hehehe.

Observations from the Republican Debate

1. Politics in our country are headed in a terrible, terrible place.
2. Michelle Bachman is off her rocker. She is comparing 12 year old girls who are forced to get a government ordered vaccination to Obama signing a bill for health companies to offer birth control for free. Not even close to being the same.
3. The kids in the audience look bored out of their minds.
4. Ron Paul is a straight shooter.
5. Anyone wanting to be the president is out of their mind.
6. Rick Perry is a bully and I don't like him.
7. Mitt Romney looks like a president.
8. Give Obama a few more years. I have faith in him.
9. People listen when Ron Paul talks.
10. As a female, I don't think we need a woman president. Though I fully believe a woman has what it takes, she will never gain the respect of the rest of the male leaders around the world. I would fear for our future with a female president in this day and age.
11. Are we a melting pot or a salad bowl? I'm confused.
12. Question: How will you attract the Latino vote? Answer: This is our country and illegal immigrants do not belong here. English is the official language. W.T.F.???????
13. They are trying to use big words and are doing so incorrectly. Example: beneficits?
14. Let's have a swinging match and see who comes out on top. That is our president.
15. We need captions. I don't know who half these people are.
16. I can't take this any more. Must. Stop. Watching.
17. Where are the questions on education? Those I actually care about.
18. Yep, I'm a liberal. The end.

Mmm he's so sexy! I just can't get enough. This was a few days ago. I'm excited Brand New is touring, but they just announced a string of shows in the UK. COME TO THE MIDWEST!!!!! The things I'd do to see this man...........

P.S. You know on Friends how they have "lists" of people they are allowed to sleep with and the boyfriend can't get mad? Kevin and I have the same sort of "lists." Jesse Lacey is #1. And 2. And 3. And 4........

For My Dad

I feel like I should say some words in remembrance of 9/11. However, I feel like it's becoming the "thing to do" on Facebook, and the sentiment is being lost among the generic reposts.

Instead, I want to say something that really means something to me. My dad is a volunteer firefighter and I couldn't be more proud. I used to worry when he was called out to a fire call when I was younger. When he would speed off at night after the scanner went off, I used to lie awake until I heard him come back. When we were little, I remember my mom used to hate it when my dad was called out on storm watch to look for tornadoes to sound the siren. She was left at home with 4 little kids by herself. I am fortunate nothing has ever happened to him or anyone else on the department, since I can remember anyway. I am so proud of my dad for being a volunteer firefighter. I hope he never has to experience a tragedy like the fire fighters of NYC did. I know he has seen some awful things in his time.

I think about one instance every time I think of my dad being a fire fighter. It happened when he responded to an ultra-light accident involving one of his best friends, Richmond, and fellow fire fighter. He ended up losing his life in the accident. I remember my dad coming home that night and not being able to come in the house. I remember his friend's daughter pulling my dad aside and asking him if her dad suffered in the wreck, or died instantly.

A few years before that, I remember an instance involving Richmond. A few friends of mine (Rich's daughter included) were in a car accident by my house. I was the first to discover the car, which had flipped end over end 3 times. I called 911, and the driver called his mom with my phone, who worked with my mom. When my mom discovered the call came from me, she panicked that I had been hurt in the accident, badly enough to not be able to call myself. Upon arriving on the scene, my dad thought I was involved in the accident. I can't imagine his relief when he realized it wasn't me. I remember Rich walking upon the scene, realizing his daughter was actually in the accident. Everyone ended up making a recovery.

Today, I am thinking of the fire fighters and their families, as well as the many victims. I am honoring my own dad for the sacrifices he has made. I am so proud of him.

I have been wondering about all the statuses about "where I was" when they found out the news. I don't know if this is really relevant to "remembering 9/11." However, I know 9/11 affected each person differently. So, I will share where I was.

I was in 7th grade science class, about to dissect something. One of the special education teachers came in to tell us there had been a "terrorist attack" in New York City. She said 2 planes crashed into the WTCs. She said we would never forget where we were when we heard. (This makes me wonder if I would have forgotten had she not said that.) At the time, I had no idea what a terrorist attack was. This was the first I had ever heard of it. I didn't know what the WTCs were, either. I remember going home and watching TV all night. I called my mom after school to ask if she had heard, obviously being very ignorant at the significance.

Sorry for the rambling. I wanted to say a few words in remembrance.

