Teri Parris Ford's Blog

A new season

Monika had her first volleyball game today.  She spent her morning with the team, tie-dying t-shirts, scializing, then playing and winning her first game.  She enjoys volleyball but has no aspirations of playing the game competitively in high school.

Jessi and Erika enjoyed the afternoon shopping at the mall.  Both received several gift cards and money for thier birthdays.  It was nice to hear they were enjoying each other's company while I was at work all day.  I did manage to get a fun lunch out- but I ate too much. In between my student's conferences I ran around to have conferences with Jessi's teachers.  It was very pleasant to hear how well she is doing and how much she is liked by her teachers.  The couple of classes she has B's in, both teachers assured me she could and should get A's. 

After work I made a visit to the gym, paying for my large lunch and watching tv- 3 different shows all at once (Fantastic Four, The Nanny, and Bill O'Rielly).  Jim and I ran a few errands and are now at home enjoying a fire. While driving we heard Andy William's "Happy Holidays, The Holiday Season" and thoroughly enjoyed hearing it!  Oh, it's only the beginning!

Time to get serious...

I gained 6 lbs during the Halloween festivities.  Lack of time to workout combined with the abundant availability of candy destroyed my dieting.  I am trying to count calories and going over by 2000 calories was not unusual those days leading up to Halloween.  I have eased myself from grazing on candy to trying to keep my diet again, but it's hard with birthday celebrations. I have a refrigerator full of vegetables in need of eating and a diet that needs to utilize the low calorie count in vegetables.

Today was Joe's birthday, so I bought him Jimmy Johns for lunch and had the Hunter's Club on wheat.  815 calories in that wonderful sandwich.  I only had 200 calories left for dinner even with my modest breakfast.  With 2-4 calories per leaf, I had a stir fry of lots of bok choi, kale and cabbage.  I added fennel, bell pepper, onion and an egg to make it a complete meal for under 200 calories.  By Thanksgiving I should be back to where I was a month ago and ready to fight the holiday battle of the bulge!

After lunch was parent teacher conferences at my school.  It went well.  I left to meet Monika at her indoor soccer game and her team won easily and it was nice to see her having really enjoying the game.  It isn't that winning is everything, but it sure is a nice change.

Veteran's & Birthday Celebrations

Erika turned 19 today, Veteran's Day.  The day she was born we never would have imaged we would celebrate Jim being a veteran as well as Erika's birthday.  Jim and I went to Applebees together for the free lunch they were giving to all veterans.  It was nice, but crowded with veterans of many generations, lots younger than Jim but most older.

Monika had her parent-teacher conference today right after school with a teacher that had taught both Jessika and Erika.  It is nice to have so many memories connected.  Each of my girls seemed to have learned from the other, so Monika is just breezing by with all A's. 

For her birthday, Erika asked to have a family dinner.  I made tacos and a cheesecake for dessert. She invited a friend from school and we all sat around the dinner table together and talked mostly about school. It was a really nice day. 

Get ready!

I bought a half cord of wood for my fireplace.  I used to buy wood at the grocery store for $4 a bundle and it was never enough.  I am ready for winter now!  The weather is still so mild for November and should stay so all week.

I met with the principal today and it is official, I am taking over the school newspaper.  I am very excited.  I realize I have a lot going on and I probably should not be taking on such a grand venture, but I am so actuated.  The current state of the paper is kind of lame.  There used to be two other unofficial school papers that were way more cool because they were free from authoritarian rules and regulations. By like most newspapers across the country even those papers have gone down in interest and thus publicatons.  The school paper was only coming out maybe 4 times a year.  I have been called to create a 8-14 issues per school year.  I have my work cut out for me, but I know it will be fun.  I used to work on the school newspaper when I was in high school, so I have a tiny bit of experience.  I feel kind of bad for the kids involved already, because I am gearing up for big changes-- lots more issues, a different format, and my enthusiasm!  They have no idea whats coming!

15 years and 64 degrees

Jessi turned 15 this afternoon.  I gave her a flip video camera for her birthday so there were a few funny clips she did that I was able to steal an image from (I don't think I have permission to publish the filming). I think she had a nice day.

My day was nice & the weather was grand.  I managed to get a swim in at lunch and walk in this evening.  I talked with all 5 of my classes regarding the note my sub left me last Friday.  I can honestly say I really like my classes and I don't have any issues in any of them that upset me at all, so my chat was friendly and informative. 

I demonstrated glass bead making in my art metal and glass classes... it was so fun to see my kids get so excited about learning a new skill.  It's that excitement that makes me love teaching.  After school I met with the school newspaper kids.  I believe I am taking over as adviser.  I have a lot of ideas and it will be interesting to see if I shake things up a bit.  I asked Jessi to take on a column and she got very excited.  I want to write a column too!

Making it fun!

