me? What's selfish is bringing 18 children into the world who you cannot individually spend enough time with and who you financically have to support by doing TV shows you never would have gotten if you didn't have that many children. And you don't even have a farm (The only reason why families back in the day had so many children to begin with was because they had farms and needed workers for that farm). Sorry, but the miscarriage they had in their early years of marriage was a truly unfortunate accident. It was not a sign that they were selfish and should go off of birth control. Ugh.

Shoe I...Shoen't I?

So I have stated before that the husband counted my shoes, and I have around 160. Bad, I know. I recently found a pair that I really, really want too. I don't really have a pair of black heels anymore. Crazy, but it is true. The only pair I have from Nine West got a bit messed up on a little trist out into the ocean in Laguna Beach (don't ask). So now I really want this pair from Urban Outfitters:
I adore the heel on these. Plus, they aren't too high, so I would be able to wear them all day while I teach. They're only $78 dollars; the price isn't too high. Maybe I'll just go ahead...what do you think? Any ideas for a comfortable pair of black heels.

No Bus= No Ski

Stupid Mountain High, how I hate and despise thee! Usually, you are a place of delight, where I can whiz through the trees and be at one with the mountain. But today, you let the students and I down. By failing to send a bus to pick us up from our little beach school, you ruined an afternoon for all of us. Darn you!

"It's a New Day"

So I made my eighth grade U.S. history students watch the inauguration. I should have just stayed home so I could have thoroughly enjoyed it, but whatever. I told the kids to remember this moment because it will be one of those defining moments in history that they can look back upon. I got chills hearing me say that oath of office. I feel so privileged to have witnessed this event. It was interesting to see so many of them interested, and others...not at all. I can only do so much.

Later on in the day...I became so irritated. My eighth period is full of a bunch of students whose parents would be ashamed of the way they act in my class if they could see them. Too many kids who just cannot keep their mouths closed. We have our ups and downs, and last week was good.

Today, the first year teacher who I mentor decided to pop in to observe me. She sent me an email over the weekend, which I didn't receive until this morning. Of course, today the kids start off the class poorly, and I have to lay into them. I was so frustrated...and disappointed in the way they let me down. And of course, I was also upset the newbie was seeing them act this way. I kept thinking she was thinking, "Well, I guess I am not this bad of her class is like this." And of course, once I laid into them they were quiet for the rest of the period.

On my way home, I asked myself this question though, "Why am I always so worried about what other people think?" I keep thinking that I have come farther than this, yet these feelings always come up. I know I am a good teacher, and yet I let those thoughts dissuade me. ::sigh::

Oh well, tomorrow is a brand new start again. I hope everyone is filled with as much optimism as I am thanks to our new president.

Cali Girls- Free Make-Up Giveaway

Just saw this story on the news, and I am so excited. Here are the deets!

This is taken from the NBC 4 Website:

"The presidential inauguration is not the only exciting thing happening on Tuesday. You also have a chance to grab some free makeup.

Some major department stores are giving away free make-up, skin care products and perfumes on Jan. 20, as part of a class action settlement.

The settlement is from a class action suit filed on behalf of people who bought cosmetics between may 1994 and July 2003. The suit accused the stores of conspiring to fix prices. The retailers did not admit wrongdoing as part of the settlement, which requires them to give away $175 million in cosmetics.

The stores involved in the giveaway include Macy's, Dillard's, Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom, Nieman Marcus and Target. (Check the settlement site for the full list of all stores.)

The goods will be given away on a first-come, first-served basis. Consumers will be able to choose one item per person until supplies last.

Here are some of the brands being given away, according to the Birmingham Business Journal: Estée Lauder, Clinique, Lancome, Clarins, Guerlain, Givenchy, Chanel, Boucheron, Cody, Calvin Klein, L'Oréal and Christian Dior.

A Macy's spokeswoman told the paper that the products include "mascara, skin care, moisturizers and fragrances."

The paper says you don't have to produce a receipt to prove you bought products on the list at a particular store, but you do have to sign something saying you did purchase the products."

