In case you haven't heard, my niece has arrived!
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Friday, March 25, 2011
Groceries and "twins"
Inspiration struck during the 10+ snow days this year and felt groceries were the result (as an upcoming baby/kid gift for an expecting friend). I was able to work on them a bit more this past week during spring break and so far the count is up to:
1 grocery bag
1 banana
1 yellow squash
1 donut
1 oreo-type cookie
3 strawberries
6 eggs
1 egg carton
1 potato
1 eggplant (not shown)
3 carrots
Also, Tiff and I had a bit of fun playing dress up before St. Patrick's day, but we were missing the real twin in TX.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Cabin fever
While the weather outside looked like this...
I was working on this...
All I did was take an old sweater, cut off the sleeves, sew a hat, crocheted a little flower and then attached it with a cast-off button. While its my first attempt, I think it turned out ok. (I won't show the first flower I tried to crochet, but at least the second one looks a little like a flower!) Granted this little hat won't fit any heads in our house, but next I plan on trying an adult sized one using the bottom hem of the sweater.
I was working on this...
All I did was take an old sweater, cut off the sleeves, sew a hat, crocheted a little flower and then attached it with a cast-off button. While its my first attempt, I think it turned out ok. (I won't show the first flower I tried to crochet, but at least the second one looks a little like a flower!) Granted this little hat won't fit any heads in our house, but next I plan on trying an adult sized one using the bottom hem of the sweater.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
The past six months or so
I've had four days off due to snow and ice, and perhaps more next week with the dumping of snow that's currently falling so I thought I'd finally take the time to update you about life the past couple of months. Its been packed with trips and changes, but its also been very normal as always. No winning lottery tickets (I guess we'd actually have to play for that to happen), no mysterious benefactors, and no surprise foreign vacations, instead its just the normal work, play, and the occasional trip out of town and that suits us just fine. Though if there are any readers who happen to win the lottery and believe they would like to become mysterious benefactors, please feel free to send me on a surprise foreign vacation!
In the meantime, here's a couple of highlights of the past six months.
1. We spent some time canning this summer, though my measly garden didn't produce much (the raspberries and rhubarb won't be coming back this spring). I did spend a lot of time canning with my in-laws as their garden is huge and my father-in-law gardens for our church also, so the vegetables are bountiful all summer long even if ours didn't grow too well. (We've since enlarged our garden and tilled in some lovely manure thanks to an uncle in town who has a lot of Amish customers. Our favorites this year were the end of summer salsa (made with carrots so it has a sweet flavor), amaretto-cherry jam, and a tomato basil sauce. We're already through the salsa and jam, but we still have a few sauces left for the rest of the year. I'm already planning our garden for next year and am looking through canning books. I'm thinking about trying to can some kidney beans and growing some peas (last year it didn't work so well).
2. In June, James and I joined his family on a trip out to South Dakota for the 90th birthday of his grandfather and grandmother. It was the last big family trip out to SD as his grandparents finally sold the farm and moved to Arizona full time. We had a nice time playing with younger cousins, visiting with aunts/uncles and older cousins, meeting people my mother-in-law knew growing up, playing Annie-I-Over and cards, and touring the town (which only took about 10 minutes as it only had five streets). We also stopped at the Wisconsin Dells and Madison on the way back home to visit some family and friends. We enjoyed a hike around the University of Wisconsin's arboretum, a tour of the capital building, and a tour of the war museum in Madison. James and his brothers went back out in August to get their grandfather's tractor (a Farmall 400), which was in our garage until recently. It finally has a permanent home at his uncle's farm.
3. Jobs have also changed in our family this year. Instead of teaching high school, I've been moved to a middle school in my corporation and now teach 8th grade social studies. Its been a bit of an adjustment and I can say that I honestly prefer the upper grades, but the transition has been mostly smooth and I've made it halfway through the year. Also, I have some added responsibility of being a mentor teacher this year to our guest teacher from Anshan, China. Its been extremely interesting to speak with her about the differences in teaching, education, society, and to some extent government between our two countries. Its been a huge adjustment to her, but she seems to be enjoying her stay and is planning to return to our school corporation next year. As for James, he finished his degree in December and was working part-time at an engineering firm, which offered him a full-time position at the beginning of the year. He seems to be enjoying his new position, and especially enjoys the lack of homework or studying in his current schedule though he is contemplating taking a professional licensing exam that he doesn't have to take but would enhance his resume and career.
