Teri Parris Ford's Blog

The most wonderful people in the world...

The day was pretty slow. Other than an art sale happening there wasn't a lot going on. Both Monika and Jessika seem to have a lot of homework, projects and studying to do before finals, so they stayed late afterschool and then at 6pm we had our Sword & Shield Banquet. The new editors-in-chief are two students who started contributing to the paper when they were freshman. Yep, Jessi is one of them. Monika, who had been doing layout decided to go for Opinion Editor next year. In the past the school paper had been poked fun of because of the high density of Asian students. I'm happy to see a bit more of a true reflection of the student body in the staff, but I still hear the jokes occasionally. Last year, we were guy heavy, this year we are back to being a more girl dominated. These things ebb and flow...

Anyway, after more than half of the kids had left, including my own two kids (Monika had a concert that I didn't go to), a few of the senior editors sat around talking about school culture and telling stories. It was a very enjoyable time. I was excited to see that since my 1st banquet, so many more kids are involved and the paper just feels a lot "cooler" -- it's part of the slow cultural change that happens. Of all the things I am involved in at school, this (the newspaper), is my favorite. Tomorrow we are wearing our Sword & Shield t-shirts and handing out the June Senior Sendoff Issue and I think it will only increase the school paper's cool status. I can't wait!

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.

Games & Awards

Today was one of those 14 hour days. Luckily Balt went to daycare right away this morning at 7am. Both Jessi and Monika needed to be at school early which makes it alot easier for me. I usually have a leadership meeting at lunch on Wednesday but today, I didn't know what to do with myself. I came home to find Erika camped out in the living room and realized I wouldn't get any housework done so I went back to school to get a bit of paperwork done before my afternoon classes. 

Monika had a soccer game after school and she was asked to sit on the varsity bench after her game due to numerous injuries. I had to go to a senior scholarship award ceremony to take pictures but I assumed she would not get much playing time if at all during the varsity game and I was right. I got to the game with about 5 minutes left. She didn't get any playing time, but she told me just being on the bench was pretty exciting. There's another game on Friday and I'm hoping she'll get an opportunity to play then. We all got home around 10pm, hungry and tired. I am very much on countdown mode. There are exactly two weeks of school left. I can't wait!
 

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.

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.  

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 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 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!

Hot Fest and Not Dogs

Today the JMM's captian's club put on its 8th Memorial Brat Fest. It was not the first year I missed out on a brat-- they've run out in the past. It is the very first year I tried a veggie dog... and it got a thumbs down, but not way down. I could taste the dog flavor, but the texture was all wrong; way too chewy. It just felt wrong. I usually try and get a photo of Joe and I wearing our matching t-shirts. Other than the greying beard, we haven't changed. There's grey in my hair too, but luckily it's not noticeable.

The high today was only 70, but the school was still steamy from yesterday's heat. It was a suprizingly mellow day. I covered for Joe's 5th hour and enjoyed chatting with his students. Jessi had early release for  a varsity track invite. My afternoon classes were busy but by 7th, everyone was eager to get going on the weekend. I got home as soon as possible to get Balt out on his walk in our favorite local fields. I then made my way to Waunakee for Monika's soccer game. She is fighting a bad cold and has a pulled muscle, so wasn't feeling great about the game. They lost (3-0), but against a really good team in our state (their varsity team is 3rd in the state and lost (4-0). See pictures below... 
 

 

This needs a title...

Today was a misty Tuesday. It was a good work day. The kids sold over a hundred tickets for the Prom. It was nice to see the line at lunch. I would have liked to swim, but I got a good walk with Balt both before and after school. Before heading out, I ran down to the track and got a photo of the team before their track meet. Jessi is in there front and center. I got to catch her throwing shot but I missed her discus. She PR'd in the discus and had a better throw. It makes me wonder if my presence (with Balt) distracts her. It surprises me how much of throwing is about technique and concentration, not just strength.

Monika and I ran a few errands after her soccer practice and got soup for dinner at Panera. I woke up with a sore throat this morning. I don't feel 100% but I have to stay well until Saturday Nite. I can get sick on Sunday. So I took a short nap this evening before getting back to computer to work on the newspaper and track photos. 

