You are (dead) everybody. You are (dead) everyone.

(Don't worry - that title is not some scary call to action. If you watch LOST, you'll get it, if you don't, you won't.)

I'm still not sure what to think about last night's LOST series finale. All I know is that I went to sleep thinking about it, and I woke up this morning thinking about it, still trying to decide what I know and what I don't.

That show has been with me since I started teaching - it premiered in September of 2004, just after I left the newspaper business.

Adam and I watched the first season in the basement TV room at our first house in Valley Center.

I watched seasons 2-3 at our little pink house on Holyoke in Wichita. Betsy and Mitzi and Adam and I watched season 4 (with great premiere parties at a certain principal's house). The girls gave up on it because they got behind, but Hubs and I stuck with it.

At one point during season 3, our DVR quit working, so I watched most of the shows on ABC.com in our back computer room. It was FREEZING in that room, and I spent the winter huddled under a blanket watching people on a desert island on my iMac screen.

I loved those characters. Each was flawed in some way, but all they were trying to do was make their way in the world and do the right thing. I'm not ready to talk about what actually happened in the finale just yet. I think I still need some processing time, and I'm interested to see what all the TV gurus out there have to say.

Did you watch? What did you think?

It's supposed to be a project progress shot, but it's more like a snapshot of me

or, at least my life and environment. I really just meant to post a quick photo to Twitter so the knitting followers could see what I've been up to.

But, when I stopped to look at it again, I realized that to a close observer, this photo says a lot about me.

You'll notice the ABC logo on the TV in the background. While we watched LOST, I worked on my knitting project. I have to multitask to get anything accomplished, and I think watching TV and knitting certainly counts. The only problem is, with a show like LOST, I have to give a little more mental energy to the show, so it's slow going on the knitting projects.

Kansas City-area readers will spot the remote that goes with our Time Warner digital cable box on the TV tray. The TV tray basically serves as my desk. I keep my laptop there, and it's where I eat breakfast each morning.

Adam and I aren't sit-down-to-the-table-and-eat-dinner types. We eat in front of the TV, hence the trays. I would like to think that if we ever have kids, we'll be the eat-around-the-table types, but since it's just the two of us at this point, we're usually just catching up on DVR'ed stuff.

Eagle-eyed observers will see the Rock Band equipment and the Wii. That reminds me, we haven't had a good Wii party in quite a while. Might be time to rustle one up over spring break.

The Snuggie and the clothes in the laundry basket next to my foot echoes the color on the TV screen. Weird.

We don't have a purple polka-dotted curtain. That's the back of a KSU quilt Mom made for me a long time ago. It's finally warm enough that we can take down our extra window insulation. Maybe Adam can do that on his day off tomorrow. With the sub-zero temps and snow for so long this winter, we needed a little help in the heating department.

In the bottom corner of the photo is our little tropical plant that we've managed to keep alive throughout the late summer and fall. We got some nice plants on sale at the De-Pot just before fall. They're all thriving at this point, despite the dark and cold wintry conditions in our house. When you've got all the windows covered with blankets, it's a little tough to get the required amount of sunlight for houseplants.

I'm sure most people who saw this photo noticed the sock and moved on. And that's fine. It is, after all, supposed to be a photo of a sock. But, like I said, I just thought it was interesting when I saw all of the other things in the photo.

Hope you've enjoyed this brief tour of a Thursday night at Casa de Chittum. I've got to sign off for a few days. One more day of school this week, and then I'll be working furiously to complete graduate school homework between Friday night and Tuesday night.

Wish me luck. I'll need it.

I heart the Olympics

Adam, Joshua and I watched all four-and-a-half hours of the Olympics Opening Ceremonies last night. Sure, some of it got a little tired after that much time, but it was pretty damn cool.

From an outside observer's point of view, the only hitch came at the end during the torch ceremony when the fourth of the pillars didn't come up. Okay, it still looked good.

This morning, on Roger Ebert post this: @ebertchicago: U.S. tweeters being snarky about Canadian Olympics ceremony. Canuck reply: If you're so smart, why don't you have health care? I get the joke, but unfortunately, I think Americans would be snarky about ANYONE's opening ceremony. It's not just because of our history of thumbing our noses at the neighbors to the north.

