Today I had a long prep period and a long talk with a student who has run away from home.
Today we finished reading Othello in class, and the students acted out the last scene.
Today the sun came out for a while.

I presented “Multicultural Science Teaching Strategies” to science teachers around the district….and got paid for it!
I had a double Americano from Uptown Espresso.
I got my order of new products from Mary Kay, as well as my online order from Old Navy.

We walked in the rain to a nearby Pho noodle restaurant and shared tea and lemon wafer crackers while we waited for our food.
We ate take-out in front of the fireplace while watching the rest of Syriana.
We sloppily slurping our soup with noodles, beef brisket, lime, Thai basil, sprouts, jalapeno, and cilantro.

Lesley and I fawned over cute overload, looked at her jewelry creations, and inspected my new MK products–thoroughly girly things to do, I know.

Today was a satisfying day, and even though my house is kind of a mess and all of my papers aren’t graded, I will rest tonight and be happy that I am able to do all of these wonderful, beautiful, simple things*.

*caution: weasel words present!

Heck, I know this is Seattle, but COME ON ALREADY! We’ve gotten almost 2″ more rain this month than average for March, and there’s still a week left in which we are slated to receive more rain. I am antsy for some springtime sunshine–some dry weather in which to take walks, garden, bask, etc. Knowing the history of Seattle weather, I guess I will have to wait until July. And maybe I should start gathering animals two by two….

Dreams are so vivid to me–so much so that I might obsess over them all day, be mad at someone for something they did in my dream, or feel scared or uncomfortable based on something in my dream. For example, I dreamed the night before last that I had been shot near my hip, but that the Desdemona-like dress and corset I was wearing saved my life (too much of reading Othello, perhaps?). Sometimes I don’t remember my dream until something triggers it. Most of the time, my dreams aren’t pleasant, but it seems that all of the time, they are made up of some ridiculous elements, as so artistically portrayed in the movie, The Science of Sleep. It’s Saturday morning, and I’ve been up for a few hours, but I feel like my dream is going to be chasing me all day.

Mom,

Happy Birthday! Here’s to a happy, healthy, wonderful year! I hope your present gets to you on time. If not, know that I will call you today :).

Love,

Amy

So I didn’t mean to fall asleep for an hour and a half when I got home……
I didn’t mean to NOT grade papers this whole week…..
I didn’t mean to waste the hour and a half I had at school to grade papers….

Because of my poor time management choices, as well as my long nap and double espresso, I think I will be up late tonight. This is normal for a Thursday, so no problem there, but I really wish I were further along in the grading process. I have a HUGE stack of make-up grading to do. I hate being behind. I feel like once I get caught up in one area (lesson planning, exercising, calling parents, cleaning the house, gardening, reading, etc.), I get behind in another.

So, as it stands, I am using this blog post as another excuse to procrastinate. Here I go! I must grade, for incomplete grades must be submitted by tomorrow at 2:30. Huzzah!

I like fiddle music, as well as banjo, mandolin, dulcimer, and other bluegrass-folk style music. Last night, Justin and I went to “Fire on the Mountain,” a play/musical story about coal miners that was told through song, pictures, and dance. I was reminded how much I love fast fiddle music (a la Charlie Daniels, etc.), but it’s hard to get recommendations for the style that I like. Does anyone know where I could find some modern-style bluegrass music with great fiddling action?

You don’t immediately see the connection? Well, that’s because there is none.

I just wanted to say that scavenger hunts are cool. I did a few as a teenager and it’s a fun way for teenagers to work as a team toward a common goal. I did one as a birthday party when I turned 16. Driving was one MUST for a scavenger hunt–unless it was the annual FCA running-only scavenger hunt on the school grounds. I think we did a few as a youth group. At any rate, they were tons of fun and I wish adults had more reason for doing such a thing. Maybe it’s just a small-town thing. It’s also probably not as fun as an adult if you can BUY the items on your list and cheat through the game. Having more resources automatically makes the game less challenging. Have any of you gone on scavenger hunts as adults? Have your childhood or teenage scavenger hunts been fun?

To completely switch gears……plain, strained Greek Yogurt (FAGE brand, pronounced “fah-yeh”) is awesome. This isn’t a commercial, it’s just that good. It comes with honey on the side, so you can dip your spoon in the honey, and then into the (full-fat) plain, creamy, custardy yogurt goodness……mmmmm. Better than dessert. Might as well be with 12 grams of fat, but who cares–it has bacteria that help your digestive system. Ah, yeah.

That is all.

This week might be pretty awesome. I never thought I’d say that about WASL (our state test), but it is working out well. First of all, we have block classes, which makes for more meaningful lesson plans. Second, I get two hours each morning to work with seniors who elect to come in on any work they are missing, which means they are working in my room while I run errands, file papers, answer questions, or grade papers. Progress reports are coming out, which means kids are rather focused on getting work done. I have no after school meetings this week, and no evening events, save Friday’s date with Justin.

So….last night Justin and I got caught up on Lost, I made dinner, rode the exercise bike, and did no evening schoolwork. Today I left school by 3, worked in a coffee shop for a while, and came home. Tonight I hope to get some laundry done after making some dinner. I vow to grade papers, read NTPOG, and exercise again, as well as go to bed within 3 hours.

It’s nice to have some balance and sanity in life for once. This makes me wish that I was a part-time teacher again, except that I would rather have classes from 11-2 than have morning classes from 8-11. I don’t know if we could afford for me to be part time, but I might be a better teacher with 90 students vs. 165.

DSC_0031, uploaded by amybaeder.

This is one shot from Justin’s birthday party last weekend. We were under the impression that the birthday guy got a free treat, and the waitress even mentioned that when we paid the bill, but it actually cost us almost $7! At least the candle was a trick one–that’s almost worth $7 in entertainment value. Justin liked the chocolate peanut butter torte, so that’s all that matters, I guess. Visit the flickr page for more photos of that event.

DSC_0036, uploaded by amybaeder.

As soon as Justin drills holes in this, we will have a compost bin (finally). I haven’t really composted since a failed attempt at a balcony compost pile in 2002-2004, so I hope this goes well.