Say Crack Again

I busted my neck.  I think it happened because I have been having trouble sleeping.  I find myself at 1:45AM waking up sweating to death after going to bed really cold.  The same happened last night and I fell back asleep after changing clothes.  However, in the morning when I was waking up, I was also sweating and gross but my neck was really sore.  I moved it around, and that usually results in a popping sound and a release.  That was a bad, bad idea, though.  It cracked, but in a bad way.

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m6emncMoo41qiagllo1_500.png

I now have jolts of pain through the right side of my neck to the point where I can't rotate my neck or head much. Tilting my head up or down also produces pain.  This has happened before a few times.  I had my doctor take X-ray's my neck and shoulders a few years back, but that shower nothing.  They gave me some movements to practice and I never followed them, so my bad there.

The thing is, I am convinced this is stress related.  I, like so many others, hold ALL my stress in my shoulders and neck.  While having a student teacher and working out consistently has helped reduce my workload and stay fit, I'm concerned I have back and joint issues that are making my neck return to its horrible state.  It didn't help that I had things to do every day after work this week.  Case in point; my after school meetings were really long yesterday AND I got a flood of texts when I got out of work which snapped my body into instant chaos mode.  Ugh.

So....what do I do?  Stop working out?  Are me works outs going too hard on my joints?  Is this actually maybe a problem with my feet and alignment?  Do I need to stretch more?  Am I not meant to do high intensity interval training?  Is it too high impact?  Are my cracking habits really the culprit?  Is it only my stress?  Is it dehydration?  WHAT IS IT?

How do I get all these questions answered??  It is driving me bananas!  We should just all totally stab caesar.

The Hungry Ganges

I can't spell 'games' very well, so I guess I'm taking a Mother Ganges take on The  Hunger Games.  Uhh, no.  Anyways...I went out last Tuesday before Thanksgiving to see the last installment of my adorable pita bread and his companion catnip's adventures in Panem.  I don't give a fig for the girl, but my dear pita bread is so awesome.  I love that actor; he is so dang cute. But couldn't he be a bit taller?  For a girl who is 5'7", it is frustrating. If  you're about 5'5" I envy you, ladies.  I love heels, and feel like a amazonian crazy woman when I wear them.  But, I do love them, so I do it anyway.

Okay, back to the mockinbird stuff.  I meant it when I don't give a fig for catnip.  She is always dour, doesn't give way in the much of  personality, and can't ever decide what she wants to do until she is actually doing it.  Every time she 'heroically took action', I want to shout at her "HELLO McFly!!"

She never came across to me as a very charismatic character so I never bought into her.  I also never bought into Team Gale.  Gale was in the first book for about a hiccup's worth of time, and that is all I saw him as: a blip in catnip's life.  Oh yay, they went hunting together.  Big woop.  Then the movies built him up, and I just didn't get the gist of the whole love triangle.  When I was reading, I never felt it was not a very strong dramatic theme in the plot.  I think I missed something.  Did anyone else feel that way about Gale?

So the hunger whatevers aren't going to be a big fandom for me, EVER...but I will say the Infernal Devices series is starting to pick up and it has got all the pacing, romance, action, conflict that I crave.  I can't decide if I am team Jem or Will.  I'm only on the first book, Clockwork Angel, and not too far.  I admit I sneaked a peak on the wiki for the book series and know more than I should now.  My snooping has changed my suspicions of how the series may unfold, but I didn't snoop too much to spoil reading the series.  Thanks to Ginny, for giving me the recommendation of the series.  (I think it was you, right??)

Luck Wa or Mygen Inc.

I was out to dinner with my friend Ginny a few weeks back, and we reminisced about an old Chinese food restaurant that was well known in our area.  It was called Hoy Hing.  This place was the ultimate late night food destination.  They were open late, their food was cheap and greasy, and they would always take your order even if it really was pushing it after closing time.  They would just take you into the side hallway of the kitchen and have you wait while your food was made in front of you.  

