Christmas Break!

Relief! Joy! And all other good feelings have been felt this past week and will be enjoyed for the next one also.

Its amazing how much you need a break sometimes. I have a tendency (like other unnamed family members) to "go, go, go" until I can't go any more. I'm even of the rare bread that hates taking a day off to relax or recuperate from an illness because "its just easier to be there." However, I've found that long breaks are needed at strategic times throughout the year. It can be a long weekend, a spring break, a winter holiday, or even two months during the summer, but without them I' m toast. This year I've even learned that just taking a "break" during the week and doing something out of the ordinary is one of the best things I can do for myself, my family, and friends. Its like a mini-break in the middle of life's chaos and each is a precious gift of restored sanity.

As excited as I am about breaks I've noticed that they tend to fill up quickly with lists of things to do: fix the bathroom ceiling and install a vent, sew window treatments for the house, clean the ENTIRE house, make baguettes and gingerbread, visit with every person I've ever met, mass mailings, etc. However, I don't mind these things because they are so out of the ordinary that even completing these holiday/break tasks seems like a break in-and-of itself. Variety is the spice of life and our current break has been full of spice!

We hope that your break (however long and needed) is relaxing, but also full of the spice of life. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Its time for one

So I was thinking that I hadn't posted in while and you were most likely thinking "Man, she must be crazy busy!" But that's just not the case. In truth, things have been relatively slow and the school year is continuing without too many surprises. So I thought it was finally time to post about my (mostly mundane) life.

House updates:

- We've purchased the tile for our bathroom/kitchen/back porch floors and are installing it next weekend.

- The final wallpaper in the stairwell is about to come down and we'll be selecting a color for the upstairs hallway soon.

- A compost bin has been constructed in the back and is now full of decomposing vegetation.

- The chimney mortar will hopefully be fixed within the next two weeks before a true cold snap occurs.

- Next year's garden will be staked out and tilled before the end of October.

School updates:

- Things are heating up with the union and I'm keeping busy with my secretarial position.

- The first cycle will be over in two weeks and most of my students are attempting to raise their dismal grades...but for some (most!) its too little to late.

- I've started developing my lesson plans for my trip to China and organizing for my long-term sub. in April.

Other than that, there's not a whole lot that's new. Hopefully we'll have more to post in the rest of October.

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First Week Back and some good news!

So its back to 5:30 a.m. wake up calls, grading papers into the night, dodging cars as pubescent drivers fly past, enforcing rules, and catching cheaters...oh the joys of school! My school corporation headed back into the swing of things this week, and while I feel unprepared I am once again implementing lessons to teach teenagers about the United States - their home. You'd think they'd be more interested to learn about our history - our triumphs and our mistakes, wins and loses, etc. But I was once again doused with a cold bit of reality: they don't care! Oh for shame! These are the leaders of tomorrow, but who cares about tomorrow when you can be texting your boyfriend in the class next door? Right?

Despite my apparent sarcasm, I am quite happy to be back at work. There's something about having a schedule and purpose that makes the days go by that much faster. While my students leave something to be desired thus far, I did get some good news. I was selected from a group of volunteers to go to China! Our corporation has partnered with a school in China and is starting an exchange program for educators. Last year we hosted a group of Chinese educators, and I will be part of the first delegation sent from our corporation in return during April 2010. I'm not quite sure of most of the particulars, but we have our first informative meeting next Thursday. I'll have to let you know more as the time approaches!

You'll have to wait

So instead of putting up a large amount of photos, I thought I would wait until many of you show up for a visit to reveal the current state of the house. But I do have a couple of stories to tell. During the past couple of weeks we have been focusing on making the house "livable" and "visitable." We have a large portion of the rooms painted (though the touch-ups remain) and the vast majority of items have been put away. I have been side-tracked lately with getting free mulch from the city and fixing up the outside of the house in preparation for the visit - I'm hoping that the first impression is a good one. However, we are finally done with fixing up the outside of the house and you won't believe the large amount of stones we found under the previous layer of mulch. I think I could put the local quarry out of business! Our other large project has been the full bath, which has given us many surprises! Just last night we had a bit of excitement when the cold water valve sprung a leak and water gushed forth soaking the ceiling, walls, and the subflooring. Of course this had to happen around 11:30 p.m., so it was a late night for us! The bathroom still needs new flooring and we need to put some things away, but other than that we should be in pretty good shape!

First time

Perhaps you remember the line from Forrest Gump when he explains how he met Jenny and he's talking about not remembering some things he did for the first time like his first outdoor picnic, etc., but does remember the first time he heard Jenny's voice. Well James and I will certainly the last month as it was our first time buying a house! We bought an old (1915) house in our hometown and have spent the past 2+ weeks fixing it up (to make it liveable) and will be spending the next couple of years continuing that process. We still have quite a few things to work on this summer, but at least there is new paint on the walls, the kitchen cabinets are almost finished, the carpets have been cleaned, and the overgrown bushes have been pulled out and the trees have been "tamed." However, we have MUCH to do yet this summer including the following...
- Finish putting away our belongings (this may take the remainder of the summer)
- Fix a couple of minor electrical issues/install ceiling fans upstairs (no central air)
- Finish removing wallpaper from the upstairs hall and extra bedroom
- Finish the bathroom renovation and have a cabinet/linen closet built for it
- Install new flooring in the kitchen/pantry/bathroom
- Clean up the flower garden areas, plant some perennials, prep next year's garden/compost areas
- Find/make and install window coverings for the main floor and part of the upstairs
- And the list goes on!