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. 

Spring Retreat? Yep!

I spent the morning finishing up preparation for our student government Spring retreat that started at lunch. I had a couple of teachers cover my afternoon classes while I supervised the retreat that class officers ran. It went perfectly. It's the second annual spring retreat, so I suppose the second time around makes it easier. Our principal bought pizza for all the kids-- we had about twice as many kids at lunch. Lots of kids needed to leave for athletic events, including Jessi, who had a track meet in Baraboo. I was thrilled when it was all over; like a weight was lifted. All that's left is Prom... and then Summer! Oh, I love this time of year. So much to do, so much excitement. 

When's Memorial Day?

I had a very productive day, but as I worked on the 8th grade shadowing, backyard handouts, student government, prom and field trip stuff, I hardly have time to teach! I'm pretty sure I'm going to be juggling quite a bit until Prom. This year both girls will be there. Monika is helping with photography and Jessi will be attending.

Monika asked me today when Memorial Day was, and I laughed-- six weeks until we get a break. Tomorrow and Friday Monika has soccer games. She lost her first game, but they played the toughest team in the conference, so I'm hoping there'll be better luck. Tomorrow will certainly be warmer!

No time to rest Tuesday

Today was non-stop from the time I woke at 6am and I'm still going. It was one of those crazy days when I set up new projects in every class, so I'm talking all day and have no free time. I had meeting during both lunches and during my prep. Monika had a soccer games (no time to upload pictures) and Jessi had a track meet. I missed both her shot and discuss throws but stole this image off facebook from track practice yesterday. Right after Monika's game I ran off to a dinner for swim team captain's parents and got the low down on what I'm in for next year. I'm in charge of the end of year video! I had a nice time getting to know the other mom's but I still had a lot of school work to do, so I'm up late working. 

...and you lose some!

So the big boys state game was tonight and it was pretty dissappointing. I hate to say that they played a lot like the girls... there were a few moments of hope, but in general it was a losing battle most of the time. Oh well. I am not really all that into basketball. There's a couple of players on the team I get excited to see playing  (Cam and Sam) and most of the time I'm watching the crowd and taking care of the student photographers. Jessi and a bunch of juniors were really upset about sophomores sitting in front of them. They came to me to ask for help and there wasn't anything I could do-- first come, first sit. I told them all to get there early tomorrow... no need now.

My day was quite wonderful and the weather was amazing. Erika's and my husband's spring break this past week was just a dream. Tomorrow is Jessi's first track meet and it's supposed to be 80! Wow!

Very nice

The weather temperatures are rising  each day this week, peeking tomorrow but staying nice. There were happy people all over Madison, basking in the spring-like wonder of a warm, sunny day. I am afraid tomorrow the happiness will turn into ecstasy.

Today tickets went on sale for the boys basketball state game on Friday. Since taking on the adviser position of the newspaper I have advocated for a student press pass. The school used to give it away to an outsider. I feel it is important to have a student taking pictures and reporting for the school paper. Last year I asked a student to produce a video as well.  I used newspaper funds to purchase two student tickets for two students who have produced work for the paper in the past. They will share the pass with a few other students also working on projects. As the adviser, I also get floor access to supervise. Yes, that's kind of nice. Friday (and hopefully Saturday) will be exciting nights for our school. 

The day was good. Having lost most of my prep time last week from dealing with the gallery show, my goal this week was to get caught up. My list of things to do keeps getting shorter and that always makes me happy. My kiln shorted out after getting it working again, so it looks like I will need to figure out how to get funds to purchase a new one. I had several flex shafts need new hoses and greasing. I purchased cement for my advanced classes for their stones. I surprise myself with how much "fix it" type stuff I'm called to do as a teacher.

I finished the day in a hot yoga class. I nearly threw up a couple of times. I was overwelmed by the heat, I guess. It amazes me that even after more then a year of consistant yoga, I can go into a class and just fall apart. I have great experiences and terrible ones still. It is such a metaphor for life. 

