Meet Me on Monday

Every Sunday night, Java posts 5 questions  for us to answer so we can get to know each other better.  She comes up with great questions every week; I don't know how she does it!

Questions:

1.  What do you put on your hot dog?
My ideal hot dog has mustard, chili, and cole slaw. 

2.  Do you play Sudoku?
So who ku?  Numbers mean nothing to me.  I will sit in meetings, and when people start talking about numbers, they have witnessed my eyes glazing over.

3.  What is your favorite vegetable?
I really don't like very many cooked vegetables, unless they're masked within a casserole, soup, or stew.  Give me raw veggies with Ranch dressing, and we're talking!

4.  Do you color your hair?
I have my hair highlighted.  I'm trusting my beautician to tell me when it's time to do the whole head.  I have a feeling it's not too far away!

5.  What is your favorite brand of clothing?
I don't really have a favorite brand of clothing.  As long as it looks good, feels good, and isn't too expensive it's for me.  For jeans, I prefer Lees because they fit my big butt and aren't too expensive!

Flashback Friday

Did you and your family watch the Olympics when you were growing up? Which was your overall favorite - summer or winter? Which individual events were your favorites? Since blogging is international, which country did you cheer for? Have you ever been to an Olympics or known anyone who competed? What are some of the hallmark memories of the Olympics that you remember? Did the Olympics ever inspire you to take a certain sport (or practice more!)? Do you prefer watching them the old way when everything was delayed in the days before 24-hour cable and internet? Do you watch them more or less today than you did when you were growing up? What about the Special Olympics? Have you ever had any involvement with them?

Oh, how I used to LOVE the Olympics!  Summer, winter...it didn't matter.  The athletes were so incredibly awesome, competing for their country.  And, they were all amateurs!  Amazing!  During the Summer Olympics, my favorite sports were gymnastics and diving.  In the Winter:  ice skating and downhill skiing.  I loved how we would spend evenings around the tv, cheering on our athletes.  I think they have lost a little bit of their luster now that they're rotating every 2 years:  Last year was the winter, in 2 years it will be the summer.  And, the professional athletes have taken away from the excitement, too.  Remember Nadia Comenici?  And Mary Lou Retton?  And Tai Babylonia and Randy Gardner?  You've gotta remember Dorothy Hamill!
I don't know anyone who has competed in the Olympics, but supposedly my MIL was on the Danish Olympic Swim Team until some kind of muscle problem kept her from training.  What an honor it must be for those athletes to be selected to represent their country.
You would think, with my profession, that I would have some involvement with Special Olympics.  I did go to a regional event when we lived in SC.  Since they are held during school hours, I don't get to go.  The special ed classes at school participate, but since most of my students are in the regular ed classroom, I have to stay back and actually do what I'm getting paid to do.
I always thought it would be so incredibly neat to hang out in the athlete's village.  I envisioned the athletes mingling and sitting around playing cards with athletes from other countries.  I realize it's not really like that, but that's just how I thought it was.  Especially for the winter olympics.
The Olympics haven't been without their tragedies, either.  The Munich Massacre in 1972.  The bombing incident in Atlanta in 1996.  And, most recently, the luger who died during a practice run last year.
Although politics shouldn't play a part in the Olympics, we all know that they have been the reason for boycotts throughout its history.  I always felt so badly for the amateur athletes who trained their whole lives to be able to compete in the Olympics, just to have that taken away from them by the leaders of their countries.  I don't think I would feel quite so badly now, since so many professional athletes are participating.
I could go on and on about the Olympics.  They definitely aren't what they were when I was growing up.

Thursday "Thangs"

Last week I had to help with "Aimsweb".  Aimsweb is a "test" that each child in the school is given to see how they are doing in literacy; it is used to determine which students require "interventions" with their reading.  This year there is a math one, too, but I'm not involved in that.  Anyway, my part with Aimsweb is to give the student a word, then they sound it out; they have 1 minute to sound out as many words as they can.  I only have to do Kindergarten and First Grades, but it pretty much takes all day.  Which means I don't get to see my speech kids for that day.  (I AM getting to the point of this... promise!)  After I tested this First Grader, she handed me this pink yarn that was all balled up.  "Here, this is for you," she said.  I asked her what it was for, and she said, "Well, I just know you like pink."  (I had on a pink shirt that day.)  The next girl I tested must've sensed I wasn't feeling well...she felt compelled to give me a hug when I finished with her.  Sweet, sweet kids, for sure!

We were promised snow yesterday.  We woke up to rain and a temperature of 46.  By 11:00 the temp had dropped and it was snowing.  Thankfully no one at the Central Office panicked, and we stayed in school for the whole day.  By the time the kids left, the roads were just wet, but there was some snow still on the ground.  Last year there were a couple of days when it snowed after we got to school, someone panicked, and we had early dismissals just to have the snow melt by the time we would've gotten out of school.  I think someone may have learned his lesson!

I watched American Idol last night.  I wasn't too sure about Steven Tyler & Jennifer Lopez, but I have to say, it worked.  Steven brought some chuckles, and Jennifer was sweet, but honest.  That first boy they had on from NC was amazing!  It's going to be interesting to see just how far he goes.

Thanks to everybody who has said prayers for my blogging friend. I got an update today, and she didn't sound very hopeful, especially with some complications she's having.  Please keep your prayers coming.    Non-bloggers just wouldn't understand the connection we feel with each other.  Y'all ROCK!