We're having fun and so far we haven't had too many major issues pop up. We can't wait to show off what we've accomplished thus far! We'll have pictures for the next post - perhaps some before and after!

Unusual last week events...

Its finally the last week of school, and I cannot wait for it to be over (then again, the students can't either!). I'm ready for a break from papers, tests, lectures, dealing with discipline issues, etc. This week is probably one of the most hectic of the whole year. We have seniors leaving a couple of days early, students who decide to leave with three days left and won't make up their last tests, and those who are in in-school suspension...and that's just the students. We have extra duties during this week, mounds of paperwork, final grading to do, textbook turn in, room tear down, and the list goes on! To add to this, we had a bomb threat at school on Monday. We had to evacuate the school at 2:30 and we were unable to re-enter the school until 5 p.m. It turns out that a local bank was being robbed and the threat was called in to divert the authorities. I was very impressed with how well the students (over all) handled the situation, which was my biggest concern during the ordeal. So hopefully the last couple of days will go smoothly, and we won't have any more threats called in this week.

Avoiding work

So I finally have a bit more time today to update you (my faithful few!) about what has been happening in our neck of the country...mainly because I'm avoiding a stack of grading on our coffee table. The past month has been an exciting and nerve-racking one. We've finally decided that we'd like to purchase a home and we're now exploring that option. We've already looked at a couple and found one we really like (a 1923 bungalow...in need of some TLC), but we'd like to look at a couple more just to make sure we're making a good choice. Then to the bank to see if we can afford it, and then finally/hopefully an offer. However, we are also trying to make sure we're not putting the cart before the horse as we're waiting to make sure James and I both have employment in the area for next year as James is looking for something new and my school system can RIF until May 1...so one more week of keeping those fingers crossed! Yet we have a bit of a conundrum as our lease is up at the end of June/beginning of July so we need to make a decision soon. So we're not rushing into things...but we've got to hurry up and decide soon!

Other than that we've been busy trying some new things:
1) making freezer jam (blackberry) - A little sweet, but good over all.

2) flying a box kite - After a crash landing in the first 5 min., we got it under control.

3) trying out the telescope - A nice view of a full moon a couple weeks ago.
So these activities have been keeping us rather busy in addition to school, house hunting, and worrying about next year's employment. Yet speaking about the aforementioned topics - specifically school, this past cycle has been great compared to the beginning of the year. It has certainly helped that my students are much more focused this time around, more willing to participate, and a bit (just a tinsey-bit) more dedicated to their grades...all of which makes a world of difference. In our current unit we're studying the Jazz Age next and the history of the woman's rights movement. This seems to be an era that they enjoy and it has a lot of relevance to today's society, which helps the students pay attention. We even play a couple of games (a version of "Battle of the Sexes" and a 1920s consumerism/great depression game) and hold discussions over them during this unit which tends to help also. However, I'm about to introduce a very short assignment over Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath...we'll have to see if I can keep their attention through that one! I'll have to let you know.

What we've been up to

April has been a busy month around our duplex. We've enjoyed a couple of Spring Breaks, given and taken tests, explored the idea of house hunting, hunted for jobs, celebrated numerous birthdays, and relaxed with family and friends. While we don't have a lot of specific items to share, we wanted you all to know we're still around and enjoying married life.

Hints of Spring in Indiana

Spring is in the air in the Midwest and little hints of it are everywhere. For instance, windows are open to catch the first warm(er) breeze, grills are being prepped for the season, wedding invitations are starting to arrive, and new growth is developing on plants. Another sign of spring (not shown in the above collage) is the blooming of high school "love." Lady Lust has hit the high school where I teach and countless amounts of germs are being spread like wildfire. Apparently there has been an epidemic of hickeys hitting the 14-18 year olds of the nation, and the marks are displayed with pride (a battle wounds of sorts since "love is a battlefield"). Ah - sweet germy pubescent romance! While I doubt hickey season is in the Farmer's Almanac, it's the only true indicator I know of that shows spring is just around the corner.

Meeting myself

I'm one of those people who is constantly learning new things about themselves. Sounds strange doesn't it? I mean, shouldn't I already know myself pretty well? But sometimes I surprise even myself. For instance, I've recently discovered that I love vegetable gardens with a passion and I can't wait to have one of my very own. I would like to learn the "art" of canning. I enjoy (and James would say, I am addicted to) home improvement shows and am fascinated with the prospect of one day buying an old bungalow to fix up. I would like to someday design and build a wooden boat. While I love classic rock, I've found that I also enjoy Cajun music. (I found this out after listening to an NPR broadcast of American Routes and their recording of Feufollet's "Femme l'a dit" and other various songs.) I enjoy making homemade bread and cooking from scratch.

