Teri Parris Ford's Blog

The Last Day of 2016

We all slept in this morning, recovering from our late night.   Balt had a hard time getting up into my bed last night, but this morning, not only did he sleep in, but he could not get out of bed.  He seem to be in pain but I could not find where the pain was coming from. I checked his ears and paws and all over his chest. I had to help him down the stairs. Luckily I had some pain medication for him.  I gave him a light breakfast and a pain pill and sat with him trying to figure out whether I should call the vet or not.  I knew a visit would be quite expensive.   No matter how much I pushed and poked, I could not get him to yelp, so I knew he wasn't in that much pain.   I decided to hold off, mostly because I had pain medication for him.   He slept all day, no walk and seemed to be feeling better by dinner time.

It was quite the lazy day. I worked on finishing my 2016 photo book and I scanned pictures for my cousin whose husband died.   I have a video to make for his funeral.  Jessi and Cody went out to lunch and out shopping while Monika watched Netflix. Both are downtown with friends celebrating the new year. Erika is in Minneapolis for the weekend. I'm off to a late yoga class to bring in the new year in meditation.  I know longer make New Year's resolutions, opting for life goals and a consistent plan for good health and financial freedom. 

The Military Ball

Balt and I were up by 5am. As much as I'd like to go back to bed, I don't want to change up my sleep cycles since I'll be back at work sooner than I'd like. I made a big fruit salad for the girls breakfast and went for a good walk. All of us went to an early yoga class together, which I love. Monika went out to eat with friends, while Jessi cleaned house. I ran some errands and got the truck washed. We left at 3pm for Milwaukee to pick up Cody, Jessi's boyfriend, from the airport and then went straight to the Pfister Hotel for the 2016 All Academies Military Ball. This event brings together midshipmen and cadets who attend the five service academies from the State of Wisconsin to recognize and celebrate their commitment to our nation. This was Jessi's last year to get in and she got to bring her boyfriend which made it way more fun. Monika and I had fun too. There were free drinks and dancing after the dinner. We left early since we had to drive home. Cody will be staying with us for about a week. 

Vacation is slipping away

Today was one of those days where I just hardly did anything. Balt got his walk in, of course. It was the most work I did all day. The girls slept in and I went to hot yoga all by myself at noon. I called my mom. I worked on my annual photo book. I went into work to print a few things and finish the gymnastics poster and got to see Joe. I made dinner for the girls while they watched The Crown on Netflix, so I watched along too, even though I had already seen both episodes. The girls went to a late yoga class while I continued on my photo album (I got to July and my India trip).

Time for a bit of a change

I've given up on New Year's resolutions but I do like to start January with some changes. I will need to make some dietary changes for sure. This Friday night we are going out to Jessi's military ball and I was trying to figure out what to do with my hair which has gotten very long. I asked the girls about putting it in a bun and I got a weird look. I decided to go with a bob look-- something I've always liked but haven't really done in a while. 

Balt and I got out for a very late walk. I spent the morning watching all the news shows and working on my 2016 album. I've got all the photos sorted and uploaded and the design started. I should have it done by New Years! Jessi and I went to a noon hot yoga class together. Monika has been staying out too late to come with us lately, which is fine. I had a photo shoot for the boys swim team at 3:30pm and the girls gymnastics poster to finish so I went into work to get a bit done. I came home and made stir fry for dinner and then went out to get my hair done. Vacation is more than half over now. 

Lap Cats

Balt and I got up kind of late this morning, 5:30am, and enjoyed some coffee and news watching before taking my truck to the shop and walking back home. It was quite convenient for my truck to need to be fixed while I'm on vacation, so it was hardly an inconvenience at all... well, except for the part where you have to pay to get it fixed. I started working on my 2016 album today. At some point I heard about Carrie Fisher dying and was really sad. It just seems like so many celebrities have died this year. Is it always this bad or am I just getting old enough to know all the famous old people who die now? Anyway, Jessi and I went to a hot yoga class at noon and then after cleaning up went out on errands, while Monika went to the movies with her friends. We came home and made dinner. Erika popped in to pick up some things and then gave me a ride to pick up my truck. I did a quick grocery run for milk and cheese, mineral water and pineapple. I came home and enjoyed some quiet time reading waiting for the girls to leave for the evening out with their friends. I'd like to watch an episode of The Crown, but I can hardly keep my eyes open! 

