2009 to 2010

Well in 2009 I kept a large portion of my reso's from last year, with some slight alterations. I feel pretty good about that. Now for 2010... I need to really get on the ball here, because 2010 may go by REALLY fast...

Oy. Where to start.

1. Spiritual

I want to read the Old Testament as I am doing this read through the Bible backwards thing.

2. Romance

I want to surprise Farah with memories of our wonderful life together... More to come on this, but she reads my blog so I shouldn't say.

3. Friendship

I would like to reinstate some of the Shaw Parker Traditions of monthly Man-Dates. Now that he'll be married I think the timing is right.

4. Family

I want to continue my investment into the Doodle's lives by seeing them every Thursday afternoon and doing a project with the Cass.

5. Hobby

My wife has inspired me and I would like to send off my book for publishing. If nothing comes of it, I would like to try illustrating it and making a personal copy for myself.

6. Teaching and Career

I want to build up my credentials and explore some new certifications. Specifically I want to explore online teaching certifications.


7. Health and Wellness

I am going to give up one of my loves. Diet Coke. I will take myself off it through the aid of Sprite but by March I hope to be off Sprite too.

So there they are. When you see me you can ask how things are going... I'll tell you... And then you'll be glad you asked.

Christmas Continued...

So the past few night of Christmas passed quickly by, here are the latest gifts:

Night 3 (oops I missed this one)
New Orleans.
A deck of wonderful playing cards and Scrabble SLAM! Both represent the Cajun style of Gambit and the freaky Shadow Man from The Princess and the Frog. Delightful.



Night 6
Fantasyland
For our dream vacation to London she bought me a calendar filled with pictures of England, the mother land. It is really great and has a picture for every day or so. It will be wonderful while I plan for the dream.



Night 7
Toon Town

Perfectly toony, I was given my favorite toon series: X-Men Saga Part 2 and 3. I am really excited to re-watch this fantastic series once again.



Tomorrow's gift: Night 8, California Adventure

What will it be? What will it be?

8 Nights of Christmas

SO every night for 8 Nights of Christmas we exchange gifts. I thought I'd write to you and tell you about the lovely gifts my wife gave me.

I thought I'd do it from Elaine Benes' perspective when she is with Peterman.


Night 1...
Main Street-
Walking down the streets of yesteryear you are sure to take in the total ambiance. The smell of popcorn popping, cookies baking, and fries frying. The bright red of the holly, the white of the snow, and the sounds of Enya "And Winter Came" echoing off the tinsel covered walls.



Night 2...
Adventureland-

Imagine a vine covered path, hissing and cawing can be heard from all directions, its just you and your machete (well if you are Kyle)... But for me, it will be just me and a beautiful charcoal gray Cast Iron Skillet hand cast in the islands of Mitokana, made especially to cook over warm fires in the heart of the wilderness... Or to make Pizookie in the kitchen.



Night 4...
Frontierland-
Watch ya'll's back! Ya never know when an Injun might creep up behind ya'll. Ya gotta be on yer guard when you're out here in the wild west. Especially when it comes to yer leather bound Italian pocketbook. So take the $20 gift into the Chumash and ya might walk out empty handed, or ya might end up striking oil!



Night 5...
Tomorrowland-
As the world becomes smaller and quicker with the click of a button, the Shaws are going to jump into the 21 Century. Zipping into the future will be a breeze and will finally become a reality as the Shaws sign online and purchase the Internet via Charter or Comcast.



What's up next? Fantasyland, Toon Town, and California Adventure. More to come soon.

700

Wow. I am always amazed when I reach a new level of blog-dom. At any rate I thought I would share with you some ideas I have for my new, daily blogging posts:

1. Michael's Attempts Toward Fitness, a daily insight into the rise and fall of the Ig. (Note- many days this blog would be exceptionally boring, not to mention empty.)

2. Michael's Creative Musings, a blog filled with idea of things I do in and out of the workplace to utilize my creativity. (This blog would kind of be a bragging post of sorts.)

3. Michael's Food Adventures, a blog dedicated to Michael trying 157 new foods, that's one every other day. and absolutely horrifying to me. (Some of the foods would be things as simple as radishes, something my lips have yet to taste, or as involved as halibut, something my nose has prevented me from even getting near.)

4. Michael's Doodle Loops, a blog where I would record a daily doodle. Documenting a year of doodles would be a lot of fun, and exceptionally fun to look back on. The only trouble would be finding the quickest way to pull up the pictures daily.

5. Michael's Commentary on the News, a weekday only blog where I would give you my slant on the news. Not too interesting for you, but perhaps interesting to write.

6. The Unknown... I have more ideas brewing, but I will have to wait to see what comes of this blogging world...

Nothing is final, and nothing is really in sight as of yet. Here's to the future...

"Keep moving forward."

