I officially checked out of my room, turned in my grades, and completed district-directed professional development yesterday at 4 p.m. To celebrate, I went to Starbucks on that lovely, sunny, warm afternoon and then got my nails done. This time, I even got a design on my big toes just for the heck of it. Afterward, Justin and I went to Jalisco, a Mexican restaurant we like close to the theater. We ordered fajitas and enchiladas, but they charged us for two fajitas and one enchilada plate. After notifying them of the mistake, they just charged us for one entree! We walked several blocks to Intiman and went to Namaste Man, a monologue by a man who grew up in Nepal and a variety of other locations when growing up. He artfully and hilariously describes his experiences in international school and of his lack of belonging in Nepali culture and American culture.

Today is a room-temperature, yet cloudy, Saturday. We slept in (and I’ve been getting plenty of sleep lately!!) after leaving the bedroom windows open all night. I made raisin toast, eggs, and bacon for breakfast while we listened to This American Life. I worked in my garden; Justin went to Lowe’s. Today is laundry, de-clutter, vacuum, dishes, and all-around chores day. Tonight: a bridal shower (read: Mexican food and Wii games). Tomorrow, I anticipate reading and going to Ohana Project. Perhaps I shall even watch a movie (I’d love to go to Get Smart with Justin!). No grading or lesson planning awaits.

Monday (and for two weeks thereafter) I shall be attending a “Summer Institute for Biology Teaching” from 8:30-3:30 at the UW. I expect I will enjoy it, although I will be missing the home visit training and the AP Bio institute.

Well–it’s time to de-clutter. Hopefully I will blog again before two more months pass!

I worked in the garden on this glorious, 76-78F sunny day–a rare event in Seattle, especially for April. I got a mini-farmer’s burn from before I changed into a tank top. The gardening weather couldn’t have come at a more perfect time, as I had some basil, tomato, and eggplant started inside on March 1 that were ready for the outdoors. Before my outdoor adventures could begin, I had to stop by Lowe’s (where everyone else in the universe converged today) for some more garden soil to fill in my beds. They hadn’t had replenishment in 2 years and needed to be topped off.

Next came a miniature ethical crisis: should I tear out my 4 wild-and-crazy, huge, full-of-blossoms-yet-no-good-for florets broccoli plants? Normally, the answer would be “a thousand times, yes.” However, there were 4 or 5 happy pollinators enjoying the nectar of this cruciferous vegetable’s flowers. Who am I to discourage bees from my garden or to take away their food? Justin assured me that they would find sustenance elsewhere, so I ripped them out. I hope my little bee friends come back for my tomatoes, eggplants, basil, and other garden delights.

Some new developments in my garden include carrots (planted from seed outside today with the already-thriving Swiss chard), peppers transplanted outside (not doing great yet–we shall see), dahlias planted from seed near the rose bush, and alyssum planted outside near the rose bush. I also planted more peppers inside today, along with more mint and some new cantaloupe. I hope to plant mint outdoors in front of the house to serve as a space-filler with a nice scent to mask the smell of cat poop that lingers near the house. There are some cats (not Virgil–his evil cousins) that think our mulch (and my garden beds, if I didn’t have the netting) is their personal litter box.

I have decided to keep some basil indoors for kitchen use, and I’d like to use my chives and rosemary more than I do (which is hardly ever). I will likely keep some mint indoors as well. May thru July brings a new wave of planting, including hollyhocks, watermelon, squash, beans, aster, lupine, more alyssum, and who knows what else. As weather permits, I would like to use our fire pit/patio more and keep up my gardens, in general. I think what usually interrupts this process are our summer activities: when the garden usually needs the most tending and harvesting, we’re traveling or in our summer jobs/workshops.

More garden updates to come….in the meantime, does anyone know what veggie or fruit grows particularly well in Seattle or Seattle-like climates?

I got a voice mail from my dear friend Andrea. She was explaining that she and her husband were going to check out a neighborhood and its church this weekend, and she told me about Circle of Hope. This is, at first glance, what I hoped Seattle Metro Church could be. As I think about what we have done right and what could have been done better, I remember that we’re only human and that CoH started in 1996–when we were still in high school, worrying about Homecoming, SATs and band competitions. I would still like to be part of a community like this, and the closest I have found to this is Ohana Project. Justin and I have gone there sporadically since November or so (and regularly this last month). We have friends there, which helps, but I also enjoy the diversity of ages, races, and backgrounds, the fellowship, the authenticity, and the service-oriented nature of Ohana. I still hunger for more depth in theological/bible study, and I am not sure where to go or who to turn to for this. Here’s my ad that I will put out on Craigslist:

Teacher/Theologian wanted. Must be available at the whim of a 20-something’s desire to study the bible in-depth. Must be able to deal with her frustration, questions, and crazy schedule.

Here are the promised pics–now that my pedicure is not fresh anymore!