Jessi turns 15 tomorrow and it was a difficult decision for her trying to figure what (or if) she should do to celebrate. She settled on a small celebration at a restaurant down town with only close friends.  I hung out to make sure  all went well and I think it did.  I had offered to throw her a big party but she had been overwhelmed with school and swimming and could not get into it.  She recalled Erika's 15th birthday and thought to do something similar. She has a wonderful group of friends who make her laugh lots.

This was Jim's army weekend in Milwaukee, so after Monika's game yesterday, I meet Jim for a rendezvous-- dinner, walking, coffee and shopping.  The evening was wonderfully weirdly balmy for November.  It was a nice getaway. 

I hurried back home early this morning to get my workout in, buy Jessi's gift and cake, and do a bit of cleaning at home.  Monika had her first indoor soccer game this afternoon which was pretty bad and lead to a heated discussion with some of my thoughts from yesterday's post. 

We have a short week ahead with parent-teacher conferences coming up and a few birthdays to celebrate still... I think this week is going to be fun.

Thoughts on Failure

Last Monday the JMM soccer boys returned from the state championships with the silver ball. The soccer players in my classes looked dejected.  After such a successful season, the boys should have come home victorious, as the 2nd best soccer team in the state, their heads should have been held high in pride but they focused on the loss. 

Failure is quite relative.  I thought about failure and losing today because Monika's soccer team lost 0-3 and ended the season as last in there league.  Her team is stuck in a losing streak that has more to do with attitude than talent, if you ask me.  I found myself frustrated after driving to Wales (1 hour east of Madison) an hour early for warmups,  but the girls did not warm up right away.  They sat around chatting and socializing for more than half an hour.  While it is not my place as a parent to challenge the girls on Monika's team, I did go over and ask why they had not started warming up.  Monika asked me to leave.  I am not sure why I was upset, but I was.  By half time, I was too upset to continue watching the game. I pay a lot of money for Monika to play soccer on a premeire team.  I can't pay for her team's success but I don't have to watch them fail.

In junior high, I endured a lot of teasing. I was a loser, of sorts. I think back to my own failures, while they had little to do with team sports or athletics, I know that most were learning experiences that strengthened me as a person.  I'm trying to figure out how to best parent a daughter who is by far more successful then I was in 8th grade.  I still find myself wanting more and I feel torn.

I suppose I am feeling the tinges of my own failures at work. My substute left me a note that said my students were very disrespectful.  I can't help but feel that I have failed as a teacher somehow. Why is it when my students fail me or when my child loses, I feel that failure as my own? 

“My imperfections and failures are as much a blessing from God as my successes and my talents and I lay them both at his feet.” --Mahatma Gandhi

Chicago's Millenium Park Field Trip

It was amazingly wonderful... a nearly perfect day in Chicago.  We were missing Geof as a team, so we asked random men to fill in for Geof in our photos. Fun was had by all! We spent the late morning at Millenium Park, lunch at Portillo's, and the afternoon at the SOFA show on Navy Pier.

Pretty, pretty

Today is the first day of the 2nd quarter of school.  All of my sophmores were gone for testing and I found out that they are the loud ones in all of my classes.  My classes were suprizingly quiet while still active and engaged.  New projects in wire started this week, so there is a frenzy of work from students who are usually quite laid back or lazy.  Once a student realizes that an unfinished projects means they are failing art, there is a sudden burst of energy to finish it.  Report cards have a way of motivating students.

the life of a cat

Last night while helping Monika with her homework, she wished out loud that she could be a cat.  She commented on how easy their life is as she petted Lewy on her lap.  I did not want to remind her of the cats we have lost due to the dangers of the real world outside of our home. I refrained from informing her that I think she has it better then the cats... they only get one kind of cat food.  I only buy 35 lb bags of Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul food-- no variety, ever.  As much as I love them, I'm not sure I would want to be one of them.  Jim once commented that if we were smaller than them, they would rip our heads off, no matter how much we loved them.

Time to get some work done!

The quarter ends tomorrow and that mean grades are due.  I had to run to pick up Monika after school but later in the evening I was back to get some work done.  First thing I had to do was clean my desk (see before and after pic).  It tends to be a dumping ground, so it will get messed up again pretty quick.  I got one class done, only four more to go.

The Vampire's Assistant over Micheal?

With no practice and little homework, we decided to use a coupon to see a movie after school.  Jim gave me $4 movie passes good only for this week and today was the only available day to use them.  I wanted to see This Is It, but would have settled for The Wild Things, BUT noooo, my girls wanted to see a silly movie about a vampire's assistant. The book is always better, right? While the visuals were interesting, the movie left me wondering what is wrong with my kids.  I know Michael Jackson's film would have been so much better.  My girls (mostly Jessi) have been inundated with vampire media; Twilight, Vampire Diaries, Supernatural, etc. Enough already with the vampires--  I am ready to see someone turn into a wolf!

Transition to the holiday season begins today.

The day began early with a soccer game.  Today was a little warmer than yesterday and the night was a little longer which made victory easier to find. Jessi enjoyed her day with utter leasure while Erika had to work all day.  Poor Jim had to work downtown for Halloween until 4am, so we let him sleep late.

