My apologies

I know it has been awhile since I posted (nearly a month, now that I look back) and I do apologize. My responsibilities this year seem to have multiplied exponentially and I am still trying to settle into a routine. So keep checking back, a real blog update is on the to do list - right after babysitting, calling Maggie, grading the last of my Econ papers, posting on my grad school discussion board, emailing Andie and Marcia and Amy and Lindsey, calling the eye doctor and dentist and physical therapist, doing laundry, dropping off dry cleaning and maybe getting some sleep. I really do feel as though my head is going to spin right off my neck one of these days.

...

No time to worry about that now, though, must be off!

Long way to go...

Yesterday was the 88th anniversary of women's suffrage (woo hoo!), but it seems we still have a long way to go until women are serving as equal citizens of American society.

"...Today, the United States ranks 22nd among the 30 developed nations in its proportion of female federal lawmakers. The proportion of female state legislators has been stuck in the low 20 percent range for 15 years; women’s share of state elective executive offices has fallen consistently since 2000, and is now under 25 percent. The American political pipeline is 86 percent male.

Women’s real annual earnings have fallen for the last four years. Progress in narrowing the wage gap between men and women has slowed considerably since 1990, yet last year the Supreme Court established onerous restrictions on women’s ability to sue for pay discrimination. The salaries of women in managerial positions are on average lower today than in 1983.

Women’s numbers are stalled or falling in fields ranging from executive management to journalism, from computer science to the directing of major motion pictures. The 20 top occupations of women last year were the same as half a century ago: secretary, nurse, grade school teacher, sales clerk, maid, hairdresser, cook and so on. And just as Congress cut funds in 1929 for maternity education, it recently slashed child support enforcement by 20 percent, a decision expected to leave billions of dollars owed to mothers and their children uncollected. ..."

-Susan Faludi

This week's word is "busy"

To prove to you that this week has been busy, I will ask you to guess how much time Brian and I have spent together awake since last Sunday. Thoughts? Counting Sunday, we have spent about eight - maybe nine - hours together. And of that time, four hours were spent reading and watching the Olympics in our living room while Brian and his best friend drafted their fantasy football team on our computer. It's one thing when we don't see each other because one of us is out of town. It's another when we only see each other for a little while before bed or while gettgin ready for work. Seriously. It makes me a little cranky. Plus, I'm starting to feel overwhelmed by all I have to do in the next ten days or so.

Week two of all-staff professional development has been good. Some department meeting and planning, but also a lot of independent work time. This is very important to me since I have to create new curriculum maps for all three of the courses I am teaching this year. Plus I moved into a new room and while I set it all up on Monday, I had to move it all today so my roommate could have access to the overhead projector. My to do list for August 29th (deadline for all "deliverables" fills almost an entire sheet of notebook paper and while I am plugging through as best I can, I am also starting to lose momentum and feel like I am in over my head a bit. I was midway through my day today - rehanging the same posters for the third time and thinking about the pacing of my Government course - when I realized that this is all a feeling I have had before. Back when I was starting teaching for the first time. Back then, though, it was overwhelming, but exciting. Now it's just overwhelming. And annoying.

But my job isn't all that is keeping me away from home (although it is 6pm and I am typing this at work while I wait for parent orientation to begin so that I can present the academic schedule to the rising 8th grade). At least not my full-time, taxable job. Last Sunday the dad of the kids I used to sit for called and asked me if I could help out. I love their family and feel so bad about their situation so of course I said yes. I sat six hours on Sunday, four hours Monday and three hours last night. I'm also slated for most of the day Saturday. It's a lot of time that I don't mind giving them because I want to help out and I want the kids to have a routine and stability, but it is still really hard to work all day, drive to upper NW, do the dinner-playtime-bath-bed routine (the latter part usually induces wailing fits, by the way), drive back home and get ready for another day. Makes me think twice about wanting a big(ish) family of my own.

Things are not all bad, though. Don't despair! My college roommate Karen is flying into DC tomorrow and we will get to spend Friday evening/night hanging out and having fun. Brian's birthday is Monday and we're going to dinner and a concert to celebrate. My sister just booked her trip for the middle of September and it is a substantial chunk of time. My parents are coming to visit for Columbus Day weekend. All good things. Now if I could just get on top of this to do list...

Happy week's end, everyone!

Week 1 of real life wrap-up

Work:
Tomorrow is the last day of the first week of work. I have to say that, minus a few minor irritations, it has been much better than expected. This school year I am acting as the instructional coach/department chair of my department and, as such, now sit on the Academic Leadership Team. This means I teach less often (2 blocks/day; 3 courses/semester), but have more administrative responsibility. I am genuinely looking forward to growing as a professional this year, but was a little skeptical of whether or not that would actually happen. After four days of leadership training, I am allowing myself a little more optimism. I might still rage silently inside when one of the group members continues to talk when everyone else is ready to move on and I might never get completely on board with my well-meaning, but sometimes scattered principal, but I do feel like I am part of something that is gearing up to do real work this year and push the school in a good direction. Plus I got a purple polo shirt and am in charge of creating templates and communicating with our boarding counterparts. What's not to love?

