Something Suddenly Came Up

Christmas Around the Country

2011-12-18T20:45:00.002-05:00

Hard to believe that it's been 5+ years that I haven't been traveling for work. I don't miss it, except for a few things like getting upgraded on flights or in hotels. Or having my own schedule for the most part. But all in all, it's good to be home, week in and week out, not having to worry about late or cancelled flights, sleeping in hotel beds 4-5 nights each week, and trying to find something relatively healthy to eat in podunk towns.

Right around this time, however, I get a little homesick for the road. I get this way because I have been in some pretty interesting places while traveling during the holidays. I really enjoyed going to different places around Christmas or New Year's. I loved seeing how other towns decorated. I also loved being in a different place, but nevertheless experiencing the season.

There was a time when I was in Daytona Beach about a week before Christmas. The cheap hotel rates allowed me to stay in a fancy hotel on the beach, which was extremely rare for my miniscule travel budget. I ate in the hotel restaurant which looked right out on the water. Although it was nighttime and I really couldn't see the water, I could hear it. Meanwhile, the restaurant was decked out in Christmas decorations. I bought a hula Santa in the gift shop.

On that same trip, I had to drive from Daytona to Jacksonville to catch my flight the next morning. I stopped at an outlet mall that was all lit up with Christmas lights. It was an outdoor mall, and it felt so foreign to me to walk around in late December without a coat. I remember finding a Christmas song station on the radio. Another foreign concept listening to Christmas carols while the ocean breeze wafted in the windows.

There was another trip to South Carolina when I ate she-crab soup at an outdoor restaurant. The locals couldn't believe it when I told them about the temperatures back home. Trunks of palm trees were wrapped in Christmas lights.

I've been to Cleveland around Christmas, but that wasn't anything to write home about. Denver is pretty at Christmas, but can be precarious when you're trying to get home before a snow storm. Same thing with Indy, Minneapolis, and St. Louis. Pittsburgh is pretty at Christmas. So is DC. And of course in my biased opinion, so is Chicago.

Even airports get decked out in holiday garb. It's fun to see the nooks and crannies that people choose to decorate.

I hope you're feeling the season, no matter where you are.

FInding Joy in Unusual Places

2011-11-17T18:21:00.003-05:00

The news out there is not very uplifting right now. The economy, the resulting job market, the crazy political upheaval, being in a profession that is being scrutinized more and more. Yet, the one thing that I have been trying to do is relax, be thankful, and find sparks of joy. I have learned in my older age, that I need to take time for myself. I need to let things go. I need to say no more often. It's liberating. I also need to be thankful for all that I have, including a job I love, a house, food on the table, and family and friends who love and support me.

The joy strikes me at some of the most unusual times and places. A couple weeks ago, Stein and I were out for my birthday. We put our name in at a restaurant and then decided to walk around downtown while we waited. At one point, we went into a store that sells all kinds of trinkets and gifts. It's the kind of store that sells everything from cleaning supplies to wax lips to jewelry.

The woman working at the store was in her early 20's, and had such a fun, laid-back personality. While we were looking around the store, an older man (60ish) came into the store and talked to the woman. They greeted each other like friends. I gathered that he was the owner of the used bookstore next to the shop we were in.

After we bought the things we wanted, she said, "Oh, and now you get a token to play our game!" She then explained that they had a Bozo bucket-type game set up in their window display, and if you made it into the cup, you would win what was in that cup. As Stein stood near the cups taking aim at one of the prize cups, I noticed that the woman and man were outside looking on like spectators. When Stein's token made it into a prize cup, they both started cheering and jumping up and down. That made me laugh. It also made me feel good. It didn't matter that we only won a finger-puppet-like "We're #1 pointer finger hand". It really is the little things.

Hope you're finding and spreading joy in places big and small.

Anticipating

2011-11-17T17:57:00.002-05:00

Next Tuesday after school I will officially be on Thanksgiving break. I can't tell you how much I am looking forward to the break. Nothing has changed with my class since my last post. They're still great. I am constantly receiving compliments from other teachers. I am constantly telling people that I have to count my lucky stars. And I do.

It's more that the things surrounding my class have really worn me down. Since the beginning of the school year, I have had curriculum night, parent-teacher conferences, national tests for the students, state tests for the students, and report cards. Not to mention after-school meetings for professional development, and staff meetings. Oh, and then "life stuff": out-of-town visitors, dinners with friends, planning for Thanksgiving, keeping up with stuff around the house.

Surprisingly, I haven't felt extremely overwhelmed by it all. Time has flown, but while the time plane is flying by, I can see it's a full flight. I am comforted by the idea that time will go by, things will get done, and anything stressful will end eventually.

I am equally surprised that I haven't felt the effects of the weather turning colder and the daylight getting shorter. In fact, I feel like the change in light and weather has made me a bit more productive. I get home and start to speed up a bit thinking that we're near bedtime. Then I look at the clock and there are still 2 hours left. I feel like it's a gift. (Talk to me in the dead of winter and I'm sure I wouldn't say the same).

May your time be full, and you find a spark of light in the darkness.

It's Time

2011-10-23T09:02:00.002-04:00

Time to write again. I'm not promising it on a regular basis like I used to do, but I know it's time. No one has nudged me back into it, thankfully. I just feel that it's time.

We're up north this weekend. In a place that we so needed to be at this point. Things have been crazy at school with testing, conferences, and just the day-to-day busyness of life.

I have been waiting to write about my class, because honestly I've been waiting for the other shoe to drop. In one word? Awesome. The kids are great. I have so many moments where I think to myself, "This is what teaching is all about," or, "I'm having so much fun." They're polite, kind, funny, and really insightful. Other teachers compliment them. Other teachers mention good things to me. Believe me, I'm counting my lucky stars...

Back to being up north. Stein picked me up from school after I had my last conference on Thursday night. It was dark already, and while we drove the 3.5 hours heading north, I wavered between having thoughts of why didn't we just stay home tonight and drive up tomorrow?, and, I'm so glad we'll be up there tonight to enjoy the full day tomorrow. Finally, we arrived. And I went right to bed.

The next two days were a blank slate of possibilities. We each had things we wanted to do or see, and we each wanted some down time as well. Last night, our plans to have a nice dinner were scrapped when we had a mid-afternoon snack that ended up to be more like a meal (who can resist being gluttonous with whitefish spread or horseradish-cheese spread on crackers?). We stayed in and ordered a pizza for dinner.

There were walks taken, magazines read, colored leaves whizzing by on a drive, a dinner with friends, shops visited, breakfast at a diner counter, mid-afternoon beers that felt so decadent. One of my favorite things about being on vacation is remembering that not everyone has the day off. That people are working when you're not. I get giddy thinking about that. It feels like I'm getting away with something.

We'll go home sometime today. Maybe meander our way home through small towns and along lake shorelines. What a break this has been. A break we didn't even know how much we needed.

The Butcher, the Baker, the Candlestick Maker

2011-09-25T17:18:00.002-04:00

Growing up in a big city, I rarely ran into people I knew once I left my neighborhood. (Although my mom seemed to run into people she knew a lot.) I got used to that sense of anonymity, and I liked to think that if I did something wrong or klutzy, no one would ever see me again. I liked the idea that not everyone knew my business.

Now I live in another city, but it's a lot smaller. Here I can leave my neighborhood and still run into people I know. The more schools I have taught in, the more my chances are of seeing people I know in most grocery stores. I can no longer just run to the grocery store in my pajamas, I mean, my sweats and a baseball cap. Ahem.

Stein grew up in a small town. So small that most people know everyone's business. You say our last name, and immediately people start asking who you know, Stein, or his siblings or his parents? Or the niece and nephews?

Friday night we went to see our two nephews play football. High school football is a world of its own. I never really got into it while I was in high school, partially because I went to an all-girls school, and partially because my guy friends didn't play football. I never experienced the "Friday Night Lights" of it all: bleachers, bands, cheerleaders, kids strolling the bleachers, kids hanging out. The game was good (they won!), but the people watching was even better. It was Homecoming, so there was a parade of girls throughout the game strutting their dresses and tiaras through the bleachers. In addition to that, there was the usual groups of people who know Stein, know his siblings, and know his parents.

On Saturday, friends of ours had an Oktoberfest party. Of course we knew most of the people at the party since Stein grew up with most of them, and also the hosts were the local veterinarians. At one point a local accident that happened earlier that day was being discussed. The person who was hurt in the accident had to be flown to the hospital by helicopter. When the question was asked whether or not the person had survived, our friend who is the local funeral director said, "I don't know, but I didn't get a call." It was at that point, combined with the football game on Friday, that I felt that small town feeling. The city-girl in me thought it was time to get back to our semi-anonymous city.

Never Forget

2011-09-11T16:29:00.002-04:00

On this 10th Anniversary of September 11th, I just re-read what I wrote two years ago, and that post also has a link to a post I wrote years before that. It's hard to believe that it's been 10 years.

Today I sent a message to the District Manager whom I was with when we heard the news. I told her that I will always remember being with her on that day. She wrote back and said, "I can't believe it's been 10 years ago because the memory is so vivid." I agree. The impact that event had on me is so strong. The impact that event has had on our country is so strong. The impact that event had on the world is so strong.

Never forget.

One Year Ago

2011-08-19T09:36:00.002-04:00

One year ago this week, I was sitting in a workshop for new teachers, trying to concentrate on the speaker. Thoughts swirled around my brain and kept me from paying attention. I had so many questions at that point, so many unknowns, so many plans. Two weeks from then, I would be standing in front of a room full of students, and as it turned out, many of their parents.

Wow, how much has changed in a year.

This year I have had the luxury of getting into school earlier than last year. I have also had the luxury of being in the same room two years in a row. The work that my mom and I did last year before the start of school paid off. Over the past couple weeks, I have gone into school a handful of times to get things unpacked and organized. Yesterday I hung my bulletin boards and got the room pretty much ready.

I still have some summer left and I'm going to squeeze every last drop out. On Sunday, my Mom and Rich are coming to visit. We have a family reunion of sorts in Chicago the following week. But until then, we'll be up north. I'll bring some teacher books, and I'll bring some books and magazines for pleasure. I'm hoping the latter reading material will be read most. I have a week of teacher meetings and set-up to help me prepare for the start of school. Until then, I'm going to do my best to enjoy.

I look back to last year and smile. Thankful for the preparation, thankful for the experience, thankful to be where I am. Time to look ahead. When I need to.

Post-Vacation

2011-08-09T14:58:00.003-04:00

Where to begin? There's so much I want to talk about. So many great memories, such beautiful scenery, such wonderful people. The food, the wine, the leisurely way we broke up our days of travel. Lunches, wine breaks, dinners that lingered for hours. Oh, Italy, I miss you.

I will recount the trip with pictures and sights that we saw in another post. This post is dedicated to Stein.

You know from the other posts I wrote that he had been saving for over four years for this trip. During our Italy trip, he blurted out, "I WILL go skiing this year!" to Chris and me. In the past four years he hasn't taken a vacation. Meanwhile, Chris and I have gone on two ski trips and to New York together. Ooops.

Before we left for the trip, Stein explained to me that nothing would stop us. "If we want to take a cab instead of the metro, we will. If we see a nice restaurant and want to eat there, we will. If we like a bottle of wine and want another one, we'll have it."

I can't tell you how much of a treat this trip was.

Most days started at 8 or 9 in the morning, and didn't end until we literally dropped into bed at midnight. There were cabs instead of trains, dinner in nice restaurants, and many second bottles of wine (don't worry, Chris was there for some of the trip too). On any trips prior to this, I would find myself hemming and hawing about the price of something or whether or not we could do something. Not this time.

This was one of the best vacations I have been on, and no doubt was due to the generosity of my husband. Above and beyond is where he went. And the vacation followed suit.

Reason number 9,678 why I married him.

Snowball Effect

2011-07-06T08:49:00.003-04:00

I recently linked another friend's blog to mine. When I do that, I tend to take a closer look at my blog because I feel like it's being exposed to one more person. Taking a closer look almost always means that I go back to some of my archived posts and read about things I've done and reminisce. It's nice to have this blog as somewhat of a diary to reflect on what I've done. On the other hand, looking back makes me realize that I used to post a lot more when I first started.

Having a blog sometimes presents a problem. You want to write down everything that happens right when it happens. Facebook makes this easier, where you can write a few sentences to get your point across. But most of the time, the opportunity isn't there to sit down and write a detailed blog post. So then more ideas pile on, and the next thing you know, you're overwhelmed with the enormous snowball of a blog post in front of you.

I've had so many things running through my brain since summer began. Part of the list would include flowers blooming, making pesto, choosing clothes for Italy, relaxing on a porch up north, meeting up with friends we haven't seen in a long time, booking hotels and tours for Italy, anticipating a family get-together in August.

The luxurious thing about this summer is that I have time to do these things, and more. Although the more luxurious thing about this summer is that I have the freedom to choose to do these things, or not. I'm reveling in this freedom. I know just how lucky I am.

Luxurious

2011-06-21T20:07:00.002-04:00

Summer. Oh, summer. How I love you. And how I love you even more when I don't have an agenda, a schedule, a job. How I love you even more when I have a paycheck coming in, a trip to Italy to plan, and options for getting together with friends and family.

To those who are reading this and rolling your eyes, I get where you're coming from. Really, I do. But after nine months of being strictly tied to a schedule, so tied that bathroom breaks became scheduled too, I am relishing this free time I have. This is only day two of the first week off, and already I feel like a weight was lifted off me.

Don't get me wrong; I had a great year. My class was such a great assortment of kids, that seeing them off the last day was so bittersweet. I could tell about 3 weeks before school was out that they were ready. Ready for middle school. Ready for summer. Bless their hearts, though. Most of them held back the urge to cop attitudes like only a few of them did. Some of those days it wasn't pretty. But looking back, that's not what I'm going to remember.

I am going to remember that being a fifth grader is tough. You want to remain a kid for all the kid stuff You want to start to show some adult behaviors to put your toe in the adult pool, but you still have so much to learn. I am going to remember that forgiveness is sometimes wrapped up in a facade of coolness. I am going to remember that friends change by the minute, by the mood, by the activity. I'm going to remember that four-square can be ultra-competitive. As soccer or wall ball can be.

And now for my time. Time to think. Time to dream. Time to plan. Time to read. Time to be.

Wandering Mind

2011-06-05T16:20:00.003-04:00

I'm finding myself daydreaming a lot lately. Knowing there are 2 weeks left in school has made me jump into planning mode. Our garden is pretty much planted, we have new landscaping in the front of the house (no more white trash), and we're thinking about adding brick pavers to the backyard. It all sounds so grown up to me as I just listed all those things, but I guess I'm a grown up...

In the midst of all of this garden work, my mind has been wandering aimlessly in all directions. There are things that I want to do differently next year in my classroom. There are trips to plan both around here and abroad (hello, Italy!). There are books that I would love to read. There are friends whom I would love to catch up with. There are recipes I want to try. There are things around the house that I still need to catch up on (shredding party, anyone?).

I can't wait to have some time. Time to reflect on the past year, time to enjoy my favorite season, time to plan for future gatherings and school years, time to enjoy my friends and family without having 10 other things on my plate.

I'm going to wander wherever my mind and spirit takes me. I can't wait.

Mork Calling Orsen, Come in Orsen

2011-05-25T20:10:00.002-04:00

Yes, that's a Mork and Mindy reference. For those of you out there who never heard of the show, or weren't a TV hound like me, this was the TV show that started it all for Robin Williams. He was an alien (Mork) who arrived from outer space in Boulder, CO in an egg. As I write this, I realize just what a crazy twisted concept that was. And yet it all made sense.

The title of my post is the phrase that Mork would use to call "home". Orsen was the leader and would guide Mork through his confused life on earth with alien wisdom.

I'm feeling like Mork right now.

My last post was a preview of what was to come in the last month or so of school. Yet, as I'm in it now, I was a little off in my prediction. I should've said magnify the craziness by about ten. And then double that.

In addition to the neverending to-do list and event calendar, my class has gone off the deep end. They're done. They're done with elementary school. They're done with patience. They're done with listening. They're done with self-control. So while the end-of-year plates started spinning as predicted, a few more started at the same time.

The only saving graces in this whole thing have been two trips out of town. Chicago and Boston. Chicago to see family for a get-together, and Boston to see friends and the Cubs play the Red Sox at Fenway. On both occassions, there was a lot of eating and drinking. And a lot of laughing. And did I mention eating and drinking?

I continue my life as a pinball in the midst of these crazy weeks. Being hurtled from one crazy event to another, adding just one more event to my to-do list, telling a student to be respectful, packing a bag for a trip, unpacking the same bag and doing laundry, organizing a field trip, planting flowers, watching the skies open up again to rain.

Sometimes I wish I had an Orsen to call to explain it all to me and offer some wisdom to guide through this chaos.

But what fun would that be?

In the Blink of an Eye

2011-05-04T21:10:00.002-04:00

May is always a month that whizzes by for teachers. Beginning sometime in March, dates are decided for important things like field day, ice cream socials, and farewell celebrations. The dates are penciled into calendars and while the snow drifts by the windows, teachers dream of better weather and the events ahead.

Yet when May finally arrives in all of its blooming-spring glory, it's almost like a shock that we're finally there. The dreams that were created 2 months ago and seemed impossibly far away, are here.

This week I experienced my first, oh my gosh, it's May already and I have so much to do and can I get everything fit in and wasn't it just March when I wrote this event in the calendar and it's really only 3 weeks until Memorial Day and do I have to actually teach when I have all of these meetings and events and farewells and and and and.

I have been attending a tech integration class for professional development. It has been a series of classes that has met four times over the course of the school year. When we first got the schedule in September, I almost laughed at the May date. That far away? I don't know if I'll make it until next week! And yet there I was, yesterday, sitting in that May class. I could hardly believe it.

It's around this time that teachers realize that the remainder of the year is so short compared to what we've been through. There's a sense of accomplishment to flip back in the calendar and see what has already been done, what we've endured. And yet, there's a bittersweet feeling too. Happy to be close to summer, but nostalgic about the year behind. Looking forward to sending kids on their way, but knowing this group will never be together as a whole again.

Blink.

10 Things I'm Loving Right Now:

2011-04-25T18:53:00.002-04:00

Hey, I'm not trying to cop out of writing a long post (did you hear that, Bre?), but I was inspired by Soule Mama to write some things that I'm loving right now. Things that are making me happy. Things that are carrying me through these days of relentless rain, grey skies and crazy politics and world affairs.

1. Daffodils that were planted blindly in the fall are blooming in all of their yellow glory. The tulips planted nearby are not far behind.

2. A class full of mindful students who really do care. They just sometimes have a weird way of showing it.

3. Planning a trip to Italy. You'll have to pinch me. Again.

4. A wonderful, lazy, casual, spontaneous, low-expectations weekend.

5. Catching up on sleep from said weekend.

6. A family dinner shared with Stein's siblings and their families. Good food, laughs, wine, and great conversation.

7. Dyeing Easter eggs with our niece and nephew. Preceded by a homemade waffle breakfast. A tradition that continues to evolve.

8. Looking forward to seeing my Mom and Rich in a few weeks after not seeing them for over 6 months.

9. Signs of Spring around town: U-M students moving out of dorms, people wearing shorts and flip-flops in questionable temperatures, Magnolia blooms waiting to burst.

10. A calendar that tells me that there are 8 more weeks left in school. I waver between, "Wow, that's a long time." To, "Crap! I don't have enough time to get everything done!"

Things that are keeping me sane. Hope you're loving a lot right now, too.

Erica, Phoebe, Adam, and Stuart

2011-04-07T10:43:00.008-04:00

There was one summer when we were left to our own devices (vices? what is it?) that we somehow became obsessed with the soap opera, All My Children. When I say we, I mean Mickey, Rick and I, with an occasional comment thrown in by our brother Bryan. I don't know where we picked up this obsession. My mom, as far as I know, was never a soap opera watcher, but the three of us became entrenched in that show like housewives from the 50's. I even had a job one summer where my boss had a TV radio, so we would sit and eat our lunch and listen to the show.

