Where has all the summer gone?

Seriously. Where has the summer gone?

I really just feel like it was yesterday that Kevin and I got married and were on our honeymoon. It's hard to believe that it has been almost two months now. Kevin and I both came back to lots of work - he has been working 50-60 hour weeks and I have been splitting my time, less evenly than I would like, between Imagination Stage and my high school.

Most of the summer I have been teaching dance classes and working on fall planning for the HS, but two weeks ago I started my directing job and my life has been completely consumed. Summer Showcase, the program I am working on, is not a book musical, essentially we are creating a revue to existing music around a theme. This year the theme is identity. So in the span of four weeks, we actually create a plot, write a script and produce a very detailed revue. I use the term "revue" loosely because while that technically is what it is, we really try to develop a fleshed out and interesting plot line with 14 characters with each of them having a story arch. It is definitely more interesting for them as actors to do so; however, making a story that interesting and fleshed out is ALOT of work.

Don't get me wrong - I love, love, LOVE this project. I really enjoy working with Debbie and Kierstie, and with this year, Don. I also love working with the kids - it's such a unique project and experience. Admittedly though, the intensity of the project has made the last two weeks fly by more than I could have imagined. I have pretty much spent my time: wake up, do Showcase work, get showered/ready, drive to Bethesda, do Showcase work, rehearse Showcase, meet about Showcase, go home and do more Showcase and finally go to bed. You can see how the time might fly... but it is really rewarding work and I clearly love to be able to do what I love and get paid.

Nevertheless, with intensity comes some freaking out. On Tuesday, I had my personal flip out moment - I realized that our design run is next Wednesday for SHOWCASE and we still hadn't fleshed out the plot outline let alone start doing all of the improvisations we needed to in order to start developing the script. You can't exactly block a show as a director when you don't have a script yet. On a bright note, now we have our plot figured out and have worked on most of it, so by Monday most of our script should be done.

Nonetheless, this Friday it definitely hit me that in two weeks SHOWCASE opens and then the next day I get on a plane to go to Scotland for two weeks with 8 of my high school students, and as the only adult chaperone. My HS students are performing at the American High School Theatre Festival in Edinburgh. (This is a show I am not directing, Lauren is). So you can see why I might be a little stressed...

With this I also realized that I have two more weeks of summer in the USA, because when I get back from Scotland I have one more weekend, but school starts that Monday...thank god for the three day - Labor Day weekend that follows- but really, how is it August already? How is it that I am already thinking about September...

So on that note- I am off to transcribe more video scenes so that hopefully I will have a script to start blocking on Monday... [sigh]

Superman Was an Actor?

So I started working on Summer Showcase - the show I am directing at Imagination Stage - last week. I got there today with all of my baggage - yes I do look like a little hermit - but I need a lot of crap for rehearsal. (Working on condensing...) I was also wearing my usual director/choreographer comfy attire of dance pants, t-shirt and baseball cap (nothing out of the ordinary).

Just in the front of the building I stopped and was talking on my cell to Kierstie and a woman pulled up in car, rolling down the window and tried to get my attention. Once I had ended the call, she asked me "Can you get me a program for THE NEVERENDING STORY?" (NES is the show currently showing on the mainstage at IS).

First of all I though it was funny she assumed that I worked there to begin with, and I replied, "Well, I don't really work here on staff, I am just contracted."

Apparently, she was bringing her children to see the show Friday and wanted a program to review with them before bringing them. (Not sure how much a program was going to help, a book might be a better idea...but I obliged).

Seeing as no one was in the Box Office window at the time, I told her I would ask the receptionist, but if she didn't have one I couldn't really help her out. Luckily, Ronni (the receptionist) had one and the woman was very grateful when I returned with one in hand.

Then she said, "I just thought you might be able to help me. I figured you were an actor because of your Superman shirt."

Really? I mean...
a) to assume Superman shirt wearers are actors and
b) to assume I was an actor working on this show...

Interesting how the minds of people work. Guess if I want to get work as an actor I should just wear my Superman shirt for auditions.

The Dark Knight on Friday Night

So now that I have discussed Dr. Horrible, I need to to discuss THE DARK NIGHT, which I saw on Friday night with Kevin and his friends. It was the movie we were waiting for all summer and I have to say I drove like a bat out of hell (but not like Batman) to get to the theatre in time from Bethesda.

