ah...self-consciousness

I never thought much about my less than model work habits until there was someone around to bear witness to them every week.

Not the happiest thought this Friday morning

Sometimes I worry about what my students will do in college since, as seniors in high school, they can't read quietly for more than five minutes.

Pictures have arrived!

After a month of anxious waiting, I got some of our engagement photos today. Yay! Here are a select few for your enjoyment...

This one is my new desktop background because I love it so much.

I love how cheesy and classic this one is (and I love the colors)

And the whole reason we chose the National Arboretum for our shoot is because it is home to the original Capitol Columns, so here are some of my faves from that location.

I am beyond pleased with the result. Hope you enjoyed!

A quick vent

So, this will be quick because my lunch break is about to end, but I need to vent.

Brian and I took our engagement photos on Tuesday, November 10th. At that time, our photographer told me to expect to see our photos within two weeks. A few days after two weeks passed, I emailed and asked for an update. She posted a one picture preview on the website and told me to expect a full web preview this week and the full shoot within the next week. Today is the end of this week and I still have nothing. Not only that, but the "Right Now" tab on her website (which links to her Twitter feed) informs me that she is spending the day shopping with her mom. Now, I don't begrudge anyone good mom time, but...really? Next Tuesday will be one full month since we took our photos and I'm not confident that we'll have anything at that point.

All I want for Christmas? My engagement photos.

(I should note that, other than this very long delay, I am thrilled with our photographers. They are fun, and dedicated, and passionate about their work, which they are exceptional at. I don't want to be a needy bride, but I really want to see my pictures...even just some of them.)

Okay, time to get on with my day. Happy weekend, all!

I do love Black Friday

I have a confession: I love Black Friday shopping. Now, I don't get up at 3am to get in line with the crazies in front of big box store X, but I do like heading to the stores in the morning and spending the day finding deals. This year was no exception - Brian and I got to our first store around 8am and, over the course of the morning/early afternoon we hit a whole host of stores (including a horribly ineffective stop at Wal-Mart). At the outlet mall across the Bay Bridge, we did our clothes shopping for the year (yeah, we don't really shop for other people on this trip) and I also stumbled upon my wedding shoes!

I couldn't find a photo online, so I'm including my own, somewhat grainy shots, taken in our bathroom (the only available counter space with an uncluttered background). They are much higher than I was thinking of, but I am in love with them. And, when I tried them on for Brian...he was very supportive of my purchase.


Hope everyone else had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!

Story of my life lately...

It's probably more accurate if I replace "save the world" with "write a paper" or "grade these assignments" or "plan my lessons," but you get the idea. (Also, not to be petty, but I would have spelled "shiny" correctly.)

Hope you're all well - I'll work on getting a real post up soon(ish).

Wedding updates

As I wait to see if the Bears can make up for some pretty sad plays earlier in this game, I thought I'd update on some wedding things. Now, I won't be posting pictures of my dress (when I choose it), but we did find our bridesmaids' dresses and I thought you might be interested. Especially if you know the saga that has been finding these dresses. Mainly the color...who knew the right purple would be so hard to find???

Anyway, Maggie and Brian's sister Erin will wear this dress:

And my sisters will wear this dress:

Both dresses are from Nordstorm and designed by Maggy London. They are almost exactly the shade of purple I had been picturing and I am so relieved to have found - and purchased - the dresses. Now, to find my dress.

We've also interviewed two caterers and will be scheduling tastings with both after the holidays. And we're taking engagement photos in a few weeks. And Brian's closer to choosing DJs to interview. It's all starting to take shape and now that's not crazy because it's only about nine months away!

Update: the Bears just scored - tied with 6 minutes to go...any guesses as to what might happen? ::sigh:: Not sure I want to stay up for this...

Unsustainable

I am in one of the worst moods ever today. And I don't like to dump a lot of negativity onto this page, in part because then people send platitudes that, while nice, make me uncomfortable. Still, I need to get this out because I am bubbling over with frustration.

More than anything, I feel overwhelmed. And not in the way that motivates you to get things done efficiently. I'm overwhelmed in a sort of paralyzing way. In the way that makes you angry at the world and then makes you frustrated that you're irrationally angry. In the way that makes you start to cry in your car when you realize you left your lunch in the house and makes you cry harder when you realize you're ruining your makeup the day of Back to School night. In the way that makes it nearly impossible for you to get up in the morning, to stay alert all day, to not collapse onto the couch as soon as you walk in the door.

Today I drove to work (45 minutes - another stellar commute) in silence because I the radio was agitating me. I don't want to talk to people. I want quiet. Really, I want a do-over, but since those aren't possible, I'll settle for a chance to get things back on track.

