could be twins

know that weird bond that twins have? the one that allows them to know exactly what the other is thinking or feeling even though they are miles apart? they tend to eat at the same time, in the same way, the same weird foods... yeah, that's cool.

my sister and i are not twins...i'm pretty sure that i couldn't tell you what she is thinking/feeling if we were miles apart, but when we are in the same room? now that is a different story! over the years, as people stopped asking us if we were twins (two girls a year apart...mom dressed us alike all the time), i started to notice that we have a bond of our own that in some ways mimicks twindom.

because of this bond, there are people who refuse to let us be on the same team for games like pictionary (we killed as partners!), taboo, cranium, catchphrase... c'mon, just because i can guess a supposedly really hard picture that she started to draw when others see but a line?

the occurrences over the years have been many, but on saturday we experienced two back to back. the second occurrence was my favorite...we were walking towards the haunted house and i said to betsy that it is funny that the rides we like are the most expensive, and that you can't use an armband to get on them. immediately she started telling me "quit that! you keep saying exactly what i'm thinking!" i tried to assure her that at least this time i think i had the thought before her, that we didn't have it at the exact same time, because i was actually thinking it as we passed the parachutes a while ago. to this she said "stop that! i was thinking it at the parachutes, too, i just didn't say it aloud!"

you might not get this blog, or get the magical moment by my poor story-telling skills, but i don't care, cuz it's not about you getting it, it's about me remembering yet another "could be twins" moment! :)

"no betsy, we aren't putting tinsel on the tree!"

what are the odds?

the other morning i decided to stop at panera bread for a bagel (you must try the cinnamon crunch bagel!) and latte before work. i was in the restaurant for a very short time...5 minutes max, and in that time only two other individuals came into the otherwise empty joint. as i walked outside, 3 cars sat in a row, and as i looked at the cars on either side of this little black honda, i had no idea which was mine. i was slightly nervous that i would walk to the wrong car...thankfully i could just make out some of my crap in the front seat of the one closest to me. :) same make, model, superficial accessories, everything...how bizarre!

identity theft...it's really real

i must say i never believed it probable, but i have recently been the victim of identity theft. thankfully there is no risk of any of my financial or other personal information being filched along with this occurrance, as it is limited to someone creating an email account jeanne.hackenberg@.... in order to lure my online students into giving out their login information. how advanced cheating has become! if they would just put their brains to work for good instead of evil...

DDR pics

mike definitely did a great irish jig...of course, he only did it because he thought his foot always had to return to the center of the mat.



so, i guess i figured out the way to add more images at once! this picture is the gang getting ready to try a little variation of traditional DDR. they decided by doubling up and using their hands that they could be successful performing a song on "hard" setting, "expert" level...not so much. but it was a blast to watch!

DDR extravaganza

sunday's game night turned into a DDR extravaganza. some of my friends have been wanting to try it out and here is the result:
apparently i can only add two images at once...

egg-cellent discovery

i started to clean my room the other day...

for those of you who know me, that is a monumental task. so far it is looking rather good! at the same time i was trying to find storage space for the "taste of home entertaining" stuff i bought. :) in order to find space, i opened (for the first time in years) a chest that sits in my room. as i was clearing out old pottery projects from 5th grade, among other art projects that went into the trash - why do we save such things? - i found a plastic easter egg that mom had put in a longenberger basket and sent me while in college. i was just about to throw it out when i thought...i wonder if there is anything inside? sure enough there was. and not just any something, but a $5 bill something. gotta love miracle money!

i experience that same joy when i put on a winter jacket for the first time and reach into the pocket to find some cash from the year before, or get out an old purse, etc.

if you were wondering: the room is still a mess, but all the clothes are picked up, which is an accomplishment.

take 5 take 2

if you were concerned…the “take 5” did not get eaten. betsy and i would have, but when we opened the wrapper we found it to be unsalvageable.

the case of the missing candy bar

it was noon on monday and the stomach was yelling to be fed. the grocery store seemed like a logical choice… as she was checking out she noticed some amazing savings on candy bars (don’t go to the store hungry) and bought some. the facts are these: she bought 7 (2 “take 5”, 3 “kit kat”, 2 “reeses crunchy”) and took them into her work place, securing them in the uppermost drawer of her desk….

at this point you may have reason to question the judgment (as well as health-consciousness) of my client, but i would ask that you refrain and add that she still had 4 of the said candy bars left at the time this report was written.

upon reaching into her drawer on tuesday for a candy bar, she noticed something quite disturbing…she only had one “take 5”. the previous day she ate a “kit kat” leaving the “take 5” bars untouched, as those are her current favorites. searching all her drawers thoroughly revealed nothing but sorrow caused by the loss of the precious chocolate. sure that there must have been some mix-up at the store, she forgot about it and moved on with her life.

3 hours later…walking to her car she noticed something red and rectangular gleaming in the sunlight…could it be? but how? in 2 parking spaces away from where she was parked (in the exact location that she had parked the previous day), a “take 5” bar laid, just waiting to be rescued. as she picked it up, she noticed no evidence of it being tampered with, beyond the effects of the extreme temperatures experienced as of late. it had obviously been melted in the heat and then cooled by the rain.

as her case came to a close, i couldn’t help but wonder…will she take a risk and eat the “take 5” bar? the jury is still out on that one…

blog formatting

so after the emoticon blog fiasco...totally couldn't make it do what i wanted it to...i have realized that i need to brush up on my html codes. :P

the wide world of emoticons

today i received two emails from students using emoticons i had never seen before and it got me to thinkin... where do they come up with them, and whatever happened to the classics?

here are the emoticons that i know and love:
happy :)
sad :(
you know/whatever ;)

here are the ones my students use:
dead or something like it. x_x
super happy, so much so you squint. ^v^
^^"
frustrated or mad. >_<

the only reason i know what they are is because someone at work sent me the following link: www.cknow.com/emoticons.txt

however, i still am not sure what ^^" means. next time a student uses it i am totally asking. until then i will assume it is just a caterpillar.