New Moon... Uh I mean New Ig

Reinvention.




Madonna did it. Tom Cruise did it. Why can't a guy named Ig do it?

I am considering putting this blog "Under Construction" to reinvent it. I was uber-delighted by the Julie and Julia movie, and was equally captivated by the challenge of doing something more regularly. (I did a good job this summer you may recall)...

But what could I possibly do for an entire year? What could I possibly write about? Well. Blog number 700 is just two posts away so I need some ideas here. Then, when I emerge from my chrysalis, I will be a new blog (though I don' think I could possibly part with my classic black back drop).

Suggestions are welcomed.

Grande Central Halloween Station

Over the past few years my parents will tell you Foxenwoods is quite deserted on Halloween. But, last night I couldn't believe how busy our house was last night. I knew something was up when we ran out of candy at 7:00 though. I looked out the window and I couldn't believe my eyes: It looked like Hocus Pocus! You know, when all of the kids are running a muck through the streets.

I started making a list of kids who came to the door. I stopped at 35, though there were more.

Here are the stand out winners, all ages are speculated:

1. A 4 year old Buzz Lightyear, complete with inflatable wings
2. A 10 year old ugly kid with a fake fro
3. A 6 year old Wolverine, complete with foam claws
4. A 5 year old Michael Jackson, with a silver glove and hat
5. A toddler bumble bee with a fuzzy covering
35. A 3 year old girl in a coat (I mean, I couldn't even see the costume)

So, for next year, come by our street. Apparently it is where all the Foxenwoods kids have disappeared to.

Mad as a Hatter

The Party was a big success. It was better than we thought it could be. And the costumes... Well, I'll let them speak for themselves...


The Costume Theme: Famous Couples

Alice and The Mad Hatter


Mia Hamm and Nomar Garciaparra


Michael and Farah with their little Owlet (Michael kind of looks like an owl without his glasses)


Ketchup, Mustard, and a Hot Dog


The Crew, minus the owlet who flew away



The Decor's Theme: Bats in the Belfry









The night was great... we're on the hunt for a picture of our tablescape... More to come if we find it...

Pleasant Nightmares.

Life in a Mask

Surprise. I'm back again.

Well, it's that time of year again. Halloween Time.

Christmas time, brings the snow.
Summer time, brings the sun.
But on Halloween, your flesh begins to RUN!
Something spooky's goin' down, down.

So here is the list of things I have been over the past few 5ish years:






So what will it be this year? I'll give you a hint: Our theme is famous couples, and my costume has something to do with my fourth grade experience.

Exercise Your Body

Tomorrow starts the craziness of my year. I do this ridiculous program called "Exercise the Right to Read" in my class. Last year I got the whole school (cough cough--three classes) to do the program. It is a lot of fun where we challenge kids to read a mile each day (a minimum of 26 minutes each day), and then run a mile each day. The fun part is first thing in the month when they all try really hard, and then after day three they are tired of it.

That's life, isn't it? We all get excited, but once we realize it's work, we poop-out.

Anyway... I thought it was a bit of silliness that some of you can imagine: Kindergartners and eighth graders running a mile every day.

There it is.

The Desert

No, not the dessert. The desert. I have been wandering around in the wilderness for the past 41 days and 40 nights. But I believe I am back. I have done a lot...

I've set up a webpage for the Fauf and her delightful book...

www.SherlockAcademy.com

I have taught (essentially) 3 months of school in a one month time period...


I put on an amazing date (if I do say so myself) for the Fauf...


I have been acting as a professor to the students at Hancock...



I have cured a rare African disease...


Well, one of those things isn't true. But I won't tell you which.

Needless to say, I'm back like Lord Voldemort in HP and the GF.

Politics as Usual

So, today I caught a glimpse at the new political image out there (scary people). So I thought I'd recap some others I've seen in the past.
The New Poster:








The other new one:


Interesting. I'd say so.

A Busy Summer...

I'm not going to sit here and lie to you, this has been a busy summer.

We have had a lot of fun and have ignored regular teaching chores. So here is a run down of our summer of fun:

June... finished school and closed the door. This year, when I closed the door, I closed the door and didn't open it. Hallelujah!

After that I spent a few days with my parents, while Farah spent some time with her Grandma.

Then we made a Narnia closet...


June left us with a trip to Santa Monica and then Las Vegas. It was a delightful journey...


The next week we drove off to the quaint world of Carmel...


We went on a Peter Pan Date...


And then, having enjoyed a vaca, we then set our sites on finishing projects...

Farah self-published her book...


We had a release party for it...


I FINALLY got my last paper cleared for my Master's...


And now...

We set out for Santa Monica... And then, Friday, we set out for Rome...


And then we return and head back to school...


What a good summer. Check out the blog for some Roman Holiday pictures.