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.