What I learned about myself at Pilates:

1. I will do anything if it is considered the "advance way" or if it will earn me "2 extra bonus points" and while you may think these points don't exist, I know exactly how many I have!

2. I don't have a "core". I don't even know what a "core" is or where you can get one.

3. I like work-out accessories and I know who has the best "mat" in the class.

4. I don't have a "core".

5. I have no sense of balance and while my Pilates-mate can balance on one toe, while reaching to the sky, lifting her back leg AND thinking thoughts of serenity, I simply fall over. 

6. I don't have a "core".

7. I am freakishly flexible. I don't know why or if it has something to do with my gnome-like extremities, but it is bizarre. 

8. I don't have a "core".

9. I am more likely to work out if I belong to a class.

10. I LOVE Pilates!

Kids say...

While I do have an entirely wonderful and full life outside of teaching, there were too many priceless teaching moments to ignore this week. One of my favorite elements of teaching is how kids phrase things... you could not script this stuff. Enjoy!

When talking about about the thunderstorm this week and how it made all of us feel, one my intensely-eager-external-processors, exclaimed, "Mrs. Cunningham! That thunder scared me right down to the bottom!" 

As I was checking this kids' fish poems this week, I found one that stood out dramatically. Students were supposed to follow a pattern of "describing" words to talk about their fish. One of my more reflective students was writing a really great poem about her fish called "Rainbow". Well, instead of writing "rainbow", she wrote "Rambo." So her poem read...

Rambo

Beautiful dancing

Spinning color

Rambo

I can see you

Hiding

Beautiful dancing

Rambo

We have been working on using "second grade" words when we talk (all that really means is better vocabulary then "good", "nice" and my favorite "cool"). Well one little boy raised his hand while we were writing the fish poems, clearly very eager to share a story with me. When I asked him what was going on, he said "Well, I wanted you to know that before I existed my parents had a fish. But for some reason when I starting existing they had to get rid of it!"

One of my more "challenging" students has a really hard time focusing. I have to "redirect him" roughly eight times an hour (the reason I know this is because I take an incredible amount of data on this child)! We were lining up for lunch on Wednesday and he was looking particularly confused. I couldn't tell what was going on, but I was curious because of the very difficult morning we had just had. So, I got down on my knees, looked him in the eye and inquired about his apparent confusion. This was our conversation...

 "Mrs. Cunningham, I can't believe it's lunch time."

"Why?" I asked in a sweet, calm teacher-voice.

"Because I didn't know I was here for all the morning time."

"Wow" I replied, trying not to think: No wonder we had such a awful morning!

And then he exclaimed with unmistakable excitement...

"I think my brain was sleeping, while my eyes were awake!!!"

I am so excited I have finally reached the weekend!

Yuck!

I was grocery shopping this morning and all of a sudden had a craving for a sandwich I ate ALL THE TIME during college. I think I invented this sandwich, having no recollection of eating it on other occasions. I loved this sandwich in college. I would crave it, make it with care, and on a good day, make an extra for one of my roommates.

So after finding the ingredients at the store, I anticipated my reunion with the sandwich all morning! I was so excited for lunch. At the first sign of hunger, I carefully made the sandwich exactly how I had perfected the recipe over the years. My excitement and hunger grew. 

I sat down, took a bite of the sandwich and savored the familiar taste. I slowly took a few more bites, continuing to enjoy my creation. 

And then much to my surprise, I had a very unfamiliar feeling. 

I wanted to throw up! I looked at the sandwich and wondered how I ever enjoyed this collision of tastes, textures, and colors between two pieces of bread. I was disgusted. 

Amazing what you think is delicious in college on a work-study budget. 

Any one else have a "in college, I used to eat..." story? 

"Oh, the things I have seen..."

Bruce and I have been looking for an apartment for a few weeks now. We have spent many a weeknight, rushing home from work to meet someone with keys to our potential home, only to find that people live in VERY different living conditions than we do. Our home isn't spotless by any means, but we do tend to be on the "tidy" side. To be messy is one thing, but we have seen some crazy stuff in people's apartments. 

Here are some my favorites:

• a framed picture of a women parting the back of her hair to show her exposed brain
• a model skeleton, standing at the foot of someone's bed
• a mosaic dinning room table tiled with 1-inch orange tiles (if you are thinking this sounds cool, it wasn't. It was scary)
• A COMPLETELY yellow kitchen
• a dining room floor covered in dry cat food... it was crunchy to say the least
• a four room apartment: one painted neon blue, one painted neon yellow, one painted neon green and one painted white
• molding PAINTED "marble" with various brush sizes and paint colors, a feature that not only covered the whole apartment, but also that the landlord referred to as real marble!

Thankfully, our search may be over considering a pending apartment application that is in process! 

One day

One day, I want to have enough time and energy to think of something like this, find people to join me and then perfect it!

Just because I think it is funny...

Charlie bit me!