I don't think I posted anything too snarky last night. Here's mine:

The cauldron kind of looks like it came from Superman's home planet.

Jeez, they could have at least given The Great One a rain coat or something to cover his head in the rain.

This has been keeping me busy during the opening ceremonies. Started a new sock. Excuse the bad photo. http://yfrog.com/3i6t0tj

Swedes have the best hats!

Wait! What? Thanks, NBC. Your commercial break totally screwed the athletes of my motherland. We're still rooting for you, Croatia.

Granted, I was knitting during the telecast, so I had something keeping me from becoming bored, but all in all, I thought it was a good show. Loved the Tom Sawyer-like prairie segment.

I would like to know, though, if NBC would have shown the footage of the luger if he would have been an American athlete. As we watched the news intro to the ceremonies, they showed him flying off the track, and I asked Adam and Joshua if they thought an American would be showed like that. The man died. Cover the story, but we don't need to see the footage over and over again.

We're talking about ethics in J1 this week. I think we can use that scenario as an example for the students to discuss in class. What would they do if they were the TV news producers?

Driving the Dodge Caravan thru the Taco Bell drive thru

I watch a lot of TV. Those of you who know me or read this blog have probably figured that out. Despite that fact, I don't watch a lot of commercials. I'd say 75 percent of my TV watching is on the DVR these days.

I'm either not home, or too busy at the time the show is on, to watch it live. The other 25 percent is mostly treadmill time, when it's on as a distraction.

Lately, though, I've noticed two commercials that really chap my hide.

First, and some of you have already commented on this on Twitter and Facebook, is the Taco Bell Drive Thru Diet. I'm just going to say it: Are you freaking kidding me? Unless that woman ate super fatty menu items at Taco Bell every day of the week earlier in her life, I don't see how eating Taco Bell can help you lose weight.

Sure, the "Fresco" menu items might be healthier choices than say, the Burrito Supreme, but it's not diet food. Give me a break. I'm pretty sure if I were to go on the Drive Thru Diet I would gain weight, since I don't eat fast food more than once or twice a week (a benefit of not being a newspaper photographer anymore, when I used to eat it all the time!).

The other commercial that is driving me crazy is the Dodge Caravan commercial that tells men "Because come on, what's more manly than driving around with your five offspring in the car?" Seriously? That's the measure of a man now? How many children he can father? Is Dodge trying to cash in on the Duggars and John and Kate "phenomenon"? I'm pretty sure the last thing the planet needs is a car company encouraging people to overpopulate the planet even more.

That Dodge commercial is incredibly sexist. It's okay for women to be stuck driving minivans, but if a man does it...He needs to be pounding his chest the entire time.

Are there any other commercials out there right now we can discuss?

What a 180.

I won't go into too much detail about winter break and then winter break 2.0 (the three snow days last week) because I'm sure you're tired of hearing about "all the extra time off" teachers get.

This week has been a complete turnaround from last week's life of leisure.

First of all, we're back to regularly scheduled programming at school.

Second, yearbook is trying to complete a deadline that was due last Friday. We didn't finish because of the snow days. Plus, we had proofs to return on Monday night.

Third, newspaper's deadline is next Monday (which we have off for Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday), so they had worknight this week.

Fourth, my grad class was Tuesday night from 5-9.

Fifth, AFTER newspaper worknight, we had 8th grade round up, where they come in and learn about all of the possible activities they can get involved in. That didn't get over until 8:30.

So, Monday, got home about 6:30.

Tuesday: 9 p.m. (prof let us out a tiny bit early, thankfully).

Wednesday: 9 p.m.

Tonight: 5:40 (left fairly early, just had heavy traffic heading home).

Tomorrow is finally Friday. I think last week's unexpected vacation left me seriously unprepared for a full work week. I had psyched myself up to return on the day after Christmas break, and having the snow days was a real motivation killer!

There's good news and bad news at the end of this tunnel: Since it's MLK day on Monday, newspaper won't have a day at school to work on deadline. So, we're working on Saturday during the day. Good news is, WHEN we get done on Saturday (when, not IF), we won't have to work on Saturday, so I'll still get to have a "weekend" - two days off.

