So it has been a long time since I last posted. Blah. I've been pretty busy with the dance studio-- the holiday show is next weekend and I have so. much. to. do. Sickening. But anyhow... I thought I would post a little holiday survey listed by my favorite senior dance student, Kelsey on her blog
So here goes:
1) What is your favorite Christmas movie? Like Kelsey, I can't just pick one... I love the Griswalds in "Christmas Vacation", "White Christmas" with Bing Crosby, "Elf", "The Santa Claus", and nearly all the Christmas cartoon specials that are now on DVD/video instead of just television.
2)What is your favorite Christmas-type special TV program/programs? I enjoy the 25 Days of Christmas on ABC family, like Kelsey, also. But I just love to watch all of the old cartoons that are replayed on television each year: Charlie Brown, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, etc.
3) What is your favorite Christmas song/album? I don't know that I have a favorite album. I love several different songs, too-- traditional as well as contemporary/modern.
4) Who do you give presents to? My family, friends, dance helpers, co-workers, and pretty much anyone else I can justify buying a gift for! I love gift giving!
5) What is your favorite tradition? I love decorating the tree and putting up the rest of the decor while listening to Christmas music and watching movies. I LOVE our Christmas eve tradition of getting together with my dad's side of the family. And as much as I grumble about it, I do like Black Friday shopping a little bit :)
6) When do you start decorating? Growing up we always put up all the Christmas decorations the day after Thanksgiving. Now that I'm a married adult with my own house, I like to put them up over Thanksgiving break sometime. I'm working on getting that stuff taken care of this weekend, but it isn't looking good right now :/ Typically it is done the by the weekend after Thanksgiving weekend though.
7) When do you start getting in the Christmas mood? Well, since Christmas decorations are put out right after Halloween now in the stores, that is usually a good springboard for me. But my big excitement arrives after Thanksgiving because as much as I love Christmas, I also love Thanksgiving and don't wish to miss out on that.
8) How do you pass the long weeks before Christmas? I listen to the music a lot (studio, car, home, etc). I bake cookies. I shop. I wrap gifts. I decorate.
9) What is better giving or receiving? I am 100% with Kelsey on this... I love to receive gifts (who doesn't!?!) but seriously the bigger joy is picking out the perfect gifts and watching the happiness and joy on people's faces when they open what I've gotten them. :)
10) What is your favorite element of Christmas? I love the reminder that it is Christ's birthday-- the snow on Christmas morning-- the love that you feel "outloud" this time of year-- people's generosity and giving to those in need--the brother/sisterhood that is felt-- peace
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Sunday, October 25, 2009
I've been tagged! This is from Kelsey - read her blog http://chapstickcamarasandcrowns.blogspot.com/
This is an iPod/MP3 tag....the rules:Play all your songs on your player and click it to shuffle.Look at the first question, and write down what song is playing at the time.As each song randomnly changes, type it down to the next question and so on.Then, tag as many of your followers that you want and post a comment on their blogs telling them that you tagged them!
1) If someone says "this is ok," you say: Senior Year Spring Musical
2) What would best describe your personality? You Must Love me
3) What do you like in a guy/girl? I Will Love You
4) What's your life's purpose? It'll All Work Out
5) What is your motto? Beat It
6) What do your friends think of you? Angels We have Heard on High
7) What do you think about very often? Bugle Call Rag
8) What is 2 + 2? Best Friends
9) What do you think of your best friend? Mrs.Robinson
10) What do you think of a person you like? Lunatic Fringe
11) What's your life story? You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile (hahaha)
12) What do you want to be when you grow up? Obsession
13) What do you think when you see a person you like? Purple People Eater
14) What do you mom and dad think of you? One Moment in Time (this is just wrong)
15) What will you dance to at your wedding? Redneck (oh, hahaha, good thing I'm already married)
16) What will they play at your funeral? Get Up (isn't that a little ironic!)
17) What is your hobby/interest? Lady Marmalade
18) What is your biggest secret? The Devil Went down to Georgia
19) What do you think of your friends? Just Around the Riverbend
20) What's the worst thing that could happen? Silent Shout (maybe this is a metaphor?)
