Teri Parris Ford's Blog

Time to smell the ... um, grass.

Mondays feel crazy. The shortened class periods always surprise me and the day just flies. Adding backyard in the morning and a staff meeting in the afternoon just adds to the hectic nature of the day. I have found that my morning and afternoon walks also add to my day. I suppose the added responsibility of another mouth to feed and an animal to poop can compound an already frenzied schedule, but I have found the trade off to be great. In return I am forced to go outside and just walk. I can look at the sky, wonder in thought and even read (which means occasionally stumbling). Balt is not a runner which is kind of nice. Our morning jogs are more of a gallop and every so often we must stop to smell. I'm pretty sure he's smelling urine and I just have to wait. I try not to smell too much, but I sometimes need to catch my breath. I had a lot to do today that I didn't get all done but it didn't matter. I got two walks in to make Balt happy and in the end, I felt better.

A Dog's Snow Day

Balt woke me up eager to go out and play. It was snowing outside and chilly. I put a sweatshirt on him for fun. He doesn't need it at all and was just annoyed with me, but was willing to put up with it if it meant going outside to play. At 11am Monika had a game in Fitchburg so after a leasure morning, I took Balt out to the big dog park in Verona after dropping Monika off. He was in heaven. He loves to run, stop and smell, then run again. I've learned to dress warmly and walk briskly to stay warm. We have fun together.

Jessi spent the night with her basketball team, doing what teams do. I picked her up on the way home and we all went out to lunch after Monika cleaned up from her game. Balt was out cold. We did a bit of shopping, Monika had her second to last behind the wheel before taking her driver's test in a week and a half. I made it to a yoga class feeling quite stiff, not sure if it was from the morning hike or yesterday's yoga!? I made enchiladas for dinner and am eager to have time to read tonight. Another busy week awaits me. 

Constantly Waiting

For the past year I have been woken up by a dog who is eager to get up and go. He either needs to pee, poop, eat or walk and he's waiting for me to get up and get to it. Once I'm up it's go, go, go. At work things slow down at times but not always. On PCT/Backyard Mondays, they are a blur. Once home, Balt is there again, waiting for all of the same reasons above. Today's walk was nicer, warmer, but still cool and brisk. Once home again, I deal with the girls, dinner, cleaning, etc. Jessi was swamped with homework and I finished up making a few additions to the newspaper to send in downtown for print. It took too long to make it to a yoga class. I went up stairs early to read and blog but passed out reading. I was woken by the snort of a dog snuggled up next to my leg... sleeping but dreaming of romping through fields I think. Even in his sleep, I believe he's waiting for me.

Dog Shit & Other Amusing Stories about Dogs

I apologize for my crass-ness; I was torn between using the word "poop" or "shit" and shit just sounds funnier.

I have a weekly calendar that hangs in the kitchen that tells all what activites are going on. This week's quote is from Gilda Radner, “I think dogs are the most amazing creatures; they give unconditional love. For me they are the role model for being alive.”  I added it to my email signature because I found it quite meaningful. BUT the reality is their love is partially coxed with food... or at least my dog's love is. That maybe because dogs seem to take on their owner's characteristics. Is Balt motiviated by food because I am? This morning he woke me up at 7am eager to go out and waited patiently for me to edit the March issue of the student newspaper. At 9am, I finally took him to our nearby field where he romped gleefully. He didn't get that from me.

There are no nearby dog parks on the near west side of Madison. Many dog owners, myself included, have turned a local empty feild into a dog park of sorts. About once a week I travel 15 miles up highway 12 to Indian Lake or I go 10 miles south to Pairie Moraine in Verona, but on a daily basis it's to that empty field a couple of blocks away from my home. I have found that since there are no bag dispensers or trash cans, hardly anyone picks up their dog's poop. Someone out there is bagging their dog's do-do and leaving bags all over the field which I find annoying. Let the crap decompose! I heard a comedian joke about future generations wondering why we cherished dog waste so much because we bag it up and keep it from disintegrating. Balt is kind of modest and will find a bush to leave his meadow muffin behind. I have found he runs from his own doodle but doesn't mind sniffing other's doody. He's even been tempted to eat an occasional loaf found-- at which I scream, "NO-NO!!"

This afternoon I went down to the basement to get a load of laundry started and grab a sweatshirt. Balt followed me down, which is normal, but then poked his head into a back corner where a pillow was and started pushing a dirty pair of underwear over. I looked over to see what he was burying and low and behold he had shat in that corner earlier this week. Under the pillow was several dirty underwear and a couple of dried stools (his I hope). He was just checking on it and adding to the pile. Hilarious! 