When you think of me this week, visualize a hamster on a wheel, trying in vain to keep up. I'm going to do a quick Biggest Loser Wii workout right now, before 30 Rock, since I have had ZERO time to exercise this week. There's a 7-mile run staring at me this weekend. It won't be pretty.

Can I get a fist pump for GTL?

If you don't know what that stands for, consider yourself among the lucky (and smart) ones.

I've been hearing here and there of a new show on MTV called "Jersey Shore." Bobby Moynihan did a great impression of one of the main characters on Saturday Night Live a few weeks ago. My interest was piqued.

That says a lot, considering I haven't actively turned the channel to MTV in, say, 12 years. Oh, wait, there was that one season when they ran "The Paper" about a high school newspaper staff. I did watch that show each week.

But I digress. I hate MTV these days. Not for the reasons one would assume a 32-year-old would grow to hate it. When I was young (middle and high school) I thought old people wouldn't like MTV because it would be too loud, and they would grow to hate the type of music played on MTV. Little did I know the reason I would grow to hate MTV is because it's not M TV any more. Ridiculous "reality" shows about self-involved 20-somethings just do not hold my interest.

After watching last week's "The Soup" I decided to DVR an episode of "Jersey Shore" so I could see what all the fuss is about. I figured I couldn't deride it til I tried it.

Let the derision begin.

Basically, all you need to know is that GTL stands for "Gym, Tanning, Laundry" which, combined with barhopping, fist pumping and general debauchery, is all the cast members feel they need to do with their lives. I'm hoping that any teens who are watching this stupid show are watching it because they get a good laugh out of it, not because they aspire to be like this and be on MTV.

If you're looking to make a little money in the stock market, look into hair gel, because these gentlemen are ALL ABOUT the hair gel, and god knows it's only a matter of time before it becomes a trend.

I suppose the show is good for a laugh, because Adam, Mitzi, Bets and I got some good laughs out of one we watched last night. Our laughs mostly came from the ridiculous nicknames they've given themselves: Snooki AKA Snookers, Snickers, Mike The Situation, Sammi the Sweetheart, etc.

If you want to find out what your "Jersey Shore" nickname would be, there are a few nickname generators out there. Here's our group nicknames:

Me: The Tight End
Adam: A-Train
Mitzi: The Opportunity
Betsy: Tanny

I need to stop writing about this right now, because I'm afraid that combined with the drop in IQ I experienced from just watching the show, trying to dissect the show might make me a total idiot.

Have any of you watched it?

I may not be blogging, but I have been tweeting...

And here's the proof. It's a word cloud of words I used most often in the last year.

Big day at Oak Park Mall - Making Over America with Clinton Kelly

So, anyone who knows Betsy and Mitzi and me knows that we're big fans of TLC's "What Not to Wear."

Imagine our excitement when we heard that Clinton Kelly would be coming to Overland Park for his new project "Making Over America." Weeks ago, when Adam and I were out shopping at Town Center Plaza, we passed at poster at Macy's promoting the event.

I made a mental note of the date, and made sure to tell the girls. Adam, of course, was nonplussed by the news.

Today was the day. I haven't seen that many people at the mall since the day I saw Jamie Walters ("How do you talk to an angel?") at the mall in 1995.

There were chairs set up on the first floor, and priority seating for family members of the 15 chosen makeovers. We decided to stay up on the second level, where we had a "front row" seat at least. It was a little hard to hear since the speakers were angled for those on the ground level, but it was still a lot of fun.

Unfortunately, I did not have a long lens with me, so my little kit lens did the best it could.

At the start of the show, before the big reveals, Clinton brought a couple of women up on stage and did a live version of the 360 mirror. How nerve-wracking that must have been. Bets and I made sure to wear "cute" outfits in case we were spotted by Mr. Kelly. Alas, our spots up top weren't the best for that!

I definitely think that after watching "What Not To Wear" for the last few years, I've discovered some tricks for dressing better. Now, if I could only afford to buy all the clothes I see on the show. Damn teacher salary.