It was well worth the wait and the crazy driving though (where's a Batmobile with a Bat-pod when you need one, anyway?). Also, I wanted to thank Kevin's friends for changing the time because it was one of the highlights to my insane week.

First and foremost, I have to say

WOW!!!!

There are not many words to convey the brilliance of the movie. It was extremely well cast with a star-studded cast. The hype about Heath Ledger as the Joker is true - he is phenomenal. There is no trace of Heath in that movie, he IS the Joker. It is entertaining and yet disturbing at the same time and in the way it should be, I believe. It is really tragic that he died at this point, as you can only see the potential of where he might have gone beyond this movie. I do hope he gets at least an Oscar nomination for his work, as it is well earned.

The rest of the movie is also pretty amazing; it is like getting two movies in one. Admittedly, it is pretty overwhelming on a first view (especially with a crappy sound system where you miss tons of dialogue) and definitely garners a second viewing. Definitely several layers and psychological depths to the piece and I cannot wait to see it again to catch all that I missed.

Definitely 5 stars - everyone should see it...

"That's the plan, rule the world, you and me, any day.."

Ok - so now my true colors and inner-geekiness are going to show a little bit. I don't think I have mentionned my obsession with the show Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but it is definitely one of my obessessions despite the fact it is no longer on the air. If want to see me "geek out" (as Kevin might say) this would be the topic. Well some of you might be familiar with the musical episode that they did on Buffy called "Once More with Feeling." I am sure you can imagine what it is like when two of your favorite things in the world collide - in that case it was Buffy and musical theatre.

Joss Whedon (whom you might know from Firefly or from writing X-men comic books) is the brilliant man behind Buffy and he is actually quite brilliant as a composer and as a lyricist. So during the writer's strike back in the winter he got bored and decided to do a project to see if the internet was a financially viable option for entertainmnent. Thus he developed Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. I must say that yet again Joss Whedon (and family) has demonstrated his brilliance. I cannot wait until he actually decides to start writing actual musicals for the theatre (which I hope is inevitable). If you like comic book superheroes and villians and/or musicals you will definitely enjoy this 45-min mini-musical event.

Besides the wonderful musical selections, with many tributes to Sondheim, Whedon and clan are particularly good at making at you laugh and then tearing at your heart strings. As he always accomplished with Buffy, there are plenty of snappy lyrics and witty lines.

Some of my favorites being:

"These are not the hammer... The hammer is my penis."

"I've got a PHD in horribleness."

"A lot of guys ignore the laugh, and that's about standards. I mean, if you're gonna get into the Evil League of Evil, you have to have a memorable laugh. What, do you think Bad Horse didn't work on his whinny? His terrible death-whinny?"

Without spoiling anymore I would say go watch it while you can.

Free viewing ends at midnight on Sunday, July 20th. Then you have to buy it off of I-tunes for $2 an episode/act (it's three acts). It is an extremely worthy cause and well worth the $6, so if you miss it I would say go buy it.

I've seen it at least 3 times at this point and am still planning to I-tunes it and then buy the DVD with musical commentary when it comes out.

The cast includes Neil Patrick Harris (Doogie Howser, How I Met Your Mother), Nathan Fillion (Buffy-Season 7, Desperate Housewives, Firefly) and Felicia Day (Buffy-Season 7).

Check out the three act musical blog for free (until July 21st) here: http://www.drhorrible.com/
Follow this link to check out the backstory and interviews about the project:
http://doctorhorrible.net/

Enjoy!

The Number 1 Dance Show on TV

So I am an avid So You Think You Can Dance watcher seeing as I have been a dancer for almost the entirety of my life. It warms my soul to see quality dancing on mainstream television.

I think the best thing about the show is that they highlight both technically trained and not trained dancers, challenging them to try different styles of dance and stretching them out of their comfort zones. I have to agree that talent and versatility do go hand in hand, which is why I don't like American Idol. You are not the best singer if you can only sing pop - I would have to say then you are only the best "pop singer."

I love SYTYCD because it actually applauds and recognizes several styles of dance as being notable (though I do wish we could see some more ballet and tap). The show continues to exceed my expectations though, and after seeing the pas-de-deux tonight I feel like they are continuing to broaden their horizons.

