Teri Parris Ford's Blog

Halloween!

I've been Frida Kahlo several times for Halloween-- she is a favorite artist of mine. Whenever I dress up as her, I'm always showered with lots of compliments and told how much I look like her. She was half German and half Mexican. I'm half English and half Mexican, so there are genetic similarities I suppose. It is nice that every 5 years, I know that none of the kids will have seen whatever costume I decide to wear again, but Frida is the only one I have repeated. Grace was Andy Warhol and the rest of the department did follow through with costumes-- waking up to several more inches of snow was Josh's excuse. 

I had a pathway team meeting during my prep and kids at lunch to help. I am working on an animation to prep for the next project I have to present. I stayed for a bit after school prepping for tomorrow. I am doing my best to keep up with grading and I had some yearbook prep to do. While I wanted to go to yoga, I had to go home first to unload my costume. Once home, I couldn't be bothered to leave again. I had some left over potatoes for dinner and watched a David Letterman interview on Netflix with a fire. I did do some shoveling as well.

Cold Autumn

There's more snow in the forecast for tonight. Winter is knocking over autumn too quickly!! I had a good work day and stayed late after school with a couple of students. I enjoyed a fire this evening while working on some prep -- creating a final exam for my freshmen on Friday.  I ended the evening with Survivor.

Snow!

Yes, it snowed last night and we woke up to several inches. It was pretty heavy snow, weighing down branches but it was very pretty. Balt was happy. It was warm enough so that I did not have to do any shoveling since it all melted away on the sidewalks. It did keep lots of kids home. I've got a work week as the quarter comes to an end and grades are due. I'm working with kids who are behind. After school I came home and met up with Erika who was already packing to go back to California tomorrow. She left to see a movie with Kelly and I built a fire and made cookies for dinner. I put my feet up and dozed off watching tv then went to bed.

Jim left for Istanbul and Monika spent the day in London with her aunt Linda.

 

Good Monday

I brought in bagels for my students today to help me celebrate my passing the National Boards. Although they were not the ones that helped me pass (since it was last year), I still wanted to celebrate. It was a really great Monday with a short schedule and short department meeting. I was able to get away to a 4pm yoga class and home for an early dinner of leftovers. I'm in bed early tonight, happy to be warm. Snow is in the forecast.

Relaxing Sunday

I had a wonderfully relaxing Sunday. I got up early, went grocery shopping at 6am and then later to a yoga class at 10am. Erika and Kelly came over for lunch. I hung my Xmas lites, because I knew the weather was only going to get a lot colder. I'll keep them unplugged until after Halloween. I chatted with my mom, Jim and Monika at different times. I took Balt for a nice dogwalk and watched several Star Trek episodes.

Autumn Saturday

It was a perfect Autumn Saturday-- yoga, baking, fire, coffee, raking leaving, relaxing, housework, homemade salsa and Netflix. Finding out I passed my National Boards early this morning was great and has me wondering how I should celebrate. I purchased some items for my Halloween costume and got a flu shot. 

I passed!

The Weekend Started Early

I had professional development all morning. We went out to lunch and then had time in the afternoon to work. I did some organizing but head out early since I had stayed so late Thursday night. I had errands to run but grabbed Balt so that we could get a dog walk in. The weather was cool but wonderfully autumn like. I don't have a lot going on this weekend, but Erika is coming home to visit and I'm in need of time to do yoga and enjoy a fire and movie.

Jessi finally posted photos on social media of her engagement! Here they are:

Play off Season

I had a field trip today at the school forest with my freshmen. It was a really great day. The kids were so engaged and I saw some kids smile and laugh like I never had before. I hung out at the shelter, dealing with kids who needed a break or were having trouble. I had some nice conversations with kids who felt disconnected. 

I got back to school in time for my yearbook class. I ran out and got them some food and sat with them discussing our progress. We are making great progress. At the end of the school day all the teachers got together to get a photo for the football team (above). It is playoff season and our boys are undefeated. Then after school I had newspaper club late. 

Short Week

Today was a work day-- all my kids are in the midsts of projects. I love work days because I get a lot of work done as well typically. I had a department meeting at lunch and I subbed during my prep. I got a new student in one of my classes and stayed after school helping another. Tomorrow I have a sub so I can go on a field trip and Friday is a professional development day. I came home after work feeling like I was getting ready for the weekend. I built a fire and enjoyed catching up on THIS IS US. 

Jim and Monika are in Arizona enjoying hiking and sights. They sent a few photos that made me a bit jealous.

