remember that dream?

You know, the dream where everyone sees you in your underwear?

Tonight I had a similar experience. Only, I was awake.

I was asleep on the couch. Clad in only boyshort undies and my pajama top - an over sized t shirt with a giant pig face on the front that I've had since I was LITERALLY eight years old - I felt a wet doggy nose pressing against my cheek. Alas, the weakened bladder of my elderly canine was at it again. Bleary eyed from sleep, I stumbled into my flip flops and put Puck's leash on to take him out to pee.

"No one will see me," I yawned. "It's the middle of the night."

Um, wrong.

Actually, it was only about 10:30 p.m. And EVERY SINGLE ONE of my neighbors was in the parking lot watching a fire engine circling the parking lot trying to find the house that called in a kitchen fire.

Puck, still feeling nature's call, bounds over to the bushes and proceeds to pee for a good sixty seconds, completely eliminating any hope of making an unnoticed escape.

So, not only did my neighbors get a good view of my butt cheeks and giant pig-face t shirt, but about six firefighters on Engine 33 did, too.

Tomorrow I am online shopping for adult doggy diapers and never leaving the house again.

NE Florida's Barack-Through

I'm so proud of Jacksonville!

Not only did we turn out to support Senator Obama at his pep rally yesterday, we turned out in a big way. Ten thousand people inside Metropolitan Park, and eight thousand crowded outside. We waited in the sun and the rain. We bought buttons and made tshirts. We high-fived and chanted and cheered. We welcomed neighbors from all over Florida, Georgia and Alabama.

And finally - he came!

Senator Obama's speech was motivational. He spoke about his plans to change things. He says he will end the war in Iraq. He plans on funding green technology to protect our environment, decrease our dependency on foreign oil, and create new jobs. He wants to give tax cuts to middle and working class families to help stimulate the economy. He will work to provide fair and affordable health care to all Americans. He will fight to make college affordable. He wants to support teachers so they do not have to, and I quote, "teach to the tests."

I agree. Can we do these things? I hope so. I really do. Getting him elected is the first step.

It was truly an amazing thing to know that I was standing in the Florida heat, listening to history happen, listening to the next potential President of the United States ask for my vote. Seeing my community come out in masses to show their support and appreciation for his campaign. Watching little children on their parents shoulders, chanting "Yes We Can!" and hoping in the next eight years, they will sit in classrooms in a much better America than the one we have today.

This day, for me, was inspiration personified.


ps - Here's the slogan I chose for our tshirts. Go see more photos, including me and Janine's Top Model Audition shots, from this wonderful day.

play with words

Tomorrow, something fabulous is FINALLY happening in Jacksonville.

We are having a rally downtown for none other than BARACK OBAMA! The best part is - the man HIMSELF will be in attendance. Lately, I've been volunteering for the campaign and being proactive makes me feel useful and excited.

And on the eve of the night I will hear the Future President of the United States of America speak in my town, all I can think is....

What makes the best tshirt?

Obama Baracks!
I Had A Barack-Through
Party Like Barack Stars
or ... Vote Obama 08 (I know, this ones a clunker!)

What can I say? Political volunteering aside, I'm still me!

the working girl at work

So, for any curious readers, these are some pictures from my classroom. I thought you might be interested to see where I spend most of my weekdays. This is where the Working Girl gets her work on, educating the young minds of America.

This is the top of my filing cabinet. All the essentials - lesson plans, bottled water, Nelson Mandela biography, piggy bank, and a starry, starry night.

Ahh, the elusive bathroom pass. Everybody wants one.

A shelf of our classroom library. Note the color-coded labeling system.

Our "Word Garden", where vocabulary grows. It's amazing what I can do with a little fabric, wire fencing, brown paper bags, hula skirts and a staple gun.

The Student Help Station - keeps us organized and feeling happy.

This is what the room looks like from my desk. It's a bit more interesting with twenty hormonal pre-teens sitting in those desks. I promise.

Woo! Desk surfing!!! (Also, that's the giant mirror in my classroom.)
My messy desk at the end of the day.... ok, and the beginning and middle of the day, too.

Tell me what you think ... and yes, your comments will be graded. - WG

my life in text messaging

Here's another fun game to play. These are my last 15 text messages (other than the "ok" and "yes" responses) in order from furthest back to most recent:

- True, punchies for life.
- to get the crazy Sri Lankan bitch off my ass
- not as much as you do!
- wet and irritated. you got a red spot coming for you.
- took a sweet job in kentu
- cky
- no power, two days, this sucks
- you're my person!
- not making cuts til next week
- you little drunky
- be safe, Ms. Frustration
- Yes. Yes, you are.
- I am drugged and horny.
- I need Mike's man meat.
- No coke in 3 days. Go buy a webcam.
-Colton in amazing. I am in love. Hopefully we'll go home tomorrow, depending on his test results.

Sometimes, I prefer my life out of context.

my life in pictures

Taken from Emily, here's a fun little photo game to play. Type the information into google images and see what pops up!

My First Name (No big shock this hooker popped up! LiLo move over. It's time for LiLay!!)

My Middle Name (oooh, scary!)

My Last Name (this was the first image...a guy named Stephen - which is my dad's name! )
and I couldn't help adding that the 5th image in all of google is a picture of MY parents in MY house! I don't know any of these kids though - are they replacing me in mass quantity??

And then there's my age (apparently not something you should spread around)
A place I'd like to visit (I was just talking to one of my students about this...It's Tokyo)
My Favorite Place (no big shock there):
My Favorite Animal (A BLT no "B" please):
Favorite Food (LOL, try and figure this one out):
Favorite Color (add the blue!):
Favorite Bad Habit (probably the only reason I pay a cable bill):
My First Job (although I didn't work for the Red Cross):

My Favorite Restaurant (if you live in Ocala, you should go check it out! Order the BadWich and tell them Lindsay sent you!):
Where I Was Born (that's supposed to be New Jersey):
Where I Grew Up (I do love streets like this - but watch out for chiggers!):

Where I Live Now (our downtown is actually quite pretty) :

and finally....what I'm doing right now! (big shock):

and on that note, I guess I better get my ass off the couch and do something productive. Honest to blog, people!

new neighbor

So, for the past two weeks, I've been greeted by this "little" guy on my front porch. You can't really tell from the pictures, but he is about 8 inches long and half an inch thick. Not your average friendly Floridian lizard!



He's also got these creepy little scales that change color in the sunlight. Today, when I snapped this picture (before he shot like lightning into the bushing enticing my most high-pitched scream) I noticed he was a brownish-green. However, this weekend he was more of a silvery-blue. I don't know what the hell he is, but the fact that I can see him as soon as I pull up in my car, lurking on the porch and waiting for me ... freaks. me. out.