Happy Halloween!

As you can tell from the below picture, I was a clown today for Halloween. I did my best NOT to look like the clown from Stephen King's movie "It", as I didn't want to traumatize my students as my father did to me after viewing that chilling movie as a child. After watching that movie, I was really freaked out and my parents said it was bed time. When I went up to the top bunk, I was horrified to find balloons underneath my covers and my dad laughing by my bedroom door. Sweet dreams...I think not.

Anywho, today was a fun day for me and my students. We got all of the work done that we needed to in the first half of school, and celebrated Halloween for the duration of the school day. The kids looked so cute and were so excited about Trick or Treating today! I remember the glory days when I would walk hours on end with my siblings and best gal Brooke, going door to door in hopes of our favorite candies. Brooke and I would always switch costumes and then go back to the same houses to get more candy. It's so funny how we thought we were getting over on the naive treat givers! ;) My brother Geo is over right now playing John Madden football on Playstation with Dan. Initially, my 17 year old brother called in hopes of getting Dan and I to go Trick or Treating with him, and we both declined. Besides the fact that it's obvious we're not kids, Dan and I have a monster load of candy from our students.

In honor of this wonderful Halloween holiday, I'll end this entry with my top five choices of the best scary movies! Have a groovy night and watch out for the little boogers that like to throw eggs...I was almost hit last night. ;(

TOP 5 SCARIEST MOVIE PICS (not in favorite order)

1. The Amityville Horror
2. A Nightmare On Elmstreet (I love them all!)
3. Halloween (part 1,2,4 and 5)
4. Child's Play (Part 1 &2...even though I still have to watch these between my fingers!)
5. Pet Sematary (This is by far the scariest of them all!!)

Sambo The Clown

Okay, so I am in the perfect profession for being very excited about Halloween! Not only am I a teacher, but I'm a Kindergarten teacher, which means I get act like I'm five years old all day long! ;)

So after searching for the perfect, yet inexpensive costume, I decided on being a clown. Now I haven't been a clown since I was about five years old myself, so it feels like a new costume to me. I originally wanted to be Dorothy, but it would've cost me $45.00 to be the scarecrow's heart throb. Anywho, my only fear is this-what if one of my students if afraid of clowns?? I'm not gonna be like the clown from the movie "IT", but nevertheless, some people, kids and adults included, are afraid of clowns. Take the lady at Factory Card Outlet last week who rung up my costume at the register. She is so scared of clowns, that when I approached the register she called another cashier to the front to ring me up. She stood to the side the entire time and called my clown jumpsuit a smiley costume. I'm not gonna lie, it made me second guess my costume decision, but not enough to put it back. Besides the fact that the clown gig was reasonably priced, a lot of other costumes were slutty! I mean, I know Halloween can be a time to get a little crazy, and for some, a justification to dress like a hoe, but what about the rest of us, huh? If you can't afford a $45.00 Halloween costume or go to work the next day dressed as a sexy nurse or naughty devil woman, I guess the clown jumpsuit is the best route to go. I'm just wonderin' how hard it will be to use the bathroom tomorrow! ;) I am really excited to dress up though and I know the kids will get a kick out of me going all out. I have a few parents coming in to help me run some games and my classroom has been decked out with decorations for about three weeks now.

As I'm into my 2nd year of teaching, I'm really starting to realize how quickly time goes by. Everything is outlined by seasonal holidays set as beginning and end points. August is Back to School, time to get ready and decorate the classroom. Ocotber is Halloween, time to get ready and decorate, December is Christmas madness...and the cycles continue. In the midst of all the holiday madness, we teachers continue to help shape the minds of America's youth and set some time aside for family and friends and a few cocktails. I'm not complaining by any means though, because I truly, genuinely love what I do. A good teacher friend of mine once told me that teachers don't have only good or bad days, they move from one minute to the next. Anyway, where am I going with all of this? Well, I'll wake up tomorrow morning and put on my clown jumpsuit, wig, red nose and try to teach my students with a straight face! ;) Then after school, I'll tear down all my Halloween decorations and prepare for the Thanksgiving holiday. :)

When Keepin' It Real Goes Wrong...

