Lifelong Learning

Unfinished Business

2010-08-04T18:31:00.001-07:00

I realized today that summer is quickly drawing to a close. There are quite a few things that were on my "to-do" list for the summer... and I haven't quite gotten around to them. Here they are:

From 2009... still not done!
-Do a triathlon
-Mountain bike (at least once!)
-Get the pictures hung in the house

Fun
-Swim one morning at Fuller
-Go to a Mothers and More event
-Learn to use the flash on my camera
-Try photoshop using the book Dave got me

Ben
-Go to storytime at Border's or Nicola's
-Visit the Hands-on-Museum
-Swim at Buhr Park (and go to Tot Splash time there)
-Catch up on his photo albums
-Catch up on his baby book
-Do art projects (originally a weekly goal... we've used crayons so far)

House
-Do crown molding in the basement
-Stain and polyurethane my flower boxes
-Clean and file all of the office paperwork
-Re-landscape the backyard

Computer
-Get Facebook caught up with pictures
-Update my reading blog

19 things... 20 days until we leave for Vegas. No doubt some of these will carry over to another time. Hopefully not the fun ones!

Ben Today! Another video

2010-06-15T18:59:00.000-07:00

Here is the big accomplishment- he started doing this yesterday and is almost a master at it.

Ben 12 months- Walking!

Video #2

2010-06-15T18:26:00.001-07:00

Hmmm... I'm re-evaluating whether these should be posted for the public. Awfully grainy, interesting sound bites... But I love watching him grow! He was so bald, and his head was awfully funny shaped!

Ben Nine Months

Ben Ten Months

Ben Ten Months #2

Ben Ten Months #3

Ben Eleven Months

Ben Eleven Months #2

Video

2010-06-15T17:23:00.000-07:00

We don't have a video camera, but my old digital camera does take some video. I started taking little snippets of Ben every month to help remember his growth. I didn't really want a lot of material to plow through later, as I prefer pictures and memories to remember things. I do wish I had started doing this earlier, though!

Almost 4 Months

Just Over 5 Months

Ben Six Months

Ben Seven Months

Ben Seven Months #2

Ben Eight Months

Ben Eight Months #2

What a Night

2010-06-08T17:59:00.000-07:00

Things I've internalized tonight (I would say learned, but some of these things are apparently taking more than one experience to actually learn from):

1) Unpack everything completely after a trip in a timely manner
2) Kids get sick a lot
3) Usually they get sick when you are also sick, or at another inconvenient time
4) When you need something urgently for a sick child, you will have to go to four stores to get it
5) When you do find said item, buy enough that you will have a supply in many places
6) If you send your husband for something urgent, it is a given that he won't accomplish the task
7) Target is the best store on Earth

Ben is sick. Again. There is a recall on Tylenol and Advil, of course, so no stores are carrying medicine. A week ago I had to run out to get medicine, and went to three stores. Unfortunately, I only bought one bottle of medicine. Today, when we needed it again, it was nowhere to be found. In addition, our thermometer isn't working. Dave says that it could be because he immersed it in water. He went to buy batteries for it. Those didn't work. He went to buy a new thermometer. That didn't work. I went to exchange the thermometer. The people working at the store got it to work, so I couldn't exchange the $50 that Dave found with the $35 variety I found at the same store. Or the $20 one I found at Target. I went to four stores looking for the generic version of acetominophen. At Target (duh), I bought two bottles. One to stay at home, one for the diaper bag. I'm doubting that it's enough.

A picture to show why I go through all of this:

Breaking the Silence

2010-04-11T18:39:00.001-07:00

Here I am. I've been busy.

Of late: Spring Break in St. John

Looks to Be a Late Night

2009-07-31T20:04:00.000-07:00

He's only two months old, but already Ben has my number. For 20 minutes, Dave and I tried to put Ben to bed (because, you know, it's bedtime) and he cried and screamed through it. After 20 minutes, I looked at him with a sigh, saying, "You're supposed to be in bed, you know." His response? A big sly grin. End result: I give in, Ben gets more playtime, I don't get to sleep yet.

I will go back in time to post some May and June happenings... Someday.

**Update: Ben slept from 11:30 p.m. until 7:00 a.m., and then again from 7:30 until 10:00 a.m. That would be sleeping through the night, during nighttime hours, for the first time. So 20 minutes of screaming was totally worth it!

Pressure

2009-05-10T20:01:00.001-07:00

I have been told to stay home now- my blood pressure hasn't been crazy high, but high for me. So I am scrambling to get things together to be done with school a week earlier than I thought.

I will have to finish some grading, but it will be good for me to be home and relax. As long as I don't go a week overdue.

The End of April!

2009-04-30T15:41:00.000-07:00

Oops- as far as blogging goes, I just noticed that I almost neglected April...

New since the last post:

Three very nice baby showers. We have everything I think we need at this point- though I'm sure I have a lot to learn.
I was laid off on Monday night, so I don't have a job for next school year. At this point. I should be called back before the school year actually ends.

I have eleven days to work until due date. Everything is still looking good at this point, despite the panic I work myself into between doctor's appointments.

I may add more later... but at least I got a post in for April.

I don't know what to think

2009-03-11T16:50:00.000-07:00

There are so many problems with education, I don't even know where to begin. I'm extremely frustrated where I am right now, and am trying to figure out how to make a difference in the wider world of education.

So I read the transcript of the speech that Obama made about education yesterday.

And I don't know if he has the solutions or not.

And I read this analysis of it. I agree with most of what is said in the article.

Confusing the matter is the fact that I am in serious jeopardy of losing my job. Frustrating, that with 7 years in and good performance that could happen. Where are my options right now? Private and charter schools... sigh.

Three Years

2009-02-19T09:08:00.000-08:00

The anniversary of living in this house for three years passed me by this year... Mostly due to relief at being done with just about everything, and actually enjoying the house!

Here is this year's list of things completed:

Landscaping out back- tearing up grass, putting in a few plants and bushes
Putting in the hardwood floors in the main room, stairs, and landing upstairs
painting the basement
trim on the main floor and in the basement
carpeting the basement
paying to have the basement waterproofed
moving the office downstairs to clear the room for a baby room
basement drapes
tiling the bathroom downstairs, by the fireplace, and basement door
drywalling & painting the bathroom downstairs
new toilet in the basement

No pictures just yet... I have to get one of the cameras out and charged up.

The projects for this year include:
putting in the thresholds between rooms
crown molding in the basement
finishing touches on the bathroom in the basement
New kitchen countertops?
Fixing the electrical running into the house like the inspector told us to do three years ago

Other major improvements for very future planning if we're here long enough:
new windows
a garage
new driveway
a deck out back
drywalling/new flooring in the laundry room?

Confused Crocuses

2009-02-10T14:45:00.001-08:00

It's almost 60 degrees today... and when I got home, the snow was melted and my crocuses were popping up.

Will they come back again later when winter is really over?

Slowing Down

2009-01-06T18:00:00.000-08:00

My life has slowed down considerably... looking at my calendar from October/November vs. December/January it's very obvious. Then I look back at October/November of '07 vs. '08! For one who does like to make progress, it's been a transition.

I'm also trying to slow down a pregnancy. I keep wondering when I'll look pregnant, looking forward to all of the new outfits I got (cheaply!) and when I'll get to wear them... but trying to temper that with the fact that I'll be uncomfortable when I'm big and soon it will feel like I can't wait to get out of those clothes. A balancing act.

Making Progress

2009-01-05T17:55:00.001-08:00

I get a huge sense of satisfaction, and self-worth, I think, from making progress. Whether it be seeing kids learn, crunching budget numbers, redoing a basement, or organizing, it makes me happy. That's why I like data and statistics so much.

That's what I realized today.

Most progress isn't visible right away, which is why I build things up to be bigger obstacles than needed (like cleaning). So I trick myself into getting started (my cleaning trick is setting the oven timer), until I'm hooked and just have to finish "that last little thing".

I just had a great time organizing the files on the computer for 5 minutes, deleting 12 e-mails, and working on cleaning up the soon-to-be baby's room and guest room for 20 minutes tonight. I got to see progress in three areas, knowing that I couldn't totally finish any one of them tonight.

**I've blogged for 12 months straight now! Watching the archives grow... just one example of my obsession with progress.

Snow Day Surprise

2008-12-17T03:21:00.000-08:00

I gave up hope last night when the snow stopped- but we have the day off!

I'm glad I stayed up late to finish my grading- now I don't have schoolwork hanging over my head today!

Maps!

2008-12-08T17:37:00.000-08:00

I can buy maps!

I guess I know that I'm a teacher... My final project for my M.A. was to write a unit for Social Studies. I wrote the unit, and then applied for a grant from the district's Educational Foundation. I did good enough work that they gave me almost $500! I am ordering books with primary source documents, DVDs, videos, and MAPS! The maps are raised relief maps, so you can feel and see the landforms of the United States. They are super cool because you can write on them with dry erase markers to trace things like the path of the Underground Railroad.

When I got home tonight from receiving the check at the school board meeting, I was daydreaming about the day the maps arrived at school. It will be a "Stop the Presses!" moment and we'll be ripping them out of the boxes to use immediately. Then I thought about my students' reactions... while they will be excited, I'm sure they will also laugh at what a dork their teacher is.

I missed a day...

2008-11-23T19:10:00.000-08:00

Oh well.

Thank goodness football season is over.

I went to Chicago this weekend and came back with a cold. Blech.

First Big Purchase

2008-11-21T16:15:00.000-08:00

I got hooked on credit cards pretty early. (Stupid, I know.) It's hard to remember feeling like I ever paid a lot of money for anything, because I pretty much bought what I wanted on credit and paid it off over time. I've always had the feeling that things cost money, and if I don't have enough money now I will later. (Stupid, I know.)

