The day was pretty slow. Other than an art sale happening there wasn't a lot going on. Both Monika and Jessika seem to have a lot of homework, projects and studying to do before finals, so they stayed late afterschool and then at 6pm we had our Sword & Shield Banquet. The new editors-in-chief are two students who started contributing to the paper when they were freshman. Yep, Jessi is one of them. Monika, who had been doing layout decided to go for Opinion Editor next year. In the past the school paper had been poked fun of because of the high density of Asian students. I'm happy to see a bit more of a true reflection of the student body in the staff, but I still hear the jokes occasionally. Last year, we were guy heavy, this year we are back to being a more girl dominated. These things ebb and flow...
Anyway, after more than half of the kids had left, including my own two kids (Monika had a concert that I didn't go to), a few of the senior editors sat around talking about school culture and telling stories. It was a very enjoyable time. I was excited to see that since my 1st banquet, so many more kids are involved and the paper just feels a lot "cooler" -- it's part of the slow cultural change that happens. Of all the things I am involved in at school, this (the newspaper), is my favorite. Tomorrow we are wearing our Sword & Shield t-shirts and handing out the June Senior Sendoff Issue and I think it will only increase the school paper's cool status. I can't wait!
I finished up photo award certificates and prizes for the closing of the photo show next week, then finished up certificates for the Sword & Shield Banquet tomorrow. Tshirts were delivered and they look great. I updated a final grading sheet for my beginning art metal's student and started an invite for an art award breakfast next week. I met with student government advisers for lunch and then Erika came by and spent the whole afternoon in my classroom working on beads and helping students.
It felt like a very productive day but I didn't make it to the pool again. We've dropped 10 degrees everyday since our crazy hot day on Sunday and will be down into the 50's tomorrow! I don't think I'll make it back to the pool until Saturday. After school BOTH Jessi and Monika and several meetings and sport banquets. I spent my evening dropping off and picking up with a bit of time inbetween it all to have dinner with my husband. I made a panini for me and quesidilla for him. I've discovered Downton Abbey on Netflix, so after everyone was home, I got in the last episde of season 1. Love it.
Tonight was the fifth JMM Film Fest. Both Jessika and Monika were eager to go. After a quiet day of school, I made panini for dinner, walked Balt and then went back to school. Monika wasn't able to finish her movie on time this year, but she's hoping it'll be done by next year. Movie making is time consuming. Kids who work on movies have a lot of patience. Pictured here are the winners of tonight's videos. Joe does all the work with his photo 3 kids, I am just a supporter.
I got into work early this morning to send out the last issue of the newspaper right away. It was so big I had to split it up into 3 files to upload to the printer. I can't wait until it's back in black & white. I'd love to make color copies, but I think each one would cost more than $10 each. The rest of the day was uneventful. I came home for lunch instead of going to the pool. It was kind of cool and breezy and I decided to take it easy. It's not going to get warmer, so I'm not sure I'll make it tomorrow. I have a hard time motivating myself to get to the pool unless it's over 75 degrees.
After high temps yesterday, today felt a lot cooler. It was still a quite warm 84 but with high winds at times and occasional rain, it was very comfortable. I made my way to the pool after a good walk with my husband and dog early on. I swam 14 lengths (700 meters). I made sure to take it easy this weekend, starting with a 500 on Saturday, 600 yesterday, the plan is add 100 everyday until I get to 1000 and hold out for a while working on speed. Eventually the goal is to get to a mile (1600 meters) and then maybe to two! I just need to becareful of my shoulders.
Monika and I went to a grad party, my first of the season where they served home made panini. I came home and got out my George Foreman grill and made a panini for Jessika for dinner. I think we'll be eating panini all week! Yum!
It's almost 11pm and its still over 80. At 6am when I woke up it was still a cool 60. My husband and I went up to Indian Lake to walk Balt early. He went swimming and came home cooled off. I cleaned the garage and started laundry before going to the pool at 11am when it opened. By the time I left at 1pm, it was a packed house and I was nice and pink. I went grocery shopping, came home and made a couple of salads and another batch of home-made salsa. Monika went to a grad party while Jessi had one last session working on her Spanish video project. I enjoyed the company of my husband watching a movie forgetting about the rest of the laundry. I still have tomorrow!
