I spent last week in NYC.  I went there to attend the February Institute at Teachers College of Columbia University.  Classes were from 8:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. each day. Once classes were over and we had done our homework for the next day (and sometimes before we’d done the homework), we headed off to soak in every ounce of NYC experiences and sightseeing that we possibly could.  I doubt if we could have fit in another activity.  It was an extremely full week.  Here are thirteen of my favorite things about the trip.

(1) The beautiful and intricate architecture of the old buildings - all over NYC.  I loved looking at those old buildings.

(2) Wicked.  It was a wonderful Broadway show at the Gershwin Theater.  It was totally delightful.

(3) Shopping in Chinatown for purses.  They made it a seem like such a cloak and dagger experience, although since every tourist knows about them, I’m sure that all the police officers do, too.  It was a hilarious experience, though.

(4) Jersey Boys - another Broadway show.  This one was about Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons - wonderful music and great show!

(5) The Empire State Building.  It was my first time to see it, and I loved it.  We lucked out in being there at a time when there were no lines.  We were able to go right up to the top  and walk around in the wind and cold of the observation deck.  I thought of “Sleepless in Seattle” and “An Affair to Remember” and just thoroughly enjoyed it.

(6) Meeting my niece at the Empire State Building.  She’s a nanny in NYC,  has a degree in Musical Theater, and she didn’t think twice about hopping on the subway to meet me at the ESB and then going with me to have dinner with some of my teacher friends.  It was just cool to see family when I was so far away from family.  Does that make sense?

(7)  The snow storm on Friday morning.  It was wonderful waking up to the beautiful snow on Friday morning and then walking through the falling snow with about 6 inches of snow already on the ground to get to our Friday morning classes.  I learned that the northerners who come to the south and make fun of us for shutting down because of a little snow don’t have room to talk.  Lots of things shut down in NYC because of that snow last Friday.

(8) I especially love the fact that our flight home was not cancelled or delayed because of the snow.  Although earlier flights had been cancelled, ours went home right on time.  While NYC was great, I was ready to sleep in my own bed and see RT again.

(9)  A. - one of the session leaders at the institute.  We started counting how many times she used the word “like” -  it was in the hundreds on any given day.  She was very knowledgeable and likeable, but her speech had a definite Valley Girl bent.  At one time she said we were going to talk about mini-lessons, and she declared: “I love them!  I LIKE THEM A LOT!  They’re really good!”  (I know that is EXACTLY what she said because I started writing down exact quotes once I realized what a treasure trove of bizarre quotes she was providing us).   Anyone who becomes orgasmic at the mere mention of mini-lessons was someone who held our interest and provided lots of material for discussion.  My roommate was particularly adept at imitating A., and we spent one evening in absolute hysterics laughing and talking about things A. had said and done in class.

(10) Staying at the International House in NYC.  Great place to stay.  Very much like a college dormity - bare bones type lodging, but clean (except for the shower curtain) and the atmosphere of having people from all over the world staying there was really fun.  Plus they had a great cafeteria with wonderful food.  That saved us a lot of time and money for our other NYC adventures.

(11)  Being in the audience of the Late Show with David Letterman.  It was a fun experience.  RT and I watched the show when I got home, and he said it was about the worst show he’d ever seen.  The jokes weren’t funny and the guest was boring.  However, the experience of being there in person was lots of fun.  Plus, there’s a clear shot of me in the audience - so I have that tiny claim to fame.

(12) Riding the subway and seeing that yes, people are people are people.  In general, the people we met in NYC were friendly and helpful - and several of them went way beyond the call of duty to offer assistance and information when we needed it.

(13) The airline employee in the Nashville airport who told us about the best view of NYC:  “It’s out the airplane window when you’re leaving NYC on your way back home.”  While I can understand why people would want to live in a city like NYC - there are so many wonderful experiences available there - I can’t imagine living there myself.  It was crowded, it was noisy, and bags of garbage were everywhere.  I was grateful to return to my country home in Tennessee.

Here are thirteen things I like about mornings.

