Ok, since I can't seem to concentrate at all today, I'm going to put aside planning for my Principal's observation and make a list of the highlights of my day (not all necessarily good):

10. Mexican fiesta soup for lunch...where has Campbell's been hiding this all my life? So, so good.
9. I found my pink Ali McGraw hat (circa Love Story). That's the only reason I wish it would snow soon:)
8. Rocío and I discussed differences between Mexican and American men. Apparently Mexican men think that they should try to be friends first...
7. The principal seemed kind of overwhelmed by my 5-color-coded schedule change proposal. He even chuckled a little bit. I hope that's a good thing! In any case, he must have been impressed with my ample highlighter use.
6. Starting on Thanksgiving, I will be in a different place every weekend: Ann Arbor, then St. Olaf for the concerts, Chicago for my grandparents 50th wedding anniversary, and then Marshall for Christmas.
5. I asked for a new computer for my classroom this morning and it was completely hooked up by lunch. I am so lucky to work in this school district!!
4. During a presentation about drugs, given by a policewoman, one of the third graders asked, incredulously, "Wait...you mean pot isn't legal? Really?" OMG...where has he been seeing it, I wonder? ;)
3. Another third grader summarized the entire plot of "Halloween" for me while we were waiting in line. When I suggested that maybe he could say "this is too scary" and go to his room when that movie is on TV in his living room, he said "Oh, no, it's not scary. At the end, the mom kills the bad guy, Michael Myers, with an axe." Why won't he use his summarizing skills in my class? Can he only do that with R-rated movies about serial killers?
2. If I ever finish my lesson plan, I'm going to make raspberry cupcakes from scratch.
1. Okay, my most teacherish highlight: I actually got a chance to whip out my thesaurus today, when one of my students tried to write that doing well on tests makes her feel "good." It's so cute: now I have one sentence on my "Why should we think positive?" poster that says "Doing well on tests makes me feel splendid." :)