Note how big Balt is compared to last January!

Hope is a good thing.

Balt and I spent the morning up at Indian Lake. I left shortly after 9am and we got home around 11. Balt is drawn to the water- always. The lake is solid ice but the shoreline has doubled over in areas and the water was barely noticable until Balt went over and weighed down a chunk of ice. He was slipping around as the water moved up. He seemed to enjoy the experience and when I called him to get going, he ran away gleefully as if he had just drank in a bit of spring. Oh, I'm in for trouble once that lake melts. He's jumping in everytime, I just know it. 

I came home with an exausted dog to a hungry family. I made egg sandwiches and enjoyed a very leasure afternoon. I read and napped until my 3pm yoga class. After I went shopping and came home to make dinner. It was a wonderfully restful Sunday. Jessi has to write a paper on the movie, The Shawshank Redemption (1994), so we watched it with her. It's a wonderful story (adult family stuff- not for kids). Morgan Freeman should have won the oscar for it (Forrest Gump got it). It was the second time she had watched so she was able to catch a lot of references to the themes of hope, redemption and deliverance. It made for good family conversations and a few great laughs. We all busted up loud when a prison guard said he had to go "pinch a loaf." We then proceded to debate whether he had said "pinch" or "pitch". My husband insisted it worked either way. 

Scream and Pout

At 4am Balt started whining. It was too early. He went to the vet last week for shots and I was told he needed to lose 8 pounds. The vet said to just reduce his food by 20% and he would never notice. Wrong. He gets hungry earlier in the morning now. I have him trained to run out to pee in the morning only to the front lawn and come right back. If he does this he gets a biscuit. At four this morning I was hoping the biscuit would buy me some time. As I went for the front door in my pj's with my blanket draped over my shoulders, I heard a god-awful scream. I knew it was my cat, but I couldn't see him under the blankie. As I spun around, he continued to cry out in pain.

I felt terrible once I saw it was Lewy under me. I scooped him up to find his toes smashed and bleeding. Per my podiatrist, I was not barefoot. I set him down and let him out, hoping the iced walk might help but as he limped along yelping, I realized that would not do. I ran outside to bring him back in. Meanwhile Balt had done his business quickly and was waiting patiently for his biscuit. I set Lewy down on the cat tree and took care of Balt. I returned to Lewy to investigate. I was sure he'd need a vet, but at 4am there was nothing to be done, so I went back to bed for a couple of hours. Once the alarm rang at 6am, I ran to check on Lewy. His feet were no longer oozing blood, but I could see a lot of redness. He seemed fine unless I touched his toes, then he screamed out. Well, it seemed he'd survive while I was at work. If things got worse I would call the vet. I came home during lunch to check and he was no where to be found. I wasn't sure if he'd gone to die of broken toes or if he was just afraid of my heavy feet.

After school I came home to find him on the couch with Erika. I told her about what had happened and she assured me he was fine. He's toes seemed only sensitive when prodded and no longer even looked red. I was amazed to find he could heal so quickly. Had he used up a life for this? I was quite glad not to have to go see the vet again. I took Balt out on his walk and made sure he ran. The vet seems to feel that less food is more important that more exercise. She told me to offer him carrots instead of biscuits.The one I gave him this evening is still on the floor next to the couch. It's funny that he has a sweet tooth-- like Jessi, he likes fruit, not veggies. He's got a funny habit of sucking on his bed now at night. He looks adorable, but I think the poor guy wants more food.

Out in the Cold

I knew I had been cheating Balt out of quality walks lately, mostly because of the cold. So I bundled up at 8am and went to Indian Lake Dog Park. It was about 14 degrees. With a high barely at 30, it didn't make sense to wait all day. I've learned there's little difference between 10 and 20, especially if its breezy. The big reason to wait is if it's going to get above 33. Balt was very happy but I couldn't do more that about 40 minutes. It was less painful with the wind behind me, but I could only manage that half the time.

I bought a box of bagels and made my way home in time to enjoy a leasure morning sorting socks while the girls watched last night's SNL. I very much enjoyed the laughter. The spoofs on Clint Eastwood's Chrysler commercials were hilarious. I took Jessi shopping and then went to yoga. We had dinner while watch Pretty in Pink. The girls did homework while I made some Valentine Brownies for a friend. I absolutely love Sundays. There is something so restorative about them-- maybe more so now that I have a dog to walk in the morning. Spring will only make the day more wonderful.