One thing he said today that I thought was funny (and so true) is that all women watch WNTW hoping to see someone their exact size and proportions and style so they can find out how to dress for themselves.

We didn't stand in the book-signing line - at least 100 of our closest friends were in it by the time we walked by, and many more were on their way.

Probably the most exciting part of Betsy's and my day is that Clinton actually @replied to us both on Twitter. We both follow a few celebrities (Betsy more than me, I think), but none have ever replied to us on Twitter (not even when I was raising money for Team in Training).

I did learn something that I can tell my classes on Monday (and no, it wasn't about fashion). After the show, Clinton took questions for a few minutes. One young lady asked where he went to school and what he majored in. He told her he attended Boston College, majoring in environmental (something I couldn't hear) and communications, then I THINK he said he has a master's in journalism. (The speakers were poor for us up high, remember.)

He said he was working as a magazine editor when he went for the WNTW audition. Those communications and people skills you develop as a journalist can help you do a lot of things in life.

I thought that was pretty cool - a little connection we share!

La la la la la! I'M NOT LISTENING TO YOU! I CAN'T HEAR YOU!

The title of this blog refers to the picture I see in my head each time I think of the thousands of parents who are calling school districts all over the country right now regarding President Obama's speech to schools on Tuesday.

Parents are pulling their kids from school. The speech is about inspiring students to be motivated, get good grades, do well in school, and dream that they can make something of their lives. It's a message of personal responsibility - how can you disagree with that?

It's not about health care, it's not about auto or bank bailouts. (What kindergartener would want to listen to that anyway?)

Jim Greer, the chairman of the Florida Republican Party said "Taxpayer dollars are being used to spread President Obama's socialist ideology." It's socialist ideology to inspire kids to do well in school?

Maybe some of the parents need to spend some time in schools during the day to understand that a message of personal responsibility is not a bad thing. According to Arne Duncan, the secretary of education, the dropout rate in the U.S. is 30 percent. Almost a third of children enrolled in schools don't complete 12th grade?

I am lucky to teach in a district that is at the high end of the spectrum - almost all students are college-bound, and the community is incredibly supportive of teachers, and students, and all of our efforts.

But I know that in some places, a message from the president, could go a long way in inspiring students. Would people be so upset about this is the speaker was say, a famous athlete? A movie star? Same message, but no "politics."

I am amazed at the firebrand politics surrounding this speech. The same people who just six or eight years ago were saying "If you speak out against the war or against President Bush, you're being unpatriotic" are now doing what they said not to do. Isn't it still unpatriotic? It's still the president, it's just a different guy from a different party. If it's unpatriotic for anyone to speak against the president, it's unpatriotic for everyone (I don't believe speaking against the President is unpatriotic, I believe it's our right under the First Amendment).

I guess the biggest disappointment for me, and this latest news crystallizes it, is the fact that civil dialogue in our country is so far from civilized. I know that I don't agree with everyone on everything. But I'd like to think that I can listen to the other side of the story, and then continue to dialogues about what is being discussed. We can agree to disagree, and we can still be friends. That doesn't seem the way it is these days - discussion is so polarized, and one side isn't willing to work with the other side.

Where are we heading?

I service society by rocking.

We rocked it like a trio of 16-year-old goof balls last night. Adam's allergies have him pretty much out of commission (can we just decide - hot or cold weather?), so he had dinner with us, but then took medicine and went to bed.

The girls came over, and we hit three Shawnee locations: McDonald's (needed the Red Box), Blockbuster (only for the candy) and Little Caesar's ($5 pepperoni pizza). So, basically, for about four hours of entertainment, we spent $6 (pizza and Red Box) - Betsy had a gift card to Blockbuster, so the candy was free for us.

The great thing about Red Box is that you can reserve your movie online. The crappy thing about Red Box is that once you've reserved your movie online, you will still get stuck behind some idiot who is browsing the box for 10 minutes.

FOLKS! Look online, then go pick up your chosen movie. Or, let the smart people go ahead of you.

I'm telling you what - I wish I would have invented Red Box - when I got to McD's there were four people waiting in front of me to get movies. It's obviously a decent business model.