21) How will you die? Hello,Goodbye
22) What's one thing you regret? Side Two
23) What makes you laugh? Hear Me Now
24) What makes you cry? My Town (hmmm...)
25) Will you ever get married? Crawl
26) What scares you the most? The Holly and the Ivy (oh, that is just funny!)
27) Does anyone like you? Surfn' Bird
28) If you could go back in time, what would you change? Celebrity
29) What hurts right now? Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
30) What do you most often exclaim? Do Your Own Thing
31) Where is paradise? Rock this town
32) What did you first say as a baby? Save the Last Dance for me (hahaha)
33) If you had a pet, what would you name it? Around the World
34) What is your favorite sight to see? Reverance 6/8
35) What makes you gag? No One
36) What are you best at? Special
37) If you wrote a book, what would it be called? Shake Rattle & Roll (this could be a good idea!)
38) What did you last wish for? Welcome Christmas
39) What would your superhero name be? For Dancers Only
40) How soon will this be over? Campus
41) Where are you sitting? The visitors
42) What do you most hate? Mr. Santa
43) What do you most love? City of Angels
44) What is your secret name? Auld Lang Syne
45) What will you post this as? The Unfeeling Kiss
This was... interesting. Some of the answers may be a little prophetic... hahahaha
This is an iPod/MP3 tag....the rules:Play all your songs on your player and click it to shuffle.Look at the first question, and write down what song is playing at the time.As each song randomnly changes, type it down to the next question and so on.Then, tag as many of your followers that you want and post a comment on their blogs telling them that you tagged them!
1) If someone says "this is ok," you say: Senior Year Spring Musical
2) What would best describe your personality? You Must Love me
3) What do you like in a guy/girl? I Will Love You
4) What's your life's purpose? It'll All Work Out
5) What is your motto? Beat It
6) What do your friends think of you? Angels We have Heard on High
7) What do you think about very often? Bugle Call Rag
8) What is 2 + 2? Best Friends
9) What do you think of your best friend? Mrs.Robinson
10) What do you think of a person you like? Lunatic Fringe
11) What's your life story? You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile (hahaha)
12) What do you want to be when you grow up? Obsession
13) What do you think when you see a person you like? Purple People Eater
14) What do you mom and dad think of you? One Moment in Time (this is just wrong)
15) What will you dance to at your wedding? Redneck (oh, hahaha, good thing I'm already married)
16) What will they play at your funeral? Get Up (isn't that a little ironic!)
17) What is your hobby/interest? Lady Marmalade
18) What is your biggest secret? The Devil Went down to Georgia
19) What do you think of your friends? Just Around the Riverbend
20) What's the worst thing that could happen? Silent Shout (maybe this is a metaphor?)
21) How will you die? Hello,Goodbye
22) What's one thing you regret? Side Two
23) What makes you laugh? Hear Me Now
24) What makes you cry? My Town (hmmm...)
25) Will you ever get married? Crawl
26) What scares you the most? The Holly and the Ivy (oh, that is just funny!)
27) Does anyone like you? Surfn' Bird
28) If you could go back in time, what would you change? Celebrity
29) What hurts right now? Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
30) What do you most often exclaim? Do Your Own Thing
31) Where is paradise? Rock this town
32) What did you first say as a baby? Save the Last Dance for me (hahaha)
33) If you had a pet, what would you name it? Around the World
34) What is your favorite sight to see? Reverance 6/8
35) What makes you gag? No One
36) What are you best at? Special
37) If you wrote a book, what would it be called? Shake Rattle & Roll (this could be a good idea!)