End of January

It isn't February yet, but it can't come soon enough. I'm done with January. I think January is my least favorite month of the year. Oh, sure I like beginnings and January is the beginning of the year, but I think that's the only thing likable about the month. It's so cold, so long and so not fun. 

Balt woke me up at 6:30am. We went for a very short walk due to the bitter wind outside. I built a fire and spent a couple of hours reading by the fire with Balt at my feet. At 10am I took Jessi to basketball and Balt on a walk to Middleton for a paved walk. When Balt ventured out into the snow, he found it too deep to go too far. I could tell he was frustrated.

I went to school with Monika around noon to supervise her and the other soph officers painting the window for the mid-winter dance coming up in a couple of weeks. One of Monika's greatest assets as a class president is her artistic ability to paint windows and make banners.

I went grocery shopping then out to yoga. I made beef stroganof for dinner. I have so much still to do this weekend, I doubt I can get even close to finishing it all up, but I'm going to try. The newspaper is just about done but the laundry isn't. I'm procrastinating some for tomorrow.

 

Winter Day

Balt woke me up at 6am hungry for breakfast. He seemed fine waiting for his walk until the temps got above 0. I made coffee, built a fire, sorted socks and watched a cute movie (Morning Glory, 2010). It was a perfect winter morning of leasure. At 11am it was about 10 degrees, so I suited up and went up to Indian Lake with Balt. We tromped through the snow for a good hour. Balt loves to smell stuff, occassionally digging for treasure (most likely poop). He's always so eager to play with other dogs and today he found a dog just as eager to play with him. The two of them ran and ran together for about 1/2 hour. We both came home exhausted. I need to invest in snow shoes if I'm going to keep going out in deep snow!

The girls worked on homework all day. At 3pm I dropped Jessi off at school for her basketball game in Janesville while I went to yoga. Monika and her dad went to Borders to read. After an amazing yoga class, I came home and made dinner for just me and my husband. Monika went to the school musical. I picked up both girls from school around 10:30pm. Jessi was miserable, having lost another BB game and her iPhone glass cracked on the bus. Erika had quite a history of losing her phones in high school, now Jessi is the queen of damaging them!

So Cold

It was below zero this morning when Balt wanted to go out for his walk at 6am. I made coffee then showered, hoping an hour later I could manage to go outside. I've learned below zero is when it gets painful to go out. At 7:30am, Balt and I went around the block for 10 minutes and although it was above zero, it was still quite cold and even Balt seemed fine with the walk cut short. Luckily he has daycare again tomorrow, so his walk this afternoon was also kind of short. Madison never got above 20 today and it's going to be even colder tomorrow. This weather really makes it hard to get excited to do anything but stay home and snuggle up. 

The day was non-eventful. Today Jessi has late BB practice and Monika had tutoring. I've started paying $40/hour for both Jessi and Moni to have a math tutor. They each get one hour every other week. After Jessi's first session last week, she got 105% percent on her math test. Monika's hoping her grade will improve as immediately this week. They are doubling up next week for finals. I'll pay $80 for both of them to get an hour review session. It seems crazy, but we've exhausted all other math help methods. So far I'm getting my money's worth but it's almost like buying a grade.

I made the girls cookies and snuggled up with my book. I'm relieved to have switched out my 30 day challenge. Between the tutoring and bb practice, I was in and out so much, there wasn't a class time I could make tonight and it's okay.

Cleaning up Christmas

I got up early this morning to get Jessi to basketball practice. I decided to wait until it got a bit warmer for Balt's walk. I sent him outside, while I cleaned up Christmas. One of my favorite things to do when cleaning up the christmas tree is to burn bits of it. I've learned that it is dangerous business and should not be done by amateurs. I bring in all my rubbermaid bins in and bush clippers when I start clean up. The ornaments get put away delicately, since most are hand-made. There's a big bin just for lights and another just for baskets. The baskets were not set out this year to keep them safe from Balt. Several ornaments were damaged this year, I tossed the un-sentimental ones into the fire. 

By the time Jessi called to be picked up, I had almost everything cleaned, so I bundled up and took Balt for his walk. Although it was 37 degrees, the wind made it feel colder. The chillier it is, the faster I want to go. I'm thinking I will need to wear running shoes soon.