I love the saying, "Keepin' it real". Whenever I'm with a close friend or loved one and a controversial or questionable comment or action arises, I like to share my Keepin' it real 101 advice! ;) If you watch The Chappelle Show, you can appreciate that. ;) Basically it means you tell it like it is.

So anywho, today Dan came to walk back with me from my aerobics class and I was all pumped and excited about a great workout. Dan had brought a dollar so we could stop to get a few more newspapers with the awesome Sox headlines. I want to laminate the 1st page of one paper and hang it in my classroom and then keep the other copy to show my kids one day. We went to 7-11 after discovering that Wal-Greens was flat out. I bought 2 copies of the Chicago Tribune because my favorite paper, The Sun-Times was out. Anywho, as I'm walking out of 7-11, Dan's lagging behind looking at some magazines and this lady in I'd say her early 50's asks me why I bought 2 copies of the paper. I excitedly said, "GO WHITE SOX!" And then explained to her about my plans to laminate one copy and then keep the other one to show my future muchachos. So she tells me, "You really think the Sox won the series fair and square?" I said, "Well yes, because they did." Then I asked her if she was a Sox fan and when she said adamantly said, "NO", I told her that's why she didn't believe they deserved it and of course a Sox fan would not agree to their awesome winning streak. Then she starts talking about some bad calls that were made in the earlier games and asks me if I watched them. I was very proud to say yes, and tell her that there were quite a few calls made in the Sox favor and against them in those games. Pyscho lady, who has now been drilling me for a solid three minutes, tells me that I just don't get it and then asks me how old I am. I opened the 7-11 door and yelled, "Dan..." as I mustered a fake, confused smile at this lady. So just for shits and giggles, I continue on this conversation with the anti-Sox woman and she smirks and looks reassured with her points after I tell her I'm 23 years old. This encounter gets increasingly weirder when Dan walks out of 7-11 just as this lady asks me if I know how Michael Jordan's father died. When I told her that his death didn't relate the Sox winning, she snapped back saying, "Forget baseball for a minute!" I was like...hmmm, and looked back at Dan as I uneasily said, "Wasn't he murdered?" Dan agrees and then this woman turns into crazy CSI anti-Sox be-otch!! She starts going into this whole theory that Michael Jordan's dad was killed by the mob because of money and they killed his dad because he went to all of his games, not Michael's mom. She makes it a point to say that they killed Michael Jordan's dad because they knew he was closer to him than than his mom. Then she proceeded to say that someone paid someone else off to have the Sox win this and if I just looked at sports history, I would understand because it's all about money.

Okay, so at this point I was talking to CSI anti-Sox fan for about a good five to seven minutes. (At least it felt like it!) I decided that I'd had enough of this weird conversation and Dan and I start walking away, as I half-way turned around and told her to have a good night and take care. Can you believe that she starts walking too, only a few steps behind us, STILL mumbling about her crazy mob related sports suspicions. Dan and I cross the street and pick up our pace, as he says to me, "Yea, I don't wanna get stabbed tonight Sam." What a bizarre walk back from aerobics...all I wanted was a few newspapers as a remembrance of the Sox's awesomeness last night.

When keepin' it real goes wrong, you realize what you
could've done to prevent the unexpected situation. You see I kept it real by openly proclaiming my love for the Sox and continually defending their legitimate win last night. What should I have done? Well I shouldv'e walked right past this CSI anti-Sox fan be-otch with my newspapers to avoid any unanticipated encounters.

The 4 D's...

