Flawed. Crazy. Eccentric.

.: Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius, and it's
better to be absolutely ridiculous....

than AbSoLuTeLy boring.

~Marilyn Monroe

Philly Ketchup

Before I had a chance to write about my second day in Philly, I was off on another trip! So here goes with my attempt at catching up...

I woke up my second day in Philly and walked the block and a half to the elementary school where I had my field experience last spring semester. This school keeps the classes together as they move from grade to grade, so I got to visit both classes I had helped last year. The "then" kindergartners are now first graders, and the "then" first graders are now second graders, of course. The class I had as kindergartners stampede rushed me at the classroom door upon my entry! I had missed them so much! I had to try hard not to cry when I saw all their faces again. They were tickled to see that I remembered their names; I was rather pleased myself, because they total over 40 children, and their names aren't exactly among the most common monikers. They really have some great names! I wish I could share them on here, but I need to keep their privacy.

Both classes had grown up so much. Even during my short visit I observed great improvement in their skills. I was no longer referred to as "Mrs. W-T" {for those of you who know my last name, you can see how they thought my last name sounds like the combo of these two letter names}, but rather they could pronounce my name just fine. Some of them even mentioned the bookmarks I had made for them before leaving last May. As I left, I was bombarded with, "Are you coming again on Monday? Are we going to see you soon?" So adorable. Maybe I'll see them again some day if I get to return to Philly as a REAL teacher. :-)

Here is the memorial {?} that our group left behind at the Messiah Philly campus. It's now hanging in the Caf. My hand prints are the purples ones on the far left. I don't think I actually got to see the finished product before this weekend. There's something that makes me happy about leaving my imprint behind!


Later in the evening I went to a party and then got to see my friend Jeremiah afterward, who I hadn't seen in over a year! Dora and Eriica were too busy being studious to make the trip. Maybe next time ;-)


So now, consider me officially caught up. And officially missing Philly.

Tiny Talk Tuesday

Looking at pictures of marine animals one day during circle time, I showed my two year~olds a photo of an octopus.

"What's this?"

A----- answered excitedly, "An applesauce!"

Join in the fun and share some Tiny Talk over at Mary's at Not Before 7.

Traveling Musings

Being so mobile recently, I figured it’d be appropriate to record a few thoughts about traveling. Traveling Musings.

~Packing~

One aspect about traveling that has lots of room for exploring a deeper meaning is the concept of packing, which entails scaling down our typical daily use items {plus excess} to just the necessities. This really forces the “packer” to consider what they find to be the most useful and essential items. There are the packers, however, that include far more than they would ever need for the “just in case” and “what if” scenarios {I’m guilty of that…to a small degree}. Over-preparedness at times, though, can give a packer baggage. Literally. A packer can’t take too much that their “baggage” weighs them down and inhibits them from being successful in the very purpose of their journey! Something to note, too, is that said packing could mean putting cell phone, license, cash, and keys into a purse or a tote for a day out. OR, it could entail packing several pieces of luggage, a backpack, a purse, a briefcase, a lap top carrier, a duffel bag, and a carry-on.

~Traveling Solo~

Recently I've been taking trips without anyone else accompanying me during the journey; rather, they've been meeting me at my destination. Last weekend on the train, traveling alone was interesting in terms of handling three heavy bags of luggage and encountering bizarre characters without having moral support {laughing}. The GOOD thing was that I could sleep on the train since I wasn't operating it. The trip I just returned from was by car, so my tired eyes could glaze over, but not close!

Other drivers who could see into my car during my travels this past {long} weekend no doubt thought that I was having one huge party with myself at first. Singing and jamming to the music, slurping up my Zero Bar Mocha Java Cooler with gusto. But by the end of the trip, I was definitely in “zombie mode.”

On long trips, even those taken in the winter, I drive with the AC on for at least part of the trip. {fall, spring, and summer- the whole time!} The motion of the car lulls me to sleep. I always sleep as a passenger! Blasting cold air is a necessary albeit uncomfortable way to keep me awake, which is prettyyyyy important while operating a 1.5 ton machine flying down the freeway at 80 mph umm 60 mph.