The rest of the afternoon I spent on the computer, tweeking the newspaper draft and finishing up a recommendation. I met up with my husband at Starbucks to work for a while with him. It was crazy busy there. Their registers stopped working when we ordered our drinks and because of the long lines they just gave our drinks to us. Then someone took my drink so they had to make me another. We were given coupons for future free drinks after that. Boy, was it it our lucky Starbucks day.

The gift I keep giving...

There was no sleeping in for me. By 7:30am I was out with Balt running around. As much fun as he is to have around, he's a pain in the butt too. While I'd like to feel sorry for myself at times, especially as everyone else in the family get to sleep in, I know that getting up and out is good for me. Even though Balt was Jessi's Christmas gift, she does very little to help me. Occasionally, Balt gets too naughty for me to deal with and that's when I make Jessi suffer. He's has learned to ignore me when he doesn't want to come in. He also loves to chew stuff up. When he chewed up Monika's Christmas ornament that I made in 2005, I got a little creative. Luckily, Balt chewed up Jessi's brand new 2011 hand-made ornament.

The rest of the day was spent taking stuff back. The stores were all suprisingly calm. We got started while Jessi was at basketball practice. Once she was done, the four of us girls enjoyed some quality shopping time. Erika and I ended the afternoon in a hot yoga class that was over crowded and thus overheated. Erika survived. I was very proud of her for staying in the room. I remember those first hot classes. It kind of makes you feel crazy. Monika worked on the January issue of the student newspaper, while I cleaned. The two of us ended up hooked on a netflix, staying up way too late.

Thin Ice

It seems this was a weekend for near misses. During our walk today, Balt fell through the ice on a river that lead into Indian Lake. The lake looked quite solid ice, but the river, I guess was not so solid. I had feared this would happen and I had to help him out. I weigh a good 100 pounds more then Balt, so of course I too fell through the ice. Only one of my legs got submerged to my hip but I got pretty wet dragging him out and I was mad. We had to cut our walk short of course as I couldn't continue all wet, whereas Balt could and seemed very unapologetic about the whole situation. 

I had planned to make tamales today, but Monika had planned to make gingerbread men and a house. I went shoppping hoping that on my return we could switch. I had also hoped to get a family photo, but my husband would not comply. I asked for the girls to pose for me this afternoon but it wasn't easy. Everyone is so busy all the time and stressed out too. It meant my refusing to feed anyone until a photo could be taken. Once I got my pictures I went to yoga and then hoped to get to tamales. Instead, the kitchen was a huge mess and still in use. Jessi had joined in the gingerbread house making and I decided tomorrow would work out better. Most schools get out on Wednesday, but we go until Friday. It's not going to be easy.
 

How it all went down...

My grand idea of putting bownies inside pots with flower cookies sticking out all went awry when after leaving them in the oven with oreos on top (each oreo had been drilled with a hole for the cookie pops) to go to the hockey game. When Monika and I came home we found things weren't working as hoped. The deep pots were cooked on top but raw at the bottom. We took the partically cooked bownie cupcakes and put them in the blender with a cup of milk, a cup of flour and baking soda. I thought that if they ended up tasting amazing we would have just invented a great recipe. Well, twice baked brownies don't taste great, but their not bad. We knew at that point we weren't going to win so the rest of the night was just trying to get something respectable together. At midnight Monika washed her hands of the situation and said she didn't want her name on the entry at all. I continued with the sole motivation of not wanting to waiste all the funds I had put into the endeavor. The Cupcake smack down has changed the landscape of the GSA at our school. It's a grand fundraiser for a club that had been semi-invisiable and now is out of the closet and kind of cool. 

Anyway, this morning when I woke up,I went down to let Balt out and I intuitively knew to check on the cupcakes. At least I took a picture of the dozen because I was left with 6, The rest were gone. Only 6 sticks were left on the floor with a lot of chocolate crumbs. I knew it didn't matter. We weren't going to win, so I'd donate the 6 and be done. Balt wasn't up for breakfast this morning and Jessi was concerned the chocolate would make him sick. I am pretty sure he won't die and as long as he doesn't vomit in my house, he'll survive. Here's a few cupcakes that were succesful ... more pictures tonight.

Sunday Fire

The weather warmed up today above freezing and Jessi said it felt like the 60's but it was only in the 40's. I enjoyed the morning sorting socks by the fire with Balt. I waited until it was above freezing and then took Balt to the dog park. We had a wonderful late morning. He gets a lot of complements still. People say his coat is pretty, comment on how beautiful he is or how well behaved he is. It's nice. He got a lot of complements this weekend.