We chose "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist." I grabbed the movie, and we headed across the intersection to Blockbuster. Grabbed Twizzlers, Peanut Butter Whoppers, Sour Patch, and a six-pack of Diet Coke. Yes, I see the irony in that statement.

The 16-year-old jokester behind the counter was quite impressed with our purchases. Wonder what his internal monologue was concerning the "old ladies" who were buying nothing but candy and Diet Coke on Saturday night. I don't think I've been inside that Blockbuster in 15 years. I was like a flea market in there - tons of random junk for sale, and a whole table full of DVDs - marked four for $20. As Adam says, Blockbuster is so 20th century.

Then, we crossed the intersection one more time to pick up the pizza. I guess Shawnee Mission Parkway and Quivira is like the nexus of the universe - you can get movies, pizza and candy all within 100 yards of one another. Perfect for a Saturday night in.

Once we returned with the pizza, we finished watching "School of Rock" on TBS before we started "N and N." Yep, we own "School of Rock" on DVD, yet every time it's on TV, we drop everything and watch it - commercials notwithstanding.

I enjoyed Nick and Norah, though I'm glad we only spent $1 to see it. It's definitely the kind of movie that my friends and I would have seen over and over and over and over in high school. We would have wanted to be those kids, and have that night out on the town, with all that "cool" stuff happening.

Well, except for the drunk girl throwing up everywhere.

I'm pretty sure I would have had a huge crush on Michael Cera, too, at that age. It's just how we rolled back then.

Why won't the weather cooperate?

Last night, I ran 3.5 miles, and it was almost 7 p.m. when I was done. Today, when I left school, it was B E A utiful outside - sunny, no wind, car thermometer said 68 degrees.

This Saturday morning, the team is running 10 miles, and what's the weather forecast? SNOWY, windy, 30 degrees.

Seriously?

And, it's not just the I-don't-want-to-run-in-the-cold part that bothers me. I work in all day long in a classroom that's in the middle of our building, with no windows. I never know what the weather is like, or get to enjoy the nice days until after 5 p.m.!

Come on weather gods, give us some nice weather on the WEEKEND for a change.

Last Friday, some of my students and I traveled to Emporia State on the big yellow twinkie for their journalism regional contest. We had 13 students who qualified for state! So, those students will compete in May at KU. I'm so excited for them, and so happy that my students are so passionate and dedicated to what they do. All those wins makes our frozen bus ride worth it!

Seriously, when we trooped off the bus, most of us couldn't feel our feet - the heater wasn't working, and some of the windows wouldn't go all the way up and stay. Twenty degree temps and those bus factors makes for a bunch of student-cicles. I had brought along a book to read on the bus, but I gave up because I couldn't turn the pages wearing gloves, and I was so cold I didn't want to take my gloves off!

Just watched LOST - now it's time for bed. So, this one's short and sweet, but it IS an update...Who's watching LOST? What do you guys think? I can't decide what the hell is going on with Ben and Widmore. It's frustrating!

Lose it!

While I was at Crop A Ganza a couple weeks ago, Kat told me about a new app she downloaded for her iPhone, called Lose It. It's a food and exercise tracker that you can use on the iPhone like a food journal.

I am not one to carry around a paper calendar, or notebook or journal with me everywhere I go, and that's one reason the iPhone is such a great tool for me. I always have my calendar and a way to make notes anywhere. So, I might actually get into this Lose It app.

Since I was sick last week, I didn't exercise AT ALL. Starting to feel a bit doughy around the edges. I've never been someone who has major weight issues - I'd just like for my clothes to not be tight...

And, since I'm training for a marathon, I'm not going to be cutting major calories any time soon - need some of that food for fuel.

But, I like Lose It because you can track what you eat and drink, and you can add whatever exercise you do, and it lets you know how many calories you consumed, and what you have left in your budget for the day. You set a goal weight/date, and it gives you options like "I want to lose a pound a week" or "1/2 pound a week" or "maintain" etc.

There are a lot of brand-name supermarket foods and restaurant foods that you can choose from, with calorie information already entered, or you can enter your own foods. Since Adam cooks at home a lot, I'm entering information based off the Nutrition Facts label, and the app stores the info, so I'll always have those to choose from in the future.