Tuesday

It was a good Tuesday -- cold, a little wet, but perfect hot yoga weather. I got up early and enjoyed time prepping for school, doing laundry and sipping coffee. This morning I had several visitors observing my classes for some strange reason. Joe and Ray (a teacher coach) came in, Steve (pathways coordinator) brought in several middle school principals to see my pathway classes and then my principal came in to observe. The kids were all busy working but it was bit chaotic. I had a meeting before lunch and I was supposed to have a student come in during lunch but he was a no show. My kids in yearbook are all excited about this year's t-shirts (see below). I went home for a bit to let Balt out, knowing I wouldn't be home until late. I had a big salad for dinner and worked on my animation prep while catching up on THIS IS US on HULU.

The look of love...

I showed my demo video to my freshmen this morning and one of my students told me I looked sick (not in a good way). I guess doing my video without any makeup on a Saturday morning, may have been a it too personal? I told the class, I must've just been tired. Joe told me it was that my phone was too close. It's somewhat refreshing when students "say the darndest things!" Some have not learned how to be very tactful.

I had a busy day at work but got lots done. I'm up late working on Animation-- I'm not quite done but need sleep. I'll have something unfinished to demo on tomorrow and that will be fine as long as I know what I'm doing.

I heard from Monika; she and Jim are stopping in Kansas. Jessi sent over a couple of sneak peeks-- beautiful photos from her engagement. I'm guessing she's getting them ready to for social media. I'll post them after she does.

Autumn Glory

Monika and I went out to breakfast together this morning and took a drive up north to an apple orchard to enjoy the fall colors. It was a great way to spend a Sunday. Monika is leaving with Jim in the morning for long trip. I'll have the place to myself, so I'll need to finish my long list of things to do tomorrow. I did manage to finish my example video before bed.

Magic

I had a long list of things to do today and I got about 1/2 of it all done. Luckily I have tomorrow to try to finish the rest. Jim left this morning early for Ft. McCoy, Monika and I made soup for lunch and then she left to go out to dinner with friends.

The big news was Cody asked Jessi to marry him and she said yes. They called me this evening to share the news, I added Jim to the conversation. It's a blessing for our family. There are no plans yet made on when or where they will get married. Jessi said it would not be too soon. That gives me and Jim more time to save our pennies!

Ready for Friday

It was a great day, nice weather and nothing went wrong. Most of my kids got some good work in, a few pretended to get work done but did so somewhat quietly. First hour I had a freshman boy freak out because he thought another boy had taken his photo. I separated the two and luckily had no other incidences the rest of the day. I went to costco for lunch and picked up some snacks for my yearbook kids who all celebrated with me the end of the week. I came home and enjoyed a very nice evening with Jim and Monika.

Fire Season

Today at school, I had a kid tell me I smelled like a campfire! We did make a fire last night, so maybe? Anyway a bunch of kids started smelling me and assured me that I did NOT smell like fire; all they could smell was laundry detergent! I had another kid ask me how many pairs of Vans I have as he thinks I wear a different pair every day and said he'd never seen me wear the same pair twice-- which all I could say was I only have about a dozen and that I make it a point never to wear the same pair 2 days in a row.

Today was a pretty good day. My truck was working perfectly this morning when I went out to start it! Hurray for small comforts. I went to yoga after work and made a baked root veggie slices for dinner and watched Survivor before bed.

Cluster Yuck

My car didn't start this morning. My brother called me after my yoga class yesterday so I was distracted on my way home and left my keys in the ignition. Erika had texted me during the yoga class so I was distracted during the class. I spent the whole evening on the phone or talking with Jim. There's a lot going on. Jim's having issues with his army transfer as well. Jim took me to work this morning even though I had planned to walk but Balt had ran off and I needed to find him, so the morning was just a bit crazy. In class, I can sense my freshmen starting to ease up, and calm down. I'm introducing the last project for them tomorrow. It's been a frenzy of a quarter. Next quarter will be easier, I hope. 

I came home at lunch and tried to fix the truck with a jump from Jim but no go. We called AAA and they suggested a spray of sensor cleaner. We ran out and got one which helped but it was still a no go. I left my card with Jim and asked him to get a tow truck so I could take it in to the same automotive place that has sucked thousands from me in repair costs. BUTJim magically fixed it a couple of hours later. When I went to take the truck for a drive, my stereo wasn't working. I called to make an appointment but they walked me through fixing that! I was able to go to bed with most things in working order after what felt like quite 24 hour of muck.

Busy Monday

Today was one of those busy Monday's. I had kids waiting for me at 7:30am, but before I even got to work, I had to drop my truck off at the auto shop to get my window fixed. Jim said he'd take me but slept in, so I just drove myself and walked to work. I picked up a coffee on the way. I had an early photoshoot of the cross country girls before school (see photo below). I introduced a new project to my Pathways freshmen and to my animation kids. I covered a social studies class during my prep, had a lunch club meeting, and dept meeting after school. I walked over to the auto shop to pick up my fixed truck, paid $600 for a new window motor and went home to find a pile of wood left for me (I paid $250 for that). Today was an expensive day. Jim helped me stack the wood. Monika came home and made dinner and together we watched a show on tv..

