Favorites, version 11.20
*The Gilmore Girls, Season 5...I didn't realize that this show is so smart. Whenever I heard about it, I thought it was a schmaltzy mother-daughter thing, and since my mom and I don't do treacle (except rare occasions when we discuss our love of all little dogs), I expected not to like it. But I love all the pop-culture and literature references!
*Christmas is already at the Mall of America. I usually hate how retail starts celebrating the religious holiday before thanksgiving, and it did make me sad that anyone of a non-Christian faith is totally excluded from the decorations in the amusement park, it still makes me warm inside...I love the advent season! Now that I've stopped caring about the presents (Christmas is actually my least favorite day in December), I don't separate my secular anticipation from my religious. Which means that the biggest Gingerbread house in the world (yes, right in my local mall) gets me excited for Jesus' birthday! Speaking of that, I think someone told me that some historians believe he was born in 7 A.D. (ironically after his namesake period started), which would make this his 2000 birthday! Anyway, to make a long story short, I danced in the changing room when Mariah Carey's holiday song played, and I hate that song, but I danced because this year I'm excited! I haven't figured out why yet, but it might have something to do with the fact that I'm moving in two weeks and I'm planning on "taking" my students to Hawaii on our "trip," which is mostly so I can make leis and serve coconut.
*That last bullet point was way too long, so here's a related note: I love that this season brings festive traditions/parties. I'm organizing my first progressive dinner, which is exciting because I like the idea of eating in many different places and because my parents and I used to do them every year when I was little. I'm also organizing my maternal family's biannual (because we didn't do it last year) secret santa. We give gifts to another person secretly for 7 days before Christmas...like how I added that subtle nod to Channukah? (Not that we celebrate the actual meaning of the holiday, but I do think the secular aspect of that gift-giving is much more appealing). I think commercialism should be spread out, and secret gift-giving is a challenge of creativity when we're all spending every day together.
*Yoga. I love yoga. I now fit into my light blue corderoy pants, which I haven't fit into since my freshman year of college, when a boy on my floor used to always touch them because he liked the sound (whatever) and I would blush; it was probably one of the best things about freshman year. So yoga is working out for me and it's fun to boot.
*Forever 21. Having gotten over the fact that it's not age-appropriate (according to the owners), I love this store because everything is super cheap, I could spend my life there and not have time to see the entire selection, and their inhouse designers are amazing gifted at anticipating and copying trends in fashion. I bought my Christmas dress there today for $27. There are some commercial products in which I do refuse to partake due to name: Seventeen Magazine (sorry, you're (omg) 7 years too late), Sweet Sixteen on MTV (I don't think I had one), or AARP monthly.
*Teaching about American history, culture, and society. Developing this curriculum has helped me to remember so much...and I'm teaching 2nd and 3rd graders!! It's sad how little Americans need to know about America to live here. We should actually have to learn stuff and demonstrate knowledge of the flag on Flag Day, for example. It would make the holiday so much more interesting. Last week I learned that the Native Americans who helped the pilgrims (thus beginning the tradition of Thanksgiving) were the Wampanoag. I also learned that the pilgrims actually came from Holland and that the National Anthem is about the Battle of Fort McHenry in Baltimore, which Francis Scott Key was sitting around watching because his friend had been kidnapped. I actually always thought Francis was a woman...I think I'd never seen the spelling.
*Having a nice little posse of friends. Since my major trust issues from high school are still in residence, it's nice to finally realize that I can trust them! I should have known that from the beginning, with the t-shirt, but like I said, issues:)
*My cat. He's a keeper (not like poor sneezes-on-face-then-licks-it-off, who's hopefully with a good family now). Oliver is sweet, and so much the adorable little orphan like his namesake. When I give him catnip (then run away for fear of his random clawings when excited), I swear he looks at me as if to say "Please sir, may I have some more?" He has puppy-dog eyes down to a science. Of course, he also has a belly now, since I've given in too much, so he's on a diet.
*3-day weeks. Those are the best.