Bigger and Better

(Somehow I accidentally posted a blank blog, sorry to those of you that follow this via email - you might be very confused right now!)

Anyway, it's been a wonderful weekend around here where we've been able to not only relax, but catch up on chores around the house and on the computer that I've been meaning to do for ages! If you've seen my activity on Facebook, you know I've been a very busy photo bee this morning! I've been meaning to blog about the Derby party, Easter, Jordan's outside show, and all kinds of other stuff, but I put it off way too long. So I'll just say here - it was all fun.

Now, on to bigger and better things - like FRANCE! We have all of our reservations booked and we are set and ready to go. We have a few days before we leave to get the house ready and pack our bags, then we'll be gone from June 11 - July 2. We have seven school days left and I am totally stoked about what lies ahead in the next few weeks. Big things, people. All kinds of big things going on around here!

How big? Well, next year's going to be important because...I've decided to get my National Board Certification! (I tricked some of you, didn't I?) Those of you outside the world of education have probably never heard of such a thing, so I'll just tell you - it's one year's worth of very hard work to get the title of "Nationally Certified Teacher" and earn Rank I on the pay scale. It's faster than another Master's Degree and a lot cheaper, but it's more like an idependent study where I'm in control of my own learning, reasearch, reflection and portfolio. Daunting, yet totally do-able if you ask me. Wish me luck!

As for the rest of this weekend - I went to Lexington TWICE. Once to say goodbye to my dear friend Meredith, who is leaving with her beautiful daughter and husband to live in Washington DC for a year while he joins the Air Force. We had a lovely dinner Thursday night and it finally hit me that she is leaving. I'm not happy about it. That's all I'll say before I burst into tears over it. Meredith - thanks for being my friend.

Chud and I went back to Lex today for a cookout at Laura and Pete's to say goodbye to their house on lovely C. Lane. On the drive home I realized that my last two trips were "goodbyes" and I don't like that one bit. So many things are changing all around us these days that it's hard to keep up! When we get back from France, three of our best friend-couples will be in new houses and that will be weird. At least all this change is for the better, right? Everyone is moving up and moving on to bigger and better things in their lives, which makes me happy. Still, all this change is a little bit sad.

Strawberries in the Jar

Spent some time on Jordan's back porch tonight, listening to him and his buddies play music: three guitars, two banjos, a mandolin, a fiddle, an upright bass, some spoons and lots of smiles! I came home tonight and wrote this in my journal so I thought I'd share it:

Guitar pickin' moonshine
Sittin' on the porch
Friends shakin' hands
Sharin' beers and hearts

Chicken burnin' on the grill
Family and friends eatin' late
Pass around the strawberry jar
And give it a good shake

Take turns playin'
singin'
harmonizin'
Lighting bugs passin'
through the music in the air

Pass around the strawberry jar
Somebody start a song
Voices melt into the night
Light fruity moonshine on our tongues

Beautiful Weather

Well, spring is here and we are definately enjoying this awesome weather. Last weekend we went to the air show before Thunder Over Louisville and sat in the sunshine with Mom and Jay. We sat outside for dinner with Jordan and Joanie then came home and crashed on the couch. Heaven.

This weekend Chud went to Chicago with Ben and I went to Lexington to hang out with Emily. We went to a benefit for the Explorium and had a late dinner at Cheapside with lots of friends (and a surly server, but that's neither here nor there). Then today I went to Em's yoga class, we met Laura, Pete and Meredith at the Co-op for lunch, we stopped by Judy and Rod's, went to the mall, and saw Emily and Ben's new house! What a great day to run around Lexington and visit with all the people I miss so much!

We're looking forward to many beautiful weekends in our new house. Next weekend is the Derby Party and if you're planning to come, I promise it'll be a blast! The weekend after that we're having my family down for a barbeque, the weekend after that we're putting in a new patio (hopefully). Then, just a couple weeks after that, we're off to France for three weeks! This is the time of year that flies by, so I hope I can slow down enough to enjoy it.

Back to the Blog!

Phew! I'm glad that's over. Six weeks without my blog was no big deal, but six weeks without other people's blogs was tough! I wish I could say I called more long-lost friends and reconnected with folks I haven't talked to in years, but who am I kidding? I am grateful to Laura for keeping me in the loop during her house hunting and selling ordeal, and thanks to Meredith for posting a welcome back video from your sweet little girl. I guess I didn't miss that much after all, but it does feel good to be back.