Mickey, Rick and I would talk about these people as if we knew them. We discussed their choices, and predicted their futures. We rooted for some of them like best friends would, and hoped that the bad guys eventually would meet their demise. My mom couldn't care less about this show, so she ignored us when we would talk about it. Yet by ignoring us, she didn't pay attention to the names and would suddenly perk up the next time when we mentioned someone was in danger or on their death bed, or someone suddenly returned from the dead. "Who are you talking about?" she would ask with a worried look on her face. We would start explaining it to her and then she would say, "I can't believe you're talking about these people like you know them. It's a TV show."

Fast forward to recent years, when Mickey and I have become obsessed in the same sort of way with blogs. I think I may be to blame in this situation, when I stumble upon a blog that one of my regular-read blogs refers to, or I find through a google search. I usually tell Mickey about it, and then we start following those blogs regularly. When Mickey and I talk on the phone, inevitably part of our conversation will turn to blogs. "Did you hear that Soule Mama is pregnant? I am so happy for them!" Or, "I love that craft project Shivaya Naturals did with her kids. She's so creative." Or, "Did you see that Pioneer Woman has a contest? Maybe we could win and get to stay in the Lodge."

These people become like celebrities, in that we follow their lives through their blogs and get to know them as we read more about them. One post I did a couple years ago caught the attention of one of the bloggers I follow and she commented on it. I called Mickey immediately. "Heather commented on my blog! She read my blog!" Recently, one of my favorite bloggers, David Lebovitz, visited Chicago, and one of my friends Kathy, who writes the blog Stresscake, got to meet him. She wrote a hysterical post about meeting David, sitting next to him at a breakfast, almost spilling water on him, and spending the rest of the time talking with him. I was so jealous. A couple days later, David wrote a post about Garrett's Popcorn in Chicago. I made a comment on the post, and the next day I noticed he responded to my comment! I immediately emailed Mickey and told her my good news.

I guess once a groupie always a groupie. A geeky groupie, at that.

Random Dinner

2011-03-31T20:05:00.000-04:00

Going along with the theme of random for this week, here's a random dinner I thought up at the the last minute (sorry for the poor photo quality - taken with my phone in poor lighting).

Stein hasn't been feeling well, so all he wanted was soup. I was in the mood for something a little more hearty. I remembered we had some frozen pot stickers in the freezer, but knew that a meal out of pot stickers probably wasn't the most healthy option. I decided to have a salad, but knew that I would need a dressing that went with the pot stickers and the salad. Peanut sauce! But then I needed a recipe for a peanut sauce that wouldn't be too thick, like most satay sauces are. This one did the job.

I didn't have sesame oil or ginger on hand, but it still tasted great. I also used sriracha sauce instead of the "chipotle pepper puree" that it calls for. It was just what I wanted. A little bit of sweet, a little kick. I also found some leftover brown rice in the fridge so I threw that on, along with some frozen edamame to put on the side. From start to finish, I think it took me 10-15 minutes. Perfect.

Random Bits of Randomness

2011-03-29T19:37:00.002-04:00

~Despite the low temperatures, I am very excited that spring is here in all its long-houred, newly-budded, Dairy Queen-opened glory. I am also looking forward to spring break next week. I'm trying to keep my expectations low and unplanned for the break. There may be some books read, or not, there may be some organizing, or not, and there may be some lunches with friends, or not. I love that it's just brimming with possibilities for whatever.

~Today is the birthday of the girl whose father draws little pictures in her planner. When she opened her planner so I could check it, there was a note from her dad that said, "Happy Birthday! Today is one of the best days of my life! I love you." How wonderfully sweet.

~The kids in my class continue to make me laugh with some of the things they say. For example, one of my boys was talking to another boy, and when he one-upped the other one in a joking way, he said, "You wanna eat those apples?" Instead of "How 'bout them apples?"

~We had a wonderful time in Chicago this past weekend. We were in for our friend Linda's birthday party (Hi, Linda!). We ate at four new restaurants (2 dinners and 2 breakfasts) while we were there. All of the places were delicious in their own way. I always go back to this when I reminisce about a trip, but my favorite parts were just hanging with the people I love to be with. Whether it was around a table at a restaurant, sitting around the living room, or walking around the neighborhood, it just felt easy and comfortable.

~I checked out 5 Italy guidebooks from the library. Yes, 5. I'm trying to narrow down the areas we want to see. Definitely Rome. Definitely Florence. Definitely the Cinque Terre. Amalfi Coast? Milan? So exciting to just dream.

~Did I tell you how excited I am to be on break next week?

Generosity Strikes Again. Big Time.

2011-03-24T18:03:00.003-04:00

I've been wanting to write this post for almost a week now. I've been struggling with how to get it out without boasting, and trying to convey just how excited I am at the same time. I know y'all will forgive me for going overboard on the former idea, and being less than I should be on the latter idea.

We're going to Italy this summer.

(I guess I can't just end it there, can I? Don't worry, I won't. Of course I have a few stories to tell.)

I'm going to take you back a few years, to Stein's 40th birthday party. I surprised him with a trip to Las Vegas. Once we got there, the surprises didn't stop. There were friends who met us there that he didn't know about, a surprise helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon, a surprise appearance of his great friend from his childhood, t-shirts, CDs. It was a great trip. Great fun was had by all, and Stein's friends still compare their 40th birthdays with his. As the main planner, I felt successful.

Fast forward to this year. It's been a while since Stein and I had a vacation. Granted, we've been up north a handful of times, went to visit friends last summer in Maryland, and I was lucky enough to go skiing out west and then to New York for my birthday last year. But a real vacation somewhere that wasn't tied to friends or family? It's been a while. So when I saw some great deals to go skiing in Colorado, I jumped at the chance to try to get us to go. Stein wasn't really into it. He kept skirting the issue. I did start to get frustrated when I kept presenting ideas and he didn't really listen. Or so I thought he wasn't listening.

Last Saturday I picked him up from the airport (he was coming back from a family-related trip, not a vacation) and he told me we had to go to his office to pick something up. When we got there, he told me I needed to open the trunk and not look. I did as I was told, and then we were on our way. Once we got home, he told me to go upstairs for a while. When I came downstairs, there was a birthday cake, card, and gift bag on the dining room table. "It's not my birthday," I said. I read the card, and then he pushed the gift bag toward me. When I reached inside, there was a guidebook to Italy. "I've been scrimping and saving for four years," he said. Later, when we started making tentative plans and started talking about the cost, he told me that he had enough money for everything. "How did you save all that money?" I asked. He turned to me and said, "I haven't gone on a vacation in four years."

He wins.

As I've said before in a recent post, we're not about one-upping each other. But comparing the two birthday trips, he wins. When I think back to the awesome birthday trip I planned for him, I did it on the cheap. There really wasn't any sacrifice on my end. I used hotel points that I earned from years of business travel. Our friend Shark (hi, Shark!) was generous enough to give us airline vouchers. And the rest of the planning? It just took some emails and phone calls and we were set.

This is different. This is planning. This is vision. This is determination, sacrifice, and kindness. This is how one man, whom I married for these and thousands of other reasons, humbled me to no end.

Lucky. Blessed. Fortunate. However you want to say it, I am. Truly, I am.

Great Expectations

2011-03-10T11:25:00.003-05:00

It's funny how this whole blog world works. Usually one of the handful of blogs that I read on a regular basis seems to line up with what I'm thinking at the moment. When the light started to shift sometime in February and I thought about writing about that, someone else wrote about it. When I was out snowshoeing and my friend Wendy pointed at the buds that were coming out on the trees, I thought about writing about that too. The next day I read someone's take on the same thing.

It doesn't surprise me. I read blogs that are similar to mine. Blogs that are about cooking, crafting (I don't really craft, but I like to read about it), gardening, and travel. So when someone writes about something I've already noticed, I nod my head in agreement.

It just happened this week. I had been feeling in a funk and I couldn't figure out why. School is busy, as always, report cards are done and ready to be handed out, and I was able to get 2 last unexpected snowshoe adventures in before the rains came and washed all the snow away. What was making me feel this way?

Expectations.

It was on the tip of my tongue at the beginning of the week, and then I read one of the blogs and the author hit the nail on the head. I expect too much. I expect too much of my time. I do it to myself. No one is to blame but me.

If I'm given some free time, I fill my head with all kinds of lists of things that need to be done. I tell myself that they need to be done. The list is then made memorable by me counting the things I need do and storing that number in my brain. At the end of the free time, if the number of things done does not match my initial number, I think I have failed. Or, if something I have planned doesn't go almost exactly like I had envisioned it, I feel bad.

This happened over winter break. Chris flew in from Chicago and we headed up north the next day with a car full of winter gear. We drove through a snowstorm to get up there, only to find that there was no snow. Like none. Like you could see the leaves that were left on the ground in the fall.

What flew out the window were my hopes of snowshoeing everyday. And possibly skiing. And maybe playing in the snow. What flew into the window was some funk. I instantly tried to change gears to make myself feel better, but I didn't know how to do it. To quote the U2 song, I was "stuck in a moment and I couldn't get out of it." I couldn't just be fine with the time I had to spend with friends. And I couldn't stop my mind racing to try to make things right.

People who know me think of me as a really calm, laid-back person. And I am, for the most part. But have me envision something and then completely change it will throw me into fits like a two-year-old with a temper. Of course I don't kick and scream (as far as you know), but my mind races like it's in some sort of NASCAR event. I become someone else. Someone who I don't necessarily like.

I need to let go.

The blog that I read this week talked about doing just that. The author was saying that she is trying hard to go into situations without expectations in mind. Without an agenda. This is easier said than done, of course, and hard for someone like me who likes to be in control. Who likes things just so.

I'm trying. I'm trying to let go. Trying to see the big picture. Trying to realize what's important. Trying to weed through the garbage. Trying to just be.

Latest Obsession

2011-03-02T18:00:00.001-05:00

Besides snowshoeing (which I do have another post to write about it), my latest obsession has been the Avett Brothers and Mumford and Sons. You may have seen them both on the Grammys. They each performed and then played together with Bob Dylan.

I love their lyrics. For some reason, both of these bands have lyrics that are really pertinent to the moods and themes of my life right now. The Avett Brothers have a song called I and Love and You, which has the line, "That Woman she has eyes that shine. Like a pair of stolen polished dimes." It's one of my favorites.

I love this song. Especially the line, "Remember that nothing is worth sharing, like the love that let us share our name."

And I love this song. I think of my friend Karen when I hear it.

Wuv, Twue Wuv

2011-02-28T18:23:00.003-05:00

If you've ever seen the movie The Princess Bride, then you know that the title to this post is from that movie. Stein can quote just about the whole movie when it's on (which is frequently), and I love to see his face light up when his favorite parts are on.

We're not sappy people, so holidays like Valentine's Day and Sweetest Day and every other "lovey" holiday in-between usually pass without much notice. Valentine's Day usually brings with it a healthy dose of chocolate in our house. As if we need another excuse for buying chocolate. ( Ahem.) So a card, a kiss, and some chocolate usually suffices.

This year I wrapped up some things for Stein for Valentine's Day. (His birthday is the day before, so any gift overflow is usually given on Valentine's Day.) I set the gift in my closet and thought I would wait until we both were home from work to give it to him. As I made my way down the stairs to make breakfast for myself that morning, I noticed some light coming from the dining room which is normally dark. As I turned the corner, I saw this on the dining room table:
I think I may have said, "Awwww" out loud to myself too. All of my favorite candies. He thought of this and set this up the night before. I wish I could've been a fly on the wall and seen his face while he orchestrated this whole thing.

Suddenly the gift-wrapped box in my closet seemed pretty generic. But that was okay. That's how our relationship is. One person may have a great idea and be creative, but it doesn't mean that the other person needs to one-up the other. The receiver of the creativity can bask in the fun of it all. And then maybe start concocting a plan for the next time...

Wuv. Twue Wuv. Reason #3,467 why I married that man.

Slowing Down, Stepping Back

2011-02-12T12:54:00.002-05:00

The life of a teacher revolves around the curriculum that needs to be taught in his/her district/state. In my district, we are given rough schedules of what should be taught at certain times of the year. It's not written in stone, rather it's a guideline to use while navigating through the year. Subjects like math and history follow a pretty straight line. Lessons are taught in succession and build on each other over time. Subjects like science and writing can be taught out of order and can fit around the more rigid schedules of the other subjects.

I teach a special reading class to a small group of fifth graders while the rest of my class goes to reading with the other two fifth-grade teachers. The format of this reading class is like math and history: there are certain things I must teach, in a certain order, and the schedule of the class follows a certain structure as well. There isn't a ton of room for creativity, which sometimes makes it hard to do day in and day out. I like to exercise my creative side every now and then. The flip side of this, though, is that this doesn't require a great amount of planning on my part because it's all laid out for me.

Because most of our schedules are pretty tight and somewhat disjointed with kids going here and there, there is a lack of continuity throughout our days and weeks. I can't say to the class, "Remember when we read about the Egyptians last week?" Only four of the kids would know what I was talking about. The district suggests that we do a lot of cross-curricular learning in part because the curriculum is so large and tight, which makes total sense and is what's best for learning. Yet in my case, it is nearly impossible.

This past week, we had a change in schedule when I was with my class for reading. We were able to use some of that time for writing. We were able to have a discussion during some of the time about an important topic. We were able to take our time, rather than rush to get things cleaned up so we could move to the next subject on the schedule. I felt more relaxed. The kids felt more at ease. Honestly, I felt like we all were more creative.

I want to say that I'm not complaining, nor am I saying that there is only one way to teach or learn. But I am saying that for the two days this week when I had some time to slow down, step back, and gain a new perspective, it just felt good. I'm thankful I had the opportunity.

A Labor of Love

2011-02-08T19:21:00.003-05:00

Remember this picture? I took it in September after I spent hours with a group of friends canning tomatoes. It was a labor of love, for sure. Yet deep in tomato season, I didn't realize just how much of a labor of love it was.

Fast forward to this week: more than a foot of snow on the ground, temps in the single digits or below zero, and me having a bad case of cabin fever. My new obsession with snowshoeing has curbed the cabin fever a bit, but not all of it. If given the choice, I would gladly be on a beach right now, or in a backyard somewhere, I'm not going to be picky.

The tomatoes have been sitting on a shelf in the basement since I made them. I've been rationing them, in a way. I figure I need to spread the fresh tomato love throughout the winter and well into spring. Maybe one a month, and then it will be time for spring vegetables and fruits. Which will lead to summer fruits and vegetables. And more tomatoes.

So last night, in an effort to procrastinate doing some schoolwork, I made this bolognese sauce. As I popped the lid off the jar of tomatoes to add it to the sauce, I took a whiff of the freshness. They smelled so much different than canned tomatoes from the store. It was like I added some sunshine to the pot on the stove. (Remember when those cans of sunshine from Florida were really popular? Do they still sell those?) When I took a taste of the sauce once the flavors melded together, I said to myself, "Mmmm. Yes." It was perfect.

Perfect for a mid-winter's night. Perfect for procrastinating. Perfect for embracing cabin fever.

Birthday Week Begins

2011-02-06T20:11:00.002-05:00

Happy Birthday week to Stein! In honor of the birthday boy, here is a list of some of the great memories that we have made together. And because I am feeling some cabin fever and in need of a vacation, this list has a vacation theme, too:

Being in Seattle, afraid of heights (me) on the Space Needle.
Drinking wine with Chris, Steve and Kate in Napa.
Skiing in Colorado and eating lunch outside on the sunny mountainside at Winter Park.
Sitting on the deck of the USS Missouri in Honolulu, eating dinner and listening to a big band play.
Eating the best paella I've ever had and getting sunburned in April at an outside cafe in Madrid.
Tromping around Gaudi Park in Barcelona.
Walking on hardened lava cautiously (me) and watching flowing lava in Hawaii.
Being the only people on a beach in Naples, FL because the temps were too low for the locals.
Cubs spring training games in Arizona.
A day in Sedona with a Pink Jeep tour, a drink at the Enchantment resort, and a beautiful sunset on the red rocks.
Eating pancakes at Pamela's in Pittsburgh.
Laughing with our friends while eating crab in Maryland.
Watching a football game at Penn State. Twice. One time arriving in style in a metallic green Mustang.
Sitting in adirondack chairs on the lawn of Mission Resort on Mackinac Island.
Walking around the monuments of DC at night. On more than one occasion.
Eating dinner on the grounds of the union at Marquette on a beautiful summer night.
Watching sunsets for five consecutive days up north, each night different than the next.
Sitting on the beach in Maui for hours reading, sleeping, sunning, swimming.
Cruising down the mountain in Maui on bicycles, shedding layers of clothes as we went.
Wandering around Quebec City with nowhere to go.
Watching a game at Fenway Park in Boston.

And the list goes on and on...

Up North

2011-01-17T17:34:00.002-05:00

About 2 hours into the drive up north on Friday I realized that my ski jacket and snow pants were resting nicely on the couch back home. D'oh! And me being me, I kept kicking myself (figuratively) about it that whole night and into the next morning.

What I didn't realize that morning was that the only thing I was missing at that point was a snow shoe hike through the woods. (And I was also able to borrow the clothes I needed).

I'm hooked on snowshoeing now. Stein and I rented snow shoes and went on a nice jaunt in the woods with our friends. The sun was shining a bit, as we made our way down a winding path through the trees. The concern that I had earlier in the week about not having time to get away quickly melted. We needed this.

Snowshoeing is a great workout, I quickly learned. I didn't need to worry about the twenty-degree temperature. What better way to get a workout in, instead of walking on a treadmill at the gym? We liked it so much that we did it again the next day. The eight-degree temperature didn't matter, either.

The rest of the weekend was fantastic. We were able to relax, read, eat good food, and get some sleep. Our friends were so hospitable by inviting us to stay with them in their beautiful house. A fire constantly roared in the fireplace, and a cup of tea or a bowl of hot soup staved off the cold.

For someone who generally loathes the cold and dreads the drawn-out time of winter, I had a wonderful time. Who knew that strapping some aluminum frames with webbing on my feet would do the job?

That Sunday Night Feeling

2011-01-02T18:43:00.002-05:00

The clock on 60 Minutes tick, tick, ticks away in between commercials. I woke up this morning and heard that clock ticking the minute I got out of bed.

I go back to school tomorrow.

I know, I know, you're going to tell me that I had 2 weeks off and to quit my complaining. And I know once I'm back at school tomorrow in my routine, it won't seem that bad. But sitting here on the couch in the spot I have worn away in the last 2 weeks, I am not happy to be forced out of my vacation routine.

As I wrote in my last post, I really couldn't sit still during a lot of this break. Mickey tells me that this is what happens when you're on break, that it normally takes about 2 weeks to really fall into a relaxing routine. I guess I've hit that 2-week mark right now, and I'm ready for more. I got a lot of things done in the past 2 weeks and feel pretty productive, but now I'd like to get more productive in the area of relaxation.

I guess I can wait until the next break. Or a possible snow day. Or summer.

Random Randomness

2010-12-27T10:20:00.002-05:00

This break has been wonderful. I have been catching up on my sleep, catching up with friends, and catching up on my TV. But I can't keep a thought for more than a second. I have the attention span of a gnat. I seriously have been comparing myself to some of the kids in my class who have some challenges with attention. Read a book? Ha! I can barely get through a short article in a magazine.

Yet in between these random thoughts and activities I have been enjoying the season. There was some shopping for Stein's Christmas presents, a trip to Greenfield Village for Holiday Nights, get-togethers at friends' houses, and a lazy, movie-indulgent Christmas Day.

I'm trying to figure out why I have this lack of attention lately. I was talking to a friend of mine who also teaches (Hi, Alissa!) and she is going through the same thing. I think it may be the curse of teaching. You get into a mode where you are constantly thinking about What Next? In a given day in the classroom, I switch gears at least 10 times and try to anticipate what may happen next. Not to mention fielding off the wall questions and requests that make you stop and think, Did you really just ask that question? I haven't been able to sit still. I am always thinking that something else needs to be done.