My most vivid memory of a big purchase was my first car. Since I was a baby, I put half of my birthday and other gift money into the bank for the future car. It seemed like a very long time until I turned 16 and we used that money towards a down payment. We found a black 1990 Ford Escort. I loved the car. It had a stick shift, hatchback and tape player, and I stuck a diving sticker on it right away. The hatchback came in handy moving back and forth to college in Illinois, and the car never broke down on me.

Mom made me fill out a contract when we purchased the car. I constantly remember it as good parenting, mostly because I know that Mom would have held me to it if she needed to. I was responsible for making $50 a month payments on the car, had to keep up my grades, couldn't drink and drive, had to drive responsibly (I think there was something in there about tickets), and couldn't let friends drive it.

I am grateful that I had to put my own money into the purchase, and that so much responsibility accompanied the car. It was a big deal.

Babies 'R' Us

2008-11-20T16:06:00.000-08:00

I stopped by Babies R Us tonight to get a gift for a shower in Chicago this weekend. I was looking forward to going for several days, because I thought I'd be excited to poke around. When I got there, though, it just didn't have much appeal. At first I was worried- 'How can I walk through this store and not be excited?' When I did walk through clothing I found some cute things, and that made me feel better. I've never been very big on gushing over cute things... so this shouldn't be that unexpected.

I'm still feeling pretty far removed from the baby- I've gotten the response of "Are you excited?" several times. The main thing is I just don't feel pregnant yet. Over the past two months, I was exhausted (sleeping 15-16 hours a day over the weekends), but not sick. I've gained all of 2 pounds, my pants still fit, it's too early to feel the baby move... Both times I went to the doctor I was very excited, as the first time I had an ultrasound and the second I heard the heartbeat. There was actual confirmation that something was different. Other days, I wonder... Is there really a baby?

When I'm huge and uncomfortable I'll probably look back at this and laugh.

PLC

2008-11-19T19:42:00.000-08:00

Our district is in its third year of the PLC program. (Given the current financial situation in the district, it's probably the last year, too. But I digress.) PLC stands for Professional Learning Communities, and it's based on a model by the DuFours. The program is designed to give teachers common meeting time to address instructional needs as well as provide extra lessons in problem areas to students.

So every third day, a teacher comes to my room to give my kids an extra lesson in math or language arts. I meet with the other 4th grade teachers and plan ways to teach better. Each marking period, we're required to have a goal for our students and monitor how they are doing towards the goal. Right now, we are working on teaching the skill of writing a paragraph.

At any rate, the time has been invaluable to our team. We are very productive and work well together. When you look at the difference between schools in the U.S. and schools in China/Japan, one major difference is the amount of time given to teachers to plan instruction. Many of the teachers in the district do not like PLC time, though. They would rather be working with their students, and don't get along as well with their team or don't see the value in meeting. It's been an uphill battle of trying to get the others to see the value in the time before it's taken away from us.

Diving Fun

2008-11-18T19:36:00.000-08:00

I got to announce again today! The regional diving meet was exciting. There are now 12 girls qualified for the state meet this weekend, and all 12 are awesome divers. They have tough dives and deserve to be in the meet for sure. Last year, our region placed almost all 12 in the finals. Southeast Michigan has great diving programs that turn out good talent. I just can't help thinking back to when I dove. I wouldn't have been able to compete with these girls!

The Difference a Year Makes

2008-11-17T18:23:00.000-08:00

I briefly took a look at the posts I wrote at this time last year tonight. I saw this list of things I was doing this time last year. Yikes!

2007:

-Write a response paper for class Tuesday night
-Celebrate Dave's birthday (Tuesday) somehow (I did get him presents)
-Write lesson plans for Tuesday afternoon
-Write lesson plans for Friday all day
-Coach at the regional and state meets
-Write out updates to my students' parents regarding their May Mackinac trip
-Hang out with my father who will be here from Las Vegas
-Write up a mid-point review of my work in my master's field
-Compile work from the past two years of my master's
-Copy said work and paper and deliver it to EMU
-Give mid-point review presentation
-Go to dinner with the state swim team Wednesday night
-Send the overdue book order payment for my class
-Submit the new book order

Things to do this week (2008):

-Clean off my desk at school
-Do progress reports for my students
-See my dad who is in from Vegas
-Coach two nights
-Announce for the regional diving meet
-Go to a doctor's appointment
-Get a haircut
-Send payment for a book order
-Play volleyball
-Make a flier and evaluation form for the diving program

I thought I had a busy week coming up. Perspective.

DVR

2008-11-16T19:09:00.001-08:00

I have nothing interesting to say today... When is December? You'll be spared the days I have nothing exciting going on.

I was lazy today. Dave got a new TV from his parents for his birthday. I sat in front of it. I watched football, watched the end of Underworld (I slept through it on Friday night), watched the Obama interview from 60 minutes. I watched some recorded episodes of Ninja Warrior (another show I'm inexplicably hooked on).

'Fessing Up

2008-11-15T17:35:00.000-08:00

Now that I've personally told most people close to me, I feel like it's OK to say that yes, I'm pregnant, due May 16th, in the wide world of the Internet.

I've been on Facebook for about a year now. I've found it truly useful to reconnect with people I've wanted to have contact with in about six genuine cases. I got to see a friend I hadn't seen in seven years because I saw that he was coming to Ann Arbor. I found several college friends I had lost touch with. That has made it worth it to me.

On the other hand, there are a bunch of acquaintances that I don't really care about having contact with. Some people I'm not sure I want knowing a bunch of information about me. And then there's that guy who is friends with everyone in my high school graduating class... and since I have no clue who he is and he isn't in any of our yearbooks, I refuse to be friends with him.

I joke with my friends about Facebook "stalking" and the people who use it to get information about others. I haven't experienced it until now- there have been small comments made on my profile, including one that was up for about an hour before a friend realized it wasn't Internet knowledge... but no announcements about a baby... and I'm getting all sorts of congratulatory messages about it! Of course, they're positive, but still... how did everyone figure it out? How much time do they spend on Facebook? Creepy.

First Time You Felt Grown Up

2008-11-14T16:44:00.000-08:00

I started teaching in 2002. My first job was teaching a 5th/6th grade split in Orem, Utah. I was excited. And scared. And lucky.

The staff I began teaching with was completely supportive and wonderful. My first classroom had no supplies in it, and every time I entered the building there were supplies at the door for me. People at the school smiled, loved kids, put in extra hours, and did extra reading to improve their teaching.

I was 22, but to many of the veteran teachers, I still looked 16 (sometimes still do). Nonetheless, they gave me a great deal of respect. I realized that I had "made it" as a grown-up when one of the veteran teachers said to call him Doug.

Doug? I'd was a lot more comfortable with "Mr. Turner", and continued to call him that until I couldn't use the excuse of not remembering his first name anymore. At that point I admitted to myself that I had officially joined the ranks of the teachers.

Happy Birthday Dave!

2008-11-13T18:51:00.001-08:00

He's 28 now, too. We've known each other 10 years! As I told him tonight, it'll be neat to see what we're doing and where we are in another 10, and 10 after that...

We had classes tonight (separately), so we'll have dinner with friends tomorrow.

Normal Life

2008-11-12T16:37:00.000-08:00

(Written Tuesday night... and posted today so I get a post in today.)

It's 7:30.

I've gone to the grocery store, eaten, bought Dave's birthday present, done a load of laundry, read two newspapers and a TIME magazine. I've checked the daily blogs, answered a few e-mails.... done everything I normally do in a day.

Is this what it's like to work a normal schedule?

It's 7:30. What do I do now?

Poker

2008-11-11T14:35:00.000-08:00

So I'm completely obsessed with the World Series of Poker on ESPN. When it comes on on Tuesday nights, it's a "Stop the Presses!" kind of feeling.

This either really surprises people or doesn't at all. Most people are surprised because I don't seem the gambling type. If they're not surprised, they know that I come from a family with quite a few gamblers.

It surprises me- I don't actually play poker. There was a little while a year and a half ago that I played some online poker, and that lasted about two weeks. I've played in three actual games. We hosted a poker night at our house and I won. It upset the guy I beat because I didn't even realize that I had won on the hand I won on. Oops.

So I'm obsessed with the show. I think it's mainly the math- I love statistics, and watching to see if the person with the best chance of winning the hand does. I'm extremely bummed tonight because I happened to be online and saw a spoiler as to who won. I've only been watching for two months now!

**Unrelated note: Today was the first Tuesday in 3 Tuesdays that I actually taught. It was a rough afternoon... :)
I still love my class and am amazed at how quickly the year is going.

Busy Day

2008-11-10T19:25:00.000-08:00

It counts if I update my reading blog, right?

Mondays are busy.

Photo Shoot

2008-11-09T17:15:00.001-08:00

Today we took Lucas to the Arboretum while babysitting- I had a chance to practice with the camera. I was working on shutter speed, and didn't have it fast enough to capture some of the more fun pictures. Here are a few, though.

Freedom!

2008-11-08T07:52:00.001-08:00

I finally made it to a high school meet to support my girls from the past 3 years. It's funny how quickly my schedule got busy and absorbed all the time I would have been spending at the pool. Yesterday I showed up at the beginning of diving, and ended up announcing. With all the meets I've gone to through the years, I have never announced. It was fun. Today I'll stop by to see their last 3 dives during finals... and then I get to leave! I don't miss the day-to-day work at all, but it is fun to see how much they've progressed.

Friday Firsts: First E-mail

2008-11-07T15:07:00.000-08:00

I had very limited exposure to the Internet before going to college in 1998. During the last few years of high school, my parents had AOL. It was dial-up and I used it very sparingly for school projects.