Post Christmas

I cried my eyes out last night watching a Netflix original called Other People with Molly Shannon. I do not recommend it if you have a mother with cancer-- just too close to home. Then this morning at yoga, the instructor said something at the end of the class that almost set me off. I had to fight hard to hold back from balling my eyes out again! Oh, it was something about loving after having a broken heart and it surprised me how it hit me so deeply so quickly. Maybe having all three girls around has me feeling more emotional? It had been a year since we were all together, but last Christmas we were in California, so really, it feels much longer since we were home all together. 

Anyway, so today was just a clean up and relax day. My whole agenda for this vacation was just to be available to spend time with the girls. I made them a fruit salad and scrambled eggs for breakfast before going to hot yoga all together. We got to see Erika but she had to work since all the other managers are on vacation, she's in charge. I decided to sign up for another 30 day hot yoga challenge for January. Last year I really struggled to finish because of back issues. I've learned to be gentle with my back. The heat often gives a false feeling of being loose and limber-- then I over do it. Part of my problem is that I don't have great core strength, so my back has to compensate and is stressed. I'm going to try again mostly so that Erika will have one more person sign up and to see if I can improve my practice from last year. 

After yoga, the girls went out to lunch with friends, while I made myself a salad and watched some Youtube. Later Jessi came home and we went shopping together. I had to get a part and wipers for my truck which has been out of commission since school got out. Jessi needs to buy a Christmas gift for her boyfriend who is coming on Friday. I made grilled cheese (and ham) sandwiches for dinner and called it an early evening. 

Christmas Perfection

The holiday was nearly perfect. I would have loved to have been in California with family but I was glad not to have to travel today. Balt got me up at 4am so I just got up and started wrapping gifts and prepping a bit and then went back to bed until 6am. I made cinnamon rolls-- a new recipe this year from the New York Times which were a hit, luckily. I knew I was taking a risk on Christmas. Erika had to work early this morning and got home around 8am. We started watching Love Actually as we waited for Jessi and Moni to come down. The gift festivities took all morning with big fire raging. The girls seemed to really like all their gifts this year and each gave gifts which really upped the amount. For the first time in a very long time (maybe ever) I seemed to have just as many as the girls did. We cleaned up and I took Balt out for a walk while the girls lounged. I made a big ham dinner which was a nice change. Erika and Monika went out to a movie while Jessi and I stayed in to watch a movie on Netflix. The day was really wonderful. 

Christmas Eve & Rogue One Review

Of course the day started early with Balt, sipping coffee and watching the news. I went outside to shovel snow from yesterday instead of going on a long walk and then went to yoga alone. The girls had all stayed up too late to go to a morning class. I had 1pm tickets to see Rogue One at the Ultrascreen with great seats. Then to continue our Christmas Eve tradition of Chinese food for dinner, we went PF Changs for quite the meal. We all came home full and ready for some couch time by the fire watching Christmas movies; Scrooged with Bill Murray, which I had never seen and then Grinch Who Stole Xmas, which I fell asleep to and woke to find everyone had left and gone to bed but Erika, who was getting ready to go home.  It was a WONDERFUL day and the movie was GREAT... here's my spoiler alert for my review below:

We argued a bit afterward about which movie was better, Rogue One or The Force Awakens-- both fantastic, but the familiarity with The Force characters helps connect you quickly and the investment for The Force is deep since you know there's going to be 2 more movies. Rogue One is a stand alone. There are a lot of characters in Rogue One, each you'd like to get to know a bit more but in the end, you don't and know you won't ever see them again in future Star Wars movies. Rogue One is faster paced but a bit confusing from all the opening planet jumping. Luckily, for the first time in Star Wars movies, places are labels in the corner so you understand you've just moved to a different place. Then as soon as you get to a know a planet, Jedha, it's destroyed, along with a major character you wish you understood better, Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker). Disney has taken the Star Wars franchise and diversified the characters and put leading female roles in both of its first two films. Both women are similar yet different enough. The Force has it's main white male characters from the original cast but Rogue One doesn't have a one. Both have charming robots but Rogue One's K2SO (played wonderfully by Alan Tudyk) is darker and has quite the dry wit. The rolling BB8 is way more kid friendly, making the Force Awakens a lot more family friendly in the end. i have to admit to being completely confused by seeing Grand Moff Tarkin (Peter Cushing) in Rogue One since I did not think he could still be alive. He wasn't. He died 22 years ago. The CGI was not so obvious to me but when a young Princess Leah shows up at the end of the movie, then it all makes sense. 

