Juliet

I was telling this story the other day and thought it would make a funny entry...

Last year when my 9th graders were reading Romeo and Juliet I had a student ask a rather peculiar question. We had read the scene including Romeo & Juliet's wedding during class the previous day and then watched a clip of the 1996 film with Leo DiCaprio and Claire Danes. My student, a 14-year-old girl, asked out of the blue, "Did they have condoms in Romeo and Juliet's time?"

Me: Excuse me?

Student: Did they have condoms back then?

Me: No, I don't think they did.

Student: So Juliet's pregnant.

Me: Excuse me?

Student: She's pregnant.

Me: Why do you say that?

Student: Well they had sex.

Me: Well it is not stated directly in the play, but they got married, yes, so we can assume...

Student: So she's pregnant.

It may be important to mention that I knew at the time that this particular student's mother had just had a large 30th birthday celebration (yes - do the math), so I wasn't exactly keen on telling her that people don't necessarily get pregnant every time they have sex, but what was I supposed to do? I definitely considered lying and saying that yes, Juliet was absolutely preggo and that just proves how important contraception is, but I think I settled on something along the lines of, "You should really discuss that with your health teacher when you see him tomorrow and we'll never really know about Juliet because she dies before anyone even knows she's married!"

Teenagers makes the strangest leaps of understanding...

Photoshoot

So my friend Mirelle is working on her professional photography portfolio. Cate and I are doing a photoshoot (along with another of Mirelle's friends) on Sunday so that she can practice. If all goes according to plan, afterwards I'll have pics of me looking as amazing as the following "inspiration" pieces. Wish us luck!

Theme Song for the Mood I'm In

Honestly not directed at anyone in particular. But still, the sentiment is right on. (On playlist at the bottom of this page!!)

"Nicest Thing" by Kate Nash

All I know is that you're so nice,
You're the nicest thing I've seen.
I wish that we could give it a go,
See if we could be something.

I wish I was your favorite girl,
I wish you thought I was the reason you are in the world.
I wish my smile was your favorite kind of smile
I wish the way that I dressed was your favourite kind of style.

I wish you couldn't figure me out,
But you always wanted know what I was about.
I wish you'd hold my hand when I was upset,
I wish you'd never forget the look on my face when we first met.

I wish you had a favorite beauty spot that you loved secretly,
'Cos it was on a hidden bit that nobody else could see.
Basically, I wish that you loved me,
I wish that you needed me,
I wish that you knew when I said two sugars, actually I meant three.

I wish that without me your heart would break,
I wish that without me you'd be spending the rest of your nights awake.
I wish that without me you couldn't eat,
I wish I was the last thing on your mind before you went to sleep.

Look all I know is that you're the nicest thing I've ever seen.
And I wish that we could see if we could be something.
Yea I wish that we could see if we could be something.

Hawaii!!!

About the middle of June I got a text message from Cate (my newly reunited bestie from grades 7-12) asking if I wanted to go on a trip. She had 2 weeks of vacation to kill and I'm a (out-of-work) teacher. Always up for a chance to get away from home, I said sure. It took us about 14 days to book something, and about 10 days after that we were on a plane to Oahu. I literally have never spent less time preparing for a trip!

My requirements for this trip were:

#1. Spend most of our time relaxing (not sight-seeing or in museums/cathedrals)

#2. Lots of drinks with little umbrellas in them (substitute pineapple slices and we're good...)

#3. Fitness Center (a 4-hour roundtrip hike up a crater works, too)

#4. Beautiful scenery.

#5. Fun! Let's just be young and single and have fun!

It was awesome! We got up every morning, put on bathing suits and walked straight out of our hotel onto the beach. We lounged there until we couldn't stand the heat any longer, then moved to the cooler lounge chairs by the hotel pool. We went out to dinner, walked around, did whatever we felt like doing. We could go out dancing until 4 am or go back to the hotel at 11. It was fun and relaxing and everything I wanted to a random trip to Hawaii.

Eva is 3!

This is a bit late but still worth recognizing. For Eva's 3rd birthday (May 29) Sissy planned a party at Chuck E Cheese. I tried my hardest to convince her that we could put off starting this phase of our lives for one more year, but Eva likes it and that's what matters. Her favorite phrase of the day? "Come on now!" At which point mom or I or Sissy or whoever had to follow as Eva ran to whatever struck her fancy at that moment.

Happy 26!!

Yesterday was my 26th birthday. It's a bit surreal that I am now officially closer to 30 than to 20, but I'm trying to focus instead on my awesome friends and family and how great this past year has been for me as a person. To celebrate I had my first major birthday event since I turned 18. Here's a little sampler of what went down:

Colette & Ryan - one of my favorite couples ever!

me & Alicia

me & the trainer, Kirk - yes, the one who broke my wrists

Erin & Derrick

Road Trippin'

Way back in December Mom and I decided that we'd like to make a real vacation out of visiting family in Folsom and the Bay Area. Normally we do this trip in record time, only staying in town long enough to attend some family event - a birthday, baby shower, graduation, etc. The whole thing usually lasts about 48 hours. This time we wanted the freedom (and time) to visit all the people and do all the things that aren't always possible when we're depending on someone else's car. A road trip was the answer. Here is the result:

Thursday night - Saturday morning

Time with the Claneys and Allbaughs.

I usually see my cousins Anita and Laura about once every 5 years. I probably see their children even less. But back in December (during one of our regular under-48-hour trips up and back), Mom and I stayed at Anita's house and were thrilled to find that we'd actually made NEW friends within our own family. We had such a great time that we specifically planned our road trip to accommodate 2 nights with these 2 families.

Saturday

Years ago when my dad was doing work in the Bay Area he found Walnut Creek and a fantastic restaurant called Va de Vi. He introduced my mom, then me, then several of our friends and family members. Even though our family lives within a reasonable dista

nce (40 mins), they don't usually want to make the trek out just for dinner. Mom and I tend to disagree. Food as entertainment is a staple in my upbringing and a good restaurant is always worth a little travel. Mom and I left Folsom on Saturday and headed for Walnut Creek specifically to eat dinner at Va de Vi. The problem: it was 105 degrees out and we had several hours to kill before dinner time. The solution: a movie theatre!

SO WORTH IT!

Sunday morning

Brunch with friends from Habitat

Kate and Alisa live just one city over from my aunts and uncles but I've made 2 trips up to the area since our Habitat trip to Argentina and had yet to visit them because I never had a car to get away. Our visit was short but it was so nice to catch up with people from such a positive time in my life.

Sunday afternoon

Meet the Babies Party

One of the main reasons we didn't take this trip earlier in the spring was because we wanted to wait for the arrival of not one, but two new additions to our clan. My cousin Michael and his wife Kris welcomed their first child in April and my cousin Joanna and her husband Brandon had their second in May. It was essential for us to meet the new babies and in honor of our visit my aunt and uncle planned a special Meet the Babies party for everyone to follow our lead.

Hayden Robert (or HayBob, much to his mother's chagrin) - born April 11

Kevin Thomas (who big sister Megan calls "Baby Kevin"

in her little chipmunk voice - so cute!) - born May 8

Monday

Michelle in San Francisco

Michelle and I have been friends for nearly 10 years now, but I haven't so much as talked to her on the phone in more than 3. She just moved up to Oakland and started working in the city in December, so a visit was absolutely a must. Unfortunately I was stupid and forgot to get a picture. Next time!