We rented a PC from my university, and the first week of school my Assistant Resident Advisor came down and helped me set up my e-mail. It was on the pine system, with a black screen and white letters, and the format looked like basic DOS commands. I remember the whole thing being very foreign to me. I was thrilled to be able to send messages to my then-boyfriend becuase it meant we'd have good communication without a huge phone bill. (Imagine my excitement to discover instant messaging toward Halloween!) Throughout college, I had no idea how to send attachments.

I was very behind the times, as several of my friends at school had been using e-mail for years, as well as messaging. My first e-mail experience was also one of my first memories of meeting Raeanne (the ARA), who became a close friend of mine later in college when I joined the dorm staff as well.

Photo Class Assignment #2

2008-11-06T13:14:00.000-08:00

I gave up on the people. Had I spent more time with Lucas this weekend, I would have tried harder on that one. Instead I focused on aperture and shutter speed, and to a lesser extent, ISO. The stoplight picture, especially, has room for improvement, but I think I took about 60 pictures tonight and learned a lot.

The pictures of the swings are from earlier this summer. I took more tonight but didn't like them as much.

Post-Election at School

2008-11-05T17:35:00.000-08:00

I teach two classes of Social Studies, and since the beginning of the year we've been following the election. I don't share my views with my students, although I get questioned relentlessly. Several of my outspoken African-American children have assumed that I supported McCain, but I haven't been able to get them to give me a reason why they think so. It was pretty obvious from the way it was stated that most made that assumption due to the fact I am white...

So this morning the students came in bouncing off the walls. Many of them supported Obama, and talked about how happy their parents were and how they were kept up all night for election results. Others were obviously disappointed. I was impressed when one student of mine walked in first thing this morning and said "Congratulations" to the kid next to her, an avid Obama fan. I asked, "Did you support McCain?" and she told me, "No, but my Dad did."

Today in class, we colored in the electoral college map and tallied up the numbers for both candidates. We kept the TV on for an hour and anytime anyone interesting was speaking (namely the candidates, but that also included Oprah and people in the town of Obama, Japan) we tuned in. We talked about being gracious winners and good losers. They pestered me again about who I voted for, but I said, "The important thing is that I voted. It doesn't matter today who I voted for- what matters is that I'm ready to support the next president." We looked at the 62 million votes Obama got (as of this morning) and the 55 million McCain got. We talked about how 55 million people woke up disappointed this morning, and what effect that has on the country.

It gave me a ton of hope to watch the kids quiet each other to watch Obama, and to a lesser extent, McCain, speak (no matter whom they supported before, Obama won, and kids like winners). They were totally engrossed in what was going on. So many of them have a lot of faith in Obama. Hopefully he won't let them down.

A few quotes from 4th graders during election season:

Student 1 (watching TV): "There's the White House! That's where Obama will be living!"
Student 2: "President Bush had better pack his bags."
Me: "He still has 77 days in office."
Student 2: "He still better pack his bags!"
Me: "President Bush has until January to finish his job. Obama isn't inaugurated until January... he won't move in until then."
Student 2: "Pres. Bush better start packing his bags."
Me: "It doesn't take 77 days to pack up your house."
Student 2: "He'd better start packing his bags."
Me: "If Obama isn't reelected, he'd also have 77 days to... oh, nevermind. I guess the new president does have interior decor to pick out. Maybe packing does start now."

A student to the dad of one of my students this morning (he's in his late 30s with thinning hair): "You look like John McCain!"
Me: "That's almost as bad as when students told me I had wrinkles two years ago!"

That same student: "My mom says that if Obama wins someone will probably kill him."
(I didn't have an eloquent response to that one.)

Student: "Obama's daughters are hot!"

***

I was able to go in this morning with a huge smile on my face that had nothing to do with the presidential election. We've tried three times in the district to get voters to approve building/renovating the high school, and it finally passed this time! The building was put up in the 1910s and hadn't had major work done to it. I'm so thankful that the kids will be in a better environment.

Thank goodness... November 4

2008-11-04T15:27:00.000-08:00

I just got done explaining some of my political thoughts in an e-mail. Now I'm fresh out of brainpower. I'd be better off keeping my mouth shut, I think, but this is my last chance to wax political for awhile...

Basically what things come down to for me are education and health care. My belief is that every kid in America should have basic health care and an education equal to their needs.

Unfortunately every family doesn't have the ability to provide their kids with what they need to. So government has to play a role. I'd rather pay for education and health care than prison.

That doesn't seem so controversial... but I also sit very strongly on one side of Roe vs. Wade due mainly to those issues... basically I don't think anyone should bring a child into the world that they aren't committed to caring for. If people were better educated, they might know better not to conceive kids they can't be committed to. There's also a bit of feminist "my body, my choice" thrown in there, too.

Nobody asked. I don't care. I voted, and I'll be happy to live with the results after America has spoken.

Parent Dive Day

2008-11-03T17:07:00.000-08:00

This summer, we at the pool had a brainstorm. While reading the feedback on the parent comment sheets, we thought, 'Why not invite parents to come dive?' They could see how hard it really was, learn how to judge and everything that goes into judging, and feel more comfortable asking the coaches questions.

Of course, the parents who are the most vocal with questions/complaints didn't come, but those who did come tonight had a great time. We have about 30 kids in the classes this fall, and probably 10 parents/cousins/neighbors came. They were game to try everything- including the sit-ups at the beginning of practice. There were a few smacks, and we even caught them on video...

This was something we'll repeat again in the future.

Halloween Recap & Trip to a Football Game

2008-11-02T15:02:00.000-08:00

This was the first year in about six that our elementary school participated in Halloween. In Utah, we used to have parties and a parade, but it had been banned at our school in Belleville due to distractions and inappropriate costumes. This year we brought them back, with a parade and party. The day was fun, with about 80% of my students dressing up.

We went down to Purdue to see the Purdue/Michigan game. As a result, we missed Halloween festivities around here. Dave was disappointed about that, as it's his favorite holiday. He thinks up good costumes. His last three were a Dr. Pepper can, a Renaissance man, and the polar bear from the Golden Compass. He had one in mind this year but didn't get to use it...

Dave's sister, Lauren, is in school at Purdue. It was the first time Dave had been down to visit since she's been there, and I had been once before (to pick her up before Dave's Ironman). The game was not as awful as most this year... at least Michigan scored some points. The outcome was the same. At the beginning of the season I had hoped for just 6 wins to keep the bowl streak alive. That was obviously very wishful thinking.

We sat in front of people who were just obnoxious, calling for their tuition dollars back because of the embarrassing season. Both Dave and I turned around at different points to correct them on some fact they had wrong or explain the reasons behind some of the play-calling. One man was criticizing Rodriguez for putting players in who can't receive the football- "How hard is it to put someone in who can catch the ball?" I had to remind him that there is virtually nobody on Michigan's offense/special teams who hasn't fumbled or muffed a kick return.

First Picture Assignment

2008-11-01T13:44:00.000-07:00

My first picture assignment was to take "fall" pictures. I wasn't outside last week during a lot of the daytime, so I snapped pictures pretty quickly. I like the pictures, but they aren't super interesting as I took them in 20 minutes.

Next week's assignment is to change aperture and shutter speed, while at the same time taking pictures of people and emotions. I'm a little clueless on this one, so the pictures may be interesting.

Waiting for the Other Shoe to Drop

2008-10-31T13:40:00.000-07:00

The school board has made minimal cuts... and discussed, and discussed, and discussed. There will likely be more teacher layoffs next week (for January). The news is that I should be safe... We'll see.

There has been an absence of activity here lately. Much of it is due to the fact that I'm back in school. Along with that, I've played on a soccer team, am playing volleyball, am taking a photography class, and coaching diving 4 hours a week. The main reason, though, is that I have a new camera! I love to post pictures, and the obstacles of figuring out the camera have slowed my picture-taking.

I've wanted a nice camera for a long time, and for my birthday/graduation Dave and his parents got me a nice SLR camera. Now I'm trying to learn how to use it... On top of that, we have a new computer. Dave won some money at a research competition and bought a Mac. I am still adjusting. I loved my old PC, and knew the ins and outs of it. I've had trouble downloading and saving photos... so hopefully I'll get better at it.

One Dreaded Thursday...

2008-09-18T15:53:00.000-07:00

What a week. I absolutely love my students and am having fun every day. Unfortunately, it can never be left at that. There has been a pile of stress this week from a whole new direction.

The district has 400 less students attending school than they anticipated. At $8,000 a student, that leads to $3.2 million less in incoming money this year. Therefore there are layoffs. 24 teachers were cut this week, making up the 400 student differential. Unfortunately, that leaves $2 million still to make up.

With less kids, there will be cuts to things such as food service, custodial, administration, etc. But 2 million dollars? The scenarios for what to do about that many cuts are just scary. Our official count day is Wednesday, and our classrooms can't have over 30 kids in them. However... after that time if they need to they can put as many kids in the rooms after that point as they'd like, cutting more teachers.

Everyone is on pins and needles. We helped the teacher from our school who was laid off pack up today. People are cranky, as adding kids to an established classroom shakes things up. Some are switching their assignments completely, moving from Kindergarten to 5th grade or getting a split classroom when they had 20 just this week. The union has held emergency meetings, including a meeting set for next week. The topic: Unemployment.

So I'll wait for Thursday with trepidation, wondering if anyone is going to remember to do what is right for kids.

America

2008-09-05T22:08:00.001-07:00

I am following this election more than any in the past, as I'm sure many younger Americans are. I am very hopeful that change can come to government and bring a more positive outlook on life in our country.

I did not watch any of the convention speeches. I would rather look up voting records, platforms and plans to try to find facts rather than depend on delivery of a rehearsed speech to make decisions. I do enjoy the debates and feel it's easier to compare candidates on that stage.

