Teri Parris Ford's Blog

Oh, is November over?

I have to admit, I'm happy to be looking at December. Snow is in the forecast. Today was another fairly non-eventful day. Kids working on projects and I'm gearing up for our first yearbook deadline in 13 days. I posted a couple of snapchat story pics here from the kids in my class wearing their t's yesterday. I was thinking about how I've started using Snapchat more than Facebook, and I'm not the only one (see New York Times post). Like my students, I like it a lot better. It's more immediate, more fun and has very little political mumbo-jumbo. I have to admit to being less enthused to use Facebook this past year particularly because of the election. I have unfriended lots and unfollowed more on Facebook than ever before for political hysterics (on both sides of the isle). I certainly did not get my news from Facebook. I'll admit that 2 1/2 years ago, after my husband left me, my discomfort with Facebook started. Oh sure, everyone loves to share anniversary and baby announcements but you can't share misery without looking crazy. I've seen people post about their depression and it's just sad. I refrained from posting about my sadness but I did unfriend a few newlyweds and then the political season heated up. The funny thing was that one of the newlyweds I unfriended 2 1/2 years just got a divorce. I found that bit of news out from Instagram. I found it pretty amusing.  I used to post my blog on Facebook almost everyday, now maybe I'll get something on there once a month or more if I'm traveling. My blog stats are way down and I am fine with that. I'm mostly only writing for my mom anyway!  I still need Facebook for work and to see what the girls are up to. I think I use Facebook Messenger more than Facebook itself some days.

Anyway... I got home late after school, warmed up my turkey soup, which is just my thanksgiving meal in bowl and watched some tv. I finished up a PowerPoint for tomorrow and watched Survivor which is so good this season. Every week is an upset! 

The Cool Kids in my Class...

So all the yearbook kids wore their t-shirts today and as soon as class started, 7th hour, I took photos- lots of them. I asked if anyone asked about the shirts and I was informed that lots of other kids asked why but some also asked if they could purchase them, which I thought was kind of funny. Then after school a young man came in looking for me with the most earnest request of wanting one of those pink t-shirts. He was hoping there were extras. I had to tell him they were only for kids in the yearbook class. I am hoping that creating this kind of buzz will help other kids want to sign up for my class next year! It's all somewhat self serving.

Anyway, other than taking pictures, the day was pretty uneventful. I had a couple of administrators walk into my 3rd hour art class to observe and after they left, a student came up to me quite distressed explaining that having "those people" in my room was very nerve racking for her. I told her she had nothing to be upset over as they certainly weren't there to watch her. It made me think how, when stuff happens, we, as humans, tend to think it's more about us than maybe it really is. Anyway, I wasn't the least bit upset. The kids were mostly on task and except for a couple of goofy 9th grade boys who were laughing hysterically at who knows what, all were quite well behaved... I wasn't doing anything exceptional, but kids were working and that's my priority.

I came home, walked Balt, went to hot yoga and then came home again. I had hot turkey and potato soup waiting for me from the crock pot for dinner. I watched This Is Us on NBC, which made me cry and now am off to bed.

Back to Monday

It was a rainy Monday back to work. We had a short day with a long PCT meeting after school. I got home late and was exhausted. Of course I had left over turkey and potatoes for dinner since I didn't have time to make my soup this morning. I'll get to it tomorrow I hope since I don't think I want another plate of the same meal. Although my turkey sandwich for lunch was delicious. My classes are all in the midst of projects but I've got to start prepping for new ones soon. I passed out new yearbook t-shirts today. Kids will wear them tomorrow for photos. I forgot one kid's name on the back and feel just awful about it. I'm not sure how that happened and I had so many kids look it over as well. I never fail to make mistakes. Now I have to come up with some way to make it up-- paint pens to write the name with?  

Bring on the holidays...

I had a wonderful Sunday. Balt and I went out on a nice long walk. I did a Costco run for gas and salad. I went into work to do a bit of prep and then met up with Erika to bring home a load of stuff. She's starting a slow move home. I went to a 4pm hot yoga class that was packed. Now that it's cold out, everybody wants to do hot yoga. I came home and made turkey tacos for dinner. I made a turkey sandwich for my lunch tomorrow and I'm thinking I'll make a turkey soup tomorrow! So Thanksgiving is officially over, but it's Christmas time. I've done a bit of shopping already and hope to finish tomorrow!