I love to watch the show for the choreography in particular - they have some brilliant and well known talent on the show. Mia Michaels (who I used to see judge and teach at dance competitions back in my dance team days) is one of my favorites as an artist on the show. I also love Wade Robson's work because it is so quirky and unique. (I would love to know where in the hell he is this season).

Tonight set new heights for the show though because Desmond Richardson was the guest choreographer who did the pas-de-deux. He is not a household name, but in the dance community he is BIG! Most people know Baryshnikov however, and Desmond Richardson is a ballet/contemporary dancer of that caliber. I am just so pleased as a technically trained ballet/modern dancer to see them continue to bring in such high quality talent even if most of the audience is not familiar. Yay Nigel Lythgoe!

I must say with our wedding and with my weird work hours this summer, it has made it harder than usual to keep up with the show. Kevin actually watches it with me and enjoys it (one of the thousands of reasons I love him so much.) Actually, last week I was driving home from meeting with Kierstie and Debbie about our show and knew I wasn't going to get to the TV in time to see the dance solos or results. I called Kevin, and was semi-surprised to hear him watching it without me. The best part though was the play-by-play he gave me of the solos.

"She's turning. Now she's rolling on the floor. She jumped. She did a pirouette. He's jumping. He took his shirt off. He did a flip...."

Now I have to admit, the fact that Kevin knew the term "pirouette"and in the correct context makes me a proud woman! Again, what this show is all about - and also why it should be the Number 1 dance show in America.

Dancing with the Stars and Dance Crew can take their geriatric ballroom and gyrating and grinding somewhere else...somewhere with American Idol for that matter...

New Niece! Yay - Welcome Piper Chloe!

Yay! Congratulations to my sister-in-law, Erika, and her husband Jason on their newest addition - Piper Chloe Hiles who arrived Monday evening. She is beautiful and has a very beautiful name. I am excited for Caroline and Bryce to finally meet their little sister. Caroline should be proud of herself for picking such a lovely middle name - have to admit I like it a little more than "Splinter" (one of her original name choices)

I know Kevin and I are thrilled to have another niece and I cannot wait to meet her!

The Week in Review

So this was a pretty busy week - overall a good week. As I said in my previous blog I was spending 95% of my week in DC teaching ballet and jazz technique to 3rd - 10th graders.

I have to admit, I haven't danced for 6 hours a day in a long time, so it was a pretty rough week physically. I don't think my body was quite ready for the shock of it. My calves were so sore on Tuesday that I wasn 't actually really able to dance (what I consider to be) full out again until Friday. Nevertheless, it was actually a nice change of pace considering I don't teach dance during the school year at my HS.

I have to say that it actually made me miss TAKING a dance class instead of teaching one all the time. I am hoping maybe I can squeeze some classes in after school starts in the fall. The other nice aspect of the class was that since it wasn't a Musical Theatre related class, I could choreograph dance for dance-sake. Since I am usually choreographing for a musical - what I do has to be in context with the show, the storyline and characters.

I really enjoyed pulling some ballet out of my back pocket, since you don't use plain ballet in musicals very often. My favorite aspect of the week was choreographing some jazz. There are songs I hear sometimes that I am dying to choreograph, but really have no forum to put them in. There is a song in the show SONGS FOR A NEW WORLD, that is a really fun uptempo jazz piece. Unfortuantely, my students weren't loving it as much as me. So at the end of the week we worked on a lyrical jazz piece to "How to Save a Life" by The Fray. They enjoyed working on it and I wish that I had somewhere to keep developing it - oh well, maybe I will find an opportunity. Hopefully, Mia Michaels won't do it anytime soon on SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE. Clearly if she does it, it will be brilliant, and it's hard to follow brilliance like hers.

In other news, my new laptop arrived on Wednesday!!! Unfortuantely, I was in DC from Wednesday - Friday because I was staying in DC to save money on gas. Kevin went to pick it up from Jason and Erika's on Wednesday night - I was sad that I wasn't able to go and visit with them. Thank you Jason for helping me get it and helping me save some money :-)


Another high point of the week was that we finally purchased another couch to replace the one that didn't fit! We went to JCPenny's and didn't see anything outwardly that we liked, but discovered a very comfy brown leather couch. We liked the style, but not the color. Much to our surprise we could actually order it in black. The catch was that being special ordered it would take another 6-8 weeks to get...so it means we are back to sitting on the futon for awhile. (We actually need to get it back in the living room seeing as we have reverted to using the floor and pillows as seating.)