I am swamped at work. I work all day every day and I am still nowhere near caught up with things. I always feel like I'm scrambling to get things done. I teach three classes every two days, which means that I teach between 11 and 13 hours each week. You'd think I'd have plenty of time to get everything done. And yet...

I was at work until 7:30pm last Friday and still brought 4 hours of work home with me. I am days behind on grading in all of my classes. I need to write a Performance Based Assessment by Monday and I don't have anything done beyond the final product. I spent an entire hour yesterday cutting bookmarks for Back to School night. Last week, I spent a total of at least 8 hours collecting and placing an order of polo shirts for faculty. I have been at school until 7p, 8p, 9p more times than I care to remember in the last two weeks. I spend at least 6 hours a week meeting with and observing members of my department. I spend 4 hours a week in team meetings - usually after the work day ends. I spend between 10-15 hours a week on grad school assignments. I spend three hours a week at water aerobics, trying to get myself in some sort of functional shape. Plus, you know, I'm also trying to plan a wedding and have some semblance of a life.

Anyway, I wish I could do September over. Although I'm not sure what I'd change. I'm hoping October brings a little more calm to my life. Because, honestly, I cannot imagine making it through a whole year like this...at least not with any of my sanity or relationships in tact.

Hope fall is treating all of you a little better! Sorry for the rant.

Saying good-bye to summer

Today was the last day of my summer vacation (sadly, the boat above is JFK's, not mine). To be fair, it was also the third day of my summer vacation, but three is better than zero. Students came back yesterday, but only sixth and seventh graders - my students will not start school for another eight days - so my principal encouraged me to take some time. I thought I would spend it relaxing and doing some work, but tomorrow I will return my bags to school, having never even opened them. Instead I did things I enjoy. I ran small errands. I bought a handful of new clothes and a pair of purple flats. I spent a morning in Annapolis. I got a haircut. I ate Indian food. I bought flowers at a farmer's market. I watched tv. I talked with my best friend. I slept in. I gave myself a manicure. And I read. I read on the Annapolis city dock, eating pumpkin bread and listening to the bay. I read in my bed, when I would normally be on my way to work, listening as a cool breeze rustled the tree outside our window. I read by the pool, milking every last minute of the freedom that was so wonderfully mine over the last few days.

In between my first day of vacation and my second and third days, Brian and I went to Chicago. We left Friday afternoon and returned on Sunday. Ostensibly, we went home to welcome Rachel back to the States and to celebrate my grandparents' sixtieth wedding anniversary. But we also went home because my grandfather is pretty sick and it was very important to my mom that we have this mini family reunion of sorts. It was really good to see everyone and fun to watch my sisters reunited and clearly still enamored with each other (in this way that only twins can be, I think). And I never pass at a chance to spend time with my grandparents; we are remarkably different people, but they are the most sincere and loving people I know. The visit was hard too. My grandpa has always been quiet, but there is a different aura to his silence now. He carries himself differently, people react differently to him, and more than once I caught him concentrating on his arms, rubbing them as if that could make the bruises go away. This was the first trip in a long time where I had a hard time saying good bye to my parents at the airport and I could not sleep at all our first night back. I'm a little better now, but it's a strange thing, getting older, watching your role models get older still.

Tomorrow, I will dive, headfirst, back into the world of meetings and lesson plans and observations. I will say good-bye to the shorts and flip-flops I love so much and, like so many of my friends have already done, I will go back to school. Summer's really over.

small victories

I know that many of you that read this blog are active, healthy people. I was once too. Sort of. To be honest, I was never one of those people who enjoyed working out. Or even being super active. I played soccer in high school and loved swimming as a kid, but that's all really. I've never understood people who say that working out makes them feel better, but I do know that working out made me feel better about myself and that was something.

When I hurt my back I lost all motivation to be active. I can't really explain it, but when the simple movements required to get through the day (bending to plug in your laptop, crossing your foot over your knee to tie your shoes, reaching across the backseat of the car to retrieve an umbrella) cause you pain and discomfort, the thought of actual exercise seems ridiculous. I would have moments and try, after all I herniated those discs nearly two years ago, but it would hurt too much or be too hard and I would be too busy with work and school to keep trying. This week, with eleven months to go until the wedding and me feeling more and more gross about my physical self, I decided that enough was enough. This month, my goal is to run on the elliptical for 30 minutes three times a week.

I did it. More than that, though, today was the first time since I got hurt that I ran a mile in under 15 minutes. I know that sounds lame, but you have to consider the circumstances. And that, even when I was running every day after work, I still never went faster than maybe 9 minutes/mile. So today, I celebrate this little victory. And share it with all of you. And hope you won't mock how out of shape I am.

