Harry and Ron Reunited!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

A couple of days ago, I found an interview online of Darren Criss saying that "There’s somebody who’s going to show up in an episode, that if people know where I come from [...] Someone’s gonna show up. It’s really great." Cue Lil Sis and I having major freakouts. We interpreted this cryptic message as someone from Starkid is going to be on Glee!!!! This is pretty much a dream come true.

Starkid is the theater group founded by Darren Criss and his college friends while they were at the University of Michigan. Together they've written and performed six musicals, A Very Potter Musical, Me and My D***, A Very Potter Sequel, Starship, Holy Musical B@tman! and A Very Potter Senior Year: A Very Pottery 3-D, all of which are wonderful with great music and hilarity.

So the speculation and rapid texts began firing between Lil Sis and I. It must clearly be one of the Starkids who re-located to LA. Could it be Joe Moses, who recently re-located to LA? Maybe, but he's not the best singer, so maybe Dylan Sauders, another semi-recent transplant, in my opinion, their best singer? But we would die if it were Joey Richter. And so the conversation ensued.

Here is the aforementioned Dylan Saunders at Leaky Con this summer right after Lil Sis and I both gave him hugs and told him how awesome the show was!!!

Today someone on tumblr posted a link to a story saying that Joey Richter 

(aka Ron from the Potter Musicals and the lead role of Bug in Starship, aka my fav Starkid after Darren) would be in the Jan. 24th episode of Glee as a member of a Glee club trying to recruit Kurt. I immediately got super duper excited. Ron and Harry, Darren and Joey Richter, best friends reunited! However, when I clicked the link to popwrapped, the organization claiming this exclusive, their website said "Coming Soon." 

So our enthusiasm is tempered as we await confirmation that is true. I certainly hope it is, but I'm trying not to get my hopes up...

Jillibean's Five Weeks to Healthier Eating

I decided not to start my 5 weeks to healthier eating until I got back from vacation, because there's really no point in starting while I'm at home eating out a lot and having so many yummy temptations around the house.

I've started my five-week program twice before. Once I got all the way to week five and then found out I'd be teaching kindergarten and all bets were off for two weeks... Then I restarted and got to about week three and then it was Parent-Teacher conference week, so again, my eating habits suffered. Here I am, ready to start again.

The way it works is each week I start a new way to eat healthier and keep going with the steps from the previous weeks. I find it's easier to follow than trying to give up everything at once :) I also like calling it healthy eating, not a diet.

Week One- No eating after dinner unless you are legitimately hungry.

Week Two- Eat healthy breakfasts (that means no muffins, donuts, etc.)

Week Three- No pop, unless you are eating out.

Week Four- No eating out during the week, unless it is a salad from Martin's.

Week Five- Have at least one fruit or veggie per meal.

It's a plan pretty specifically tailored to me and my bad eating habits, but you can make up a similar plan that's tailored to you. Clearly, I also don't mind cheating in extreme circumstances and having to start the program over :) Happy Healthy Eating!

I'm Grateful for... Baseball

Welcome back to my weekly I'm Grateful for posts. They're a great way to reflect on the week as well as remember how truly blessed I am. Today's post is about baseball. I posted this as a super long facebook status the day after the Tigers lost the World Series. I might be posting this today because yesterday's news about Field of Dreams (as well as me going through Roar of the Tigers archives) has me missing baseball something often or because I'm feeling lazy and don't want to write out a whole post, you can decide...

Some people may have read my statuses over the past month (or eight years) and thought, It’s just a game. And to some people it is. But for me and my family it is so much more.

It’s family time. Over the past season, my family has attended roughly 30 games. 30 games, that’s roughly 180 hours including drive time, game time, eating, etc. 30 games, 180 hours of laughing, talking, cheering, groaning. I can’t think of anything else my family has done 30 times in the past year. And at a time when we are flung far and wide across the state, we still found time to come together to watch the Tigers.

It’s not just time, it’s bonds forged. Baseball came into our lives at a time when we were on the verge of splitting apart, heading to college, moving out. It’s something to unite us when we needed it most. It’s something to talk about, text about. It’s a way to connect as we watch games “together” from miles apart.

It’s our baseball family. It’s Mark and Susan, the older couple who sits next to us and always asks how the grandkids are. It’s the guy with the hairy neck in front of us and trying to guess how his various guests fit into his family tree. It’s the pony-tailed guy who sits next to us, that we worried about because he wasn’t there much this year. It’s the umpire and listening to his teenage daughters’ drama and the guys from Toledo who sit behind us. It’s Susan laughing at Dad’s bad jokes, when the rest of us roll our eyes. It’s Bob, the usher, finally recognizing me without Dad. It’s Bob always trying to find extra seats in our section for family and friends. It’s a pat on the arm and saying, “Second place ain’t bad,” and “See you in April.”

