The Perfect Season

I was so excited when my alma mater, Austin High School, went undefeated in their 2007 football season. I was even more proud because my niece's boyfriend played on the team. He's a cool guy and I've come to think of him as a little brother. And since I love sports I made every attempt to go to as many games as possible to show support.
Did I mention that because their field was being worked on, they had to play away? That means that they never played one home game and still won. So as a tribute to the team and my niece's boyfriend I want everyone to see them in action. Oh and look for my niece's boyfriend about 1:10 into the clip. He's number 13.
Go Panthers!!!

Nooo! I've Been Tagged.

I'm not a fan of chain letters or text forwards or stuff like that, but I'm a team player. I figured people can get to know me better if I answer these questions. The only person I have to tag is Ruben, so you're it! Again! Sorry! Again!

1. What was the best thing you cooked last week?

I made a breaded chicken with pasta. Yummy!

2. If money, time and babysitting were no object, where would you go and with who?

I would go see the Taj Mahal in India. I've wanted to see it since I was little. I remember having a board game when I was little called Hotels. I always bought the Taj Mahaal Hotel. And the story of the Taj Mahal is so romantic. Who wouldn't want to visit it?
I would go with my best girl friend, Edie. She's the only person that has a tougher skin than I do and could put up with my attitude, opinions, and sentimental craziness for that many straight days and nights.

3. When was the last time you cried?

This week. I was thinking about how excited I am to be going to San Antonio for spring break. I'm going to visit the school I used to teach at because the last class I taught there are 5th graders and moving on to middle school. I teared up thinking about all the kids I taught in San Antonio. It's a humbling experience teaching kids that live in projects and have very little. It was also an eye opening experience doing home visits. There aren't words to explain the feeling when you have to sit across a parent and have a conference while there are bugs crawling on their kitchen table. There is something so amazing about the spirit of these kids. I am grateful to them for making me the teacher I am. It's unfortunate that not every teacher gets to experience it. The experience made me grow some tough skin. If only some of the teachers I work with now would stop complaining about PTA long enough to appreciate what they have. I could share my experiences but until you live it, it's not relevant. But not to worry. My tears are also of happiness because even though the odds are against them, there are many success stories too.

4. Five things you were doing 10 years ago?

• Lived away from home in the residence hall at a university in San Antonio.
• Met the guy I thought I was going to marry.
  
• Went to my first club: Joe's Volcano was so much fun.
• Had my first real romance.
• Kicked ass in college.
  

5. Five things you were doing 5 years ago?

• Being a real grown-up: 2nd year of teaching, apartment, and bills.
• Started grad school.
• Letting go of the guy I thought I was going to marry.
• Introduced to Manu Ginobili and becoming a San Antonio Spurs Fan.
• Invited to be an honorary member of Edie's family. In life we're lucky to have a great family of our own but a 2nd family. I am one lucky gal.
  

6. Five things you were doing 1 year ago?

• Moved back home and started teaching at a new school.
• Watched the Spurs win the NBA Finals.
• Looked forward to the final Harry Potter book.
• Found out that make-believe schools do exist.
• Made tons of new friends.
  

7. Seven of your favorite hobbies:

• watching sports
• making jewelry
• baking
• reading celebrity gossip (You know you're waiting to hear what J.Lo named her babies!)
  
• singing karaoke
• decorating for Christmas
  
• watching Food Network
  

8. Five favorite foods: (Just Five?)

• macaroni and cheese
• cookies, cakes, pies, candy - sweets!!!
  
• seafood
• popcorn
• cottage cheese
  

9. Five places you've been:

• Jamestown, Virginia
• Laguna Beach, California
• San Antonio, Texas
• Phoenix, Arizona
• South Padre Island
  

10. Five favorite memories (in no particular order):

• Getting into grad school. Trinity is quite the competitive university. They only let 18-20 people enter the Masters Program every year. Everyone google Dr. Thomas Sergiovanni. What an educational guru! He's the keynote speaker at places all over the world. Also, check out International School of the Americas based on Dr. Serge's ideas.
  
• Graduating grad school. Not easy when you teach a TAKS grade.
  
• Flying for the first time ever to California when I was younger. My god-father took me to Laguna Beach. I had a blast.
• Driving to Brownsville and South Padre Island with some grad school cohort friends. Four gals and one guy. It was so much fun. I think there is a tape out there somewhere of certain events.
• Moving back home to spend time with my family. I get to go to my nephews' school performances and see my nieces do things that are out of this world.
  

What Would You Do?

I'm watching ABC which is airing a show What Would You Do? It's an interesting show because they set up scenarios and tape peoples' reactions to those scenarios. The three segments I got to see were tough ones. The first was what if you caught your friend's significant other cheating? Would you tell them? The next was what if you saw someone stealing another person's wallet or purse? Would you do anything about it? The third was what if you saw someone littering? Would you tell them to stop? Most of us are caring people and would do anything to protect ourselves or our loved ones. But this show really got me thinking about what I would do if confronted with any of these situations. I would think I would do the right thing but would I?
The experts all said that just by reacting you were doing the right thing. But to do nothing was unacceptable. And if all else fails, just causing a scene and getting others involved makes it easier. Except in the case with the cheating spouse. You really should have that conversation with your friends and family. Would you want to know if your spouse was cheating? I know I would. Note to all my friends out there. Tell me!!!