2016 Christmas Greetings

I only printed a few cards, knowing I could send this out digitally as well. I do love getting Christmas cards but it is an expensive practice. I did not type up a long letter this year but did put info on the back of the card that is kind of hard to read. I've included the text below here for you...

2016 was a year of work and big travel for our family. Teri continues to work with high school art students. She toured Cuba in June and Southern India in July-- both as educational trips. She turned 51 in September. Erika stayed on with Inner Fire Yoga, taking care of their marketing, practicing lots of yoga and enjoying concerts, camping and hooping. She turned 26.

Jessika finished her junior year at the US Naval Academy and successfully completed an aviation training course over summer. She purchased her first car and made a couple of road trips throughout the US. She began her final year at USNA and turned 22. This fall she was selected to continue her training in the Navy as a pilot after she graduates in May 2017. 

Monika had her 5th birthday in February, finished her sophomore year at Claremont McKenna, toured Washington DC over spring break, and completed an internship in Bangalore, India, where she was able to connect with Teri to travel. She is currently studying Arabic language and culture in Amman, Jordan, but will be back in time for the holidays. Hooray for the holidays!

note: to read about Monika's adventures- read her travel blog> https://mkford4.wordpress.com/

Family Time

Of course the girls sleep in, which gives me a nice quiet morning time to do a bit of clean up and organizing. Balt and I went for our morning walk and I made a big fruit salad, sausages and eggs for the girls. We met up with Erika for a noon yoga class. It is always very special to have all 3 girls in one space. They are so very different in so many ways, especially physically, so I am so glad they are all eager to do yoga with me daily during our vacation. While Erika had to work a full day, Monika had a full day of appointments with friends. Jessi and I watched the Armed Services Bowl on ESPN. She has friends on the Navy football team and her boyfriend was in the stands in Dallas watching the game too. I have to admit to dozing off even though it was an exciting game. We all met up for dinner at Cheesecake Factory with the girls' dad. It was the first time the 5 of us had been together in a very long time. It was a pleasant evening, at times reminiscing about holidays past. So much has changed and yet, some things never change. I sat and listened mostly, enjoying the conversation, which ventured from politics to Star Wars. Sometimes I feel sad that we aren't all together more often, but it certainly makes family time a lot more special. 

Vacation day 1, Winter day 2

The plan was not to have a plan-- no expectations, no travel, no stress. Balt did not get the memo that we could sleep in, so we were up at 5am. I decided to go through mail and pay bills. My truck needs work, the girls want lots, so I got a handle on things to start vacation in the know. Balt let me sit and watch the news for a while without much fuss. We got out after 8am for a nice long walk in the sunshine. The temps are pleasant for officially being winter now. Jessi, Moni and I made it to a 1030am hot yoga class. We got to see Erika at work, but did not get to enjoy much of her company. It reminded me of back when she worked at Papa Murphy's and we would go visit her, order a pizza, say hi and leave. If she wasn't working, I'm not sure we'd all be doing yoga? I certainly don't buy Papa Murphy's pizzas anymore. 

Jessi and I went out to lunch together, ran errands and enjoyed some time together. I went into school to meet up with a student to submit artwork for the scholastic art competition. The girls both went out with friends, leaving me with a big fire and lots of Netfilx to watch. Vacation day one was wonderful.

I'm on Vacation NOW!

My morning walk with Balt went long again. I can really tell his wearing boots helps him enjoy the walk in the morning. He lets me know how far he wants to walk by turning corners or wanting to cross streets. When his feet are hurting, he stops in his tracks and I have to rub them until he'll walk again and we often have to turn back doing the process several times before getting home again. With these boots, it's like spring and he's got a skip in his step. Having the girls home means he's got attention after I leave for work late in the morning when they wake up, so I know he's enjoying life right now. 