~Favorite Mode~

My favorite mode of transportation is the subway! All of you who know about my germophobic tendencies probably think I'm a huge ball of contradictions with that preference! I don't even really think the subway's odor is that bad, either. I even like the whooshing sound I can hear through the grates in the ground when I hear the subway pass by underground.

Even people who are accustomed to city life tend to dread riding the subway at times; I've heard more than a handful of people say that the subway smells like pee {although I think their word choice was a bit stronger :-D}. However, I really came to enjoy riding the subway when I lived in Philadelphia winter/spring '09. I love being able to get around the city without having to worry about parking, which can be very tricky in a city like Philly. Also, I'm a people-watcher; I OBSERVE all day long. The subway is the perfect place to do this. I'm fascinated with being in the same temporary space with people of all walks of life. At any given time, a random subway car can house business people, college students, homeless people, North Philly locals, South Philly Italians, tourists, etc.

One night I was riding the subway back to our rowhouse by myself {go ahead, wag your finger at me and give me the safety lecture}. I was the only white Caucasian person in my section of the subway at the time. I wasn't consciously aware of that fact until something happened a few minutes into the ride. There was an older guy in the subway car who was clearly strung out {I mean to say, his behavior was substance~altered.} He slowly looked around our subway car, his gaze stopping at me. He said, "Hi whitey!! You're white!!! Hey whitey!" I just smiled and looked away, not ignoring but not fully engaging him either; everyone around me cracked UP! In my experience, that rarely happens on the subway; people like to stare a lot on the subway, but I rarely observe any animated interaction. Mostly I see people sitting like bored blobs, afraid to break their apparent anonymity. While this guy's inhibitions were pretty much non~existent due to other factors, I liked how the other passengers who had previously been stone~faced enjoyed the joke. :-)

~You Can’t Come Home Again~

Every time you travel, be prepared to grow and change! When you return, some things will be familiar, but you can't expect everything to be exactly as you left it. Things will change during your venture away from home, but the biggest change will take place in you.

"It's a funny thing, coming home. Nothing changes. Everything looks the same, feels the same, even smells the same. You realize what's changed...

is you."

~quoted from The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Tomorrow...

...I head to PA for the second time within a span of nine days. This time, however, my journey won't be quite as long as the five hour voyage to Philadelphia, and I won't be taking a train this time either. Tomorrow after work I'm driving the three hour drive to Harrisburg, PA {near my college} to get electronically fingerprinted for the Teacher's Ed. Program and to attend the quinceanera of a young friend. :)

So, until I return...








See ya!












Goodbye!










Shalom!

Tiny Talk Tuesday

My sister is now 17, but when she was a preschooler, my mom was always afraid that she would lose Olivia during public outings. Olivia was the first and only of the children in our family on whom my mom considered putting a child leash. She wouldn’t usually listen when told to stay put, frequently darting out into parking lots. My mom told Olivia {when she was about three} that if she continued to run out into the parking lots, she might get hit by a car and die.

Responding to the suggestion that she would die if hit by a car, Olivia said with confidence and a smart-aleck snap of the neck, “Well then I would just raise from the dead!!”

Talk about an invincibility complex!!...Did I mention we were in the midst of the Easter season? ;-)



This isn’t REALLY a tiny talk, but something that always cracks me up is when little children laugh at something that they can’t possibly understand, wanting to be a part of the joke that the adults are sharing. One day Mr. Stewart called one of the students “A-town,” mis-pronouncing this child’s name by mangling the vowel sound in the second syllable.

“A-town?” I teased. “As in Atlanta?” I laughed at his fumble.

Overhearing our conversation, three year-old R----- looked up at me and cracked up. She rolled her eyes and gave me a knowing look as if she and I shared a joke against Mr. Stewart, and suggesting that she {as a three year-old} somehow understands how silly and clueless the opposite sex can be at times.

Hop over to Mary's at Not Before 7 for more Tiny Talk!

'Stomp the Yard' Temple edition!

Picking up from when I wrote about spending Thursday afternoon at the Ant’s Pants Café, I returned back to where I was staying in time for dinner. I decided to attend a step show later in the evening. As I walked down Broad Street and saw the line for this Temple University event, I was shocked to see that it wrapped around the block! Needless to say, I didn’t have much hope of being able to see the show since I didn't get a ticket prior to the show, being that I wasn't aware of the performance until that evening. When I finally reached the entrance, and after security inspected our purses and gave us the pat-down, I was pleased to see that they were still selling tickets. So I, fifteen dollars poorer, was able to see the show.