I did a big Costco shopping run and a late grocery run where I purchased all the items I need to make tamales. My goal is to have them made by Saturday. I got to my favorite yoga class and had a great time. I suppose yoga has in many ways replaced church for me. After reading a NY times peice on Americans and God, I read there is a rise in Americans leaving the ranks of the religious (especially with the youth) and some believe it is because of politics. Interesting. I ceased to struggle with organized religion in my life-- opting out completely for now. As for God? Occassionally He points His finger in my face and says, "See, I told you." While other times He's very quiet. I try to listen regardless. 

I throw my hands up in the air sometimes...

I waited as long as I could to take Balt out. It was so cold this morning-- fully winter, just no snow. Jess and Moni both took the ACT this morning so I dropped them off at school early and started housework until the temps got into the 20's.  We went out to Indian Lake and he was so happy but a bit confused by the lake. He tried digging into the ice by the shore and kept looking around wondering why he couldn't swim. It was super cute. We got back in time to pick the girls up and take them out to breakfast. 

Jessi had her third game of the season against West this afternoon. It ruined my yoga schedule, but I was glad I went. She played a lot. It was a better match, but still a loss. West is currently #1 in the conference and Memorial continues to lag behind in last place. After the game I went and got pizza for the family and built a fire. All five of us were home, but no one wanted to take a family photo. I'm not sure how I'm supposed to get a Christmas card out with a family photo when no one will pose. I couldn't pull it off last year and I'm going to be pretty upset if another year goes by with everyone saying they won't take a picture. 
 

Snuggle up

The days continue to get chillier. The next 10 days we can look forward to an average high of 32 degrees. I was quite tempted to build a big fire and snuggle all day with my cats, only Balt would not have any of that. He got me out in the weather of course. I called a friend and met her with her dog to go to Indian Lake. Balt loved the walk and I survived the cold.

Monika had her first indoor soccer game at the same time as my yoga class, so I couldn't go to yoga. I enjoyed visiting with other soccer moms and Monika had a fun time playing soccer for the first time in a while. After we came home and waited for my husband to get back from Milwaukee so we could all have dinner together and get our Christmas tree. We went to the hardware store to gather up a few decorations and a tree. Jessi did most of the work in decorating and then Balt did his best to pull the ornaments off to chew on. It was cute, but kind of annoying. I think we will only have stuff on the top half of our tree this year. 

Only 18 now...

Today was very long. I was very glad that Balt had daycare all day. He was pulled from the room he normally plays in because he "had a hard time taking breaks and being polite". When I asked about his behavior, I felt like a guilty parent, but was told it was not all Balt. He just was a bit too intense with a new dog and they had to be separated. I can't believe sometimes how much having a puppy is like having a toddler. 

I had to work on the parent newsletter with a kid in my media class. I managed to get a swim in and had a protien shake for lunch. I needed to go to the glass store during my 5th hour but couldn't find my phone so I didn't have enough time. Instead,  I hung out in Joe's photo class. It's was the only down time I had all day. After school I worked on layout with the newspaper kids. Jessi had basketball. We all left school after 6pm. I made a quick dinner of leftovers and then sat to work on the December issue of the newspaper. I think that I will only do a quick edit, but then I start tweeking and I'm sucked in. I enjoy the work and have thought if I were going to change careers, I would love to work for a magazine. 

An art student is working on a series of Spartan Athlete videos. He just finished one on a swimmer senior. Jessi's in the video in little bits and there's even a flash of me and my husband in the stands! I love the series.

Thank goodness for Doggy Daycare!

Initially I had cancelled today's appointment for daycare for Balt. It was a short week and I knew he'd get good walks in late in the week. BUT this morning I had a change of heart. I knew I'd be at work late and unable to come home. Today and tomorrow were packed with a lot to do before vacation, so I treated him. His report card made me chuckle, "Today I was a champion wrestler! I had a particularly fun time with one of my gal-pals who is all white-- we made a beautiful picture together. I got to be a total goofball with my friends. I was pretty interested in humping some of my buddies today, but I am mostly a very sweet friend!" I suppose humping for dog daycare is like hitting for child daycare-- very bad. It's a show of dominance, not sexual, from what I understand. I've watched enough of the Dog Whisperer to know it's not a good sign in normal social dog play. Luckily Balt is young and just needs to learn his boundaries. 