So that's the week - we ended it with a nice trip to Pizza John's on Friday night. Kevin spent all day working Saturday. I spent the day with Kierstie and Debbie working on SUMMER SHOWCASE, the piece I am directing, which starts Monday. SOOOO excited and cannot wait to start!

Today was catch-up day, the hightlights being laundry and McDonald's...and getting started on Thank You Cards. Am really looking forward to tomorrow when we will have a new niece and I get to start SHOWCASE...

Kindness in the Little People World

So this week I am teaching Ballet/Jazz Technique classes to both Grades 3-6 and Grades 7-10 in DC for ISI. I was already teaching the afternoon class with the older students, but Veronika called me last week to offer me the morning class as well because the teacher had to cancel last minute. I was hesitant at first for two reasons - one being the early morning commute to DC for a 9am class - the other being the fact that it was 6 hours of dance and I would have the little guys. Even though it was six hours and rush hour both ways, it was a matter of teaching the same class essentially and making twice as much money because I was already going to be down there. So I decided to take it on...

It was funny because when I was there the first week, I saw how hyper the little people were and I was glad at the time I wasn't teaching them. I know that these guys are not so little to other people. My sister actually considers them "big guys" on her scale. I just knew I had been working with high school students for the last 6 months so it was going to definitely be a readjustment.

My first surprise was that I had a boy in my class. It's not that boys shouldn't be in Ballet class, because clearly I support it, but a this age you don't expect it so much in a summer camp. So I had carefully planned out variations from the ballet SLEEPING BEAUTY to work on, thinking the kids could all be different fairies and create characters My ideas changed completely upon meeting little Howie** as I will call him. On the first day he ended up stepping on his own foot and ended up sitting out most of the ballet portion of the class. It wasn't until Tuesday that he started complaining about not liking ballet and it being too girly. It's funny because the boy claims to not like sports, and wants to be an actor in musical theatre when he grows up. He will need to change his tune real fast if that is what he wants to be.

So this was a primary case of why I generally avoid kids in grades 1-5. I find it is much harder to rationalize with kids that are that young. They generally just get whiney and difficult, which is why I tend to like dealing with the big kids. (But of course I know some people would tend to disagree and believe the opposite).

Nevertheless, once in awhile you get that one child (or a couple) that make teaching that age group worthwhile. In this case, the golden child was named Emily**. Emily was definitely the child you want in every class, granted she was one of the oldest and going into 6th grade. I told Kevin that someday when we do decide to procreate, I want a child to have her qualities.

She was always focused in every class and never wanted to take any breaks, being super eager to learn more. She always wanted to make sure she was doing things right and asked lots of intelligent questions. Emily was always optimistic and smiley, never complaining and getting along with all of the other children. (She was also just innately talented and apparently loves to dance and act.)

However, this wasn't even my favorite Emily moment for the week. There was another camp going on at the school run by other people. About 15 minutes before the end of our class a little boy who appeared to be a little confused came and stood at the doorway. Apparently, they let their children run around alone in the other camp because he was all by himself looking for the dance class that was coming in next. When he told me he was switching to dance, I said "You must be looking for the next dance class. They will be here soon."

We went on to play our freeze dance game at the end of class and during the first freeze Emily asked me if she could "unfreeze" for a moment. She came up to me and said, "That boy out there looks lonely. Can I ask him to come in and play with us?" I said "Of course!" and she proceeded to go out in the hallyway and ask him to come in and play, which he did. And that was the moment she became a little angel in my eyes, proving that little people really can still be kind towards others they don't even know.

**Names have been changed to protect the innocent - and just because I am a teacher

Happy 4th of July Weekend!

So we have been pretty busy over the holiday weekend, which is why I am just getting around to writing about our festive adventures. Our adventures started at 8:30am Friday morning when we were abruptly awoken by what sounded like 30 fire trucks outside our window.

We are in the center of historic Dundalk, which means we are also the center of town activities - such as the 4th of July Parade and the Heritage Fair. So as it happens the parade passes by our building and ends right down the block. After being awoken we gave up on sleep and went downstairs to enjoy the parade. Admittedly, it is pretty sweet when the parade comes to you and you just have to walk out your front door.