Five things

First and foremost, I have to publicly congratulate Molly and Eric, whose daughter Layla Cadiz was born this morning. I have only seen pictures, but just like the children of my other friends, I am already in love. Congratulations on the newly expanded family, Molly & Eric!

Second, I am back at work. Not that I ever left, but I am now back working for the 2009-2010 school year. It was a long week of meetings and planning, but not so bad. Ask me how I feel about it again when we're two weeks into planning time and still have a week or so to go.

Third, I have this HUGE paper due for grad school on Sunday. I have had two weeks to work on it and I have done next to nothing so far. Brian has a softball tournament this weekend so I'm planning to bang it out in the next two days. It'll get done and it'll be fine, but I'm a little worried that I'll wave goodbye to my 4.0 GPA this semester. In more positive grad school news, I am now more than halfway through my master's program - after this one ends (in 1.5 weeks), only 4 more to go.

Fourth, I had my first crazy bride moment last weekend. A few weeks ago I thought I found the perfect bridesmaid dress at Macy's. It was a nice purple, bright and vivid, which I want. But then, after telling everyone all about it, I started to second guess myself. So I sent Maggie to a bridal shop in Wausau to check another option. She gave a preliminary thumbs-up, so Brian and I went to Upper Marlboro, MD to look. And it was there, standing amongst the mirrors and finery, that I looked at my dear fiance and asked, with no sense of irony in my voice, which color he liked more - the eggplant or the grape. G-d bless him for not laughing in my face.

Fifth, Brian's friends and their 3 year old daughter are visiting us from LA next week. Visiting us and staying in our (admittedly overcrowded) guest room. I am really looking forward to seeing them and hanging out with them and their daughter. Plus, in honor of their visit, I took next Friday off, which is definitely something to look forward to.

Happy weekending!

In the spirit of giving back

As some of you know, my best friend Maggie lost her mom last month. You may also know that Maggie works for the Boys & Girls Club of Wausau, Wisconsin. In honor of her mom, and in remembrance of her mom's volunteer work with the club, Maggie is hoping to raise at least $1000 to sponsor 50 (!) annual memberships for children whose families cannot afford the $20/year fee. I think this is a wonderful way not only to honor Sue's memory, but to continue her legacy of helping others.

If you're interested in helping out, you can easily donate (any amount) at the site below:

http://www.firstgiving.com/maggiebrown

Thanks and much love to each of you!

Always a new day

The last two days, one of my independent reading students has been driving me crazy. He is off-task, loud, silly, and completely unrepentant. And, truthfully, he is one of my favorites. But not this week. As of the end of class yesterday I was out of patience for him. Imagine then, the look on my face as he came barrelling towards my car at 8am this morning, basketball in hand, iPod headphones flying behind him, shirt untucked, shoes untied. He was a mess. But he had the goofiest grin on his face so I composed my own face and greeted him. With no small amount of pride in his voice he declared that he studied last night for today's quiz on Seedfolks, our current novel. As the smile threatened to take over his face, he told me he felt very confident about this quiz and, as if to emphasize the point, bounced the basketball along with each word. I told him I was glad to hear it and he nodded enthusiastically and ran off for the basketball court without another word.

Sometimes my job makes me scream. And sometimes, like this morning, it makes me laugh. In a good way. Because....really?

A night just for me

Since Brian is down at the beach for the week, I thought I would dedicate this Tuesday night to all of the things I like. I spent an hour at Target, have an Amy's spinach pizza in the oven, and I'm going to watch "Say Yes to the Dress" while I eat dinner. I also have laundry going and just downloaded photos to update here and on FB. And I plan on being asleep by 10pm. I miss Brian and never like it when he is gone, but I must admit that I'm pretty excited with my night as I have planned it.

So...what have I been up to in the last month? Read on, dear readers...

The 2008-2009 school year officially ended on June 19th. Hooray! The week of June 22nd we welcomed our incoming students, including rising sixth graders for the very first time. I taught generic social studies to four groups of sixth grade girls for the week and mostly loved it. No real attitude at that age...one of my girls turned eleven during our week of classes. Eleven. On our last day together, we toured Bowie State University. Below is a picture of some of the girls as they listen to the tour guide (and I promise that I did not pose them).
That Sunday, my parents arrived for a week of vacation in the DC area. We had a great time visiting the Capital Hill area (below, the Capitol and a banner at the Library of Congress)...

...eating local specialties (my dad's platter at a crab shack on the Delaware River)
...and enjoying the great weather (no explanation needed for this photo).
We also got rained out of an Orioles game, toured the wedding location, and caught the local 4th of July fireworks. But my parents have all of those photos.