38) What did you last wish for? Welcome Christmas
39) What would your superhero name be? For Dancers Only
40) How soon will this be over? Campus
41) Where are you sitting? The visitors
42) What do you most hate? Mr. Santa
43) What do you most love? City of Angels
44) What is your secret name? Auld Lang Syne
45) What will you post this as? The Unfeeling Kiss
This was... interesting. Some of the answers may be a little prophetic... hahahaha
Monday, October 12, 2009
So You Think You Can Dance
Littlest sister & I went to Toledo to see So You Think You Can Dance Season 5 tour. It was A-MAZE-ING. Definitely worth the price of the tickets! However, the drive left much to be desired. According to Yahoo!maps, it was to take us about 3 hours and 40 minutes from my home. It took us about that to get there and a little more to come back (since we stopped for gas and I drove a little more slowly because it was hella dark). So, we left my house around 2:15pm. The show was at 7:30. Got there with plenty of time. Parked right across the street from the arena. Walked a little through town hoping to find a great foodie place to grab some grub, however, we sadly became aware that there was a homecoming dance at a Toledo h.s. the same night and thusly hoards of fancily dressed high schoolers were swarming the local establishments, leaving us foodless. That turned out to be okay as neither of us were extraordinarly hungry.
Pre-show we did a little shopping for some fun SYTYCD tour merchandise. I got the standard tour shirt and a great pair of legwarmers (which I wore tonight for class). Love them both.
The show was amazing. LOVED it. Will post some awesome pics I was able to snag during the performance. We had near perfect seats in the center of the arena with just enough slope so we could see the entire stage.
The show ended and we were on the road to home around 10:15. After a minor detour (thanks to a wonderful bridge being out) and driving through a semi-scuzzy part of town (saw a guy we think either just stole stuff or mugged someone, but no prostitutes) we headed home and bid a fond farewell to Toledo, the city we had only spent about 4 hours in.
Upon our eventual arrival in Meadville (around 2:30am), after a long drive with much singing, laughing and other silly behavior, we decided we definitely needed some grub and stopped at McDonalds. We got ourselves some chicken nuggets and french fries, shared them with Daisy and Rocki and collapsed into our respective beds.
It was a great night-- though I don't think I ever want to drive to Toledo and back in the same day again.
Pre-show we did a little shopping for some fun SYTYCD tour merchandise. I got the standard tour shirt and a great pair of legwarmers (which I wore tonight for class). Love them both.
The show was amazing. LOVED it. Will post some awesome pics I was able to snag during the performance. We had near perfect seats in the center of the arena with just enough slope so we could see the entire stage.
The show ended and we were on the road to home around 10:15. After a minor detour (thanks to a wonderful bridge being out) and driving through a semi-scuzzy part of town (saw a guy we think either just stole stuff or mugged someone, but no prostitutes) we headed home and bid a fond farewell to Toledo, the city we had only spent about 4 hours in.
Upon our eventual arrival in Meadville (around 2:30am), after a long drive with much singing, laughing and other silly behavior, we decided we definitely needed some grub and stopped at McDonalds. We got ourselves some chicken nuggets and french fries, shared them with Daisy and Rocki and collapsed into our respective beds.
It was a great night-- though I don't think I ever want to drive to Toledo and back in the same day again.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
So much to do, so little time
J asked the other day what I would like for Christmas this year. My response was something like, "Another hour or two a day..."
September has felt like May this year. I'm not kidding-- I've been running non-stop during the week, which I expect, but I've been booked solid every weekend. And as much as I love the month of May... I. HATE. IT. The busy-ness is too much. On top of the endless running, I got sick and was out of it for nearly 2 1/2 weeks. ICK. But I pushed through, like the trooper I am, and this weekend was almost boring we had so little to do :) Next weekend- not so much... J's going to be gone to NC with Scott for a Wake Forest football game and some NC fall golfing while I stay home and go to a dance show in Toledo with Samantha. Sunday will be our nephew's last Little Gridders football game of this year, so I'll be at that too. It will be busy, but not nearly as busy as the last few weeks.
On a downside, our neighbors got a new dog, I think (or it's been visiting for a few days) and it is tied outside right now. When they tie it out, it whimpers and barks nearly non-stop. It is irrrrrrratating. Something needs to be done about that before I throw open my back door and start screaming. Stuff like that gets on my nerves. UGH.