Health:
Nine months after I herniated the discs in my back, I still have incredibly limited mobility and what I consider to be serious discomfort. On Monday I went for a consult with a neurosurgeon (the one I saw back in November retired; this was his former partner). He examined my back, looked at my old MRI and X-ray films and asked me a few questions. Then he sighed, sat down in front of my and pronounced my back "hard to treat." He said I have "degenerative spine disease" which means that the bases of my vertebrae are narrowing which makes the discs less stable. Fusion surgery might be something to discuss much later in life, but for now he suggested more yoga/Pilates and a willingness to "just sort of deal with it." I will be honest - it's not quite what I was hoping for, but it was good to have my concerns justified and to have an explanation for why I still don't feel 100%. And I was glad to hear him dismiss surgery as completely unnecessary for me at this point. So I'm committed to doing more cardio and finding a way to start Pilates again - it will strengthen my core to help support my back, while also strengthening my back. Plus, I was about ten pounds from my goal weight when this all happened back in October, which means I'm now closer to twenty pounds away. This should help me get back on that track as well. Maybe y'all can help hold me to this new plan (not that it's super well-formulated yet).

Grad School:
I enrolled in the Master's in Education program at Walden University this summer and will begin classes in September. The program specialization is in literacy in the content area (science, math, social studies) for grades 6-12. I am really excited about the coursework and am also looking forward to May 2010 when I will finish the program. I've been thinking about getting my master's for a few years now, but wasn't sure of what I should focus on. This program specialization is something I am truly passionate about and is something that will make me pretty marketable in the years to come (especially important since I don't plan on staying in the classroom too much longer).

That's about it in terms of "real life" wrap-up information. Brian and I saw John Legend and Jay-Z perform at a fundraiser for Africa a week ago and it was amazing. Our seats got upgraded and we were SO close to the stage. I will post pictures on Facebook as soon as I have a chance to upload them to the computer. Pair that with Rock the Bells and George Michael and it is clear that Brian definitely spoiled me with concerts this summer.

I don't want to end on a sad note, but I do want to make a plea for prayers and good vibes before I sign off. Awhile back I told you that the mom of the kids I "nanny" in DC was diagnosed with colon cancer. She was declared cancer-free in March, but a mid-July check-up revealed that the cancer had recurred and spread to her brain, lungs and abdomen. She had promising brain surgery a few days ago and everyone is hoping for the best. She is one of the strongest and most amazing women I have ever known and her family is wonderful. Please keep her, her husband and their three children (ages 10, 4 and 2) in your thoughts and prayers.

I know that was a downer, but I am a strong believer in the power of positive thinking (and prayer) and I know that you are all supportive, compassionate people who will step up in this occasion. I hope that the first full week of August ends well for each of you and that you are able to get out and enjoy the weekend. Much love!

Summer Travels

July was a busy month for me and I thought I would update via photos and some text. (Disclaimer: I have tried to format this better about four times and am DONE now - it's not too bad, but y'all know how much I want it to be perfect) Enjoy!

The Great Midwestern Adventure: Chicago/Madison/Tonica (July 10-15)
We arrived on the 10th and after lunch with my parents, we headed downtown for a river tour with Lindsey. It was a little cloudy and rainy, but not too bad. Plus, I really do think this is the best way to see the city and it was fun way to introduce Brian to all Chicago has to offer. Okay, not ALL of it, but a very important part. We also checked out Millenium Park and the Bean sculpture, where Brian didn't really want to cooperate with my picture taking. ::sigh:: That night was dinner in Greektown and then a showing of the play Lindsey's working on. This was one of the first of many long days for us.

On the 11th, we had lunch with a friend of Brian's and then drove up to Madison for a little time in one of my favorite places. I thought this was only fair since Brian had only been to Madison in January, which is not the best time for Wisconsin. This time, the weather was much more pleasant and our hotel room had spectacular views of both Lake Monona and the Capitol. We shopped State Street and had dinner at the Great Dane before meeting some of my student organizing friends for drinks on the rooftop of the new Overture Center. I have to say that I was both surprised and impressed by this relatively new option on the Madison nightlife scene.