Thanksgiving Saturday

I enjoyed an early morning, coffee sipping, and news watching. I wanted to catch all the info on Cuba and Fidel's death. Having just been in Cuba, I knew this would be a national tragedy, but to see people celebrating in Miami was weird. It is interesting to see so very different views of what kind of man he was. There was a dog walk, video chatting with Monika and yoga later in the morning, followed by lunch out to the Cheesecake Factory with an old friend and lots of chit chat.AND I worked on my Thanksgiving video. Since my family was not all together, I had to get footage from around the world and I pulled it off! My first Thanksgiving video in 2012 was just something to keep me busy over the long weekend and now it is a holiday tradition. I'd like to think someday my grandchildren will watch how our traditions changed year after year-- 2013, 2014, 2015 and now 2016 (see below once it is finished).  I hope to make one every year until I die! Monika helped me pick the song. Her footage was texted to me from Amman but was not as clear as I would like, so she sent better files via Google photos the next day. Jessi texted me her footage from New York and my niece, Emma, sent the footage from California via Facebook messanger. I could not have made this year's video without the help of my family or without the technology that keeps us all so close.

Thanksgiving Friday

It was wonderful to have another day off with not a lot planned. Balt got me up early and we went out for our dogwalk kind of late, 8am. I made sure it was a good long walk. I decided to go to two yoga classes in a row this morning which was something I'd always wanted to do. I soaked by the time I got home, but it was a wonderful way to spend my late morning. I had a big plate of left overs and watched Star Wars movies instead of working on my Thanksgiving video, which will be my weekend project. I love that I still have the weekend off. There's 3 & 1/2 weeks left and then a shorter winter break to look forward to. I am banking on those weeks going by quickly. 

A Day of Gratitude

I am so blessed to have 3 amazingly beautiful and healthy daughters, even though I could only spend time with one of them today. Cooking today was easy... I did not make bread since Jessi wasn't home and I did not make extra vegetarian gravy  since Monika wasn't home. I got the corn bread stuffing made and stuffed into the turkey by 6am. By 6:30 I was sipping coffee watching the news. At 8am, Balt and I were at the dog park enjoying a beautiful morning. I finished mashing potatoes and got the green bean casserole all cooked by 10am and then I turned everything off and went to yoga to meet up with Erika. I came home after yoga and turned the oven back on to warm things up and waited for Erika to get home from work. I was so hungry when she finally arrived. We enjoyed a wonderful meal together and had a fire blazing. She watched an episode of the Simpsons while I washed dishes and then we set off for the movies. We got in super early, about 45 minutes, to enjoy the recliners and previews, chit chatting and loving the experience. We watched the Harry Potter prequel, Fantastical Beasts, which was everything I hoped it would be and more! So good!! I believe there are a few more movies coming in line with this new time line that has bits and pieces of the history we already knew. While only a few familiar names, the Harry Potter world is not all so different in the New York City, 70 years earlier, but it's bit darker but the movie is filled with undertoned messages of tolerance. After the movie, Erika and I enjoyed a bit of "black Friday" madness at Kohls and then went home for pie.

Technology keeps us close.

My day off was nice. Ideally, I'd love to have all three girls in California with me visiting my mom, but this year we could not make it happen again. I will just have to enjoy my memories from the past two Thanksgivings and enjoy some video chatting time. I got to video chat with Monika in Jordan this morning, talk with my mom on the phone, have lunch with Erika and text with Jessi, who's in New York for the holiday. So even though we are not physically all together, we are together in spirit and through technology. I love technology!

As for my day... Balt had me up at 5am. It was raining out all morning, so I managed to put off our walk until 8am but we still walked in the rain. I went to a very hot yoga class at 9:30am, ran a few late morning errands and then met up with Erika for lunch. She has to work this week, which works out. I will see her in the morning at yoga and she'll get to come home for lunch and have the rest of the day free. It'll be just the two of us and our phones! I spent the evening next to my Christmas tree watching a movie and then catching a two hour Survivor. I find it interesting that the whole Gen X vs Millennials has broken down and now alliances are mixing up. Personalities start playing a bigger roll than age, which I think is true in life as well. 

