I blog naked

Now that I have your attention...here is a little more randomness that has spilled from my brain to my fingers. 

Yesterday we got a little rain/sleet/freezing rain/ hail/snow...you decide what to call it because I'm still not sure which category this fits into. 

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I just got back from CVS and I am super proud of the savings I was able to get with the sales and coupons. Here's what I got...

The retail price for all these goodies is $39.43 but that's  not what I paid! My total only came to $19.08. I think I'm most proud of my savings on the deodorant which retails for $4.89 each and I  scored them for $1.50 each AND my deal on the GAIN fabric softener sheets which retail for $4.99 but I got them for $1.99. I can see how people can get addicted to coupon clipping!

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ACTIVIA came out with yet another product that I have to try. I can't wait to see what kind of nick-name my husband comes up with for this one. My ACTIVIA addiction is really out of control but I don't think they have Rehab for yogurt addicts. 

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I don't know what the gas prices are like where you live right now but here in Southern California they aren't pretty. If they had coupons for gas I would clip them until my fingers fell off. There is one gas station that is trying to get $4.11 per gallon...can you say boycott? Why would anyone pay $4.11 when there is a station across the street that has the same thing for $3.69? Even if I ran out of gas I would fill a Big Gulp cup with gas from the cheap station and walk it back to my car before I pay $4.11 by choice. 

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Before...

After...

It might look like just another shade of brown but look closer...

I got sick and tired of the gray so I got a new do'. Like it?

I'm a human chameleon. 

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And last but not least, the title of this post is true...I blog naked. I just  happen to get some of my best idea's in the shower so it's really convenient for me to hop out, dry off, and start typing ASAP before I loose them to another 'bout  of brain farts. My husband thought it was hilarious and took a picture...which I will NOT be posting here, sorry if that disappoints you (Jeff)...*just saying*.

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Thank you to everyone who left a comment on my last uninspired post, you helped me defeat the brain farts. Unfortunately I am now left with a little brain diarrhea and can't seem to stop spouting randomness. On a final side note, why is the word diarrhea so hard to spell and why doesn't it come up in spell  check...I had to Google it to find the proper spelling!

Blogging Brain Fart

Yup, I'm having a blogging  brain fart. I can't think of anything to write about that is of any substance so instead I'll present some of the random things that have been floating around in the bowels of my mind causing brain farts...

It's raining with a little hail and freezing rain here in southern California. Are hail and freezing rain the same thing?

Last night I auditioned to be  on the show Wipe Out.  I have a picture of the costume that I wore but it's a really bad picture of me so I refuse to post it. I will tell you  I wore a spandex body suit and a cape and I'll leave the rest to your imagination.

There are only 7 weeks left until my spring break and then after spring break there are only 8 weeks of school until summer. Not that I want to wish the year away, but I'm ready for vacation.

My mom has booked her ticket to fly to California for my spring break and I'm super excited to see her. Fingers crossed, we'll be going to The Price is Right when she's here. I've watched that show since I was in Kindergarten.

I finally scheduled a hair appointment. My husband surprised me on my birthday with a gift card to the Dylan Keith Salon...I think he was hinting to me that I need to dye my hair. He's right, the gray has taken over and I'm feeling old.

Every day I tell myself that I will demonstrate some self control and limit  myself to one Diet Coke from the vending machine at work but it's like a drug and I end up having 2-3 instead.

I'm avoiding the  housework by sitting here typing randomness instead. I  think my husband and I are secretly competing to see which one of us will break down and do the dishes first...I think he's going to win.

I haven't shaved my legs in 4 weeks, there goes that New Years resolution.

Random, I know. I'll go take some Gas-X to help with the bran fart.

Who ever wrote the song 'The Itsy Bitsy Spider' is a liar!

I think I have written before about the ridiculous number of spiders that seem to be in every corner of this house. But just in case I've never mentioned it before,  there are a ridiculous number of spiders in every corner of this house.  I can clean every night and the next day they'd all be back.