The Little Coach

Apparently the teacher I had my eye on at school is known as the little coach. One of girls at work said: "What's the little coach's name?" And she put out her arms on the table about a foot and a half apart from each other. Like he's really that small. Of course I instantly knew who she was talking about but I have to play dumb. And just to clarify he's taller me but small for a guy. I hope he never reads this, though. Some people consider height a sensitive issue.

On a different note, Tony Parker has returned for his second game. And Manu continues to dominate each game. I keep hearing "vintage Manu" to describe his skills. He is a consistent player who plays fantastic. And what can I say? Another game where he scores over 40 points. Woo hoo!

Good-bye, Brent

Today I received my daily (almost daily) text from the Spurs. And to my disappointment I learned that Brent Barry has been traded to Seattle. I know what you are thinking. He's hurt and he hasn't contributed to the Spurs in a long time but hey, hasn't he come through for us many times? My favorite guy is Manu of course but I loved Brent Barry too. So I am deeply saddened. I know that the Spurs are a business but it still makes me tear up. Good-bye, Brent. I will miss you.

NBA All Star Weekend

So I love sports. This weekend is the NBA All Star Game and of course I'm going to watch. I was so excited to see Team San Antonio win the Shooting Stars competition. Go Spurs! It was also nice to see David Robinson again.

How many of you watched the Slam Dunk Challenge? Even though I thought he did an impressive job, Dwight Howard was not my brother's favorite. He insisted that I note on my blog that one of his second round dunks was not really a dunk because he shot the basket in. If you watched the challenge it was the one where he was wearing the Superman shirt and cape. Well you decide after you watch the replays on Sport Center or You Tube. I checked to see but it wasn't on You Tube yet.

Good luck to Timmy tomorrow at the all star game. He'll make us proud no doubt.

My Baby's Baby

In October my niece had a baby. She's 10 years younger than me and we're pretty close. Ever since she was a baby I called her Baby. Now she's 18 and still Baby. Her little boy is so adorable and I wanted to introduce him to everyone. I call him Horacio, even though that's not his name.

So introducing Horacio. My Baby's baby. Oh and for those of you that don't know what I look like I guess I'm introducing me.

The Beginning of the Love Story

I'm sure that all of you that read my blog (all 5 of you) want to know how the love story between Manu and I started. It's actually a really sweet story.

The year was 2002-2003. My life revolves around academic years because I am a teacher. A student of mine D was a fifth grader. D was the kind of student that always wanted to do more than was required of him. He didn't do this just because he was smart but because he genuinely wanted to see how far he could take things. Like I've already mentioned he was a sharp kid but he was also one of the most caring students I've ever had. He would pick up trash off the school floor while others just kicked it around. He would hold doors open for teachers and other adults. He would say please and thank you. I'm sure most of you must be thinking: "What's the big deal? A lot of kids do that". But you see, I taught in a rough part of San Antonio and the kids there typically didn't put others first. Currently D is a sophomore in high school. He is in JROTC and attends a magnet school. We keep in touch with the occasional email. I could go on for hours telling you about D, but I'll leave that for another time. It's a great feeling you know. As a teacher you hope to make a difference the lives of kids. Even if it is just one. But often times it's the student that makes a difference in the teacher's life. D was that student for me. I've seen several Oprah shows where students write in to thank teachers that made them who they are. I've often wanted to write to Oprah and suggest she have a show about students that have changed the lives of teachers.

With that being said the story of Manu and I continues. D came in to school one morning and said. Miss G, have you heard of the Manu wants to know contest? Huh? Manu? What are you talking about? Of course D was well prepared and handed me a printout of the contest rules and requirements. In summary the contest asked kids to summit some kind of work that explained to Manu why San Antonio was so great. Manu needed kids to introduce him to the city. Since it was D that wanted to participate in the contest I quickly agreed to help him. (At this point I still didn't know anything about who Manu was).

I contacted D's mother and with her permission I picked him up on Saturday and took him around the city to take pictures of places he thought were important to San Antonio. We decided to make a travel brochure of San Antonio with descriptions of why these places were important. Oh did I mention that first prize got a visit from Manu for their school? We printed the pictures, worked on the brochure after school, and I drove over to the SBC Center, (now the the AT&T Center) and turned it in. Unfortunately D didn't win first place but he did get honorable mention. He got an autographed photo of Manu and his name and mine on the Spurs website for everyone to read. I printed a copy of it for him and one for me to remember. And what can I say? I've been a Manu fan ever since. D brought me and Manu together.

I went on to fill out a nomination form about D for the Tim Duncan character counts program. Manu and the Spurs and I have been together ever since. And now all of you know how our love story began.