With that said, I did read the President and VP candidates' speeches. I was most drawn to their comments about America.

From Obama's acceptance speech:

"Four years ago, I stood before you and told you my story – of the brief union between a young man from Kenya and a young woman from Kansas who weren’t well-off or well- known, but shared a belief that in America, their son could achieve whatever he put his
mind to.

It is that promise that has always set this country apart – that through hard work and sacrifice, each of us can pursue our individual dreams but still come together as one American family, to ensure that the next generation can pursue their dreams as well.

It’s a promise that says each of us has the freedom to make of our own lives what we will, but that we also have the obligation to treat each other with dignity and respect.

That’s the promise of America – the idea that we are responsible for ourselves, but that we also rise or fall as one nation; the fundamental belief that I am my brother’s keeper; I am my sister’s keeper.

Individual responsibility and mutual responsibility – that’s the essence of America’s promise.

This country of ours has more wealth than any nation, but that’s not what makes us rich. We have the most powerful military on Earth, but that’s not what makes us strong. Our universities and our culture are the envy of the world, but that’s not what keeps the world coming to our shores.

Instead, it is that American spirit – that American promise – that pushes us forward even when the path is uncertain; that binds us together in spite of our differences; that makes us fix our eye not on what is seen, but what is unseen, that better place around the bend.

That promise is our greatest inheritance. It’s a promise I make to my daughters when I tuck them in at night, and a promise that you make to yours – a promise that has led immigrants to cross oceans and pioneers to travel west; a promise that led workers to picket lines, and women to reach for the ballot.

And it is that promise that forty five years ago today, brought Americans from every corner of this land to stand together on a Mall in Washington, before Lincoln’s Memorial, and hear a young preacher from Georgia speak of his dream.

The men and women who gathered there could’ve heard many things. They could’ve heard words of anger and discord. They could’ve been told to succumb to the fear and frustration of so many dreams deferred.

But what the people heard instead – people of every creed and color, from every walk of life – is that in America, our destiny is inextricably linked. That together, our dreams can be one.

“We cannot walk alone,” the preacher cried. “And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back.” "

From McCain's acceptance speech:

"In America, we change things that need to be changed. Each generation makes its contribution to our greatness. The work that is ours to do is plainly before us. We don’t need to search for it.

If you find faults with our country, make it a better one. If you’re disappointed with the mistakes of government, join its ranks and work to correct them. Enlist in our Armed Forces. Become a teacher. Enter the ministry. Run for public office. Feed a hungry child. Teach an illiterate adult to read. Comfort the afflicted. Defend the rights of the oppressed. Our country will be the better, and you will be the happier. Because nothing brings greater happiness in life than to serve a cause greater than yourself.

We’re Americans, and we never give up. We never quit. We never hide from history. We make history."

From Biden's speech:

"My mother's creed is the American creed: No one is better than you. You are everyone's equal, and everyone is equal to you."

I also thought that this article made a good point.

It's Official

2008-09-04T14:31:00.001-07:00

I got the letter in the mail today that says I've graduated!!!

It's a little strange to graduate in August. For one reason, there is not a graduation ceremony now. The closest one is in December, and I probably won't walk in it just because it's so far away. Also, I completed five hours of class this summer but it was all independent/culminating project so I wasn't in classes and I couldn't tell classmates, 'Yeah, this is my last class!' I can't complain too much, as it was always my plan to graduate in August so I'd get the pay bump for the new school year.

The "I'm done" feeling has set in slowly. There have been three moments lately that I've really felt celebratory:

1) Going to the school district office to get the paperwork for my raise. The secretary said, "Yes, we need your transcripts by October 15 to get you the money for the entire school year". Money!

2) Saturday morning I woke up and was extremely confused. I didn't have to go to diving practice, but on top of that, I didn't have any schoolwork (reading or papers) hanging over my head. What do I do with free time on the weekends (other than watch football)? For three years it hasn't existed.

3) I returned the last of my books at the EMU library before my "classes" were done this summer. I had a 50 cent late fee to pay. After I paid that 50 cents, there was an incredible feeling of "I'm done paying EMU!" I was almost skipping as I went back to the car, knowing that all of my obligations to the university were taken care of.

Politics

2008-08-29T14:45:00.000-07:00

So today John McCain named his running mate. It will be Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska. This intrigues me for a number of reasons. First, she's 44. With McCain as old as he is and criticizing Obama for not having enough experience to run the country, I am certain that her age and inexperience will come up as she'd be the President should anything happen to McCain.

She also has five children. Their names are: Track, Bristol, Willow, Piper, and Trig.

Maybe it's just because I'm a teacher and encounter all sorts of parents, kids, and names, but I have to wonder about her...

Hope

2008-08-27T17:49:00.000-07:00

The last two years of teaching, my class has been rough. At the end of each year, it felt as though I'd been through the wringer, leading me to question my choice of career.

Tonight, there is hope. Hope that I can feel successful at my job, enjoy what I do, and put a genuine smile on my face. Hope that I can get out of bed thinking, 'I can't wait to see my students today!' Tonight was back to school night.

There are 33 kids on my list. But it's a balanced list. Even numbers of boys and girls. Even ethnic backgrounds. Even addresses- from the nicer areas as well as low-income housing.

Tonight was back to school night. I met 17 of my students' parents. Friendly, outspoken, present, engaging, caring parents. I met 17 of my students. Eight and nine year olds with big eyes and hesitant smiles, waiting to see what is in store for them.

Balance is back, in so many ways. That gives me hope.

Dun dun dun...

2008-08-26T08:08:00.001-07:00

The mornings are getting chillier...

Sales at Staples mean I make multiple trips there a week...

The bank account is running low...

It must be time to go back to work!

Tomorrow is my first official day back, with kids starting on Tuesday. I'm spending today getting some things set around the house before officially going back. I went into school yesterday (Monday), and everyone assumed they'd see me there on Tuesday. C'mon, folks! It's your last day of vacation! Today I slept in and then read in bed for an hour before getting up to get things done.

I do have post ideas that will appear soon... making use of the neat feature of writing a post and setting it to appear on the blog at a later time.

Quirk

2008-07-30T10:07:00.000-07:00

Since I've had the house, cleaning has not been my strong suit. I've tried a number of ways to get myself to do routine cleaning. The most effective way has been to have a chore for each day of the week. I typically don't let myself get more than a day behind, and things have stayed much cleaner.

I prefer this method over doing once a week cleaning. When I clean once a week, I lost interest very quickly. I have to set the oven timer for 15 or 20 minutes and tell myself to just keep going until it goes off.

The new method of breaking things into days has only lasted about a month and a half. Even with this new method, I break things down into smaller parts: 'Fold 20 things each time you go downstairs', 'Dust the areas of the bedroom you dust with Windex now', 'vacuum now, sweep and swiffer later'. The worst is laundry. I do literally count the number of items coming out of the dryer, and for some reason get distracted going from the dryer to put things away. It can't all be done at once.

This has just become apparent to me, but I think I've always had this tendency. When I'm running, I have to have an amount of time to focus on rather than a number of miles. When I run for 30 minutes, I actually finish, rather than focusing on running a 5k- I always stop. Writing papers is the same- just get the introduction done, go get a drink.... finish two pages, leave the rest for the next day...

I guess as long as I'm aware of it, I'll be able to keep it in check. But it is weird.

**One other good way to keep myself cleaning is to get on the phone at the same time. I can get laundry done as long as I don't have to focus on doing it.

Orphan Trains

2008-07-29T13:05:00.001-07:00

I've been keeping up with my reading blog much better than this one. I had to share a book over here because I didn't know that this was even a part of Michigan history. How did I miss this?

A Faraway Home: An Orphan Train Story by Jamie Panagopoulos
Genre: Children's Literature, Historical Fiction Rating: (out of 10): 8
While I've been doing research for my final project, I've discovered that there were orphan trains. I've been pretty fascinated by this information, and plan on teaching a unit around it this year or next. This book was interesting to me more because of the topic than because it was any great piece of writing. In the late 1800s to early 1900s, Aid Societies scooped orphans up off the streets of New York and Boston, cleaned them up, put them on trains, and shipped them out to the western states (Michigan largely included). There, the kids would get off the trains and families would come to pick out a child to adopt. They would largely help out on the farm. I just think it's fascinating.

Apparently about 250,000 children were moved from urban New York/Boston to homes in Michigan and other places!

Last Lecture

2008-07-25T08:38:00.000-07:00

Randy Pausch died today- he wrote the book The Last Lecture. I got his book for my Dad for Father's Day, but haven't read it myself yet. I also want to read the text of his actual lecture- available online: Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams

The Neverending School Year

2008-06-09T17:20:00.001-07:00

So... snow day today. Not a snow day, really, a thunderstorm/power outage day. If power is restored (while the thunder rolls outside my window as I write) tomorrow, the last day for kids is tomorrow.

If not... who knows?

Why isn't it my real job?

2008-06-02T17:07:00.001-07:00

Coaching. Two developments this week.

1) They hired someone to fill my position as the girls' high school coach. She is extremely good, with lots of experience. I am gleefully handing over my meet records, e-mail addresses, etc., and am planning what I will do with my empty month of August...

2) Tonight was the start of the summer diving season. There was a five week spring session that was a bit of a challenge... lots of kids, teaching at the same time, no competitions for them. It was a bit rough. After a week off, I was dreading going back into the pool tonight. However... it was the best night ever! I took the beginner group, and coached 7 kids with little to no diving experience. However, they were brave and coordinated. It's great when a six-year-old starts the practice crying (shy and nervous) and finishes with a huge smile on his face despite the welt on his back from smacking on a front flip.

So... I had so much fun. I need to find that fun for the last five days of teaching with my students. (Yes, five. Those snow days came back to haunt me.)