The day after my parents headed back to Chicago, I started my job teaching summer school to middle school students. From 9am until 12pm, I teach an independent reading course to eleven 7th and 8th grade boys and girls; we read The House on Mango Street for the first 90 minutes and then they read and reflect on a book of their choosing for the last 90 minutes. After lunch, I teach life sciences to two 7th grade boys. Below are the boys posing with the cell cakes we made last week (I made the cakes, they "decorated" them with the correct organelles).
Last Thursday, Brian and I celebrated the fact that there was exactly one year until our wedding. Brian took to calling it our "reverse-ary" and since it was a special occasion, I convinced him to take a photo. See below.
This past weekend we had a crazy chaotic trip to Wisconsin to visit some of my friends. It was a much more complicated journey than I anticipated, but the time with my friends made me feel a million times more like myself. And that is always great. The rest of the summer will fly by, I'm sure. There's 2.5 weeks of summer school left and then I have a weekend before heading back for leadership training and the start of 2009-2010. This coming weekend there is a very quick trip to the Outer Banks to share the end of Brian's beach time. I can hardly believe it is mid-July already.

Hope each of you is enjoying your summer as well.

End of day update

As I get ready to leave work (and yes, it is closing in on 6pm), I thought I'd make a list of all I've done today. Try to make myself feel better about how long I was at work today.

• grades are posted
• textbook inventories are complete
• facilities request is turned in
• IEP summaries are submitted
• Economics & American government curriculum maps reflection are complete
• self-evaluation is complete
• faculty survey is submitted
• tomorrow's department meeting is prepped

Left to do Tuesday-Thursday:

• AP curriculum map reflection
• individual goals reflection with each department team member (5)
• budget proposal
• department goals reflection
• department philosophy/mission statement revised
• 2009-2010 initiatives frameworks compiled and distributed

Not so bad, I suppose. Happy Monday, all!

Teacher work week

Last Friday was the final day for our students. Saturday morning was graduation. For all intents and purposes, the 2008-2009 school year has ended. Except that I am at work. And have been since 8:15 this morning. And will be from 8:15am-3:30pm tomorrow, Wednesday, and Thursday. On tap? Today it was a lot of meetings, moving forward it is one to two meetings a day and time to complete this exit checklist (anything in blue is added on to my list because I run the Social Studies department and anything in green is because I co-run the 10th-12th grade team):

• input and post grades and grade comments (mandatory for any grade below an 80%)
• compile textbook inventories for each class
• compile and submit facilities request for classroom
• write performance summaries for any students with IEPs that you taught this year
• complete a curriculum map reflection for each course taught (I taught 3 this year)
• complete self evaluation
• complete individual goals reflection
• complete staff survey
• update department philosophy and mission statement
• compile and submit 2009-2010 department budget proposal
• complete department goal reflection
• create goal/rationale/implementation frameworks for 2009-2010 team initiatives (of which there are seven)
• provide feedback for proposed student presentations of learning

If I can finish by Thursday afternoon I can have Friday off. Which would be really nice since I will be teaching rising 6th grade girls at our new candidate orientation all of next week. If anyone mentions to me in the next few weeks that being a teacher must be nice because of all of the time off, I cannot be held responsible for my response.

Also...

Brian and I get married in 400 days. Because...you know...that's a useful bit of trivia.

Clearly, I have not made a lot of progress on my paper. But I promise to buckle down and write during the basketball game tonight. Honest.

This is random, but...

It really bothers me when teachers ask students to do work for them. I don't know why. I don't think the kids care. In fact, I'm sure that many of the students are glad to be helpers. Still, something about making students file papers, grade tests, assemble packets, etc doesn't sit right with me. Especially if it is a teacher who I know spends a good portion of the day on Gchat or some such thing.

Also, my friend Keith mentioned to me on FB yesterday that his "teacher tank" was running on empty. Mine too. I am so exhausted this week and so ready for the kids to go home. Everything seems a little louder, a little more offensive, a little less amusing than it did a week ago. And that makes me anxious because we are at work until the last Friday in June and then I have one week off (during which my parents are visiting) before I start summer school. ::sigh::

At least we have a fun trip to Philly planned for this weekend. That will be a nice break. Provided, of course, I finish this week's grad school paper before we leave. Which probably means I should stop wasting time here.

An update and more goals

Last Friday, I was pretty productive. While I did not get started on my paper, I did accomplish everything else on the list and I put together this year's summer assignment for AP Government (100 terms to define, a US Constitution scavenger hunt, and a guided reading of John Locke's 2nd Treatise (excerpted)). It made for a better weekend, although I was lazy Sunday morning and instead of writing my paper before we went to lunch with Brian's family, I waited until almost 8:30pm to start that work. Needless to say, it was a long night for me, but all my own doing.

