Oops.

So, I kinda forgot to post here. I blame the dog. He's quite distracting and doesn't like to let me get any work done.
Well, the school year is done and overall it went quite well. Being on a non continuing contract, I don't have a position next year, although I do have hope. I have gotten good vibes from my principal, a good review from my asst. principal, and a friend of mine will be on the interview committee. I really hope to be back there next year - it's a great school with great people and the population I want to work with.
I'm heading back to NYC from July 15th to August 6th. We're going to try to do some wedding stuff while I'm out there since I won't be back until next June at this point. Thank god I have Jenna to help me out! Auditioning the band, eating the food, and trying on dresses - it's going to be a full schedule. Also, Poconos V will be right in the middle of the trip - it's going to be crazy!

Riley Vs. His Bed

And here we have Riley learning to pull his bed out of his kennel so he can attack it thoroughly. Watch out bed, you may have met your match!

Riley the Ferocious Part Two

One of Riley's favorite toys is the evil red laundry bag. It's really just an old laundry bag of mine with a hole in it, stuffed with shredded paper, and tied in a knot. He loves the stupid thing and it's hysterical when he decides to drag the thing across the floor, especially when he ends up walking on it!

Another Welcome . . . to the cutest doggie ever!!

We have a new friend living with us as of last night! His name is Riley and he's just about the cutest little puppy ever! He's 10 weeks old, part Bichon, part Shih tzu, and has a beautiful mix of white, brown, and black hair. He loves to snuggle and attack his little red squeaky toy. He's also an excellent napper. I'm so in love with this little guy! Here's a video of him and the red toy!

We took Riley to PetSmart today - we can't let him down on the ground because he's still susceptible to the puppy virus, which he can pick up in places with a lot of other dogs. He didn't quite know what to think of the whole thing. He was really scared at first and kept trying to crawl up into my hair to hide. After a little bit, he started to relax and look around him. He especially liked seeing the other dogs. Growing up at a breeders, he's used to other dogs around. He wasn't sure what to think of the two women who fawned over him. At that point, mom was carrying him and he was hiding in her jacket a bit. He then fell asleep in my lap on the way home.

Welcome Young One!

Eric and Kirsten has their baby! Little Chase Nicholas was born on Saturday (2/16), is 7 lbs, 12 oz. and 22" long. He looks like a cutie! He also kinda looks like a grumpy old man! I guess I'm an aunt now. I'm a slacker - Mandy is engaged and Eric's a Dad. Hmm. Whatever - I'll get there in my own time.

Top 5 Baseball Movies

Every year around this time, two things happen. First, I start yearning to get into the garden and plant, even though the ground is still mostly frozen. At least this year, the growing season will start earlier! The second thing is I start getting excited about the upcoming baseball season.

I always miss watching the game when the Word Series finishes, but after a long summer and exciting fall, I'm okay with break. We get into the holidays and sports are far from my mind. Then come January. There is nothing to recommend January. About this time of year, there's a flurry of activity among the teams - trades, fan activities, and the talk of spring training. However, the actual season won't start until the very last days of March. So, to get myself through this troubling time, I have a few go-to baseball movies that I watch yearly. In my entirely biased opinion, the list is below...

5. Eight Men Out - A great cast in this one, it's about the players who threw the 1919 World Series. I love John Cusack in most anything he's in, so that's a bonus, but this is a cool story about one of those ultimate baseball stories.




4. Field of Dreams - "If you build it, he will come!" I grew up watching this movie, but it never gets old. It's about a guy who hears voices and is urged to build a baseball field in the middle of his corn field. In doing so, the men from the 1919 Chicago White Sox (see previous entry) get to play again and eventually, he get to meet his dad, whom he never had a good relationship with. Kevin Costner, James Earl Jones, and that guy from West Wing. :-)


3. Fever Pitch - I'm not a Red Sox fan, but this movie transcends one team. It's just lucky that it happened to be the year that the Sox won the Series for the first time in 86 years. Plus, cute little story and I am a Drew Barrymore fan. Based on a Nick Hornsby novel inwhich the sport was originally soccer. The 1997 British movie stars Colin Firth.


2. The Rookie - A heartwarming story about an older guy who, after a bet with the high school team he coaches, tried out for the majors and makes it. It's a great story, made even better by the fact that it's based on a true story.




1. A League of Their Own - Yeah, I know it's a girls movie, but hey, I'm a girl! Plus, it's got Geena Davis and Tom Hanks, Rosie O'Donnell before she went bonkers and Madonna in a role that seemed a little too easy for her to play. I don't know how many times I've used the line, "There's no crying in baseball!"

There are some other great ones out there that I love to watch - The Natural, Mr. Baseball, and Mr. 3000, which makes me laugh every time Bernie Mac sings the Mr. Softie song. But, these are the five that I need until that first pitch at Safeco on March 31st.

A Good Loss

At the urging of my mother, I joined Weight Watchers Online with her a few weeks ago. I've known people who had really good results with WW, but I was a bit skeptical. Well, here I am, moving toward the end of my second full week and I'm down about five pounds. The clubhouse opened up last weekend and I've been in there twice this week, taking a brisk walk on the treadmill while listening to my audiobook. This seems to be going well so far, but we'll see on Monday, weekly weigh-in day. Woot 5 lbs! Only 25-30 more to go (when did I gain so much??)!