I think I'll quit while I'm ahead here. You're probably getting a feel for my randomness by just reading this post.

Happy Holidays, Everyone! I hope you're enjoying the season with family and friends.

I am. Randomly.

2010-12-14T20:51:00.002-05:00

About a week ago, a friend of mine from high school recommended on Facebook that people read this blog. It was started by a friend of hers, and I was immediately drawn in when I saw it. The gist of it is that this father draws part of a picture and part of a caption on a post-it note and puts the note in his son's lunchbox. The son then completes the picture and caption and brings it back home. If it makes it back home (in one piece) then the father posts it on the blog. He was interviewed on this blog if you want to read more about it.

Brilliant.

I love this idea. I love the collaboration. I love the interaction. I love the fun this dad throws into the middle of his child's day.

There has been a lot of research done on how parental involvement is so important in a child's life. I could list all of the ways in which it is beneficial, but I know you know it's important. What better way, then, to build memories, build tradition, and do it in a fun way on a regular basis? LOVE this.

It reminded me of some correspondence I have had with one of the parents in my class. It is nowhere near the interaction that this father has with his son, but it does have a small element of surprise.

It all started when my student's father signed his daughter's planner and put a smiley face next to his signature. When I saw the smiley, instead of just putting the normal star that showed I checked the planner, I responded back with a smiley of my own. This led to another smiley from the father the next day. I responded again with another smiley of my own.

Eventually the smilies turned into faces with goofy grins, a pumpkin at Halloween, and a turkey at Thanksgiving. Every morning, I look at the signature and small picture and laugh. Then I stand there while my student stares at me, wondering just what I'll respond with.

This past week I've been stumped on occasion. The theme has been Christmas (even though I don't think they celebrate Christmas). He drew a Santa one day and I responded with a Christmas tree. He drew a candy cane the next day and I drew a strand of Christmas lights. Today there was an elf, and I was stumped. His daughter said, "How about a stocking?" "Yes," I thought, "That's it!" It's going to be a problem in a few days when I run out of ideas. Good thing it's almost time for break.

I love the daily connection I have with this parent. I have only seen him a handful of times, but his humor makes me feel like I've known him for a long time. I also love how the daughter feels like she's part of the process of laughing and collaborating with me on the pictures.

Who knows. Maybe by the end of the year we'll have a comic strip going.

Law and Order on the Frozen Tundra

2010-12-06T20:35:00.004-05:00

Today during recess I was freezing my be-hind off. It made me contemplate just why in the world I became a teacher. A teacher in Michigan. A teacher in Michigan where it's already in the 20's with a colder windchill.

I further contemplated the whole thing when I had to walk across the frozen tundra that is the soccer field to give my "It's Getting Rough Out Here" speech for the 10th time this school year.

I was ready to turn my keys in when I had to walk back to my spot through the whipping wind and pelting snow. (Okay, maybe I just put that last part in for effect.)

Anyway, about five minutes after my speech, I noticed a kid go down on the field and the rest of the kids gather around him. I gave it the usual few minutes necessary for the half-hurt to get up. After a few minutes of no movement, I made my way back over to the tundra.

Like clockwork, the string of people greeting me before I got to the field occurred just as it does every time. A murder trial couldn't be orchestrated better than this:

The first person always makes his way nearly all of the way back to where I stand on the blacktop. He always gives me the overview of the situation as he sees it, peppering his story with his opinions of who is at fault.

The second person then comes trotting over to hear a bit of the first person's story, and add her own opinion as she viewed the situation from her vantage point.

And finally, the third person doesn't listen to the first two. Rather, he just tells me who is at fault and what the consequences should be.

As I examine the patient lying on the field, I hear bits of each of the three informants' stories. They are trying to get their point across and win the case.

Who needs Law and Order when I have this to experience first hand? On a tundra, no less.

Little Girl in the Big Chair

2010-12-01T18:34:00.002-05:00

You know the skit done by Lily Tomlin on Laugh-In where she plays Edith Ann, the little girl in the big chair? I have to admit, I feel like her sometimes.

Mickey and I joke that in certain intimidating situations, we feel like Edith Ann. For example, the stigma associated with principals leads both Mickey and I to straighten up a bit before going to the office. Yes, we realize that now the principal is our boss, but nevertheless, we still feel intimidated.

I never really had this feeling in my previous jobs, aside for my first job straight out of college when I was so fresh to the world of sales and marketing. I absorbed things like a sponge, kept my mouth shut, and just observed the world around me. It wasn't until I was really confident of my knowledge that I even dared to speak up in a meeting. And that was only when someone asked me a question.

I am the rookie on my hallway at school. All of the other teachers have each been teaching over 15 years, and most of them are old enough to have grown children as old as me. Some of them have taken me under their wing, and most of them check in with me the way a grandparent asks about you. As a result, I have thought about myself as the junior in their eyes.

I don't feel like I have to prove myself to them, and I'm not really intimidated by them. Rather, I look to them for their wisdom and experience. Yet when they come to me for advice on students or ways to teach something, I feel like I have landed in the big chair, feet dangling, my voice an octave (or three) higher. I have joked with some of them on occasion about how I have pulled the wool over their eyes. I think to myself, They're looking to the little girl for her expertise? Do they know that I'm just a five-year-old girl with a good act?

I think that as I get my feet wetter in this profession and become more of a "senior" teacher this feeling will eventually fade. But for right now, Edith Ann lives. Right in the big chair.

A Time of Thanks, a Time of Reflection

2010-11-27T09:12:00.002-05:00

Stein and I just got back from Chicago last night. We had a wonderful time there, catching up with family and friends. It's funny how easily I fall back into the swing of things when I go back to Chicago. We slept in late, had leisure breakfasts at local restaurants we love, met friends for drinks and food at places that have changed faces and names since I grew up there, and relished the fact that the town clears out and leaves ample parking spaces and unoccupied cabs for us to snag.

My brother had Thanksgiving at his house, which I know I have written about before. He and his family live in the house we grew up in, so it's always fun to go back there. Although he has remodeled a lot of it, and it doesn't look exactly the same, it feels like home to me. I sometimes have to remind myself while I'm there that I am not just going upstairs to bed. We ate, played a game, and talked.

I always like Thanksgiving because it's a time to get together, but it's free of all the gift-giving pressures that Christmas holds. Will she like what I bought her? Does he need another book in the same genre? Have I experienced the Christmas spirit yet? Thanksgiving is just a time to gather, give thanks, and eat. A lot.

On the morning of Thanksgiving, I received two pieces of news that really made me thankful for what I have, for what I was going to experience later that day. I was on Facebook, and saw that the mother of a friend of mine died unexpectantly and suddenly on Tuesday night. I know my friend was busy before that preparing Thanksgiving for her family including her mom. In a matter of minutes, her week was turned around. I thought of her all day on Thursday and continue to keep her in my thoughts as we move through this holiday into the next.

While I was on Facebook, I also found out that a friend of mine whom I used to work with died at the beginning of October. I knew by the pictures of her wearing hats and wigs that she had cancer (for the second time in her life) and was battling it for a while.

I worked with Gayle at the University of Michigan, where she and I sat side by side in an academic department, answering phones and dealing with students and faculty members on the front line. In between our daily duties, we swapped stories about ourselves and became friends. Gayle was such a classy lady who hailed from the south. She worked as an accountant for many years, and tried to retire (at a young age) at one point. But she was bored and missed the daily interaction with people. How lucky was I that I landed in the same office she did, if only for nine short months.

In those nine months, Gayle taught me a lot. She worked hard, but also worked hard to find a balance between work, play and family. I learned not to sweat the small stuff, to laugh often, and find the silly whenever you can. My days were peppered with stories from her days growing up as the child of a military dad, stories about her three daughters and doting husband, and stories about her chihuahua Isabelle, who had a personality all her own.

I kept in touch with Gayle since the time we worked together, but in the last 2 years I only saw her once. When we reconnected with her on Facebook, I sent a message to her about getting together. I never heard from her, and assume that she had a lot going on in her world.

I am sad that the world lost such a vibrant, life-loving person. But I am counting my lucky stars that I got to spend everyday for nine months with her. I am also thankful for the other people in my life, many of whom I was lucky to be able to see this weekend.

I Want to Wake Up in a City That Doesn't Sleep

2010-11-11T12:52:00.002-05:00

Stein called me a couple weeks ago on my way into work. He seemed frazzled as we had the following conversation:

Stein: Can you take off a half day in the afternoon on your birthday?

Me: I think so, I just need to figure out the logistics.

Stein: Well, could you find out and call me back?

Me: Sure. When I get into school. When do you need to know?

Stein: This morning.

I called him later that morning and told him that it would be no problem. I tried to pry a little, but figured I should leave well enough alone. I love good surprises, and part of the fun was finding myself daydreaming about possible scenarios for the next couple weeks. A trip to Chicago? A massage and lunch? A trip to Lansing to see Mary Poppins? A trip up north? A dinner with friends?

Tuesday when I got home from school, there was a birthday card on the coffee table. Inside was a plane ticket to New York.

Stein is sending me to New York to spend the weekend with Chris.

The idea for this trip started when Chris sold her condo and felt free of the financial obligations that two mortgages held. She wanted to do a girls' weekend, and no one was really biting at the suggestion to go to New York. I said I would go, but selfishly forgot about it in the midst of my school drama. Apparently she and Stein were in cahoots the whole time, planning this weekend. Bless them both.

Oh, and need I mention? Reason #6,354 why I married that man. He spoils me.

The last time I was in New York was when Chris ran the marathon there. We did have some days surrounding the marathon to hang out, but nothing like we'll have this weekend. I can't wait to just walk around, catch up, eat good food, talk, and people watch.

These little town blues.... are melting away...

Time Here and Away

2010-10-31T15:24:00.002-04:00

Last weekend Stein went to Chicago with some friends and I got to have a girls' weekend with Mickey and Bre. We kind of got away from our traditional girls' weekends, so it was so nice to get back to it. They got in on Friday and left on Sunday. In between those two days we packed in some shopping, eating, drinking, game playing, a trip to the cider mill, and a whole lot of talking.

I have been having some pretty stressful weeks at school lately. It has nothing to do with the kids, but rather the "other" stuff that goes along with teaching. There's some politics, some eggshell walking, some tricky scheduling, and lot of switching gears every few minutes. When I get home from school, I don't want to do anything but stare at the TV, shove some food into my mouth, and go to bed.

Having Mickey and Bre here turned my attitude around. They sat through a vent of mine right when I got home on Friday, and there were so many times throughout the weekend when they offered an ear or advice on whatever it was that I was talking about. We didn't do too much but hang out. I needed to do that. I needed to let go of whatever it was that I was thinking of doing, and needed to unwind. I didn't realize just how tight I was wound.

This past Friday, Stein picked me up from school, and we were soon on the road going north. We spent the weekend in Harbor Springs. We didn't have anything planned other than wanting to go to one of our favorite restaurants. Again, the timing was perfect. The stress continued this past week, and the weekend provided me with another reprieve.

We got in on Friday night, and had a beer and burger at a casual local restaurant. We made our way through the winding dark road to where we were staying and schlepped our stuff inside. Stein made a fire in the fireplace and I settled onto the couch. I don't think I was on the couch more than 10 minutes when I fell asleep. I trudged upstairs and fell into bed, barely moving until the next morning. When I looked at the clock, I realized I slept for 10 hours. I guess I needed the sleep.

Stein and I walked into town along the water to get some breakfast. It was a great walk on an overcast day, looking at houses boarded up for the season, and bushes and trees wrapped up in preparation for the elements of the harsh winter. We needed to look at nature. We needed to hear the water lap up on the shore. We needed to hear water slip down a stream.

After breakfast, we took turns napping, eating, and reading for the rest of the afternoon. I did make it out at one point to buy some snacks for us to eat before going to dinner. We made our way into Petoskey for a late dinner and were back assuming our positions in the living room a short time later.

This morning we stopped at one of our favorite places for breakfast in Charlevoix, where we indulged in pumpkin bread french toast. I'm still full almost 5 hours later. We then meandered our way back home, traveling back south on the winding roads that carried us north just 2 days before.

These two weekends have been just what the doctor ordered. Taking time out, slowing down, and savoring the still and the relationships that keep us sane.

On the Other Side

2010-10-19T08:21:00.002-04:00

Three years ago, I sat in conference rooms at the student center at EMU and listened to people give advice about various student teaching topics. I was most interested in learning about what I needed to get a job, what I should be prepared for during an interview, and what I should do in these crazy economic times.

Three years later, I was sitting in a conference room again. This time, though, I was the one giving advice. The experience was surreal, and the audience had people that seemed so inexperienced. I was the same way, three years ago, thinking I had it all together with the months I had been in the classroom student teaching. Oh, what a sheltered thought and life that was.

It felt so good to be there, as part of a panel of three, sharing our experiences since student teaching, and offering advice for finding a job and then sharing some first-year teaching nuggets of wisdom. The three of us have had similar experiences with all kinds of jobs from long-term sub jobs, to after school programs, and summer school.

Some of the people in the audience had the deer-in-the-headlights look the whole time. I would love to know what they were thinking. I would think it was similar to what I was thinking at various points in the past three years. How much longer can I work for people and not get a job? How much longer can I spin my wheels? Why did I make this career change in the midst of the worst economic times? Am I destined to be a long-term sub forever? And the questions could go on and on.

I think (and hope) that the main message this audience got was that you have to be persistent, you have to make connections and network, and you have to work hard. Jobs aren't going to come knocking on your door. You're going to have to bang down doors yourself.

Even a month and a half into school, I still have to pinch myself sometimes that I'm a full-time, real live teacher. I am so thankful to be here, and it was so satisfying to tell my story.

Quick Dinner

2010-10-13T19:56:00.000-04:00

A couple nights ago, I went to make dinner and was ready for the old standby of pasta with sausage. After scanning the kitchen for something different to put in the pasta, I saw some sad looking tomatoes that we picked last week but never used. I also thought about the tomatoes still clinging to the vines outside that will eventually need to be used. (We started our plants a bit too late. We have a ton of flowers still on our plants that I'm afraid will get frostbite before too long).

I thought some sort of pasta salad with roasted tomatoes would be good. I looked up this recipe from Ina Garten and boiled some water for the pasta while the tomatoes roasted. When the pasta was done, I drained it and doused it with some olive oil, crushed red pepper and basil. When the roasted tomatoes were ready, I added them to the pasta with some goat cheese. Oh mama, it tasted great together. It would be great on its own, but it made a great accompaniment to the sausage we had.

I love when a plan comes together, spontaneously.

Reason #2,473

2010-10-11T19:33:00.002-04:00

I was on a teacher website yesterday looking for resources for Mickey and me, and stumbled on a discussion thread about new teachers. There were veteran teachers and new teachers who were chiming in about the roller-coaster experience that is the first year of teaching. The new teacher who started the thread was basically at her breaking point and was thinking that teaching wasn't for her. The veteran teachers kept telling her to stick it out, that it gets better.

Knock on wood, I'm not at my breaking point. That's not to say that I'm not busy, that I don't think about the kids in my class when I'm up at night, that I don't spend a good amount of my free time either thinking about school or preparing things for school. I think my time spent as a long-term sub in different capacities has taught me some things that most teachers learn in their first year. I'm still learning, of course, but I feel (keep knocking on that wood) that I am keeping my head above water (cue "Good Times" theme here).

In thinking about all that I do, especially at home, I have one person to thank.

That boy Stein.

Ever since August when I knew I had an interview, he has jumped in and helped me every step of the way. He helped me put together my mini-portfolios before the interview, helped me celebrate when I got the job, helped me move my stuff into my room on a hot weekend day. And when school started? He has been taking over most of the responsibilities we typically share at home including laundry, cleaning and cooking. Oh, and correcting papers. He always asks what there is to correct, gets out a marker (never red, of course) and goes to town. He has saved me on more than one night when I was able to get to bed at a decent hour and had a good meal in my belly.

I know that without his support, I may be at the point of that first-year teacher on the discussion thread. I feel so lucky. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is reason #2,473 why I married that man. And reason #2,473 why I am thankful to have him in my life.

Ready or Not, It's Here

2010-10-03T20:36:00.003-04:00

There's a fire in the fireplace roaring as I write this. Stein is eating the chili that I made yesterday. The pumpkin bread I baked this morning sits on the counter. Our new furnace is pumping out heat. I just got in from covering the tomatoes.

Fall is here.

It happened officially two weeks ago, but I didn't want to believe it. I also was still in the throes of beginning school, trying to get used to a new routine, a new school, and new kids. Now that we're into October and I've had a chance to breathe just a bit, I've taken notice of what's been happening around me. Trees are changing from greens to yellows, oranges and reds. The sunlight has tilted and puts off a golden glow when it hits the ground. The skies are bright blue when it's sunny, and dark, dark grey when it's raining. It feels different. It smells cold and crisp.

That bittersweet feeling comes back to me at this time every year. Sad that summer is ending, but excited to have a change. New foods in season, new clothes to wear, new ways of doing things.

I am trying to have a better attitude this year. Having some things planned in the next few months already is helping. Knowing that within a few months time I will see daffodils and tulips poking up through the dirt helps too. Knowing that sitting on the couch watching the fire while wrapped up in a blanket is not such a bad place to be will get me through. It always does.

Grown-up Stuff

2010-09-26T18:39:00.003-04:00

A good friend of mine has hit a rough spot in her life. I should probably clarify: a rough spot could mean a rough piece of skin that just needs exfoliating. It's not like that. It's much, much worse.

Through all I have learned this week about her situation, all I can do is just sit here and do nothing. Do nothing except think about her all of the time. She is hurting, and I want to comfort her. But I know at this initial, raw state of hers, there is little comfort to be given and received. She is trying to seek clarity, trying to answer questions that can't be answered, or the answers are just too hard to face. Stein and I have been asking some of the same questions, I'm sure. We're frustrated that they can't be answered and we just want things to be good for her once again. I'm sure my friend feels the same way, only more deeply.

Growing up sucks sometimes. We all have our crosses to bear, as my Catholic upbringing has told me. But sometimes it seems like a tsunami occurs in people's lives. Events that completely wash over them and make it impossible to come up for breath for a long time. In my friend's situation, I feel like I'm watching her being swept away by the tsunami, and I can't help her get to safety. As humans we all have the genetics that make us want to "right" ourselves again, to find a balance, to be safe. We want that for others, especially our friends.

I know in my heart that she will be alright one day. When that is, no one knows. But from where she has come from and the journey she has taken through life and the attitude she has, it will happen. In life's unknowns, I do know she will be alright. I am grasping to this hope, and I want her to know that. As faint as it is right now, there is hope that you will be alright. I know you will.

Going Along Swimmingly

2010-09-19T18:55:00.002-04:00

I'll just put it out there and say that things continue to go well. Aside from a little bully talk with some of my boys, for the most part fifth grade is where it's at. We can have pretty mature conversations, while at the same time sing along to Schoolhouse Rock and trade silly bands. Well, I don't have silly bands nor do I trade them. I have a feeling that the silly bands are going to become a bit of a problem in my class. The kids learned a new phrase, "bane of my existence" the other day when I was talking about silly bands. I think they got the message. So far the rule, "if they're not in your pocket or on your wrist, they're mine" has seemed to work. We'll see how long that lasts...

The other thing that I love about these kids is how they play. I try to do at least one recess during the day in addition to the recess they get at lunch. I think that it's so important for kids to get outside, run around, work things out, and just play. It also helps with getting some of their energy out.

Most of the boys play soccer. Most of the girls play four-square, hang on the monkey bars, or play jump rope. Everyone is active. I love it. In some of the other schools where I worked, the fifth graders would just stand around and talk. I used to tell them to run around, but they would look at me like I told them to jump into a lake with alligators.

Kids being kids. Just as is should be. They're lucky.

I Better Knock, Knock, Knock on Wood

2010-09-12T10:42:00.003-04:00

School started this week. I had butterflies and knots having some sort of wrestling match in my stomach on the first day. I have to say, the knots won the match that morning. I was downright nervous. (It also didn't help that I was meeting parents in addition to the students that morning.)

