What are YOU doing?

I can't tell you what I'm doing right now, but I can tell what I'm *not* doing:

Eating Nutella with a spoon.

(This one is from one of my favorite blogs- toothpastefordinner.com)

THIS IS REAL:

In related news...

Happy Saturday, Dear Reader!

Snow!

Today is my very-first-ever snow day as a teacher!

Last night, when the snow started tapering off around 8, I decided we would have to go outside to do the snow dance, in a final and desperate attempt to get out of work today.  I looked at Mr. Peaches and sharply said, "Get your shoes on.  We have to get outside."

He returned my glance with a grimace and said, "But I'm in my underwear!"

"Snow.  Dance."  I replied with gritted teeth.

We stepped outside.  The Mister in his skivvies and I in my inside out pajamas- which my students told me would do the trick- stepped onto the front porch in the freezing cold and lightly blowing snow.  Quickly, we made up a dance and went crazy.  Until the neighbors spotted us, and then we zipped inside.

They may have made fun- but I don't have to go to work today.

Worth it.

Happy January 21, Dear Reader!

*Note:  Mr. Peaches did have to go to school today.  I'm not saying it's his fault, but he did not wear his pajamas inside out.  Just sayin'.

How Do You Measure a Year

One year ago today I began my student teaching.  In honor of this, I have decided to post again my writings from that very first day.  They made me laugh and remember all of my students from that time.

Today, I was very distracted reminiscing.  On my way to school, I missed my exit to change highways.  Then, I sat at a light until someone honked at me that it was time to move.  Spacey.

One year ago today, I was desperately missing cigarettes.  I had been without them for only a month and was doing pretty well except when I was super nervous, like on my commute in to school.  I still occasionally miss my commuting cigarette, even though the smell of smokes makes me nauseous most days.

One year ago today I was so scared.  The eighth graders drove me crazy, even on that first day.  While my own eighth graders have the ability to make me want to pull my hair out of my head, they are my eighth graders.  I have a relationship with most, and have an appreciation for something about each one.

One year ago a snow day was the furthest thing from my mind.  Today, I am wearing my pajamas inside out in solidarity with my students, rooting for Mother Nature to take her toll on our city.

One year ago today, a child asked me if I was ever going to get married.  Today I am planning our wedding.

So many things have gone so perfectly in the past year- our engagement, our apartment, our puppy, our city, Mr. P's school, and my job...  And for the first time I am even living my life without waiting for the other shoe to drop, for some part of my perfection to come crashing down around me.

I'd like to insert something about Rent here, please.

Spring and rings

I owe you several posts, Dear Reader.

I owe you a finished post about The Sims and a Happy New Year, which came and went so fast I could hardly stand it.

But right now on this cold and snowy January day, there are birds outside my door chirp, chirp, chirping away like it's April.  I didn't realize how much I've missed the sounds of those little birdies.  I feel the urge to grab a new cup of coffee and take a seat in one of my favorite spots- the front porch.  Those birdies are tricky today, though, because I know that no number of blankets- or even Snuggies- can keep me as warm out there as I like to stay.

News:  Mr. Peaches and I received our wedding bands this week!

Thanks to USPS Tracking services I knew when they arrived and I raced to pick Mr. P up from school. From the moment he got into the car we began scrapping.  It was no one's fault- it just so happened that we were both grumps at the same time, which is super, super rare and by the time we picked up the rings from the mailbox and made it inside the house I thought the Ring Moment was ruined.  And if we couldn't have a nice Ring Moment, maybe Our Marriage was ruined.  Maybe we shouldn't even have a wedding at all!

Grump.

Actually, worse.  Dramatic grump.

But then we opened the package.  I tore through the paper and finally stumbled upon a little box.

When we opened that little box we found this:

And the grumpiness magically died.  We slipped the rings on to make sure they fit and voila!  Love.

The rings were purchased from etsy, my favorite wedding vendor of all time, and through a little shop called Fabuluster, which I first read about here. (Yes, a year *before* we got engaged I was reading a wedding blog.  Say something.)

Anyway, the thought of having our rings sit in a box for six more months (OMG WE ARE GETTING MARRIED IN SIX MONTHS) was devastating to me, and I decided to keep mine on.  Mr. Peaches hated this idea, so we comprised.  I'm going to be wearing it on my right hand for the next six months, showing it off to everyone.  (Here it's still on the left though, obviously.)

Also, here you can see here the beautiful engagement ring my grandfather helped us have made.  Not only did he give us his wife's beautiful diamond engagement ring, he fully supported us changing it completely into something that fit who we are.  He worked with us at every step in its creation and then, in a final act of extreme generosity, he purchased it for us as well.

We are so lucky and so excited.

The Sims- Part One

Sorry, Mario...I am not big into video games.

It seems like every year I play just a few times, and usually I play the same three or four games, which is fine because this schedule enables me to continue doing more productive things (like watching Teen Mom) and saves The Peaches some money.