My day at work seemed long. I was eager for the day to be done. I came home at lunch hoping to connect with the girls but they had gone to a hot yoga class together. I'm thrilled that I'll be able to join them tomorrow! Monika came in at the end of the school day to help with the sale and to help me break it down. It looks like we all sold stuff, but not everything, so I packed it up and made my way home. I warmed up left over chili for dinner and made a fire. We enjoyed time together and everyone wanted to get to bed early. I'm very ready for a vacation.

Those boots are made for walkin'...

I pulled out a box of purple rubber doggie boots I had purchased late last winter to finally try on this morning. He let me put them on without much fuss and before he could complain, I opened the door and let him out. He pranced about wondering if he liked them but was finally distracted enough with just being outside. As we began to walk, I got a sense he realized that he could enjoy the cold without pain on his feet. We ended up walking extra this morning because he had missed so many days from the cold. I thought for sure his nails would rip through but we made it home through the ice and salt without a tear. I've got a box of 24, so these will last a while.

My day was pretty nice. I had hot chocolate for my classes and played Christmas music in class. At lunch I came home hoping to connect with the girls but they had gone out to brunch and were out with friends. I made my own lunch and cleaned up. After school I came home and made dinner for Jessi and her friend, Lauren and then made cookies for desert. Jessi and I then went to the Girls basketball game. I did not realize that it was a alumni night, but Jessi knew. There were lots of girls from years past to celebrate playing basketball. It was really fun to see so many faces from the past! 

Just Roll out of Bed

The last week before winter break is teacher dress up week. We started with Christmas sweaters on Friday and today was not quite pajama day. Officially it was called "Roll out of bed and go to work day." Our principal re-called it slippers day, hopng for a more appropriate attire, I suppose. I'm not going to pass up a day to wear pajamas to work, ever. I had yoga pants under my pajamas, wore a tank, a long sleeve shirt with a short sleeve one on top and needed to wear a fur lined sweatshirt during my morning classes. Yes, my classroom was cold this morning. It was as if my glass door were made of solid ice.

The day was busy with sale going on and kids working. I had meeting with my yearbook rep at 1pm. The day warmed up as it went along and by the time I got home, I could walk Balt for a bit, it was about 11 degrees. After about a block, he lifted a foot in pain and then another one. We went back home to warm up. I finished my walk on the treadmill and ended up with an 8 mile day. I went out to dinner with family (everyone but Jessi). Monika left late with her dad to go pick up Jessi from Milwaukee. Her flight comes in after 10pm and I figured I'd get my rest for work tomorrow.

The Arctic Blast

No more snow but it was bitterly cold with temperatures below zero. There's a wind chill advisory in effect until tomorrow morning  but I highly doubt we will get the day off. Wind chills range from -15 to -30, so I did not even attempt to take Balt out for a walk today. Instead, I soaped him up and gave him a hot shower as he was overdue for a bath. After a leisure morning I bundled up and went grocery shopping. Knowing Jessi was coming home tomorrow night I went all out and spent $260 on food. My fridge is now stuffed. It hasn't been this full in a very long time. I came home after a few errands and got to cleaning up and then built a fire. Monika and Erika went out to lunch and went shopping. They came home in time to enjoy the fire and hang out. I feel like vacation should have already started. I'm hoping these next few days won't be too painful.

Saturday Set up

We woke up to more snow. It's light and fluffy stuff, Balt's favorite. He let me sleep in until almost 6am and we were out walking by 8am. I finished up my Christmas cards and went to yoga at 11am. Monika and I met up with Geof at 1pm to help with the gallery set up. He'd been in all morning, meeting artists to set up. i came in at the end to get Erika, Monika's and my stuff up. Monika and I left by 3pm, went to the post office to buy stamps and I waited in line for almost an hour! It was crazy. We came home and I built a big fire, had tamales for dinner and we watched a few more episodes of the The Crown on Netflix while more snow came down. We have another 4 inches now on top of several other layers, so it's quite the winter wonderland outside. Tomorrow we get hit with an arctic blast, making it impossible to go out and enjoy-- bummer.