Teacher Tube

2008-05-22T20:24:00.000-07:00

I spent way too much time on here tonight... trying to find things to keep antsy 4th graders happy. What a great resource.

This is my first attempt to load a video...

Broke as a Joke

2008-05-22T20:06:00.000-07:00

Taking a big vacation and making major home improvements are tough on the pocketbook...
Better pics and more information to come (someday, I promise). I'm just feeling the strain today!

Michigan on Top

2008-04-22T15:55:00.001-07:00

With the debacles surrounding Michigan football over the past year, I was happy to hear that Jake Long is being drafted #1. I don't have any idea when that last happened.

I don't quite understand why they are drafting before the draft starts. So I am knocking on wood that it holds up.

In about 52 hours, I will be done with taking classes for the master's degree! Hopefully I'll get my sanity back. We went on a field trip today and I left my car keys there. That wouldn't have been such a problem if we knew where the second set was...

Stream of Consciousness

2008-04-17T14:52:00.001-07:00

It's beautiful outside, and I miss having a sunroof.

When will I be able to think in paragraphs again instead of lists or sentences?

My professor canceled class tonight so we could work on our papers. They are now due by 8:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. Do you know what that means for me?

OK, that was a paragraph.

Thanks Molly, for the idea to center the text. It's kind of fun.

Why do parents refuse to come to conferences, but will show up for "fun nights"?

I saw a Ben Folds concert last night in a college gymnasium. Dave and I stood (general admission, no chairs), in the old folks section in the back. It was a good concert, but brutal.

Yes, the concert was the day before a huge paper is due.

I slept through two alarms this morning and missed my carpool.

Gas was $3.59 on the corner this afternoon.

I'm Back

2008-03-31T17:10:00.000-07:00

I have much to say and not much energy tonight. I was making a list of Italy wrap-up things to do and decided to just write it here:

1. Finish journaling the last day
2. Download pictures
3. Develop/work with pictures I want to do something with
4. Unpack
5. Do laundry

I know there was more. There are so many blog ideas in my head but none making their way to words tonight. So one picture, with more later:

Also, my crocuses are up and the tulips are on the way. There are a lot more crocuses than I remember last year. Spring is coming!

Find release from your cares...

2008-03-19T09:56:00.000-07:00

We had Chinese for lunch today, and my fortune cookie had the following inside of it:

"Find release from your cares, have a good time."

I thought that was appropriate. Our flight to Italy (through Frankfurt) leaves at 10:50 tonight, and I'm going to be on it, bronchitis or no bronchitis. I'm looking forward to a week of reading, relaxing, eating, and tourism. Many pictures to come.

Missing Rooster

2008-03-17T15:08:00.000-07:00

Dave's parents came up this weekend to help paint the basement and take Rooster to Chicago. He'll be there for two weeks while we're in Italy. He stayed there over our honeymoon, which was ten days, but we've never been without him since we've had the house. It's weird.

I get up in the morning and go to let him out. Then I open the cabinet to get his food. Oops, I better pick up that Cheerio because Rooster isn't here to eat it. I opened the bathroom door after my shower and expected to see him get up from watching the door. I go to say good-bye to Dave, not having to protect myself from Rooster being protective. I miss his bark as I walk out the door (hey, he is a herder). Getting home and not having him bounce all over, not putting him out, talking to myself because he's not around . . . you get the picture. :(

Also, Happy St. Patrick's Day (I'm so confused by people saying it wasn't really today). I have been sick for a week and a half, postponing my visits to my uncle, who is in the hospital but doing well. Now I am coughing up a lung. Bronchitis is not a good thing to have when you're leaving the country in two days.

I Love Being a Student

2008-03-05T09:54:00.000-08:00

Today is snow day #9. I think.

I did get to fall back asleep after getting the call- they actually called school before my alarm went off. Other snow days this year I've stayed awake.

Today I had a meeting at EMU regarding my master's, so I didn't get to stay home and relax. That's ok, because last week I read for 8 hours instead of doing any homework or schoolwork.

Instead, I feel like a student. I had a meeting with professors, scheduled an independent study for the spring term, went to the computer lab, ate lunch at the student center, came to the library, checked out some books I need, and am at another computer lab now.

I am very happy because I will be done with my master's this summer. I have no more classes after this semester (which means no more textbooks to buy and no more parking to pay for). Unfortunately, I don't think I'm going to be part of a graduation ceremony. I am not going to participate in April, and by December I don't think I'll want to take the trouble. I'll just have to get another degree later so I can wear the cap and gown.

We Do Live in Michigan...

2008-02-26T21:15:00.001-08:00

Apparently we can't go to school if there is three inches of snow on the ground.

As a result, I finish school on Monday, June 9 instead of Friday, June 6.

So much for the planned trip with the in-laws that weekend.

Accomplishments

2008-02-24T11:51:00.001-08:00

What I Did Over Mid-Winter Break:

Read two books that I did not have time to read.
Visited my parents in Las Vegas.
Ran in 60 degree weather three days.
Ran in 35 degree weather another day.
Made pasties. The crust just doesn't turn out right without mom, though.
Played "Diego Blocks" with Lucas.
Enjoyed my first round of golf in quite some time with Mom in Vegas. I could actually hit the ball!
Lost. The casinos didn't like me this trip. Don't worry, it was a reasonable amount of money.
Washed the smoke smell out of all my clothes from the trip. While the casinos and Mom and Dad were equally at fault, I still can't believe I smelled that way for 18 years. (Sorry, it had to be said.)
Observed people waiting at the airport. I don't think my observations will work for the paper I have to write.
Stayed current with my weekly cleaning.
Saw 'Definitely, Maybe' with my mom. Good movie.
Hung out with Robin. That included picking paint colors for the basement and meeting her niece!
Admired my dad's new motorcycle. And his new truck.
Ate at Applebee's three times.
Stayed at the Mirage for a night.

What I Did Not Do Over Mid-Winter Break:

Shovel snow. :)
Clean the office.
Grade papers... yet.
Paint the basement.
Go in to my classroom to clean up.

(I am happy with my use of time. It's bugging me that I put periods at the end of so many sentence fragments, though.)

Contagious

2008-02-10T17:03:00.001-08:00

He has this type of enthusiasm for just about everything. Pickles, dishwashing, brushing teeth, laundry, the computer... he's really only missing enthusiasm when it comes to using the potty!

Two Years

2008-02-10T16:49:00.000-08:00

We've been in the house two years now. Major projects this year included:

Paving the front walk with brick
Replacing the bathroom floor and vanity
Painting the rest of the main floor
Finishing the cabinets
New lights in some areas
Shrubs & minor landscaping out front
New banisters
Getting some pictures up
(Almost) getting the office cleaned
Drywalling the basement

This list is not as impressive as last year! There were some major projects, but overall we were kind of slackers. This upcoming year should be a lot more productive with new floors, painting and carpeting the basement, finishing the office, and landscaping the backyard. Oh! I really need to get pictures up on more of the blank walls as well.

This gets a bit ridiculous....

2008-02-06T03:08:00.001-08:00

I'm all for a day off of work, but at this point the snow days are seriously interrupting my ability to get anything taught. Why are we the only district in Wayne or Washtenaw county that is closed?

We're at the point that we'll be making up days in June. Lovely.

And if they're going to close school, it should really be done before I'm up and showered. I guess I'll be productive this morning and take a nap later.

New Babies & Challenges

2008-02-01T05:10:00.001-08:00

Several friends have new babies that I have enjoyed seeing on their blogs. They are all girls!

Kalli is Jamie & Tyler's daughter in California
Ellie is Zak & Molly's daughter in Illinois
Alexandra is Wes and Michele's daughter here in Ann Arbor. Michele has also recently begun chemo for breast cancer. She and her extended family would appreciate your thoughts and prayers.

Here is a link to Amie's young daughter, Sadie, too, even though it is late. (I also think you're the only one reading my blog, Amie!)

...and a Happy New Year!

2008-02-01T04:57:00.001-08:00

New Year's Day I had a post in mind... and then I was very productive this month! During the winter vacation, I had a long list of things to do around the house, and since then I have been trying to keep up with teaching and taking two master's classes. I have been really good about getting work done and not procrastinating, thus no new posts. I am bummed because I didn't get anything posted in January. Oh well.

The new year started off wonderfully. We have a semi-annual tradition of going out to Dave's cousin's house in rural Illinois. They have 300+ acres on a plot that reminds me of my grandparents' farm in the U.P. (the driveway has the exact same twists and turns). Every time we go out there, we race big wheels in circles (they've been modified to fit adults), play MarioKart, eat White Castle, watch movies, play with their kids (2 daughters- 3 years and 13 months), etc. We were lucky enough this year that it snowed, and snowed, and snowed, so we were able to sled as well. They have the greatest sledding hill right off the back of their house. We were out sledding in the snow until 11:30 at night, then came inside and I was playing Dr. Mario on an original Nintendo for the new year. Fun.

The beginning of February has started out very positively for me as well. We have a snow day today! I have the chance to get tons of grading and work for my classes done today. I couldn't sleep after the phone call came this morning, so I've been up since 6:00 grading papers and will take a nap (!) later.

Closure

2007-12-03T17:32:00.000-08:00

I knew in August that this would be my last year to coach high school. I told myself that I'd write the resignation before the season started, to make sure I did it. As usual, the plans did not work out, and I sat down to write it last night, the day before I was to tell my team. I still knew it was time.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

December 2, 2007

Ladies,

I had to get you all together today to let everyone know at the same time that I am not coming back as your high school coach next year. It has been a really hard decision for me to make, but I always knew that I wouldn’t be able to stay the high school coach forever. Over the course of this season, I realized that coaching and teaching were just too much for me to handle. I tried to put 100% of myself into both jobs, and ended up crabby, overwhelmed, exhausted, and grumpy at both jobs and at home. While I may have been a decent coach and teacher, I was a terrible daughter, sister, aunt, friend, and wife. Those roles are incredibly important to me. After working a 70+ hour workweek, I couldn’t do much on Sundays but lay on the couch, regardless of how much I enjoyed coaching or teaching over the past week. I would go a week without talking to my parents, didn’t see any of my nephew’s football games, lived in a dirty house for three months… you get the picture.