Thinking back, I'm not sure what was worse, having to eagerly wait while you're tempted with all the delicious smells and orders flying out to other customers, or the morning after when you realized what you'd eaten by looking at all the half empty containers strewn about your apartment like a Chinese food zombie apocalypse. Either way you feel like Carl after the pudding.  Yikes.

HOY HING LIVES

  

Anyway, the point of this story is that I actually still have their phone number in my contacts list!  I pulled it up and couldn't believe it still existed.  Ginny was amazed too, and couldn't help but laugh because her late night Chinese food place didn't even have a number!  Her go-to NOMS was from Lucky Wa, who for some reason wasn't listed in 411.  (Yes, this was back when we didn't 'google' something, we called information at 411)  She would call 411, and ask for Lucky Wa, only the operator would say the address showed as 'MyGen Incorporated'

Sure enough, when connected she would always be greeted by "Lucky Wa, may I take your order?!"  Curious.  Maybe we should do away with google.  It's more fun that way.

School clocks don't obey physics.

We're all so familiar with the age old situation where a clock seems to move so slow that you feel it's moving backwards.  Is true, all of it, and it's true moreso for school clocks.  I don't know if the clock on my classroom wall could move any slower.   Virtually impossible.  Send an A team after me if I don't show up for thanksgiving on Thursday.  I'll be stuck in school still waiting for the Monday release bell.
Ugh.  I want to go home.

Red Solo Cup!

It seems the red solo cup is blowing up lately!  My sister, for instance, recently sent me a link to the Han Solo Cup that you can purchase for $5.99.  The whole thing has thicker plastic and a neat little Han Solo sitting right there trying to shoot some storm troopers.  Not too bad, but I am still not paying six bucks.
Having dug a little deeper after exploring etsy, I found this awesome version of a Han Solo and the Wookie Cookie by Philip Tseng:

I give major props to anyone that does a smashup.  They're great because they stimulate my imagination into creating my own mashup ideas for cosplay or conventions.  Or just for my own giggles in my head.  Whatever works.  Arguably my favorite wookie cookie smashup was by a friend of a friend.  I got the t shirt on woot.com, and I have gotten many compliments when worn.

But alas my favorite is my own little Han Solo in a Cup. I sing to him the red solo cup song, but change the words to brown solo pup.  Yes, I am that bizarre.  His little lamb legs are fantastic.  Who made this for me, anyway?  I definitely didn't make this picture.  Someone texted this to me.  Who????

Look, Ma!  I added pictures!

Chicken broccoli ziti Alfredo

I haven't had chicken broccoli ziti Alfredo in so long! I'm making it tonight and I'm buzzing with excitement.  However, the one thing that bothers me about it is how awkward its name sounds.  We even had a talk about it today in class and kids got the wrong order but then my student teacher correct them them because she works in a restaurant.   So, officially it is "chicken broccoli ziti" but you can say chicken broccoli ziti Alfredo, too.  I still say it's really really really awkward and I think we should change it to Chickazitoccoli. 
Everyone is welcome to come join me tonight, and enjoy some delicious chickazitoccoli.  But only if you say it right!

What a night for a fight!

Success for Halloween!  I've never had a party, and this year I decorated and prepped all week.  The day came and the mystical powers aligned the planets for the most epic time I've had on Halloween.

  We watched army of darkness, which was where my costume came from.  I went as Ash, boomstick, chainsaw hand and all!  During one of the scenes, I tried to act it out, and I'm not sure if it was more entertaining for me or my friends.

After that we played pin the smile on the skeleton.  I was a little apprehensive spinning folks, but it worked!  Before we knew it, it was time for the costume contest.   We had scariest, funniest, best couple, participation, most original and best overall.

The voters might have swayed the vote because I was the host, but I won best overall.  Who am I to go against democracy?

Anyways, good times, good food/drink, and great people!  Thanks to all!