On the 12th, we headed over to the Terrace to hang out with some of my college friends. The weather was phenomenal, Lake Mendota was full of sailboats and there was beer, ice cream and lemonade for mama-to-be Cole. Before going on the trip, I'd had high hopes for this outing and it was just as perfect as I imagined it would be. We hung out and chatted for a few hours and then headed back to Chicago for dinner with Rachel, her girlfriend, her girlfriend's parents and my parents at my favorite Mexican restaurant in Chicago. It was there that Brian had the smallest fajitas I have ever seen.

The 13th was family reunion time in Tonica, IL. This small town is home to my grandparents' house and is about two and a half hours southeast of Chicago. Lindsey had to work so Rachel, Brian and I loaded into the family minivan for a little road trip. The reunion was a bit overwhelming since there were many people there that I have not seen in years and did not know. But we got to spend some nice time with my grandparents, my cousins Kathryn and John and my aunts and uncle. I also got to dust off my bocce ball skills for a friendly competition midday. It was a lot of day, but like everything else on this trip, it was a lot of fun and I am so glad to have been able to introduce Brian to those important people in my life. (And, it turns out, Brian's not bad at bocce ball either!)

I didn't take many photos on the 14th (shocking, I know!), but we ate at Sweet Maple Cafe (so delicious) and then wandered through Navy Pier for a bit. That night we met up with my high school friends for drinks and then headed back home to sample some traditional Chicago-style pizza. As you probably noticed, this was a standard Miller family trip in that there was plenty to see, but more to eat.

The 15th came faster than I had bargained for so we packed our bag and took a bunch of family photos (with me in MD and Rachel headed back to China for another year, it's important to take them when we can). Brian took at least one pointing photo every time we took pictures - it was his theme or something - and this is a great example. After the photo shoot, we introduced Brian to the wonder that is Smoque barbecue. Fully satiated, we headed to the airport and back home. It was a phenomenal trip and I am thankful for everyone who worked us into their schedules. I'm hoping we're back for Chanukah, but we will have to wait and see. Until then, this trip's memories will hold me over.

Go West, Young (Wo)Man: Seattle (July 16-20)
Less than 24 hours after landing at BWI from Chicago, I was back and headed to Seattle for a visit with my college friends Jennifer and Aaron, my high school friend Paul and the annual AP Conference. I had a great time visiting Jennifer and Aaron and their one month old son Gabriel in Kirkland, Washington. They are headed back to the Midwest so I am glad I got to see them in Seattle before they moved. Paul did an awesome job of showing me around Seattle (including the really cool looking locks/salmon ladders) before taking me to the airport for my redeye home. In between, I learned a lot about increasing rigor in our curriculum and also got to hang out with Brian's friend Jodi, who is moving from Chicago to Seattle in a few months and was in town to look for a house with her boyfriend. It was a great trip, although it showed me that I could never be one of those people who travel all of the time. I like my home (and my bed) too much.

Friendship in the City of Bridges: Pittsburgh (July 25-26)
At the end of June, my friend from Andie moved up to Pittsburgh for a new (awesome) job. Andie and I would get together at least once a week after work to decompress and talk about life and I was missing that. So, I decided to take advantage of my dwindling summer vacation and drive up to spend some time with her. Traffic slowed me down some, but we still managed to tour the Phipps Conservatory and the Cathedral of Learning before heading to an Irish pub for dinner and drinks with her boyfriend and their Pittsburgh crew. We ended the night at a lounge overlooking the city, which was surprisingly beautiful. It was an incredibly short trip (I left after breakfast the next day), but a much-needed one. (Andie has the only picture of the two of us, so look for that on Facebook at a later date).

Okay, that's it for now. I go back to work on the 4th and this last week has been and will be full of concerts. Rock the Bells on Sunday, George Michael last night and Jay-Z/John Legend on Friday night. Can't wait! Can't believe my summer's pretty much over! Good thing I squeezed so much into July!

I never could have hacked it at Woodstock

Yesterday, Brian and I went to "Rock the Bells," an all day hip hop music festival. Gates opened at 11am and music started at noon, but we didn't show until about 3pm. From 3pm until 11pm we sat, walked, danced, ate and people-watched. In those 8 hours we saw: Rakim; Ghostface & Raekwon; De La Soul; Method Man and Redman; The Pharcyde; Mos Def; Nas; and Tribe Called Quest. Plus some short bits by Wale and Jay Electronica, who had both performed earlier in the day. It was an amazing show and I was so grateful to be there, but as Brian said, "it is a show to endure."

So anxious

T-minus two days until we leave for our whirlwind trip to the Midwest! I have been working so hard not to think about this trip that now that it is almost here I am nearly bursting with excitement. Today I set aside my outfits for the trip and tomorrow I'll get a pedicure and we'll pack. And then we leave! Can't wait to be home. Can't wait to relax with my family. Can't wait to see my friends. Can't wait, can't wait, can't wait!