More Snow Coming

i was out early with Balt on our walk. Funny how 9 degrees is not so cold after it's been below zero for a bit. As the day progressed, it got a little warmer and then it started snowing. Everything was cancelled after school because of the big storm blowing in 4 or 5 inches tonight and another 4 or 5 tomorrow. i ran home at lunch to say hello to Monika and pick up something I forgot. I met up with my spring student teacher for an interview during my prep and then finished the school setting up a few things for the art sale that starts on Monday. I came home and did some shoveling. Even yoga was cancelled, so i built a fire. Monika had leftovers from last night's dinner and I made a quesidilla. We enjoyed several episodes of the The Crown on Netflix before going to bed. It's almost as good as Downton Abbey! Now that Monika's home, I won't have control of what to watch. Luckily the season finale' of Survivor was the night before she came home.

Moni is home!!

Monika landed in Paris early this morning and spent 6 hours waiting to catch her flight to Chicago. She called me while i was in my 7th hour class to tell me she had landed an hour early and would be getting home earlier than expected! As my work day had progressed, my nose got stuffier and sneezier. I have a cold-- nothing terrible, just a cold... and chapped lips. it made the day pass by slowly with a bit of a fog.

It was below zero when I got up, so i took Balt to daycare without a walk and did not get a walk in after school either, but somehow I still got over 10,000 steps in while working. I got my Christmas cards in the mail and started addressing them while i waited for Erika to come over so we could get Monika from the bus stop. We went to Rosatis for dinner and then came home. She has tons of laundry plans to sleep most of tomorrow. it will be nice to have her home for the weekend. I wish Christmas vacation was starting tomorrow but if i'm going to be sick, it doesn't really matter, i guess.

The Storm is coming!

Monika is on her way from the middle east. She finished her papers and tests and paid an extra fee to get a flight home 4 days early. With her is a cold winter storm with wind chills 20-30 below zero is on its way as well. And no, that's not cold enough to cancel school tomorrow, which is fine. There's still a full week left until vacation, so there's plenty of work to do. My favorite part of teaching art is having kids love what they make and feel really excited about the successes they did not expect. As my kids finish their prints in Art Experiences, i'm excited to see them excited to start the next project. i know i'm going to miss my classes at the end of the semester. 

I ran out of school at the end of the school day. I spent some time with Balt outside, did some clean up and then made my way to hot yoga. i rushed home from yoga to catch the season finale of Survivor. When i got home I found that Balt had figured out how to get my rubbermaid box of Christmas cookies open. There weren't that many left, but I had plans for those cookies. So now I have to make some more sooner than i had planned!

It's a Slam-dunk!

My first yearbook deadline was today and instead of turning in 48 pages, we turned in 80. All of our student portrait sections are done! I didn't even have to stay all night to get them done! To be honest they still need little bits of tweaking but we'll get our pages back as proofs and be able to make those changes. I'm feeling pretty good about the yearbook this year, I think because it did not start out easy, so we've really had to work through our theme and look. So the day was focused on getting the pages done and adding missing kids. I got in 4 kids from announcements, which quite honestly is a lot of work for only a few kids but the pain of dealing with the complaints of left out kids is awful. 

I got home and it was 7 degrees, so instead of a dogwalk, I walked on the treadmill with an incline. I'm so glad I have that option and Balt does not seem to mind hanging out with me in the basement instead being out in the frigid cold. I do have to let him out but not for long. After a salad for dinner and some news watching I went back to school to take pictures of the girls basketball game against East. I left a bit early so that I could download the photos at school before coming home and going to bed. I've been sneezing a lot today so I'm hoping to put to sleep any oncoming illness.

Oh, it's only going to get colder!

Today was one of those crazy Monday's with tons to do and not enough time to get it all in. Classes zoomed by, add an extra Advisory time,  a lunch meeting AND an after school department meeting, and I'm exhausted upon leaving work... only I still had so much more to do! I'm up late tonight working on the newspaper, after working on a power point for an art class tomorrow. I realized that about 1/2 of my 3rd hour class was finished with the printing project I had expected to take another week, so I had to come up with a presentation pronto.

While poking around Facebook I found the photo posted below of Jessi's company (15) marching on the Army Navy Game. I know she was very upset that Navy lost her senior year, losing a 14 year streak of wins. When I saw this picture I was so excited because she's right in front now as part of the leadership of her company.

 

7 inches of snow!!