Like every other teacher starting school, I had dreams about school every night for about three weeks prior to the first day. I dreamed of faces in a class I didn't know, had nightmares about badly behaved students. I woke up feeling uneasy about the unknowns. My mind was swimming with lessons plans, team-building activities, names, and school supplies.

Tuesday afternoon, after spending a good amount of time with my class, I could tell that everything was going to be okay. The knots decided to leave the wrestling mat that was my stomach. I even cracked a smile, and laughed a little. I felt better.

When I got home that night, my mom was still here. She asked how the day was, and asked if I wanted a glass of wine. I didn't need the wine because it was a bad day, I wanted the wine because I wanted to celebrate a great day. It was so nice to have my mom there to talk about the day. She went through countless first days in her teaching career and could relate to my stories. I'm lucky she was here.

Every night this week when I came home, Stein would ask how the day went. And every night, I replied the same way: "I'm going to knock on wood when I say this, but it was a good day."

I know it's only been a week (actually four days), but I really like my class. The personalities remind me a lot of my third graders last year. I don't have any major behavior problems to deal with yet, and most of them are eager to learn, eager to help out, and eager to please.

I know Mickey is experiencing the same thing with her second-grade class this year. And we're both knocking on wood.

My Mom Rocks

2010-09-04T08:50:00.002-04:00

I am so lucky. First I switched careers and had my Mom and Mickey to guide me through the whole thing. Then I had long-term jobs that they continued to guide me through. And now that I have my own classroom from start to finish, I have my Mom here to help set it up.

Two weeks ago, I stood in the classroom frozen with a daunting feeling. The previous occupants of the room were not moved out yet, the tables were too small for fifth graders, and we were about to go on vacation. I called Mickey in a panic to help talk me off the ledge. She did. Of course she did. She reminded me that our Mom would be in town the next week and would whip the place into shape.

She was so right. Here I sit on Saturday morning, and my whole classroom is done. I had visions of being in the classroom until midnight before school started, sleeping on the floor, and waking up before the bell rang. I owe it all to my Mom.

She got here on Tuesday night, and by Wednesday afternoon I knew everything was going to be fine. Through 90 degree heat and no A/C, she worked in my room while I attended meetings. We were back on Thursday afternoon, and went back yesterday to finish up. Whenever I felt overwhelmed, she had a plan. Whenever I didn't know what to do with something, she did.

I of course now have the feeling that I'm forgetting something, but I think I'm just being superstitious. The classroom is ready to go. Ready for all of the new fifth graders and the new teacher.

Thanks, Mom!

We're Gonna Party Like It's 1980

2010-08-16T21:45:00.002-04:00

Stein and I have watched the documentary Do You Believe in Miracles? about the 1980 US Men's Hockey team about 50 times, I'm sure. Each time it comes on, we stop what we are doing, watch it, quote it, and get goosebumps from it. There are certain lines that I quote occasionally out of context. Like when I was in Steamboat screaming down the mountain and clenching my muscles out of fear, I found myself saying, "Play your game, play your game," just as Herb Brooks said to his team under pressure.

It's not surprising, then, that I quoted that movie last week when I had a major victory of my own.

I got a job.

Yes, a job. A real, full-time, salary paying, benefit offering, kind of job. I will be in charge of a classroom of 5th graders from the start of the year until the end. I will know where I'll be everyday. I will be the one calling for a sub. I will be the one who decides where things go in the class.

Needless to say, I'm more than excited. I'm ecstatic. I've been told that there were 1100 applicants, 40 were interviewed, and 18 got jobs. I find it unbelievable that I beat those odds. It's all finally settling in, especially since I have been in orientation and training meetings for the past couple days and there are more ahead of me this week.

The morning after I received the job offer, Stein called me at home. "Are you still excited about your news?" he asked slyly. "I feel like Jack O'Callahan in Do You Believe in Miracles," I said. He laughed and asked why. "You know, the part when he's being interviewed about beating the Russians and how he felt when they did it. When he rolls his eyes in disbelief lets out a breath and says, 'Whoa. We beat those guys.' That's how I'm feeling."

I did it. Whoa. I beat those guys.

Letting go, or Shutting Down

2010-08-09T08:55:00.003-04:00

After our relaxing time of sitting by the bonfire Friday night, we had a bunch of stuff going on this weekend. I had mentioned in my last post that we were going on our canoe trip on Saturday, and then to the Tigers game on Sunday.

I typically would be all ready for the canoe trip the night before. The cooler would be packed with drinks and ice, the beach bag would be packed with towels and extra clothes, and some snacks would be bought and packed in a bag to bring on the canoe. Instead, we raced around the house on Saturday morning, grabbing things we thought we needed and throwing them into random bags, ran out of the house, and jumped into the car to race to meet our friends. I had a moment in the car to think about the day ahead, and realized we never ate breakfast. Crap. We found ourselves in the line at the McDonald's drive-thru, and scarfed down something greasy as we arrived at our destination.

The day of canoeing was great. We couldn't have asked for a better day. Warm, but not hot temperatures, bright blue skies, and no humidity. After we stopped for lunch, we found our canoe attached to 3 other canoes of adults floating down the river. So relaxing.

I guess Stein and I were lulled into relaxation. Once we got home, we became one with the couch. We talked about the next day and the baseball game we were going to, but didn't really talk about the details or what needed to be done.

The next morning, we were up at a pretty early hour, thinking that we had some time to get ready for the day. Then my brother-in-law showed up with his back hoe and dump truck (more about this in another post), and I decided it was a good time to go for a run. When I got back from my run and Stein took care of the heavy machinery stuff, we found oursleves right back to Saturday morning. We ran around the house, gathering the things we needed for the bus ride to the game. Stein went to the grocery store to get what we needed and added some muffins to his haul. We scarfed those down as we raced over to meet the bus.

In between bites, I said, "You know, last night I sat on the couch reading a magazine when I could've been getting ready for the day today. What is my problem?"

"You shut down, Kel," Stein said. But before I could get my dander up about the comment, he added, "And that's good. You've been going all summer, and now you finally stopped."

He was right. We were going to make the bus. We had sunscreen and hats packed. We had what we needed for the bus. We survived the canoe trip the day before with what we packed.

Although I usually like the feeling of being prepared, this time everything was okay. Everything worked out. And the most important part? I was in the moment.

Summer is Here

2010-08-07T19:28:00.002-04:00

Oh, I know that it's August 7th. But to be honest, I feel like summer has finally begun. Don't get me wrong, Stein and I have done our fair share of summer stuff. We planted flowers, tomatoes and herbs and watched them grow almost in front of our eyes as we sat outside eating dinner. We have enjoyed the fruits (and vegetables) of the farmer's market where we ride our bikes every Saturday. We've also been running outside on a regular basis. But it wasn't until this week that I really felt like I was on summer vacation.

I got out of school in mid-June, and then had a bunch of things right after that took up my time. Then I had summer school. When that was over, Stein and I immediately got on a plane that night and flew to the VA/DC/MD area to see our friends. On the other side of that trip a flurry of activity awaited me back home. Yesterday, I was done.

Last night Stein and I put together a fire pit that we bought a few weeks back. The instructions sounded pretty simple. I was half-reading them as I took all the pieces out of the box, peeled the inspection labels off, and set them aside. It wasn't until I was trying to put the screen together that I realized the labels had a purpose. Namely, they were lettered, and you had to put each piece in a certain order. I used most of my patience trying to get it together, and Stein dipped well into his patience reserves. He ended up rigging it so it was useable. We'll have to revisit that project at another time.

Once Stein got the fire lit (after I botched my attempt), we sat back and stared into the flames. Drinking a nice glass of wine, just relaxing, and not thinking about anything. No lessons to plan, nowhere to go, no one to worry about. I was in the moment and loving it.

I know we have the most clarity at times like these. In that moment, I realized that I haven't been in the moment very much this summer. Every time I was doing something, whether it was teaching, or planning, or tutoring, I was thinking about the next thing and what I had to do. Being a teacher, you become conditioned like this: constantly thinking about what's next, anticipating the "what ifs".

Yet in doing this, I find that I don't enjoy things to their fullest. I had a great time this past weekend away (and will write a separate post about it) but also had a lot of things on my mind which prevented me from fully enjoying it.

Today we went canoeing. And tomorrow we go to the Tigers game. Two definite summer activties that I enjoyed and hopefully will enjoy fully.

It's only taken me two months to realize it, but summer is finally here.

This Week I'm Feeling

2010-07-25T13:04:00.002-04:00

Excited
-to see Chris, 2 of my college roommates and their kids, and another friend this coming weekend. We'll all be at the beach out east, picking up where we left off the last time, reminiscing and making new memories. These are friends who I feel so comfortable with. They know me so well, and I am so glad that we have stayed in touch.

Relieved
-that I only have 5 days left of summer school. While it's been a pretty good program, I still feel like it could've been better. I already have an extensive list of things to do if they want the program to run again next year.

Productive
-by getting some things on my to-do list done while also catching up with some friends whom I haven't seen in a long time. The friends always tend to fuel my productivity.

Thankful
-for the diagnosis of my friend's husband. It looks like they got all of the cancer during the surgery and it was not in his lungs, colon, or other vital organs. He still has a long road ahead, with chemo and radiation treatments, but the initial prognosis is good.

Dreamy
-about the upcoming vacations we have planned: the trip I mentioned above, and then a trip up north. I have a stack of books and magazines ready to be read. Or not.

Change in Perspective

2010-07-19T15:57:00.003-04:00

The mom of one of the kids whom I tutor has asked me over for dinner a couple times. Between those times, and the times that she has dropped off and picked up her son at our house, I have become friends with her. We're not close friends yet; we're at the beginning stages of our friendship where she's learning a lot about me, and I of her. She is an excellent cook, and has an excellent kitchen, which provides the perfect backdrop for getting to know each other. Both times I was over for dinner, I sat at the counter in her kitchen for 3 or more hours just talking and eating. As it should be.

About a month ago, as she dropped her son off for a tutoring session, the boy said, "My dad has an owie." The mom nodded her head and explained to me that he had some intestinal issues and they were being cleared up with some antibiotics. The words for his condition and symptoms were flying over her son's head and swirling in my brain while he dug in our flower bed for slugs and other creatures.

Fast forward to last week when I was invited over for dinner again. As I watched my friend shake pans on the stove, marinate meat for the grill, and shake drinks for her friends, she told me that her husband was in the hospital. She swatted the air and said, "Yeah, it's more of the stuff he had before, but now they found a mass of infection and they need to do surgery after giving him a course of some major antibiotics." She seemed fine with it, and he didn't want her at the hospital. It seemed pretty routine to me at the time.

I should've known better. Rarely is the word "mass" ever good, except if you're Catholic and the mass miraculously lasts less than 45 minutes. I emailed my friend last week after the dinner to thank her and check in on her husband. I never heard back from her, which is very unlike her. Today I casually called her, and asked how he was doing. "Well," she sighed, "When they did the surgery to remove the mass, they realized that it was cancer." Her voice went up an octave with the last word.

I offered my sympathies, my prayers, my good thoughts. I told her to please call me if she needed anything. I said all of the things that I'm sure she heard countless other people say already. I wanted to stay on the phone to help, while at the same time wanting to get off so badly to avoid the uncomfortable situation altogether.

Out the window went the pity party I was having for myself last night and this morning. Out the window went pressure I was feeling during this summer school program. Out the window went all of the small stuff I had been stressing about. Does it really matter if I get my toenails painted before this weekend? Does it really matter if my house isn't clean? Doesn it really matter if fix the iTunes issue today?

No, no, and no. What really matters is people. And friendships. And family. And laughter. And love.

Pavlov's Dog

2010-07-15T15:24:00.003-04:00

I know I'm speaking for my fellow bloggers when I say that getting comments on your posts is pretty cool. It's kind of like getting real mail in your mailbox. Not something addressed to "current resident" or to someone who has a name kind of like yours but has been changed in some weird way. The real stuff. Letters, cards, whatever it is that is delivered to your house, in your mailbox, to you. And it's usually from someone you know and love. I love the surprise of mail, especially now that we're in the digital age of email and facebook and texting.

So in the case of the blog, getting comments feels a lot like getting mail. If you have a blog, I'm sure you log into your space, scan down to where it says comments, and then scan to see if the number next to the word "comments" is greater than 0. When you see a one, or two, or bonus of all bonuses, a three or four, your mind starts racing. You think, Who commented? Which one of my four readers had an opinion about what I wrote and wants to tell me about it?

Lately I've had an onslaught of spam comments. They're such a tease. I go through the whole drill, scan down, see one or two comments are waiting, and click with anticipation to see who wrote something. But I don't know who wrote to me or even read the comment, because the sender's name and comment is written in Asian characters. Bummer.

So please, mysterious Asian person, log onto a translation website before making a comment. I'm sure you have something just riveting to say about my students or the recipes I make.

Stumped

2010-07-11T13:33:00.003-04:00

I miss my third graders. I know how good I had it when I was their teacher. They were a great group of kids and I got to know them really well. I could have a conversation with any one of them, asking questions about things like hamsters, or sisters, or soccer, or whatever else was in their third-grade world.

Now that I'm teaching summer school, I know that I won't have the same relationship with these kids in my class. It's really not possible in 3 1/2 weeks to build relationships with them. I only see them for an hour and half each day. And all of that time is jammed with reading and learning.
I almost feel like it's a waste of time. I know that these kids are getting some learning that normally wouldn't be happening at home. The possibility of having "summer slide" is lessened by what we're doing together. But I really feel that getting kids to be engaged and learn is so much dependent on relationships. If they know you and trust you, they're likely to want to learn from you.

There's one little girl in the group who is going into fourth grade. She is reading at about a first-grade reading level. After working with her one on one, I said to her, "Great reading! You are a great reader!" She looked at me and said, "I'm not a reader." I looked at her in disbelief and said, "Yes, you are. You just read these words to me." She sat for a minute formulating her thoughts and said, "I don't want to read. I don't want to learn." After going back and forth with her, I realized that it was a losing battle. Her stubbornness won out.

I've been thinking about her all weekend. (That's one of the side effects of being a teacher; you can't leave work at school when you leave. You're constantly thinking about it.) I'm stumped. I've never worked with a kid who came out and said that he or she didn't want to read, didn't want to learn. I have made it my mission to figure out how to get through to her and help her see that reading and learning is fun. I don't know if there's enough time, but I'm going to try.

Spinning Plates

2010-07-08T17:26:00.003-04:00

After a good fifteen-minute-long rant that I spewed to Mickey on the phone today , she said to me, "It's just a a lot of new things at once. It's all going to work out." I knew she would have a morsel of sanity to calm me down. I also knew I had to tell her that I wasn't on the verge of tears and that I was in fact sleeping at night. These two things normally get turned on (or off) at the first sign of anything stressful. I wouldn't say I'm stressed, just busy. Just trying to figure things out.

I started summer school this week, and while it's something that I've done before, I've also been trying to handle things that I haven't done before. Things that normally a principal or secretary may do. But in my case, neither of those people is present. Welcome to my school! Where I do every job required! Oh, and teach? I can do that too! Would you mind spinning a few plates? Because the hundred I'm spinning may stop and crash to the floor if I spin those too.

Add to this some tutoring I'm doing on the side. Two of the kids just started with me this week, so I've been trying to plan the lessons I'm doing with them in addition to the lessons I'm planning for school. No problem! Maybe I can take this spinning plate show on the road!

I know that things are going to get better, that I will soon be in a routine again. That is, up until summer school ends. In three weeks.

Our running instructor reminded us that we have six weeks if we want to run a race in Flint. Then I saw the date on the application: August 28th. That's six weeks away? That's near the beginning of September. That's near the beginning of school. I don't even want to think about it. Didn't we just bring out the patio furniture?

Although I'm not stressed, I guess I'm feeling a bit behind the eight ball. We're making plans to see Karen and Sara in DC and also go up north once summer school ends. And once those trips take place? Well, it's almost time for school to start again. Funny how that school thing sneaks up on you when you're a teacher. A teacher spinning plates.

On Having Manners

2010-07-03T07:18:00.000-04:00

I have been thinking about manners a lot lately. I guess I didn't mention that in yesterday's post. It's that attention span of a gnat, you see. Things come and go in a flash.

I have been amazed lately at the amount of nerve some people have. I grew up in a home where not expecting more than you deserve was the norm. I was taught that you get what you get, and unless you need to speak up because of unfairness, you don't. You don't inconvenience people. You get what you give. You are never entitled to something simply for the fact that you think you are entitled.

Lately I have taken notice of people who exhibit this sense of entitlement, this nerve. I don't know if there has been an increase in this type of behavior or if I am just noticing it more. Regardless, it never ceases to amaze me when I witness it.

I like to be mindful with manners. I say "excuse me" when I bump into someone, say "please" when I would like something, and say "thank you" when someone gives me something. I write thank you notes when someone gives me something. In my mind, you can never go too far with manners. It's a token of respect; of saying to someone, "I appreciate the effort that you're making for me".

A couple things happened to me in the last few days that made me stop and take a little more notice on the subject. Wednesday, I was at the farmer's market (ah, summer, thank you for Wednesday afternoons at the farmer's market) and got in line to buy some cherries. The woman behind the table asked what I wanted to buy. "A pint of cherries, please," I said. Then I looked to my left and saw a woman standing there. Instinctively, I turned to her and said, "I'm sorry, were you in line first?" She shook her head and said no. As I was paying for my cherries, the woman behind the table lowered her voice and said, "I have to give you a compliment. Thank you for asking that woman if she was next. There are some rude people who come here, trying to push their way in, and don't care who is in their way or who is next." I just shrugged my shoulders and said, "Oh, thanks, I don't like when people do that to me, so I wanted to make sure." She added, "Well, people also don't point out the positives enough, so I needed to share that with you." Okay, cherry lady, thanks for the manners lesson. Point well taken!

A few days later I headed to the garden center to buy some last-minute things we needed in the yard. As I left the store, I took notice of the woman who was in front of me in the checkout line, positioning her cart in the parking lot so it wouldn't roll away. She wasn't putting it in a place that carts were supposed to go, she was putting it in a place that was convenient to her. This is one of my pet peeves. It makes parking in the lot an obstacle course, and also makes the store employees go out of their way to collect rogue carts. After loading my trunk, I made my way back toward the store and slid my cart back in place where the other carts were located. As I walked away, I heard one of the employees say, "Thanks miss, for doing that, and have a great holiday weekend." It was nice to hear that, but I certainly didn't expect it. I just did what I thought needed to be done.

Where does rudeness or being impolite come into play? Where does it start? I'm baffled by it. I don't get it. And I guess that's a good thing.

Tangents

2010-07-02T10:53:00.002-04:00

I don't know if it's the six months I spent with third graders, or what. My thoughts continue to bounce around my head like a kid in a bouncy house. I tried to sit down and read a book the other day, and I kept re-reading the same page about five times. During the school year, I had the attention span of a gnat, which was only good for reading magazine articles. Now that summer is here, there's really no change from that. Oh well.

So, I'm just going to go with this tangent-type thinking, and list what's been rattling around in this brain of mine. Memories and thoughts that I've been going over as I start preparing for summer school to start, make plans for the holiday weekend, and make travel arrangements to see some dear friends at the end of the month.

-So excited for the flowers and plants that are blooming in the yard. Thoughts of pesto and other basil-based dishes are dancing in my head.
-The moments on the trip to South Carolina when I laughed so hard I cried. Haven't done that in a while, and I loved it.
-The generous gifts that I received and am still receiving from the students in my class.
-Wanting to go to a baseball game, eat a hot dog and drink a beer.
-Savoring the low humidity and low temp days we've had this week. My favorite sleeping weather.
-Feeling so thankful for my friends and family. Their constant support, encouragement, and humor keeps me going.
-Still running. And running further. Not faster, but further.
-Grateful for summer. And having time to think and take things in.

Have a wonderful, safe, holiday weekend!