(1)  I like the “new” feeling of everything

(2) The sun shining through the trees in the yard is pretty

(3) I feel really energetic in the mornings

(4) I can get a lot of work done in the mornings

(5) Breafast - the best meal of the day

(6) Before I get out of bed, it feels so cozy and comfortable

(7) Saturday mornings are the best - no work, no responsibilities

(8) Coffee (with no-fat creamer and Splenda)

(9) The smell of bacon cooking (once or twice a week)

(10) Oatmeal (my favorite breakfast)

(11) Wild animals (deer, turkeys) wandering through our yard

(12) Lots of birds on the bird feeders

(13) On cold mornings, a fire in the fireplace - adding to the coziness of the house.

Since I can’t watch the ocean from one of those chairs at the beach (see the graphic above), I will write about what I watch on TV.  Here are thirteen of my favorite shows on TV.  I’m sure my mother will read this and chastise me for watching too much television!  And my brother will deplore my lack of “quality” TV.

1.  Project Runway

2.  American Idol

3.  Survivor

4.  The Amazing Race

5.  Deal or No Deal

6. Top Chef

7. The Next Food Network Star

8. The Apprentice

9. America’s Next Top Model

10. Sex and the City

11. The Girls Next Door

12. Desperate Housewives

13. Grey’s Anatomy

Here are thirteen “C” words that describe me.

(1) Caring - I care very much for my family and friends.

(2) Courteous - almost always

(3) Cautious - sometimes too caution - but then other times, I’m

(4) Crazy (at times) - tend to be impulsive at times.  That can be good, and that can be bad.

(5) Cash=poor at times - it’s hard to stick to a budget sometimes

(6) Children’s books - love them - read them all the time (it’s part of my job - but I still love them)

(7) Carnival hostess - check back here next Wednesday morning for the Carnival of Education

(8) Cabbie - the nickname my mother gave me and that only very special people still call me

(9) Creative - sometimes 

(10) Competitive - I’m not obvious with this part of my personality, but I’m much more competitive than people think

(11) Crafty - I’m always anxious to try out new crafts ideas

(12) Contemplative - I think about things a lot - all aspects of things

(13) Cook - I like to try new recipes and prepare good meals for family and friends.  I love having company over for meals.

I feel like I’m grasping for straws to find a topic for this week’s Thursday Thirteen.  So here are thirteen things on my desk at work.

(1) One apple (gala - uneaten)

(2) eyeglasses in a faux-fur lined glasses case

(3) bottle of lotion (Christmas gift from a student)

(4) box of thank-you cards (I WILL catch up on all my thank-you notes this Friday)

(5) roll of paper towels (use ‘em all the time)

(6) tape dispenser

(7) stapler

(8) box of Kleenex

(9) 3-hole punch

(10) walkie-talkie

(11) school supply catalog (actually about a dozen of them.  I have to finish up all my orders for the school year by the end of next week)

(12)  Clipboard with my schedule and students listed

(13) a small clear business card holder filled with my business cards.

THIRTEEN THINGS THAT MAKE ME SMILE

(1) My grandgirls - just being with them makes me smile from enjoyment

(2) RT - always ready with one-liners that crack me up

(3) Both my son and daughter - great sense of humor

(4) Our driveway - it’s scenic and whether I’m coming home or heading out, I smile because it’s beautiful

(5) A sunshiney day

(6) The beach - there’s just nothing like being at the beach.  It puts the world in perspective and instantly relaxes me

(7) A massage - I had a hot stone massage yesterday, and it was phenomenal.  I could feel the tension leaving my body

(8) An early morning phone call when there is snow outside because that means it’s the school system’s automatic phone system letting me know that school has been cancelled for the day.  I LOVE waking up to those phone calls, and they don’t happen very often.

(9) Watching birds on our bird feeders

(10) Walking through the paths that RT made through the woods on our property - very relaxing.

(11)  Getting a good night’s sleep and waking up feeling ready to go

(12) A good cup of coffee - prepared with lots of creamer and Splenda

(13) The first taste in a serving of ice cream - that smooth, sweet one-of-a-kind taste

Thirteen of my favorite Christmas carols: First, though, a little Christmas carol history:

Christmas carols are based on Christian lyrics and relate, in the main, to the Nativity. Christmas carols were introduced in to church services by St Francis of Assisi in the 12th century. As for the word carols, “carol” is a derivative of the French word caroller, the interpretation of which means dancing around in a circle. Carol and carols, eventually came to mean not only to dance but included music and lyrics.