Madison's annual Brat Fest is going on and for some reason, I think I can smell them cooking even though they are 8 miles away. Am I that tuned in? I picked up my CSA veggies this week (I share with Melissa and only get them every other week). I made an amazing salsa. I think corn chips and salsa keep me from cheating much. I've had chips and homemade salsa as a main dish weekly. I made a rhubarb compote with old strawberries and blackberries. I topped it with an oatmeal crumble, leaving out the butter, that tasted mighty fine.
I worked on the newspaper early in the morning during a thunderstorm. I woke up eager to work on the issue. Monika made huge map for it all afternoon. In the evening I had to take Jessi into school to work on a Spanish project, so I finished up the issue and sent it out to senior editors. I think it's super-- 32 pages!
I made it to the pool later than expected because of the storms early in the day. I had a hair cut at noon (picture to some day)-- it's shorter than it's been in years. I swam a solid 500, not wanting to get too sore. I'm officially off yoga for a couple of months, hoping it will help my plantar fasciitis. I'd like to swim everyday now. As the school year winds down, it should get easier to get in the pool. Tomorrow we are in for crazy heat-- so hot, Madison cancelled it's annual marathon. Mid 90's and lots of humidity will get Balt out extra early tomorrow. I wish I could take him to the pool too!
Our seniors spent the day away on a picnic-- the school's official senior skip day, but most will skip again on Tuesday. The day was oddly quiet, yet fairly productive. I began working on the senior send off issue of the student newspaper. As soon as school was over a hand full of seniors joined me. We worked until nearly 8pm. I will try to finish it up this weekend with Jessi's and Monika's help. I'm very excited about this special tribute issue.
After school Monika had her last JV soccer game and then suited up to play in the Varsity game. When I got over to the game to watch the last half hour, she was playing on the field. I didn't have my good camera, just my iPhone. I snapped a few shots of her out in the big field. She looked great. Two other JV team mates also played along, which made it more fun. She may be done for the school year, but either way, she's ended on a good note.
We had a shortened schedule today so that yearbooks could be passed out in the afternoon and fourth hour was lengthened for locker clean out. I made plans to go out to lunch with Lisa and Josh. Lisa had had a rough morning and exclaimed she missed Melissa. So I called Mel and asked her to surprise Lisa. It was great fun! Mel brought her twins with her mother and we had a wonderful lunch time catching up.
Once back at work, the day ran by quickly and the yearbook time went well. I noticed Jessi is listed under 3 different names; Jessi, Jessica and Jessika. Both her and Monika have a lot of photos but they are involved in a lot of activities-- not to mention I provide a lot of photos! I ran home afterschool to get Balt. It was a bit over 90 degrees, so he took it easy on our walk. I came home and fed him ice cubes, his favorite snack. Monika had work to do at school after soccer and Jessi went to the sectional track meet to cheer on her team. I spent a bit of time with my legs up a wall reading, enjoying a cool breeze alone at home.
Today was one of those 14 hour days. Luckily Balt went to daycare right away this morning at 7am. Both Jessi and Monika needed to be at school early which makes it alot easier for me. I usually have a leadership meeting at lunch on Wednesday but today, I didn't know what to do with myself. I came home to find Erika camped out in the living room and realized I wouldn't get any housework done so I went back to school to get a bit of paperwork done before my afternoon classes.
Monika had a soccer game after school and she was asked to sit on the varsity bench after her game due to numerous injuries. I had to go to a senior scholarship award ceremony to take pictures but I assumed she would not get much playing time if at all during the varsity game and I was right. I got to the game with about 5 minutes left. She didn't get any playing time, but she told me just being on the bench was pretty exciting. There's another game on Friday and I'm hoping she'll get an opportunity to play then. We all got home around 10pm, hungry and tired. I am very much on countdown mode. There are exactly two weeks of school left. I can't wait!