A Month Hiatus

2010-06-29T08:14:00.002-04:00

Call it a sabbatical, of sorts. I've been gone from here for over a month, and believe me, it wasn't intentional. I attended our nephew Blake's high school graduation party, closed out the school year successfully and bittersweetly, started preparing for summer school, drove to Chicago, and then ultimately South Carolina to attend Chris' brother's residency graduation, and now I'm home. Oh, and did I mention that we also had a virus on our home computer?

It's been a busy month.

I'm not complaining. I'm just glad to back in this space. Glad to have the time that summer provides to catch up with everything.

I just got home from Chicago last night. I mistakenly took Amtrak, and I'm feeling the effects of an hour delay getting home. My mind is a pile of mush as I try to unpack, figure out what I want to write about, and figure out what we're having for dinner tonight. I have bits and pieces of thoughts and memories that I need to collect and organize into something coherent. I hope to be back here tomorrow with another post. But in the meantime, here's a video that one of my students made from pictures she and I took throughout the school year. Be sure to turn up the volume - there's music too. Enjoy!

One on One With Kids

2010-05-27T18:30:00.003-04:00

It's been hot here this week. Hot, as in, "Hotter than a ____ in a _____." A friend of mine posted yesterday on Facebook that she was "sweating like a Kardashian on Jeopardy". Brilliant.

Our school is not air conditioned. Thankfully I'm on the garden level, so even when the morning sun shines in, it doesn't take over my room. Plus, there are some pretty large trees just outside my window which help to shade the area.

Regardless of all these things, the air gets pretty stagnant when you cram 25 sweaty third-graders in the room, combined with the heat from our computers or the florescent lights. I have two fans in my room to help blow the air around. The kids have gravitated to these fans like flies on fly paper. They like to stand two inches away from them, having their hair blown back, while they squint their eyes like a dog out of a car window. During silent reading time, they pull their chairs around the fan as if it's some kind of prayer ritual. They also like to talk into the fan to make their voices sound like a bad Darth Vader imitation. I have set rules about these fans, but apparently they're following the rule that "rules are meant to be broken". I can turn around for one second, and they're back at the fan.

Today it was my turn. In the morning, as I made my way into the classroom after greeting everyone when they came in, I stopped by the fan. I made all of my morning announcements by the fan. I stood by the fan as I told the usual kids to get back to their desks and stop talking to their friend across the room.

At one point during my fan time, one of my philosophers came over to get some fan air and also to chat me up. We talked about the previous night's homework and how he "knew the answer right away, but his mom made him figure it out!". We talked about the book he is reading, and how it caused him to be late for the bus. (This isn't the first time that reading or being read to has caused him to be late. I think I'll forgive him.) We talked about the ice cream social the night before and all of the junk he consumed and won.

As he stood there talking, I tried to take it all in. This class has been wonderful. Sure, the kids or I have our moments, but all in all, it's been a great ride. Now with just three weeks left, I'm starting to see the end is near. In my past teaching gigs, I couldn't wait until the year ended, and I wasn't too concerned whether I would see the kids again. But this gig has been different. The class is such a great mix of personalities with great attitudes. They care about each other, they (for the most part) respect each other and me, and they care about being in school.

I'm going to miss the one on one time that I've spent with each one of them. Even if it's just to get closer to the fan breeze.

And I Was Running

2010-05-15T07:35:00.002-04:00

You know that scene in Forrest Gump, the one where he's running like a maniac, runs across the country, and can't stop? That's not me. The only thing that I have going is the running part. Maybe.

I have started running again. Once upon a time, I was running on a regular basis. It was easy to do when I was traveling for work. I would come back to my hotel at the end of the work day, change into my workout clothes and hop onto the treadmill in the hotel "gym". The gym inevitably was a closet crammed with a treadmill, sometimes an elliptical machine, and a big bonus was a TV to watch while running. I counted on this routine to keep me sane, help lose or maintain weight, and build my confidence in running. I was running about 3 miles on a regular basis.

Eventually the travel ended and I kept up with the running at our local Y, and outside. But all good things must come to an end, I guess. I used the excuse of school and life stuff to stop running. I was always afraid to start again. It's like when you're deciding to get your hair cut short after growing it long. You don't want to deal with the beginning stages again.

Enter in a class called Running 101 at our local running shoe store. It's a class designed to get you the tools and support you need to run a 5K within 6 weeks. Once a week, Stein and I gathered with a group of people to run and then learn about things like running nutrition, or stretching, or core strength. The class is designed in a way that you are expected to be doing regular runs on your own to build up to the 5K mark. It was a great way to get back into it, with a group of people who were in the same boat.

At the end of the 6 weeks, we were running 3 miles on a pretty consistent basis. We wanted to keep going with the class atmosphere, so we decided to try the Running 201 class. Last week was the first time with this class. The people in the group had all been in the class for the last session, so they were friends. We introduced ourselves and were thrown into the reality that is the 201 class. In 101, the goal was to run a 5K at the end. In 201, the goal is to run a 10K at the end.

Gulp.

Our instructor (who was the same instructor for the 101 class) handed me the slip of paper with the route we would be running that night. "There's a 4-mile route, a 6-mile route, or a 7-mile route. It's up to you which one you want to do," she said. Then she turned to me, and said, "Which one are you going to do?" Gulp. Gulp. "I think I'm going to do 4," I squeaked out as confidently as I could. In my head I was thinking, 4 miles?! 4 miles?! I don't do 4 miles. Well, not yet, anyway. Well, I did do 4 miles before. There was that hotel in Golden, CO, where I did 4 miles, or that hotel in Scottsdale, AZ where I did 4 miles. Both on treadmills. Set at 0% incline. With air conditioning in the room.

We started out on the route, and I was feeling pretty confident, with a little bit of fear mixed in. When we got to the turnaround point, our instructor joined us, and ran with us. I could tell that she was having a hard time slowing down to my pace, but I kept trudging along. I kept thinking, I really want to stop right now. But I'm with the instructor so I can't. But I really want to stop right now. Over and over this thinking went, until we got to a pretty large hill, the one we coasted down on the way out, and I just stopped. "You go on," I managed to get out in between huffs and puffs. She eventually caught up to Stein, who told me later, also went through the same thoughts of I can't stop now, but man I want to stop. We eventually made it back to the store, had a nice session with a yoga instructor for some deep stretches, and were on our way.

I think the main thing I have to remember with this class is to do those runs in between. To challenge myself to do something I'm not so comfortable with. To just keep running.

Run, Forrest!

And the List Keeps on Growing

2010-05-13T18:30:00.002-04:00

So I'm here. And there.

We're at the 5-weeks-left-of-school mark. The point where most teachers have a split personality. Half of your thoughts are, "Five more weeks of school? I can't. Take. Another. Day." While the other half of your thoughts are, "Oh, #@$%&&! I only have five weeks left of school? I have so much to get done! How will I ever get all of this done with the way the kids are being so squirrelly?" Before you know it, the five weeks have whizzed by, and summer is in full swing. I can't wait.

Until then, I/we have been/will be crazy busy. School stuff, life stuff, and everything in between. So, more lists for blog posts get created in my head:

-Running (again)

-Accolades

-Bureaucracy

-Gardening

Writing in Nature

2010-05-06T19:59:00.003-04:00

We recently started a unit on poetry. While I don't mind poetry, it's not one of my favorite forms of writing. I much prefer personal narratives. I know you're all saying, "Duh, Kelly, you write a blog, of course you like personal narratives." Yeah, yeah, I know.

So when we started this unit on poetry, I wasn't really looking forward to it. In fact, I give each lesson somewhat hesitantly. Sometimes I feel like the kids are going to sense my apathy on the subject and reflect it in their writing and behavior.

I've been pleasantly surprised by their reaction to poetry. You can hear a pin drop when I read some of the poems as examples of what we're focusing on that day. The time spent on writing their poems is only punctuated by talking, which is more often sharing of their writing than chatting. After each lesson, I let out a big sigh of relief and think, this is not bad. In fact, this is great. But something happens between the end of one lesson and the beginning of the next one. The same feeling of trepidation creeps back in as I prepare for the next lesson.

Today I was all ready to do the next lesson in the unit. I copied the poems we would use as examples, and had them all ready to go. But somewhere between the copying and the time for writing, I decided we needed to get outside. The weather was gorgeous here today, which has fortunately been typical of this spring. Warm, sunny, and no humidity.

I told the kids that we would be taking our notebooks outside, and after recess we would write some more "dear poems". A lot of dear poems deal with things found in nature. What better way, I thought, to get out in nature and write about it? Besides, there have been a lot of articles published lately on the lack of exposure to nature that kids are getting lately. Mickey and I have been talking about this, how kids are missing out on the benefits of being in nature. I have to be honest, I forget about these benefits until they're right in front of me. I warned the kids before we went out that we could easily come back into the classroom if they weren't working on their writing. I had those copied poems waiting. Yet I don't know why I even warned them. They didn't need a warning. Except for a few seat changes, they all were into their writing.

We're lucky to have our school situated in a place surrounded by huge, mature trees and plenty of natural settings. There are picnic tables scattered around which are perfect for doing classroom-type activities.

Some kids chose the concrete as their workspace. The shadows of the trees couldn't be ignored, however. What a fantastic way to spend our writing time today. I think we need to do this more often. We all need it.

Nature - The Samples

nature it's all around me

nature is so astounding

it puts me on a beach

it swims beneath the sea

it's never out of reach

it's even you and me

nature it's all around me

nature I hope it finds me

it takes me from a book

from pictures I can't feel

but outside when I look

natures something real

nature it's all around me

nature I hope it finds me

it's hiding up a tree

it sees me looking down

look at you and me

and nature can be found

nature it's all around me

nature I think it found me

I wonder where it starts

I wonder where it goes

maybe in our hearts

only nature knows

That Was Cool

2010-04-25T12:23:00.004-04:00

I'm procrastinating a little right now. I have a pretty long list of things to do today, things that should've been started yesterday. But then I turned on the Wii, and then we went to our friends' house for dinner. And that was the day.

I did finish a pretty daunting project just now, so I thought I would reward myself with a little blog writing. I downloaded some of the pictures from our field trip the other day, and was reminded of what a great field trip it was. We went to U of M's Museum of Art and also their Museum of Archaeology. While on the trip, I was thinking once again how lucky we are to live in a college town like ours. We have a lot of the cultural offerings of a big city, but it's all within reach and most of the time, cheap or free.
I love art museums. And I forget that I love art museums until I'm there. I thought about that right before I snapped this picture. The docent asked the kids to just look at the painting for a couple minutes. After a while, she asked them what they thought was going on in the painting. I loved the minutes of looking and thinking. That's one of my favorite parts of art museums. Just looking at beautiful pieces of work, thinking about the artist who painted or sculpted it, thinking about the time in which she or he lived, thinking about the end result and the feelings that it may evoke.
The kids were led through several rotations by the awesome docents at the museum. I was once again really proud of the kids in my class. They were polite to the docents, didn't run around the museum, and dove into any activity that was presented to them. The picture above is an activity they had where they had to copy the Picasso painting that was on the wall. I love the name of the painting, by the way: Two Girls Reading.

The museum has recently gone through a major renovation and I'm ashamed to say that Stein and I had not been to it since they finished its makeover. There are a lot of interactive displays similar to this one above where the kids can do some pretty cool stuff. Again, they were completely enthralled in the experience.
We were so lucky to have beautiful weather that day. We were able to eat our lunches outside and play a little before we went on to the Archaeology Museum.
The kids have been learning about Egyptians and mummies in their art class, so it was pretty cool to see some real mummies up close and play around with hieroglyphics.

It was a great trip for great kids. I am so lucky to be a part of their experiences.

A Few Notes

2010-04-22T21:32:00.000-04:00

To continue with the scatterbrained post of yesterday, and help myself remember some stuff, I wanted to jot a few notes down so I can remember what I want to write about. I do miss writing when I don't do it on a regular basis. Maybe this list will help me stay on track:

Art Museum

Jobs

Running

Rehearsals

One on one with kids

Two Worlds of Teaching

Now, I have been known to give some "key words" to people when I'm out and can't tell a full story because people are within earshot. Yet, if the key words are part of a scene that may involve some wine or beer, the key words may not be remembered. The topics above may face the same fate as key words. But I'm willing to risk it.

Here, There, and Everywhere

2010-04-21T21:12:00.002-04:00

In my mind, that is. I have fleeting thoughts of topics that would be great for the blog, but they're just that, fleeting.

I want to tell you all about the field trip we went on today, but I also want to show the pictures which aren't uploaded yet. It seems that my thoughts lately have not been uploaded. They're there, rattling around somewhere in my brain, but I can't find the time, nor the energy to get them down on paper, or computer.

If you can't tell by this post, I'm pretty scatterbrained lately. Some of it has to do with the teaching gig, and the 3rd grade concert we've been rehearsing (they're going to sing The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald for part of it!), a new tutoring gig, and another trip to Chicago planned.

But what I think it mainly has to do with is spring. I'm feeling like those tulips and daffodils that just come up, faithfully every year, not knowing what's in store, whether it be a warm spring, frosty spring, or rainy spring. All that they know is the trees have buds exploding, the other flowers are blooming, and the grass is green and growing. All that they want to do is just take it all in, admire it, and cherish it.

Forgive my scatterbrain. Blame it on the tulips.

I Heart Apple

2010-04-13T20:44:00.002-04:00

I've always liked Apple computers. My sophomore roommate in college had an Apple computer, and a printer, which ran circles around my typewriter. It was such a crazy concept to me to think that she didn't have to go to the computer lab across campus with the masses and wait to get on a computer, and then wait for hours for the dot-matrix printer to chug out a three-page paper. I should've reconsidered the convenience when we both went our separate ways the next year to live in separate apartments. What was I thinking?

I took a few "desktop publishing" classes in college and those were on Macs. It was always easy to navigate around those computers. It always just seemed to know what I was thinking or wanted to do. I was happy, then, that my first job out of college had me working on a Mac as well.

Fast forward to the invention of the iPod, and all other cool things from that big ol' Apple company. My love was re-kindled as I realized that all the music from my cabinet full of CDs could literally fit in the palm of my hand. It was all user-friendly just as it had been in college and post-college. And my iPhone? Don't even get me started. Those Apple people are smart. And cute. And clever.

Then I had the pleasure of talking to that nice man from the Apple customer service line and he firmed the relationship. But today? Oh, that relationship was cemented.

Today we went on a field trip to the Apple store.

Yes, you read that correctly. Apple offers field trips to their stores for elementary students. They work with the kids on new projects or help to make existing projects better. Best of all? It's free. Oh, and the kids get a t-shirt and a certificate. Bonus.

I always knew those folks at that Apple place were smart. But what ingenious marketing. They grab the kids at a young age, give them a great experience, and send them on their way wearing bright yellow t-shirts that say, "Apple Store Field Trip". Brilliant.

But all marketing and propaganda aside, it really was a great experience. The people who helped our group (4 trainers) were great with kids, kept everyone including the adults entertained, and were excited to have us there. From the time we got there until we left, we were thoroughly engaged. They pulled out all the stops, including having us work right near the new iPads.

Didn't they know that they had me at hello?

On Gratitude

2010-04-05T15:57:00.005-04:00

The Easter Bunny brought a copy of Runner's World for Stein. I was flipping through it yesterday, and came upon a short piece by author Kristin Armstrong. In the article, she talks about the idea of gratitude. She starts the article by describing a run she went on where she had some hills to tackle. Her usual mantra for hills would be, I have to get through this. She began to think about people in her life who would love to be tackling those hills, but couldn't, for various reasons. She changed her mantra to, I get to do this. The mantra soon found its way into other areas of her life. She said that her attitude changed from one of obligation to one of gratitude.

I keep thinking about this idea and I have to say, it has started to creep into my attitude as well. I went on a run today and kept saying to myself, "I get to do this run this morning. I get to run on a Monday morning because I'm on spring break. I get to run this route." (Believe me, by the end of the run, I wanted to scream at that voice, "I GET IT. AND I'M OVER IT.") But all in all, it really made a difference.

I am guilty of so many times going from one thing to another, trying to wrap things up, getting things checked off a list, or not giving a thought to something I'm in the middle of doing. I also take a lot for granted. Voicing gratitude for the things I get to do, the people I get to hang out with, the sounds I get to hear, the beautiful things I get to see, or delicious food I get to taste, makes all of those things so much more important than they normally seem.

They are important.

Spring Break

2010-04-02T08:05:00.003-04:00

Ahhh. Vacation. Or should I call it staycation? Either way, I'm so happy and content to be off of school for a little over a week. The teaching gig is still going very well, but we all needed a break, kids included.

This spring break I am staying put. Although I would love to be in Arizona visiting my mom, the astronomical airfares kept me from going. Sigh. Being home will do me some good. There are a bunch of little projects that may or may not get done, some friends to catch up with, and some reading for pleasure to keep me busy. I may even take a trip to Chicago. Maybe. Or maybe not.

Happy Spring to you!

Are You Up for the Challenge?

2010-03-29T21:38:00.000-04:00

On All Things Considered on NPR on Sunday, they talked about a contest that is currently running. It's called "Three Minute Fiction" and it's now in the fourth round. The rules are to use the four words they list (in any of the possible forms - verb, noun, adjective) and the story needs to be read in three minutes. Since it has to be read in three minutes, they say to limit it to 600 words or less. The four words this week are:
plant
button
trick
fly

Here's a link for more information:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124543256&ps=rs

Are you up for it?

The Flip Side

2010-03-28T20:04:00.002-04:00

I had some issues with my iPod today and had to contact Apple customer service about it. I figured I would leave a message, they would call me back at their convenience, not mine, and I would be playing phone tag until I gave up.

Instead, I went to the website, answered some quick questions about my problem, clicked on the button that said I wanted to be contacted immediately, and waited. For a second. I'm not kidding, about a second after I clicked the button, our home phone rang. When I answered it, the computerized voice said, "An Apple representative will be with you shortly." The cynic in me immediately thought, here we go with the waiting. Now I'll probably have to keep pressing buttons until I give up. The cynic in me only had a second to think about it, though. The next second I heard a live person asking if he had Kelly on the phone and confirmed what my problem was.

When the easiest solution became downloading 1/2 of my library of 600+ songs again, he said he would wait to see if we could catch the culprit that caused my problem in the first place. He would wait? And I wasn't being charged for him to wait? In the time that I was called, to the time he was done, Stein went and took a shower, and was back downstairs. And the whole time we waited for the computer to do its thing we talked about music and computers. It wasn't creepy; he wasn't asking me where I lived or what I did for a living. We just talked about the various artists that were in my library (John Denver started the whole conversation on a funny note - no pun intended), and some of the bands that he worked for as a sound technician.

I found the whole experience to be helpful and refreshing. So different than the crazy customer service experience with the hotel. My belief in good customer service has been restored. Now if only I remembered his name, I could write a positive letter this time.

Mrs. Owl

2010-03-23T17:52:00.002-04:00

Check out this website:

http://www.sportsmansparadiseonline.com/Live_Owl_Nest_Box_Cam.html

It's a female owl in a box that people have in their backyard in California. There is a camera that sends a live video of the activity in the box. They named the female owl Molly, and the male's name is McGee. One of the eggs hatched, but there are more that are ready to hatch any day. Right now when I checked the site, she was feeding her baby.

We're kind of hooked on watching her. I walked into the office the other day, and I heard the sound of McGee. I said to the secretary, "Are you watching the owls?" She had such a surprised look on her face, and then laughed. Busted!

My Daily City: Population 26

2010-03-21T20:08:00.003-04:00

My classroom is like a mini-city. With all of the personalities, I find that there's a job for everyone. For some reason I am very cognizant of the personalities in this class. I think it may have to do with not having to worry every minute about classroom management, and having more time for observation.

In my class, the personalities run the gambit, but for the most part everyone gets along. Most of the personalities are complementary. We all have our moments, though. Just like a big family, there are bound to be quibbles or spats or disagreements.

