Teri Parris Ford's Blog

Plenty to do

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.

Film Fest Five

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.

What a Memorial Day

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!

A Scorcher!

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!

I can smell hot dogs everywhere!

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!

The Last Friday

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.

Surprise for Lunch

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.

Hacked Again

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. 
 

The beginnings of goodbyes

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.

Nothing to do on a Sunday

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.

Just like a Summer day!

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!

Dim all the lights...

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. 

 

Amazing Day

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.  

Just a quick visit

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.

Mid-May

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.

Life is weird sometimes...

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. 

A day for Mothers

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.

No Plans

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.

A Fine Friday

Today was another great day-- gorgeous out side and pretty nice inside. We had visitors from Edgewood's art ed program. I gave them a tour of our department and then school. I made copies of the backyard sheet for our lunch meeting during the tour. I met with student government during the lunch hour and got in a quick photo shoot of the sophomore officers after our meeting. Elections for next year's officers are next week. This years officers did such a great job but they are still nervous about being re-elected. I'm in the awkward situation of being both the mother of the kid running for the junior class president and the advisor of the junior officers. I normally stay out of the process. Well, I more than slightly biased this year.

After school Balt and I went for our walk and then my husband took me out for dinner. I got vegetable fajitas with corn tortillas-- I couldn't eat even half of what was served. I brought the left overs home for another day. I'm not quite half way through my vegan challenge and while I'm convinced it's a healthy way to live, I'm not convinced I can eat this way forever. I purchased "silk" creamer, a soy alternative to half and half. It was disgusting. I couldn't drink my coffee with beads of palm oil floating on top of it-- too gross and I'm positive it isn't more healthy than half and half. 

A Perfect Day

It was a beautiful sunny May day and great work day in all of my classes. I got a swim in at lunch and had no meetings all day. I ran home to get Balt after school and brought him back to my class to finish up cleaning. He loves snooping around the art department looking through the trash cans for treats. After, we went for a good walk around all the fields before Monika's soccer game. We only got to watch  a couple of minutes before having to leave to take Jessi to swimming. I got back in time for half time to find the girls were winning big-- 9-0 when it was done. Monika and I picked up Jessi and then went out to dinner. It was a great head start for a wonderful weekend!

A visitor!?

Melissa came in during first hour to drop something off for Joe. It was great to see her. She looks amazing for being 8 months along with two very healthy babies. I don't think I've seen someone so pregnant, it kind of looked fake. She was very ready to take a before picture with the hopes that the after photo would be soon. I have to admit without her around to chat with, I stay in my room working more and I suppose I get more done. BUT work isn't quite as fun.

During lunch I met with students to plan the second to last Backyard sheet. I ran out to get Monika and me a sandwich and then got some work done in my room. I'm starting to organize and clean, knowing the end is coming. I had to kick a couple of kids out of my room realizing that with the end comes potential chaos. Kids start ditching their classes and want a fun place to hang out. While I understand why one would want to hang out in an art room all day-- I do it everyday-- I can't be a safe haven for everyone. It always starts with a kid or two and then their friends start bringing their friends.

After school I picked up Balt from daycare, went grocery shopping with Monika and then went to bookclub. We watched the first episode of HBO's The Game of Thrones after talking about the book. It was a fun teacher time as we all shared our excitement for the end of the school year... Summer is coming!

City Outdoor

I was up coughing my guts up past midnight. I gave up trying to get sleep and just read while sucking on cough drops. I woke up feeling a bit better but still weary. I decided to keep the day low key. My students were quite accomodating. After school I took Balt for his walk and then rushed to see Jessi throw. My husband is home for the week, so he was able to take Monika to her soccer game in Middleton. It was the City Outdoor meet for all varsity in the city of Madison. Jessi came in 3rd for the shot and 5th in her discus. She was disappointed with her discus, but over all she is quite the competitor.  After the meet we went out for soup and went home. I made sure to purchase some Nyquil in order to get a good night's sleep tonight.

I can see the light...

With only a month left of school, the light at the end of the tunnel is starting to get bright. I feel as if the weight of all that I do is peeling off me like layers of sweatshirts and jackets that come off on a warming day. It's nice. I spent time cleaning up in my classroom at lunch today instead of meeting with the junior officers. I'm still feeling sick with a sore throat that is killer and a cough that is painful, but I still went to school. I started my day with green tea and snacked on a bit of pineapple late in the morning. I had a peanut butter and honey sandwich on organic whole wheat bread for lunch. After school I took Balt for an extra long walk and then came home to make brown rice with asparagus. Monika thought it was bland, but my husband and I enjoyed it. My husband snacked on shelled peanuts after dinner, so I have to figure my tablespoon of PB is the same as his 1/2 bag of nuts!? What isn't the same is his metabolism compared to mine, so I don't know why I'm even comparing at all. After dinner I finished up on a t-shirt for the newspaper kids and the time evaporated. I was hoping to get to bed early... oh, well.

