The Best things about the Oscars......

1. Was imagining that that short little Jew was my husband, or my lover, or anything where I can spend hours upon hours adoring him. I love Jon Stewart in an inexplicable way....his joke about Titler alone melts my cold heart.

2. Tilda Swenson's evil eye....she frightens me and so does her stylist. I have no desire to see Michael Clayton, I about fell asleep in the previews....so I can't say much about her apparent talent.....I just keep coming back to those eyes....

3. Um, who invited Billy Ray's daughter to THE OSCARS!!!!!! No people! No! Ratings going down, down, down!!!!! I have an achey-breaky heart from this!!!

4. Anne Hathaway's perfect red dress....worn with a ponytail. A girl who can pull off this amazingly girly dress and look all dewey and innocent and pull off a ponytail at the same time is a girl I like...and apparently so does her mate...look at the pride he is taking in working that carpet!

5. Colin Farrell looking all drugged up and messy again and almost falling as he slipped his way to the podium. That's always a good time.

6. Tom Hank's botox job. Daniel Day's brown shoes and black tux...along with Rebecca Miller's huge circumference of jewels on the center of her bosom and were those red bows on her shoulders?? I am trying to imagine in what type of lighting this dress was chosen? I now want Daniel, Rebecca, Tim, and Helena to throw a party together--imagine that! I must add, lest you think me cruel, that DDL is perhaps one of the most eloquent people on the planet. If he would have said to me what he said when even accepting an Oscar, I'd marry him. Ok, we all know I'd marry him anyway, but being eloquent helps!!!



7. The most stunning Nicole Kidman....always taller than her spouse, poor dear, but does she know how to wear a strand of diamonds!! I'd like to be her, just for a day.


8. That darling French actress who came dressed like Ariel from Little Mermaid. She was so sweet. "Thank you life! Thank you love!!" Heaven knows I'd say the same in French if I were almost speechless. In fact, I will.... "Merci La Vie! Merci L'Amour!!!"










9. JAVIER BARDEM--------JAVIER BARDEM---------JAVIER BARDEM----I had sweet dreams about JAVIER BARDEM------Who, if you asked me, looked exceptionally like Jeffery Dean Morgan....I'll post pictures, don't worry....seriously, they could be twins right? Oh, Denny....why did you have to die!!??!!!??







10. The absolute highlight of the evening, the one thing I ended up really caring about was that Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova would win the Oscar for song. And they did!!! Art is alive!!! Have hope!!! You poor Dubliners.....you will one day eat cake!!!!

Name that Painting

I'm painting again....and yes, I seem to have one thing on my mind lately. However, I don't want a cliche title for this one...any suggestions?

Shades of Right & Wrong

"There are so many shades of right and wrong that each of you has to decide where the line will be." James E. Faust


So, I have been questioning things lately...A LOT. There is A LOT of stuff I don't know right now. A LOT. However, there remains A LOT of stuff that I do know. Taking all that bunch of stuff (so poetic today, aren't I) that I don't know and mixing it with all the stuff that I do know was not a good idea. Taking a bit of the stuff I don't know, and mixing it slowly with what I do know is much better.

So, I thought I'd share some of my thoughts about where I am and where I am going on this Test o' Life! Yesterday these thoughts flew through my head all silky smooth and eloquent, I knew I should have written then. Right now they are appearing as definite, precise numbers. So here goes, and Emily, if you don't have time to read them all, just read number 4, oh, or maybe 3a...or maybe....



1. It is completely OK to have questions!!! It is not bad. It doesn't mean you are evil or faithless, or that you are committing large sins. It does not mean that those with no questions shouldn't hang out with you because you are going to infect them with some type of disease of doubt or something. Got it? Good.

2. When you question, there are a lot of routes to take to find answers. You will find that there is a blog about every question you could ever ask. There are people on those blogs who relate to you, who have the same questions, who make sense, who share ideas, and who make you feel you are not alone. This is good and bad. This is good for the reasons stated above. This is bad for the reasons stated above.

3. You should always, always turn to God for the answers. Do not put your faith in other people to provide answers for you. I do not need to apologize or constantly defend any of my beliefs. If we believe in different Gods or different spiritual laws...awesome...let's show some respect. Let's also realize that people from different faiths have meaningful relationships with each other all the time.