It’s brought joy and hope in a time when I needed them most. It’s a homesick college freshman meeting people watching Tigers games in her dorm. It’s evenings spent watching Tigers games alone in a new town, without family for miles. It’s a stressful summer and fall, lightened by the joys of playoff baseball. It’s the fact that the three toughest autumns I can remember have been the three times in my lifetime that the Tigers have made the playoffs. And I don’t think that’s a coincidence.

It’s winning $50 from Mom for touching Magglio’s hair. It’s Dad pushing through a crowd of people so that we can get a picture with Brandon Inge and then telling him the camera didn’t work so we can take another. It’s spring training trips to Florida with brother and sisters. It’s cheering in a crowded restaurant when Magglio hit that homerun. It’s watching Donnie Kelly be the hero in the playoffs, hitting a walk-off sacrifice fly. It’s Rick Porcello saying he hopes he doesn’t pitch in the World Series, because he wants our starters to do a great job. It’s jumping up and down and screaming with 42,000 of your closest friends.

It’s more than a game, it’s a huge part of my life. It’s a piece of my heart.

Excuse me while I grab some tissues and look up how many days it is until Opening Day.

P.S. It's 86.

Is Nothing Sacred?

This morning I saw this article posted on Facebook by the Field of Dreams page http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/wade-boggs-buys-piece-field-dreams-plans-develop-212343823--mlb.html

I will admit that as I got to the end of the article there were tears in my eyes. I've previously chronicled the love my family and I have for Field of Dreams, the movie and the place. We had a seriously magical time there. The sky was blue, the grass was green, the field was beautiful and the corn was tall.

We played a pick-up game of baseball,

 had a catch in the outfield,

 disappeared into the corn,

 pretended to fall off the bleachers like Karen

 and just soaked up the perfect atmosphere.

At that time, there were two small souvenir stands, run by two different people/organizations that owned the land. Now it has been bought and they are planning to build a multi-million dollar baseball and softball complex on the sight.

So much of the charm of the Field of Dreams was the simplicity and the innocence of it. Besides the two souvenir stands, it looked just as it did the movies. It hadn't been built up or changed. There was the farmhouse, the field and a dirt parking lot. Now it will be built up with 24 fields and a sixty-team clubhouse. It just won't be the same. People will bustling all around, they'll have to put in parking lots and porta-potties and concession stands. Will they plow through the corn to build all of these fields? That would be a tragedy.

Strangers joined in a pick-up game. Nothing was scheduled or organized by anyone, it was simply people joining together. People took it easy on the little kids, letting them get "hits" and beat out throws. Now it's going to be organized baseball tournaments, with parents yelling at umpires and little kids striking out.

I read a comment about the article on Facebook, which basically said that what they're doing, "is exactly the opposite of what this movie is about. It's called a Field of Dreams, not a field of player development." People will come, but not because they love the movie and want to enjoy the beauty of the field and make their own family memories. They'll come to win and that's not the same at all.

I don't know if there is anything that can be done about it, but I sure hope someone can stop them. There's a Facebook page out there called, "Save the Field of Dreams." I "liked" it, but then looking at the pictures just made me sad.

2012 in a Nutshell

Soooooooooo... Long time,  no blog. To be honest I haven't even thought about my blog in months. Life got busy in 2012 and my time was being taken up by many things. But over the holidays a family member asked if I was still blogging, which made me head on over and check out some of my old posts. I like looking back and having this blog as a sort of chronicle of major events and musings of my life. So, here I am, back and hopefully I'll stick with it this time ;)

Here is a rundown of 2012 (during which I didn't post even a single blog...)
- Went with Lil Sis to New York for 2 days in January. We stood in lines in the freezing cold a lot, but enjoyed riding the Ferris Wheel in the giant Toys R Us, seeing Sister Act on Broadway, seeing the Statue of Liberty and the 9/11 memorial, shopping in Times Square and of course the reason for our visit- the Broadway debut of our favoritest favorite Warbler Darren Criss in How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying. It was truly an adventure and I am so very grateful that Lil Sis was able to convince me to go.

-Finished my first year of teaching! I got to attend a teaching conference with one of my teaching partners and we had a blast road-tripping, eating out and hanging out together outside of school.

- Found out that Big Sis and Bro-in-Law were expecting again! A little boy, who was born in August and dubbed Lil C. He is an adorable little guy, just like his big sister.