(1) Silent Night, Holy Night

(2) It Came Upon a Midnight Clear

(3) O Holy Night

(4) The First Noel

(5) Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

(6) O Come All Ye Faithful

(7) Away in a Manger

(8) Mary, Did You Know?

(9) The First Noel

(10) The Friendly Beasts

(11) Little Drummer Boy

(12) There’s a Song in the Air

(13) O Little Town of Bethlehem

We draw names in our very large family (over 50 people!), and sometimes when someone draws the name of an adult male, there’s a little groan because men can be so difficult to buy for.  It’s not that they are unappreciative, but it’s just hard to know what they’ll like.  Here are some suggestions that should be helpful - or at least give you some ideas if you’re shopping for a man.

(1)  The Kindle is the newest electronic gadget to have.  It’s the new wireless reading device.   It’s really cool, and if your man is a techie, then this will make him happy.

(2)  You can’t go wrong with an iPod.  If your man doesn’t have one, it’s a great gift idea - especially if he really enjoys music.

(3)  Here is something I absolutely love - and so does RT.  My Keurig single-cup coffee brewer brews a k-cup of RT’s so-strong-it-would-choke-a-normal-person coffee one minute, and the next minute it brews my so-mild-RT-can’t-drink-it coffee the next.  It’s the one coffee maker that keeps us both happy.  Plus they have hot tea and hot cocoa k-cups now - so the it covers all bases.

(4) One of the best inventions of mankind is the cordless drill.  Before RT and I remarried, I had a DeWalt cordless drill, and RT had one, too.  So now we have two which was absolutely wonderful when we were putting in doorknobs, towel racks, blinds and other jobs around the new house.  We’d put a drill bit in one and a screwdriver bit in the other - and we were a team getting everything done.

(5) Many men have TV shows they particularly enjoy - or TV shows that they’ve heard about and thought sounded good but never watched - or TV shows that they like so much, they enjoy watching reruns of shows they’ve already seen.  Sometimes we start watching a show in its second or later season and wonder what that first season was like - how the story and characters were developed up to the point when we started watching it.   If any of those scenarios are the case, then a DVD with a season’s worth of shows is a great gift.  We never could afford to have HBO, and so we never watched “The Sopranos” when it was on its regular run on TV.  Now, though, we can buy the DVDs and see all the shows.

(6)  I read the story of Burt’s Bees products not long ago, and I already loved the stuff.  It’s great for your skin - both men and women.  This particular kit has grooming essentials for men - shaving cream, soap bar, body wash and after shave.   

(7)  I LOVE this cookbook.  When I was single, I gave it as a gift to some of the single men I know.  It’s a simple cookbook that men who are not accustomed to cooking can use with relative ease.  The directions are simple, the ingredient list is minimal, and the recipes taste good.  Great gift idea for any man who wants to start cooking for himself.

(8)  Okay, so this is probably not a male gift idea.  However, I love my paraffin spa so much that I decided to throw it into the mix here anyway.  If you’re looking for a gift for a woman, this is it.  I absolutely adore the way this makes my hands instantly softer and smoother.

(9)  I bought a webcam for my laptop a few weeks ago, and it has been so much fun playing around with it.  There’s just something about seeing the video on the computer screen immediately - and playing it back over and over.  I found I had a little bit of an actress in me - is YouTube in my futre?   Your guy will most likely want to start making his own YouTube videos if you get  him his own webcam.

(10)  Okay, now this gift is for the guy who already considers himself a good cook - or simply a connoisseur of fine pizza.  A pizza stone is the ultimate in making wonderful homemade pizzas.  You cook and serve the pizza on the stone.  It keeps the crust crispy and hot.  A perfect addition to any kitchen - for both men and women.

(11)  No matter your man’s interest, there is a magazine related to it.  A magazine subscription is a great gift.  I give magazine subscriptions every year.  I usually buy a recent issue and place the gift subscription card in it  - and then put the magazine in the person’s stocking - or in a gift box or bag. 

(12)  Every man needs a pair of Crocs for everyday wear around the house - or out and about.  They’re comfortable, washable and practically indestructible.  RT has one pair, and I have two pairs.  They’re the ultimate go anywhere shoe.