After the parade we headed down to College Park to spend the day with Kevin's friends Andrew, Mark and Brian. Kevin's friend Andrew works for a pharmaceutical company in Rockville and has to be "on call" every so often. Basically with being on call he has to be able to get to his job in 30 min in the case of an emergency; thus he was stuck at his house pretty much for the weekend (given that the traffic can really suck in DC).

We had a grand old time that day. Brian made some cheesy-garlic-y burgers on the grill and Andrew made a nice broccoli salad. Mark provided several options of beer and Smirnoff. Burgers, broccoli and booze go quite well together. Kevin and I were charged to bring entertainment, so we went to Wal-mart the night before and bought a croquet set, sparklers and fireworks. We played several rounds of croquet, while it was a French game we played in the American spirit with beers in hand. Because of the rain showers that kept descending upon us we also ended up playing a board game and watching a movie. I learned some poker, but we didn't play enough for me to really break out my new found "skillz..." (just waiting until next time).
After the movie we ended up going back out to celebrate our independence with fireworks home-school style, which was pretty enjoyable and lacked the whole having to drive and sit in traffic for hours, which was an added bonus. Overall a very splendid 4th of July Day!
Having gotten in to our apartment at the wee-hours of the morning, we decided to sleep through the hours we could have actually left our apartment to go couch shopping. You see Dundalk is quite proud of its heritage and clearly we are at the center of the heritage, where all of the classiest of Dundalk flock. Meaning that between the hours of 12p and 10p we couldn't leave our apartment without losing a parking place and having to re-park a mile away. Thus, all of our weekend outings were strategically planned for a return late, late at night.

On Saturday we decided we might as well celebrate our heritage since we were home bound and see what all the hub-bub was all about. My sister Erin and her boyfriend Kevin came out to join us at the mecca of Dundalk. I have to admit that for the $5 entry fee it was a little lackluster and we were a little under-impressed. So I have decided to include some of the highlights of the event:

1. The Fried Pepsi sign was pretty intriguing - not your usual festival food. I mean Fried Oreos were interesting enough...unfortunately, we didn't have the nerves or stomachs to buy any.
2. We watched some K-9 dog training (not actual police dogs but obedience training). It was pretty interesting actually until all of the dogs kept doing the same routine of run, jump and attack the hell out of the fake arm on the "decoy". Guess you can't teach different dogs new tricks.
3. One of my favorite events by far was the pig races. There is nothing cuter than little pink hamlets jumping hurdles. And the 6-8 week year old piglets in training definitely stole the show. (Though the "hot-dog dogs" were also a treat.)
4. The last highlight of the day was the kissing monkey. You gave him a quarter, he shook your hand and then kissed (really licked) you on the nose. Now, admittedly it was a little disconcerting that the man holding the monkey kept telling you what to do so the monkey wouldn't "play with you" or "get excited" which was probably loose terms for bite you and rip your hair out. However, Erin and I decided to trust the little dude.

Otherwise, we got some free books from a table (I found a book of plays and an introductory Italian language textbook) for our $5. The food was pretty good, but extra bang for your buck (or rather extra bucks spent). They had some decent music names, but we didn't see any. The carnival rides were a little shady, especially the haunted house with only a 6 foot wide trailer attached behind the entrance and exit. There were some arts and crafts, but nothing that really called our names to buy. So I have to say, it was good times for a day, but I think we will celebrate our heritage elsewhere next year.

Later in the evening we attended a "surprise" belated birthday for my good friend Erin in DC. (It was at 10:30p so we clearly got back in plenty of time to reclaim our valued parking space.) I was really excited to see my college friends that I hadn't seen since the wedding and was also happy to see other college friends and friends-of-friends I hadn't seen in longer. The girls in charge - Caroline, Amanda, Jessie and Jessie planned a very "Erin" tropical theme and Erin was DEFINITELY surprised (which was a large motivation as she continues to "claim" she can't be surprised). I mean who wouldn't be surprised to come home from performing all evening to find 12 people cleverly crouched in the dark in the corner of your room. And the planning of the mission was very well coordinated.

Through the evening we got to catch up. We were regaled with stories about everyone's busy theatre lives and we regaled friends with wedding and honeymoon tales. One of the definite highlights of the evening was Erin drinking rum and coke from a sand bucket (nice touch girls!) and dancing the robot in a puffy winter jacket from one of her ex-colleagues. (Wish I had a picture of that...)