Its surprising how much we "evolve" as we age and have new experiences. So I was wondering, what have you learned about yourself lately?

Annoyance or blessing?

Snow Days! At first a couple of days off here and there was wonderful. I had time to work on some projects that I had been running behind on, relax, and do some reading. But after missing seven days of school this year for inclement weather, its starting to get a little annoying. It would be nice to have a full week of classes without delays/cancellations due to extreme temperatures/snow/ice since we haven't had one since before Winter Break. It would help the students stay on a regular schedule and I would certainly stay more motivated rather than sleeping in, wearing lounging pants all day, and eating junk (not that eating junk isn't a regular occurrence, it just tends to happen in copious amounts when I'm not working).

However, on the bright side, Indiana is having a winter that reminds me of my elementary school days and some of the coldest days in the last two decades (-15 degrees one day). I remember playing in the snow on cancellation days. We used to build snow forts, snow men, and Tyler would ruin shrubbery with his acrobatic ability (which you should really ask him about). We finally had a decent dumping of snow for the first time in quite a while. Officially we had 12+", although I measured only 9"...perhaps I should have taken another measurement after shoveling out the drive. I took a couple of pictures to share. So if you didn't get to experience this last "dusting" you could at least see the results. Enjoy!

The snow fall: early on.

The measurement: Check out those numbers!
It snowed at least an additional inch at our place, perhaps more.

The results:
After an hour of clearing the snow, I finally could see a small sliver of drive way.

The means: the organic snow remover!
How "green!"

January 20th, 2009 - Inauguration Day

I am proud to be an American despite our troubles. I am proud of how far our country has come since its inception. I am proud that I was able to witness history in today's inauguration of President Obama. Yet I am mindful of the struggles ahead and the journey that is still to come. God Bless America.

Extended Christmas Break

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

It's coming to a close...Christmas break that is and I'm actually thrilled to have something to do besides watch tv, eat yummy treats, lounge around in my pjs all day, and just veg out. Am I nuts or what? However, we did have a wonderful Christmas break this year and it was a bit longer than normal as my school corporation had three snow/ice days prior to the official start of break. While that means horrible things for scheduling and ending the term, it also means I had a much needed rest and an opportunity to get ready for the festivities marathon. And a marathon it was!

We started out with James' family Christmas on the first weekend of break and finally finished that up on Christmas evening (sort of). We were able to spend time with his grandparents from SD and his younger brothers. We even got to ride in the not so eco-friendly truck that his brother purchased recently and see the new exercise facilities that will be opening in the area. After that it was a quick trip home, and then right back for my family's Christmas celebration. This year I was able to contribute something to family dinner (I guess you have t be a married person to do so...) and I brought a homemade wassail. It was extremely easy to make and tasted rather good after some slight adjustments to the recipe.

During this jaunt, we started out with the traditional Christmas Eve celebration at my grandparent's house (my dad's parents), then opening gifts on Christmas morning with my family, and to finish out the day Christmas lunch at my grandma's house (my mom's mom) and finally the quick stop at James' parents for stockings! It was quite the mid-break sprint but we even found time to goof around with family and participate in a very lively/animated Christmas exchange. I certainly wish I had video of Tyler trying out his new walking workout contraption. I think I could have submitted it to America's Funniest Home Videos or some other show and would have had a shot at winning.

After the Christmases were over (except for one more this evening), I had time to visit with my high school girlfriends at a post-Christmas brunch and to see a couple of extremely cute new additions to our group. I'm getting to the point that I'm starting to feel old as the majority of my friends are married and the conversations we had focused on babies, husbands, and jobs (and not in that wishful-someday manner either). I distinctly remember hearing my mom talk about these topics with her friends when I was younger and thinking "How boring!" Either way, it was great to catch up and catch my breath before the next adventure: our one year anniversary!

Towards the end of break we were able to get away from Indiana for a bit to head north to Boyne, MI to a little ski vacation to celebrate one year. I was really looking forward to this trip since we hadn't taken a vacation for a while and I hadn't skied in about ten years. Let's just say I was a bit rusty and am now extremely sore. However, it was worth it...even almost killing myself on a black diamond run known as "idiot's delight." Despite the bruises, we're considering turning this trip into a yearly tradition for our anniversary.

To finish out our vacation we spent time at my cousin Candice's house on New Year's Eve with Tyler and Lyndsi. While we didn't know a lot of the guests we had a great time and felt we rang the new year in right.

So while I'm hoping I'll have time to catch my breath this weekend, I'm not counting on it. However, on the drive home on New Year's Day, I did capture the following image. Seeing the first sunrise of the new year made me pause and wonder about all the new possibilities the year will bring.

I'm hoping it brings you and yours many wonderful blessings.