No pictures of me...

After staying up well after 2am, waking up at 6am with Balt was painful. My head cold had turned into full blown sickness. I had a sore throat, fever and was coughing. Luckily it was raining with thunder. Balt went out to do his business and came in eagerly. He was happy to snuggle back in bed with me. When I woke up at 11am, I was shocked. It was wonderful to have gotten that much rest. I'm still coughing but feeling much better. 

I helped Monika upload the images she took at the Prom and started cleaning the garage and the unloaded decorations. I got going on some laundry as well. Jessi got home well after noon and I made the girls pancakes. We looked over pictures and reminisced. It had been a wonderful event.

I usually try to get pictures with my teacher friends and had wanted to get a picture with Monika and Jessika, but in my busyness I never did. Every year, I spend all of my time running around making sure everything and everyone else is great but I do very little for me. I barely had time to shower yesterday. Getting dressed was crazy stressful. I initially had purchased a dress on line to wear but once it arrived, it was too small. Then I decided to wear my Mexican skirt for Cinco de Mayo, but it also was too tight around my waist. Monika picked out a dress for me but it also felt too small and since all I do is run around making sure everything is going okay, I want to be comfortable. I'm not sure how I looked since I didn't get a picture taken, but I know I felt fat. 

My husband came home this afternoon 20 pounds slimmer having earned a perfect score on his army physical. A month ago, he went vegan to prep for his test this weekend. He was eager to celebrate with Mexican food. We walked Balt after dinner and talked about our diets. He stayed away from grains except rice. He said peanut butter was bad, but he ate a lot of peanuts, which made me laugh. Unlimited fruit,  veggies and nuts. He drank black coffee for breakfast, that's it. I need more than that, but I want to lose 20 pounds in a month too. I think I'll go green tea instead.

Rice Dream

I very much enjoy rice milk in my fiber one cereal. I can't really tell the difference in cereal. Coffee is another matter. This morning was the scholarship committee's breakfast where we announce all the award winners. It was very nice to see all the kids we had decided to offer funds too. Scholarships range from $20 to $2000. At lunch, prom tickets were sold for the very last day. My officers had it all under control so I went to the Nissan dealership to get new keys made. Back when Monika got her driver's license, I lost my set of keys. I know it was on that day because my husband drove me to school and I didn't have my keys, and I haven't seen them since. Monika used Jessi's set and that one set has been the source of much anguish in the past couple of months. No more. I got 3 more keys programed (only $25 each) and now everyone will have their own key to my car... I suspect I have set myself up for a new kind of anguish.

Today's high was 82 with 88% humidity. The school halls were very sticky but the art department was very cool. We have our own airconditioning! So kids walk into my room and sigh in relief. I'm shocked everytime I venture out how wet it is out there for them. At the end of the day, I snapped the above photo of Josh's drawing 3 class practicing drawing from models. I believe they will be venturing out to the UW for live nude models. I'm starting to get excited about teaching drawing again next year... I get ideas. 

After school I ran home to rescue Balt from the hot house and we had a wonderful walk. I came home to left over yams for dinner that I ate with salsa and tortillas. The vegan diet is growing on me, but I miss cheese. I took a cat nap and then got to work onthe backyard sheet due tomorrow. Monika had a game in Janesville and Jessi had track practice. Both girls got home around the same time, having had dinner with friends, which was a great relief for me. I'm fighting a head cold and looking forward to sleeping on Sunday... maybe all day.

Peanut Butter in my Belly

I'm surviving because of peanut butter. I had plan coffee this morning and realized that now that it's getting warm, I'll just pass on it altogether. I'd rather have a diet coke or iced tea than black coffee. My cereal taste great with rice milk, so no complaints there. Yesterday I had steal cut oats with apple and that was great too. Lunch for the past two days has been a peanut butter sandwich with bit of honey and I love it. I eat a grapefruit as well and am stuffed. Dinner has consisted of soups with bread... but I'm not sure how sustainable this is for my life. It seems the basis of a vegan diet is grain and legums. I'm not sure I'm going to lose weight on that.