So I found the lawsuit website, and here are the stores involved: Bergdorf Goodman, Bergner’s, Bloomingdale’s, Boston Store, Carson Pirie Scott, Dillard’s, Gottschalks, Herberger’s, Macy’s, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Parisian, Saks Fifth Avenue, Younkers

And here is the make-up you have to choose from:

• Boucheron (USA) Ltd.:
  
  Femme Eau de Toilette (1 ounce/30 ml)
  
  
• Chanel, Inc.:
  
  Coco Mademoiselle body lotion (3.4 fluid oz)
  
  
• Christian Dior Perfumes, Inc.:
  
  
  J’Adore Eau de Parfum (15 ml)
  
  
• Clarins U.S.A., Inc. (customers will have a choice of ONE of two products, while supplies last):
  
  
  Clarins Energizing Morning Cream (30 ml) OR
  
  Clarins Beauty Flash Bomb (30 ml)
  
  
• Conopco, Inc. (distributed by Coty, Inc. on behalf of Conopco, Inc.) (customers will have a choice of ONE of three products, while supplies last):
  
  Calvin Klein Euphoria Bath and Shower Crème (6.7 oz)
  
  OR
  
  Vera Wang Princess Body Polish (5 oz)
  
  OR
  
  Lovely Sarah Jessica Parker Shower Gel (6.7 oz)
  
  
• The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (customers will have a choice of ONE of two products, while supplies last):
  
  Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair (15 ml/0.5 oz)
  
  OR
  
  Clinique Moisture Surge (30 ml/1 oz)
  
  
• Guerlain, Inc.:
  
  My Insolence Eau de Toilette (15 ml)
  
  
• L’Oréal USA, Inc. (formerly known as Cosmair, Inc.) (customers will have a choice of ONE of eight products, while supplies last):
  
  Lancôme UV Expert 20
  
  OR
  
  Lancôme Cils Design Pro Mascara
  
  OR
  
  Lancôme Fatale Mascara
  
  OR
  
  Lancôme Courbe Virtuose Mascara
  
  OR
  
  Lancôme Primordial Skin Defense
  
  OR
  
  Ralph Lauren Romance Shower Gel (6.7 oz.)
  
  OR
  
  Giorgio Armani ACM Shower Gel (6.7 oz)
  
  OR
  
  Lancôme Hypnôse Shower Gel
  
  
• Parfums Givenchy, Inc.:
  
  Very Irresistible Givenchy Eau de Toilette (15 ml)

I will be sending the hubby to pick me up some Coco Mademoiselle body lotion, while I am going to try and pick up some Vera Wang Princess body lotion after work. Remember, this is only while supplies last. Go out and make sure you pick yourself up something!

Lookbook

Though I need to work on the pictures, I figured I'd start doing a few of these to motivate me to put together some more stylish outfits. I used to be all about dressing up, and I have gotten kinda lazy. This is an outfit I wore out Saturday night to my husband's mother's b-day dinner.

Pants: Bootcut cords by Jcrew
T-shirt: Fleur de lis top by Urban Outfitters
Shoes: Grey suede wedges by Sechelles
Cardigan: Bow cardigan by Jcrew
Necklace: an old strand of pearls

And now, I am off to grade. Yes, I saved all of the papers I needed to grade until today. Kinda silly...I should have done some each day. Oh well, if you have today off, I hope you spend it in a much more fun manner.

Purge

This is all of the make-up that I got rid on Saturday after going through my make-up drawers. To be quite honest with you, it made me a little naseous. There was probably over two thousand dollars worth of make-up in that bag, and it definitely helped me put things into perspective. I am limiting my make-up buying this year. I got a Smashbox kit on autodelivery for 34 dollars at the beginning of the year that will also ship out in the Spring, Summer, and Fall. I have told Nick that those are the only kits I will buy for the whole year aside from foundation. I truly do have enough, and I do not need anything else. It's so nice to finally have room in those drawers and actually see what I have. If you haven't done a purge in awhile, I highly suggest doing so. You'll be quite shocked at some of the items you still have.

Guilty as charged.