Laundry Day

Between Balt and the cats, I was up early- earlier then normal. The morning was breezy and just above freezing. I knew the day would only get warmer up to 61. The feeling of spring in fresh in the air. Knowing that my husband was coming home for his spring break, I knew I had to deal with the basement. It's kind of his man-cave. I spent the morning running up and down the stairs doing wash and drying clothes, occassionally staying to fold stuff up. At 8:30am I dropped Jessi off for a track clinic and continued on my mission to finish what I had ignored for nearly a month. I spent over an hour sorting socks with Monika while she watched the new 90210. I washed all the bedding and soaked whites... nearly 16 hours and I have the last load in the dryer and a couple still to fold. I filled two trash bags for St. Vincent. Inbetween all the loads, I picked up and dropped off. I walked Balt and sipped on pea soup. I went to a yoga class and took Monika to Whole Foods for a dinner pick up. It was a nice day I think. The spring-like weather makes for good getting housework done atmosphere. I think I will tackle the garage tomorrow.

Some days...

I started the day taking Balt for a walk after dropping Monika off at soccer practice at 6am. The weather wasn't so cold but as the day progressed it got colder and colder. I decided to walk to work so the girls could have a bit extra time at home because I had an early meeting. On my way out the door, I usually throw on a bit of mineral powder and bronzer now. My days of going completely natural have been thrown back in my face, though. Today I found all of my make up stolen, which was kind of maddening. After my meeting I started working on reprogramming my PMC kiln to burn out wax because my burnout kiln is busted. I'm working with someone over email to figure out what's wrong with my kiln so I can fix it, but the process is taking a while. During 2nd hour I took my students to the Invisiable Children presentation. If you haven't seen the KONY 2012 video (below) you are missing out on what half a million have watched in just two days-- it is quite the movement.

At lunch I made it into the pool, but after getting out I found several texts waiting for me. A couple from my 21 year old admitting to stealing my makeup and promising to return it (as of midnight, it's still MIA). One from my 16 year old asking for a KONY2012 t-shirt. One from my 17 year asking for her track jacket that I am thinking my 21 year old probably took and one from a student complaining about the gallery show. Instead of going home for lunch I made my way into the gallery to find a bunch of kids writing about getting high. I kicked them out and started the clean up. Spending all of my prep time cleaning up the comments about getting high, loving shout outs (names) and other inappropriate stuff is getting old. I feel like I'm spinning my wheels. While I'm overwhelmed by the participation and mostly positive comments today, it started to feel like too much. As I was in the gallery removing stuff a parent came in and started looking concerned. I tried to be friendly and asked why she made the visit. She had shared that her daughter told her about it. I felt from her tone, that her next visit was going to be the principal. I have not had a principal talk to me about the show at all. I've been surprised that no teachers have complained either. Teachers don't mind sending an email letting me know if there is a problem and so far none have. I've bumped into teachers bringing their students into the gallery several times, which I must say is the first time in a long time that gallery space has been utilized by other departments. I had a special ed teacher just rave about how great the show was for her class to be able to participate with the rest of the school. Even greatly challenged students could write a simple answer to the questions posed. I see students bringing in their friends to point out answers and of course there are half a dozen kids in there constantly just gazing at all the words. I hate to put it all to any end 2 weeks early but today I started feeling like it was all too much to manage. I can't cover the naughtiness fast enough to keep the good up. I'm not sure what I'll do. 

I finished my day the way it started. I walked Balt. I picked up the girls around 6pm from school and grabbed burritos for dinner and sat and vegitated for a while and then went to bed early-- no basketball game, no yoga, no cleaning. I was just too fried.

Taking Care of It All

It was another busy day--lots of meetings, appointments, and Jessi's first day back at Track. The gallery show is a huge hit and I've gotten only positive feedback from it all but it a lot to take care of-- monitoring the comments. A couple of kids went in and wrote some inappropriate stuff about genitalia in front of another teacher. She took care of dealing with the students and got a quick cover up, but at the end of my day I need about 1/2 hour to cover all the over the top comments, tags and name-calling. Luckily I have a student helping me! Students and teachers, in general love it but I am not sure I can sustain it for 3 weeks. I went in during 7th hour to close the show down to clean up and found two classes in there!