Today, my to do is shorter, but still substantial. I need to:

• grade the five Economics assignments that I have been carrying around for 2 week
• update my Economics' gradebook
• review the final exams for the five Social Studies exams to be given next week
• teach my Economics class (day 1 of review)
• go to the academic leadership team meeting
• stop at Target
• bake 50-100 snickerdoodles for tomorrow's 8th grade cookout

I want to end today with a birthday shout out. My best friend Maggie is welcoming the start of another year today and she deserves all of the attention and love that she will hopefully receive. Happy birthday, Maggie! I hope today - and the year that follows - is everything you are hoping for and more!

Goal setting

Last Friday I managed to waste away most of my free time during the work day and that cannot happen again this week. I decided to make my to-do list semipublic (since I don't know who might actually read this today), so as to increase my sense of urgency. Plus,it gives me a better idea of what to do and in what order.

Today, (outside of teaching class) I would like to:

• write lesson plans for next week (my final set of plans for the school year!)
• meet with Bill to discuss his course schedule for next year
• file my lessons from this week
• respond to two posts on my grad class discussion board
• create the writing assignment on which this week's grad school paper is based

Here's hoping I can get this all done!

My new hobby

In the last year or so, I have gotten really into baking. It's a natural fit for me...I love food, I don't have the creativity needed to be a good cook, and I don't have the patience to futz with a meal for extended periods of time. Baking, then, is perfect for me. Sometimes I make more complicated things, and one day I'll have the time to dive into the great baking cookbooks I've been gifted, but usually it's something quick and easy for Brian and I to enjoy. Tonight, I made a really simple blackberry crostata with fresh whipped cream and thought I'd share.

Crostata is just a rustic tart and when you use frozen puff pastry from the store it is even easier than ever. I just tossed blackberries with flour and sugar, piled them onto the center of the puff pastry (which I had defrosted, rolled out, and placed on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper), folded the edges of pastry over the fruit, brushed the top of the pastry with milk, sprinkled it with sugar, and baked it for about 20 minutes in a 400 degree oven. After the crostata was done, I made the whipped cream (chill a mixing bowl and beaters, then beat whipping cream with a little vanilla and confectioner's sugar until desired consistency is met). The result is below.

And, this is a slice plated with the whipped cream.

Delicious! Give it a try with whatever fruit is fresh/on sale this weekend (that's how we ended up with blackberries).

Awww...it's nice to be appreciated.

I arrived at work this morning to find a dozen hot pink roses and a card from my vice principal on my desk. She wanted to thank me for my hard work with the AP program and for generally being a team player (because I did work hard and I do play nice).

Then, as I was working on my lesson plans for next week (yes, I do still have some students), three of my seniors came in bearing a plate full of goodies from their farewell breakfast and offered some thanks of their own.

This job can be very difficult, but it is mornings like these that keep me going. It is also mornings like these that remind me that everyone needs to be recognized and honored for their efforts. No matter how small the gesture, we all appreciate being appreciated.

Now, I am off to recognize and honor my seniors at their transition ceremony. I really cannot believe that another year has passed, but within the next three hours, the class of 2009 will no longer reside on campus and the class of 2010 will have moved up to take their place. Such is the cyclical nature of schools.

Have a wonderful weekend, all.

Tenth grade's gonna make me lose my mind

My roommate is the tenth grade world history teacher and so I get the opportunity to observe her students in class every day. It makes me want to scream most days and every day is a struggle to keep my face in check. Here is a good example of what I'm talking about:

Teacher is reviewing an activity with the class.
J balls up paper and throws it across room at D
Teacher says not to throw paper
D throws paper ball back at J
Teacher says that it is unacceptable to throw paper
J gets ready to throw the paper ball at D again
Teacher yells "Stop!"
J whines "Why?!"
M interjects "This is college prep - we don't throw things"
J says "I want to" and giggles hysterically

Because...you know...disrupting class and not taking school seriously is funny.

Two years from today these children will be preparing to graduate high school and enter college. I have a hard time seeing it this week. Is this what it's like in all schools? Because sometimes I can't find my perspective.

PS: The title is a song reference and now I can't get that chorus out of my head...

I promised photos, so here they are...

Most of us listened to Obama's speech in the cafeteria, waiting for our chance to meet everyone.

Then, they arrived!

All of them!

More pictures on Facebook.

Taking part in history

Today President Obama signed the National Service Act into law, pledging to increase the size of organizations like Americorps, that offer service opportunities to all of us. He did so at my school. In front of our 10th and 12th grade students (okay, and in front of 100 members of Congress...but you'll forgive me for focusing on my own). After the signing, he, the First Lady, VP and Mrs. Biden, and former President Clinton came down to the cafeteria to shake hands with our 7th and 8th grade students and our staff. Our staff. Me. I shook hands with all of them (and...in a moment of complete starstuck-ness...proclaimed to the First Lady that I had graduated from her high school...so lame). I even got a little hug from Joe Biden. I didn't get to bring my camera into the room, so I'll post photos on Facebook once they become available to me, but, suffice it to say, this was truly the most amazing experience that I have had.