- Lil sis got engaged!!! I have not chosen a blog nickname for him yet, but I will think on it. I am so very excited for them and to be a part of their special day next July!!

-Spent the summer in employment limbo, which is a long story, but ended well with me back at the same district.

- Tutored some of my former kiddos over the summer and spent as much time as possible at the beach!

- Went to Florida with Momma, Daddy and Lil Sis. We spent four whirlwind days at Disney World and one magical day at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. It was a fantabulous trip!!

- Spent 2 weeks learning to become a kindergarten teacher. Fell in love with both the colleagues at my new school and my 23 little sweetie pies.

- Watched the Tigers win the Central Division for the second year in a row. Made it to as many playoff games as humanly possible, including the incredible game when we won the ALCS and became American League Champs. It was a super special moment that Momma, Daddy, Lil Sis and I shared together.

- Went to my first ever World Series game! Which we lost, meaning we lost the Series, but Lil Sis and her fiance and I tried to focus on the amazing fact that we were witnessing the World Series!!

- Attended my Grandma C's 90th birthday party. There were roughly 75 people there and it was truly a tribute to her and the beautiful family she and Papa created.

- Became StarKid fans. Lil Sis and I have  been fans of A Very Potter Musical for years, but this year our Starkid love (fueled by our love for D-Criss) hit new highs. We attended Apocalyptour in May, had a truly amazing experience at Leaky Con in Chicago in August watching all of the old gang (including Darren) in A Very Potter Senior Year, the conclusion to their Harry Potter trilogy, spent way too much money on powder blue sweatbands, t-shirts, CDs and DVDs, etc. and way too much (or just enough) time watching their shows/livestream chats and listening to their awesome music!

That's 2012 in a nutshell. I may try to go back and post a longer blog about some of these events, but for now this will suffice to sum up the year :)

Crossed

Beware, many spoilers lie ahead :)

I have been reading soooooo much lately and I love it. School had gotten me so busy (which I'm not complaining about :) But I hadn't had much chance to read and my life was missing some good, solid reading time :)

After finishing The Power of Six I read a few books that I bought at the Scholastic Warehouse Book Sale (Prom and Prejudice, Julia Gillian and Gregor the Overlander).

Then I got Matched and Crossed for Christmas and they were the next on my to read/re-read list. I read Matched awhile ago and loved it. I loved it again re-reading. I read most of it on the car ride to visit Big Sis, Bro-in-Law and Lil E. Lil Sis wants to read them after I'm done and I made some comment about how I hadn't chosen a team yet. I remember reading it the first time and liking Xander, but I hadn't committed yet. I think part of it was that I felt I was being led to believe she would end up with Ky, and after having my heart broken by Cassandra Clare enough times, I didn't want to chose the "wrong" guy.

Upon second reading, I still wasn't sure, but was leaning towards Xander. After reading Crossed, I'm pretty firmly entrenched on Team Xander, though I did come to appreciate both guys more while reading Crossed.

I didn't mind the alternating perspectives of Crossed. I liked getting insight into Ky and his feelings for Cassia. I liked getting more of his history and knowing where he was coming from. Although I agree with some reviewers that at times I would be reading and couldn't remember which character was narrating. Especially when they were together, I'd have to check to see if the narrator was mentioning Cassia or Ky, so know that the other one was speaking.

I worry that The Rising is going to be like District 13 from the Hunger Games. The people of the Rising seem to be as controlling as the Society members. After arriving they immediately decide where Ky, Indie and Cassia will be most useful and send them there. Sounds a lot like the Society deciding careers for the citizens. I have a feeling that the Rising is not going to be the happy solution Cassia hopes it will be.

For some reason, I didn't that Xander's secret, that he was part of the Rising, was that shocking. Maybe because I love Xander, I always expected him to be on the "right" side, but it wasn't surprising to me. It made me love him more, though.

I hated how Ky was so easily going to leave Cassia and let her go off to the Rising without him. I understand that he couldn't trust the Rising and he had past dealings with them that were catastrophic. But this girl has just left civilization, risked everything in her life, her family, her friends, Xander, her career, her civilian status, her life!! to find you and be with you. And after being reunited for only days (weeks? I lost track of time) you're willing to give her up? I couldn't believe that he would separate from her so willingly after she sacrificed everything for him? Sign me up for Team Xander. I know that he ended up following her, but that hesitation too much for me to overlook.