The day went quickly. I met with Geof to go over budget numbers, as it seemed I had over spent my alotment. I'm a sloppy bookkeeper, but we found the mistake. I was relieved to found I hadn't made as big of a mistake as I did on last year's taxes. After school I had two meetings to attend, some wood to clean up, Balt to pick up,  dinner to get to and the Bachelor to watch. Busy night :)

Nothing as planned...

The gallery show opened this morning AND I had newspaper distribution going on all before school started. Jessi had to be in early for shoot around, so it worked out for a busy morning. I had expected the gallery to take some time to brew. A student and I covered all the walls with paper and asked 4 questions, hoping for some thoughtful comments. The largest wall and easiest to answer, "Before I die I want to..." This idea came from a professional artist that inspired my student to try it at JMM. Opposite the black wall is a white wall asking students, "What's your Passion?" My original idea was to have the gallery with all white paper, only asking this question until my student approached me with her idea. I decided to mix it up even more and add and green wall asking students, "What will you leave behind?" as well as a brown wall with red stamped "Top Secret" on it asking students to post secrets (also a borrowed idea). So what I thought would take several days to a week to get written on, took hours. In one day, the walls are pretty much filled. Oh, sure there's space but not a lot. I went in there at the end of the day to clean up a few tags and shout outs. I am disappointed in the over abundance of drug/weed usage comments, but we are in Madison, WI-- a lot of sex, drugs but very little rock n' roll. Oh well, it is high school.

The day was gloriously warm-- 65. I took Balt for a romp around the school and returned to clean my room. I came home to crock pot chili and then ran off to Jessi's last game for a long time. The hope was for a win, but instead it was a miserable loss. Tomorrow she goes to track practice which I am glad for. I think she had a good time with her team mates playing ball, but now it's back to a sport she will find more success with and that makes me happy.
 

 

March Madness started today

I have 4 weeks until Spring Break, 8 weeks until prom. As yucky as winter can be, there's a slowing down that makes it quite enjoyable at times. The buds of my spring flowers have started to pop. I noticed them yesterday. I looked at this week's forcast and saw 50's in there for 7 out the next 10 days. Today during backyard juniors had their ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS competition. Next week is the showdown for all the grades. Also today in Backyard, JMM's first NEWS program premiered at last. I've been wanting something like this to happen and had hoped my community art class could have pulled it off but Joe did it with his photo 3 kids. Monika is hoping to get involved with this exclusive video club (see below). During PCT we talked as a department about field trips, Spring Week of the Arts, Senior awards and the gallery shows coming up. I have a show openning tomorrow. I'm excited, but I am going to have to monitor it daily. 15 days until the Vernal equinox, but Spring landed today in my mind.

What's going on...

March 1st! I got my first glance at my facebook page in 30 days! It was kind of fun, but I didn't have a lot of time to spend on it. I pulled down my cover picture explaining my 30 day challenge, poked at the comments made in the past few weeks and that was it. It won't take long to get addicted again.

I'm working on a new gallery show for March with a student. I am very excited about this show and have a lot to do to prep for it's openning next Tuesday-- pictures to come.

Jessi had her last regular season game tonight. I got her an early dinner after school, ran a few errands and then dropped her off at school to warm up. I made my first pot of soup for my next 30 day challenge (see previous post) and enjoyed dinner with Monika before going to the game. They played Middleton, 9th in the state, and lost with a respectable score. I heard the boys basketball team placed bets against them losing with a 100 point spread... uh yeah, not even close. They lost 41-69. Their goal had been to keep the loss under a 20 point spread and they came close. Very respectable. Now they move on to Regionals in the State Bracket. They play Watertown at Watertown on Tuesday. Track starts on Monday. If they lose, Jessi will start going to track practice on Wednesday. If they win, she'lll keep practicing basketball to play West on Friday. Her first track meet is on the 17th, so she doesn't have time to take off. They certainly don't make the schedule for multi-sport athletes.

Taking the Lead

I often think back to my high school years when working with high school students. I wasn't much of an athlete after my freshman year but I recall being involved in student government somewhat during my sophomore and junior years. I ran for office a couple of times but was never elected. I got involved in the newspaper and yearbook my junior and senior years and found my niche. I certainly didn't do as much as my kids do in high school, but it wasn't because I didn't want to. 