For a couple of weeks I was dealing with my Twitter account being hacked and last night I thought my blog had been hacked as well. It ended up being adware on my laptop causing the problem but I didn't know that until after I had complained to Typepad. I took my laptop in to the tech at work to be looked at. I was told it happened most likely when I had downloaded a weather ap. When I asked the tech what weather program to use, he told me just to look out the window. Funny. Anyway, I had a test post up for a while, but I have the issues all resolved now.
I got into the pool during my lunch. I had a couple of administrators from downtown come in after lunch to go over some safety concerns due to my ordering a new kiln. I was happy it all worked out so that I still get a kiln. There wasn't a lot going on. There are only 2 weeks of class left and I have some kids starting to finish and others who aren't even close. It's do or die time. After school I took Balt for his walk and then went to Monika's third to last soccer game. They were winning and then tied, losing, then tied and then lost. BUT 3-4 is a far cry from the 1-9 loss they had the last time they played the same team. Monika worked very hard to keep it close. Jessi is now officially done with track and spent some time working out with a team mate who made it to sectionals and then some time with a tutor. She came to watch the end of Moni's game and then we all went out to dinner together.
We had our last backyard meeting... kind of. We meet on Thursday to get yearbooks, but today was our senior send off. I bring cake and ask Joe and Melissa's backyard's to join us for a big party. We've done it several years now and it's a lot of fun. I felt a little teary when I watched the last Spartan News for the year. Someone asked if this year's seniors were particularly special and I felt bad saying no. Every year I feel a connections to few kids who've I had several times throughout their high school career. I love getting to know them and making those connections. Some years I have more than others. My involvement in student government and the paper offers me more connections than just the classroom. This year's backyard seniors are a quieter bunch, but I love that they have grown from silent freshman to very smart seniors.
After backyard, the day was very quiet. Jessi left early for her very last track meet. It was a regional meet in Waunakee that I had wanted to go to but was asked not to. Jessi has been struggling with her throws recently and felt my presence would not help. Monika didn't want a ride after soccer practice so I was home alone with Balt reading after our walk. In the end Monika came home and we had dinner together, which I enjoyed very much. Jessi got home late having placed 5th in our region-- the top 4 go on to sectionals. I felt that was very respectable. She has next year to figure out what went wrong and progress. It's all part of the learning. Monika has 3 more soccer games this week, I have several events to do this week, so having the night off was nice.
I started my warm day going to Indian Lake with Balt and my husband. We got there a bit before 8am and it was already quite warm. Balt very much enjoyed swimming in the lake. I got home in time for Jessi to take the car to a 10am meeting with her fellow swim team captians to pick out team gear for next year. Monika had spent the night at a friends and got home around noon. I made homemade salsa for lunch and we spent the afternoon outside where strong winds made the heat quite comfortable.
I did a Sam's Club run for tomorrow's very last Backyard. I got a cake and hot dogs. I'm never sure if anyone else with show up with anything, so I try to make sure the basics get purchased. I got a bucket of ice cream for Jessi's backyard. Monika says her teacher is taking care of everything for her backyard. I'm not the only teacher bringing in stuff for tomorrow.
I spent some time in the basement cleaning up, doing laundry and making measurements. I've decided to create a small yoga studio down there. My husband warned there may be radon underneath and said he didn't like working out in the basement because of that fear. I assured him we had it tested when we purchased the place, so I think I'm fine. It is a cool place to workout, so I won't be able to do hot yoga there but I'll return hopefully in the winter or after my feet have healed, whichever comes first.
It was as if you were to take a day out of Summer and give it to me today, only without any humidity and hardly any bugs. Balt didn't let me sleep in much but the morning was quite relaxed. My husband joined me and Balt on our morning walk. Jessi had track practice and then a meeting at the pool, where she'll be working all summer. Monika met up with students for a planning committe at a book store and I purchased a few more flowers and veggies to plant. I made it into yoga and then cleaned up for a night out with girl friends. Jen and I went out to dinner and then made our way to Melissa's to visit with her twin boys. Jen and I got to each hold a baby while chatting with Melissa. So much fun! When I got home after 9pm, it was still quite warm. I played a while with Balt on the front yard, enjoying the Summer like evening. Aside from a few isolated thunderstorms, we're in for a summertime repeat tomorrow!