Famous Pumpkin Scones

I love making Pumpkin Scones in the Fall. I have a recipe that I play with mixing canned pumpkin or baked real pumpkins when I want to get real fancy. I can make them gluten free or with regular baking flour, but usually I mix up various flours and include sprouted wheat, coconut flour, flax meal, and/or almond meal or almond flour. This morning, I made a batch and enjoyed a couple before going to a hot yoga class. After yoga, I came home, made a fire did some prep and enjoyed a wonderfully cold autumn Sunday watching tv.

Pumpkin Scones
4 cups of flour (I try never to use straight up white flour)
2/3 c dark brown sugar
1/2 t ginger
1 t cinnamon
1 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1/2 c butter
1 c white choc chips (leave out to make a bit healthier or replace with dates)
1 c chopped pecans
2/3 c buttermilk (I use 1/2 1/2 when I don't have it on hand)
1 15 ou can of pumpkin or pureed real when on hand for an organic scone
2 t real vanilla

Mix wet, knead in dry. Cut in half. Roll into ball, flatten, cut into 6-8 triangles, repeat with other half. Makes 12-16 depending on size.

Brunch Date

Last year Josh and Grace started a Brunch Club for our department but the reality is it's just the 3 of us that go consistently. Grace and I met up once over the summer but it's been a while since the 3 of us got together for Brunch. Today was the first one for this school year and it was a great meal and a great time chatting. Later in the day I had a photoshoot with a senior for the yearbook at the capitol. I don't do very many photoshoots anymore, but I've had two in a month, so I've made a little extra money, which is nice. I think about going into business after I retire sometimes.

Jim and I enjoyed an early morning fire, a walk with Balt and I made a big salad for dinner. Monika spent the weekend in Minneapolis.

Baby Visiting

During my lunch hour I ran over to the hospital to visit Melissa's new born baby who was born yesterday. I have visited all of her children in the hospital, so I didn't want to miss this last one.She reminded me of Jessi, so sweet and so big with such black hair that all eventually fell out for a blonder look. It made for a fun afternoon, but busy. I had kids working all day except in yearbook, who drove me crazy with most boys coming in tardy, many gone on field trips or athletics and then a ton leaving early. I stayed after school with newspaper kids for a bit. When I got home it was barely 40 degrees but I still took Balt for a walk with Jim and then the two of us went to Costco to get dog and cat food as well as chicken for Jim. We came home and made a fire and put our feet up for the rest of the evening.

The Snow is Coming

There's a snow storm out west that is on it's way to Wisconsin apparently. I think today was our last mild day of Autumn. Temperatures are going down after today. It was a pretty uneventful day-- meetings, work time, etc. I came home for lunch. Jim borrowed my truck and the window got stuck. I had to put a trash bag over the door to make sure water from rain this evening didn't get into the truck. I made an appointment for it to get looked at. Between my teeth and the truck, I'm looking at quite a bit of extra expenses. 

I talked with Erika this evening. She needed me to return some DVD's. She said taking care of my mom is a full time job. Her health is much declined and Erika feels that it may continue to decline but she is hopeful that she can help my mom get better. My mom is confused about how and why she has lost so much of her independence so quickly. 

I need a crown

I went to the dentist today during my lunch hour. My teeth have been just fine, but it ends up I have cracked tooth in my back molar. I'll need a crown and my insurance only pays for half, so I'm looking at a $500 bill sometime in the future. I was also told that my teeth are starting to get crooked and it was suggested I get an invisible retainer to set them straight. It is not just for cosmetic reasons apparently, because my teeth get stained and collect tarter where they are crooked. That is a 3K expense that I would rather spend on travel, but my teeth are worth it. I'll wait till spring for both procedures. I got back to work for my last two classes which were hard at work. I popped over to the grocery store for cat food and cereal (for Monika) and had left overs for dinner. I called my mom, who was not happy about the change in her freedom. She has nurses coming in several times a week that she does not like-- they have told her she can no long go up and down her stairs which she thinks is ridiculous. She told me that she is glad Erika is there because she makes her talk to the nurses since she doesn't want to deal with them. Erika told me Kaiser is bringing in a new bed for my mom. She'll be expected to stay downstairs-- which I know my mom will not like. Change is hard.