The paper got finished and posted today. I met with student leaders during lunch to discus backyard sheet, Friday's meeting and Prom. My juniors sold nearly 300 tickets now which only leaves 200 for tomorrow and we'll have a good showing. After school I met with the technology committee to discuss a grant for the school. I checked out a bit early to pick up Balt, then Monika and meet up with Jessi, who'd gone to swimming. We had dinner together and ran errands. It was a balmy evening and kind of fun being out and about. Erika was waiting once we got home. I made her a quesidilla, caught up and then she was gone again. Now that she's well, we only see her once every couple of days agian. I kind of feel like tonight is the calm before the storm... it's only get crazier.

Say Cheese...

I'll really only miss 3 things going vegan -- cream in coffee, butter on bread and cheese on, well, almost everything. When I looked into the ulternatives for these items, they really don't seem like healthier options. Non-dairy creamer is like flavored whitener, margarine is hydrogenation oil, and vegan cheese is just gross to even think about. I don't see anything healthy about those options. I'd love to make them my exceptions, but I'm going to try coconut milk and other vegan spreads (humus mostly). I had my fair share of these three things today to say my fairwells for the next 30 days. I'd love to just live on Jamba juice and salad. Quite honestly, I'd most likely gain weight living on those two items.

Today was one of those days that not everything went all that great. I have a long list of things to do and I didn't get very much done. I believe we sold about 7 prom tickets today... we'll sell 400 on Thursday. High school kids love to procrastinate. After school I met with a couple of newspaper kids to find the May issue will be a shorty. Monika's game seemed to be going well when I walked by with Balt but he seemed too restless to let me watch. I let Jessi take the car to her swim practice only to find she got lost without her phone and came back to school an hour later having missed it. Although Monika had a strong showing with a team that looked like it was dominating the ball, they lost 2-0. Afterward the three of us went to Pancheros for quesadillas for dinner and good company. I spent the rest of my evening going over the school newspaper. It wasn't a great day, but tomorrow will be better.

Makin' Decisions

Our Sunday morning walk this morning was nice. My husband and I went to Indian Lake with Balt, walked and talked of summer plans. Balt had a blast-- romping, chasing, and swimming. The air was cool but after hiking around, the morning was perfect. I made a vegan bean and rice casserole for dinner and then ran to yoga. I decided that my next 30 day challenge will be to do a vegan diet. I've been keeping a 1200 calorie diet, but I've already plateaued, so it's time for a change.

After yoga, I met with my senior editors (pictured) at Panera to decide on next year's editors. This is an exciting time and it is important for students to make these decisions to keep the paper student run. It is a fun time. 4 of the 5 seniors were new to the paper this year and yet they felt it was important to chose students who had contributed and had been a part of the paper in the past. I am in the awkward position of being the mother of two of the editors picked. Both Monika and Jessi will be a great part of the paper. Jessi will share editor-in-chief with the only other student who has been a consistant contributor since their freshman year. This was an important part of the decision. Monika was picked by the current Opinon Editor to replace him. 

Sleepy Saturday

I stayed up way too late last night watching BBC's Sherlock (as in Holms) with Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freem (from the original Office and the upcoming Hobbit). Monika got us watching it as she's quite into the BBC and avid watcher Doctor Who (which makes her a super-geek). Then Balt got me up not once but several times with the squirts (I know it's gross, I'm the one that has to go out at 3am and observe it). When Jessi got up at 7am, it was pouring rain and cold. She worked a local race and I started doing laundry and cleaning. By 11am I was out of detergent and cat food. I made my way to school to do a few things then to Costco for some supplies. I came home and made a spicy root casserole (yams, carrots and potatoes with cayanne pepper and brown sugar!) for my husband's vegan diet. He's lost quite a bit of weight-- he has an army weigh in in two weeks that he needs be down for. He's inspiring me to be a bit more vigilant with my diet. By 3pm I was already exhausted and in need of a nap. I built a fire and snuggled up with Balt and read, dozing off and on... not as productive of a day as I had hoped but it was cold. Tomorrow's warmth will bring a more active day, I hope.

Progressing

When I don't know what to say about a student on report cards, I type in "progressing." It means there are no problems, but nothing exciting is happening either. I plodded through my day, getting as much done as I could. I swam during lunch and then popped in at home to make sure Erika was okay. I worked on a scavanger hunt for my field trip on Thursday, Backyard paperwork and the leadership retreat we are having on Friday. After school I got Balt and went to Jessi's track meet. She didn't PR today, but she got close in both events and the season is still early. She's progressing quite well and looks great. We grabbed some dinner after and got home after 8pm. I'm hoping to get to sleep a bit earlier tonight...