I have some pictures to post from our pedicure outing….they are coming soon. Remind me. I WILL forget. Unless you remind me.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

It’s almost 8, but I’m not ready for that yet. I have been working on the same thing all day–a lesson for AP biology–with lots of little distractions (an hour nap, working out, making lunch and breakfast, laundry). Our day started REALLY late (12:30, but really 11:30 to our bodies…). I always get in a bit of a funk on Sundays in anticipation of the next week, and it gets worse when I don’t leave the house all weekend or when I sleep in late (and nap). I feel like I am wasting time or wasting opportunities that the weekend somehow offers. I don’t feel great, so that is making all of this worse.

At least yesterday was productive and the house is (somewhat) clean. Just don’t look in the office. Heh.

Yesterday I started eggplant, mint, basil, tomato, and peppers in those little soil pods. I also turned my compost bin for the first time. I have about 3 inches of soil (yay!) and lots of maggots/fruit flies on top (boo!). I think I need to add more dry leaves or something to it to up the carbon level. Anyway, I can’t wait to get my little garden started again. I see a great Spring Break project coming up.

Time to finish this lesson and get started on something else…

Each day–the weather, the light, the feel of it–has a certain color and flavor associated with it for me. For example, today is cool and cloudy with no rain, so I might associate it with the color green and the vegetable broccoli. A day like today with more moisture I would probably call a watercress or lettuce day–bland and pale green. Seattle rarely has hot and steamy days (red and tomato) or hot and dry days (orange and rosemary /basil), but the days I do appreciate are warm and sunny (yellow and peaches/cherries) in late summer. I also like stormy days (eggplant/violet and dark grey), as well as exciting winter weather days (peppermint/frost white). I haven’t thought about this much, but I am sure other people may make these associations as well. Anyone? Bueller?

Tomorrow is our “official” start of midwinter break, since we would have had this weekend off anyway. So far, I have done a lot! Friday night, Justin and I stayed the night in Yelm to see Joanna, DJ, Rozlyn, Dad, and Uncle Craig. Saturday I did 4 loads of laundry and went to Film Night (The Mission) at the Drake’s. Today, I woke up to a beautiful sunrise and *GASP* an absolutely sunny day, and Justin and I went on a 6 mile hike only 20 miles from here. When we got back, I started some slow-cooker chicken and dumplings and booked our trip to Portland for next weekend. I got quite a deal: buy one get one Amtrak tickets and a hotel for just a smidgen over $100!

I have a ton to grade (the story of my life) and so much cleaning and organizing to do, but I’m just going to take it one step at a time.

Here’s my to do list:
Grade notebooks: Periods 1-3
Clean office
Clean closet
knit (did some last night–finish 2 projects?)
exercise at least 4 times (did once today–soccer game Thursday)
grade senior papers
file FAFSA (after Justin does taxes)
create lesson plans
finish grading AP tests
finish grading senior proposals
write a letter of recommendation
finish laundry

There’s more to do, but this is what it’s looking like so far.

I had a great weekend, and this week has started off magnificently. Here’s why:

1) I got to talk to Bethany today!
2) I am finished with my grades for all but 4 students.
3) My most wonderful husband surprised me with a MacBook Air today. I had no idea!!
4) My students worked very hard and were well-behaved for a Monday.
5) I made veggie enchiladas for dinner with Spanish Rice and refried beans…I won’t have to cook for a few days…

Tomorrow, I will have no free time from 7 a.m. until at least 9 p.m. I have 4 after school events that will keep me ridiculously busy, but one of those events gets me a free dinner and another will give me time to hang out with my lady friends for CS Lewis book group.

Short posts are better than no posts, right?

I am staying home pretty much all weekend because a) the weather is “supposed” to be bad–we don’t want to venture over the passes for a hike; b) it’s the end of the month and there’s no extra cash; and c) I have a new semester starting Tuesday and I am ridiculously behind on grading (even though it’s been my life lately).

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I am working on this online bible reading plan to get through the bible in a year. Somehow I like reading it online, and then I thought about getting it emailed to me. However, the site charges $9 a year for the emails, so I guess I need to find another site.

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I finished the Miranda July book, and now I am working on 3 books: Holly Springs, Surprised by Joy, and Omnivore’s Dilemma. I want to get more seriously into reading, hiking, and knitting after my grades are due. Right now those are on hold, like just about everything else (house cleaning, hanging out with friends, etc.).

I am concerned about how stressed I am about work, especially since my visit to the ER last weekend with chest pain and trouble breathing. I still have a dull ache all around my left chest area, but I don’t know what to think about it. I had bloodwork done, and EKG, and a chest xray, but they didn’t find anything (they were worried about clotting). They suggested anxiety and internal bruising from soccer. I don’t know what it is, but it’s still bothering me and I’m worried about playing soccer this Thursday.
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My grad school application is due this Friday. I’m pretty much finished; I just need to print out all of my materials and take in my immunization records and transcripts. I will feel much better about life when all of that is done (as well as my grades).
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Paul, the guy who has lived with us in our garage for the last two years, is in a coma in the hospital. It’s not looking promising that he will get out of it this time. Please keep him, as well as his family and friends in your prayers.

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So that’s the news from around here! I know–it’s all rainbows and butterflies, right? I really am happy–I just have a lot on my mind. That seems to happen as I get older. I want to focus more on the beautiful, positive aspects of life. It’s hard to walk the line between being Eeyore and Pollyanna.