Five more days and counting....

Okay, I have to admit that I really do not like the whole commercialized Christmas Hoopla. I'm not a big fan of Christmas music, snowman and Santa Clause figurines, or metallic garlands of green and red. I cringe each time I hear the song "Frosty the Snowman" (unless it is sung by my nephew, who gives it his own special twist) and flinch away from all the bedazzled, sparkly, moving Christmas decorations. My family often asks why D and I don't decorate for the holidays, there is no tree, no lights, not even a sprig of mistletoe. They don't understand that our home is the only respite we get from the decoration blitz. The outside world is just too much right now, I'm way over stimulated every time I walk out the door. The blinking Christmas lights my neighbor seems to add more of each day doesn't help matters either.

That being said, I have found the most hilarious site to help get all those who Grinch, like myself, the holiday spirit. Elfyourself.com provided the best 20 minutes of wasted time I have ever enjoyed. The site is sponsored by Officemax, and it gives you the opportunity to make anyone you know turn into an elf and get their groove on. I morphed my boss into said elf and then proceeded to show everyone the fruit of my efforts. It might have started a trend at work. People were elphing each other left and right. It was fabulous. The site also has some Christmas short films, games, and basic time wasters. Check it out, I promise it will lift your holiday spirits.

For an example of just how much fun this can be, cut and paste the following link:
http://www.elfyourself.com/?userid=0370afdffbebadfa42cf1f9G06121816

Años Viejos, Pyromaniacs, and Fireworks...Oh My

I have to admit, it has been quite awhile since I have actually been awake to ring in the new year and say goodbye to the old. Dave and I have always been a bit more concerned about the eight hours of sleep necessary to enjoy life rather than seeing the ball drop. But this year...is different. It is 12:58 and the neighbor's hired band just started, there are rapid fire explosives (aka fireworks) going off in three minute intervals, and the car alarms throughout our block seem to be answering the loving call of said fireworks. There will be no eight hours to start off the year for the Richert's this time. Nothing about our experiences in Ecuador could be classified as typical, and New Year's Eve is proving to be no exception. The evening started out quite and low key, dinner at home with a movie. There were the occasional firework, but that isn't anything atypical. I was even contemplating continuing the tradition of snuggling into bed by 10:30. Before I called

I'm Feeling a Teacher Geek Out Comin' On!

There are four weeks left of school (28 days counting weekends), and usually this benchmark is characterized by complete and utter exhaustion. A little of the "I just need to make it through this day" attitude. Past April/Mays of my teaching life have been filled with days where I am just trying to keep my head above water. I'm tired, the kids are tired, we are all a little bit irritable, and patience doesn't seem to be a virtue that makes it on my list. By the end of the year, I am so thankful for the break to just physically and emotionally recoup. But, this year....this year is proving to be different. Thanks to some of my rockstar co-workers, I have been energized in an unaccountable way. I'm talking a full-fledge teacher geek out, usually only experienced in the first few months of the school year. Technology people, best motivator ever. Here's the top five technology wonders currently making appearances in the Richert classroom: 1. Voicethreads:

Christmas in Colombia (The post is better late than never...)

As promised, here is the Amazing Richert Christmas Adventure 2008, with special guest star, Sherry Silvers. Bogota, Columbia. As you can see...this city and I were obviously made for each other. Bookstores, libraries, and coffee shops were on every block. Yes, the majority of the books were in Spanish which causes some slight difficulties, but I don't like to focus on those kind of details. I'm more of a cup half full kind of gal. Also, the city is bike crazy. There are hundreds of miles of bike lanes; we saw bike lanes throughout the city and even along the highway. They just created a bike/walking lane in the middle of the highway, incredible! They even close off some of the major streets every Sunday and holiday so people can ride their bikes through the main arteries of town without dealing with the potentially dangerous obstacle of cars. The city had me at hello. Dave found a wonderful place for us to stay that was right in the heart of the historic district of

Living The Good Life

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