It was a crazy busy day. I had several photo shoots after school today and few more tomorrow. I am making the boys basketball program with a couple of kids in my media class but they won't make the deadline if they do it alone. So I'm getting the bulk of unfinished work in tonight to get it done by tomorrow. It's quite a squeeze--AND I have to do the girls program as well! 
 

Sunday Breathing

Sundays have become a sacred day of rest and the long dog walk. I love going up to Indian Lake with Balt on Sundays. It's even more enjoyable when my husband comes along too. Balt is in dog heaven the whole time. The past several weeks Balt has insisted on going swimming. The water is crystal clear and crisp. As the weather has cooled, Balt seems to be enjoying it all the more. I have a feeling he is going to be in his element once it starts snowing-- the problem is that I won't be! I need snow gear soon.

After our wonderful morning walk all morning, I went grocery shopping once again. I got the turkey, potatoes and most big fixings from Costco yesterday. Today I needed to get the buttermilk, a foil pan, turkey cooking bag and those kinds of additions. I think I'm set for Thursday.

My favorite yoga classes of the week are at 3:30pm on Saturday and Sunday. Today's class's theme was on breathing. I like breathing. One of my absolute wonderful feelings is breathing in so fully that I crack my back. It doesn't happen often, but when it does, it's heavenly. Yesterday's class was so full I barely got in. Today I made sure to get to class a full 15 minutes early. I fell into a deep relaxed state in the heat that was wonderful. I felt like an hour passed in what was less than 10 minutes. It was difficult to pull myself up and do the class after but I did. I came home to a crockpot of potato chowder and a quiet house of everyone working on school work. I built a fire and enjoyed a the end of near perfect day.

Play the game

At 3:30am this morning a very happy dog woke me up ready to go on a walk. Balt has gotten into this crazy schedule (since time change?) of getting up too early. This morning I put him in his crate and got another two hours of sleep. At 5:30am I woke up to get Jessi to basketball tryouts. She loves the game but isn't sure it's the right way to spend her time. She probably should keep swimming in order to get her faster and stronger for state next year with possibilities for bigger opportunities... but that would be mean a private club with lots of extra expense and time outside of the school. I like her staying active and basketball is relatively cheep and easy to deal with because practices are at school, not all over the city. BUT is it the right thing to do? I just don't know. For now, she's trying out. Getting cut would be an easy way to decide what to do, but I don't think that's going to happen. The team isn't that good so quite a few girls that are good athletes in other sports have decided to not to play in order to strengthen their other sports (like what Jessi should probably do!). When I sent her on her way, I told her to have fun. She had nothing to lose. She came home tonight after two try out sessions with aching feet and shin splints... gravity reminding her she's not in the water. I promised her new basketball shoes if she make the team. 

So the students of Memorial stepped up to the challenge and got to class on time for the most part. For the first time in my professional life I saw students RUNNING in the hall to class. The mass round ups were not for large groups of students as some might have predicted. During 3rd hour, the sweep only caught 6 kids. I'm sure 1st hour was the worst with 4th, coming in second, but the data is not in yet.

 

 

State Swim Meet

I did not take Balt for a walk last night and boy, did I pay for that this morning. I was woken up over and over again wanting to go out to play. An eager Balt had to wait until 8am when I took Jessi to swim practice. I ran over to pick up tickets for the state meet and then took Balt to Picnic Point. Oh, what a happy dog! He ran in utter glee and then once reaching the lake, jumped in and swam. For a mid-November day, it was warm (mid-50's) and autumn colors were beautiful.

I came home and cleaned, did some laundry and made sure Jessi had all the things she needed for her meet. At 1pm, her friends picked her up and I left an hour later to get a seat for the 3pm meet. It was very exciting to see the team rise above expectations and come in 3rd place -- over both Middleton and Verona (the only two teams the girls lost to during the regular season). In the end, just beating Middleton was the sweetest part of the day. Jessi came in14th for her 50, 10th in the state for her 100, 4th in the state for both relays- the 200 and 400. She came home with two medals and cried at the end as she said goodbye to swimming with her fellow senior relay mates. We came home to change and then ran off to the team dinner. Last year she had skipped it, not feeling any where near as connected as she does this year. She's a leader now, an integral part of the team. She has 3 days to switch gears.

 

A little motivation...