4. For my job, I was scheduled to go on a trip to China again this year, but we didn't have enough student interest to warrant the number of chaperons the school was planning on taking (yours truly being one of them). I voluntarily postponed my return trip with the hopes of going next year, but was very surprised when I found out that I was scheduled for another student trip - to Washington D.C. over my birthday! I had only been to D.C. once before and enjoyed it immensely. This trip was very nice also though I can honestly say that if you're going to D.C. its better to tour without chaperoning 150+ students. I did get to see quite a few memorials that I hadn't seen before, but the schedule was so packed that it was hard to take everything in and keeping students interested in history/government for that long is a HUGE challenge.
5. The last big change for us has been a new addition to our household - Tipper has come to stay with us. For those of you who remember the large brown/black mutt that my parents had at their house (some of you better than others - sorry Melissa!), she came to stay in July and promptly became very ill. We thought she was feeling down due to homesickness and was just marking the yard with her frequent urination, but we had to rush her to the vet when we discovered her down on the back porch without enough strength to stand. It turns out that Tipper is diabetic, we were given two options - treatment or putting her down, so we've decided to keep her. During the past couple of months I've learned quite a bit about diabetes in dogs and surprisingly its very similar to diabetes in humans. I never though I'd be giving my dog shots of insulin every day, but she does well. If only we could now get her to kennel in the house without putting up a huge fight. Does anyone have any suggestions? Giving treats is out, but we've tried tons of positive reinforcement and assimilation to the kennel, but all to no avail. She's extremely stubborn and will only go into the kennel when she's ready. That's no problem unless we're ready for bed and need to kennel her for the night when its too cold for her to be outside in her garage kennel.
Other than that, not a whole lot has been happening in our neck of the woods. Please let us know how you're doing.
In the meantime, here's a couple of highlights of the past six months.
1. We spent some time canning this summer, though my measly garden didn't produce much (the raspberries and rhubarb won't be coming back this spring). I did spend a lot of time canning with my in-laws as their garden is huge and my father-in-law gardens for our church also, so the vegetables are bountiful all summer long even if ours didn't grow too well. (We've since enlarged our garden and tilled in some lovely manure thanks to an uncle in town who has a lot of Amish customers. Our favorites this year were the end of summer salsa (made with carrots so it has a sweet flavor), amaretto-cherry jam, and a tomato basil sauce. We're already through the salsa and jam, but we still have a few sauces left for the rest of the year. I'm already planning our garden for next year and am looking through canning books. I'm thinking about trying to can some kidney beans and growing some peas (last year it didn't work so well).
2. In June, James and I joined his family on a trip out to South Dakota for the 90th birthday of his grandfather and grandmother. It was the last big family trip out to SD as his grandparents finally sold the farm and moved to Arizona full time. We had a nice time playing with younger cousins, visiting with aunts/uncles and older cousins, meeting people my mother-in-law knew growing up, playing Annie-I-Over and cards, and touring the town (which only took about 10 minutes as it only had five streets). We also stopped at the Wisconsin Dells and Madison on the way back home to visit some family and friends. We enjoyed a hike around the University of Wisconsin's arboretum, a tour of the capital building, and a tour of the war museum in Madison. James and his brothers went back out in August to get their grandfather's tractor (a Farmall 400), which was in our garage until recently. It finally has a permanent home at his uncle's farm.
