Inspired by TellHimFred, I’ve decided to also take a minute to write down some of my own beliefs.  I’ve done this a couple of times - in my college’s honors program, we had to write a credo our freshman year and revise it our junior year.  We then had to defend this statement in front of a panel of our professors.  One of the scariest/best experiences of my life. 

1.  Trust you gut instinct.  So many times, I have ignored that little voice inside my head (no jokes) because I didn’t believe in myself.  I didn’t believe that I knew what was best for me, that I was capable of making the right decisions. 

2.  Learn to live with your regrets.  You’re going to have them, things you wish you hadn’t said or done.  The worst thing is to dwell on it, because it’s true when they say “there’s no use crying over spilt milk.”  The best thing to do is make yourself a better person for them and not repeat your mistakes.

3.  Say what you truly feel.  We often wonder how others are going to react and this stops us from revealing ourselves.  Either we are afraid of embarrassing ourselves, or hurting someone else, that we keep inside what is most important.  People are stronger than you think, including yourself.

4.  Be adventurous.  This falls underneath the category of “taking chances,” or “trying something new each day.”  Maybe it’s easier for me, it’s part of my personality, but I’m telling you, there’s no better high, no better way to test yourself.  This is probably the quality I like best about myself.

5.  No Short Cuts.  No Excuses.  This is one of the mottos at KIPP.  There are no short cuts in life to getting what you want: more money, a better looking body, the perfect job.  You have to work for it.  And there are no good excuses for not working hard - stop being lazy.

6.  Move on.  There are so many reasons why we are the way we are - some of it we are truly responsible for, some of it due to circumstances that were out of our control.  Call it the “blaming my parents” excuse.  Hell, I’ve used it quite a lot myself.  However, there comes a point when you have to just deal with the hand you’ve been dealt.  While knowing the root of your problem is beneficial, you are the only one who has the ability to create a solution.  You need no one but yourself to make you happy.

7.  Love yourself.  I’m a firm believer that you must love yourself in order to be loved.  And this isn’t to say that if you are depressed, no one should love you.  What I’m referring to is the idea that no one else can make you happy (see above).  If you are seeking a partner to fill that void, it will fail for a couple of reasons.  One, they will never be able to give you the happiness you desire, and two, you will become fixated on your own happiness and unable to provide them with what they need.     

8.  Non illigitamus carbordundum.  A mock-latin Latin, meaning, “don’t let the b’stards grind you down.”  My grandfather passed this saying down to my dad, who told it to me.  It can mean a number of things, but he liked to think of it as not letting the ignorant bring you down, because there are so damn many of them out there.

9. Keep company with those who make you better.  Pretty self-explanatory, but few people follow this one.  Some friends/family drain you…..and they’re not worth the time or effort.  You need to surround yourself by people who motivate and inspire you; or at least give you a good laugh.

10. Some friends should be treated as family. Maybe it’s our generation, but so many of us live with our friends these days, much more so than our parents or grandparents did.  In some cases, we’ve become closer to them than our relatives.  I’ve gotten a lot of flack from my parents about spending time with my best friends when I’m at home, but I’m done defending my actions.  Close ties come from circumstance, not blood.  I’ll give my time to those who earn it.

Dear Kristina,

One word of advise from saturday night: do not add your own vodka to the “hunch punch.”  Even if you think it’s too weak, chances are you’re wrong.

Sincerely,

Your 3 Remaining Brain Cells

 

Before things went to pot….

One of the 5th graders, Oshea, waved me over during lunch yesterday.

Oshea: Miss Jones!  Who would win a battle between a cobra and a cat?!

Me: Excuse me, what?

Oshea: A cat and a cobra! Who’s gonna win!?

Me: Umm, well.  Let’s see.  How is the cat going to kill the snake….can he claw the snake?

Oshea: No.

Me: Can he eat the snake?

Oshea: ……I don’t think so.

Me: Well, what can the cobra do?

Oshea: Poison him?

Me: Ok…..well, there you go. Hmm.

 

 

Beth gets the quote of the day:   “Don’t suppress that shit.” 