Everybody is ready for a holiday!

I will be honest, there wasn't a lot of work being done in my classes today. I had hot chocolate for everyone and that just seemed to set the pace to relax and start the holiday early. I'm always really impressed with kids who work through a class without being tempted to sit and socialize when lots of others are. There was a lot of love in the air-- lots of kids wishing me a wonderful weekend, a few hugs and kids asking me about my plans for the holiday. I'm a bit sad to be missing my parents and 2 out of 3 of my kids, but I'm going all out with a Thanksgiving meal just for me and Erika anyway. Our students donated baskets of food to local families in need and one of our counselors organized a video to send out to students today (see below).

I'm not sure why I'm feeling a bit tired, but with a two day week and five days off, I'll be just fine. I decided to forego yoga tonight for a warm fire and down time next to the cats. I boiled my potatoes for Thursday and had one for dinner. I'll be in bed early tonight, eager for a day off tomorrow!

I'm ready to give thanks...

I forgot to mention that yesterday I got a Christmas tree. I decided to get one early while Menards still had a nice selection of Frasier Firs for $20. I've learned the longer you wait the more you have to spend to get a nice tree. Last year we had a hard time just finding any tree the week of Christmas and when we did find one, it was a quite expensive. I set it up in the garage with sugar water and figured, I could decorate it whenever I wanted to this week. It was fun to come home from work today and have it waiting for me in the garage. I decided to bring it in so I could enjoy the smell. I'm not in a hurry to decorate it, but I'm eager to have the lights put on it soon.

As for my day, it was somewhat uneventful. It was 22 degrees during my morning walk (36 during our after school walk), so quite chilly. I got into work early to set up a demo for metals and then the day just kind of flew by. I had a lunch meeting with newspaper kids and then did some errands during my prep, got some paperwork and grading done. We finally got the senior section done in the yearbook class and I met with kids to talk about deadlines and that there were really only 5 working weeks left of the semester. Crazy. We have exactly a month left until winter break. It's going to rush in quick. Snow is forecasted for Thanksgiving night!

Majesty in the Cold & Quiet

Balt likes to sit outside and wait for me in the morning. I let him out and hurry to get ready, hoping he'll still be on the front yard once I'm out. Sometimes he gets impatient but today, he seemed mesmerized by the glow of the dawn. Believe me it was much more spectacular in person. We walked to school and then I ran inside for a while doing a few things and since the building was empty, Balt and I enjoyed a bit of our walk indoors. It was 23 degrees this morning, so breaking it up with some time walking around the school was nice (don't tell the mean custodian who hates dogs).

Today was a quiet day, with not a lot going on. I'm gearing up for a very quiet Thanksgiving week, pretty much spent alone. Erika and I will get time together on Thursday, but I will be missing the family gatherings that I have enjoyed the past two years. I got to an afternoon yoga class and breathed in the heat while sweating out the cold. I laid out for a while after contemplating how blessed I am even in my solitude. There were times in my past when I had a full house and felt very lonely. I am in a better place now personally-- finally being able to take care of myself primarily without the stresses of taking care of a family. It's been several years of rethinking how I feel about my life and finally feeling so good about what it has become. Last night I made the mistake of watching a 48 Hours mystery show-- I got a little freaked out after the show. I went around locking every thing up tight and even kept some lights on. Having Balt makes me less afraid and he's gotten more vocal as he's aged. Sometimes I think he's more afraid than I am when there are sounds outside, but I'm glad he's barking. Between the dog and three cats, snapchats, emails, and phonecalls I'm never really alone. 

Immersion Yoga and Long Naps

Balt got me up at 5am. I made corn bread in preparation for corn bread stuffing on Thursday. By 7am, Balt was insisting on a walk so I bundled up since it was very cold outside. It did not take long to warm up. I came home and took a morning nap before getting to cleaning house. I went to a 2 your long immersion yoga workshop that was indulgent and wonderful. I came home and made an early dinner and watched an old Ryan Renolds movie and then took a long nap. I called my mom and plan to get to bed early.