3. Jobs have also changed in our family this year. Instead of teaching high school, I've been moved to a middle school in my corporation and now teach 8th grade social studies. Its been a bit of an adjustment and I can say that I honestly prefer the upper grades, but the transition has been mostly smooth and I've made it halfway through the year. Also, I have some added responsibility of being a mentor teacher this year to our guest teacher from Anshan, China. Its been extremely interesting to speak with her about the differences in teaching, education, society, and to some extent government between our two countries. Its been a huge adjustment to her, but she seems to be enjoying her stay and is planning to return to our school corporation next year. As for James, he finished his degree in December and was working part-time at an engineering firm, which offered him a full-time position at the beginning of the year. He seems to be enjoying his new position, and especially enjoys the lack of homework or studying in his current schedule though he is contemplating taking a professional licensing exam that he doesn't have to take but would enhance his resume and career.
4. For my job, I was scheduled to go on a trip to China again this year, but we didn't have enough student interest to warrant the number of chaperons the school was planning on taking (yours truly being one of them). I voluntarily postponed my return trip with the hopes of going next year, but was very surprised when I found out that I was scheduled for another student trip - to Washington D.C. over my birthday! I had only been to D.C. once before and enjoyed it immensely. This trip was very nice also though I can honestly say that if you're going to D.C. its better to tour without chaperoning 150+ students. I did get to see quite a few memorials that I hadn't seen before, but the schedule was so packed that it was hard to take everything in and keeping students interested in history/government for that long is a HUGE challenge.
5. The last big change for us has been a new addition to our household - Tipper has come to stay with us. For those of you who remember the large brown/black mutt that my parents had at their house (some of you better than others - sorry Melissa!), she came to stay in July and promptly became very ill. We thought she was feeling down due to homesickness and was just marking the yard with her frequent urination, but we had to rush her to the vet when we discovered her down on the back porch without enough strength to stand. It turns out that Tipper is diabetic, we were given two options - treatment or putting her down, so we've decided to keep her. During the past couple of months I've learned quite a bit about diabetes in dogs and surprisingly its very similar to diabetes in humans. I never though I'd be giving my dog shots of insulin every day, but she does well. If only we could now get her to kennel in the house without putting up a huge fight. Does anyone have any suggestions? Giving treats is out, but we've tried tons of positive reinforcement and assimilation to the kennel, but all to no avail. She's extremely stubborn and will only go into the kennel when she's ready. That's no problem unless we're ready for bed and need to kennel her for the night when its too cold for her to be outside in her garage kennel.
Other than that, not a whole lot has been happening in our neck of the woods. Please let us know how you're doing.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
More pictures from China
Now that I've had a bit of vacation, I thought I should get back on task. I had promised a couple more photos from China and the last half of my trip, so here they are.
Teaching in China. We (Devon and myself) team "taught" about our school district, school, and student life during our last day in Anshan. It was mostly a Q&A session, but it was enjoyable interaction with the students from our sister school. Only myself and one other teacher "taught" while at the school due to time restraints, and I felt very fortunate to be chosen to share about what their students should expect when they come to JC.
Petting the turtle for luck outside the Jade Buddha on the fringes of 219 Park in Anshan.
On one of the peaks of Qianshan Mt.
After hiking Qianshan Mt. we ate at a wonderful restaurant that essentially functioned as a large greenhouse. There were even 5 or 6 peacocks roaming around also.
Signing agreements with our sister school. We had students from Anshan Angang Senior High School come to visit us in June and we're anticipating sending a group of students back to China in April 2011.
Teaching in China. We (Devon and myself) team "taught" about our school district, school, and student life during our last day in Anshan. It was mostly a Q&A session, but it was enjoyable interaction with the students from our sister school. Only myself and one other teacher "taught" while at the school due to time restraints, and I felt very fortunate to be chosen to share about what their students should expect when they come to JC.
Petting the turtle for luck outside the Jade Buddha on the fringes of 219 Park in Anshan.
On one of the peaks of Qianshan Mt.
After hiking Qianshan Mt. we ate at a wonderful restaurant that essentially functioned as a large greenhouse. There were even 5 or 6 peacocks roaming around also.
Signing agreements with our sister school. We had students from Anshan Angang Senior High School come to visit us in June and we're anticipating sending a group of students back to China in April 2011.