Most of them don't both me. They live in their corner and  stay out of my way. One spider in particular has made a home for the last 6 months in the porch light on our front patio. I don't mind this spider. It makes it's web each night and then by the next morning it crawls back into the light future. Our paths never cross, just the way  I like it.

But last night one of the indoor corner spiders crossed my path and I was not amused. After coughing for the better part of an hour last night (I  have a slight cold) I was finally able to begin drifting into la-la land. Just as I was about to doze I felt a little tickle by my ear so I opened my eye to investigate. Just as I open  my eye I see it, a friggin' spider crawling across my blanket! Needless to say I flew out of bed as quick as a tick with a flame on it's bum. After killing (yes, I killed it!) the spider and disposing of it I tried to get re-settled into bed...but that was not easy and resulted in another bout of coughing.

I hate spiders!

On a side note, do you know how hard it is to blow your nose when it's broken? Not easy.

Branching Out and A Broken Nose

After several months of debate, I have decided to start a second blog! I just have so much to write about related to teaching and education and I just didn't think that Living & Loving in California was the forum to do that. So with out further adieu, I'd like to introduce you to my new blog...

Classroom in the Corner
My journey of teaching students who have been picked last, left behind, and put in the corner...


I have moved a few of the teaching related posts that I have written from here to there to help me get started. I am hoping to use Classroom in the Corner as a way to document my experiences in the classroom. I am hoping to share everything and anything from teaching strategies, behavior plans, organization and structure, humor, information, book reviews, and more. I am also planning on creating a  weekly feature to highlight other blogs written by teachers and parents of students with Autism. 


Please hop on over if you are interested. Thank You!


Oh-and as for the second part of the title- A Broken Nose...I broke my nose this week. How? Everyone who knows me and my job immediately thought that one of my students did it, but that's not the case this time. I broke my own nose. I opened a cabinet door, looked away and then turned my face right into the corner of the open cabinet door. It's just a hairline fracture and there isn't anything they can do for it except and ice pack and Tylenol. I didn't get black eyes and I only have a small bump so I consider myself pretty lucky. 


And that's what I've been up to this week...new blog and a broken nose. 

Things I did not intend on doing today

I did not intend on bowling my lowest game is YEARS. I mean really low...like barely broke 100 low. 

I did not intend on being in a mobbed grocery store. I thought that the hour before kick off would be the perfect time to go...WRONG!

It was seriously packed. It reminded me of what the grocery stores in North Carolina look like when the weather man calls for a snow storm. On a sad note, just after I snapped this photo a man slipped and fell and hit his head on the cement floor...he was able to get up, but it was NOT funny. 

I did not intend on watching the Super Bowl, but I watched the whole thing. 

I did not intend on caring who won the Super Bowl but found myself saying "YES!" out loud when the Steelers got their 2nd touch down. I also did not intend on being disappointed when the Steelers lost, but I was. 

I also did not intend on being disappointed in the Super Bowl commercials. The only one that made me chuckle was the Snickers commercial when Rosanne gets knocked over by the log.

I did not intend on watching the show GLEE that aired after the game, but I was somehow magically drawn into it once it started. 

I did not intend on eating both of the Snickers Peanut Butter Squared bars that I bought today, but I did. The first one wasn't even that good, but the second one was just there so I ate that one too. 

I did not intend on eating 3 Activia Dessert Yogurts today, but I did and I don't even feel guilty about it. 

And last but not least, I did not intend on going to bed early tonight but since I skipped my nap time to watch the Super Bowl, it looks like bed time is in my near future. 

Have a good night!

Music for Autism

On Sunday, January 30th I was able to volunteer for an amazing new organization called Music for Autism. The Help Group opened the doors to their new Autism Center Theater to welcome the program to the school for it's first West Coast concert.