Now, obviously, it's at best, a guesstimate of caloric content, etc., but it's still pretty motivating to look and see how many calories you have left for the day, or the fact that running 3.5 miles means I've added 300 calories back IN to my budget. It does make me see how much of a difference exercise can make in your daily life.

I like that I can pick and choose from foods already entered, and that I'm not having to do this with pencil and paper. I've been using it for just about a week now. Check back with me in a few months to see if I've stuck with it!

And, no, no one from Lose It paid me to say anything about their app, I promise!

•••

I did managed to get a run in this afternoon. I was dreading it since I haven't worked out for a week, but it felt really good. Mitzi came over and we ran around the neighborhood together. So, I feel like I'm back to making progress on the marathon training front.

In fundraising news, I've raised almost $1,900 so far! Just got donations today from Terri Wenzel, Thane Chastain and the Barbieri family! We are planning a silent auction to raise money, so if you know of anyone who would be willing to donate items, pass their names along to me...


Back to Biggest Loser.

The most productive Sunday in a long time

Man, we did a lot today. Nothing huge (except lunch with Denise, Jaime, Lexi and Denise's sister Annie), but lots of little stuff.

I started the day making French toast for breakfast. It's sort of my weekend morning thing. If I'm not getting up early to go run, and I have some time, I'll make French toast if we have eggs. Today's bread wasn't stale yet, though, so it wasn't my greatest FT effort.

After breakfast, Adam and I speed-cleaned the house. I knew that Jaime and Denise would want to see the place and all the work we've done, so we picked up and vacuumed and all that good stuff. We're definitely keeping a little bit cleaner house these days, because I feel like it took less time to do the somebody's-coming-over-hurry-up-and-clean bit.

I love having the house clean, but I hate housework. So, we're not really great at it, unless we have to be. Especially during the school year. The last thing I want to do after school or on weekends is clean!

I mean, sheesh.

We had a great visit with the Wichita crew. It's been way too long since I've seen them.

After lunch, I headed over to Mom's, dropped off the rent, then went and paid the insurance bill, then went to the car wash. My car actually looks like a black car again, not some weird dusty, salty grey color any more! And, I didn't even have to wait in line.

We've been (and still are) watching the Super Bowl. While all of that has been going on, I got my snail mail letter written for Team in Training. The letter is written, the donor form ready, the envelopes addressed. I did have to make an Office Depot run for toner. Nice that my printer was free, but I paid almost $40 for toner cartridges today. Boo. Good news, though, is that I'm up to $295 in donations. If you look at my website you can't really tell that yet, since a couple of the donations were cash ones, but they'll be on there soon. Don't be left out - donate today! (A little public service announcement...)

Hopefully, I can stop tomorrow after school and get copies made, so that we can have the letters ready to send out by Tuesday or Wednesday. Last night, via Twitter, I asked Ashton Kutcher to donate to the cause. Wonder if he will. He and Demi are busy being celebs at the Super Bowl this weekend, so I might have to retweet that some other time...What's the worst that could happen? I don't get a donation from him. Figured it was worth a shot!

After the letter extravaganza, I went through six month worth of photos on my laptop, to pick out new ones I want for Crop A Ganza. I'll upload those tomorrow so I can pick them up Wednedsay on my way home from work. I love being able to upload digital photos to the photo center - so freakin' convenient.

I even knit a few rows on a pair of socks I'm working on for Adam. Can't work on the sweater while watching football. I'm working on the sleeves right now, and there's too much counting and keeping track of stuff involved.

Whoop - time out - Steelers just won.

I'm only at school four days this week. Taking a personal day Friday so I can get to Wichita early for Crop A Ganza. Looking forward to it!

After all this post-game junk is over, I'm watching "The Office" then I'm off to bed. It's a school night after all.

Got a new DVR just in time but...

I still don't think it will help us Monday night. Used to, we could record "Chuck" on NBC, while simultaneously watching "How I Met Your Mother" and "The Big Bang Theory" on CBS. When you've got a DVR that can record one channel and still show another, no problem on a night like that.