Freakin' a. I already broke a resolution of mine to buy less. Seriously, my closet is over-flowing. One of of hubby's gifts for Christmas was organzing and photographing all of my shoes, and he counted over 160 pairs. Ri-di-cu-lous! I honestly have nowhere to put anything else, and I am afraid that the rod is going to break in the closet.

Here is the guilty purchase:

I first saw the sweater on Keri Russell in last month's In Style and fell in love with it.

When I saw it on the sale page on J Crew, I bought it. And because I felt guilty, I bought the hubby a sweater too. Oh, why can't I stop? I swear, if I just lost ten pounds, it would be as if I had a whole new wardrobe. There are so many pairs of skirts and pants I would be able to fit into. ::sigh::

And now that I am done re-reading this: I honestly do not know what to do with myself. Oh well, it is Friday, and I have a three day weekend to look forward to. No plans yet...I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend though.

Horrendous

I don't know anything that can make me more nauseous than the annual gyno visit. It's uncomfortable, and weird, and I just hate it. The doctor I have been going to is usually pretty good. Things are quick; she's in then she's out. But after today I will not be going back. It's bad enough when you're having to wait in the little paper gown for the doctor to come in. But waiting for twenty minutes? I am sorry. That is ridiculous. Plus, when I asked questions, she kinda just brushed them off. I kep thinking to myself, "Shouldn't she be asking me more questions about my concerns?" But she didn't. And it made me feel pretty shitty. I swear, I just want a hug right now and for it to be Friday.

Monday-Schmunday

This is how I felt today at work. I got the worst night's sleep ever! I cannot believe how many times I looked at the clock. Thankfully, my kids were great, so I cannot complain.

However, what is up with the heat? By eighth period today I was dying. Please winter, do not leave yet. I haven't even gotten to wear my new faux leather hooded jacket from Urban Outfitters yet. I do not want to turn on my fans yet just because they think schools that are near the beach do not need air conditioning since they'll receive that ocean breeze...ha ha.

Breathe In, Breathe Out

Alright, there is no longer any need to stress yourself out. Taylor Lautner will be returning as Jacob Black in the "New Moon" movie, and I, for one, could not be any happier. I actually could not believe it when talks were started to see about re-casting his role. I mean, they had already set this kid up as Jacob in Twilight, how could they just change him in New Moon and expect fans to be happy? And if you have read the books, you know what I am talking about. Taylor is Jacob. You could just tell he had read the books. He was a perfect choice. He had all of the quirks down in the short scenes he had. I melted when he said, "Sure, sure." And I think it was so wrong to underestmate his capabilities. I definitely believe this kid can pull off the huge role Jacob plays in New Moon. This news actually made my day today considering that this is the third straight day I have felt naseous and the medicine the doctor prescrbed for me has not worked yet. Now if all these catty girls would only lay off poor Kristen Stewart, who I adore as Bella....

The hubby and I got into a somewhat heated description about what was engraved in our wedding rings last night. As much I hate to admit it, I am a big sap. So I think it's OK that I feel the way I do about what Nick had engraved. He explained that he truly does think what he had engraved is romantic, but I beg to differ. I got two bands to surround my engagement ring on our wedding day. One is engraved, "No refunds." The other is engraved, "No exchanges." Cute? Yes. Witty? Yes. Comical? Yes. Romantic? Not so much...at least in the typical sense. I get it: we are meant for each other and will be with each other for the rest of our lives. But I wanted something sappy dang it!

Especially when compared to what I had engraved in his ring. "The Princess Bride" is one of our favorite movies; thus, I could not think of a better line to get engraved than "As You Wish."
::le sigh::

And I mope even more about this because I cannot get random lines from "Twlight" out of my head. All I wish I had engraved is "You are my life now."

Oh well. What is engraved in your ring? Or what do you wish was engraved in yours?

Let me be your...Rock of Love

::gulp:: I am so ashamed to admit this, but I was so totally stoked to watch the season premiere of "Rock of Love" tonight. The season looks promising with lots of white trash chicks that will fight and get drunk. Nick cannot believe that I "waste" hours of my life watching this show, but trust me...he is watching it with me from the table while he plays his game.