Say goodbye to the 60's!

Our November has been down right wonderful thus far. We kicked the month off in the mid 70's and kept up really nice Autumn weather. Today was the transition day. I could see and feel the weather changing. It's been very windy all day, transitioning from 70 down to 30 with a slight chance of snow at midnight. We won't see 70 or 60 again until next spring. We'll be lucky to hit 50 again before the year is over. Anyway, at least the morning was amazing. I had a wonderful walk with Balt this morning while I was chatting with Monika who is back in Jordan, catching up. The school day was not very exciting. At lunch I ran out to purchase glass for students working on stained glass projects. After school I went to hot yoga, came home and had left overs for dinner and then set out for the first basketball game of the winter sports season-- a girls game that was packed with folks. I do miss the days when Jessi played basketball, not that really watched the game or paid all that much attention typically. I have two freshmen girls in one of my art classes that both made the varsity team and I decided to try to support them with treats and taking photos. I'm not sure how many games I will get to, but at least I've already made it to one. I left a bit early, eager to get to bed and kick off my weekend.

Proud Parent

Today was Parent Teacher Conferences, so I had short classes, but a very long day. As a department we decided to make pancakes for our students all morning. It certainly made it fun. I got a text from Jessi during my last class that I didn't catch until lunch-- she had service selection at noon today and she was selected to become a Navy Pilot! It means 2 more years of school and a move to Florida which is pretty darn exciting. I can't wait to get to go to Florida to visit her next year. 

As for the rest of my day, it was spent talking with parents mostly. We had a warm day in Madison, so I had the door wide open and Joe had the garage door open in photo, which made it nice during short breaks. I had a few long breaks in between that allowed me to work on the yearbook and go get Balt from daycare. I had one parent tell me I had beautiful hair and several others tell me that their kids loved me, so it was a pretty good night. All the parents that come are the parents of my best students, so the conversations are pretty short and usually very pleasant. By the time I left school around 7:30pm, I was exhausted. I got home and went straight to bed.

A Very Nice Wednesday

Balt let me sleep until 5:30am. Funny how much it felt like sleeping in! It certainly set up for a very nice Wednesday. I am just dumbfounded at how very calm and even subdued my freshman are in Art Experiences learning hand-writing. I've got India ink out and I'm wondering if the fumes have mellowing effect. I stayed late after school working on the yearbook. I got to talk to Monika who is on her way back to Jordan from Morocco. Then went to hot yoga after letting Balt out and giving him his dinner. I got home just in time to watch Survivor and eat dinner. I'm having a hard time keeping my eyes open to finish up this blog post!

Winter is Coming

Winter sports started up this week. Today after school I took photos of the gymnastics and basketball teams. This Friday is the first girls basketball game. We are finishing up the senior section and gearing up for our first yearbook deadline in a month. All of my classes are deep in projects and absorbed in work. It's a nice quiet time of the year right before the craziness of the holidays. I did not get home until really late and was too hungry to go to yoga. I enjoyed dinner and some tv time watching the Voice and This is Us (a great new tv show). 

Not a big deal.

Balt had me up a bit after 4am, which I'm getting used to but still makes it difficult as the day progresses and I get tired. By 5pm I could not keep my eyes open to even watch the news. I missed my hot yoga class and went to a later yin class that I fell asleep in. This week is an odd one. While it is a full week, there's a 1/2 day on Thursday for Parent Teacher Conferences, so we had a full Monday, which seemed to drag on. I introduced a new project on handwriting in my Art Experiences class that seemed to be received quite well.

Everyone is talking about the supermoon, but it doesn't look all that big, nor all that spectacular. I've seen it look a lot bigger and a lot prettier. But I did go out and take a look and grab a photo. Maybe it looks better in your neck of the woods?