Music for Autism is a family and child friendly 3-part interactive concert. For this concert, violinists Searmi Parks and Sarah Thornbird of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra performed. The first part of the show is the "Concert" in which the artists play a few selections. The audience is encouraged to get up and dance, sing, and interact with the music. Then it's time for the "Conducting" portion of the show where the audience helps lead the musicians by using their arms to conduct. And finally, the show ends with the "Percussion" portion in which everyone in the audience gets a percussion instrument and plays along with the performers.

This was an amazing  experience to be a part of and I look forward to volunteering again in April when Music for Autism returns to The Help Group!

Click here for more information on Music for Autism. 

Click here for more information on The Help Group or you can find more information and pictures from the event on Facebook, just search 'The Help Group'. 

You're either for it or against it

There are many topics that people debate over but this probably isn't the kind of debate you were thinking of. This is a great debate, one in which I have recently found myself pondering with friends, family, and co-workers. It is such a strong subject mater that there is no gray area in between sides, you're either for it or against it.

What is this controversial topic you ask? Well It's none other than...farting. If that word offends you then  feel free to insert one of these other endearing terms: passing gas, flatulence, cutting the cheese, letting Polly  out of prison, tooting, trumping, breaking wind, making wind, blowing out the candle, or any other name you prefer.

The debate isn't over what to call this natural bodily function, the debate is on whether or not you choose to toot in ear or nose shot of your spouse. Notice that I italicized and underlined the word choose. It is a choice and in the eight years that my husband and I have been together and of all the memories we have made, I still distinctly remember the day that we made the choice. I only remember it because there have been many times that I wished we had chosen differently.

So, who tooted first....Carl or I? It was Carl. He was suspiciously walking around the far side of the room pacing and I asked him, "What the hell is wrong with you?" in which he responded, "I have to...pass gas". And then it happened, a moment in which I sometimes wish I could take back. I said to him, "Go ahead, I don't care" and so it began.

You can't ever "go back" once you have made that decision and I'm okay with that...most of the time. And now  that we are open about it, I really can't imagine NOT doing it. I think of how uncomfortable people must feel sometimes  when they are with their spouse and trying to hold air. How do those people ever eat onions, broccoli, or beans? How much more embarrassing is it when one "slips"? How inconvenient is it to have to leave the room if you have to toot...knowing that your spouse knows your leaving the room just to toot? If we had to leave the room every time, we might as well live in separate rooms.

If I'm being honest, I find humor in the trumping situation and that is how I am able to cope. One of the funniest moments in our relationship history was created by gas. Carl's gas to be exact. In 2004 Carl and I took our first trip to California for the IMATS convention. We had a free day before the convention started so we decided to take a taxi to the Warner Brothers studio to take a tour. Our taxi driver was lost so he pulled over and Carl bent over the front seat to look at a map with the driver (this was before GPS systems became the norm). All  of a sudden a stench hit me in the face and I proceeded to poke Carl in the butt cheek as a sign of , "Do you smell that?". Carl promptly turned around and his face was beet red because he was trying not to laugh but he managed to point to himself as a signal that he was responsible for the odor. Within a few seconds the taxi driver, with a thick Indian accent said, "Awe, something stinks" and proceeded to roll down all  the windows. We had to use all of our will power not to bust out laughing in the  taxi, however, the second we got out and the driver pulled away we were on the side walk rolling with laughter. Literally, I could not move I was laughing so hard and had to stop dead in my tracks. We cried we laughed so hard. Even now, six year later we both get a good chuckle out of the whole experience. I even kept a card from the taxi service and put it in our scrapbook just as a reminder of that little incident. Carl loves nothing more than to leave strangers in a cloud of his stench, unfortunately, I have  also been a victim of it.

I will end this post with that story  and ask you, are you or it or against it?

Why do I love these songs?

Take a wild guess...why do I love these songs?

Because they were the top songs on or around February 2, 1983...which happens to be the day I was born!
Happy Birthday to me!