What did you say?

Is it okay to tease someone because of their "accent"? Is it like teasing someone because they can't spell well?

For instance, what if it's a teacher giving a spelling test and leaving out vowels? I mean, how does one say, "geometry" properly anyway? If someone were to say "jom-e-tree", would it be okay to giggle and/or correct them? I say, "gee-ah-me-tree". Am I correct? If the kids can spell it right, does it really matter? I'm just saying, I don't really know.

I had a Spanish teacher in 9th grade who struggled with a speech impediment. She had difficulty breathing when she talked, so her voice sounded kind of shaky. And here she was, teaching us how to "speak" Spanish. It was ironic.

My French teacher was a true Southern Bell and had the strong accent to go with it. She would say things like, "Bon-zhure claaase. Ko-mo tal-e vew?" I had 2 yrs. of French with her. I felt okay with my French. I never tried it out on a real French person though.

My kids say things like "maow-un" for mountain and "faow-un" for fountain. Where did the "t" go? It's a Utah thing. I tease them for talking like Utahans. "We are, Mom." they remind me. Oh yeah. Just because I'M not from Utah, I forget that they are.

Wear Iy'm frum, they tawk lye-k the-ss. They eat their food with a "fo-work"- (two syllables) and create new words like "ain't" and "ya'll". So who am I to tease anyway?

Don't you just love this picture?

It was taken by my good friend teachingfourth. He is an amazing photographer. But don't take my word for it- see for yourself!

http://www.alongthebackroads.com/webpages/homepage.html

And it just so happens that he has a contest for a free picture! So, after you check out this fabulous site, comment here and let him know that "Annette sent you". Thank you sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much! You will really enjoy it!

(Hurry! I've only got until Sat. Nov. 15th :) )

A Picturesque Day

(Photo by Red Pepper)

It was a beautiful day for a little road trip . The weather was slightly rainy, yet sunny, which made the colors of the trees and canyon walls really stand out. The fall leaves seemed to dance for us as we drove up the canyon to the Sundance Resort.

Red Pepper, Mr. Tickle, and I were on our way to show our support and to see the much anticipated pictures of our phavorite photographer which were put on display for the annual Harvest Festival. Much to my delight, his wonderful sister was there as well.

He did not disappoint. The pictures were amazing. It's one thing to see them on his blog, and another in real life.

(photo by Mr. Tickle)

It's so inspiring to me both to see such extraordinary talent, and watch him take a leap of faith. Well done.

What would you do for the coolest teacher in the world for his birthday?

Why, make him the coolest birthday cake in the world, of course!

And if it just so happened that he loved "Calvin & Hobbes" as much as me, well then it would HAVE to be a Calvin & Hobbes cake, now wouldn't it?

How, you ask, did I whip up such a feat?

For something this amazing it takes planning, creativity, and time.

At about 8pm I began looking up various and sundry images of Calvin & Hobbes on the Internet in order to find just the right one. I would have started sooner, but you know how it is.

I then baked three 10x13 cakes and let them cool. While they cooled, I made the frosting, divided it, and mixed it into 5 different colors.

From there, I arranged the cakes and began cutting out the shapes. (I had started frosting Calvin when I remembered to take the picture.) I also added music notes with left over cake.

Next I frosted the cakes. This took me forever. The frosting wouldn't stick to the sides well, so I had to work with it. I admit, I was about half way through frosting when I really wondered what I had gotten myself into.

It was then that I began to think of all of the time this amazing teacher has spent on our behalf. (I have had 2 kids in his class and Red Pepper is the third.)

First off, he is a teacher. I know, enough said. But let's not stop there. He goes above and beyond doing wonderful things in addition.

For example, he films the kids throughout the year and at the end of the year he spends many hours putting together an awesome DVD of their experiences, complete with background music, for the kids. He also makes a CD of the music they sing in class, because, yes, this talented teacher also plays guitar and sings with the kids.

He motivates them to work hard by rewarding them with "super activities", such as an evening of "Doc's Pizza" and Comedy Sportz or a classroom party with computer games and dance revolution. My kids loved it and never missed an assignment so as not to jeopardize their chances of going.

I thought also of how caring and thoughtful he is, of how fun he makes learning with his many voices, or his creative assignments. I wondered how he does it.

After that, I didn't mind how much time it took. After all, I knew it was going to be great.

Finally, I added the details. I was pleased with it when it was done. I'm not going to tell you what time I finally got to bed, though.

The next day, I took the cake to Red Pepper's class. Of course Mr. Amazing was impressed and the class was overjoyed.

I did manage to take a picture before we dived in.

Happy Birthday!