Balt had doggie-daycare today. It was the perfect day for it because it was pouring this morning, so we could not get a walk in. I dressed up a bit, tights and a skirt, since I wasn't going to be out in the elements much today. I started posting grades this week and I must say as a teacher, NOTHING motivates kids more than seeing zeros in the grade book. Oh, sure, a few kids don't seem to care that they have an "F" but most care a lot. I had to stay after school for a few who suddenly seemed to have to work after 8 weeks of not much enthusiasm for the stuff.

I changed into my yoga gear and went to Sam's to pick up some cupcakes for Jessi's gym class tomorrow and a cake for after her swim practice. I'm not sure what she'll want for dinner yet, but I'm hoping to do something nice for her. She's pretty poopy about it being her birthday since it's in the middle of a week devoted to concentrating on swimming and not a good time to celebrate. 

When I went to pick up Balt, I saw that his report card looked different. Before they'd get him, I had to talk to the main care-taker. I don't remember daycare for my girls being quite this intense. I was informed that Balt had been moved to the "big" dog area. His new report card read, "I use my size during play and at times it can be overwhelming. We are also working on my basic obedience, it's easy to forget when all I want to do is PLAY! My pooch pals are also teaching me what's okay and what's not so polite. I'm a very young guy and my caretakers look forward to helping me learn!" It was hard not to feel a little embarrassed-- as if he were my child. They assured me he wasn't too naughty, just very puppy-like, a very BIG puppy. As as soon as he was home he was asleep on his bed-- exhausted. 

 

The first day!

I've made fun of people who take their pet to daycare. So, I'm a hypocrite now, and I deserve your ridicule. Balt had his very first day of doggie daycare today. After his hotel stay last month, I was empressed with the service, the attention to detail and real care taken to make sure Balt was cared for. I have him scheduled in for once a week this month at Ruffin It, but December is booked solid. His report card read, " I found a gal pal that I attempted to mount but after a few reminders I was very well behaved!"  After our interview to get him enrolled, I was so happy to hear that training was part of the service. The staff are there to help make sure Balt is well behaved while he stays. I was also informed that bad behavior would get him kicked out (expelled!). Mounting is considered "bad behavior" so I'm relieved to hear that Balt learned it was a no-no.

The day was pretty normal. I'm still sitting on two classes of photo projects to grade. I had a working lunch and another tech meeting after school. The school has $160,000 to spend in less than a week on technology and I get to represent the art department in the decision making process. I would not call it fun. After school I picked up Balt and he came home and crashed. I made stir fry for Monika and me, a quesidilla for Jessi. By 7:30pm everyone had gone to bed and I was napping on the couch. It would've been nice to make it to yoga, but it's nice having a night to snuggle up and rest.

Running

I wish I could run on empty, but I can't. I seem to always find time eat, no matter how much running around I do. I had a newspaper club meeting this morning at 7:30am. I have been bringing donuts to these meetings and even with one sugar donuts left at the end, I didn't even have to smell it. Not that I didn't want it, I just refused to let it tempt me. My "no sugar for a month" diet has been cheated on, but in general, I'm doing fairly well. I've learned to snack on salty foods instead. 

My classes are great, but the energetic ones keep me on my toes. That's not bad. I had an appointment today to have Balt assessed for daycare and he passed. I signed him up for 2x a month-- at $22 a day, I thought it would be a nice treat for him in the winter months especially. After school, I had to take Monika shopping and make some purchases for Jessi before taking Balt out on his walk but it did happen. It was a beautiful evening, but very brisk-- below 50. 

Autumn Monday

Today was a beautiful, brisk Autumn Monday. I didn't leave enough time this morning to take Balt for a good walk this morning so I made sure to get a nice one in this afternoon. He had a power house walk yesterday, so I didn't feel too bad about the quick walk up and down our block before school. I'm not sure how I'm going to manage these morning walks in sub-zero weather, but I won't worry about it yet. I wanted to change things up and get into the woods today, but with two after school meetings, I knew it would be difficult to get outside of Madison before dark. Plus, I had a ton to do. Owen woods is not only a beautiful park, but very close to our house-- so I made my way there as soon as I had dropped off a salad where the swim team was having their potluck, around 5:30pm. Balt and I enjoy a wonderful walk on a path paved with fallen leaves at dusk. By 6:30pm it was getting too dark to take pictures. I dropped Balt off and then went to Sam's Club to buy food for the swim team breakfast tomorrow morning. It's my turn to make it, so I'll be up early cooking.

