Can You Write A Complete Sentence?

This week I returned to the fine educational institution that I work at. On day three, I got my first entry for The Superfreak Experiences of Room 208 notebook that a co-worker and I keep. You see, I was doing a writing lesson with my third graders that focused on writing complete sentences. We talked about how all sentences need a verb and a subject. We then moved on to adding when, where and how words to our sentences. The writing program my district uses required me to use the following picture while teaching the lesson.

Here's the first sentence one of the boys offered up......The man is making love to the woman on the bench.

Trying Something New

I started this summer with the thought that I would make myself try some new things. Not life altering things, just little things that I had never done before. So it began with kayaking...

Loved it and have been again since the start of summer. I might have to buy a kayak just so I can say I own a boat! Then I moved on to tennis...

Short lived experience with only one lesson under my belt. Then there was this...

Yes, this is me holding a real live starfish. To most this may not seem like a big deal. But you see, I'm not a fan of the unexpected. And me, holding any kind of live animal brings on a whole lot of unexpectedness. Thanks to E Squared #2 for taking this last photo. He shot three pictures and missed my head in all of them! Nonetheless, I still know it's me holding that slimy creature. :)

Do You Believe In Signs?

A friend of mine is a firm believer in signs. You know the kind where if one thing happens it's believed to mean something specific or it's possibly related to a thought you've had. I myself need something a little more concrete...something I can hold or touch. That's why when I saw this sign I was able to throw all my faith behind it. It was hanging on the door of a shop located on my favorite island.Now I don't have a husband. But I can tell you that if I ever do I'll be going back to buy this sign, because it's one I can definitely believe in!

Leave Your Shoes At The Door

This week Mamasita and I decided to go on a little roadtrip with E Squared. We ended up in a quaint little seaside town out on Cape Cod. While exploring we happened upon a magnificant beach and decided we had to check it out. There were many stairs to face before reaching the sand, but we happily began the trek down. Here's what faced us at the bottom:
Shoes all over the place! All kinds, sizes and colors. I myself was quite perplexed, having never seen anything quite like this. Wouldn't you just leave them by your blanket? Immediately I began questioning why there were hundreds of pairs of shoes just lying at the bottom of the stairs. Mamasita's response was, "I guess you can't wear shoes on the beach. We better leave ours." Oh no sista....I've seen the episode of Sex and The City where Carrie leaves her shoes at the door, and they weren't there when she went to leave! So this beachgoer happily carried hers so she could feel the sand beneath her toes...

A Scene Out Of Baywatch

Okay kids, you need to listen when the beach manager is making announcements that request you swim only ankle or waist deep. I assure you, he's doing it for a legitimate reason! When you don't listen, I can't relax and enjoy the sand beneath my toes at my favorite beach. I keep getting interrupted by the sound of the 3 shrill whistle blows from the lifeguard at chair #7.(Three whistle blows signals swimmer in distress.) Today it happened FOUR times within a half hour. Know your limits and respect the ocean...

Life Lessons From Mayer

Who knew I'd leave a John Mayer concert with a new perspective on things.....

You see, I dread Sundays with an anxiety that begins somewhere around mid-afternoon on Saturday. I just don't like that day before Monday. That day that I feel like is consumed with uncomfortable anticipation of all that goes on in a work week. Even during the summer, when I don't have to work, I occasionally get those pangs of uneasiness. So when Mr. Mayer made specific mention of Sundays while bantering between songs, my ears perked up. I don't remember what his exact words were, but it went something like this: You need to live life to the fullest every day. Living moment to moment and getting joy out of even the smallest things should be a priority. And that can be enough. If you're always trying to find happiness in the infinite there's a pretty good chance it won't happen. The infinite is just too big.

So here I go...off to embrace a Sunday.

Island Religion

Lissfull recently did a blog about having the perfect thing to say at the perfect time, and then actually saying it. I agree that this does not happen very often, but when it does there can be some doozies! I've got one to share and unfortunately I can't take credit for saying it. It happened yesterday while enjoying a fabulous day on Block Island. The group I was with got invited back to a rental house for dinner, which is a very rare occurrence in itself. Our hostess brought out some treats for us to snack on. Here is just some of what appeared.

At the smell of food, Mamasita's 10 year old son appears on the porch and very matter of factly spits out "Holy hummus." It may just be the catholic school upbringing in me, but I thought that was classic. And in case you are wondering, that's 30 ounces of hummus in that tub...