In our city of 26, oftentimes the mayor is not me. I have a couple mayors who try to tell me what needs to be done in the city. Just the other day, one of the mayors said to me, "Mrs. Steinhauer, will you please get someone in here to vacuum the rug? There are lots of scraps of paper around." The timekeepers also keep me on my toes. If we are more than 2 minutes behind on the schedule, they let me know. One of the timekeepers says to me, "Running a little behind?" Another one just reminds me of the time.

I have many lawyers in the city who seem to come out of the woodwork when they find it selfishly appropriate. Fairness, equality, and justice are their specialties. They're not afraid to voice their opinions or use tears to try to get their point across. Their defense sometimes has some backing, but oftentimes it is unfounded.

There are many entertainers in the city. The comedians help us all laugh at some of the silly things that happen to us. They also help me to remember to laugh at myself, and keep things light. After all, it is a young population, and life doesn't need to be taken too seriously. The other entertainers are musicians, singers, and dancers. Some of the acts they perform take place in the hallways, in the class, or on the playground. Sometimes they want an audience, but most of the time they seem to be entertaining themselves. There are also a handful of social organizers who live for parties and socializing with friends.

Some of my favorite people in the city are the philosophers and dreamers. I see the far-off looks on faces and think that they're not paying attention. But when they raise their hands to make a connection or tell me a related story, I realize that they're just deep thinkers.

The artists, custodians, and organizers help to keep our city beautiful and clean. The nurses take care of everyone and are sure to ask the right questions when someone is hurt. They also like to accompany any patient who needs to journey outside of the city to the office for ice or to call a parent.

You are more than welcome to visit our city. I'm sure you would fit right in.

Editing

2010-03-17T19:19:00.002-04:00

If you follow me on facebook, or if you read my post about my trip out west recently, you know that it wasn't such a travel dream getting there. I have been trying to recoup spent money and it's like a part-time job. One day I was faxing and emailing and sorting through receipts for a good two hours or so. Not what I want to do with my free time, but you really have to keep up with it.

As part of this "project" I also wrote to the customer service people for the hotel that made me wait in the cold for two hours for the shuttle that never came. First I got a response from the corporate website saying that the General Manager of the hotel had a week and a half to respond to me. Then, when the GM wrote to me (5 days later - he was early!). Here's the letter he sent (keep in mind I did not change any of this letter):

Dear Kelly Steinhauer:

I would like to apologize for the shuttle service you encountered on February 20th . I would like to asure you that I have shared your comments with our Desk and Shuttle departments along with the General Manager of the Hampton Inn in order to examine the problem that occured that evening and to make make changes if needed in order that no future guest will wait a extended amount of time to catch one of our shuttles.

On that evening we were running one shuttle for the two hotels and usually that staffing is able to handle the demand of the airport we were not prepared for the amount of distress passenagers we encountered that evening. The shuttle was dispatched to pick up distress guests at the airport and the problem was two airlines had cancel fights at the same time and we brought back approx 40 people in a two hour time frame and for that level of activity we needed to have more shuttles running.

Please know that problems like this are rare as we communicate with the airport on a nightly basis and when the airport informs us of the amount of distress they will be sending us we make schedule changes to have the proper amount of shuttle service.

I will be sending you a certificate for a complmentary night next time your plans bring you into Denver .

Again,

I do apologize for the inconveince that we caused you that evening.

I have removed his name to protect him from embarrassment should he ever google his name and find this post. But seriously, how could you write a letter riddled with grammatical and spelling mistakes? Surely, all he needed to do was click on the spell-check button. I'll let the grammatical errors slide. I guess.

I didn't stop there. I called the customer service number and complained again. They were very rude to me and couldn't understand why a certificate for a free night at a hotel in Denver was unacceptable. I tried to explain that I was diverted there, that I don't intend on going back to stay in Denver.

Yesterday I got this letter from the GM (again, nothing has been changed):
Dear Kelly Steinhauer:

I sent out a free night gift certificate today that you may use on your next trip to Denver , This should arrive in the mail this in the next few days.

Again I do apolgize for the inconvience you encountered with our shuttle service on your last trip. You were not charged during your last trip by the Baymont Inn & Suites and I am able to offer you this free night for your next stay in Denver.

After all of this hullabaloo I have realized that the customer service policy we had at Einstein's was a really good one. Customers had to receive a response within 24 hours of their complaint. And I know it sounds like a really modern space odyssey kind of a thing, but we actually used the spell check function on our computers.

Imagine that.

The Light

2010-03-08T13:33:00.002-05:00

As much as I start hoping and waiting for it to start sometime in November, it always takes me by surprise. Somewhere at the end of January or maybe sometime in February, I notice that it's staying lighter later. Then I notice a shift of the time the sun is up when I get ready for school in the morning. My class has been tracking the hours of sunlight and have been making graphs too. But even though I know all of this and the science behind it, it just feels good. Having more light around is a pleasant, welcome surprise.

This weekend was beautiful, with sunshine everyday and temperatures above 40 degrees. I can't get enough of the sunshine. I found myself more than a few times, staring out the window at it. It's like I've never seen it before. And yes, I know that we could get snow at any moment, but I feel like we're past the point of caring too much about it.

My classroom faces east, just like my classroom did 2 years ago. But this year it's different. As I get ready in the morning, moving around my room and doing my morning routine, the sun is there with me. Two years ago, I held on to that morning sun just to get me through. Minute by minute, it seemed, with a hope for longer days and warmer weather, and eventually summer. Now the sun is a part of my routine, but I don't need it in that desperate sense like I needed it before.

2010-03-06T11:39:00.002-05:00

In the neverending quest to find recipes that are easy, yummy, and can last for a couple days as leftovers, I stumbled on this one that was in our paper. It fit all of the requirements and then some. If you like pulled pork, give this recipe a try. You don't even need the additional barbecue sauce. The sauce that you make is just fine. We had ours on kaiser rolls with cole slaw (of course on the sandwich). If you need a quick cole slaw to make, just grab a bag of cole slaw and mix it with Marie's cole slaw dressing (thanks Kris!).

Pulled Pork

1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 cups ketchup
1 teaspoon garlic powder or garlic salt
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
5-pound boneless pork shoulder roast, fat trimmed
Barbecue sauce for serving

In a mixing bowl, whisk the oil, vinegar, brown sugar, soy sauce, ketchup, garlic powder, onion and Worcestershire sauce together. Pour into a large zipper-top plastic bag. Place the pork in the bag with the marinade, seal the bag and turn the pork to coat. Refrigerate overnight, turning the bag once or twice.

Pour the entire contents of the bag into the insert of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 10 hours, until the pork is fork tender. Remove from the slow cooker, cover with foil and let rest for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, skim off any fat from the sauce.

Using two forks, shred the meat, then return it to the sauce. At this point, the pork may be refrigerated for up to 5 days or frozen for up to 2 months. Serve warm, with additional barbecue sauce.

What a Short Strange Trip It's Been, Cont.

2010-02-26T15:04:00.002-05:00

The flight into Denver was uneventful. I sat with a woman who I befriended, and we chatted the whole way as if this little side trip was all part of the plan. I got off the flight, headed to baggage claim and went right to customer service. I wasn't going to fool around. After talking to several people in customer service, including a baggage handler, I was told that my luggage was headed to Hayden, but they could intercept it and get it for me. Excellent, I thought.

But the day didn't want to run smoothly up to that point, what made me think it was over? The baggage handler came back up to the office with a worried look on his face. "Your luggage is already in Hayden," he said. At this point I had heard everything. But I was beyond defeated, I was just tired.

I called the hotel where I had arranged to stay through the airline's suggestion. The girl at the hotel told me that I needed to "Go out door 511 and wait on Island 3." I followed her directions and stood on island three. An island in the middle of a snowstorm, that is. The weather was unseasonably cold that night. Of course, why wouldn't it be? I got to experience just how cold it was, because I stood out there for TWO hours. I called the hotel about every half hour to inquire about a shuttle, and the lady at the hotel kept reassuring me that the van was coming, or going and coming back, or whatever. I had faith that I would eventually get there. When my faith ran out, I asked one of the other hotel vans if they had any vacancies. The kind kid driving the van called over and found a place. I was able to rest my cold and weary bones for about 4 hours before I had to get up in the morning and go back to the airport.

I was somewhat refreshed in the morning and was convinced that it was a new day. I got to the airport easy enough, went through a short security line, and made my way to the gate. The woman I befriended the day before joined me in the gate area, and chatted with me as we waited for the flight to board. "They didn't charge you for the room last night, right?" I looked at her like she was crazy. She went on to tell me that they didn't charge her for the room, that it was on the airline. I thought back to when the agent gave us the hotel information and swore she said, "This isn't for a free room, this is for a discounted room, usually about $50."

The flight to Hayden was uneventful except for the additional hour we needed to circle the airport to wait for conditions to improve. We did finally land and I thought my luck had turned around, finally. I walked confidently up to baggage claim customer service and asked for my bag that had been delivered the night before. The woman looked confused when I told her my situation. I had seen that confused look before. Something was not right. Again. She clicked the keys on her computer and stared at the screen, prolonging the bad news she was about to tell me. "Your bag is still in Salt Lake City. It will be delivered this afternoon."

Okay, I thought, I am in Hayden. I am on my way to see Chris and Patty. I will be able to sleep in a nice bed tonight wearing my own pajamas. I will be able to take a shower using all of my own toiletries.

As if I thought that was going to happen. I should've known. I talked to the airline that evening when I still didn't have my bag. The man on the other end of the line told me that I would have my bags that night. I repeated this back to him just to make sure. He simply said, "Yes."

I went to bed early that night, and actually got up in the middle of the night to see if the airline had delivered my bag while I was sleeping. No dice.

In the morning I called the airline back. The man on the other end told me that my bags were in Atlanta. "Atlanta?" I asked him. "I haven't even been to Atlanta!" He gave me some sort of far-fetched explanation and told me that I would have my bag that evening. I've heard this before, I thought.

In the meantime, he told me that I could shop for toiletries and clothes that I needed and I would be reimbursed by the airline. I also had a voucher for one of the local ski shops that rents ski pants, gloves, etc. for people who lose their luggage. Off to Wal-Mart I went to get the under clothes I needed, and then off to the ski shop to get the outwear. Then on to our lesson.

As we were enjoying some apres ski that afternoon, the call came in that my luggage was being delivered. That night, I almost couldn't believe my eyes when the luggage was in our condo.

I was able to enjoy two days of skiing (as opposed to the 3 I had planned on), and was able to breathe some fresh mountain air. But in reality, the trip felt more like work for most of the time than vacation. I was constantly thinking about what I had to do to get my luggage, or replace my luggage, or change gears when a wrench was thrown my way. Don't get me wrong, I had a good time when I was there, but I just felt rushed. Not my ideal way to spend a vacation.

What a short, strange trip it was.

What a Short, Strange Trip It's Been

2010-02-25T15:06:00.003-05:00

I went to Steamboat and all I got was lousy luck.

I'm back. I'm sure a lot of you know what happened to me via Facebook, but I'm sure (or not so sure) you want some of the details.

Chris and I had been talking about going on this trip since last year when we went skiing in Utah. We were bit by the ski bug and wanted to go again. We considered different places, weighed our options, and finally decided on Steamboat. The trip was planned back in December and morphed into a girls' trip including our friend Patty. As it got closer, I got more and more excited. The mountains. The crisp, fresh air. The sound of skis on snow. The relaxed atmosphere of the apres ski scene.

I woke up Saturday morning, my head filled with a list of things that I needed to throw into my suitcase at the last minute. I was excited. I love traveling, especially when it's for vacation. I was ready.

My flight to Minneapolis was uneventful, aside from the weird guy sitting next to me mumbling numbers to himself (and me) while trying to complete a Sudoku puzzle. I got off the plane and was looking at the board of departures for my flight to Steamboat. Chris called on my cell phone to tell me that she and Patty were possibly going to be diverted on their flight to Steamboat, but wouldn't know until they were in the air. I kept talking to her as I walked to the gate for my next flight. I didn't think that this issue pertained to me. I had visions of Chris and Patty somewhere stranded, and me sitting in our condo catching up on the Olympics. What I didn't realize at the time was that I was going to be the one stranded.

While on the flight to Steamboat, the pilot came on the intercom and told us that there was a chance that we were going to be diverted. Flying into Hayden (Steamboat) is a tricky thing, especially for bigger airplanes. Hayden is a small airport in a valley, with short runways. In short, the stars need to be aligned in order to land. As we were approaching the time that our flight was supposed to land, the pilot came back on and said that we were going to circle the airport for about 15 minutes to see if the wind and visibility conditions would improve. After 15 minutes, they didn't improve, so we were on our way to Salt Lake City.

I still didn't think anything of it. I thought, well, we need to land to refuel, and then we'll just go back to Hayden and try again. No problem, right? Um, wrong. As with any kind of issue with flights, the news was infrequent and confusing. First, the pilot didn't know what we were going to do. We needed to stay on the plane. Then, he said we were probably heading back to Minneapolis so no one could get their luggage if they decided to get off the plane and stay in Salt Lake City. About a minute after that, he said that they were going to get luggage off if people wanted to stay in Salt Lake City.

The people around me were in a frenzy. People were on cell phones talking to the airline, some groups were talking about renting cars and driving the 7+ hours it would take to get there, and still others (including me) were sitting there in a daze just trying to figure out what just happened.

In all of my years of business travel, I had never been diverted. Since the corporate headquarters were outside Denver, I had to travel to Colorado 3-4 times a year in addition to my weekly travel to other places. Again, I had never been diverted. I think that's why I was stuck in a daze. I wasn't used to it like I was used to other travel woes. Many hours delayed? No problem, I have time. Circling airports for hours? Piece of cake. Technical issues? I have a book to read, no worries.

I finally got off the plane when they were offering food vouchers (hey, food speaks to me). They still didn't know what they were going to do, but said that we should stay around the gate and wait for updates. In the meantime, I was boo-hooing to Stein on the phone, and he sprang into travel agent action. He had our home phone and cell phone going, while he tried to get answers and possibly book a ticket or get a hotel room for me. Chris and Patty had landed just fine in Hayden, and were en route to our condo. I was SO jealous.

I got some food and settled onto the floor of the boarding area where I plugged in my phone and waited for news. It seemed that the plan was that the plane was going back to Minneapolis, and people were being re-ticketed to do so. I was about to go over to be re-ticketed, when Stein called me and told me that I didn't want to go back to Minneapolis. He talked to an airline agent, and she told him that they couldn't guarantee that I would have a seat on the plane to Hayden the next morning.

I made my way over to the counter where the agents were frantically trying to get people re-booked on flights that would get them to Steamboat the next day. I heard some people were going to Atlanta. I heard some others were booked on a flight the next day out of Salt Lake City (which was eventually sold out). And a lot of the people were going back to Minneapolis to try the whole thing over the next day. At one point, someone asked the agent if she should get on the plane to go back to Minneapolis. The look on his face said it all, and I knew what I would be doing. Well, I knew what I wasn't going to be doing.

The agents were wonderful. I guess waiting to go up to the counter served me well. I was booked on a flight to Denver that night, with a flight from Denver to Hayden booked for the next morning. My luggage was re-routed to Denver, so I could just pick it up there when I got it that night. I was given more food vouchers and also a discounted hotel voucher. I was doing okay. Everything seemed okay as I took my flight to Denver and landed in the state (geographically) that I needed to be in.

To be continued...

Color in a Sea of Blah

2010-02-10T06:42:00.004-05:00

We have a snow day today, but I think I'm too excited to sleep. I can't tell you how much I wanted this snow day. Sure, the gig is going well, but I am loving this break. Right smack dab in the middle of the week helps too. I have visions of a lot of stuff getting done today, or nothing at all. Ah, the luxury of a snow day.

Before the snow hit us yesterday and today, it was starting to get really blah outside. You all know how much I loathe winter, and part of the reason is the way winter looks. The browns and greys really mess with me. And the lack of sun doesn't help either. So it's times like these that I welcome color. Any color. Wherever I can find it.

The theme this week seems to be red. And not because it's almost Valentine's Day. It's been mostly coincidental that red is the color. Don't get me wrong, I like Valentine's Day in a school kid, candy heart and chocolate kind of way. But Stein and I don't get all mushy over the day.

The first punch of red was a complete surprise and such a thoughtful gift. Jane and Shark sent me this gift of Honey Crisp (I heart Honey Crisp) apples and raspberry preserves. It was a gift to congratulate me on my new gig. Thanks again, Shark and Jane! (Notice two of them were gone already when I took this picture a couple days ago.)

The other punch of red came in the form of tulips. I know I may be rushing the tuilp season, but they really brightened my day and our house. Just a bit of color and seeing live things makes me hopeful for spring.

And the third punch of red I didn't get a chance to capture on film. Yesterday as Stein and I were leaving for work, I looked over to the bare bush between our house and our neighbor's. There, perched like he was on display, was a cardinal. Another sight that makes me hopeful for spring.

Spring is coming, right?

Overwhelmed by Support

2010-02-06T07:36:00.002-05:00

I am still waiting for the other shoe to drop with this now two-week old gig of mine. I figure that we're probably past the honeymoon period of getting to know each other. Frankly, it doesn't feel any different. I hesitate to say that I love going to work every day.

There are so many moments throughout the day that I think, "This is what teaching is about. This is why I changed careers." Moments like a low buzz heard around the room as table groups work together to figure out how to make quadrilaterals out of straws and twist ties (I don't remember learning the word quadrilateral until I was in high school. These kids are 3rd graders). Moments like receiving moans from the group when I break the news that I have to stop the read-aloud at the chapter's end. Moments like kids feeling safe enough to tell me things about their lives outside of school.

In the midst of trying to get caught up with currciulum that was not entirely in place before I arrived, I have received an overwhelming amount of support from parents, another third grade teacher, and the principal. Out of these, it's the parental support that has me in a bit of a tizzy.

There's two sides to this feeling. There's the side that in all of the previous teaching roles I've had, I have never had parental support. In fact, it was hard to even get a parent to call me back. That is, if their phone wasn't disconnected and I couldn't get through at all. And having parents to volunteer for things? Unheard of. Most, if not all of the parents, worked during the day, and if they didn't work, they had kids at home to take care of. I almost became used to this way of dealing with parents, almost thought that it was the norm.

And then there's my own neuroses. You see, I get a little nervous when I meet parents. Anyone's parents. I know you're thinking. I'm crazy. Don't worry, I know I'm crazy. I mean, who, in their thirty-something year of life is afraid to meet parents? Yep, that's me. When I was in my twenty-something year of life, I met Stein's parents for the first time. I almost made myself sick, I was so nervous. Sure, it was the girlfriend meeting the boyfriend's parents for the first time nervousness, but to me the scarier fact was that they were... gulp. parents. It didn't help that Shark, Stein's roommate at the time, made the wait before they arrived excruciatingly uncomfortable by making up stories about his parents and how mean they were.

Fast forward to my new gig. I get daily emails or visits from parents. Some inquiring about their little cherubs, some volunteering to help out with upcoming events, some stopping in to read with kids, do science presentations, or just introduce themselves. Given my experience with non-existent parental support, and my uneasy demeanor with parents in general, I have found this part of the job to be the most overwhelming and most difficult in accepting. I understand that it's silly. Again, I know that I'm crazy.

I have to say, that as difficult as it is or how overwhelming it may be to accept, it is so refreshing to have the support.

In Awe on a Field Trip

2010-02-01T21:52:00.002-05:00

When I started this gig almost 2 weeks ago, the other 3rd grade teacher filled me in on the field trips that we would be going on. I was torn between feeling a sense of relief of not having to plan lessons on the days that we had the trips, to the dread of not knowing what the little cherubs would do when they were out in public. You see, for kids, field trips are viewed as free-for-alls. They're out of the building, under limited supervision, and feel like they can act like they never knew about manners. So for teachers, field trips can be a nightmare.

Today's trip was more like a dream for me. First of all, the kids acted appropriately. There wasn't a lot of screaming and singing on the bus, which was good. And getting into the theatre didn't require any refereeing on my part. Everyone acted like they knew about manners.