Morning Meetings

I had a sub this morning so that I could meet with my pathways cohort of teachers and take a tour of Epic Systems-- a local software company. We went out to breakfast and then toured the facilities which are pretty grand. It certainly made for a nice morning. The rest of my day continued to be quite nice. I finished my work day and then ran off to hot yoga. Erika called me after my yoga class to let me know that she has settled in at my mom's house. My brother had been staying with my mom, cooking and helping out. He's counting on her to take over. She is hoping to learn to cook a little better and have time to read, but said she was surprised how busy she had been in her first day. She ran some errands with my brother and had to unload her car. Her cat seems to have adjusted quickly. I am hoping it all works out. 

New Week

I'm finally feeling healthy and not so overwhelmed with prep. All my students are fully engaged in projects and I'm able to help students, even those in animation. This morning I came in to find Josh had set up the still life tables. He really goes all out for this unit in drawing. At lunch I had a meeting with my newspaper kids and we had Chick Fil A deliver lunch. I had a few left over sandwiches to take home to Jim and lots of extra cookies to give to my yearbook kids. After school, instead of a department meeting teacher broke out into different clinics. I went to a Developmental Designs program with Joe, Josh and Grace. After that I went into the gallery to set up a sign for Grace. I got home relatively early and Jim was not home, so I started working on an animation project for next week. Jim enjoyed the leftover sandwiches and I had left over chicken from yesterday for dinner. I finished my project and watched an episode of Star Trek.

Love me a Sunday

Today was all about recovery. Balt let me sleep in until almost 6am. I spent some time this morning prepping for my classes. At 9am I ran out to Anytime Fitness to get a workout in and then I went to Costco for gas and chicken, eggs and 1/2 and 1/2 as well as a few other things. I came home and had the rest of the day free. Jim and I went for a walk. We popped into school to print off some paperwork for Jim to get a new license. We went to Starbucks and sat out in the sunshine. It was a beautiful autumn day. 

Monika went out to brunch and shopping with a friend, Erika is on her way to California. My mom is at home, still not feeling well, but better than last week.

Wedding!

I was asked to take photos for a wedding nearly 2 years ago by my principal, who's 3 children I taught, but none for photo. I had his oldest 2 in middle school way back when and his youngest in high school for computer art. His daughter got married today and I asked Monika to come with me to the wedding to help with photographing it. Monika is a really talented photographer but she's never done a wedding so I knew it would be a good experience for her. Weddings are not easy-- they are a lot of work, but it can be fun especially if the food is good. It was a long day, so I was glad I had Monika with me to help.

Erika left for California this morning. She will be missed but she's going to help with my mom and I'm hoping it will work out for the best. I talked with my for a bit on the phone today. She is home from the hospital but I can tell she is struggling with illness a lot more than in the past. Erika won't arrive until Monday, luckily my brother's family are taking care of her over the weekend.

Fall is Here!

Jim wanted everyone to go up north to an apple orchard but Erika is leaving Saturday while Monika and I had to work today, so just Erika and Jim went for the afternoon. The had to wait until my new dryer was delivered and they left. The brought home everybody treats and had a good time. The weather has finally turned very autumn like. 

I had a good day, mostly a work day for all of my students which means I have time to breathe and get things done. After work, Jim and I went for a long walk with Balt-- about 5 miles. We went to Menards for some Halloween lights and Jim set them up in the dining room. 

Update

I called my mom today during my lunch, to find she was pretty confused. Luckily my brother was on his way and they decided to take her to urgent care. The doctor there decided she needed to go to the emergency room. She was admitted and will be hospitalized for a couple of days from dehydration and malnutrition. Erika should get there just in time for her to come home and take care of her. It was a stressful day as the my brother and I were texting and talking on the phone thru all the details. I am just so glad Erika is willing and able to go and stay with her for a while. 

I haven't been taking any photos all day, or on snapchat. I've not been on any social media, I'm just treading water these days. I got up this morning at 5am realizing I needed to prep a lesson for my freshman. I got it done at 7am and then showered and got ready for work. At work, the heat was on full blast. By second hour, I was drenched in sweat. The kids were all complaining. Why is it either too cold or too hot!? I don't know. Jim got home right at 4pm when I got off work. Together we went out to dinner to catch up and then came home to watch some news.

Slow Wednesday

It rained off and on all day. The cold front moved in last night so there was rough weather nearby. I've been having trouble sleeping lately, but I think it has been mostly weather related. My brother called me at work today to discuss my mom's condition and it was decided that Erika would go to spend some time with her for a while. She's leaving this weekend. Jim comes home tomorrow. Both Monika and Jim will be going to California in a couple of weeks, so Erika will have company for a bit. So it feels like there's a lot going on. 

I've been very busy at work, but utilizing my prep to get work done, so when I get home I'm not feeling as overwhelmed. I enjoyed a short walk with Balt this evening, some time watching tv and chatting with the girls as well.