new video to be obsessed with

here's another song they play on Spanish radio ALL the time, so it gets stuck in my head...I think the video's weird (I don't like the idea of kids that small "dating" - perhaps it's seeing the aftermath in high school), but again, I just like the Spanish

"fall is here" cake

I watched the movie Waitress and made this cake as part of my afternoon/evening with God. In the movie she made pies based on what was happening in her life and gave them wacky titles like, "Lonely in Chicago Pie" or "I Don't Wanna Have No Baby Pie".

Well I can't bake pies...so I made a cake :)

It's my "Fall is Here Cake". It's a chocolate-spice cake with cinnamon-clove fudge chocolate frosting. Hope it's good!

Sorry the picture is crappy. My camera is MIA, so I was forced to use the computer's camera which is really poor in low lighting.

martin luther king jr.

I'm writing a recommendation letter for a student. The scholarship is for students who demonstrate the characteristics of Martin Luther King, Jr., so I thought I'd look some quotes of his to inspire my writing.

If you have never listened to any of his speeches, or read his writing - DANG. I haven't read anything as an adult, so it was rather inspiring to watch this...

my students are so cool

I'm sitting here in my classroom during my prep, utterly exhausted, but so grateful for the joy that Jesus has given me in my job.

For so long, I wanted to be an astronomer, yet loved people and felt so conflicted. Then teaching came up in college, and now I get to teach the subject I love...how God knew what he was doing with me.

This week's been awesome so I wanted to share it with you:

I started teaching two of my students at home last week, because they have injuries and need extra help. So yesterday, I went with one of my students to Eegees, we worked on geometry and history, and just bummed. It was so fun!

Then today, two of my students from last year - Eddy and Jordan - come in to my classroom. They stop by often, and to be honest, I have greatly missed my kids from last year...though I am having more fun with my students from this year...

OK so Eddy and Jordan walk in. Eddy is usually a very silly, joking guy, but he walks up all serious and says, "Miss, I was watching this special on Oprah" WHAT??? First off, that's freaking hilarious. Eddy is not the kind of guy to watch Oprah. Anyways, he continues, "and the special was all about teachers and I was thinking a lot about it, and we both (him and Jordan) had to come and tell you - you're the best teacher ever. We miss you a lot this year and we just wanted to say we really appreciate all you've done"

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW - how cute are they!!?!?!?!?!?!? How blessed am I to have my students come tell me things like that!!! I didn't know what to say, but gave them hugs, told them I was grateful, that I loved them, and that I was so proud of them. It was just such a coooool moment! :)

Amidst the first few weeks of school feeling so brutal, I finally feel like I'm not being run over by one of those cement-smoothing trucks, and it's all God. I've been asking him for help, to give me the capacity I need, to help me enjoy the kids like he does and to really see them, and he's been so gracious in providing that. I was reading a Henri Nouwen book last week about how compassion leads to joy - it seems that this week he has really been allowing me to experience that.

So thanks for all your support everybody, for your prayers and fellowship, and I feel like I should say a toast so...a virtual toast! - Here's to the God of all good and to Jesus his Son- who came, who lived the most compassionate, beautiful, and sacrificial life - thanks be to him that he was here, and that he's given us his Spirit to be here with us now, helping us to live into such a remarkable life as his.

i'll admit it

Everyone has their guilty pleasure - a terrible band that they secretly like. Ok, so I will now admit in public, for all the internet to see, that amidst all the great musicians I am proud to say I am a fan of, that I also very much enjoy listening to some of the music of Enrique Iglesias. It's true...I'll admit it.

However, while you're laughing, and before you judge to harshly - he has been awarded TONS of awards for his music and was the first artist to perform a song in Spanish on Letterman. And people all over the world love him! My cab driver in Singapore was listening to Iglesias in Spanish when he drove us to the airport :)

Now granted, I'm not a fan of the fakey-drama in his music or the EXTREME pop-ness of it. But I like the songs in Spanish and the passion in Latino music.

So here's a song by him about his jacked up relationship with his dad, which I've enjoyed listening to on repeat. "Quizas" means "Perhaps"

colgando en tus manos

i've been listening to spanish radio a lot to try and improve my language skills. this comes on a lot, so it's stuck in my head now and i thought i'd share it with you :)

i want it to look like this outside

take 2

The Tallest Man on Earth @ Congress this WED

he's freaking awesome. he was one of the few artists who was a constant soundtrack on the big roadtrip this summer.

Congress, Wed. night, $14. I'M SO STOKED!!!

tis a grande day

i woke up this morning and i was cold, actually, freezing...

i wore a jacket to school this morning (ok, it was 5:45, but still!)

i got a pumpkin spice latte :)

my kids destroyed a pinata in class and we ate candy

it was a good day at school

FALL IS COMING!!!

i heart nataliedee

oh heck yes

It was a very good day :) And here's the random list o' why -

• I found out Cristian is getting out of the hospital tomorrow - AHHHH :)
• It rained!!! Lovely enough, but then I decided to go play in the rain, like I often do, and some students joined me - two adorable sophomore girls. Then all these students kept coming up to me being all like, "You're the coolest teacher ever!" Who knew my love of precipitation would get me such street credit? :)
• One of my co-workers proposed at the football game tonight. During half-time, all the students started sitting down and you could tell they were passing around things...weird, but whatever. Then I see one of the younger teachers I know with the microphone, and as he starts talking about how he loves his girlfriend, he goes down on one knee and the kids hold up signs saying, "Will you Marry Me?" So cute!!!! She said yes :)
• To top it off I came home and watched this kinda dorky chick flick set in Minnesota, and it reminded me a lot of Indiana. A good and a bad thing...but it had Harry Connick, Jr. in it, and since I saw him in concert this summer, it was super fun to watch :)
  

coolest music "video" EVER

Another reason why I am obsessed with the Arcade Fire.

enter this into a Google Chrome window - it only works in Google Chrome, probably on a computer, not a handheld

http://www.thewildernessdowntown.com/

follow directions and SIT IN AWE