In my flurry to leave in time to get a ticket before the show, I had neglected to grab my camera on the way out the door. I tried to take a few pictures on my camera phone, but they didn’t turn out that well. I’ll post them anyway to give an idea of the step show atmosphere.

Each step group that performed is a part of a sorority or fraternity. I couldn’t keep the Alpha Phi Alphas straight from the Zeta Theta Betas {I definitely made up that last one}. In my terms, the sorority step team who won was “the girls with matching, long {faux} ponytails whom if I offended I’d consider my life over” and the fraternity who won was “the guys who used cane/staff props with one guy who really ought to have kept his shirt closed if he knew what was good for him.”

In between performances, there was a DJ who played music, and everyone was going crazy! We sat in the Greek section by accident, which added another dimension to the excitement. There were people dancing in the aisles and jammin’ from their seats, as well as step teams doing routines in the aisles. I wouldn’t dare embarrass myself by trying to dance at a step show {my dancing ability is lacking}, but I loved being smack dab in the middle of all that liveliness!

Philly is the 'ants pants'!

Yesterday I made the five hour train voyage from my home in VA to Philadelphia, PA. I haven't been here since about a year ago. What a strange feeling to spend several consecutive months living/studying somewhere and not being able to return until a year later! I love Philly; being here feels so surreal! It's very much the same as it was when I left it ;-) but there are things that are different, too. I'm actually glad that some things are different; otherwise, I'd have too much of a deja vu feeling that it'd leave me with overwhelming nostalgia.

I'm staying at the MCPC rowhomes across from the Temple University campus where I lived last spring semester in blah blah blah, blah, and blah blah's room. I'm so grateful that they're letting me use their floor as a bed for a few nights!

Tomorrow I plan to visit the elementary school where I had my internship a year ago; I bet the kids have grown so much! My bff Stacy {who lives in the Poconos} may come to see me this weekend if she can catch a ride, and Dora, Eriica, and Jeremiah will hopefully make the trek from Eastern U.

But for now, I'm just relaxing at the Ants Pants Cafe on South Street. The following is written on their restaurant brochure:

Ants Pants (adj)- an Australian colloquial term meaning unequivocally 'the best'. As in, "Mate, this coffee is the ants pants!"



My waiter is pretty quirky and cool...he's really pushing the whipped cream, though. Hello man, whipped cream is supposed to be an indulgence; you don't have to keep re-loading it on top of my iced coffee. This drink has ice cream in it as well! Stop trying to fatten me up! :-)

The Aussie iced coffee was yummy though, and so was the creme brulee battered French toast I just polished off.

Doesn't this look like a cute place? They're about to close, so I need to adios. Hopefully the rest of my visit here in Philly will be 'the ants pants' too!

Tiny Talk Tuesday

Little E---- climbed up on my lap while I was supervising the three year~olds on the playground. "Are you Miss Leah's girl?" another teacher asked. "Yesssss," E---- answered.
"Are you Miss Jodie's girl?"
"No."
"Are you Miss Melissa's girl?"
"No."
"Are you Mr. Stewart's girl?"
"No."
"Are you mommy's girl?"
"Yes. Two! Mommy's girl and Miss Leah's girl!!"
Well if being on mommy's level doesn't make me feel like queen of the world, I don't know what will! ;-)


The kids never tire of telling me day after day that my Frappuccino {you know, the Starbucks ones that come in glass bottles} looks just like chocolate milk. One day, however, I switched it up and they were shocked to see me with a new drink.
"What's that you're drinking?" Ny----- asked me.
"It's called Sunny D. It's like orange juice."
"Mmmmm...Sunny Deet!!"

Visit Mary at Not Before 7 to read more Tiny Talk and share the cute and funny things YOUR little people say!

I Prefer Unique Names

I've been a name junkie for many years. It's not really normal typical for an 8 year~old to spend her free time looking through name books. But then again, I've never claimed to be typical. Or normal.