September has felt like May this year. I'm not kidding-- I've been running non-stop during the week, which I expect, but I've been booked solid every weekend. And as much as I love the month of May... I. HATE. IT. The busy-ness is too much. On top of the endless running, I got sick and was out of it for nearly 2 1/2 weeks. ICK. But I pushed through, like the trooper I am, and this weekend was almost boring we had so little to do :) Next weekend- not so much... J's going to be gone to NC with Scott for a Wake Forest football game and some NC fall golfing while I stay home and go to a dance show in Toledo with Samantha. Sunday will be our nephew's last Little Gridders football game of this year, so I'll be at that too. It will be busy, but not nearly as busy as the last few weeks.
On a downside, our neighbors got a new dog, I think (or it's been visiting for a few days) and it is tied outside right now. When they tie it out, it whimpers and barks nearly non-stop. It is irrrrrrratating. Something needs to be done about that before I throw open my back door and start screaming. Stuff like that gets on my nerves. UGH.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
My Night Off
My Night Off
By: Heather Onderko
Tonight I had a night off from the dance studio. This isn't a really celebratory occasion because it is only the 2nd week of dance classes and I love to teach dance class-- it is a positive release for me and my pent up, sometimes negative energies left-over from the school day. The original plan and reasoning for not holding dance class tonight is because A Taste of Meadville is being held at the Market House. This event is divine. It brings in some of the very best restaurants and food vendors throughout the Meadville area with some of their very best appetizers, main dishes, desserts and drinks to sample. So, the every day Joe/Josephine can just purchase a ticket and eat until his (or her) belly is beyond contentedly full. And since the event goes on for something like 2 hours, you can load up, rest and digest, load up some more, rest and digest and continually repeat until you've taken in so many calories that you really probably should not eat for the next week, or maybe month. Needless to say, the Market House area is swarmed for this event, parking is cut off in the area, and getting to dance class is nearly (if not completely) impossible and kids are coming into 1/2 hour classes for the last 15 minutes by the time they arrive. Not. So. Cool. So I do the dutiful thing that all good dance instructors should do and build it into the schedule that there is no class on the night of A Taste of Meadville. Normally J & I get tickets and attend this festive occasion ourselves. However this year we have our fall BBQ this coming weekend so there is much to do. Jason is holding fall baseball open gym and also is helping to run an intermural volleyball program at the elementary school. So we decided to scrap our plans to attend and take this year off...Never fear, I plan to be back next year!!!
So here is what I did on my night off....
1. Stayed for an entire English Department meeting at the middle school (ended around 4:30)
2. Went grocery shopping at Aldi's and Wal-Mart in the middle of the week before 9pm
3. Cleaned out the refrigerator (it really needed it)
4. Made dinner in the middle of the week, before 9pm (and I really cooked! not some freezer meal)
5. Cleaned up after dinner (emptied and reloaded the dish washer, packed lunches for tomorrow, emptied the kitchen garbage, did laundry)
6. Tried to call back two people who called regarding dance classes-- didn't reach them so I prepped info to send them in the mail.
7. Successfully blogged for the 2nd day in a row (in a really long entry, nonetheless)
And what will I do with the rest of my night off? Grade essays, finish picking up my office a little bit more so it is ready for the weekend, give my still-sick husband a kiss good night (on the forehead-- avoiding germs, please!), go to bed with my puppies (because still-sick hubby is sleeping on the couch), and maybe read a little bit the book I'm working on lately.