(13)  Every man needs a small tool kit - one that has the essentials for the home.  Well, every woman needs one, too.  I have one for the home and another one in my classroom at school.  I use them both quite frequently.  RT has his own tool kit that he uses often, too.  It’s so convenient to have everything altogether in one kit, and I have found that we go ahead and take care of little things that need done around the house when the right tool is near at hand.

I’m an elementary school reading specialist, and so I’m always reading.  I also love quotes.  Thus I’ve done Thursday Thirteens on various topics related to reading and quotes.  There are Thursday Thirteens on quotes about Mothers, quotes from American History,  poems to read with children,  quotes to write in the sand,  my favorite read-aloud books for children,  my favorite quotes about reading, and thirteen books for Read Across American week.  Here is a second set of quotes about reading that I love:

(1)  “To acquire the habit of reading is to construct for yourself a refuge from almost all of the miseries of life.”   ~W. Somerset Maugham~

(2) “The real purpose of books is to trap the mind into doing its own thinking.”  ~Christopher Morley~

(3) “Children are made readers on the laps of their parents.” ~Emilie Buchwald~

(4) “A house without books is like a room without windows.”  ~Horace Mann~

(5) “To add a library to a house is to give that house a soul.”  ~Cicero~

(6) “Any book that helps a child to form a habit of reading, to make reading one of his deep and continuing needs, is good for him.”  ~Richard McKenna~

(7)  “To read is to empower;

To empower is to write;

To write is to influence;

To influence is to change;

To change is to live.”

~Jane Evershed~

(8) “The more that you read,

The more things you will know.

The more that you learn,

The more places you’ll go! ”

~Dr. Seuss~

(9)  “There is no substitute for books in the life of a child.”  ~Mary Ellen Chase~

(10)  “Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere.”  ~Chinese proverb~

(11) ”Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.” ~Sir Richard Steele~

(12)  “Books, I found, had the power to make time stand still, retreat or fly into the future.”  ~Jim Bishop~

(13)  “A book is a like a garden carried in the pocket.”  ~Chinese proverb”

RT and I have been moving the past month.  Yes, the past MONTH.  It takes time, and the fact that our old house is just two miles away from the new house, along with the fact the the old house has not sold yet means that we still have lots of stuff at the old house that we haven’t moved yet.  Nothing big - but still lots of little things that we didn’t want to crowd the moving van when we had it last month.

However, we DID completely empty the two storage rooms where I had stored most of my belongings.  One of the highlights of the past few weeks is that I keep getting gifts - gifts of particularly treasured items that had been packed away for the past eighteen months.  Each time I’d open a box, it seemed that I found something else that I was thrilled about seeing again.

(1) My dining room suit - it’s cherry with white upholstered seats - so pretty and elegant.  It wasn’t in a box, but it was stacked in the back of one of the storage rooms.

(2) My paraffin spa - LOVE it for my hands!

(3) The baby doll that the grandgirls insisted on buying for my birthday a few years ago.  My daughter tried to steer them towards a more practical gift, but they insisted that Grandma Carol WANTED that baby doll. . . and they were right - I did!

(4) My Hummel collection - each of them were given to me for special occasions, and it’s so nice to see them again.

(5) My pictures - I have a lot of framed prints that we just stored since RT’s cabin didn’t have a lot of wall space for them.  I enjoy so much the Frace’ prints and the beautiful “Resurrection Morn” print that I received as a gift a few years ago.

(6) My books.  LOVE my favorite books.

(7) My dishes - especially the pretty ones

(8) My antique hall tree - I’ve had it for about 30 years, and I think it’s beautiful

(9) The little figurine that my then 3-year old daughter gave me when my son was born.  It’s a little girl with arms spread wide and the words “I love you THIS much!”

(10) My crocheted afgans - so nice to wrap around me when I’m watching TV or reading a book

(11) My video and CD collections - I’m ready to watch some of my favorites again

(12) My photo albums - from RT’s and my first marriage in 1969 to our grandchildren.  I love looking at all the photographs again.

(13) My little antique sewing kit.  It’s interesting how often I need a needle and thread to do a quick repair on something.  I’ve missed my well-stocked sewing kit.  Now that it’s available, it’ll probably be months before I need it.