Today we pulled the student government leaders during 4th hour, fed them lunch and talked about school activities. As class president, Monika is among the students who lead. As an adviser to student government, it's fun for me to be a part of her high school experience. I know it's not easy for kids to have their parents as teachers at their school, but it isn't uncommon, at least not at Memorial.

I recall Erika joking with one of her friends who's dad was an English teacher, that they should start a support group for the hand full of students who were in their situation. After informing Jessi that she had to go to the Winter dance, she found out that her friend was also told she had to go by her mom who is a teacher as well (they ended up going together with a few other friends). She asked me, "what's up with teacher's making their kids go to the school dance?" Yeah, maybe it's because we know the kids who aren't at the dance are either naughty or lame. Parents don't want that. I want my kids to be well adjusted, involved and successful in their pursuits. 

In my room

I'm enjoying a more simple schedule this semester-- metals all day. My day goes by quickly, and a bit less eventful. I'm still busy, but much more focused. It's so nice being able to leave a mess in my room and knowing I'm the only one that will need to deal with it. There's never a need to hurry to clean up now. As much as I love photography and the digital world, playing with metal and glass is exciting. No one ever bleeds in the photolab.

Afterschool I ran home to get Balt and take him for a walk. He loves being at daycare but when he's home he seems content. I just know he's eager for some exercise. After a chilly walk in our nearby fields, I ordered chinese and picked up Jessi from practice. Monika invited friends over so I bought extras. Jessi left for the boys basketball game and a girls night out while more of Monika's friends came over. I had hoped to go to yoga, but Jessi took the car. So I sat reading for most of the night in my room. Once Monika gets her license I'm not sure how I'm going to deal with 3 people sharing 1 car. I might have to cancel my yoga membership and just walk more.

Finding Happiness

I got an email from my husband. He made the news over in MN. It's a minute or two of fame out of his 15 minute total. As difficult as his living in another town in an adjacent state is at times, I know he's happier. For the past 20 years he's dreamed of being a full time professor for a university. He's livin' the dream. It's not always fun, I know he's working hard, but it's what brings him happiness. I've been living that dream for a while now so I get it. Today I had a couple of kids show off the rings they made in my class with pride. I love it when kids create something that they feel good about-- artwork that I know they will keep. It gives me a professional satisfaction like nothing else.

Ash Wednesday was non eventful. I dressed up in my usual Ash Wednesday outfit-- all black, tights, skirt, shirt and nice shoes. I am often asked why I'm dressed up (I think Geof asks me every year). I'm not Catholic, so it's kind of weird that I get into this holiday as much as I do. This year I didn't fast as I usually do. I've decided to give up bread but not gluten (Monika can have gluten-free bread, I can't, but this way I can have whole wheat cereal). I know it's kind of trivial, but it's something to offer as a reminder how much I have. I went to the grocery store after school to get Monika rice noodles and corn flakes. I purchased a bunch of Easter candy too. I picked up Balt from daycare and went home to a root salad that I had prepared this morning. I met up with some teachers for book club (I didn't read the book this month because I'm too much into my own book) and then left early to pick up Jessi from basketball. I made her a late dinner and eagerly got ready for my day to end. It was a good day.

Spin me 'round...

I started my day with a walk. At 6:30 am it was 33 degrees and it felt like spring. The morning went quickly and my lunch time was spent in a meeting. I ran home after lunch to let Balt out and we enjoyed a quick walk around our front lawn. I rushed back to school to spend my prep gearing up to cast. I practiced with a ring I had made last year and then cast a couple more rings during class. 3 for 3 success. Casting is the most dangerous thing I do all year. After a couple of weeks of working on wax rings, the kids invest them into cans. I burn out the molds and together we cast metal rings from heated scrap metal. I've only burnt myself seriously once and I've never hurt a kid, but I sometimes wonder how it is I'm still able to do this project. I suppose it isn't as dangerous as it seems. Of course I make it sound super scary to the kids! I want them to think they are risking their life making this project.