The 4 D's:
1. Dr. K (foot doctor and bunion alertest)
2. Dr. B (dermatologist who told me I have acne that needs to have "preventative measures taken")
3. Dr. A (my dentist who is at the top of my shit list today)
4. Dan (my amazing husband who somehow manages to keep me sane)

So anyway, since this past Saturday I have seen ALL of these men only to get bad news. It turns out that I have to have surgery on my left foot, take a pill and apply topical ointment daily to get rid of a cyst and the alleged acne that appeared to horrify the dermatologist. Is my acne that bad guys?!? But none of these things tick my off more than my visit to the dentist today. Before I get into it though, I should tell you that my morning started off leaving the apartment early to get donuts for my students from Dunkin Donuts. I told them that if another teacher complimented them in the hall I would bring them a special treat, and I was genuinely happy to do so. Anywho, I took a different route to work today to get to Dunkin Donuts and on the way, my ghetto, pimp-ass ride decided to slowly die out without no warning on 63rd street (a fairly busy street in Chicago.) Thank God I was driving with the death mobile in the right lane. Anyway, after using all of my strength to turn the steering wheel...bye-bye power steering fluid, I called Dan to come and get me. A few seconds later I called him back because the car decided to run. Anyway, by the grace of God I made it to work safely and even risked the ride to Jewel to get the kids donuts, which they happily gobbled up later in the day. (I was going to go to Dunkin Donuts but I didn't make my left hand turn because the turning lane was stopped, and I didn't want the beast to die out again. Using the brakes, although necessary, makes the beast mad!)

The kids had a good day and I really felt like they were excited about the things we learned in class. Well after school I had a date with D #3, my dentist Dr. A. I wasn't too eager to attend this appointment, seeing as my previous appointment was rudely cancelled when I was five minutes from the office after fighting traffic and the receptionist called me and snobbily told me I was late, and then apologized after she realized SHE messed up the time. Grrrr! Anyway, today I had the pleasure of waiting a half an hour for D #3 after walking to the dentist office from my mom's house. My car BARELY trugged down Archer (yet another bust street-you can't really avoid them in Chicago)so I didn't want to drive even further to the dentist. Anyway, the dental assistant gets the doctor after I politely complained and in the blink of an eye he was there. Now, I would go into even more detail about the actual D#3 visit, but I'm not even sure I understand what went down. I was told I was coming in to get 2 cavities filled and he didn't even touch them!!! Apparently, I had a cavity between a molar and the very expensive $500 porcelain crown my parents so graciously paid for last year. D#3 fixes this cavity and I was like okay, time to get cavity #2 taken care of, and he proceeds to tell me that it doesn't need to be taken care of now, and he can put "a watch on it" along with the other cavity I have. Wait...back up-what OTHER cavity??? I thought there were two. The last time I checked 1+1=2...but not with D#3. Anyway, the conversation became pretty heated after that and although we both stayed calm, I am most certain that D#3 understood the concerns I clearly expressed about all THREE of my cavities. You may be thinking two things right now...when is Sam going to stop bitchin' or that 3 out of the 4 D's should be bitched slapped. I'm obviously going with the second of the two. The dentist visit just gets worse after I tell D#3 I won't miss any work for an appointment because last time, they frickin' cancelled on me and it was their fault. So, he was nice about it-but nice does't cut it when someone is holding a drill in your mouth. Anyway, he tells the receptionist to schedule me an appointment to get the other 2 cavities taken care of and then I repeat to her I won't miss any work, so could we please make the appointment no earlier than 4p.m. Needless to say, she was not the brighest crayon in the box and offered me two appointment times before 4p.m., even after I told her a SECOND time I can't and won't leave work early. I didn't even care that both of the appointments she offered me were on my birthday...I just want my teeth fixed!!! Well, I'm kinda sick of complaining now and I think I have rightfully so vented.

I run almost everyday, do aerobics twice a week and I eat healthily. Yet, I still have the three D's telling me I need foot surgery, acne treatments and unknown cavities filled. They can all kiss my Mexican, Jordanian, Irish, German ass!

GO SOX!!!

Alllllll-Riiiiight!

SOX ARE DA BOMB and Houston SUCKS!!!!