Love, Oh Love!

I try not to be all sentimental on Valentine's Day but I have something so cute to share. My parents have been married for 40 years. Last night as I was finishing making my valentine cards for my students, (yes I handmade my cards), I saw my dad take out a card he bought for my mom. I watched him practice what he was going to write inside the card. He also asked me how to spell magnum. This is because when my brother and I were little we used to watch Magnum, P.I. and we thought my dad looked like Tom Selleck because of his mustache. (We're totally Hispanic and he's not, but hey we were little .) Well anyway, then he went on to tape two pieces of Hershey's Kisses on the outside of the envelop. It was a side of my dad that I hadn't seen before and made believe again in romance.

At school we had a party and the kids gave me tons of candy that I'll never be able to eat all of. It was great day. Oh yeah and in some gutsy revolution I left a valentine in a teacher's box that I've had my eye on for over a year. Yikes! What was I thinking? No one tell Manu.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY, EVERYONE!

My Boo

On the eve of the day of love my heart goes out none other than to Manu Ginobili. Today in a rematch of the 2007 NBA Finals, Manu scored 46 of 112 points against the Cleveland Cavaliers. I love the way he plays. In the words of the sports commentator, "there are no adjectives left to describe" the way he played. So Happy Valentine's Day, babe. You kicked some ass today.

Hot Guys!!!

Most of my friends know that my preference in men leans toward the African American population. Don't get me wrong. I'm an equal opportunity dater but if three equally hot guys were walking towards me I would immediately focus on the black guy. There's something so sexy to me about them. So with that being said I decided to give you my top five hot black guys.

1. Blair Underwood: Hot, hot, hot!



2. Shemar Moore: Yummy!



3. John Legend: Caliente!



4. Nelly: Ouch!

5. 50 Cent: What a bad boy!

Cutting it down to these five was so hard. These are my favorite.

Award Season

I love award season. It would have started with the Golden Globes but we all know what happened there. Stupid strike! Well I'm watching the Grammy's and my girl, Alicia Keys, just performed my song "No One". I can't exactly say why I love that song but it's a definite favorite. And for those of you that call me you can hear it as my caller tune.
The Oscars are in 2 weeks and I anxiously await that. I have a bunch of movies to watch but I probably won't make it to see all the ones I want. As much as I love sports I love award shows almost as much. (Oh and I'm a bit depressed because the Spurs lost today. No I don't want to talk about it.) Kidding! I love the Spurs! They can't win all of them.

I was tagged so now you're it.

I was tagged by Jen so I guess I'm it. Now I'm tagging all of you reading my blog. And for sure you're tagged Ruben. Here goes...

The Rules:-
Pick up the nearest book of 123 pages or more.
Find Page 123.
Find the first 5 sentences.
Post the next 3 sentences.
Tag 5 people.

For all you Harry Potter nerds here you go. This is from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

He cleared his throat. "I am here, as I'm sure you know, because of Albus Dumbledore's will." Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at one another. "A surprise, apparently! You were not aware then that Dumbledore had left you anything?"

I know that's five sentences but I love Harry Potter. Sadly, you guys need to go and read the first six books or you won't get it. But it is so worth it. And don't cheat by watching the movies. Some are better than others but don't compare to the books.

Do you have a Valentine?

Valentine's Day is quickly approaching and I don't have a Valentine. I know, I know but I sometimes don't pay attention to that because as a teacher you automatically get stuff. I feel loved and appreciated. But I guess it would be nice to get some flowers delivered. (Maybe Manu is reading this!) Valentine's Day is not one of my favorite holidays but I love pink. I want to buy all of the cute Valentine's stuff. All of it. I know a lot of people refuse to buy Valentine's stuff because it's so commercialized. Here's a news flash: go out and buy your sweeties something. Who cares if it is a commercialized holiday? Don't girls put up with enough guy crap to deserve a little candy on Valentine's Day? Being a tomboy girlie girl myself, I appreciate the guy crap but still love to be a girlie girl. So to all my guy friends who don't do anything for their girlfriends on Valentine's Day...start a new tradition. And don't think spending 30$ on a teddy bear is what we want. In fact I'd kill Manu if he wasted 30$ on a bear. But a thoughtful gift is really nice on Valentine's Day.

Wa Ha Ha Ha!!!

Raise your hand if you watched the Super Bowl? Raise your hand if you were going for the Giants? Me, me, me! I am over that moon that the Giants beat the Patriots. I hoped for it but had my doubts. I can't relay how nervous I was when Eli was working his magic with one minute left. It was strange how nervous I was considering my team wasn't playing. In fact the Giants beat my team the Cowboys. But sometimes your dislike for one team makes you join forces with an unlikely team. So congrats to the Giants and boo hoo to the Patriots. Tom Brady is nice to look at but those Patriots were always so smug about it all. Who cares if you have a perfect season if you can't win the grand prize. Now with the end of football season I can put all my concentration towards my San Antonio Spurs. Here's hoping they have a better second half to their season!