Fill In the Blank/Five Question Friday

I got this from my friend Megan, who got it from bloggers Tamara @ The (Un)Experienced Mom and Mama M.

First, fill in the blank:

The holiday movie I can't live without each year is How the Grinch Stole Christmas. But the holiday movie I could DEFINITELY do without is the Frosty the Snowman sequel. I never really cared for Frosty anyway, and the sequel just sucks.

Now, 5 questions:
1. Favorite gift you are GIVING this year?
I really want to get my husband a laptop or netbook, he would go nuts over it, he's been wanting his own for a long time. But our budget for each other is usually under $100. So if I can find one for around $150 or less, I'm getting it for him. I'm keeping an eye out for sales and Craigslist (used is OK, he just wants to type on it and probably listen to music). The cheapest I've seen so far is $199, but I think that's stretching it for our budget.

2. How many parties are you attending between now and Christmas?
Well, I have a baby shower tomorrow, or do you mean holiday parties? Not counting family festivities, probably just one.

3. What is your favorite Christmas song?
Hm, this is a hard one. Does "What's This?" from Nightmare Before Christmas count?

4. Who was your favorite elementary school teacher and why?
Mrs. Hansell, hands down. She already had a reputation of being the nicest teacher. I can't remember any other time in Elementary School where I felt like an individual, like the teacher actually paid attention to me.

I don't remember Kindergarten that well.

Then we moved, and the only thing I remember about my first grade teacher was that she accused me of cheating on one math test, and I got an F on another math test, but during either 1st or 2nd grade, I won the math-a-thon, I got the most questions right out of all grades.

In 2nd grade, I was one of the top kids in my class. But the only thing I remember about the teacher was that she took away the makeup I got for Christmas (kids dress up kit) and I never got it back. She took a lot of things away from kids.

In 3rd grade, we moved again, and I became the outcast. Everyone in my class already knew each other, so it was hard to make friends, and when I did, I found out they weren't really friends. I didn't do that great in 3rd grade for lots of reasons. New school, new home, my mom had moved in with my stepdad which changed my little world, and my eyesight was so bad that I couldn't read the chalkboard for most of the year. The reading teacher assigned a word search every week for the spelling quiz, but I had a hard time finding all the words. And I remember getting in trouble with my home room teacher for talking during class when I was the only one at our table that wasn't talking (because I had no friends).

So when Mrs. Hansell came around in 4th grade, it was a blessing. She actually took the time to make sure the kids learned. I felt like if I had a problem, I could go to her. Kids that stayed after either to be picked up or they walked home (walkers couldn't leave until the buses were gone) got jobs, mine was to sort the "mail." We each had a cubby that our returned assignments went in. At a time when I was afraid of authority figures, she was one of the few adults that I felt comfortable with.

Then in 5th grade, I had an okay teacher. I don't have any stories about him, but he didn't stand out like Mrs. Hansell did.

5. If you had a choice to live in any other period of time (other than now) what era would you choose and why?

Victorian, for the dresses and innovation, and a little bit of women's liberation.