Popular and common names have never really struck my fancy. Give me an Imani or a Fabienne; an Evany or an Amaya; a Teagan or a Rachela, and I'm swooning. Little boys names are more difficult for me, but Julian, Talbot, Sibre, and Devondre don't exactly have a spot on the fifty most popular list.

So here I am, thinking I'm all snazzy and creative with my name preferences, yet somehow, I'm not usually a fan of celebrity baby names:

Apple {parents: actress Gwyneth Paltrow and Coldplay singer Chris Martin}
I can't see myself naming my child after a fruit.


Pilot Inspektor {parent: actor Jason Lee}

or after a uhhh..profession? Unless it's something like Mason or Archer.


Audio Science: {parent: actress Shannyn Sossamon}

or a subject at technical school.


Diva Thin Muffin {parent: musician Frank Zappa}

or after a food that is skinny and has impeccable fashion sense coupled with attitude.

There's a fine line between "Oh, that's unique!" and "Your name is WHAT??" {insert cross eyes}.

My {nearly} lifelong interest in names provoked me to buy a copy of April 2010's Psychology Today after seeing on the cover that the issue features an article about "a parent's experiment with unique names." These children's names are...you ready?

Daughter: E
Son: Yo Xing Heyno Augustus Eisner Alexander Weiser Knuckles

Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore. We're in NYC to be exact, visiting an urbanite family whose daughter has the shortest name on record and whose son has the longest name in NYC. Their dad is Dr. Dalton Conley, a sociologist and professor at New York University. Apparently, these kids are a social experiment of sorts.

Their daughter was named E so that she could decide for herself when she's older what E stands for; they originally had planned to name her Early since she arrived two months before her due date. In the case of their son they tried to squeeze everything into their last child's name, including family names, names of former mentors, current favorite book characters, etc. They also wanted to give him an ethnically ambiguous name to challenge assumptions about race and assimilation in the U.S. Dr. Conley wonders if maybe he's placed monikers on his children that will hinder them or be psychologically damaging, but he comes to the conclusion that "A first name may convey an impression, but its power is fleeting." Siting several studies, he concludes that the person makes the name more than the name makes the person. The name effect disappears once we get to know a person.

Naming a child is so personal, yet the naming process and choices are clearly governed by social norms. My preference still lies with the unique but not bizarre choices...challenging the boundary line and defying the expected, but not catapulting into the unknown abyss of Knuckles Apple Muffin Inspektor.

Godly Sperminators!!

Yes ma'am! I thought I'd get your attention with that title.

About a week or so ago, I finished reading the book Quiverfull: Inside the Christian Patriarchy Movement by Kathryn Joyce. I have SO MUCH TO SAY about this book. I'm even working on composing a letter of sorts written to my female students about this book. {Yes, I realize said female students are 2, 3, and 4 years old and will probably never read my blog, but it's what's on my heart regarding this topic. I don't ever want my precious girls to grow up believing that they are subordinate or limited in the ways they may be called by God based on their gender, class, or race}.

BUT..until I complete that post, I want to share a quote {with my insertions} that is presented in this book. The voice quoted is that of Nancy Campbell, "editress" of the Above Rubies magazine, proponent of the Quiverfull movement and the idea of liberation through submission, and worshiper of all things Titus 2 and Proverbs 31. The chapter from which this quote is taken talks about the importance of the godly reproducing so as to fill and conquer the world {to practice what I've dubbed "Godly Spermination"}; the womb of a woman is, in this sense, her weapon in this "battle." Being a wife and mother and remaining in her "proper sphere" at home is really, they would say, the only way God would have them fight this battle. Oh, and also through baking cinnamon buns, in following with Edith Shaeffer's example, wife and helpmeet of the renowned fundamentalist pastor Francis Shaeffer.

Coupled with a negative take on the international news, the sense of a coming clash between civilizations demographically lends itself to comparing family sizes between family sizes in the U.S. with those from abroad.