Chillin' Like A Villa

So I'm watching the Sox game as I am writing this entry sippin' on some Bella Serra Pinot Grigio. Ahhhh, total relaxation. Dan's friend is over with his girlfriend, and so is my fabulous brother Geo. This wine is finally kickin' in, and it's making me wish there was more. Now it's not that I'm a wino, but I can't help but be a little bit mad that Dan's friend's girlfriend spilled a FULL GLASS of my favorite wine. Oh well though, no use crying over spilled wine. Anywho, I should be more focused on the Sox game than the computer and our company just reminded me of that. This is Sambo V. signing out and chillin' like a mo' fo' villian. SOUTH SIDE!!!! ;)

1 Down...3 To Go!!

GOOOOOOOOOO CHICAGO WHITE SOX!!! Only three more games to go until we win this World Series! Houstin, YOU HAVE A PROBLEM!! ;)

Paul Bunion

My wonderful sister Bree, a.k.a. Frema came in from Indianapolis with her beau Luke yesterday. I always get excited when they come in, especially when they stay with me and Dan! I love playing hostess, even if it only means offering cold beverages and the limited food choices in my refridgerator. ;) Everytime Bree leaves a get a bit sad and try get her to stay, even if just for a minute longer. I guess asking her to rub my feet wasn't the best way to lure her into staying. It was worth a shot though. ;)


So I went to the foot doctor today so he could look at the protruding bones sticking out on the sides of my big toes. Diagnosis, bunions. Cure, surgery on my left foot. I've decided to name the bunion Paul because it sounds a lot nicer when talking about it. The doctor was really nice and explained everything well, so that made it easier for me. My party session last night, however, did not help this 10:00a.m. doctor appointment run smoothly.

Dan and I woke up this morning, took our coffee to go and groggily drove to have my abnormal feet examined. I was totally fine on the ride there and in the patient waiting area room. When we were in the examining room though, my stomach "dropped". I believe that a #2 (in regards to bowel movements) gives your stomach three warnings to get your ass in the bathroom! To make a long story short, my stomach skipped straight from a warning #1 to warning #3 in the examining room. I cursed my self for indulging in greasy pizza, wine and beer last night after making 4-5 trips to the restroom during this visit. Of course I lied to the nurse and said I was fighting a flu that I couldn't get rid of, but nevertheless it was utterly embarrassing. I mean the office wasn't huge, everyone saw me entering and exiting the one room restroom a million times within the 20 minutes of Dan and I waiting in the examining room.

Anywho, I'm feeling soooooo much better now and have decided to be lazy and lay around all day. I always have a hard time relaxing and am infamous for making list and sporadically cleaning like a mad woman, but not today. Nope. I'm just gonna sit my unshowered butt on the couch, watch a movie and then cheer for the White Sox with the rest of the proud Chicagoans tonight at 7:oop.m. ;)

The Glamour Girls

These are the lovely ladies who all play very important roles in my life. You may recognize the famous Frema from her own blog, "What're You Lookin' At?"
From left to right: mom, Frema, Brookita, Me, Dee and Marge ;)

A Salute to the Sox!

Little Matthew salutes the Chicago White Sox!

The Newly Weds

This is me and my wonderful husband Dan at the Rainforest Cafe. ;) We were celebrating 8 years of being together. The Rainforest Cafe was so pretty! There were ginormous fish tanks everywhere and the dining area was set up like an actual rainforest. If you have kids, it would be a great place to take them. Dan and I were one of the few couples without rugrats. ;) We never really go downtown, except for the occasional trip to the beach or shopping with my sisters. It was cheaper to do Valet Parking then in a parking garage, so that's what we did. Well anyway, we're dressed nicely excited about our big date riding in Dan's maroon 85 Oldsmobile. Dan was hit by a semi-truck this past January and his car obvioulsy suffered the effects because the whole driver's side is dented pretty badly. Thank God Dan was okay! So anyway, we pull up to valet and Dan tells the valet driver, "Make sure you don't make any dents in the car!" It took the driver a few seconds to catch on and realize that Dan was kidding. ;) It was just so funny pulling up to a nice place downtown in Dan's beat up pimp mobile. ;) Ahhh....good times.

What a View!