What have you been doing for fourty days, you ask? Well, here's my list:
1. I found out I get to teach fourth grade next year and I've decided that's exactly where I want to be anyway, so it all worked out in the end. (Sigh of relief)
2. We remodelled the bathroom over spring break and learned how to hang a light fixture.
3. I've been trying to go to the gym or work out at least 3 times a week, sometimes four. Chud has lost all kinds of weight and looks quite buff and toned...I have pimples from sweating too much and still look lumpy and gross - but I feel good and that's what matters right? (Right.)
4. We went to Keeneland and spent a lot of money while not winning any of it back.
5. We planted a tomato garden and an herb garden in the back yard.
6. I read "The Kite Runner" and LOVED it.
7. I read some other books not worth mentioning.
8. I made some super cute Easter cupcakes.
9. I watched the Biggest Loser and Dancing with the Stars while folding laundry instead of sitting under my laptop.
10. I watched the evening news and paid attention! (How about those pirates, people?)
11. I bought two plane tickets to France (June 11 - July 2: Three weeks of bliss!)
11. I spent time with my hubby or just with myself when he was busy. And it was wonderful.


That's about all I can remember, but I'm sure I'm forgetting something. Yesterday's Easter festivities were lengthy and far away, so all I did last night was log on to Facebook. I'm not so sure I like that place anymore. The only thing it's good for is sending a message to lots of people at once. Other than that, I've decided it's a pretty useless time-waster. As much as I love looking at other people's pictures of their cute kids, is it really worth the oodles of pictures of me in my eighth grade cheerleading outfit? The answer is an emphatic NO! Don't worry, I won't get rid of my account yet, but I won't be spending two hours a night there either. I guess in the end I can say that it my Lenten Promise had the desired effect. I have weened myself from the 2-3 hours a night staring at a computer screen and will be perfectly happy with checking blogs and writing posts 2-3 nights a week instead.

I hope everyone had a Happy Easter!

Cutting Back

Ever since Sunday, I've been trying to think of something meaningful to "give up" or do for Lent. Every year I try it and every year I fail, but this year I thought of something pretty good. Brace yourselves...I'm giving up Blogging!

On my way home from work I was going over my mental "to do" list of things around the house. Dinner, dishes, laundry, grading...Then I decided nah, I'll just check my blogs and play on Facebook. That's when it hit me like a ton of bricks - I've been spending at least an hour on-line every night! Sometimes I multi-task and grade papers or watch TV while blogging, but my computer is always on and always near my lap. It's time to stop.

The more I thought about it, the more excited I got. Now Chud and I may actually talk to each other at night. Now I may actually pick up the phone and call my friends instead of stalking their Facebook pages and blogs. Now I might get to do some of the things that have been waiting to get done forever - organizing the basement, painting the toe strip, etc. The possibilities are endless!

Yes, it will be hard. In fact, I predict that by Thursday evening I might be rocking back and forth while I crouch in a corner. But that's the biggest reason why I need to do this. I'm pretty addicted to the internet, so I need to learn to live without it. Therefore, after April 12th, I'll (hopefully) be able to use it in moderation. Just like everything else in life, right?

So, to the two or three people that follow my blog, I'll check my comments for the last time tomorrow night. As of Wednesday, you'll have to call me or email me if you want to know what's going on in my life. And if anything extraordinary happens to us, I'm going to dust off the old journal and write it with pencil and paper. Remarkable, I know. I also know that friendship is a two-way street, so expect some evening phone calls from yours truly!

Have a Happy Easter, everyone! See you on April 12th!

I Could NOT Believe This! (with update...)

Over the winter break, I read an amazing book called Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. It was about Greg Mortenson, a climber, who attempted to climb K2 in Pakistan. His expedition failed to reach the summit, and on his way down he got lost. He wandered into a Pakistani village, where the people nursed him back to health and essentially saved his life. He was shocked to discover that the kids in the village only had a teacher three days a week and they practiced their lessons outside, writing in the dirt, so he vowed to raise enough money to build them a school. The whole book is about his fundraising and struggles to build the Korphe school while starting the Central Asia Institute, a foundation that has since funded many more schools all over Pakistan and Afghanistan. They are battling "terrorism" where it starts: by providing a balanced, un-extremist education to boys and girls in that area.