Full Night. Got lots done. Feelin good. Mission Accomplished. :)
By: Heather Onderko
Tonight I had a night off from the dance studio. This isn't a really celebratory occasion because it is only the 2nd week of dance classes and I love to teach dance class-- it is a positive release for me and my pent up, sometimes negative energies left-over from the school day. The original plan and reasoning for not holding dance class tonight is because A Taste of Meadville is being held at the Market House. This event is divine. It brings in some of the very best restaurants and food vendors throughout the Meadville area with some of their very best appetizers, main dishes, desserts and drinks to sample. So, the every day Joe/Josephine can just purchase a ticket and eat until his (or her) belly is beyond contentedly full. And since the event goes on for something like 2 hours, you can load up, rest and digest, load up some more, rest and digest and continually repeat until you've taken in so many calories that you really probably should not eat for the next week, or maybe month. Needless to say, the Market House area is swarmed for this event, parking is cut off in the area, and getting to dance class is nearly (if not completely) impossible and kids are coming into 1/2 hour classes for the last 15 minutes by the time they arrive. Not. So. Cool. So I do the dutiful thing that all good dance instructors should do and build it into the schedule that there is no class on the night of A Taste of Meadville. Normally J & I get tickets and attend this festive occasion ourselves. However this year we have our fall BBQ this coming weekend so there is much to do. Jason is holding fall baseball open gym and also is helping to run an intermural volleyball program at the elementary school. So we decided to scrap our plans to attend and take this year off...Never fear, I plan to be back next year!!!
So here is what I did on my night off....
1. Stayed for an entire English Department meeting at the middle school (ended around 4:30)
2. Went grocery shopping at Aldi's and Wal-Mart in the middle of the week before 9pm
3. Cleaned out the refrigerator (it really needed it)
4. Made dinner in the middle of the week, before 9pm (and I really cooked! not some freezer meal)
5. Cleaned up after dinner (emptied and reloaded the dish washer, packed lunches for tomorrow, emptied the kitchen garbage, did laundry)
6. Tried to call back two people who called regarding dance classes-- didn't reach them so I prepped info to send them in the mail.
7. Successfully blogged for the 2nd day in a row (in a really long entry, nonetheless)
And what will I do with the rest of my night off? Grade essays, finish picking up my office a little bit more so it is ready for the weekend, give my still-sick husband a kiss good night (on the forehead-- avoiding germs, please!), go to bed with my puppies (because still-sick hubby is sleeping on the couch), and maybe read a little bit the book I'm working on lately.
Full Night. Got lots done. Feelin good. Mission Accomplished. :)
Monday, September 14, 2009
Bad Blogger, Bad!
I have a bad feeling I'm going to become a very bad blogger. I'm sorry. I really am. I have every intention of writing some glamorously, entertaining blogs most nights. And then I don't. I'm just too tired. Or too busy. Or whatever. Too much of a procrastinator? Yea, that could be it, too.
So anyhow, first week of dance went well. Yay! Loving my classes.
First two weeks of school went well. Yay! Mostly liking my classes.
Our picnic is this weekend. Haven't heard from a lot of people. Boo. Not thrilled about that. I hope we have nice weather and people actually come. I don't know.
A few other random thoughts:
We are going to a wedding in Rochester next weekend (as in the 26th) and I have a princess birthday party at the studio that I'm hosting on the 27th. I hope it all goes well. Keep your fingers crossed. On October 10, while my husband is in NC going to a Wake Forest football game with Scott (that I was not invited to attend :( ) I will most likely be going to So You Think You Can Dance tour in Toledo, OH. Excited to see the show. Not excited to drive there myself without our GPS unit (Jason will be taking it to NC). Eh, it'll be fine though. And finally, Patrick Swayze died today. That is sad. He was such a phenomonal dancer/actor. I enjoyed him. Rest in Peace PS.
So anyhow, first week of dance went well. Yay! Loving my classes.
First two weeks of school went well. Yay! Mostly liking my classes.
Our picnic is this weekend. Haven't heard from a lot of people. Boo. Not thrilled about that. I hope we have nice weather and people actually come. I don't know.
A few other random thoughts:
We are going to a wedding in Rochester next weekend (as in the 26th) and I have a princess birthday party at the studio that I'm hosting on the 27th. I hope it all goes well. Keep your fingers crossed. On October 10, while my husband is in NC going to a Wake Forest football game with Scott (that I was not invited to attend :( ) I will most likely be going to So You Think You Can Dance tour in Toledo, OH. Excited to see the show. Not excited to drive there myself without our GPS unit (Jason will be taking it to NC). Eh, it'll be fine though. And finally, Patrick Swayze died today. That is sad. He was such a phenomonal dancer/actor. I enjoyed him. Rest in Peace PS.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Things I'm just not good at...