After three days off, I would have liked my list of things to do would have shrunk but it had stayed much the same and today was the day to get things done; cooking, cleaning, a workout, paperwork, errands and grocery shopping.  Now that Halloween is over and the nights longer, the Christmas lights come on in the evening.  I expect to hear holiday music soon!

How'd I get so lucky this Halloween?

After a long day of soccer tournament games and sectional swimming, the stress of competition melted away for a time of celebration.  Halloween is 2nd only to Christmas in holiday fun.  Jim and I sat in Borders sipping coffee while the girls went trick or treating (Erika was working).  Jessi was dressed in her Japanese dress, Monika as a nerd and Erika borrowed my stripped tights and was Alice in Wonderland.

While Jessi did not break any records, she swam well-- 9th in her individual 50 freestyle, 3rd in the 200 relay, and 7th in the 400 relay.  Memorial won the meet.

Wet, windy and wonderful

Another day off!!  The morning was damp after a long hard rain last night, but the humidity made it feel warm outside, it was weird but kind of wonderful.  The winds picked up and the feeling of Autumn was striking as leaves fell from trees and whistled throughout.

I rode 15 miles on a bike at the gym, a good work out to start my day and then I ran errands, mostly carting kids around.  Jim and I managed to get in dinner together between all the events both Jessi and Monika needed to attend. I finished my day continuing the BBC series I started last night, Bleak House (Dickens drama at it's best!).  With 15 episodes to watch, I have the whole weekend covered... I'm up too late this evening already and I've only finished episode 5.  Thanks Drenna!

Some family time...

I woke up early this morning to get Jessi to swim team and to get myself to the gym.  I did a good hour sweating on the stepper.  I came home, made breakfast and got ready to go.  I had promised Jessi I would take her to the new  Forever 21 store that opened in our mall.  Jessi had a "big" party to dress up for (a girl from West invited every freshman on the west-side to her house via Facebook-- who's crazy enough to invite several hundred 15 year olds into their home??).  Of course Monika and Erika jumped at the chance-- even Jim decided to tag along.  It was a family event we have not had in years; all five of us at the mall.  Our time was short as I had to meet the Dell repair man at 1pm and Erika had to go to school, still it was really fun to have all of us together for the morning.

After getting my computer fixed, I got the Christmas lights up, Monika's team checked in for this weekend's tournament, I picked up glass supplies for my classroom, packed up bikes for winter, swept out the garage, organized photos for scrapbooking, made dinner (chili and homemade corn chips), took Jessi to her party, and Monika and her friend to get pie.  Jessi's party is over at midnight... so I have to stay up for a while.  Next on my list is to look for a BBC movie of an old English romance novel.  I've been a bit adicted lately... especially since seeing Bright Star last weekend with Jim.  It was the most romantice movie I have ever seen.  John Keats poetry now makes me cry.

Going Blue

It took me about 18 months to get to my first 10,000 hits on typepad and then only another 6 or 7 months to get through my second 10,000 thanks to facebook.  I have been eager to switch out colors... wanting a cooler feel.  I am very much missing my swimming pool days in the sunshine.  So in honor of Facebook and swimming pools, my new theme is cool water blue with a splash of purple fun.

Not too wild, but a little crazy...

Melissa got quite poetic as "Edgar Allen Crow" while I was a bit lame, donning my ruby slippers and striped tights, as the Wicked Witch of the East (she is the one the house fell on).  Some students went all out but the majority were, like Jessi, dressed as everyday high school kids, which I suppose is a costume too.

The short week is wonderful and needed by both students and teachers.  I love this time of year.  Halloween is so much fun and every other week is a short one until Thanksgiving!

Boo-hoo!

While my ears are feeling much better, I am still having sinus headaches.  Me and my new neti-pot will become good friends this winter.  I heard that using a neti-pot weekly will help prevent h1n1 (as well as washing your hands hourly).  I have several students out with it, so I know I have been exposed.

Tonight was a football playoff game; I had to sell tickets. The final score was close but not close enough: 34-35.  The boys will all be in bad moods tomorrow.  It's dress up day and party time in backyard.  All the department heads will be gone all day for a meeting.  I am expecting mass chaos.  With no school on Thursday or Friday, Halloween on Saturday-- there will be a very wild vibe in the air.

Dinner for a champion?

I took today off to get my ears checked out and I don't have an ear infection, I have a sinus infection... I think.  Anyway the doctor thinks it's getting better and told me to use a neti-pot.  If my head doesn't clear in a couple of days then I can call her for drugs.  Staying home helped.  It was nice to have some time alone to rest (I did some scrap-booking).

Jessi was supposed to have her very last swim practice tonight, clear out her locker and be home early but when she still hadn't come home at 5:30pm I went looking for her at the pool.  She was swimming in tights.  Her coach asked her to keep swimming with varsity.  She will swim the conference meet this weekend. When I took her home all she wanted was fat... chips and ice-cream.  Am I such a bad mother to let her?  She actually needs the calories and there are few minerals in the meal.