Plus, I loved what Xander has risked for her and that he was still supporting and loving her even after she'd turned her affections to Ky. He saved the compass, even though it wasn't even hers, but Ky's. He somehow managed to get her blue tablets and put messages in them for her. He convinced the Officials to let him visit her while she was at the work camp, he sent her messages even when she'd chosen Ky, he chatted up the officer so she could make a trade with the Archivist. Basically I love me some Xander, but I understand the love for Ky, but I can't get over his momentary abandonment.

Major Questions I have left: Who was the last chapter about? Ky or Xander? Upon first reading I assumed it was Ky she was going to meet. But then I thought about it and wondered if it might be Xander. I re-read it and it doesn't mention a name or any info that would give it away. It seems more plausible that Xander would be able to meet her, since they're both in Central. Both of them are in the Rising, so really it could be either...

Who is the Enemy? Is it the Rising? I hope not, since they've killed so many innocent civilians. Is it some entity we don't know about yet? Society killing off those they deem undesirable? The farmers?

Who put Ky's name in the Matching system? I'm leaning towards either Ky or Xander, but there seem to be more clues pointing to Ky.

Memorable Quotations:
"Because in the end you can't always choose what to keep. You can only choose how you let it go."

"If you love someone, if someone loved you, if they taught you to write and made it so you could speak, how can you do nothing at all? You might as well take their words out of the dirt and try to snatch them from the wind.

Because once you love, it is gone. You love and you cannot call it back.

Ky is heavy in my mind, deep in my heart, his palms warm on my empty hands. I have to try to find him. Loving him gave me wings and all my work has given me the strength to move them."

"I don't fool myself that I hold her together-- she does that on her own-- but holding her keeps me from flying apart."

"Does loving someone mean you want them to be safe? Or that you want them to be able to choose?"

"I love Ky. But I don't understand him. He won't let me reach him. I have made mistakes, too, I know it, but I am tired of chasing him through canyons and out onto plains and stretching out my hand only to have him take it some times and not others."

"Love changes what is probable and makes unlikely things possible."

"When you first love, you look blind and you see it all as the glorious beloved whole, or a beautiful sum of beautiful parts. But when you see the one you love as pieces, as whys--why he walk like this, why he closes his eyes like that-- you can love those parts, too, and it's a love at once more complicated and more complete."

The Power of Six

Wow, has it really been since September 26 since I've posted? Life (i.e. teaching) has been crazy busy!! But I'm going to try to make some more time to post.

Last night around 2:00am I finished The Power of Six, the sequel to I Am Number Four. I bought this book months ago and just now got around to reading it. I knew that I needed to re-read I am Number Four before reading it and I just didn't have the motivation. I contemplated just watching the movie, but I wasn't too enthusiastic. I think I was remembering the movie and not the book.

Because when I re-read #4 I couldn't put it down! It is such, such, such a good book! I'm glad I didn't just watch the movie.

I started The Power of Six maybe three days ago. Even after a long week at school and it being a Friday night, I just had to finish last night, I couldn't put it down. Ir was sooooooooo good. I laughed and cried and wanted to beat people up. If you don't want to be spoiled, don't keep reading.

At first I wasn't sure I liked switching between 4 and 6 together and 7(?) off in Spain. But after some time to get to know Marina I really liked her. When her Cepan died, I bawled. I really did come to care about them.

Let's talk about when 4 went to meet Sarah. First of all bad idea, how can you leave 6 fighting Mogs and just decide to go see Sarah. I was kind of bummed when all book 4 was thinking about 6 and wanting to be with her. In the first book, he was totally in love with Sarah and I didn't like that as soon as they were apart, he basically forgot about her.

But, then she was being a complete jerk. First I was super mad at her for pressuring him to turn himself in and be with her. I thought it was totally out of character for her to care more about getting what she wanted instead of him saving the world...

And then she went and turned him in. WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?!?! I was shocked and appalled and freaking out at her. I could not believe it.

As I'm typing I'm considering that maybe she was trying to convince him to turn himself in, so she didn't have to do it, but still? Not OK. If she really loves him like she did in the first book, she wouldn't have done that. period.

I also couldn't believe that 4 left Sam behind in the Mogs' cave. He's basically a helpless human and you are an extremely powerful alien, just grab him and drag him out of there! I was not happy with 4.

Despite all of that, I thought it was an awesome book!! I loved meeting more of the Lorian and finding out about what happened to the second ship. I loved the emotions and even that it made me mad, because that means I was emotionally invested :)

Teacher Fashion

A few more teacher fashion shots :)
Brown and white dress from Fashion Bug. Magenta tank from Target. Brown wedges from Payless. A gold treble clef necklace with gold hoop earrings.