The evening was great and it made me excited about hanging out and catching up with my DC buddies while I am working out there for the next 5 weeks!

Happy Belated Birthday E-Dawg!

So overall a fantastic weekend of independence, heritage, and booze! And thus I leave you with a video excerpt from our backyard fireworks extravaganza. They call this the Freedom Fountain...

Happy 6th of July! Wait a minute...

The Empty Hole in Our Living Room

So this past Wednesday, I stayed at home eagerly awaiting our new couch we bought from the Roomstore two weeks ago. We have been using our old futon as a couch for the last four months and were extremely excited about getting a brand new comfy leather couch since our futon is extremely uncomfortable. To prepare for our new couch Kevin cleared the futon out of the living room and moved it into our office.

So the delivery men arrived around 10am on Wednesday to inform me they were here with our nice new couch. After about 15 minutes or so one of the men returned to inform me that the couch could not fit in the elevator or the stairway. I went down to see and I couldn't really argue with them seeing as we hadn't measured the height of the elevator, the stairs or our doorway. However, upon measuring it later Kevin and I both agreed we thought they actually could have made it fit up the stairs, but it probably wouldn't have fit through our narrow doorway. Alas, they took our beloved couch back and we were still charged with a restocking fee and delivery fee. (And resolving the couch drama took up our evening so I didn't go get to visit with friends and see 209 Live in Fells Point, which I had been looking forward to.)
While the stairs weren't technically our fault, the doorway would have been, so I guess we have learned our lesson. So now we are in search of a new couch to fill the big empty void in our living room where our new couch should have been. We don't want to go through the hassle of moving the futon in and out again so we are stuck watching TV in the green mushroom chair or on the floor with pillows. We actually fell asleep watching TV on the floor Thursday - upon waking up with a back ache - I can say we cannot WAIT to get a new couch...

Playing Catch-up

I haven't posted a lot this week so I am going to play catch up, first of all I am going to retract two of my previous statements. We went to see Wall - e on Tuesday night. I recommend that everyone see it. As was said by the critics, "Pixar has outdone itself again." It is amazing how they can give human emotion to inanimate/non-organic objects and really make you care about them.

Anyway, in Wall-e a rubix cube is quite a predominant prop, which could account for it becoming a more popular toy I guess. Also, while we were there I saw the Star Wars poster for the upcoming animated feature. So MAYBE that accounts for the expected popularity of the toys...I know I won't be seeing it though, and I am sure there are atleast 100 million other people who won't be seeing it either...

Christmas in July

On my pleasant drive down to DC today for my meeting for my upcoming show, I was listening to my favorite station Mix 107.3 (home of Jack Diamond). I don't get to listen to it much during the school year anymore since I have to be at work so freakin' early and I also live 10 minutes away from school which doesn't leave a lot of commute listening.

Anyway, Carson (the afternoon guy) put on Christmas music and talked about how they are already advertising the most popular toys of 2008. Really? Wait until you here what they are...


1) Rubix cube
What? I mean even if you make it electronic isn't it a little outdated. I think once you have solved it with your eyes closed using your tongue and feet and put it on You Tube it kind of loses some of the glamour.

2) Indiana Jones and Star Wars toys
Okay--Indiana Jones I get, but Star Wars??? Did a new movie come out that I am not aware of (maybe it really did and I am just that oblivious). I think George Lucas is just trying to ride on the coattails. The monkeys and prairie dogs were NOT a good idea George. Bad choice...

3) The Pen that Reads Books to Your Kids
I agree with Chili Amar on this one - let's give parents even less bonding time with their kids. I mean I think there are many merits to reading to your child, even it means reading "Go Dog Go" until your blue in the face. But technology has found yet another way to bond with your child and cut out the middle man.

4) Indiana Jones Whip
Ok this is my favorite. I know it looks plush and all, but all I see is an older brother pounding the sh*t out of his younger siblings with it for fun. I am not pro corporeal punishment, but I think the parents should buy it for themselves INSTEAD to use on their kids....::Sigh:: yet another Christmas weapon to go in the stocking for fun battles Christmas morning.

You know what - I got my Christmas in July today. Working at my high school minus announcements, bells, crazy kids and slews of distribution list emails was a nice gift to me. I LOVE the quiet and peace of the halls. I did see SOME kids today though, just enough dosage to satisfy my missing them.

Ahhh, who could ask for anything more....I am satisfied until December....