Now, I am not going to lie, I am beyond excited that I got to be in the same room with that lineup of people, let alone shake their hands, but what was really amazing for me was watching the expressions on our students' faces when those folks came into the room. It was as if someone amplified the emotion and the intensity in the room by 100. Children were crying, screaming, laughing as they took it all in. I heard the First Lady encouraging our students to do well, watched Vice President Biden hug a young lady who told him she'd never forget this moment, and saw students who are otherwise way "too cool for school" lose their minds. When everyone had cleared out, the students began to run around the room, showing teachers their hands, exclaiming, "I met the president." An eighth grade boy gave me a huge hug and told me that after he told President Obama that he was also a Tarheels fan, the president congratulated him on being a champion and then encouraged him to keep up the success. It was hard to leave campys this afternoon because I didn't want to stop soaking up the positive energy and pride flowing out of our students and staff.

I don't know what these type of events mean to the officials who participate in them and I don't know what they remember of them, but I know that this meant the world to our kids and that the memories of this day will stay with them forever. And I hope that the feeling they had today, the feeling that they are special, that they could be champions - I hope that stays with them as long as the memories of photos and handshakes.

A teacher complaint

I hate it when a student comes across me before they have my class and asks me what we are doing that day. Why? Because there is no good answer. Because you'll find out when you get to class. And because the follow up questions are always really lame. See for yourself:

J: Ms. Miller, what are we doing in class (Economics) today?
Me: Uhm...we are working.
J: Okay...are we doing a lot of work?
Me: Well, about 70 minutes worth. (The length of a class period today)
J: So...what are we working on?
Me: We're learning about the consumer and producer price indexes.
J: I don't know what that is.
Me: Right. That's why we're learning about it in class today...

You won't understnad how annoying this is unless you also teach, but, trust me, it is a really annoying conversation to waste any amount of time on. And I have it at least once every day. Sometimes in front of the agenda board on which the class topics are spelled out in excrutiating detail. ::sigh::

But, I don't want to sound all negative. It is a lovely day here in DC and there is a shortened class schedule to allow for an afternoon pep rally focused on academics. And Brian and I might go to the movies tonight. And I have Monday off. So, good things all around.

Happy week's end!

Overheard

It’s been a long time coming, but my seniors had some good ones this morning. Overheard during independent study time:

T: These boys got locked up this weekend and were trying to talk to me. (She works community outreach for a neighborhood police precinct.) They were like, “Hey black slacks, come talk to us” and I was like, “Boy, please…you’re in jail”

Then they were talking about making phone calls for work and trying to “sound white,” which they admitted was really trying to “sound professional”
A: This woman at my job goes too far. She’s like (affecting Valley Girl-esque accent), “Hi, this is Ke’Ocean, may I speak to…” and I’m like, “Girl, your name is Ke’Ocean! You can take it down a little!”

Talking about another student
R: Her father got her a fake ID
K: They are wild…
P: College isn’t going to be fun for her, she does everything now

Talking about a girl they know
A: She steals
T: Steals what?
A: Everything...
R: Someone I know stole them and sold them
A: Stole them or sold them?
R: Stole them and sold them
K: Yes, that's what you do...

My students never stop teaching and entertaining me. Hopefully they say the same about me.

Mark your calendars

Brian and I have selected a place and date for our wedding. We will be getting married on July 9, 2010 at the Newton White Mansion in Mitchellville, MD. We'd looked at it online a few times, checked out a bridal show onsite and then went back for our own tour yesterday. I love it. We'll have our ceremony outside on the lower patio, which overlooks the woods and a golf course (but mostly the woods). The picture below shows the back of the mansion and the brick courtyard, the wedding party will be in front of the fountain and the audience will face away from the building on either side of the fountain. We'll probably have cocktails and hors d'ouerves on the upper patio after the ceremony.

And then we'll move into the atrium, shown below, for the reception, although we'll have access to the whole mansion (including a side room that we think will be for the kids to hang out on their own if they want).

Now that we have that big detail out of the way, I think we'll slow the planning again. We talked last night about starting to look into caterers this June and I'll probably go dress shopping in July when my mom comes to visit. Honestly, now that we have a date and a place, I'm nowhere near as stressed as I was before. And besides, as Brian pointed out last night, we have nothing but time...or, at least, 465 days of time. :)

FYI

A quick way to get rid of any feelings of good will I might have towards you is to come into class, after having skipped school the day before, and complain about how tired you are and how wrong it is for me to ask you - an AP student - to write a one paragraph explanation of social welfare policy in the US.