Secondly, the performers who we want to see were incredible. You may know them from Paul Simon's album, Graceland. They're the South African singers on most of the songs on the album. This one is particularly famous. Their name is Ladysmith Black Mambazo, and they're amazing. The sounds that come out of their mouths are deep, rich, and from the heart.

I remember when I was a freshman in high school, taking the city bus to and from school and walking to and from the bus stop could take me 45 minutes each way. My walkman became my best friend. I listened to tape after tape in that thing, replacing batteries left and right. One tape stayed in my walkman for weeks and months. Graceland. I wondered about those singers, those voices so foreign to me. I tried to imagine what they looked like, how Paul Simon figured out how to capture their sound and weave it magically with his.

And now, some 20-something years later, I am seeing these singers live. It was pretty awesome.

The kids liked it too. The group did enough audience participation and dancing to keep the entire theatre enthralled. It wasn't until about 10 minutes before they were done that the kids started getting antsy. I was getting that way too.

We're lucky to live where we live, close enough to a university to take advantage of its wonderful cultural events. I was lucky to get to see people that have been singing to me from a distance for years.

A Simple Supper

2010-01-27T20:51:00.003-05:00

I was talking about my blog with a friend of mine (Hi Amy!) the other day, and she said that we always have such good things for dinner. Yes, we do make dinner every night (or heat up leftovers) during the week, but some days it's just a simple meal. Some days I need to pick up a few things at the store and I'll also pick up something that has little preparation. Trader Joe's is perfect for this. You can just heat it up and it's ready.

In the picture above, there's some pasta with jarred sauce, a salad with balsamic and olive oil and some chicken sausage (the sausage looks a bit creepy as I look at the picture). The total prep time was probably 15-20 minutes, or however long it took to cook the sausage and pasta.

The Two Francis'

2010-01-25T19:34:00.002-05:00

So I got a job. Well, I got another job. And I just started said job last Thursday. In a nutshell, it has been a crazy five days. Crazy as in one day I'm working with random groups of kids on various writing, math, and reading projects, to that night (not even the next day) I'm pushing bookshelves and desks around and putting paper on bulletin boards in a classroom.

It's been crazy. But I'm loving it.

This whole thing has been in the works since the last day before our holiday break. I haven't wanted to talk about it in fear of jinxing the whole thing. Now that I've been there for three days and nothing drastic has happened (knock on wood), I'll give you the skinny.

On that last day of school before break, I got a phone call from the principal at our neighborhood school. It's the school where Eric and Mia go, the school that is the one where a lot of the professors' kids go, the school where I would love to work permanently. The principal asked me if I would be interested in doing a long-term sub job in a 3rd-grade classroom. I tried to act all casual and said, "Yes, I would be interested, but I really have to talk to the person I am currently working with." I didn't hear the next words or sentences or paragraphs that she responded with, because all I kept thinking was, Are you kidding me? A long-term sub job at that school? Of course!

To make a long story short, I had to sub at the school one day while the principal observed me (gulp!) and then wait a while until she got everything planned out. She called me two weeks ago to offer me the position and I started last Thursday.

I haven't looked back. I did have a hard time saying goodbye to the kids whom I worked with at the other school, but nothing compares to the feeling of having my own classroom. I have experienced having my own classroom when I had that other long-term sub position in the 5th grade, but this feels different. What a difference two years and a different school makes, eh?

Do you want to know the weird thing? I am taking over the class from another long-term sub named Mrs. Francis. And the fifth grade I had two years ago? I took over for a teacher named Mr. Francis. What are the chances?

So far it's going well. I've been told by my co-worker that the previous teacher was in over her head and as a result let the curriculum and her relationships with the parents slip. I have my work cut out for me, but I don't mind.

The kids in my class are really well behaved, which is always half (or more) the battle. The kids are so well behaved that I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. I'm waiting for one of them to have a fit and throw something. I'm waiting for one of them to yell, "NO!" when he or she doesn't want to do something. But instead, I keep my voice at a steady level, feel relaxed enough to joke a little, and really feel like I'm teaching. Sure, there are more names added to the "names I don't like" list, but all in all, they're a great group.

Yes, what a difference two years makes.

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

2010-01-10T17:41:00.006-05:00

This weekend we didn't have any major plans, so we were at home most of the time. I loved it. I actually got my closet and dresser drawers cleaned out and organized. Five bulging bags are waiting to go to Goodwill. It felt so productive. We also got to play some games on the Wii. It's getting a little competitive around here!

Friday night we went out for a quick bite to eat, and Saturday I felt like making something at home. I had seen this recipe on the blog, White on Rice Couple (link to their blog is under the "blogs that I read" to the right). The minute I saw it, I wanted to try it. We love Sriracha sauce and chicken wings, so why wouldn't we love the combination?

The prep wasn't too bad. And since the wings are baked in the oven, you don't have to futz with deep frying. I told Stein that we had to remember that these weren't going to taste like Buffalo wings. "So what if I don't like these?" he asked. "I better like them." Oh, the threats!

I tossed the wings in the sauce (Note: I only used 1/2 of the sauce I made and the wings had a good amount of kick) and took a bite. Oh, mama. These wings are good. Stein took one and bit into it and said. "Oh yeah, I like these wings." They have a good amount of heat, but it's not unbearable. I think we'll use the rest of the sauce I made for some pork chops we have in the freezer. Oh, there weren't any leftovers. They're that good.

But that wasn't the whole meal. We also needed some blue cheese sauce for the wings. We made this one from the Barefoot Contessa that turned out perfect. (We actually used about 1/3 of the recipe, and it was plenty for the amount of wings called for in the wing recipe).

We needed something starchy too. We made these potatoes which we've made on the grill. So easy and so yummy. Since we didn't want to brave the cold to light up the grill, we just used our indoor grill. There was no difference.

This was the perfect meal for keeping warm inside when the weather was too cold on the outside. Enjoy!

Re-Doing Resolutions

2010-01-06T20:14:00.002-05:00

I could probably just link you to this post since it holds the same sentiments that I'm feeling today. (I was at the gym today and I had to explain to one of the newcomers how to use a machine. You can just tell these people by the expression on their faces. Deer in headlights, wandering around, and only staying on a machine for 10 minutes.)

But first I have to write a bit. I feel like I'm getting rusty. I look at the post counter on the right side of this blog and see how over the past few years the amount of posts has dwindled. I don't have any one excuse for this. There were those long-term sub jobs that I had, and some life-stuff that has happened over the course of the past year, but really nothing that has kept me away from writing. Except of course, laziness.

Which leads me to my next topic. It's that thing called exercise.

I was getting back at it, really I was, right before the holidays. I would pack my bag, throw it in the car in the morning, and go directly to the gym after school. I even started running on the treadmill again. And then, the endorphins must have messed with my thinking in the process. Because sometime in mid-December, at a party, I told Stein that we would run a 10K in June. (Maybe it wasn't the endorphins, maybe it was the wine). So there's that.

The holidays happened, and the exercise was thrown out the window. Along with eating right. Unless of course, you mean "right" by me putting the right amount of junk in my mouth at regular intervals during the day.

So with millions of other New Year's resolution people out there, I'm getting back to exercise. I think then the eating will come into place. Think being the operative word. At least I know how to use the machines.

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T07:36:00.001-05:00

Just a quick post to give you some recipes that may be good for the upcoming weeks and months (ugh) of winter.

When we got back from Chicago (I just realized that I never posted about our Christmas - um, well, I'll get to that in the next few days...) we were feeling full and gluttonous after a long weekend of eating, and snacking, and drinking.

It was also cold outside, so I wanted something that would be nice and warm, relatively healthy, but not too filling. I also wanted to use (if I could) what we had on hand, seeing that the credit card bills would be coming soon. Minestrone soup it was. I used this recipe which was easy in the production of it, but pretty tedious in terms of chopping, etc. Wow, it was really good, and made enough for us to have leftovers for a couple days. I also tweaked the recipe a little. I added a handful of frozen chopped spinach, used 28 oz. of tomatoes rather than the 14 oz. it calls for, and also used one extra zucchini.

The next night, I aimed to make something for dinner that wouldn't lead to a trip to the grocery store. I saw that we had some Parmesan pesto turkey burgers from Trader Joe's. That was a start, but we needed something to go with it. I had a potato, but not enough for fries or mashed potatoes. How about a pasta salad? Not normally what you think of in the winter, but I tried it. I used this recipe and it went perfectly with the burgers. It would also taste great on its own. Although I wouldn't recommend the burgers - they were lacking in something.

Today, I made this toffee, which I got from a link on Shivaya Naturals. I haven't tasted it yet, but it was super easy to do. I used parchment paper in my pan so it wouldn't stick so much, but that's the only thing I did differently. I can't wait to taste it. It looks yummy.

Enjoy!

*Sorry - no pictures this time. I realized that I should've taken pictures when the first 2 recipes were tucked away in tupperware. And the toffee, well, I'm lazy.

Surprise and Wonder

2009-12-31T10:21:00.003-05:00

I was getting all ready to make my bah humbug post this morning. I had it all formulated in my head, ready to stumble downstairs, turn on the computer and start typing. In fact, yesterday, I posted "Actually am excited to kiss 2009 goodbye" as my status on Facebook. (2009 has been a tough year for us. Some stuff I have shared with you on this blog, and some stuff has been too personal to share. But suffice to say, 2009 will not be missed.)

I did the stumbling down the stairs, and the turning on of the computer, but I didn't type. I started reading all of the blogs I normally read, in the order that I normally read them (yes, I am that anal retentive). In the meantime, I called Stein and left a message at his office to see what we were going to do for New Years Eve tonight.

We had haphazardly invited friends over, very last minute, for a get-together. Stein and I have never been New Year's Eve fans. We prefer to just hang out with friends, have some champagne, and give each other a midnight kiss when the ball drops. So when I invited people over, I just told everyone it would be casual, that we may make breakfast, or paella, or chili. Yeah, we had no clue what we were going to do, and still don't. But by the non-responses we've received, it may be Stein and I, the couch, and some take-out. Fine with me.

I was wavering back and forth between being excited that we didn't get any responses, to being a bit grumbly about the whole thing. I wanted to see friends, wanted to kiss 2009 goodbye, and ring in the New Year with hopes for good health, happiness, and new beginnings.

When Stein called me back, we talked briefly about the possibilities for food tonight and tomorrow, made a short shopping list, and then moved on to other things. "The gym was closed this morning," he said. Sometimes he says this even if the gym isn't closed as an excuse to get out of his early morning workout, so I thought he was joking. He went on to tell me that it opened later this morning because it was New Year's Eve. "So what did you do?" I asked. "Well," he went on, "It's perfect snow outside, perfect for packing. So I went over and made a snowman for Eric and Mia. I'm waiting for them to get up and call me about it."

I have to say, dear reader(s), that my heart melted a little, or grew ten sizes as the Grinch's heart did. My bah humbug post went right out the window.

Who thinks of doing this at 6-something in the morning? To give the kids a surprise when they open the shades, to show them that someone thought of them, to get excited at their response. And that ladies and gentlemen, is reason #532 why I married that man.

Happy New Year to you and your loved ones. May it be filled with good health, happiness, love, laughter, and surprise and wonder. I know that it's going to be a good year. It's starting out just fine already.

Savoring Sleep

2009-12-23T07:23:00.002-05:00

I have to admit, I love to sleep. I come from a family of sleepers, and we treasure our sleep. As I've said before, when I was a little girl, my parents never had to tell me when to go to bed. I would tell them. Often times, I would go and get ready for bed, and yell downstairs, "Okay, I'm in bed! You can tuck me in now!" Sometimes when someone would come up to tuck me in, I would already be asleep. I still have a pretty strict bedtime that I follow, especially on school nights. And on those nights, I am asleep within a short amount of time.

I know I'm lucky. I don't have much trouble falling asleep or sleeping through the night. There has to be something monumental rattling around in my brain to keep me up at night. But fortunately this rarely happens. I can probably count the number of times I've been up at night by thinking back to huge or stressful moments in my life. And I typically don't have trouble sleeping in different places. All those years of countless hotels I stayed in, most of them with hard mattresses, polyester sheets and rock hard pillows, didn't affect my sleep. I slept like a road warrior baby.

Being on vacation has been wonderful for my sleep. Even if I stay up later than my usual bedtime, I have the luxury of sleeping in to make up the time. I have to admit, though, even though I have visions of sleeping in like a hormonal high schooler, I am up every morning at about the time my alarm would normally go off. Lately I've been getting up and doing things to prepare for the upcoming holiday, or actually getting my butt to the gym.

I hate to admit it, but I think I may be a morning person. I guess I always have been, but have been reluctant to admit it. The grass is always greener, I suppose, but I have some sort of late-night envy for those people who can stay up late, getting things done in a manic sort of way. I've tried, really I have, but without the right amount of sleep, I'm like a 3-year old who desperately needs a nap.

Luckily for me this break, I can take a nap if I need it.

Light in the Darkness

2009-12-22T10:43:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, on the shortest day of the year, we went to Greenfield Village to see the Holiday Nights that they have there. I wrote about it last year here, when we went with our friends to experience it. This year, it was just Stein and me, and we also added a dinner at the tavern there.

Being there a second time made me notice different things. Last year, it was bitterly cold, so we went from bonfire to bonfire to try to warm up. We also went into a lot more of the houses to keep warm. This year, the temp wasn't too brutal, which allowed us to pick and choose where we wandered and what we saw. We stopped to get some hot cocoa to sip as we walked, and then saw some glass blowers making glass candy canes in their workshop. At one point, they turned off the overhead lights, so all the light that we saw was the blazing fires in their ovens, and the hot molten glass being twisted into candy canes. We also took a ride in a Ford "buggy" (a custom made "station wagon" made with a Ford motor and chassis) along streets lit with gas lanterns.

This year I also took notice of the light. Being the shortest day of the year, of course it was pitch black outside when we arrived. Yet, the gas lanterns, bonfires on every corner, and baskets of little fires near the houses were all glowing.

In the middle of dinner at the Eagle Tavern, Stein said, "Are there any lights in here besides the candles on the table?" I looked around and was amazed. The huge room with 20-30 tables of 8 - 10 people was only lit by 2 huge hurricane vases on each table which held a single tapered candle. The room was not brightly lit, but it didn't need to be. We could see what we were eating and could read the menu that had all of the food listed (butternut squash soup, pork and apple pie, beef, chicken, and ginger cake). It had such a warm, cozy feeling.

At the end of dinner, we wandered to the town square where the fireworks were to take place. Before the fireworks started, all of the people dressed in period costumes trudged across a field holding lanterns and ringing bells. They gathered at the town hall and started singing Christmas carols just as the fireworks started. Even if this light, like the bonfires or the candles at dinner, was man made, it was more light in the darkness.

More light. A reminder for us on the longest, darkest night, there is always light somewhere, created by us or nature. May your days be filled with light, made by you, by others, or nature.

Staying In and Taking in the Sights

2009-12-21T10:31:00.005-05:00

Today I had to bring my car into the dealer, so I am without a car for most of the day. The feeling of being stranded quickly escaped me after I sat down with some peanut butter toast and some hot cocoa while I chatted with Mickey on the phone. I am now wrapped up in my favorite blanket in my favorite position on the couch.

The house has been decorated for a while now, and this weekend we actually had some time to slow down and enjoy it while getting into the spirit. Here are some pictures so you can enjoy it and get into the spirit too:

Memories from Music

2009-12-19T11:01:00.007-05:00

The one thing that helps me get into the spirit of the season is listening to Christmas music. I never rush the season so I listen to holiday tunes after Thanksgiving. There are a handful of Christmas CDs that have stayed with me through the years, and find a place in my car's CD player every year. Sure, there have been new ones that have made the collection bigger, but these five or six CDs are the ones I listen to over and over. Every time I listen to them, I not only sing along with the songs, but I have so many memories connected with them as well.

Here they are, in no particular order:

John Denver and the Muppets A Christmas Together

This was one of the first Christmas records I owned. I remember my sister Andy gave me this record (yes, those black vinyl discs that turned round and round while a needle sat on it) along with Alvin and the Chipmunks Christmas album. I replaced the John Denver album with a CD sometime in college, and I have had it ever since. I can't go through a Christmas season without listening to this CD, because it's this music that gets me in the spirit. It's a fun collection of favorites, and some lesser known tunes. John Denver's solo songs are some of my favorites.

White Christmas by Bing Crosby

I remember listening to this record as a kid, staring at Bing on the dusty record cover. For some reason, Silver Bells with it's "City Sidewalks, Busy Sidewalks" line reminds me of a field trip

I took when I was in first grade. We walked through the snow up to Lincoln Square, which wasn't far from our school. We looked at all of the stores that lined the streets, and then came back to school and drew huge murals of what we saw. What seems like such a simple field trip is still such a vivid memory for me.

The other songs that I love on this CD are It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas (which reminds me of the way my mom would sing this every year as we would decorate the house) and Mele Kalikimaka (which reminds me of Hawaii, of course).

Harry Connick, Jr. When My Heart Finds Christmas

This CD always brings memories of decorating both (yes, we had two) trees at my Mom and Rich's house. We would play this cassette and sing along while we decorated. I also remember a few years later at one of the Christmas parties that Chris and I had, our friend Brad couldn't get enough of the song It Must've Been 'Ol Santa Claus. He parked himself in front of one of the speakers in front of the stereo and sang along with the song over and over again.

A Charlie Brown Christmas

I don't have any specific memories that come up when I listen to this music, other than watching the show growing up and now when Eric and Mia come over to decorate the tree. This is probably my favorite Christmas CD.

May your season be filled with music and memories!

What Did I Say About Enjoying The Season?

2009-12-17T05:59:00.000-05:00

Yeah, ignore that. It has happened. I am desperately trying to get into the spirit of the season, trying to slow down and enjoy the lights, and music and giving, and everything else that goes along with the season. On my way to and from Mickey's this past weekend, I listened to a Christmas book on CD. But I even felt distracted by that.

I don't know what it is. It may have something to do with all of the expectations that I've put on myself. Decorating the house, making and giving gifts, getting together with friends. It's all stuff I think should be getting done, rather than things that need to be done. I do believe that 2 weeks off will help alleviate this feeling tremendously. It will give me time to actually get stuff done.

As I was in my car not listening to the book on CD, I was thinking about past Christmas mornings and what some of my favorite gifts were. While I can only think of a few, what really comes to mind are Christmas traditions and memories I have.

So the next few blog posts (I'm not going to promise dates for these posts) will be about holiday memories. Things that remain with me, and help me to remember the spirit of the season. That's what I need right now.

And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more. -Dr. Seuss

Christmas Scenes

2009-12-15T19:17:00.003-05:00

These past few weeks have been filled with some Christmas activities. Parties, decorations, and baking. Here are a few pictures:

Trimming the Tree

This is an annual tradition of ours that has evolved over the years. Eric and Mia help us put on the ornaments. The finishing touch is the angel, which is a bit tricky on a tall tree.

Polar Express Day

At Mickey's school, they have Polar Express Day in the 2nd grade. The kids are told to come to school with their pj's on, but they didn't know why. (All the teachers also wore pj's, so I did too!)When the kids got to school, there was a Polar Express ticket on their desks. They still didn't really know what was going on. Then the principal, dressed like a conductor, bounded into the room, and shouted, "All aboard!" It was great to see the looks on their faces. The conductor punched their tickets and then all the classes went to the cafeteria where donuts and hot cocoa were waiting. When they got back to the classroom, there was a bell in every desk. It was a great day!

Mama Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Watch Wrestling

2009-12-02T17:53:00.002-05:00

I don't mind wrestling. I do think that it's sort of a silly sport, but I won't get into that now. I also think that the stuff that surrounds the sport is equally silly. But I also won't get into that now.

For a while, while I had that 5th grade long term sub gig, I occasionally watched wrestling to be able to have conversations with my students. It seemed that half the class was into wrestling. (Did I write about this once before? I'm having a case of deja-vu.) Anyway, the kids in my class LOVED wrestling. At recess the next day they attempted to show the latest moves they saw the night before. They also wore t-shirts, printed out pictures from the internet, and talked incessantly about wrestling. I became familiar with all of the wrestler's names, and all of the days and times that wrestling was shown on TV. I even had some kids absent the day after a wrestling event was held in Detroit. It was way past their bedtimes by the time the event ended. Alright, I guess I can understand this one-time thing. Special occasion?

