Got this from Orson Scott Card's blog. He commented on it saying, "a public service announcement from England promoting seat belt use contains one of the best uses of theatrical metaphor that I have ever seen.

This ad may change the way you view seat belt use forever, by giving it an emotional context that I believe could have been conveyed in no other, and no better, way. "

- It's been Operation Freezer Burn this past week - meaning that I have to clean out the freezer before I can attempt to buy more groceries. We've been eating some good stuff! Carnitas tacos (thank you Costco for the meat), Pioneer Woman's Chicken Pot Pie (that I cooked in my new Dutch Oven!), Chicken Chili with beans/seasoning mix from the mother-in-law (and chopped green chilies...). Still on the list is black bean soup, black bean tostadas, PW's Chicken Salad (my all time favorite) , green chili stew, and burritos.

- Not a whole lot going on here. Just plodding along. Next week is spring break, but I'll make up for that by catching some extra hours at the 'Bucks. We're getting excited about Tim & Alison's wedding which is coming up in about 2 months or so! :) We'll get to travel to Pittsburgh and spend some QT with the fam.

- I'm excited about a short story I'm sharing with my American Literature class tomorrow. It is going to creep the heeblie-jeeblies right out of them. It was one of my all-time favorites from high school. If you haven't read A Rose For Emily by William Faulkner, get ready to be seriously creeped out. It's only 8 pages. READ IT.

- Speaking of reading - one of my goals this year is to read a classic or well-respected novel each month. In January, I read Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, the classic dystopian novel that tells us how bleak the future could be. In February I got a little behind. This month, Picture of Dorian Gray is my novel of choice, with a potential follow-up of Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis. I've read TWHF before, but I was a bit distracted and may/may not have skimmed. Any suggestions for April or May? Name off your favorites!

- I'm REALLY pumped about teaching To Kill a Mockingbird after spring break. All time favorite novel, right there.

Just realized I hadn't updated for 10 days. Well, I got most of that stuff done. Now I'm in the throes of the senior play. Seriously. I'm going to just write one for next year, because all the legal hoopla for this business is ANNOYING (good thing I'm married to a lawyer...).

BUT - I did find a lot of the props I needed at the dollar store (hurrah for stage productions on a budget!) and I think we'll be able to take care of the scenery pretty easily.

Dress rehearsal on TUESDAY.

I was panicking a bit because of the quality of the production, but then one of the senior moms from last year dropped by with a dvd of last year's production. I popped it into the dvd player and felt a lot better. That production felt pretty hectic/stressful/unprofessional and I had almost 3 months with the kids. This go-around, they wanted the senior play in the 3rd quarter (sounds like a football game), so I had less than 8 weeks, with only 2 days a week for rehearsal. AND most of the kiddos have never done any acting or had any type of theater experience. So honestly, for what it is, I'm feeling pretty stinkin' good. I think after Tuesday, they'll calm down a little bit and just go with it.

I am a little miffed that one of the lead roles is out of town tomorrow for a college visit. ALAS. I will have to play the romantic male lead in rehearsal tomorrow. That might result in some interesting stories.

"Dunzo" is a term I picked up from some of my Tallahassee students. Appropriate usage is as follows:

"Hey, is the trash ready to go out?"
"Yeah, it's dunzo."

or

"Man, I am so dunzo. When does my shift end?"

Feel free to work that in to your vocabulary today. Don't knock it till you've tried it.

I am so dunzo with my to-do list.

Interpret that how you wish - it could be done, or I could just be tired of it. :)

So last year, I made the mistake (on 3/14/09) of committing to a one-year handmade gift challenge. Meaning that I had a year to make gifts for 5 people who commented on my blog. So. Lauren, Sarah, Megan, Jay, and Audrey, your gifts might be a little late. We'll see how this senior play goes.