Sunday Stuff

Balt had me up at the crack of dawn and we were out walking a bit after sunrise. We walked to Starbucks for coffee and it was in the mid 30's. Winter is coming. I got back and enjoyed Sunday Morning (on CBS) and then got ready to visit a friend in the hospital who had a baby on Erika's birthday! It was a really nice visit and it is always amazing to hold a newborn. This one is over 8 pounds-- a very healthy boy, I have predicted to be very mild mannered. I came home after my visit and got to work putting up shelving in Jessi and Monika's new room. I had some time to read and nap and get to yoga. I came home and made dinner and watched some tv while making a power point for my art class tomorrow. I fell asleep watching tv, of course. It's hard to stay up past 8pm when you've been up since 4 am.

Oh, it's the weekend!

My list of things to do this weekend is very short! Which means there's lots of time for nothing. Balt got me up at 4am again, but I knew I'd have time for a nap later in the afternoon. We went for a long walk at dawn and I was able to get to a 9am slow flow yoga class. I did a Costco run around 11am to get gas, dog and cat food. I came home and enjoyed lunch, and took my nap. I went into school around 3pm to get a bit of prep done and came home to enjoy a few shows and a movie by the fire. (photos; Erika out celebrating her birthday, Jessi out celebrating Vetren's day and Monika in Ajloun, Jordan).

Yeah for Erika!!

Balt has been getting me up at 4am still and it's not nice. It does give me quite the leisure morning though. I had plenty of time to make chili for our department lunch time and go for a good long walk. I posted this collage for Erika's 26th birthday and wrote; "Happy birthday Erika!! I wish for you more love, laughter & adventure. No one has changed me more for the better than you. I love you more than you will ever understand... until maybe if you have a daughter of your own." Looking at all the wonderful photos from her childhood, it makes me so thankful for the wonderful child she was for most of it! I had to get in one sassy photo from high school.

There was no school for students today and lucky Jessi got the day off as well. Monika is on her way to Morocco for the UN Climate Change Conference, which is so exciting. I just can't believe what an amazing semester she is having. After school I went out to dinner with an old friend instead of going to yoga. We saw Arrival with Amy Adams at the Sundance. It was sooo good!! I got home in time to enjoy a cup of tea and watch Chelsea before getting to bed at a decent hour. Hopefully I can catch up on some sleep this weekend!

The Christmas Lights are on...

As soon as Halloween was over, I was ready for the holidays to begin. Maybe because I'm getting older and the time seems to slip by so quickly now or maybe because I'm missing the girls who are away. I'm certainly not ready for snow BUT I am ready for hot coffee in red holiday cups. My local Starbucks added a drive through which has changed the atmosphere and the wait-- so much so my newspaper kids had to write about it in this month's issue (pg 18). Luckily for me, I can order my drink on my phone before dropping off Balt at daycare and pick up my drink waiting for me on the way to school without a wait. I only allow myself one trip a week to keep it kind of special. 

The rest of my day went well. Josh took me out to lunch which was really nice. I came home and had a bit of time to walk Balt and watch the beginning of the news before going to hot yoga. I came home, made dinner and looked to watch Chelsea on Netflix but to no avail. Apparently she was too upset to do her show!? She's not the only one upset, I know. So I watched some Dana Carvey instead.

Hooray for Jessi!

I woke up at 4am sharp and completely forgot about the election but at some point it hit me and I checked my phone. Wow, it seemed so crazy. I was disappointed. I turned my attention to Jessi and posted these photos here on Instagram with the sentiment, "Happy birthday Jessi!! You are an amazing woman & part of my hope for the future-- knowing you will be on the front lines of the changes this world needs. Your leadership is needed in your small corner of our democracy. I love you & know how how hard you have worked & will continue to work to be someone who is extraordinarily in this life. Enjoy the day. Attack life w gusto-- as you have since the day you were born!! I will always be here to help if you fall."Coming up with those words brought me to tears. I cried tears of sadness and joy. I knew things would be hard at work today, teachers would be mad, kids would feel scared, but I also knew that there was hope and a lot of that hope comes because I see my 3 daughters as our future and I know eventually things are going to be okay. I decided to go for a long walk with Balt. I got dressed early and set out at dawn. As pursued my Facebook feed, I saw so much sadness, fear, disappointment and anger being shared. I couldn't help but feel encouraged, for some strange reason. I guess I am just an optimist. I know things just won't be all that bad and maybe things need to get worse before they get better? Anyway, I decided to post my political thoughts along with the masses on FB; "I don't think hate won this morning --maybe fear but certainly "change." I think about a man who I dearly love, my father, who most likely voted for a President Trump. He is a part of the working class backbone that this country was built on and feels he is being left behind. I know he wants to "make America great again" and today, I know his voice was heard. I also know that a lot of people I work with and students I teach will feel silenced and sad. The truth is, my dad is 73 and will be left behind eventually. Change will happen regardless and it is up to my children and the students I teach to direct that change. I have hope because I know my father and others who voted for Trump love this country dearly. It may not be the country we think it is but it certainly can be the country we want it to be.". 