"When godly people stop having children, we are wasting the godly seed. {As if there's something inherently godly about some people's seed over others} So today, we are facing a very, very serious threat: the threat of Islam. They are outnumbering us seven to one. {Who exactly is "us"? Conservative, neo-Calvinist fundamentalist Christians? Are they the only ones who are worthy being considered "God's Chosen"? For that matter, who is them? Us/them mentality= yucky}. And there's eight billion Islamics here in America. {ISLAMICS? Don't you mean Muslims? Those who practice Islam...}.
...When I talk to parents today and ask how many grandchildren they have, they tell me, 'Oh, we have two! Isn't it wonderful?' 'Two?' Is that going to impact the world? Two? {Well, I'm glad you consider yourself qualified to determine who will and won't impact the world. I recall several "ONES" who have spurred great positive change and impacted the world greatly} When you get someone like say, Osama bin Laden, he's just representative of so many Islamics, well, you see how they're populating." {Seriously, I don't know whether to laugh or to cry when you say "Islamics." Further, Osama bin Laden should not be the poster child for Muslims; I sure wouldn't want the extremists of my religion *cough cough* representing me!}

~Nancy Campbell, with my {annoying} interjections

Whheewww. I get heated. :)
More to come.

{Beat.}

Happy sperminating.

Play Skillfully ♪♫ ♪

I don't know about SKILLFULLY, but singing and playing music has been a way for me to praise God and express myself for as long as I can remember. Even when my performances aren't as technically skillful as I would like, I remember I'm not actually performing for my own glory, but I'm to play my best for the glory of the One who gave me the ability to play. ♪♫ ♪

To see more Truth~Light~Hammer~Fire posts and visit the creator of TLHF, go to Life On Sylvan Drive.

Kindred Connection Party

1. If you could describe your desired lifestyle in one word, what would it be?
Full! Fullness of purpose, fullness of relationship with God and other people, and the fulfillment that comes with living out God's will for my life.

2. What style of home is your "House of Dreams"?
A sleek, contemporary, urban high~rise loft apartment~


with THIS view. :)



3. If you could live in a fictional story/movie, which would it be and why?
I would live in the Freedom Writer's movie. While I'm being certified to teach elementary~aged students, I can really see a lot of myself in the teacher Ms. Gruwell, and our passions are very similar.



4. Do you prefer coffee or tea? Favorite kind?
Definitely coffee; definitely cold; definitely sweet= Mocha Java Coolers! At 4-6 dollars a pop, these drinks empty out my wallet rather quickly...BUT..they're my favorite. ;)



5. Share the last sweet/romantic thing your hubby did for you.
I don't have a hubby. I'll get back with you in an undetermined amount of time! Note to future {potential} husband: plan some sweet and romantic awesomeness so I can write about you on my blog! Ha.


Join in the party over at Windy Poplars!

Betrayal

"One should rather die than be betrayed. There is no deceit in death. It delivers precisely what it has promised. Betrayal, though...betrayal is the willful slaughter of hope." ~Steven Deitz

This post has been brewing in the Colombian roast coffeepot for awhile, and it's {hopefully} a final step in my healing from a certain situation. And yes it really IS necessary for me to be that vague. However, I hope there's still something that perhaps resonates with you or maybe some input you would like to add.

Disclaimer: I don't intend to equate myself with Jesus in any shape or form. I'm simply grateful that he can identify completely with my very human emotions regarding being betrayed.

This Easter season I've focused less on the aspects of the holiday that typically have my attention {Jesus' death and resurrection} and more on a point of arguably less importance: the betrayal of Jesus and how this relates to my own experience of being betrayed.

Some general points I've observed regarding betrayal:

~Betrayal always involves the breaking of trust. Deception. There's great pain in realizing that the betrayer is not who you thought they were, and the process of grieving an end to the person you thought existed can be long and arduous.

~If one is betrayed, that means that there was once something positive {or seemingly positive} established and then broken. The betrayer and the betrayee had some sort of connection, understanding, or covenant. In order to destroy something through betrayal, that something had to exist, or at least in appearances.

~Exploring motives: betrayal is a result of greed, of self-interest.
"When tempted, no one can say, 'God is tempting me.' For God can not be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full grown, gives birth to death." ~James 1:13-15

~Picking up from the last part of the verse from above, betrayal destroys the betrayer and others. It breaks the shalom that God intends for His creation, marring God~people relationships and people~people relationships.