I am not leaving because of any problems with Coach Brunty. Regardless of any differences of opinion I’ve had with him, I think he sincerely wants you to do well and is supportive of diving. We have talked about his need to improve on communicating, and it is something he has worked on all season. We all have to remember that communication is a two-way street, and need to be sure we are trying to improve at the same time that he is.

It may be hard to understand, but you will still see me at the pool. I will be coaching middle school, spring clinic and summer WISC diving at Saline. I am even planning on starting some sessions up at the high school next fall. The difference between this and high school is the intensity. Coaching for six hours a week in a lesson format without any competitions is a lot different than coaching 14 hours with a long meet or two each week. I love coaching, but teaching is my career, where I will be putting my time and energy for the rest of my professional life. Teaching is where I am meant to be.

The past three years have been wonderful. It has been great to have such a strong group of girls to coach and mentor. Like I said, I will be around the pool and coaching, and I would love to have you diving with me at any of those times. You can bet that I will be around to see how you do next year, and if you need anything, you know how to reach me. Luckily, the team has grown into a very strong program, and Coach Brunty should have no trouble finding a good coach who would love to take it over. If you are lucky, you can even practice from 3:00-5:00 and NOT practice mornings. :)

With love,
Lindsay

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

There were a few tears, and I've gotten some e-mails from the girls already tonight. But I am in a very good place with this decision.

Keepsakes

2007-11-26T16:27:00.001-08:00

I love getting wedding invitations. The bigger envelopes in the mail, the calligraphy, seeing the choice of color and font, finding out all the details about where and when the wedding will take place, all of it.

I was cleaning our office yesterday and found the save the date notes and invitations from our wedding. I remembered the trips to the scrapbook store for paper and all the work that went into preparations. Even with all the work and expense, they are things that I'll treasure forever.

Black Friday

2007-11-21T17:53:00.000-08:00

I have always been a big fan of Thanksgiving. This year, I'm not sure that it will feel the same as it usually does as my parents are both in Las Vegas this year. We'll see.

Christmas is a tough holiday for me, as I'm sure it is for all procrastinators. There are fabulous sales to be found this upcoming weekend, but that would require me to have ideas for what I'd like to buy people for Christmas. I am one of those people who will have NO IDEA until the very last minute, and be shopping until the evening of the 24th. Shopping this weekend just isn't worth it when I don't know what I'm looking for.

Finally... a few of the pictures I have talked so much about. It seems that dinosaurs were popular this year for Halloween. Lucas is fun.

Three down, three to go...

2007-11-14T18:39:00.000-08:00

Days, that is.

I've done pretty well on the list of things to do. Dave's birthday went well, as did the regional meet. I postponed my midpoint review for another few weeks, saw my father, and slept 8 hours in the past two nights.

Tuesday night, Dave did come to the regional meet. I didn't expect him to... which was reflected in the fact that I never saw him there or said hello to him. He sat with parents on my team who told him they were glad to be there to keep him entertained since I was ignoring him. Luckily they didnt know it was his birthday at the time, because they would have really given me a hard time!

In unrelated news, Lucas is using the potty. Not just the little one, but the big one. His mom is thrilled because that means less to clean up, while Lucas is walking around giving high fives and saying, "Poop potty! Poop Potty!"

I don't know where to start...

2007-11-12T16:24:00.000-08:00

This is my final week of having two exhausting jobs.

This is my to-do list for this week (and I am here posting):

-Write a response paper for class Tuesday night
-Celebrate Dave's birthday (Tuesday) somehow (I did get him presents)
-Write lesson plans for Tuesday afternoon
-Write lesson plans for Friday all day
-Coach at the regional and state meets
-Write out updates to my students' parents regarding their May Mackinac trip
-Hang out with my father who will be here from Las Vegas
-Write up a mid-point review of my work in my master's field
-Compile work from the past two years of my master's
-Copy said work and paper and deliver it to EMU
-Give mid-point review presentation
-Go to dinner with the state swim team Wednesday night
-Send the overdue book order payment for my class
-Submit the new book order

I guess that doesn't seem like it is as bad as I thought.

You'll see more of me on here soon. If I make it through the week.

Dark Days

2007-09-10T16:22:00.000-07:00

I do have to say something about the past two dismal Saturday afternoons at Michigan Stadium, although there aren't really words to describe it.

I can't believe that so many people would boo a team out there, fighting hard and doing their best. Or that so many would leave in disgust. This past Saturday was an especially brutal afternoon, as Michigan just stank. Somehow I felt like a real fan, staying until the end, moving further and further up in the student section as more and more people left. I guess that to really appreciate your team, you have to see them down.

Mike Hart is amazing. Oh, and the last time we started 0-2, we finished 10-3. That bodes well.

I do have to admit that Saturday when I got home, I went straight for the liquor cabinet. I've done that... never... not even after teaching those terrible days last year.

Bursting

2007-09-10T16:17:00.001-07:00

So I solved one problem today to be faced with two more. Gotta love it.

Coaching is fun. Today I handled high school girl drama/conflict and actually think they learned something from it. Of course, by opening up for some discussion, now they've given me two more problems to think about.

I think it may be possible that my brain will just burst.

The good news is, I have no practice tomorrow night.

All in all, I have handled the first four weeks of the season rather well, I think. I have been happier, have only dissolved into a crying mess one time, and made some time for myself. Unfortunately, I add another thing to the to-do list tomorrow when my fall class at EMU starts up.

I have a wonderful, calm, peaceful class of 19 boys and 6 girls this year in fourth grade. It is amazing what going in to work and not being verbally assaulted every day will do for your job morale.

There are many, many pictures to post- a trip to Boston, a new bathroom floor and vanity, new nephew pics... and much more going on in life. Hopefully I'll get back to this more soon.

Diving Article

2007-07-25T20:03:00.000-07:00

I don't know if this link will work, but this is an article that ran in yesterday's paper about the championship meets going on this week. There was an awesome picture in the paper of one of my divers as well, and I'll scan it and get it up here as soon as I have a minute or two. I've been busy enough this week with meets every day and homework that I haven't finished Harry Potter yet... I've never taken more than 10 hours to finish one before! As far as the meet goes, I am ecstatic as our team looks like it will be doubling how many points we earned last year. Wahoo!!!

Anniversary #2

2007-07-16T11:11:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine gave me a photo album to keep pictures of Dave and I on our anniversary in. This is something I have managed to keep up on! Our anniversary was actually July 9. We went out for dinner and spent the day quietly. I don't love this picture, so I'll have to spend more time on this in future years.

After

2007-07-16T11:08:00.001-07:00

Cabinets. Done.

We will be redoing the countertops and backsplash, too.

Drumroll, please...

2007-07-13T23:54:00.000-07:00

The cabinets. Before.

The drumroll is because I am truly going to work on my paper now, and who knows when I'll get the 'after' shot uploaded.

Lucas is Two

2007-07-13T23:49:00.001-07:00

My nephew turned two years old two weeks ago now. I did finally find him a SpongeBob backpack. Kmart (where I ended up after the disappointment that was Toys 'R' Us) had some backpacks that were smaller, but they had wheels and a handle, and it made it much more bulky. I also thought that the backpack would be more prone to break with the extra parts. So Lucas ended up with a Spongebob backpack that is the size of him. But he takes it everywhere. :)

There is also a picture of his cake. The cake that he knocked off the kitchen table before the party and got into, as you can see.

Cool Stuff

2007-07-13T23:39:00.001-07:00

You need to check out Google Translator if you haven't already. Go to Language Tools on Google's main page, and then you can have any text translated. The really spooky part was when I put in for my blog to be translated. Within 3 seconds, my entire blog popped up in Spanish. It took about 10 seconds, but my blog also popped up in Arabic. I am just amazed that that kind of technology exists.
I spent an entire day after a sand volleyball game in complete discomfort because I had sand in my eye. I tried flushing it with water, submersing my head, swimming, all to no avail. It took me 5 minutes on the Internet to finally find the remedy, and I need to share it with you. I was in all sorts of pain with a huge headache, and I was so relieved. In order to get something stuck in your eyelid out, pull your upper eyelid over your lower eyelid. The lashes on your lower eyelid will brush out the offending object.

Toys R Us & Golf

2007-06-28T18:14:00.000-07:00

I went to Toys R Us to find a birthday present for my nephew yesterday. As I was walking down the right-hand side of the store, I was .... (insert perfect word...) disappointed (?) to see that on one side of the aisle, everything was pink. On the other side, everything was black, dark blue, or green. My nephew loves Dora and Diego, and I want to get him a backpack for his birthday. The only backpacks I could find were Dora, and they all had mainly pink on them. Is it not OK for a boy to have a backpack? So I am looking other places.

My mom, dad, and I spent the day at the Buick Open golf tournament. According to Mom, I had been at one before. Of course, I had no recollection of that. I had the best time jumping from hole to hole, watching the players, trying to see their balls in the air, and seeing their families following them around. It helped that the weather was perfect- upper 70s, partly cloudy and breezy. Tiger Woods pulled out of the tournament, as his wife just had her baby, so he wasn't there. My mother would be very disappointed to hear me say it, but I was very disappointed. I'd like to see him play to be able to say I saw him play. I also root for him to win and continue to make history. (Shh! Don't tell Mom!)