Four days until break. Not that I'm counting...

If this is news, my life is not that interesting.

All the same, I am getting a haircut this afternoon for the first time since September. I thought that before I cut it off, I would let you all see how long it has gotten. Honestly, I don't think it has been this long since I was in middle school. I won't be chopping too much, but it needs a style and at least a few inches need to go. My hope is to have it this long, but also healthy by the time our wedding rolls around. Sorry, something more interesting next time, I promise.

Thanking the lion

Snow day tomorrow! We're getting hit with a pretty nasty snowstorm so no work for me tomorrow. I'm not thrilled about missing a day of instruction, but I'm glad for another day of rest and some time to work on grad school stuff. And while I'm pretty much over the cold, wet weather, I'm looking forward to March going "out like a lamb." Have a good Monday, all!

Thirty minutes

Today is all-day professional development for us, but my group finished much earlier than expected so now I'm all ready for class on Monday morning, all planned for all of my classes for all of next week and I still have half an hour until our final share-out meeting. So, here I am.

Has anyone else had a crazy week? Brian and I had a pretty relaxed start to February - we didn't go out and do a whole lot for the first two weeks, but then this week was out of control. Tuesday night we went to a basketball game (and watched the Wizards win, which was new and exciting), Wednesday night we heard Thomas Friedman speak, tonight we have dinner reservations at Founding Farmers (looks so delicious), and tomorrow night we have another basketball game (where, I suspect, we will see the Wizards lose to the Spurs). Plus, last night I had first semester parent conferences. And Monday we're going out after work to celebrate our second (!) anniversary. No wonder I'm exhausted (well, that and I'm not sleeping well because we both got sick this week).

Grad school is going well. I'm less than two weeks away from being finished with my third (of ten) classes. So far, I have a 100% in the class. I am excited and proud of this fact, but I am also incredibly stressed about breaking my streak now, so close to the end. Still, I think it might happen with the last assignment, which is a reflective essay. I seem to have a pretty hard time with those. Probably because they require you to be a much more touchy-feely writer than I am comfortable with. Still, it's been a pretty great run. And the course, on content-area reading strategies, has been incredibly useful.

Work is dragging on at a fairly good clip. I'm a little burned out, which is normal for this time of year. I think that once things warm up and the sun is shining on a consistent basis, I will start to feel better about my job. Such is the cycle of teaching, I think. I just need spring break to get here (end of March, for those of you playing along at home) and then it's a pretty easy ride to the end. Not to say that I will coast, just that, for whatever reason, the work doesn't seem as painful when the end is in sight and the weather is nice.

Wedding planning is sort of at a standstill. Pushing the wedding back to the summer of 2010 gives us a lot of breathing room, but now it's just about 18 months away and I want us to have some things finalized soon. We're having a tough time budgeting because neither of us really know what is reasonable and if we set a budget using the money we currently have saved, well, we'd be serving snacks to our relatives and sending photo links to everyone else. In the end, I suspect we'll plan a great event for all of the people who mean the most to us and the money issue will work itself out eventually. Still, as all of you know, it is a stressful process and I'll be glad when we have something in writing somewhere. Plus, I want the big stuff taken care of so we can focus on the smaller, more fun details. Because I'm a girl and that's how it goes.

I think this is a pretty disjointed post (and I feel like I used way more adverbs than necessary), but it was a nice way to pass some time. One of these days I'll get the pictures on my camera downloaded (nothing major, just lots of little things) and share some of those with you as well (I'm always envious of my friends' blogs that feature lots of photos - they are so much more interesting to look at than mine). Happy weekend!

Crankiness ahead

You've been in school for three and a half hours and you're already singing about going home on Thursday night? Give me a break.

Wanderlust

By every account, I have a pretty amazing life. I am engaged to an amazing person who makes me more than happy; I have a supportive, loving, well-adjusted family; I work at a somewhat rewarding job that I am very good at and that pays me well; I have a circle of close friends who support me, make me laugh, and never let me forget that I am loved; I am relatively healthy, live in a safe and welcoming home; and I am able to go to bed each night knowing what the next day will bring. All of that being said, I am struggling with a bit of restlessness lately. It's probably the same cabin fever that strikes so many people this time of year, but it is still driving me crazy. I am cranky all of the time, I don't want to do anything in particular, and yet I want to do something. It's a weird place I inhabit these days and I'm not sure how I am going to get away from it. Every day for the next few weeks, at least, play out exactly as they have for the last month or so with no real opportunity for a change. And even if there were an opportunity I don't know what it is that I'm looking for.