Although I have decided to be a bit more positive with the upcoming school year(notice I did not use the word 'impending' as it has a truly negative connotation), I think it is time to embrace my faults and inabilities. And I'm going to do it here.
1. Although I teach English, I admit that I am just not very good at avoiding those hanging prepositions (note my blog title today). It just does not feel right to say, "Things at which I am not good..." or whatever.
2. I am also not a very good speller. I utilize spell check anytime it's available. I still reference dictionaries as necessary. And I'm okay with this, but everyone thinks I should be an all-star speller because I teach English.
3. I am not good at golf. Jason insists that it is because I never gave it enough of a chance. I don't really think that is it. I tried it, but I never saw much improvement, so with as busy as I am, I stopped. Who has time to pursue a hobby they don't really enjoy, aren't very good at, and walk away from feeling terribly frustrated?
4. I am not a Susie Homemaker. I hate the drudgery of household chores-- dusting, laundry, dishes, vaccuming, sweeping, mopping, washing windows, etc. I take no true pleasure in those tasks.
5. I am not really very good at time managment. I tend to push things off to the last minute (procrastination at its finest) and then franticly scramble to get things done.
6. I am not very patient. At least I don't think I am, though others insist my patience is off the rocker.
7. I am not a good decision maker. I over analyze things to the -nth degree and go back and forth ten-thousand times before I will finally settle.
8. I do not hide my emotions well. If I feel really strongly about something you *will* see it on my face, whether I want you to or not.
9. I am not good at saying, "No." If someone asks me to do something, I generally will do it unless it is an impossible task, and sometimes the seeming impossibility of a task will draw me into it even more.
10. I take things personally all the time. If a friend of mine says she'll call on Tuesday evening and doesn't, I get upset and worried that she is mad at me over something and then I'll over-analyze what I might have done, etc, to try to figure it out.
11. I am not good at expressing my emotions. Although I don't hide them well, I don't let them out well either. It is hard for me to really talk about how I feel sometimes.
These are not all the things that I'm not good at, but it covers plenty of them for now. If I kept going, I might begin to dislike myself and that is NOT the purpose of this post. :)
1. Although I teach English, I admit that I am just not very good at avoiding those hanging prepositions (note my blog title today). It just does not feel right to say, "Things at which I am not good..." or whatever.
2. I am also not a very good speller. I utilize spell check anytime it's available. I still reference dictionaries as necessary. And I'm okay with this, but everyone thinks I should be an all-star speller because I teach English.
3. I am not good at golf. Jason insists that it is because I never gave it enough of a chance. I don't really think that is it. I tried it, but I never saw much improvement, so with as busy as I am, I stopped. Who has time to pursue a hobby they don't really enjoy, aren't very good at, and walk away from feeling terribly frustrated?
4. I am not a Susie Homemaker. I hate the drudgery of household chores-- dusting, laundry, dishes, vaccuming, sweeping, mopping, washing windows, etc. I take no true pleasure in those tasks.
5. I am not really very good at time managment. I tend to push things off to the last minute (procrastination at its finest) and then franticly scramble to get things done.
6. I am not very patient. At least I don't think I am, though others insist my patience is off the rocker.
7. I am not a good decision maker. I over analyze things to the -nth degree and go back and forth ten-thousand times before I will finally settle.
8. I do not hide my emotions well. If I feel really strongly about something you *will* see it on my face, whether I want you to or not.
9. I am not good at saying, "No." If someone asks me to do something, I generally will do it unless it is an impossible task, and sometimes the seeming impossibility of a task will draw me into it even more.
10. I take things personally all the time. If a friend of mine says she'll call on Tuesday evening and doesn't, I get upset and worried that she is mad at me over something and then I'll over-analyze what I might have done, etc, to try to figure it out.
11. I am not good at expressing my emotions. Although I don't hide them well, I don't let them out well either. It is hard for me to really talk about how I feel sometimes.
These are not all the things that I'm not good at, but it covers plenty of them for now. If I kept going, I might begin to dislike myself and that is NOT the purpose of this post. :)
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