So my day went well. I had a meeting that I was nervous about at 10am, but it went better than expected. My students were sad for the most part but the mellowness was calm. A few of my favorite students seemed to understand that all would be fine. I heard other teachers offering advise and condolences but I kept politics out of my day except in one class-- my most difficult one. An argument broke out early on and and I offered the kids involved time to discuss as long as it was civil and civil it was. I quite impressed with a couple of senior African American boys who led the conversation in an intelligent guiding manner. I feel like they understand that hatred, yelling and arguing will not get us anywhere. Yes, there is hope for our future! I am telling you the youth today will make things better. I'm rooting for Gen-x on Survivor but in life, the Millennials will save the day.

Too Close To Call

I'm up late watching the news and it is tighter than I expected thus far... I'm not sure if I'll stay up much later to watch the drama unfold. When I see how close it is, I think about the bubble I live in. We had an election at school and Hillary won with over 70% of the vote and after hearing those results, I thought about how it might be a landslide for her. Yeah, that's not the case. It looks like a real nail biter race right now.

I did not have to vote today, as I voted last week but I made sure Erika got out there to vote. I took her out to lunch to continue our conversation and to start the birthday celebrations. I stayed after school working with kids in metals. After coming home from work to feed Balt and let him out, I went to a hot yoga class to enjoy some heat and to try not to be bothered by election coverage. I came home and got caught up quickly though. I'll probably wake up in the middle of the night to find out what happened, but I can't stay up. I've learned it's not worth it. (note: the photo is for the yearbook page)

It's not always easy...

Balt woke me up at 4am and continues to annoy me until I give in to feed him, which was about 4:45am this morning. I decided to make carrot muffins for breakfast. I had plenty of time to get into work early for a meeting. The day was busy, with a lunchtime editors meeting. After lunch I ran over to the post office to mail Monika's absentee ballot but I was informed that the envelope would not make it across town by tomorrow, so I had to drive downtown to drop it off in person. Luckily it was a beautiful day without any traffic. I found a parking spot right in front of City Hall and there was no line. Right after school I had parent-teacher conferences. I had a 20 minute break to run home super quick to feed Balt and let him out. I go home after 8pm and got ready for bed. I'm hoping Balt will sleep a bit longer tomorrow morning!

The Early Risers

Balt woke me up at 4am this morning and I did not realize that my watch and phone had automatically been changed for daylight saving time. He was barking insistently by 4:20am, so I gave in and we were out walking by 6am and caught the sunrise after 6:30am. I treated myself to a latte on the way home from our walk. Today was cleaning day. Erika informed me last night that she is planning to move back home by the end of the month if all goes as she hopes. She needs to sublet her place first. I guess I got eager because I started doing a bunch of rearranging in preparation of her big move. I had to stop and get ready to meet up with my editors over at school. The school is now open on Sundays for teachers to get more work done over the weekend... lucky us! I left for a 4pm yoga class and came home to work on the paper and a power point for tomorrow. I'm in for a busy day tomorrow!

Happy Birthday Balt!