Polka Dot Nails

I used to bite my nails all my life. I know, gross. My mom claims one of my first words was "hangnail" although I don't believe her. I stopped biting them in spurts but I finally quit for good in high school/college. I still do it a bit when I'm stressed out, but I have figured out that I don't mess with them when they're painted. Alas! Here is the current polish status of my non-bitten nails.

Here was my inspiration (found on Pinterest!)

And here's how it turned out.

The picture from iPhoto is a little blurry. My nails are also a little sloppier but practice makes perfect, eh! I know my polish isn't probably the highest quality-- I buy whatever's on sale at Wal Mart and the occasional bottle at Forever 21 if I need to match a dress.

I know the little girlies in my class tomorrow are gonna be lovin' it up!

Men's Shirts and Relgion

This is amazing. I think I would need a bigger shirt, however. I have a little more boobs and butt than the model here.

Also, you should all be on Pinterest. Seriously. Well, don't do it if you have stuff to do. It's extremely distracting. Follow my boards and I'll follow you! We can get distracted together.

On a more serious note, I am very bothered and would like to vent my frustrations. My aunt told me tonight about my cousin's experience at a team dinner for football that included all the players and cheerleaders. This is at a large, diverse, PUBLIC school in the Des Moines area. She said the coach asked everyone to bow their heads to pray before the meal. Another instance of religion in public education with my other cousin: The coaches passed out "good luck" notes with biblical verses written on them as motivation for their XC meet. My aunt and her family have a very strong Christian faith and that is great and has gotten them through some terrible times. She loved that the coaches did that, as any Christian family would. She was curious if I learned anything about what to do and what not to do in terms of religion and school.

I would NEVER do that. I guarantee there was at least one student in each instance who was very offended. The school district is affluent with middle to upper socioeconomic status. There are over 50 languages spoken as well. When I mentioned this to my aunt, she said it was the students' choice of whether or not they wanted to pray. Yes, it may be their choice to conform and pray or refrain and feel like an outcast. I was "raised" Catholic (I went to CCD, church on Easter and Christmas, was confirmed, etc.) and would now consider myself a skeptical atheist. Even as someone with Christian roots, I would be incredibly offended in that situation.

Long story short, no, UNI did not teach us it was OK to use religion in a public school. I'm wondering what kind of rules and/or laws are being broken here. It breaks my heart for the kids who are put into this situation. On a related note, during the pledge of allegiance at school today, one student asked me why we said the pledge and I had a hard time answering. I first praised the student for bringing up this question and questioning norms. In the end, I said it's a way to thank your country for giving us a free place to live and sending us to school so we can learn. He was happy with that answer. :)

New Hair

Hope everyone had a good Labor Day weekend! Friday Kevin and I stayed in and continued our conquest of watching the Lost seasons. After much convincing he finally persuaded me to watch the first season. I must say, I'm hooked! I wouldn't recommend doing this while student teaching, however. We are only watching about 3-4 episodes a week since I'm so busy! Saturday we headed home to visit the family. We cameback last night. We attempted to go to an iCubs game today but it was sold out. Instead, we had a few drinks and appetizers at Mullets downtown. Then, I headed home to enjoy the nice weather on the deck and do some crafting. As time has slipped by, I haven't gotten much accomplished and my TWS and this week's lesson plans are weighing heavily on my mind. I just don't want to do anything :( It's one of those days.

I did color my hair while I was home, however! It's red! I have been progressing slowing toward red through my last few dyes, and this time I took the plunge. The inspiration for dying my hair came from Elycia and her blue/purple hair! Isn't it AWESOME?!

Don't worry, I didn't do anything that drastic. But, if I didn't live in Iowa and wasn't a teacher, you better believe my hair would be blue and purple at this very moment. Usually I'm brown with red but now I'm red with brown :). I got it in a box at Wal Mart and my mom put it on for me. I dyed it Feria Auburn Brown. See below. I wanted to share pictures but I can't for the life of me get it to photograph well! I tried my camera and iPhoto on my computer. Oh well. Imagine this but brighter.

[Note: Box looks redder in real life]

Kevin thinks it's not a very "professional" hair color, which makes me a little nervous. It kind of looks outside the realm of natural hair colors, but it's not that outrageous. Should I be nervous? Maybe I'll dye it brown come interview time.

Here are the pictures of my hair in real life. I tried indoor light, direct sunlight, shade, everything! Shade worked the best. I guess if it means that much to you, you'll have to come visit to see it in real life.

The last one is depicting my frustration that I can't get a decent picture to look RED! Gahhh! I feel like after all that hype you are thinking that I'm nuts and you don't even notice a difference. :( Trust me, it's different!! Ok, time to move on. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!