BTW, Bret Michaels will also be playing at the fairgrounds in the desert, and my sister and I will so be attending. =_

Lethargic

What a waste of a day! Nick and I stayed up until two last night reading books, which resulted in us not waking up until ten this morning. From that point on, neither one of us managed to accomplish much. He did four loads of laundry, while I continued on with the Twilight series. Since my friend has my copy of the third book, I actually found it online. Oy vey....it's a bit sick, eh?

Anyhoo, tomorrow I have to accomplish things. Our number one priority tomorrow is taking down the Christmas decorations. I will also then sort through my make-up drawers.

I feel like such a little kid. Only two more days left and then back to work. Poo!

Goals and Resolutions

Ugh, I am starting off my first day of 2009 with a massive headache and upset stomach. This is definitely not the way I wanted to spend my first day in 2009, but someone forgot to remind me to drink water while I chugged down champagne last night at an incredibly consistent pace. Grrr. I swear, it was the only thing I asked the hubby to do last night, since when I start to drink, I sometimes forget to slow down or take precautions that will prevent me from feeling like this the next morning.

And I swear, the day started off so well. We stayed in during the morning, and then I managed to get Nick to go out shopping with me. I scored this dress at an insane price:
Marked down from $175 to $61 dollars! Lyndsy from Yellow Brick Blog posted about this dress; she wore it to the rehearsal dinner before her wedding. I plan on wearing this to the wedding of my husband's friend in October. Nick stated, "Yeah you look gorgeous, and you only have to wait ten months to wear it."

From shopping, we then went to our favorite little wine shop in the OC, Bacchus, to pick up some champagne.

And we had a little beer:

I think I looked pretty cute:



And then I moved onto the champagne we picked up:
Next, I started to look like this:
Even more so after I had about four glasses while Nick and I watched "Hamlet 2." If you haven't seen this movie yet, I HIGHLY recommend it. I have not laughed that hard in a long time. Seriously, "Rock Me Sexy Jesus" just might become my new ringtone.

By the end of the night, Nick said that I had started amusing discussion about the existence of vampires, and I even managed to kick him out of his side of the bed.

Thus, last night brought me to my current mindset today. I have never been one to make a series of resolutions with the start of a new year, mainly because I never manage to stick with them. However, I would like to set some goals for myself this year. I only have a few, and I think I can manage to stick with them.

1. I would like to post to this blog at least every other day. I noticed that sometimes weeks went by between posts, and I have no idea why. It wasn't as though I did not have things to say. I did not even manage to keep up the blog I started for my classroom, so I would like to make my own personal blog more of a habit or outlet.
2. I would like to lose ten pounds. I know, it sounds so typical. But I have been saying this for about two years now. When I first met Nick, I was pretty tiny. Then I started to put on the weight. I had vowed to lose the weight before my wedding, but I didn't manage that. It didn't bother me because the dress already make me look slim, and I figured it was lame to buy into the hype of trying to lose tons of weight just for your wedding. But the fact is that I cannot fit into most of my clothing. My Citizens of Humanity jeans...I cannot wear. My cute skirts from Urban Outfitters...cannot fit. I swear, if I can just lose ten pounds I will have an entirely new wardrobe. My husband's sister is getting married at the end of June, and I am going to be a bridesmaid. I think six months is plenty of time for me to lose ten pounds.
3. I plan on not purchasing any more make-up other than the Smasbox kits I already have on autodelivery (which are 34 dollars each) and foundation. Make-up is definitely a guilty pleasure of mine. I buy...a lot. And I now realize this. I am going to do a make-up purge of my drawers tomorrow which will probably make me throw-up. I know it will amount to thousands of dollars. And I have decided I would much rather save that money I usually spend and put it towards decorating our future house.
4. Weekend trips. I truly am blessed to live in California; we have so many amazing places to see and visit. My goal is to make a day trip once a month to some place new.
5. Stay more organized. I have tons of planners, calendars, various devices to keep me on task, and yet I somehow manage to wait until the due dates to accomplish some tasks. I want to stay more organized and do things ahead of time.
   

I think my list is managable. We shall see. I feel as though posting these goals makes me more accountable. I hope your first day in 2009 is going well. =)