The problem is that when I do play these games, I play them obsessively- for 12 straight hours and days on end.  I abandon all of my responsibilities- whether it's convenient or not, sit in a chair, and stare at a 21-inch computer monitor.  Then, just as the wave of compulsion washed over me, it washes away and I walk away a few pounds lighter (too.busy.to.eat) and find Mr. Peaches so he remembers me before it's too late.  I am very suddenly no longer interested in Mario, Europa Universalis, or Sim City.  Or in whatever other decade-old game I have suddenly remembered existed.

This week, I remembered that The Sims existed.

The Sims first debuted in 2000, and I remember playing it that year on miss sarah's computer.  Basically, it's a game where you play God, without all of that pesky "free-will" business.  You create and maintain a household and the people who live in it.  You.control.everything.  And anyone who has known me for a second knows that I love control.

All of this is well and good, and I could easily write a few blog posts on how much fun it is to decorate a virtual house that you have built, create the virtual people and the virtual personalities who live in it, and help these virtual people achieve in their careers, and even have little virtual babies if you so choose.  But I'm actually writing to ask you to let me convince you that Electronic Arts, the makers of The Sims, simplified and paralleled real life with astonishing accuracy.

True story.

Part One- Background

Okay, so once you build and furnish your house, your job as God is to keep your Sims (the people) happy.  They have a few basic needs and a status bar for each, so you can prioritize them according to severity.

• Bladder
• Hygiene
• Hunger
• Energy
• Fun
• Social
• Comfort
• Room

These needs are pretty self-explanatory: You need to tell your Sims when to use the bathroom, take a shower, eat, sleep (or drink espresso, as the case may be), and have fun.  The Sims need to make and talk to friends, and if they neglect a friendship over time, this person ceases to remain their friend.  They also don't like to be physically uncomfortable for long periods of time (they need to sit in a comfy chair or take a bath, for example).  "Room" can best be described as a measure of claustrophobia- Sims need natural light, plants, and furnishings/decor they can enjoy.

Part Two to follow- and I promise it's somehow related to Christmas.

Speaking of which, Merry Christmas to you, Dear Reader.  I hope you're having a better day than this kid (who is clearly on to something).

Cricket.

I got Cricket when I was around three years old and she was my most prized possession.

SOMEONE got rid of her.

I hope SOMEONE got really creeped out by watching this old commercial.

Pour one out for my Cricket.

The First Attempts

Maybe one of the many reasons my mother was so resistant to the idea of not having flowers is because I am not crafty.  I have tried to be crafty time and time again in my early 20s, and I chronicled a few of my cadaverous hobbies in my first post.

This is my first attempt to not use one thousand dollars worth of flowers at our wedding:

Apparently, Martha Stewart tutorials, shockingly, are easier written than done.

I quickly gave up on tissue paper poms, and started on origami.  Here is my first, second, third, fourth...etc. attempts at that.

Finally, however, ACHIEVEMENT!  I made a flower!  If I used cuter paper cut in the proportions suggested by the author, this might actually work.  Some of that scrap-booking paper is awfully cute these days.

Ladies and gentlemen, we may have found our bouquets.  

It's a Nice Day for a Flowerless Wedding

I woke up thinking about the wedding today because I recently learned my florists want $1000 for flowers.

I'll give that a second to sink in.

One thousand dollars for flowers.

Ah hem.


Anyway, I want to spend $300, which I find more than reasonable.

Look, ma, no flowers!

The costs associated with having a wedding are out of control.

"On average, couples that live in or travel to [my city] spend between 

$14,069 and $23,449 total for Average Cost."

www.costofwedding.com

I'm willing to pay some of those costs- or at least let someone else pay for them (my parents are amazing).  Food seems important and expensive, so...okay.  I can't back down on booze.  It is a must-have at any party we throw, and hell, sometimes it's a must-have at breakfast.  And if the drunk men in my family end up in a fist fight... well, the photographer better be around to capture each glorious punch.

I wrote about our Day-of Coordinator here, and our decision to spend some money to have her around.  She's super and I feel good about that decision.  We are spending as much on our cake topper as my parents did on my dress, so I am not sure what that says, except I can tell you that my cake topper is $30.

But flowers?

Flowers die, and die fast.  They look beautiful for a few hours and the next day they will die.  I have never left a wedding and said to Mr. Peaches, "Did you see those Lilies of the Valley?  The looked amazing."  (Actually, I even had to look up Lilies of the Valley because I don't know anything about flowers.)

The average cost of flowers in my city, according to that website is between $1065 and $1775.

So, I will spend my weekend looking into flower alternatives.

Screw yourself, Dear Wedding Industrial Complex.

Seriously...

Did I tell you lately that my job is amazing?

I am loving all of the new technology I am finding and cannot wait to try it out in my classroom.

Voki

Our latest proyecto

I love my job.