Sweet Home Chicago! I took this picture on the way downtown to the Rainforest Cafe with Dan. We were celebrating 8 years of being together. ;)

I'll Take Questions For 500 Please...

What a day! I actually didn't hit snooze on the alarm today and as all snoozers know, that's a pretty big accomplishment. :) Anyway, my students were pretty well behaved today and are on this "I say cute things streak".

Today some older students came in our class to briefly talk about Dear Abby, the school newspaper question/answer section. It was so funny to listen to the 4th graders seriously talking to the Kindergartener's about this. One of the girls said," Just write your question on the paper and put it in the box. You don't have to just ask questions about school, but you can ask about family problems too. But don't write your name on it because you don't want people to know who you are." I was like...hmmmm...the kids are not even writing full sentences yet! ;) We're getting there though. So anyway, I asked the students to help me think of some questions to ask Dear Abby and the following questions are what they came up with:

1. Why do we pray?
2. Why do zebras run fast? (a personal favorite of mine)
3. Why do we have to pray for people who die?
4. How did God make the brain?
5. Where do bats sleep?
6. Why did God destroy all the dinosaurs and make people? (this question was asked by Luis, my Mexican Simon Birch. I told Luis I would get back to him on this one very soon.)
7. Why did God build the world?

So you see, I had to write down all these questions and share them with you because they were all do darn cute! Feel free to commment on your favorite question with an answer.

Anywho, my poor husband came home from work today sick, so I feel the desire to baby him and take care of him. Have a groovy evening!!!

Kindergartners Say The Darndest Things...

After spending a nice relaxing weekend with the fam, it was hard to wake up this morning. My lovely sisters and future brother-in-law came in from the Indianapolis/Bloomington area and we hung out the whole weekend and celebrated my dad's 45th birthday! : It was quite groovy. ;)
So anywho, my students greeted me this morning with smiles and even a few fly by hugs as they entered the classroom. Little Ally stopped by the door as she entered class to hug my torso and say, "Happy Sweetest Day Mrs. Villa!" Even though Sweetest Day was Saturday, she was cute enough to remember me today...even my own husband ignored the Hallmark holiday. :) Well anyway, kids sure do say the darndest things. Take Elizabeth for instance...today during Learning Centers she called me over to the Reading Center with an important look on her face and said," Mrs. Villa, I've been wanting to tell you something." And I crouched down to her height to listen as she said, " I really wanted to tell you that you're adorable." It was so cute!! I tell ya, a few of those kid comments and I would almost think I was ready to think about having kids in the near future. Almost...

Anywho, then there's Luis...ah, yes, my little Mexican Simon Birch. He is very petite with huge eyes and glasses to frame them. Anyway, most of the time I eat lunch in the classroom with my students. It's nice to have a meal with them and I know they think it's cool for their teacher to sit at their table in the classroom. When the kids start to eat, I always tell them to be quiet, or else they'll never eat a thing. So today, I'm sitting at Louis' table for lunch and he says to me,"I'm sorry." And I said, "Louis, you're doing a good job eating and you're quiet, you don't have to say you're sorry." And Louis says, "No, it's because I farted!" I wanted to burst out laughing! Now keep in mind, this is not the first time Louis has farted in class. You may think because he's only five that the smell can't be that bad, but it's quite a whoof to take in.

Anyway, I always have a few stories to tell after the school day ends. Sometimes their funny and cute and other times they're kinda sad. Today Gisi told me during Free Choice time that when her dad was little, he used to be poor. I told Gisi that Daddy has a good job now and everything is okay. You just never know what they'll say! Well, I'm gonna finish a movie (Crash..I highly recommend this movie) with the husband now and then take a little run. It's so beautiful in Chicago tonight. Ahhhh yes, it's a great day to run and to be a Chicago White Sox fan!! ;)

GO WHITE SOX!

WHHHHAAA-WHOOOOOO! My very 1st blog entry will be a celebration one for the Chicago White Sox!!! Way to go Good Guys! Even though I'm not so sure that A.J.'s run to 1st was a legit call...I'm glad we won!!! Have a great night everyone and there will be more to come soon!