I was talking to a collegue about adding to my workload next year and he warned me I might sacrifice my sleep. I assured him no matter how much I do during the day, I rarely lose sleep over anything. I had understood the older I got, the less sleep I'd need, but this has not been true at all. My sleep is more often interupted, by the dog or fits of restlessness but I still need a full 8 hours of sleep. When I don't get it for a couple of days, I eventually crash and catch up. I knew all day, I would crash tonight.
It was a super warm day (87) and the art room was very air conditioned, too cool for me. By the end of the day, most kids wanted to be outside. I sat outside with a group of students, basking in the heat talking about life. Many of my seniors are on the brink of re-creating themselves. There is a lot to talk about.
Yesterday Donna Summer died and I was reminded that she was a huge part of my childhood. Most every slumber party included a Donna Summer song we danced to. We listened to 80's disco today in class and students slid around on my floors dancing like Michael Jackson. It's fun to see how some of the fashion styles are back in popularity, but it kind of makes me feel old.
After school I ran out to get Balt and we had a wonderful summery walk. I came home and sat out on the front lawn reading in the sunshine waiting for my husband to get home from Minnesota. We went to dinner together but passed on the movie. He really wanted to see one, but I knew as soon as the lights were dimmed, I'd be out. Sure enough I passed out on the coach shortly after we got home.
During my third hour class a bird flew into my classroom from the ventilation system that sucks air from my equipment. It completely freaked out a couple of girls working near by but didn't surprise me. I had heard the screams of baby birds coming from the pipes all last week. I guess one bird went the wrong way. He had a broken leg and didn't seem able to fly around. I ran over to the ceramics room to get Geof. He always seems to know what to do especially when it comes to dealing with animals. A couple of students went digging for worms in order to feed the poor guy. It was kind of exciting. At the end of the day Geof took him in a box to a bird hospital.
At lunch I picked up Monika and her friend from her World History AP exam. I took them out to lunch and ordered a veggie burger (no cheese) with onion rings. I'm pretty sure it wasn't vegan it was but it was amazingly delicious and very vegitarian... only 400 calories (another 400 for the onion rings). I made sure to eat a simple salad for dinner with a few seeds.
During my afternoon classes Erika came in to demo working the torch with glass. She did a great job. I even offered to pay her but she asked for supplies to work on as payment. I may see her more often now that she's out of school. I'm hoping she'll create some pendants for our sale at school. After school I took Balt for his walk, picked up Jessi and then went to watch the end of Monika's soccer game. We ran a few errands and called it a day, a very nice day.
It was a perfect May day. Erika came by during my lunch hour to visit.This morning was her very last final at Madison College (MATC). She graduates with an associates degree, although she will not go through ceremonies. After school I ran out to visit Melissa in the hospital. She looks great but is quite busy juggling twin boys... it won't be long until she will be able to literally juggle them! I held one for a while, lulling him to sleep and felt the magical awe of an infant. It isn't often one can hold a baby that's less than a week old. It was like holding on to fairy dust, light as a feather and fleeting. But the best part of the visit was being able to talk to my friend about work. I feel like I have so much to tell her-- mostly trivial stuff, like the fact we still don't have printer ink. But some cool stuff too, like what's going on with students and staff. Between the both of our schedules, just squeezing in an hour was huge. I had to run to pick up Balt and then dinner and errands. By the time I start getting settled, I think I might get to bed early, but it rarely actually happens.
There are only 3 weeks of classes left and the weather seems as eager for summer to come as the students. The day was wonderful, slow going and mellow. Jessi left after lunch for a conference track meet in Sun Prairie. After school I ran home to take Balt for a walk before Monika's game. We barely made it back before a a quick thunderstorm which delayed Monika's game, so I wasn't late at all. Her team won easily and afterward, she went out with team mates to study for an AP exam she has on Thursday. I went home alone. I made root salad for dinner and did a bit of cleaning, hoping to get to bed early tonight.