Our last dinner in Anshan. We experienced the most wonderful hospitality while in China and had such a great time. I already miss the people I met on the trip, and I hope that I'll be able to make it back in the future.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Better late than never
Its taken about a month to get back into the swing of things, but here are some pictures as promised.
Standing on the city wall of Xi'an on my first day in China, in the background is the central bell tower.
Strings of kites flown over Xi'an
Dumpling dinner entertainment, which was beautifully preformed.
Chiang-Kai-shek's residence at the Xi'an Hot Springs, where he was forced by his own men to join Mao Zedung to fight the Imperial Japanese during WWII.
Being welcomed to the village school.
Tiananmen Square
Unfortunately Blogger seems to be having a hard time loading more pictures. I'll try to post pictures from the second part of the trip a bit later.
Friday, April 23, 2010
"Back home again in Indiana..."
After a couple of weeks in China, I am back home and enjoying some warmer Indiana weather. To be honest with you, arriving back home was almost like waking up from a dream - a wonderful, wonderful dream. I had the best time meeting new people, seeing new sights, trying new food, and attempting to speak some phrases in Mandarin as well as learning a couple more. The worst part about the trip has been attempting to get back on the right schedule. Its currently 4:30 am and I've been up for over an hour after sleeping something like 15 hours yesterday. It'll probably take the weekend to get this right but I am enjoying being home, visiting with family, and unloading all the gifts I've purchased and received.
To give you a bit of an update on our trip (as blogger is apparently outlawed in China), we spent about four days in Xi'an and another two in Beijing playing tourists. We (six teachers/an administrator from my school corporation) biked the old Xi'an city wall, went to the local Mosque and Muslim Bazaar, visited Pangliu - a village and school that our tour guide is helping develop, enjoyed museum visits, the Terra Cotta warriors historic sight, the "peasant artists' gallery," ate dumplings and many other yummy dishes (I loved the peanut dishes!), the Forbidden City, Summer Place, Temple of Heaven, Great Wall, enjoyed Peking duck, and so much more! I'll try to update photos sometime soon.
However, the main purpose of our trip was to build a cross-cultural exchange between ourselves and Anshan Angang Senior High School in Anshan, China. We spent the second half of our trip reconnecting with teachers/administrators from this school who visited in February and working towards signing the agreements. We visited numerous schools in Anshan at the primary, middle, and high school levels and by the time we left had signed agreements to establish a further exchange program (accepting our first Chinese exchange students in June for two weeks - thank goodness for make up days!) and also establish a Confucius Institute classroom at our school. During this portion of our trip, I gave a couple of short team-taught lessons on our school and the differences between the two education systems.
The most rewarding part of the trip was conversing with the students about their lives, future plans, and answering their questions about the U.S. throughout this portion of the trip. The students were extremely inquisitive. We were asked about freedoms and democracy, how students in America balance work, play, and academics, opportunities in the U.S. - academically and otherwise, and the list goes on and on. It saddens me to think that my students, given the same opportunity, may not be as interested in asking Chinese teachers questions about life in China, the differences between the U.S. and China, etc. I'm hoping that when I get back to school on Monday that my stories will interest them and hopefully instill an interest in knowing more about China and the world.
On a side note, while in China I read an editorial in an English Chinese newspaper - perhaps China Daily. It was a response to a new story in California. Apparently a school has decided to stop teaching Chinese in their curriculum because it is not American enough for their students and have decided instead to focus on an "Americanization" curriculum. It was an extremely nativist policy, but one they felt would best serve their students. Interestingly the author said nothing in the article about whether the school was ending other foreign language programs (if they are offered or if they were also affected by this decision) and noted that the school seemed to forget that we live in a global world that is rapidly shrinking. What harm comes from learning another language and about another culture? Should we focus only inward and ignore our global neighbors? What will that gain for our students? I feel sorry for those students and hope that if they are still interested in learning about China (and other nations) that they are able to do so through another medium. One of my traveling companions picked up the paper, I'll try to get a copy of the editorial in the next couple of weeks in case anyone is interested.
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