But bedtimes are bedtimes, and I'm a true believer that bedtimes should be followed every night if possible. (This is coming from a girl who put herself to bed each night without being asked, but kids do need their sleep.)

Yesterday I was helping two kids with their writing (Final drafts! Amen!) and one of them started complaining that he felt sick. I asked the usual questions: "Do you feel like you're going to throw up?" "Does your head hurt?" and also felt his forehead for a fever. Nothing seemed to be wrong. He did manage to tell me that he was up the night before for his favorite show which started at 9:00 and lasted 2 hours. When I asked him what the show was, he said, "Wrestling." He is 8 years old. I'm sure that he needs to get up by 7:30 am at the latest. I know you can do the math, but he only slept 7-8 hours! Of course he didn't feel well. He ended up going home shortly after I was with him.

Today when he was well rested after an afternoon of sleeping yesterday, he told me that his dad went on the wrestling website and downloaded one of the wrestler's theme songs as a ring tone on his cell phone. His teacher also told me that he will be missing a couple days in March when he and his dad fly to Arizona to see a wrestling event.

Wait. What? Here is a student who is reading at a low level. Here is a child who has a hard time concentrating on his writing, or math, or reading, because he is too tired. Do you see a connection here? It doesn't take a teacher to know what's good or bad for a child's learning. So much of it starts at home. There are such things as DVRs, or VCRs to tape shows and watch at another time. There are such things as bedtimes to follow. And there are such things as books which should be read instead of staying up late and watching wrestling.

Okay, I'm off my soap box now. Ahem.

Giving Thanks

2009-11-26T10:18:00.003-05:00

I went for a short walk this morning, and while it sleeted a little and I caught glimpses of matted piles of wet leaves, I couldn't help but think of Hawaii. Strange, I know, but let me explain. Stein and I have been lucky to have been in Hawaii three times, and two of those three times have been around and on Thanksgiving.

The first time we were there, we were part of a group that had won the trip as part of a sales incentive. The people who organized the event thought that we should have a traditional Thanksgiving dinner on Thanksgiving. The whole event just seemed weird. We walked through the open hallways of the hotel lined with palm trees until we reached a banquet hall.

We could've been at anyone's wedding in this room, it was so generic. We were each served a plate full of turkey, stuffing, and potatoes drizzled with gravy. We didn't have to pass platters around the table, we didn't have to stand in line fighting for one of the two turkey legs available. The conversation was friendly and cordial, but it definitely didn't feel like Thanksgiving.

The next time we were in Hawaii for Thanksgiving, we decided to throw tradition out the window and go to Mama's Fishhouse for dinner. Friends had raved about it. It was perfect. When we got there, we navigated our way through a pathway marked with tiki lights to get to the little tiki-hut restaurant. The inside of the restaurant has a tiki theme, but not cheesy. The best part is the menu. Each fish that is listed has a description of the place and the fisherman/woman who caught the fish. Talk about buying local!

I would love to be in Hawaii right now. I wouldn't be in sweat pants and a sweatshirt sitting under a fleece blanket. But I also wouldn't be surrounded by family like I will be later today. For a brief time this afternoon, Hawaii will come in second. Talk to me tomorrow, though. It will probably be in first again.

Happy Thanksgiving, wherever you are! Enjoy those around you. Cherish the moment. Give thanks for all you have.

Making Treats

2009-11-25T17:24:00.003-05:00

My friend Linda have been planning what we're going to make for Christmas gifts this year. I'm not a really crafty person, but I can make food to give away. Just another thing which I blame my mom - she always baked goodies to give to the teachers and helpers at school. Now I'm doing the same, with some of the same recipes.

Mickey and I usually make sugared pecans to give away at Christmas time. Whenever I make this recipe and smell the cinnamon and pecans roasting, it makes me remember going to Georgia Nut Co. with my mom to buy the pecans needed for the recipe. We would be there sometime after school, when we would usually run our errands. The place would be packed and we always had to take a number and wait our turn. My mom would order the pecans and the person would pack our order in a plastic bag with a funky paisley design and a yarn drawstring handle.

In addition to the pecans, Mickey and I also make short bread. It's a really easy recipe, and makes the most delicious short bread. Not to mention the amount of butter that goes into it. Oh mama.

This year Linda and I decided to try some candy. We did a test run of this recipe last weekend. Before we did this, I was really intimidated by the candy thermometer. I thought that if I didn't watch it like a hawk, that I would end up with blobs of candy stuck to my stove and ceiling for years. Maybe it was Willy Wonka who scared me about candy going awry. Who knows. But the result? A success! The recipe calls for this candy to be served with ice cream, and I think that would be really good.

We're going to keep experimenting with recipes. It's kind of fun to step out of my comfort zone. As long as I don't step away from the thermometer.

A Year Later

2009-11-22T09:02:00.002-05:00

A year ago right now, Stein and I were preparing to have my side of the family here for Thanksgiving. We actually had the table set, the turkey was thawing in the fridge, and lists for everything were made.

What a difference a year makes.

This year we won't be hosting anyone. We will be making potatoes and green bean casserole and bringing it over to Stein's sister's house. After all of the traveling back and forth to Chicago and hosting parties and people here, I couldn't be happier. I am so looking forward to having the time off, relaxing and getting some things done around the house.

We're lucky to have Wednesday and Friday off in addition to the holiday, so I'm looking forward to a mini-vacation of sorts. We don't have any set plans other than Thanksgiving, so I'm looking forward to doing whatever, whenever.

I'm hoping that I can keep it simple and enjoy the moment. I always try to go into the rush of the holiday season with a relaxed attitude. I hate getting to the other side of the season feeling overwhelmed, exhausted and disappointed.

I hope you and your family have a wonderful time spent together, wherever you are.

Writing

2009-11-18T19:42:00.002-05:00

I had a great day today at school. It was one of those days that as a teacher, you see glimpses of progress or light bulbs going off, or kids thanking you for your help. I had a little bit of all of these things, so it was a great day indeed.

I had been struggling for a while on how to teach writing. Sure, there is a myriad of techniques out there which aim at different aspects of writing. There is no silver bullet, like everything in learning, but it's writing that stumps me the most. It's not cut and dry like a math problem. There aren't any set dates like in history.

As with any subject I teach, I struggle to remember just when and how I learned something. It's nearly impossible. Not because I'm old and don't have a great memory (ahem), but because I don't think that any one instance in time set the knowledge in my brain. I'm positive that most things built on each other and my knowledge of anything is a compilation of experience, practice, and good teaching. And the thing about when I learned to write? It was all grammar. I could diagram the heck out of a sentence. I could tell you all about nouns, verbs, adverbs, and adjectives (thank you, Schoolhouse Rock).

Now writing isn't taught like that. First, the content matters. Writing is more authentic. Prompts are rarely given, and kids are free to choose their topic. They may be working on a certain genre like persuasion or personal narratives, but they may choose what they want to write about. Mechanics become secondary. While I agree that kids need choices in their writing and there's more investment if it's something personal, I think that the mechanics are being neglected. (I think this may be another post. I'll stop about the mechanics now.)

Yet, being the person I am, I want a way that I can reach the students who I work with. I want to give them the tools they need to write well, and enjoy writing like I do. I struggle sometimes when I am listening to them tell me a story and I just want to write it down for them. I want to get it on paper. I want to expand on their ideas. I cringe when I hear, "I don't know what to write about." After giving 50 suggestions of topics, I want them to start writing immediately. Usually I'm lucky if I get their name at the top of their paper.

But today, in two separate classes, I had kids who were writing. And enjoying it. Kids who sat next to me and discussed their writing with me. I heard things like, "Does this sound interesting, or what can I add here?" or "I know I need to write more, so hold on and let me finish this." Kids who normally sat there biting their erasers off of their pencils while staring at the ceiling, actually had their heads bent down over their paper. They were re-reading their work and editing. I suddenly had one of those clouds-parting, sun-shining, angels-singing moments. It was heavenly. I even heard thank yous. My day was complete.

It's days like these that keep teachers going. I have a feeling I will be going for a while. At least until next week.

Reflections

2009-11-17T19:57:00.002-05:00

Every year about this time I tend to do some reflecting. It starts around my birthday and carries me into the new year. I reflect on the year past, think about the year ahead, and make a mental inventory about people in my life. I get sentimental in these months, and it's not unusual for me to be daydreaming about birthdays back in the day, or that Christmas when I jumped up and down when I got the Adidas sweatsuit I wanted. You know, the one with the logo on the jacket and the pants? Oh yeah, it was a big deal.

This past week as I was celebrating my birthday, I have been thinking about birthdays past. But first I have to give Stein a lot credit for always making my birthday fun. You see, he stretches it into a birthday month for me, with gifts (of all different shapes and sizes) for me throughout that time. I am spoiled, I know. But you know how much of a gift person I am, right? Giving or getting, it doesn't matter. I love it.

So back to birthdays past. One of my favorite memories was when I was probably 5 years old, through the time I was probably 9. I would be woken up by The Beatles Birthday Song, with Mickey dancing in my room and singing along. She would grab my hand, pull me out of bed, and before you knew it, both of us would be dancing and jumping around my room singing to the Beatles. That was how I would start my day, with parts of the song like, "yes we're going to a party, party" going through my head for the rest of the day. I think about that every year on my birthday. What a fun memory.

This year I not only celebrated with friends throughout the week, I actually got to share birthday cake with all of my siblings this past weekend. I can't tell you the last time we were all together on my birthday. Seriously, it may have been my 16th birthday, I don't know. Being the youngest of five kids pretty much guarantees by the time you hit 16, the following years will have people scattered all over the place and unable to get together at the same time. So this year was special. Stein of course was on top of it and brought a cake along with us to Chicago. It was a little surreal to be standing there listening to my siblings and nieces and nephews singing happy birthday to me. I loved it.

It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving is already next week and Christmas is a month after that. This year I will be once again trying to slow down, take in the season in a simple way, and be thankful for the friends and family who will be with me. A time to reflect and a time to make new memories which will someday be reflections.

Before I Forget

2009-11-11T18:10:00.002-05:00

There are a few recipes that we've made in the last few weeks that have been good enough to share. I feel like there are others that we've made, but the days have been blending together in a big here-one-day-gone-the-next-house-guest blur.

This recipe has kind of a funny story. I actually read the reviews for it before I started cooking. I read that some people substituted chili sauce for the salsa. One reviewer said that they used Asian chili sauce. So when I ran out of salsa, as I was doubling the recipe, I took out our bottle of Sriacha chili sauce (the one with the rooster on it) and used it. I didn't really think of the heat factor. In my mind, I was equating the chili sauce with the salsa. Hmmm. I should've thought back to all the times we eat our pizza or eggs with chili sauce - you only need a little. And I mean, a little. Like one dip and your mouth is on fire.

So when Stein and I sat down to eat that night, we went through an entire Brita pitcher of water, more rice than we needed, and slathered on some sour cream toward the end. The flavor was fantastic. But just a warning - if you use chili sauce, a little dab'll do ya.

The next recipes we made this past weekend when we had our house guests. It's perfect because you can make them the night before and once they're baked in the morning, you can easily have these out for people to help themselves. It worked out great. People were fed, we didn't have to spend time in the kitchen, and the clean-up was easy. We even had leftovers the next 2 days which came in handy when neither one of us wanted to cook. This first one we made without meat for the non-meat eaters in the group; the second one we left as is.

As our travels die down and we're home more, I'm sure there will be many other recipes. Enjoy!

Friends Meeting Friends

2009-11-08T17:46:00.002-05:00

This weekend Sandy and Ryan came in from Wisconsin to visit us. They picked up Chris in Chicago on the way, so our house was full of friends and laughter the whole weekend.

On Saturday, we hosted friends at our house before the U of M game. It was interesting to me while we tailgated at our house, then went to game, came back to our house after, and went out for dinner later, how all of our friends got along so well. Stein and I were the first degree of separation so to speak. Our friends were from different times and places in our lives, yet had no problem making conversation and inevitably laughing. There were friends who Stein grew up with, college friends of mine, some family, friends we've known since moving to Ann Arbor, and friends we've made in the last 2 years (hi, Amy!).

I was never nervous that someone would be left out of the conversation, or that I would have to keep checking in to see if everyone was having fun. I know I've said it before, but what I love about being with any of our friends is the laughter. There are so many memories, old and new, that we just pick up from the last time and continue to laugh about. Mixed in with this laughter is time spent catching up on recent events, struggles, and life stuff. The bonds tighten, and we look forward to the next time we'll be together.

I cherish the friends we have. The friends who knew us then, and know us now, and love to laugh.

Here and There

2009-11-05T22:05:00.002-05:00

So I bet you're tired of looking at that picture of the bagel and tea, eh? Yeah, I know I've been neglecting the blog in the past weeks and months. I've been trying to get back to normal, but I'm not so sure I know what normal is anymore.

We've been busy, and have been either out of town or hosting guests for the past, oh, 4 or 5 weekends. Don't get me wrong, it's all been great catching up with people here and there, but then suddenly you get to a point, right about Wednesday night, when you can't figure out where you are, where you need to be, and if you have clean underwear to wear in the morning. You know, all that life stuff catches up and all you can think about is packing or unpacking a bag.

One huge thing that has helped me in the past week is that I finished working the after school program. It was a seven-week program where I worked with fifth graders at the school where I was for the past two years. The concept in itself was not bad, but my new school is clear across town from the other one. So everyday, I would leave the house at 8:00, and get home somewhere around 6:30. It may not sound like a long day to some of you, but believe me, I couldn't do anything at the end of the day except eat dinner and watch TV. Underwear can be turned inside-out, right?! To tell you the relief I feel since the program ended is indescribable. I now go to the gym right after school on my way home, and I am still home an hour or more earlier than before.

Oh, and I don't think I've told you all that my current job has turned into a 5-day-a-week gig. The schedule is such that we need to be there 5 days a week, which is perfectly fine with me. No stalking the sub system, no wondering where I'll be everyday, no dealing with kids who are taking advantage of having a sub.

I hope that with the increased time I can write more here. I do feel a void when I can't write on a regular basis. I'm not going to promise anything, but I'm hoping it will be more often. We'll see.

Fall

2009-10-26T20:05:00.003-04:00

The air is crisp and cool. The sunlight lingers when it's around, and then is abruptly gone at the end of the day. One minute I'm coming home from school in daylight, the next minute I look out the window and it's pitch black outside. It's fall.

I know I've written about my favorite cool-weather drink, chai tea latte, and my favorite fall breakfast food, pumpkin bagels. But put them together, and oh mama, it's perfection. A little spicy and warm. It just feels cozy.

Stein brought a dozen of the bagels home a couple weeks ago, and the rationing has begun. I only allow myself one to two bagels per week in order to ensure that they're not gone in a short time. I always have one on Friday, and then usually one on Saturday or Sunday. Yes, I'm somewhat of a routine freak. But I think you already knew that.

I was talking to Mickey the other day and we were discussing pumpkin stuff. We're both big fans of all things pumpkin. I could eat a pumpkin shoe if there ever was one. (I'm sure it would look cute too.) Later this week Stein and I will be carving pumpkins and roasting pumpkin seeds. Can't wait.

Happy Fall to you!

The Hat

2009-10-18T10:31:00.004-04:00

I don't know if I have ever wrote a piece about Stein's love of Michigan football. Well, in a nutshell, suffice it to say that the man is a rabid fan.

If you have ever been to Michigan Stadium, then you probably know that the stadium, even though it seats over 100,000 people, is a pretty quiet stadium. Some contribute this quiet to the shape of the stadium itself that allows noise to go straight up into the sky, some contribute this quiet to the many elderly fans who are sometimes woken up from their naps by a touchdown or a row mate who may need a hot dog. Or woken up by a random outburst of "AAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHH!" by Stein. I learned early on that you don't talk when you are sitting with Stein at a Michigan game. Like at all. Unless it's halftime - maybe. And the aforementioned outburst is the only thing that breaks this silence. I welcome it for some comedic relief, and for breaking the tension temporarily.

So with this work of being at a Michigan game, it's not surprising that there is a sort of uniform involved. The key component to this uniform? The hat. I don't say "a hat" because the article "a" doesn't convey the importance of this particular hat. It's the same style hat that Bo Schembechler wore for his successful years of coaching Michigan football.

Photo courtesy of espn.com

There's kind of a ritual surrounding the hat. Every morning before a U of M game, Stein sets out the hat, with his tickets inside of the hat. This ensures that he won't forget either one. The hat stays off until it's time to walk from the tailgate to the game. Then it gets put on, until the game is over, or until we get home. It occasionally leaves his head while we're in the stadium. Of course it's removed for the National Anthem, and sometimes when an outburst is needed. This is usually followed by a run of his fingers through his hair to keep from saying something inappropriate around our young nephews.

I have to say that I do enjoy the tradition and pomp and circumstance that goes with U of M football. It's something we never had at Marquette, because we don't have a varsity football team. The tailgating, the marching band, the striped helmets, the legacy of great players and coaches. And, the hat.

Intercepting Notes

2009-10-03T20:14:00.003-04:00

The other day I subbed in a third grade classroom at a school I had never been to before. Not more than 20 minutes into teaching the math lesson, I saw one little girl writing something on a small piece of paper. Whenever I see this happen, I don't make a big deal out of it, I just ask for the piece of paper. This usually embarrasses the note writer enough to make an impact. Sure enough, when I asked for it, her eyes got as big as saucers and her face turned bright red. I just put the note in my pocket.

When I read it later, I had to laugh. It was about me! Although I don't know what the rest of the note would've said because I caught her in mid-sentence. It said, "What does the teacher". So I started thinking about what she was going to end the note with. What does the teacher have on her face? What does the teacher want us to do? I don't know.

What do you think?

Lasagna!

2009-09-30T08:54:00.006-04:00

It's chilly outside. I won't go into my monologue of hate about cold weather and the inevitable winter season. Not right now, anyway.

Chris and I exchanged emails the other day about how this is perfect sleeping weather. It is. Perfect for snuggling under a blanket, drinking hot drinks, and pulling out sweaters and sweatshirts. It's time to come inside. Time to slow down.

With the change of the seasons and weather, we change our cooking and eating habits too. I made some pot roast in the crock pot the other day, and last weekend I made this lasagna. It uses ground turkey, and I also used whole wheat noodles. Although those 2 healthy ingredients are thrown out the window when you look at the cheese ingredient list: goat cheese, mozzarella, parmesan, and ricotta. I think the goat cheese adds a nice twist. We had the lasagna with some good crusty bread. The leftovers the following days were even better than the first day.

Slowing down, coming inside, and eating hot, comfort foods. It's fall.

Beggars Can't be Choosers

2009-09-29T08:29:00.002-04:00

Guess what? I got a job! It's not in a classroom, but it's a steady job where I will be working with kids on a regular basis. It's part of the Title I program at another school in the district. I will be working with kindergarten and second grade students who need a little boost in reading, writing and math. I will work side-by-side with some of them in their classrooms, and will also have some small groups that I will pull out to work together.

It's funny how the whole thing worked out. I was subbing at the school where I will be working, and bumped into a woman who I had worked with while I was getting my certificate. After exchanging pleasantries for a few minutes, she came right out and asked me if I would like a job doing Title I work. I didn't hesitate and immediately said yes. After doing regular subbing for only a couple weeks this year, I was already over it. Not knowing where I will be each day, stalking the sub scheduling program online, and dealing with kids who take advantage of a sub is not my idea of fun. (A quick flashback to all of this made me possibly yell yes when I answered.)

I will start next Monday, and I will work 4 days a week. On the fifth day I will most likely sub, which I can handle. I think only subbing one day will keep me on my toes, and also allow me to pick and choose jobs.

While this isn't my ideal of being a classroom teacher, it's a job. It's not subbing. It's working with kids on a regular basis. I'm ready for this next adventure. Bring it on.