Well, tomorrow night, when one of my favorite TV shows returns five months early, we'll be in serious TV crisis mode at the Chittum's.

TNT is bringing back "The Closer" starting tomorrow. Usually, it's the show that keeps me from getting bored over the summer, but for some reason, new episodes start this week. In addition, TNT is debuting a new show, with Tom Cavanagh and Eric McCormack, right after "The Closer." Looks like we'll be taping in the living room, and watching TV in the back bedroom so we can get to all three...I know, I know, it could be a lot worse. We could have REAL problems to worry about.

I really hope "Trust Me" is good, and makes it. I have loved Tom Cavanagh since he was on "Ed" and stuck with him for the wonderful but woefully short-lived "Love Monkey" on CBS. I wish I could find season DVDs of "Ed."

Last night at Betsy's might have been foreshadowing of this impending TV bonanza. Adam and I grabbed a bite at Five Guys Burgers and Fries (really stinkin' good if you haven't tried it yet), and headed to Betsy's to help her clear off her DVR. It was 90 percent full when we started watching. They were shows that we don't typically watch - "Psych" "Top Chef" and "CSI." All were great, but as you can see, I think I'd have to quit my job if we became devoted to any more shows!

That's no good.

Battery Buzzkill

As we were breaking in the new Rock Band for Wii game the other night, I discovered something about new(er) toys.

In the good old days, batteries could be easily changed by manipulating the little clip that held the battery cover. (See the remote, below, for example).

Two different games I got for Christmas this year, however, require a screwdriver to remove the battery cover.

A screwdriver!

You're already annoyed because you've got to root around for batteries (I think I removed batteries from everything in the house), and THEN, you've got to find a freakin' tiny screwdriver as well.

Is the toymaker's best friend the tiny screwdriver maker? Up there is the Catchphrase timer. You can see the battery cover at the top.

And that's the guitar for Rock Band. What happens when the little screw gets stripped? I know this will happen eventually - it happens to all screws. Then, are we faced with duct tape on all of our toys?

Parents and Santa - remember this next year. When you pick up those "Batteries Not Included" toys, and you're good enough to remember the batteries, you might want to wrap up a tiny screwdriver as well.

P.S. Anybody out there who has Rock Band - gentle reminder to turn off the guitar when you're done playing, so you don't run the batteries down.

A purty girl dancin' to jug band music and a mess o' mama's barbeque

I've seen two references to this in the last couple of days, so I thought it must be a sign that I need tor write about it. Kat said she thinks "Emmett Otter's Jug Band Christmas" is a depressing Jim Henson movie, but it's one of my all-time favorites. I could watch it (and "A Christmas Story") over and over each year.

I haven't seen Emmet Otter's all the way through in a long time (don't have it on DVD), but I remember watching it with my dad when I was a kid. Seems like Dad was always willing to take me to Muppets movies or sit through them with me when I was little. I can still sing a lot of the songs from Emmett's.

One of my Facebook friends posted a seven-minute blooper reel from the movie, and it's pretty funny. The crazy thing is that the boards shown in the clip say March of 1977. I had no idea the movie was that old. That's older than I am!

What struck me as I watched it was how lifelike the Muppets truly are, even in bloopers, and even as I, Jill the 31-year-old, watch them. Henson truly was a master, and to this day, I love the Muppets. "Fraggle Rock" was my getting-ready-for-school show every morning back in the day. I'd turn it on HBO, and sing along with the theme song, and watch Wembley, Gobo, Red (loved her!), Boober, Doc, the Trash Heap, the whole she-bang.

I want to know - is this a result of my age? Was I just a part of the right generation, the one that got to watch the Muppet Show and Fraggle Rock, along with Sesame Street? I'm sure I watched a lot of Sesame Street when I was a kid, but I just don't remember it as fondly as I do the others.

Here's a little piece of the Jug Band. If you haven't seen it, you should add it to your Christmas movies list. And, all you parents out there, watch it with your munchkins!

They wrote about it, so I don't have to - Biggest Loser

I have been complaining to Betsy for WEEKS about my least favorite "Biggest Loser" this season.