This sort of undecided restlessness is something that I associate with my generation, although I suppose that is a little narcissistic of me, and I wonder if it is a result of being in between two life phases. Not being single and just out of college and ready for anything, but also not being married and settled with established responsibilities. I do sometimes wonder if I’ll ever reach a point when I think, “this is me” and stop feeling like there must be something else. And I know I can’t be the only one.

Ever have a morning that almost went right, but didn't?

That was me this morning. First, I overslept by nearly an hour. Then, I had to leave the house with still mostly wet hair (not awesome in 6 degree weather). Now, I usually treat myself to a Starbucks chai latte on Friday mornings, but I was worried about the timing since it was 6:52 when I left the house (pretty impressive since I got out of bed at 6:25). I also needed to stop and buy 6 cupcakes as a reward for the winning team in yesterday's Economics exam review. Needless to say, I was cranky about not getting my latte and stressed about getting the cupcakes.

Then, the best thing happened. It took me 20 minutes to get into DC. That's "middle of the day, middle of the week" kind of timing. Seems like a lot of folks took advantage of the upcoming long weekend and took today off as well. 7:12am! I could go to the Safeway on 14th, get cupcakes, get cash, and get Starbucks! Hooray!

Oh, but the best laid plans...

I got to Safeway, grabbed the first pack of 6 cupcakes I could find (outfitted for the Inauguration, no less) and headed to the check out lanes, passing Starbucks on my way. Here was my first mistake. There was one person in line at the Starbucks counter and two registers open for check out. I should have gotten the latte first. But I went and got in the express lane behind one other man. Sadly, the check out woman was crazy slow and then...THEN...he must have asked for something because she asked a follow up question and walked away from the register. Just disappeared into the bakery section. So, I went to the other register where one woman was checking out. And I stood. And stood. And tried very hard to not huff, or sigh, or fidget. When it was all said and done the first check out woman had not yet returned, I had spent 25 minutes in Saefway, I had 6 cupcakes and no Starbucks. And the woman checking out in front of me? She bought $297 worth of groceries. At 7am on a Friday.

So, I got to work at 7:45am, I am uncaffeinated, I am unfed, and I am very cranky. At least it's the Friday before a 4-day weekend.

"Bridal gowns at great prices!"

First of all, 10% off is not that awesome of a deal.

Second of all, 10% off of dresses that average over $1500 is really not that awesome of a deal.

Not that the prices are outrageous, just that advertising them at "great prices" seems a bit misleading.

Besides, I am not getting married for another 500+ days (thanks for the countdown, friendly wedding planning website) and certainly don't need to be thinking about dresses yet.

Still, this might warrant a trip out to Tyson's sometime before the end of the month. They're just so pretty to look at...

Passing the time ineffectively

Things I should be doing: prepping lessons for tomorrow; revising (3) midterm study guides, which are due Friday; entering grades. Justification for not doing any of those things: I am tired; I have to leave for physical therapy in 20 minutes; I haven't yet fully come to terms with being back at work; I have been thinking about blogging for days now.

So, an update...

Happy 2009/end-of-holidays!
I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season. Mine started on Thanksgiving with a wonderfully sparkly question and ended on New Year's day with a casual open house with friends. In between there were parties, and family, and friends, and delayed flights, and foggy drives, and babies, and food, and wine, and books, and so much fun.

Wedding news
Brian and I have decided that we will be getting married in July 2010. We won't know the actual date for awhile, but at least you can go about planning this summer freely (and, if I may impose, keep your July 2010 weekends open, please). It's not my ideal plan, but it's probably more practical. The reality of having seven months to plan a wedding for close to 200 people that is on a day when our closest friends and family can make it and that is even semi-affordable set in after the Christmas/Chanukah craziness died down and the more I think about, and we talk about, this plan, the more okay I am with the decision. Besides, it gives me more time to obsess over the details.

Ah, the new year
2008 was a pretty good year for me, all things considered. In 2008, I started grad school, got a promotion at work, officially moved in with Brian, got engaged, and did not suffer any major injuries or illnesses. Still, with the advent of 2009, I feel the need to set some goals. Here they are:

1. Find a location - and date - for our wedding.
2. Create a savings account for wedding expenses and deposit money monthly.
3. Keep in better touch with my friends - all of them.
4. Put all the fun baking gifts I got this holiday to good use.
5. Start - and stick with - an exercise routine that strengthens my back and core and gets me back into shape.

If I can do these things, which seem reasonable at the outset, I think I'll feel pretty good about 2009. (Never mind that #s 4&5 seem to work at cross purposes...) I hope that you also find happiness and contentment in this new year.

More later...