After school I had another meeting but was interrupted by a phone call from the girls' math tutor. I pay $40 for a 50 minute session every Wednesday. The girls take turns each week taking the session but today neither Jessi nor Moni showed up. I rushed out to get Monika so that I wouldn't waste the whole session. Jessi was supposed to take the time, but was unable to leave her basketball practice. I was livid. $40 is a lot of money to waste for poor communication. Jessi didn't think to tell Monika she couldn't make it after all. Monika felt bad, but it wasn't her fault. Jessi was just frustrated because she wanted the session but didn't think to make arrangements ahead of time with her BB coach. When I ran to get Monika, I grabbed Balt and walked around the school cooling off. Monika got about 20 minutes of tutoring ($2 a minute for that session). I took Monika and Balt back home then went back to school to decorate the girls basketball locker room with the left over decorations from the dance (sorry no pic). I took Jessi home and then went back to school for Monika's orchestra concert. I had gone back and forth from home to school so many times throughout the day, I quite relieved to finally be home and get to bed at 8:30pm. I'm done.

Queen of Hearts

The sophomores are in charge of the Winter dance and Monika is the sophomore president. If the dance was a failure, she'd have a hard time being president next year (the Juniors are in charge of the Prom). Well, I think she pulled off a very successful dance along with her fellow officers (of course). I did not plan on spending most of my day helping out but I did. After an early morning frigit walk with Balt I took Jessi to basketball practice and Monika to school to start decorating. I ran a few errands, ate breakfast with my husband and then went to school to help out. I managed to slip away for my yoga class. Jessi invited a bunch of her friend over to get dressed up, take pictures and then go out to dinner before the dance. Monika had a tennis match before the dance but managed to meet up with friends. I think they both had a really good time. I enjoyed my time as a chaparone. I always enjoy seeing the kids dressed up.

Melting

So far the month of February has been a slow melt. Everyday we get a tad over freezing, so it's still cold, but not quite cold enough to keep the snow around. The feeling of Spring seems closer than it should at this time and there's a magical feeling of winter melting away. We can only hope. 

Today in art, all of my students were hard at work, allowing me to get a lot of other paperwork done. I found a place to post the newpaper (in the window of the tutoring center) which actually took quite of bit of emailing and asking around. I started working on a poster of our department class offerings (photo from my class shown-- finished poster to be posted in a couple of weeks). I met with my newspaper kids to plan the March issue. I had a lunch meeting and an afterschool meeting. I ended up leaving the building the same time Jessi did, after her basketball practice around 5:30pm. I picked up Balt from daycare and then after feeding and dropping him off, Jessi went shopping for a dress for the dance on Saturday. It took a while but we finished in time for me to make it to a yoga class. While I was in the middle of the class, I looked over and saw Erika practicing only a couple of mats over from mine. Neither of us noticed each other right away-- funny. She introduced me to her friend after, which was nice. But I got out quick, eager to get home and get to bed.

Challenge #2: No Facebook

So I put up a new cover image (above) on Facebook so people would know I would be MIA for a month. I had to start today since February only has 29 days. I haven't missed it yet but today was crazy busy, so there wasn't a lot time to miss anything, including food. I'm not sure how badly it's going to effect me yet, but I think I'll do a lot betther than 2 out of 3 (that was my January yoga sucess rate).

The beginning of the semester has me talking to all of my class, starting new projects and making sure kids understanding what they need to. I stayed after school to finish the parent newsletter and prep for my morning. I ran out to pick up Balt from daycare, get dinner for the girls and change into a more professional outfit (I had jeans on). I had an 8th grade parent information night where I had to present the art department offering to 8th grade families. We take turnes with this event so I had not had to do it for  a couple of years. Josh and I put on a good show with a power point Geof had worked on. I went through the presentation 6 times with 25-35 parents each time. I only had 20 minutes to cover everything. I talked as fast as I could. I got home at 9:30pm exhausted. I have to sell the art department to these families. If kids don't take classes we get cut. I should hate that about what I do, but I kind of like it. I'm proud of our department and how hard we work. It's time when I get to really articulate how good we are at what we do. It's not like I'm selling snake-oil. 

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.