We woke up to a winter wonderland. I built a big fire and enjoyed my coffee watching the news. Balt and I went for a long walk-- about 4 miles. We walked to school and got some work done there and then walked to Starbucks for a latte and then went home. Balt LOVES the snow and often would smell something and then bury his head down looking for whatever. I let him loose in the soccer fields so he could run around. I'm hoping once Jessi is her, she can take him for a jog once or twice. I think he'd like to go at a faster pace sometimes, but I'm not going faster until springtime and even then, maybe not. I enjoyed a pretty lazy snow day. I shoveled snow a couple of times, started reading a new book, finished my laundry, vacuumed upstairs and wrapped some gifts. It was the perfect snowy Sunday.

Tamale Goals

Monika asked me to make chili relleno tamales this year so my plan was to make them today and make them I did! First I got up early with Balt and went for a walk before heading out to a morning hot yoga class. Today was my 65th class for an 12 week challenge which meant I was able to maintain 5 to 6 classes a week throughout the fall. I came home, cleaned up and went on some errands and then came home to get to work on tamales. I have never made this flavor before and after a lot of research, it looked pretty simple--same masa as my other veggie types but with blocks of jack cheese and green chilies. I saw recipes with different cheeses or chilies, but they were basically the same. I wanted to make bean and cheese ones as well, but I ran out of the masa, so I'll be doing another batch later. I had the Navy Army game on in the background while I cooked. I built a big fire and enjoyed one of the not totally cooked tamales with some rice and beans for dinner while watching For the Love of Spock on Netflix which was really good. I'm a huge Lenard Nemoy fan. I realized while watching that I need to create a "live long and prosper" hand companion print to my "hamsa" hand art print. I made peanut butter cookies for my Monday advisory kids and then called it a night. 

For The Love Of Spock from Gravitas Ventures on Vimeo.

Finally Friday

Only 12 short days until winter vacation! Everything seems to be going a long quite smoothly. Classes are busy at work and the sections to be turned in for the yearbook are just about finished. I had a list with each student not pictured in the yearbook and administration "robo-called" each family informing them that their student was not going to be in the yearbook unless a photo was sent in or a make up photo was taken on Tuesday. I am betting no one comes in on Tuesday, but we will wait and see. So far only one family (out of maybe 65) has responded with an email and a photo. All the extra work was worth it even if all I add is this one kid. I stayed late again after school but left in time to get to a 5:30pm hot yoga class. I came home to enjoy a bit of snuggle time with Balt, watching a Chelsea, before getting to bed early. I'm thrilled it is the weekend!

The 12 hour work day

Thursdays I take Balt into daycare and get into work early. I was at my desk working by 7:30am this morning. I did not get home until 730pm this evening and I felt like worked non-stop! The yearbook deadline has me working over portrait pages, but my morning classes are busy at work. During lunch I caught up on grading but then I was back at the yearbook throughout my prep. Sometimes my students frustrate me as I'm not always sure they will follow through on things. I asked a student to take photos of sophomores. He said he would but when I ask for them, he doesn't have them. Another student is taking photos of juniors but then the kid doesn't come to class so I can't access them although his peers tell me he did take them. So I end up going around taking photos of kids I know (like this picture here of one of my editors) which is fine and I don't mind, but I want to give opportunities to students first. Anyway, I stayed late with newspaper kids, working and then came exhausted but since I had missed a couple of days of yoga and my back was feeling stiff, I went to a late slow flow and loved it. The heat is so relaxing so I know I will sleep great tonight!

It's coming!

There's only 10 school days left until winter break. Only 18 work days left for this semester. I don't count down until Christmas anymore, big deal. The big day to look forward to is the beginning of vacation- winter break, spring break and especially summer break!! I had a pow-wow with my morning metals classes, explaining how little time was left and how awkward this year's vacation schedule interrupted our semester. I've always found it a bit weird that we leave for a long vacation and come back to finish the semester. It makes more sense to finish the semester with a long break? My art experience kids have their bowls coming out of the kiln, all shiny and bright from glazes and they are very fun to see (pictured here). The kids love them. I told them we would eat cereal out of them for our final exam, but now that I see them and how excited the kids are to see them, I think I'll just bring in plastic bowls so the kids can take them home. I ate lunch today and needed a bit of a pick-me-up, so I splurged with a coffee break and then got to working on the yearbook. All 4 grade sections are nearly done. There's just a lot of fine tuning and double checking to do. I have kids do things but there's so double checking I have to do too. I stayed late and got home exhausted. I made a small quesadilla for dinner and enjoyed Survivor and am ready for bed.