That being said--here are some things that I believe:

1. God is Real. Satan is Real. These are facts in my life. It may sound juvenile or uneducated to believe this in this day and age. But trust me, I am neither of these things, and I did not come to these conclusions easily.

2. Satan will seek to tempt us at times and in ways that exploit our greatest weaknesses or destroy our strengths.

3. I have within my physical body the powerful spirit of a daughter of God. When I pay more attention to my spiritual self, which is eternal, than to my mortal self, which is temporary, I can always resist the temptations of Satan.

4. You must be honest with yourself and find what truth means to you. I believe there are spiritual laws of truth, just like there are fundamental laws of science. I believe that adherence or rejection to--or belief or disbelief of these laws does not mean that they aren't real. However, no one perfectly keeps all these laws. Thus the need for Jesus Christ.

5. There are so many shades of right and wrong that each of you has to decide where the line will be.

I think I LOVE my Job!!

Ok, I am going to gush! I am going to get gooey! I am going to be completely sentimental. I am going to inspire next year's Hallmark cards--in fact, picture this whole entry in PINK letters with little bears and hearts and rainbows and sunshine!!! I know. It's sick. If I could dot all my 'i' s with little hearts instead of dots, I would, for today only! Yep, I am going to show emotion (as I am usually so cold and pride myself on my Ice Queen attributes!) On this day of Saint Valentine, I thought I'd share some thoughts on love.

Here is what I love: The Salem Witch Trials, McCarthyism, The Crucible, The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne, Communism, Naming Names before the Senate!, Arthur Miller, Young Goodman Brown meeting the Devil in the forest, Personification, Emily Dickinson's brain, "I Hear America Singing" and Whitman's crazy hair, Robert Herrick telling me to "Make much of Time", LORD BYRON...such a bad boy, such a ladies man and I want to ride on the back of his motorcycle, Shelley's "Ode to the West Wind", ee cummings and his desire to never capitalize, The Simpsons version of "The Raven", hyperboles, figurative language, imagery, creating, and on and on and on and I LOVE IT!!! I haven't loved my job this much in years!!! I didn't know it was possible. I didn't know I could be this satisfied. I don't know what it is, but I have this amazing group of students who actually think and create and learn, and I teach at this amazing school, and I have never been happier doing what I love to do....so much so that the whole question of grad school right now seems wrong!

Allow me to share an example--an email I received today:

Miss B,

First of all, hats off to you and this amazing poetry unit!!

I've been really into poetry (and creative writing in general) for a long time, but you're the first teacher I've had in my "educational career" that has gone into depth with what interests me.

So I assume that you're a naturally creative soul as well. Which is why I've decided to ask your advice on something I've been wondering about...

Do you know of any creative writing/poetry contests or something that I could get into?

Well, thanks again Miss B! You're amazing!



If these kids are the future, I hope I live a long, long time!! Yep! I said that! Yep! I am doing a cheer right now! Yep! I am going to have it put on a t-shirt and wear it along with my other two classic tees--"Cupcakes Make People Happy" and "I Heart Atticus Finch!"


sigh.....I went to Valentine's grave in Dublin a few years ago, and you know he is the patron saint of friends, family, and lovers....so despite the capitalistic tendencies of many, today is a good day. And nothing says I love you more than a subscription to The Economist--no roses please!

A Poem

lines composed by young man in English literature on a day in February.


First Kiss

Upon an Autumn clear,
A visit with my lover dear,
The songs of the birds you could hear
Them singing pleasantly.

A clearing in the woods so light
Not a person near in sight,
We thought that we just might
Kiss, but hesitantly.

Slowly, awkwardly, we started to kiss,
So nervous that I thought we'd miss;
I closed my eyes and felt the bliss
Of our kiss, so passionately.

Across The Universe -Showing this Week

Emily and Rebecca, this clip is to prove to you what we should really be doing on Thursday night! Fall!

I Want To Hold Your Hand - Please!

In honor of the superbowl, which I did not observe (because to me, real football is played with a goalie), I thought I would put my idea up of a great football spectacle. And now, I really want to hold someone's hand. I am obsessed. It's good to admit that right--less scary?