courage

I know some of you read my friend Annie's blog. If you didn't happen to read this past month's series on courage, you are missing out. It was amazing. Loved every minute.

awkward twins

some twins are awkward. some twins are weird.
lots of twins are normal.

this one is not:

Awkward twin: "I'm not straight"

Other student: "You're not straight?"

Awkward twin: "Yeah, I can't write straight"

Other student: "I don't think you know what that means"

Oh. 7th grade.

meet Parker!

I went to visit my BFF-Rachel a few weekends ago in Fort Payne, Alabama-- and I bought a puppy!
His name is Parker JULIOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Smith.

This is him on the way home from Alabama- he was freaking out a little, so he kept moving around- and ended up behind my head. FOR. THE. ENTIRE. WAY. HOME.
This is my BFF Maranda holding Parker- he's still so little! He'll grow to be about 10-12 pounds, but right now, he's TINY.
This is Parker and one of his toys. He was worn out :)
This is my favorite picture- I have turned into one of those "dog moms"- this picture is my screen saver on my phone. Love it.

Giant

You may not know this about me, but one of my all-time favorite movies is "Giant." Often times when I mention this to people, they have no idea what movie I'm talking about. For some reason, it's not carried the same kind of timelessness that "Gone With the Wind" or other epic movies of the same era have carried.



When I was a kid, my grandmother had the movie on VHS that she had recorded from TV at some point. It was split into two VHS tapes (that should take you guys back to a special place in your heart)- but I would watch it multiple times every time I went to Mississippi to visit my grandparents. It made me fall in love with the idea of creating a life with someone- even if that someone is nothing like you. Elizabeth Taylor plays Leslie Benedict who is a wealthy socialite from Virginia. Rock Hudson (who I am slightly in love with) plays Bick Benedict who meets Leslie while purchasing a horse from her father. They immediately fall in love, and they move to Bick's ranch in Texas. It's the story of their life. For better or worse. Mistakes and all. Love, loss, children, friends, fights. It's all there.



It's also a famous movie because it would be James Dean's last. He was killed in a car accident during the last days of filming. I love his character's story, too.Jett Rink came from nothing. Got lucky in oil and made it huge. But. He had nothing to show for his life by the end. A tragic story, but an epic one told my James Dean that makes me cry every time.
It's a special movie to me. I think because it always makes me think of those summers in Quitman. The other day my family was talking around the dinner table, and I said some movie was one of my favorites. My grammy spoke up in her barely audible, whisper of a voice and said, "I'm pretty sure your favorite movie is Giant." And, of course, she's right. It is.

oops

You would think I would blog more in the summer when I'm not working, but, alas, I did not. I'm back in the swing of things in school- work up to my eyeballs. But happy doing my job. Today, I am praying for patience and wisdom in dealing with my students. I feel like I have had a VERY short fuse in dealing with them. This group is pretty smart, but they are VERY social. It can be detrimental to them- and my classroom- often.

I want to start blogging again soon. Hopefully this will be now. And for real.

simple math: last day of school

PLUS
EQUALS
Oh, that's right. Sprained my ankle on the last day of school playing on the bungee run inflatable. AM. SO. COOL.

T-town

I know that you have all heard about the tornado in Tuscaloosa and other parts of the southeast. My sister lives in Tuscaloosa, so this has felt incredibly close to home. Thankfully, my sister is ok, as well as her friends. Some of her friends had damage to their homes/stuff, but all of AnneTaylor's stuff is ok.

This week's Sports Illustrated cover is all about "What the Tornado Took" from Tuscaloosa. It focuses on the athlete's response to the tornado. It's heart wrenching. You can read the full article by clicking on the picture.
The NFL draft was the day after the tornado hit, and it was cool to see quite a few Alabama players get drafted! Even cooler was that those guys were still talking/tweeting about how they were going to help in Tuscaloosa.

You need to read the article. It's really well written, and it will certainly make you feel connected to the real story in T-town.

bathing suits and modesty

Growing up, I thought the only reason to wear a one-piece bathing suit was to hide fat. I thought skinny people wore two-pieces and fat people wore one-pieces. Just the rules. However, when I was in highschool, my friend Natalie (who is thin) wore a one-piece all the time. I remember talking to her about it, and she said that wore one when she knew she would be around guys- because she thought that her body was none of their business. I remember being surprised about that because I had never given much thought to modesty in regards to bathing suits.

By their very nature, bathing suits are not modest. They are skin tight and resemble underwear. Everything is on display. But talking to Natalie made me realize that there are some decisions you can make about someone else's ability to know everything about your body.

I was reading Elizabeth Esther's blog this morning about her daughter's bathing suit choices, and it made me remember this revelation with Natalie in highschool. Her husband reminded her that it's not about the bikini- it's about the relationship. The relationship with her daughter for her to understand modesty and purity is what matters- not the bathing suit.

I go to a camp with my church every summer, and they have a rule that you have to wear one-piece bathing suits. And, I'll be honest, there is a incredible sense of innocence for that entire week on the beach. People who come to camp for the first time always complain about the rule, but after you've gone a couple of years, you kinda come to like it. However, I do think there is such a thing as TOO modest.

I have some friends that I babysit for- their daughters are 11 and 8. Naturally, when I babysit in the summer, we go to the pool. The first time we went, I was shocked to watch the little girls get their bathing suits on and put a pair of board shorts over their suits. I mean, they're little girls. There's a part of me that feels like making little girls wear shorts or those crazy swim-outfits is teaching a sense of shame of their bodies. I think there has to be a balance.

Obvs, I'm not a parent, so I don't have to make these decisions, but it does make me think.

twitter

Just found DogHouseDiaries.com
Greatest timesuck of my week. I read through every. single. archive.
and totally loved every minute.
this was one of my favorites:

but then I thought, I should tell people how much I love twitter.

I LOVE TWITTER.

It's BY FAR my favorite social network. I have been on it for a while now- and I seriously love it. I feel lost without it after a few hours. :)

Are you on twitter? I should follow you!
You should follow me!
www.twitter.com/camismith

stories I only tell my friends

My love for all things Rob Lowe is no secret here. Loved him in The Outsiders, Brothers and Sisters, West Wing, and even when he was the bad guy in Austin Powers and Tommy Boy. LOVE HIM. So, when he was on Oprah the other day, of course I watched. He was there promoting his book, Stories I Only Tell My Friends.

Please understand that I am NOT usually a celebrity-tell-all kind of reader.
BUT.
Rob Lowe's book just isn't like that. It's SHOCKINGLY well written, and it is much more of a reflection of his life than an expose of his past romances and debauchery. It's a very quick read, chronicling his life through the end of the West Wing. It briefly mentions Brothers and Sisters and the shows he works on now, but not in great detail. As a huge enthusiast of The Outsiders, I loved that there were about 3 chapters devoted to that time in his life.
He leaves nothing us-discussed.

I loved it- def rated-R, but mostly bc of profanity. Everything else is alluded to without being trashy. Well. Without being vulgar.
READ IT!