I actually wore this outfit to church, not school, but that's OK. It is just a plain light blue cami, gray dress from I think T.J. Maxx and a purple cardigan. In the pic I'm wearing two different shoes because I was trying to decide which ones to wear. I went with the blue ones, because I don't get to wear them as often... I wore a silver heart and cool stone pendant together on one silver chain. The heart is from Big Sis's wedding and I got the stone pendant from an etsy shop.




This was a really cute outfit, but I couldn't get a good pic. It was already too dark outside and the lighting wasn't right. It was a purple button-up shirt from some outlet mall. Brown suit pants. Brown plaid shoes. A Bronzey long necklace and this really cute purple and brown plaid flower headband that I just bought this weekend.





I wasn't so jazzed about this outfit when I put it on, but it grew on me. The plaid pants are from Steve and Barry's. The top is from Kohl's (Thanks to the former resident of my apartment who has Kohl's ads/$10 off cards sent in the mail...)I love the way it's tucked and woven and stuff. Hence the shot of that part. The gray tank is from Target. I wore it with some little gray peep-toe shoes. I had a silver and gold flower necklace and some silver hoop earrings.

Grateful for... My Job

I am hoping to get back into the swing of doing an "I'm Grateful for..." post every Friday. I am so incredibly blessed in my life and I think it's so important to always remember that! Plus they're fun.

This week I am so fantastically grateful for my job. I am truly, truly blessed to be in the position that I am. The teaching market is so tough right now and I am incredibly grateful that I got this job. God definitely had a plan for me and wanted me in this job and he made it happen. I am so thankful that God has a plan for my life and that he is guiding me to where he wants me to be!

I am so grateful that I applied for a 1/2 time preschool teaching job in the district I'm working now. I'm grateful that I got called for my very first teaching interview for that job. I am grateful that my friend D drove over here with me the night before, stayed in a hotel and went to the beach with me after the interview. I am grateful that the interview went well and they were impressed with me. I am grateful that I didn't get the job because I didn't have my ZA endorsement.

I am grateful that they passed my name on to a principal with a third grade opening. I am grateful that I got called for an interview for that job as well. I am grateful that I was pulled out of the pile because of my previous interview. I am grateful that I traveled back over here for a second interview. I am grateful my second interview went well.

I am grateful for the craziness that ensued when they tried to contact my reference who was just arriving home from Alaska. I am grateful that they offered me the position. I am grateful that I accepted.

I am so grateful for this amazing journey the last month and a half has been! I am grateful for my co-workers who have been so incredibly supportive and helpful during my first few weeks. I am grateful for my students and the smiles and notes they give me. I am grateful every time I want to complain, I am grateful for every paper I correct, every student I ask to stop talking, for every smile, every tear (mine and theirs :), every Band-Aid I hand out, I am grateful for every bulletin board I put up, every poster I tape and re-tape a million times, because I am so so grateful for this opportunity.

But most of all I am grateful for God's plan for my life.

The Sing-Off

I'm excited that the Sing-Off is on as a regular fall show instead of a month-long special around Christmas. I'm bummed that it is on at the same time as Dancing with the Stars. However, I'm DVRing it and catching up on Wednesdays when nothing else is on :)

I love the Sing-Off; it's so much fun. I love, love, love how all of the groups have color-coordinating outfits, but they don't match, it's not like they're wearing the exact same thing, but they all wear the same color in different styles. I love seeing how everyone wears the colors in different ways.



I also love the judges and host. Nich Lachey can be awkward and super cheesy with the musical puns, but he's infinitely likeable despite that :) I've already confessed my nerd love for Ben Folds And I like the guy from Boys to Men too. I am sooooooooooo glad that Nicole Scherziwhatshername decided to defect to the X-Factor for two reasons. 1) I'm not watching the X-Factor 2)Now she can't be on the Sing-Off. I like Sara Bareilles much, much more. She seems so fun and real, at least through the first episode. I like how she made comments about how bad her note-taking was (when one of her notes was, You're all so good-looking.) Hopefully she keeps it up the whole season.

Umm I also love their names. They are so clever. My fav. name this season was The Cat's Pajamas. I was very sad when they got kicked out the first week :( In fact there were four groups I really liked and two were the two that got kicked off (The Cat's Pajamas and the one with the 8 siblings).

So my two favs are Vocal Point the Mormon guys group (please love with me the fact that they changed it from "looking for a can of ale" to "looking for a can of ginger ale" :) and the Yellow Jackets. Although there are still another whole group of eight that haven't sung yet.

I'm looking forward to a season full of color coordinated, high energy fun!