Cold day, Warm feelings

Today was an emotional day on various levels for a variety of reasons. I started the day with a nice walk with Balt but it's so cold outside, so it's hard to get going but once I'm back, I'm warm and glad I've made the effort. My classes are so good. So many of my students are so nice, so wonderful and so fun. I have a few kids falling in love with printmaking and that warms my heart (see photo). With my first yearbook deadline coming up in exactly one week away, I'm really working extra hard this year to make sure we don't leave kids out. I've learned the hard way, I can't let the kids do all the work. Ultimately the mistakes get blamed on me and that's tough. I've been staying late after school to go over the work and double check everything. It's time consuming but I'm getting paid to do it.  After school I met up with Erika for a celebration dinner together. It is wonderful to have a daughter to enjoy a wonderful meal with in the middle of week!

In 2 short weeks...

2 weeks from tonight, I will have all three girls here in Madison with me and I'm so excited. In the mean time there is so much to do! Today was one of those crazy Mondays that was just non-stop. My four morning classes go so fast and are so busy, especially when you add in my Advisory class-- pictured here. I had time to eat lunch. I had the last bit of Thanksgiving turkey in a salad today. There's still some soup but I'm thinking I should probably dump it. I had 2 IEP meeting today at 1 and 2 so I needed a sub for my 7th hour class. We met during PCT with the Native American club to watch Reel Injun which was real good. There was a panel afterword, but I had to run off to meet with kids and do a photo shoot. I ran home to feed Balt and then went to Kohl's to spend my Kohl's cash that expired today. It was hard to decide what to get, but I ended up with a couple of sweaters and a formal dress for the military ball at the end of the month. I then went to Costco for meat and apples and dinner. I got home with just enough time to run to a late yoga class. It was so hard not to fall asleep in the heated room, but I made it home and am ready to pass out.

The first season's snow!

It was a beautiful day! Balt and I went out for a 4 mile hike. I finished Trevor Noah's book, which was really good and I would recommend to anyone who wants to know more about South Africa, an amazing mother son relationship, and/or a miraculous story of faith. I loved it and hate that I'm done and now have to find a new book to read! I went into school to get a bit of work done and then made my way out to Johnson Creek to meet up with Melissa for a bit of Christmas shopping (for her, not me since I'm done) and lunch out. We sat chatting for hours after our meal was finished, catching up on life and of course talking about politics. I came home and did some shoveling, packaged up some pretzels and worked on my Christmas card. I have it ready to order! As I went over my list of things to do this week, I was shocked to see more on the personal side than the work side! That rarely happens but I've got lots of holiday prep to do. Next weekend is tamale time and I can't wait!!

Decisions Decisions

Every day I make decisions, most are easy, and made from habit or obligation. On the weekends I get to make decisions that are different. I typically don't have obligations and I am free to fudge a few habits. Balt makes it difficult to forego the morning dogwalk but today I put him off for a while, enjoying my warm couch, watching the news, cuddled up with cats. Because I went on a late dogwalk, I ended up at a later hot yoga class. Some days deciding which yoga class I'm going to is the hardest decision I have to make. Today I had been invited by a student to watch a basketball game across town and as much as I wanted to help forge that relationship, I chumped out because I went to the later yoga class. It was tough decision but I am hoping I can make another closer game next weekend instead. I spent time talking with my mom on the phone and video chatting with Monika. I sorted through a week's worth of mail and paid bills, making more decisions.  I popped over to Joan Fabrics to look for Christmas sprinkles for my chocolate covered pretzels but could not spend the $5 for the small container, so then I went over to Woodmans for $1 generic sprinkles. More decisions. The roads were crowded and the stores were packed. I waited 15 minutes for a latte at Starbucks, not a great decision, but one I can make on a Saturday. I got gas and then made my way up north to meet up with a friend for dinner and got home kind of late. On the way home I listed to "Born a Crime" by Trevor Noah (which is very entertaining). He got me thinking about how differently women make decisions, particular women with children. Mothers decide things most often with what is best for their children, no matter the situation. I have come to realize that for the first time in 25 years, I've begun to make minor decisions without thought of my children, because they are no longer around. Still any major decisions would always have their best interest at the heart. My next big decision to make is which photos am I using for my Christmas card... I'd like to make that decision this weekend.