There are days that are just a blur of activity and I don't really think a whole lot about anything. Actually, most days are like that. Sometimes I think I keep myself busy so that I don't have time to think about the complications of life. I just live it as fully as I can. Why think about it? Then, there are days when I think. Something special happens, or something sad... I become more tuned in to students, to friends, to how interesting people are. It's a bit overwhelming. It isn't that I don't want to care, because I do. A lot. It's just easier not to think.
I started working on taking pictures of seniors for the June issue today. I met a couple of kids today that I had never seen. I always find it interesting when that happens. Mondays run by quickly and end with PCT. The official meeting was about writing we presented to our classes and the learning that went on-- nothing fun. I ran down to the photo show to check in on students hanging. I ran out for a quick photo shoot and then went home to get Balt for his walk. I had an interesting phone conversation and was disappointed I wasn't able to visit Melissa in the hospital. I'm still waiting for a good time. Is there ever a good time when one has just had twins? I picked up Monika, ran a few errands and got dinner, enjoying a glorious late afternoon of amazing weather.
Balt woke me around 7am this morning and it was warm enough to head out for a walk right away. Jessi decided to join me, which was a great way to start my mother's day. We drove up to Indian Lake and hiked around a bit, tossed sticks into the lake for Balt to swim after and then got bagels on the way home. I made a vegan bagel sandwich with bell peppers, sunchoke spread and spinach-- delicious. I ran a few errands; buying flowers and veggies to plant, a new bra (because when I leave mine on the floor Balt chews off my straps, so I needed one), and a cute new blouse. I met up with my spouse at Starbucks for iced tea and a bit of reading. I came home and worked on the yard in the sunshine and then headed out to yoga.
I've been laying off the yoga lately. I've become accutely aware of how painful yoga can be on my left fascia (the connective tissue under the foot near the arch). I made the difficult decision to take time off doing yoga over the summer. I will swim, bike and walk for exercise. My mother suprised me with a bit of money for my mother's day gift. I feel bad because I don't ever send her anything anymore... but my girls rarely get me anything (what goes around comes around, I guess). I suppose I will carry on my mom's tradition and give gifts to my daughters when they are mothers? Anyway, I was thinking of buying a large mirror for my basement and exercise flooring. It would be a small project and one that would be a good investment since we no longer belong to a gym anymore. I will have time this summer to make it happen. I was thinking it would be nice to be able to do yoga in my basement studio. Now that would be a grand gift indeed.
All I really wanted from my daughters was to see all three of them at once which happens at most once a month these days, so we made our way to Roman Candle Pizza where Erika was working. They were extremely busy so we didn't get to see as much of Erika as we had hoped but she gave me a discount, which was a very nice Mother's Day gift. My husband and I ordered the "vegan distroyer" which was delicious for cheese-less pizza. It was a nice evening. I'm done for the day, eager to read before bed.
My weekend was wide open with no plans but to pick up my first box of organic vegetables, take some flowers over to Melissa's for her birthday and maybe catch Jessi at her track meet. I noticed Melissa's status was that her babies were on the way, so when I didn't get a response to my text, I decided to hold off on the flowers. I spent most of the late morning watching Jessi. She came in 4th for the discus and 9th in the shot at the Monona Grove Invitational. She is struggling with timing and frustrated with her technique. Even so, she earned a metal and made a respectable showing. I got her lunch on the way home and we spent the afternoon watching movies. I spent several hours sorting socks and missed out on my normal Saturday afternoon yoga class. Finishing up a bad cold/cough, being in a hot yoga studio wasn't something I was ready for. I wanted to just take it easy today. I took Balt out early this morning for a walk and again later this evening.
I made black beans and home-made spanish brown rice for dinner. I also boiled the sun chokes from my veggie box and made a vegan dip with fresh green onion. I'm enjoying a quiet evening with my husband watching programs about missing persons-- not sure why my husband loves watching them so much but mostly it's just background noise.
Der Viator Blog Updates, essays, dark humor, scatalogical musings, music criticism, short stories, historical essays and outright lies from my highly-caffeinated melancholy husband.