Summer has officially hit. I am coaching and taking classes, but most of the time most days I have very little stress. I laid in the grass at the golf course and took a 15 minute nap! If anyone knows my father, it won't surprise them to hear that he did, too.

Another One

2007-06-19T11:28:00.000-07:00

I am not an organized person. I take notes that I later lose or never go back to. I have LOVED having a reading blog. Finally, I have found a format that works for me to keep track of my reading and share my reading life with my students.

As that format works so well, I have decided to go ahead and do something similar with teaching ideas. My third (!) blog is awaiting a title, but will deal with all of my school issues and ideas. Hopefully I will be able to keep the Lifelong Learning blog updated... but it will just deal with my life outside of teaching!

It seems a tad excessive to have three blogs... but I am super excited about the potential for me to be organized for once!

Story People

2007-06-04T18:28:00.001-07:00

When traveling in the Virgin Islands a few years back, Dave and I visited a ton of local art galleries. Of course, the favorite thing we found was from an artist in Iowa (not the exotic location!). His name is Brian Andreas, and he is the creator of Story People. For some reason, the stories resonate with me. Many people I have talked to think the art is weird, but I love it. I think it's because it's about what I'm capable of!

Check it out. Some of my favorite stories are:
Good Jumper
Waiting for Signs
Flying Woman
Wonder Roast
Invention
Simple Rules (I know, I'm sorry)
Some Kind of Ride
Enough Time
Color Blind
Before Dawn
Plumber

More things I love are the tiles that Hallmark puts out. I saw one at a local Hallmark that said, "Love What You Do", but haven't been able to find it again. I needed it this past year.

Time (Can you tell I haven't been trying ten titles?)

2007-05-20T18:09:00.000-07:00

Lately, I have an aversion to everything that is required of me. Cleaning, grading papers, going to work in general... I guess it is spring fever.

Just last weekend, I had all of the students' grades caught up and handed out progress reports. Then by Friday, I had a bagful of papers to grade again. If I could spend 15 minutes every day working on grading, or cleaning, or laundry, or dishes, I'd have a lot less piling up going on.

Over the past two weeks, I have tried to do less worrying about what I have to do and just doing it. It is amazing how much less time things take when you just go ahead and do them without the bellyaching.

On a fun note, this past Tuesday my mom and I both called in sick to work. (I am not one to feign sickness much, but she's retiring and we thought it would be a fun day.) We went and spent the greater part of the day playing golf with another friend of mine, Robin (who also called in). It was a great treat- the weather was beautiful, and it took until the 12th hole for me to want to walk off the golf course in frustration.

Mackinac Pictures #2

2007-05-20T17:57:00.000-07:00

So these are pictures that I also like, but that didn't publish the first time. Note the muddy shoes and smiles, the $12 entrance fee for the Grand Hotel, and the chairs facing out into the mist. The school in the picture is the school for all the kids, K-12, on the island. Their typical graduating class is 4 students. I loved the fact that they just left their bikes laying outside school all day!

"She really needed it..."

2007-05-11T17:44:00.000-07:00

I spent two (long) days this week accompanying the 4th graders to Mackinac Island. It was a treat for several reasons. First, I hadn't been there since I was 7 years old. I remember the ferry dock and ride over the best from that trip. Secondly, I had only five fourth graders on the trip, but I got to be a chaperone anyway! I left the rest of my 23 students at school with a sub. One of my students reportedly told her mom, "I'm glad Mrs. Pawlowski gets to go to Mackinac. She REALLY needed it!"

It was a fun two days. The first day was completely rainy, but we all survived the cold and wetness to have a beautiful second day exploring the island. The highlight of day #2 was trying some "Geocaching" with another teacher and a student. If you haven't geocached before, you use a GPS monitor to help find certain spot where someone has hidden a "treasure". We were successful in finding one of the hidden spots, but on the way to the 2nd, we ended up hiking a huge, slippery hill and climbing over a fence into the backyard of the Grand Hotel! Luckily, we were not caught trespassing.

pro·cras·ti·na·tion

2007-05-03T17:03:00.000-07:00

Procrastination is the deferment or avoidance of an action or task to a later time. For the person procrastinating this may result in stress, a sense of guilt, the loss of productivity, the creation of crisis, and the chagrin of others for not fulfilling one's responsibilities or commitments.

transitive verb : to put off intentionally and habitually

***********************

Coaching has started again. It is a fun session, with plenty of coaches and a reasonable number of kids. It also means that when I get home at 8:00, I am dead on the couch. I would have posted sooner, but there was absolutely nothing of any value to say.

After 2 1/2 weeks of coaching, I have piles and piles of papers to grade. I am going to head off to do some tonight, but I spend every evening thinking about the things I have to do without doing them.

OH! I remember what I was going to say! A friend of mine had tickets to the Norah Jones concert here Friday night. She gave them to me as she had something come up. They are front row tickets. Yahoo!!! Of course, I can't keep a secret worth anything. I had hoped to just bring Dave there on Friday, but within half an hour I was jumping around with the news.

Spring Break 2007 Top Ten

2007-04-15T18:45:00.000-07:00

10) Watching two entire movies without falling asleep or grading papers

9) Trying on dresses at the Ann Taylor Factory Store in Vegas. In general, spending money on myself. I got a haircut, a makeover, and bought makeup and clothes this week. Lots of frou-frou, but I surprisingly enjoyed it.

8) Taking naps and getting enough sleep for an entire week

7) Running a staff meeting for the upcoming session of coaching. It was good to see everyone at the pool. I was showing my new staff how to use the emergency phone and accidentally called 911.

6) Picking up Mom, Lucas and Courtney at the airport (they stayed in Vegas longer than I). Lucas was smiling and calling my name when I pulled up.

5) Playing golf with Dad, Mom, and Dave... even though I had goose bumps the whole time. I got to see Dad at work at the golf course with the widest smile on his face.

4) Spending some relaxing time with Dave. We had a dinner out in Vegas, and just genuine couple-time over the entire week and a half.

3) Following Lucas as he was crawling up and down the airport terminal in blue-striped pajamas.

2) Waking up in the morning and reading in bed to start the day.

1) Feeling content, refreshed, and able tonight. I think I can focus on the "now" instead of the to-do list a little better.

Promised Pictures

2007-04-15T17:57:00.000-07:00

I started a reading blog!

Also, here are the pictures as promised. First, we have the new walkway. Then, Lucas and my mom, Lucas and Dave in the pool, and finally, the 5th grade first-place science fair winner.

**When I came back to my blog, I saw that there were no pictures! So they are out of order now, but I'm trying again.

Another Vacation Heard From

2007-04-13T07:22:00.001-07:00

I have the toughest time coming up with titles for my entries. At school, I make my students come up with ten title ideas for their writing. I don't remember where I read that, but after the kids write down the four or five basic boring titles, they really have to stretch themselves creatively and numbers 6-8 are usually stellar. It has helped liven up their titles tremendously. I tried it today, and lucky title #7 (my favorite number) was the winner.

I'm going to list my title choices, since I will hopefully be using this blog to help me in the classroom:
1) Update
2) Time to Update
3) Long Time, No Write
4) Another Country Heard From
5) Lots to Say
6) Another State Heard From
7) Another Vacation Heard From
8) Las Vegas
9) Gambling with the Family (Yes, I am reaching at this point! I doubt I'd use this in the classroom...)
10) Family Time in Las Vegas

At school last week, the subject of blogs came up. Another teacher said, "You know, I just don't understand it. All those people who are so self-absorbed and write about the details of their lives for other people to read." Of course, I didn't admit that I had started a blog. What I should have said was, "Well, I don't write for other people, I write for myself. I have never had any luck keeping a journal or a diary. At this point, I have written more and for longer than I ever have before. I also find it a great way to keep up with people that I don't talk to as often as I should." I didn't write for a few days, in part because of her comment. I didn't have anything interesting enough to post and keep others entertained with. Then, of course, I remembered that I am posting for myself, not other people.

I have pictures to update with as well- of the front walk, the vacation, and Science Fair. I'll be on again later today or tomorrow. I love vacations!

More Laughs... and other notes.

2007-04-03T20:16:00.000-07:00

So now I hear that my father wants to trade in his Corvette and his truck and get... a Hummer H3. His house is down the street from the dealership in Vegas.

***

Science Fair this week has gone wonderfully. Most of the kids have done a wonderful job of being scientists and doing an experiment. It was hard to get families to avoid doing projects (make a volcano...). Pictures to follow.

***

We took out our old cement walkway this weekend and added a beautiful, brick, curvy one with the help of Dave's parents. The old one collected water and the dirt around it was eroding.

A Worthy Caretaker?

2007-03-23T15:47:00.000-07:00

My sister left me a message today that ended with, "...and by the way, I put your name down at the doctor's office as an emergency contact for Lucas. You can now take him to the doctor without me and approve his care."

I am a real, adult aunt. With responsibility. Yes, this probably should have occurred to me sooner.

* * * *

On another note, it is not so easy to find a positive thing to say about my classroom today. I had a substitute in the morning so I could go to the doctor's. She left saying, "I will never again, in a million years, substitute in your room." I guess my lovelies called her all sorts of names, and the loveliest of them all made fun of her name, told her he hated her and called her stupid. I tried to tell her it wasn't her, that they treat me the same way every day. I don't think that was what she was looking for. Another teacher came in today and reamed them out in front of me for not respecting me and the other students in the building. "Don't you know that your teacher is wonderful and she works hard for you? You reward her by making her look like the worst teacher in the building!" and, "If my class were that loud, we'd be practicing walking in the hallway."

Thanks. I think she was trying to help. Of course, it was only 15 minutes later that another one of my students was getting reprimanded for pounding on the outside of another classroom wall while the students inside were taking a test.