~Betrayal takes place first in the heart, and then in fact. The heart corruption is first and then there's an actual acting out of the betrayal that has already taken place within.

All of these points parallel my own experience as well as what I understand to be the experience of Jesus when He was betrayed. Judas was one of The Twelve; he was "part of the group." He was chosen by Jesus to follow Him. While additional motives are possible, we know that this Keeper of the Money Bag had sticky fingers and was lured by the silver offered by the chief priests. Clearly, Judas was looking out for himself and didn't care that his actions would have grievous effects on others. This betrayal destroyed Judas {he committed suicide} and many others, too. Obviously, this betrayal cost Jesus his life; many were negatively affected by his death {though we know this isn't the end of the story}. Lastly, Judas had already betrayed Jesus in his heart before his actions followed. The real damage had already been done before he betrayed Jesus to the chief priests, the officers of the temple guard, and the elders in the Garden of Gethsemane.

The only comfort I can find after being betrayed and deceived is that Jesus knows exactly how I feel. He experienced a betrayal that cost him his life. He knows that floor-dropping-out-from-under-me feeling, that cold-hand-clenching-my-heart sensation. Complete with icy tentacles enveloping my chest.

Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will but yours be done.

Each of us has seeds of betrayal. The disciples didn't know that the betrayer would be Judas. The fact that Judas had a weakness for money and theft wasn't any indication that he would be the betrayer because all people are sinful. I am just as capable of betrayal and deception as those who have wronged me. I am just as capable of betrayal and deception as Judas, history's most notorious backstabber.

Is it I, Lord? Is it I?

Tiny Talk Tuesday

In the pre~K class we focus a great deal on literacy to prepare the children for kindergarten next year. One of our main literacy activities for these four year~olds is learning and practicing Word Wall words. The Word Wall is a literal wall {or bulletin board} in the classroom that has the 26 letters of the alphabet with words under each letter that begin with the given letter; these words are ones that the children should learn to write correctly and read with automasticity.

Last week I was practicing these words with the children. Each child had a dry~erase board and marker so that they could practice writing the words; I would remove a card from the word stack, place it on the easel with a magnet, and then write the word as I spelled it out loud. Some of the kids provided me with Tiny Talk snippets before I was able to give them an example sentence for the given words:

Ms. Leah: "Ok, this word is "for." F-O-R {writing word on board}.
C------: "My for is my house!" {he meant his fort}

Ms. Leah: "Alright, does anyone know what this word is? This one says "we." W-E.
M----: "I have a Wii!!"

Hmmm...yes, I'm sure you do.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Last Friday I was subbing in the 2's class. When I change diapers and help with the potty I have to wear latex gloves. I was helping two year-old L---- pull up her underwear when my gloves started to slide off, so I pulled them up over my wrists, releasing them with a smacking sound on my arm. L---- looked up at me with a concerned face and asked, "Was that me? My butt went 'pop'?"

Share the comical words spoken by the little people in your life over at Not Before 7.

Easter Weekend

Well hello there...long time no write! I'm just stopping by my poor little neglected blog to post some Easter pics. In fact, the pictures show exactly why I haven't posted that much in the last few days.

With the exception of last year when I was in Philadelphia, I attend a family gathering with members from my mom's side of the family every year at Easter. We always have lasagna for our Easter meal {vegetarian and non~vegetarian selections}, which is prepared by my grandma. We also have lots of dessert contributions from many different people. These treats run the gamut from Oreo Easter eggs to pumpkin pie and peanut butter cheesecake to peep~topped cupcakes.


Even though most of us are beyond the "normal" egg~hunting age, many of the cousins still participate in finding the candy~filled eggs hidden by The Easter Bunny {our Pap-pap} in the backyard.


But the highlight of the Easter egg hunt? Watching our littlest cousin {21 month-old Elizabeth} walk around the yard repeating, "Eggs, eggs," and having the most EXCITING time ever dumping the eggs from basket to basket.

I even took a ride in her baby swing. Hey, 21 months, 21 years...pretty close, right?

Not quite.

An Inspiringly Unconventional Good Friday...

...though I'm not the one who lived it. Why I Got Arrested on Good Friday by Shane Claiborne. Take a look. From my favorite city and a man I greatly admire.