Balt turned 6 today, so I made sure to give a really nice walk this morning and the weather was wonderful for us both! I went to a late morning yoga class after our walk and then popped into school to make sure things were cleaned up after Friday, since I was gone. I raked leaves and spent some time watching a movie and then met up with Erika back at the yoga studio for a Yoga Nidra class at 6pm. Yoga nidra is a lesser known yoga practice that’s a form of meditation and a mind-body therapy. It's a guided relaxation that starts with some yin type stretching to prepare. We were offered oil for our hair before we got starting and then cocoa butter for our feet after some stretching. The class took an hour and a half and had live music to help set the mood. It was amazing! I fell into a deep unconsciousness but was awakened when Erika grabbed my hand (to make sure I didn't start snoring), I felt as if I had been buried under sand with a very warm and heavy feeling all over but then a very bright orange glow seemed to surround me like an intense sunset (my eyes were closed and covered with a small towel) and then I started to become aware of the teacher talking and I regained full consciousness at some point. It was a extremely relaxing and de-stressing. Erika and I went out to dinner after and had a very nice evening together!  

5 Million in Chicago... with me!

Every year our art department takes 2 or 3 bus loads of kids to Chicago for the SOFA art show and a skip around Millennium Park. Well, today Millennium Park was closed so that the whole world could celebrate that the Cubs won the world series which was kind of a bummer... the Millennium Park being closed part but the parade was amazing and a little scary. We were there with 5 million and some kids were a little stressed out. There was a ton of stuff that could have gone wrong, but I have to admit we had some pretty pro-active adults on board to assist some very amazing high school students. Kids were really helping each other out a lot and being really careful to stay together. I've been in some big cities and big crowds, so I wasn't too anxious, but I was very aware of the anxiety around me. 

We ended up walking from Millennium Park to Navy Pier and I got in a 10 mile day with 20,000 steps! It took about 45 minutes for my group to walk the distance but Geof stayed with the stragglers. Joe took his group ahead of us and Josh brought in his group last. We all had time to admire art, get a bite to eat and enjoy some sunshine! I'm planning to post more photos on Facebook. Joe was interviewed for a post in the newspaper.

Promoting Peace

I dropped Balt off at 7am and popped into Starbucks for a Venti Latte and got the new green "unity" cup filled with 100 faces all connected with one contour line. I like contour line art, so I like the cup. I thought it was the Christmas cup this year after all the hoopla from last year's red cup, they'd gone green, but a red holiday cup is still to come. The company says that this cup is a pre-election promoting peace gift to America. Thanks! I'm in and all the neh-sayers can get coffee from somewhere else.

My Thursday was busy. By lunch I was hiding in my office with my lunch grabbing a moment of quiet. After school I had kids working on the paper until after 7pm. Erika came by asking for help with her birthday bash invitation that she is throwing with 2 other friends, but I'm not invited. When I asked if I could come, she had a very embarrassed look, it was pretty funny. The party doesn't start until 10pm on a Friday night... I'd really rather be in bed anyway!

Rainy Day with Appointments

This morning we had student visitors from the UW-Madison, art teachers observing our practice. We met with them at lunch for a Q & A time and then I had to run out for another meeting. This is my "summary" year as a teacher, which means a principal will actually read my SLO and PPG, meet and observe me several times and offer judgement of me as a teacher. The last time I had a principal observe me officially was my first three years I was teaching back at Spring Harbor. So it's kind of a big deal but I have my colleagues who have all gone through it before me, so it's nice to be able to have their support. Today I had my first initial meeting with my principal to go over my PPG and SLO that I just threw together on Halloween. It was a good meeting although my PPG made no sense! Luckily I was offered a bit of time to reword it and turn it in again this afternoon. So now I have an observation to look forward in the coming weeks.

After school I had to take Balt to the Vet for shots so he could go to daycare tomorrow. It rained most the day so Balt and I did not get a walk in this morning or after school. I walked on my treadmill this morning instead and then went to a hot yoga class this evening. I got home just in time to catch Survivor and end my evening with Chelsea. 

I Voted Yes!

The election is a week away but I decided to get my vote done this evening. I wish now that I've voted all the political ads would go away. For a while I was thinking of not voting but I needed to vote for the district's referendum... so while I was voting yes to save our schools in Madison, I figured I'd go ahead and just vote yes for everything.

The day was so warm, the air conditioning kicked on in the art department. It was a good work day. I stayed after school with some kids working. I worked on the yearbook. I came home and made tacos for dinner, watched the news, when to the library to vote and came home to work on a power point for a new project in my Art Experiences classes. I'm going to bed early tonight!