So the positive today would be me standing my ground and only letting the students who were reported as being "cooperative" go down to play Friday afternoon dodgeball. Despite the bellyaching and scowls from the kids left behind.

Another positive: Today was the first day of fourth quarter.

Domesticity & March Madness

2007-03-22T18:39:00.000-07:00

I made cookies tonight. So far (crossing my fingers) they aren't ending up burnt like they so often do. I tend to forget that they are in the oven... In general, I am not a very domestic person. I clean because I have to, Dave cooks every night and I do the dishes, and this is the first time I've baked in months. I wanted cookies for us, of course, but also my international partner from China because I am seeing her tomorrow, the custodian from school for replacing my dirty orange curtains with blinds, and the teacher across the hall because she has returned from maternity leave.

I was sad to see Southern Illinois lose tonight to Kansas. Last year, Bradley made it to the Sweet 16 and beat Kansas in the first round. I would have liked to have seen another Missouri Valley Conference team do even better. It's crazy how no matter how the basketball game goes, it always seems as though you can just watch the last two minutes and see the most exciting part.

Fun Notes Today!

2007-03-14T14:08:00.000-07:00

The crocuses and daffodils I planted last fall started popping up yesterday! Will they make it through the lower temperatures coming over the next few weeks?
I didn't have to call Jeremy's* parents once today, and he made it through the entire school day. (*Name changed)
Last night at my volleyball league game, I FINALLY accomplished serving overhand! They were great serves through one and a half games. After that, of course, I couldn't get one over the net. I have another chance tonight in the winter league playoffs.
The temperature in the house is 63 degrees right now! 63 degrees feels wonderful, as we regularly keep the house at 59 degrees during the winter (I sneak it up to 62 every once in a while).The warm spell will make the gas bill next month a little easier to take.

What went well in school today:
My students are making PowerPoint presentations for book reports this quarter. Jason* did a fabulous book report about dinosaurs, complete with wonderful, scary pictures!

Gobbledygook

2007-03-13T15:17:00.000-07:00

On my way home today, I was stressing out over how to get my papers written for my class Thursday night while at the same time getting the writing my students have done graded (which I've put off way too long). I started thinking about my graduate class. . . and my students. . . and my graduate class . . . and my students . . . and all of a sudden I remembered why I was taking the graduate classes to begin with! I remembered a conversation I had with my principal a few months ago- we were attending the funeral of one of my student's fathers (he had been shot and killed) and were conversing about my graduate work. I told her then that I hoped to connect my learning in this class to my students, most of whom are African-American.

The light bulb finally came on today on my way home. I am enmeshed in learning about the continuum of individualistic vs. collectivistic cultures. Individualistic cultures (in a nutshell- I've read about 200 pages worth of material elaborating on this point-a lot of which has seemed like gobbledygook to me) are those that emphasize self-worth through individual accomplishment, while collectivistic cultures strive to promote group goals and unity. Westernized cultures (America, England) tend to be individualistic, while Asian and African cultures tend to be collectivistic.

My students are primarily African-American and low-income. Both of these categories tend to place more emphasis on the collectivistic end of the continuum. Relationships are more important than accomplishments. The major 'aha' moment I had today was about behavior and the importance of allowing my students to save face in front of a group. When I am correcting their behavior (and often punishing) lately, most of it is done in the public arena. This is a major embarrassment to the students. Collectivistic cultures are supposed to accept the idea of hierarchy and power- that those above them need to be listened to. At the same time, though, THOSE ABOVE THEM ARE SUPPOSED TO PROTECT THEM- especially their face. The senior members of a collectivistic group are supposed to help the juniors look good.

So then I asked myself the question- If unity and group harmony is so important to collectivistic cultures, why don't my students worry more about unity in our classroom community? The answer is that it isn't fully a community this year. They haven't bought into the idea that in our classroom, we are family, and everyone is it in together. There is too much antagonism, and to many of my African-American students, they are identifying with each other and I am part of the "out-group". Can a teacher be part of the student group? I think so- it is what I have accomplished in other years. I think one major area I went wrong was resorting to public behavior correction out of frustration.

I swear this would make a lot of sense to anyone taking this class with me.

What Worked

2007-03-12T14:42:00.000-07:00

In an effort to salvage a year that is going downhill fast, I am going to try to blog about things that are going well in the classroom. Hopefully I'll get to this every day, but we'll see.

Today, writing went well. As usual! It takes a few minutes for the students to settle in, but once they are wrapping their brains around a piece of writing, I can usually get 40 minutes of quality learning time in. I love teaching writing according to the writing process in a workshop approach. It gives the kids responsibility for their writing, and ultimately teaches them to be good writers. Many students will spend three weeks on a piece of writing- planning, drafting, revising, editing, revising again... and I love their final projects. Today was a good day- we started writing by writing to the pen pals the students currently have. Around Valentine's Day each year, we start a post office in the school. Kids are required to buy postage and address their valentines to send them to each other. We also pair them up with students in another room to write letters back and forth.

Writing for a purpose always works well. Actually, when there is a clear purpose, students do most anything well. They get engaged in what they are doing and want to do their best. Today they did a great job, and for once when I was traveling around the room it was commenting on writing instead of behavior. We've started a time for "Author's Chair" each week, and students with a final published copy of a piece of writing can read it aloud (or have me read it aloud) for the class to hear.

Yup, I think writing about the good will help me out.

Back to work...

2007-03-11T20:03:00.000-07:00

I failed miserably at my goal for this week off... it was to get to Sunday and be able to relax and be prepared for the upcoming work week. Here I am scrambling on Sunday night, once again.

At least it was a good week. My spirits are very high heading back into the week- I have only one job for the next five weeks! I am glad to be able to focus solely on teaching for at least a short while.

Vacation Fun

2007-03-07T10:21:00.001-08:00

I haven't had anything worthwhile to say lately- that was starting to get to me! We are on a "mid-winter break" this week. One of the joys of that is getting to baby-sit for Lucas (my sister's son) more often this week. So far today, we have played the guitar and piano, eaten mac and cheese and applesauce for lunch and gone for a walk outside. When Lucas gets up from his nap, we will be heading over to the nearby high school to coach a diving practice. He loves diving, and claps every time someone hits the water. We think he likes the splash more than anything.

On a related note, last night was the boys' regional meet. I was pleased that one of the boys from the team I'm helping out with (their coach is on maternity leave) made it to the state meet this weekend. It feels good, since I never accomplished getting there myself.

Field Trips

2007-02-21T17:23:00.000-08:00

I have been really disappointed in field trips this year.

First of all, they are super expensive. Admission to the Detroit Historical Museum today was $5.00 a kid. That wasn't too bad. Then, we had to add the bus fee. The district is charging us $25 an hour per bus, and then an additional $0.25 cents per mile traveled. When it is all added together, it costs each kid $10 per field trip. We will be taking 5 this year (three at the expensive $10.00 cost- the others are covered to varying degrees with school fundraiser money).

Needless to say, there are some kids who have trouble coming up with that money. It could be because of single parents, multiple kids in a family, whatever. There are a few of my kids who would not have been able to go if I hadn't been able to cover it out of our general fund. I will always scrape together the money to send kids if it is a financial issue and I know ahead of time. Those are kids whose families may not be able to provide those experiences for them on their own.

I also had 4-5 kids today who were just not going to go on the field trip. It would be boring, or they had already been there. Not going to go? I don't understand! Field trips were the highlight of school... So two of my students did not come to school today at all to avoid the trip, and two others didn't have their permission slips returned, so they were left at school with other teachers.

On the positive side, the students who attended and I learned a whole lot about the history of Michigan and Detroit. Did you know that Vernors and the three-light stoplight originated in Detroit?

Mountain-Sick

2007-02-19T16:53:00.000-08:00

I've been missing the mountains lately. We went snowboarding here last week and that started it. Then, last night I talked to my friend Amanda who moved to Oregon with her husband last year. Winter in Oregon sounds much like winter in Utah. Not so many freezing temperatures. Not only that, they took a beautiful trip to Mount Hood (hopefully she will let me add a link to her page).

So here is one of my favorite pics from an overnight trip Dave and I took in Salt Lake in 2004.

2004???

Thoughts

2007-02-14T19:38:00.000-08:00

I told Dave about the list of house items we've completed, and he reminded me that he sanded and refinished the wood floors upstairs last winter as well.
I coached a Pioneer vs. Huron dive meet last week. Pioneer has been the dominant swimming/diving power in our area for a long time, so it was fun to see the Huron boys improving. Huron has a very strong shot to beat them next year.
Why is it that when I have a snow day, I always have grand intentions of getting caught up, but it never happens?
Mt. Brighton is actually just a hill. I can't believe that anyone in Michigan pays money to snowboard. We were spoiled in Utah.
Finally- here are before and after pictures of the office. I took the after picture in July, and it still looks just the same, with things strewn everywhere. There are white curtains on the window, though.

I know that the before picture isn't that great, but the wall color was truly "baby poop brown".

Minimum Wage

2007-02-11T06:52:00.000-08:00

My dad retired from his job as an engineer in the automotive industry last April. He has spent much of the past year at my parents' home in Las Vegas. Lately, the lack of structure in retirement has gotten to him, so he has been on the hunt for new jobs.

I called there a few nights ago and found that he had applied to work at the golf course. He turned in an application, complete with a resume, and had an interview the following day. He was excited about his first job interview in 30 some years.

Dad started his new job yesterday. He drives a tractor around the driving range, picking up golf balls, while people aim to hit him from the tee box. (Of course, the tractor has a cage around him to protect him.) Then he washes them and puts them back in the machines for the people to hit back out on the range. And he enjoyed his first day of work. It's perfect- free golf at the course for just a few hours a week. It makes me laugh.