PCT Monday

I started my day at the dog park with Balt, enjoying wonderful Autumn weather. We are in for a grand week. The day flew by. PCT Mondays do that. I had to leave early to get Balt to the vet for a fecal exam and a Bordetella vaccine so that he could go to the pet hotel tomorrow. There was something weird in his poop, but I didn't investigate too much. There's always weird stuff in his poop, he eats everything. It ended up being a panty liner. The vet told me to start saving now for the surgery he's inevitably going to need to get the crazy thing he eats out. She said she has done the surgery many times, most recently on an 8lb yorkie who ate a whole package of pony tail rubber bands. The hundred or so bands got all tangled up in his gut so that he stopped eating and pooping. Luckily Balt can pass most everything he chomps on, but one of these days he will bite off something bigger than his intestines, then I'm in for a thousand dollar surgery. I'm not looking forward to it and hoping I can get him to cut out the non-food snacks. 

After the vet we went to the hotel to get paperwork done and check it out just to make sure it was acceptable. I think he's going to have fun. I know I am-- I'm going to a conference Tuesday and Wednesday. I purchased a take-n-bake pizza for the girls and started working on my sub notes and the parent newsletter that is due tomorrow. I'm having a student work on it tomorrow while I am gone, hoping that he can finish it up. We'll see.

Homecoming Thursday

What I thought were allergies, I think was the beginning of a cold because I am coughing now, alot. I felt like calling in sick and probably should have. I had to run out of my photo class to up chuck in the bathroom and felt like it several times throughout the day. Jessi wasn't feeling well either and went home from school. She told me half the swim team is out with something. It's not serious, just not nice. 

The banners are up and voted on. I have to wait to find out until tomorrow during the pep rally, but I heard it was close. Monika's sophomore banner is awesome but the juniors and seniors have cool ones too. It was lumberjack day at school. It's the first time we've had a lumberjack day. I thought it was kind of dumb until I saw all the cute outfits girls were wearing-- including Jessi and Monika! I wish I had a picture of them in their plaid tops.

It rained this afternoon, so I didn't take Balt out for an evening walk but this morning's walk was good. His limp seems pretty much gone. I even video taped him running just to make sure (you can take a look). I guess he pulled  a muscle because rest seemed to fix it.

The Juggle

I watched a student in Joe's class showing another student how to juggle balls with amazing grace. When the other student tried all the balls fell to the floor after the first toss. While I will admit to being quite proud of my own juggling ability at times, there are other times when the stress of not dropping any thing onto the floor can be trying. 

Today, I had a practicum student from the UW join me. For the next five weeks, I will be observed. Having the added responsiblity was a bit stressful especially as I struggle to pull together my new media class, but in general it is always better to have another adult in the room to help. I have the kids calling her Ms. "H" since I can't pronounce her last name myself. I warned her that tomorrow would not be normal. I wondered if any day totally normal? 

Afterschool I met up with a few folks, did a bit of paperwork and ran to take Balt on his evening walk. He's getting used to two walks per day now, each 20-30 minutes, more if I can. I can tell he looks better, not so fat. He's running more and more and seems happy in general. He doen't mind being crated during the school day which is nice. After picking up Monika, I made my way to Sam's for cake and other birthday supplies. I think it's going to be a bit of a crazy day. 

3 more days!

Today was dress up day for the tennis team.  It was their very last meet-- only conference and sectionals left. I decided to dress up too. Monika actually wore a dress and looked great (I should've gotten a picture, I know). When Josh asked me what the occassion was, I answered, "it's my week!" I had a good day, not as busy, not as rushed. After school I had a technology meeting and then I ran home to get Balt to watch Monika play. The match up was against West. She is friends with a lot of the girls on their team, so she was very eager to do well. While she did play well, she did not win but she was close (5-7, 4-6).

It's super hard to take good pictures of the girls playing tennis while I have Balt pulling on his leash. Luckily there are sometimes other dogs there to play with.  I often feel like I am babysitting afterschool. I have to rush home to get Balt out of his crate and then make sure he gets enough exercise or else he will have a tantrum of sorts in the evening at home. He has learned how to manipulate me by pretending he needs pee in order to go outside to play late at night. I'm learning. I've had to crate him at night lately so that I can get uninterupted sleep. At least I don't ever have to worry about the girls at night. They hit their pillows as early as they can after all their homework is done, hard and sleep like the dead.