…..Just got back from seeing the new Panda habitat at the National Zoo.  It was awesome - really cold outside, but awesome still.  Our fifth graders did a fantastic job on Good Morning America.  I think I *might* have been in one shot, when they were filming the group of us looking at the pandas, but I’m not sure.  It was a lot of fun, I took a lot of great shots, which I will upload tonight.  Haha, we didn’t get to do the opening shout “Good Morning America!!!” because they were afraid we would scare the pandas.

Here are the kids with Sam Champion:

 

If she could go back, it wouldn’t be a few years.  It would be 12, to when she was 14.  She would do everything differently this time.  She would leave him before he left her.

*************************************************************************

What’s that from?

A book.

Which one?

The one I’m writing.  I just wanted to see how it looked.

How what looked?

She paused for a moment, firming her thought.

The truth.

 

 

I’m going to be on Good Morning America.

 

 

Seriously.
A group of our 5th graders were invited to attend the opening of the new Panda Exhibit at the National Zoo.  And I get to chaperone.  I’m finally old.

So set your TiVo, your alarm, whatever, and watch me on Monday morning!!

They may have gotten the last name wrong, but Toby is famous! Nate’s blogs were featured on Marketing Headhunter and they posted a picture of my baby.

Ever so often, I have a Sex in the City “moment.”  Some strange situation with a guy will leave me thinking that this should probably been an episode, if it’s not already.  My good friend Anna moved to NYC recently, and she’s had quite a few herself.  When I get in the mood, I can literally watch an entire season on DVD, I love it that much.  One of my favorite characters is Aidan.  Everyone knows an Aidan, he’s is the quintessential “good guy.”  He loves Carrie, not in spite of her quirks, but because of them.  And although they do not end up together, they are my favorite couple to watch on the show.  It’s just that sweet. 

When they were living together, Aidan would always greet Carrie at the door with some quirky greeting such as:

“Hey gal, what’s up?  Where you been and what do you know?”

or

“Hey pop tart.  Where you been and watcha been doing?”

You really can’t get any better than Aidan.

I even love it when they fight.  Here’s the best instance I can think of.  Aidan’s dog has just eaten one of Carrie’s Manolos.

Aidan: It’s a dog. What’s he supposed to do with all your shit lying around here?

Carrie: My shit wouldn’t be lying around if we weren’t making room because your shit is lying around!

(couple of minutes later)

Carrie: I’m taking a walk!  You can stay here with your boxes of shit and your shoe-eating dog, and you can knock yourself out putting on the Rogaine and the Speed Stick!

Best. Couple. Ever.

I haven’t posted in awhile because I haven’t had a ton to say. Or, scratch that, when I do have something to say I’m too lazy to write it down. Yes, that sounds about right

My brother, Kevin, came to visit this weekend. He is an SAP consultant working in Peoria right now, but his company is based out of McLean, Virginia. When he first found out about this new job, I was thrilled and said that we could get a place together here. His response? “I’m not living with my sister.” Fine, I understand. However, he’d only be here for 3 days a week, at most, and seriously, it wouldn’t be that awkward. So while he was here, he asked me to start looking for a place…for the both of us.  I asked him why he changed his mind and he said that he was talking to my Uncle Allen, who had suggested the same idea as me, and when Kevin brought up not wanting to live with his sister, Allen says, “yeah, I get that.  But if you move in with a stranger, they’ll probably rob you blind.”  Now while most people, like myself, are not that paranoid,  you don’t know the rest of the Jones crew.  Paranoia like no other.  And so, because his fear of robbery trumps that of awkwardness, we’re going to be roomies.  For the first time since 1993!

This week is Homecoming at KEY Academy, which is topped of by a football game on Thursday night. I had the fun task of ordering items to sell with our logo on it - so I created two bumper stickers, pens, pencils, hooded sweatshirts, and parent t-shirts. They turned out great and I’m going to post their images here.

I keep getting SO MANY spam comments for my blog, and most of the time they don’t even pretend to not advertise for themselves (viagra, student loan payments, etc). However, sometimes they slip in little comments to try and fool me. Like:

I like your blog, it makes good since to me.

Hmm, yes, perhaps if you weren’t so stupid I might have let that slide.

UPDATE: Pics from the game