Her name is Vicky, and she is bad news. She seems to be there solely for playing the game and winning the money, and she's not afraid to stomp on anyone who gets in her way. The other contestants had their chance to vote her off last week when she was on the chopping block, and they chickened out.

Two writers have weighed in (pardon the pun) on this phenomenon. If you're a fan of "The Biggest Loser" check out the story here.

I almost said an "Amen" when I finished reading it. They hit the nail on the head.

This just in...Obama in a landslide!

Normally, I'm well on my way to sweet dreams by this time of night. Couldn't do it tonight, though. Had to stay up to see what happened.

I'll probably be awfully tired at school tomorrow, but I think the energy and excitement surrounding the news will make up for it. The newspaper staff got permission to send one page tomorrow (our deadline was tonight at 5), so they get to have one page of election coverage. We've got to meet at school at 7:10 to get the page done, and have it sent by 10 a.m. Hopefully as I type this, the two columnists are typing their own words, and we'll dump them on the page first thing in the a.m.

He did it. We did it. And this isn't one that's going to be contested in courts for the next two months. Obama won, and he won big.

As I watch the footage of celebrations in Times Square and Grant Park, where he'll be speaking (hopefully) soon, I'm only thinking one thing - please, let this energy and level of political engagement continue. The kids at school (who aren't even old enough to vote yet, in most cases) were abuzz with election politics the last few weeks.

This has been an inspiring campaign, one that I hope will turn into an inspiring presidency. President-elect (!) Obama and his crew have proven that they know how to organize and mobilize the electorate. Will that grass-roots involvement continue? Can we make some things happen?

I truly believe that Barack Obama has the promise of being a president for all Americans, not just the ones who fall in lock-step with his beliefs. Open exchange of ideas and partnership can help us move in the right direction.

Change has been a long time coming, and it's finally here.

Double the dress up, double the fun

Last Thursday, at Adam's school, all of the teachers got to dress up crazy for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. As I'm sure most of you know, the chance to dress all crazy doesn't usually pass Adam by. He went all out.

Some of you probably recognize that scarf, from my knitting works in progress post of last week.

Then, the next day it was Halloween. He's been working on a "sweet 'stache" for the last few weeks, so he could dress up as Magnum P.I.

Thank God for ebay so we could find a cheap Hawaiian shirt, and a Detroit Tigers hat.

When I got up Saturday morning, I fired up the DVR to watch "My Name is Earl" and guess what? Earl dressed as Magnum P.I., too!

Yes, I totally paused the DVR, grabbed the phone and shot a photo of the show just so I could put it on here. Hold your snarky comments!

P.S. I'm campaigning for the mustache to make a hasty departure. It's okay for a Halloween costume, but it's not 1976.

Hate to tell you this, but you can't have it both ways.

An open letter to Sarah Palin and the Repubs:

Had some downtime during Parent/Teacher Conferences last night, so I was reading the New York Times and came across a couple of articles about Sarah Palin and her fancy-schmancy new wardrobe.

I just want to know, Sarah:

Are you "just a Hockey mom"?
Is your husband "Joe Six Pack"?
Are you really "just like typical Americans"?

I'm pretty sure I'm in your target audience, since I am Midwestern, middle class, etc. I mean, you can't get much more "American" than Middle America, so you don't have to worry about us being Anti-American, right?

But, I'm scratching my head, trying to figure out the last time I spent $150,000 on new work clothes. Oh, wait, that's right - NEVER. My work clothes come from Wal-Mart, Target and Kohl's, and Old Navy. I think that's what truly represents your everyday American who is on a budget.

So, which one is it? Would you rather be like all of us, as the Republican Party has been trumpeting for the last two months, or are you now a true member of the Washington elite? Option 2 doesn't sound too "Mavericky" to me. How 'bout just buying yourself a silkscreened T-shirt with "The New McCarthyism" emblazoned across it? Maybe that'll help you root out those nasty people who have done nothing wrong but disagree with you. Last time I checked, we are allowed to do that in this country, based on the First Amendment (and any of my high school freshmen could educate you on that). So, really, if you think they should be silenced and removed from government, maybe you're being Anti-American...

P.S. What will you do with all those clothes when you're done? Good luck paying income tax on all of it - they are gifts, after all.