Since reading the book, I've discovered that there is a "Young Reader's Edition" which is basically the same story with more pictures and more information about things kids are interested in...like personal stories of other kids! I read the first few chapters of this edition and decided that it would have to be my next read aloud. After all, if there's anything my students need right now, it's some perspective. Most of them have it pretty bad, but to learn about kids on the other side of the world who have NOTHING, except the hope and desire to learn...well, it should give a few of my students something to think about at least.

On Friday (four days ago!) I decided to write an email to the Central Asia Institute and tell them about the kids in my class. I told them how much I loved the book and how eye-opening I expect it to be for my students. I explained that I plan to read it aloud to my kids, but I would really like for each of them to have a copy of it so they can read along with me. I humbly asked for a class set of Three Cups of Tea, the Young Reader's Edition - I made Chud proofread the letter twice and I almost deleted it, but decided to send it anyway. It couldn't hurt, right?

WELL! Today (Tuesday!) I dropped my class off at their Art class and went to check my mailbox in the teacher's lounge. There were two boxes from Amazon.com with my name on them. Hmm...I didn't order anything from Amazon. I thought there may have been a mixup, but when I opened the first box I found SIX HARDBACK COPIES OF THREE CUPS OF TEA!!!!! I gasped - it literally took my breath away. Oh my God! Is this for real?? I ripped open the other box to find seven more copies, for a grand total of THIRTEEN books for my class! There was no one else in the teacher's lounge, but I just kept saying in a high, shrieky voice, "Oh my God! Oh my God, I can't believe this!!" I started to CRY - I was so excited. I ran the boxes upstairs to my room, emailed Chud, and called my Mom! I had to celebrate with somebody!

To think that a company who receives hundreds of thousands of emails at any given moment, would even READ my email, much less respond to it, was a miracle to me. I wonder who actually read it, and who placed the order to Amazon, and if the guy at Amazon who packed it up knew that it would be going to such a deserving class for FREE? The packaging label said that 7 books cost $88.56! I can't spend that kind of money! Isn't that amazing? There truly are some wonderful people in this world. I cannot WAIT to start this book with my kids and have some meaningful, powerful discussions. If nothing else, at least they'll learn that writing can make things happen!


And by the way, if you've never read the book, you really have no excuse after reading my story. I think every person I can get to read it is like a little "thank you" from me to Dr. Greg!





Update: A second box arrived today (Wednesday) with twelve books in it! I re-read my original email to CAI last night and I asked for a "class set of 20 books," but I now have a grand total of TWENTY FIVE books for my kids. I'm still in shock. How does a teacher even begin to thank an organization for such a life-changing gesture?

Artistic Satisfaction

I am not an artist, by any sense of the word. "Creative," perhaps, but only in the sense of words and writing, and even then, some may disagree. "Artistic" is a word I use to describe my brother, my cousin, and many of my friends. However, for the last few months, I've been on a quest to find good "art" to hang in my house. I've searched high and low for something I love. I went to Target, Bed Bath and Beyond, Kohls, even random art fairs in my area, but nothing jumped out at me and said "hang me over your couch!" Finally, after I was so exhausted by searching and so tired of bare walls, I decided to look at some of my own pictures from the last year or so. Turns out...I have some pretty good, "artistic" stuff!

As many of you know, I spent two weeks at the Dar al Islam Institute in New Mexico last summer. Not only did I learn some of the most valuable spiritual, emotional, and professional lessons of my life, I encountered some of the most beautiful scenery I've ever seen. I took loads of pictures on my morning and afternoon walks on campus, and the Dar al Islam mosque and madrassa are some of the most beautiful buildings I've ever seen. So, I chose my favorites and enlarged them. When I paired them with some Anniversary pictures, it turns out the colors matched almost perfectly and...voila! A beautifully deocrated wall with personal, meaningful pictures! (The frames are from Ikea, which was another Godsend as far as cheap decorations are concerned.)

When I was contemplating which pictures to hang up, I printed about thirty 4x6 photos from the last year. I laid them all out on the dining room table and asked Chud to help me pick out which pictures would go in which frames. I started lining up New Mexico pictures and found these three pics: one is a Catholic Church in Abiquiu, one is the White Cliffs, and one is the Dar al Islam Mosque. I liked them because their colors matched, but Chud liked them because the cliffs created a "divide" between the Christian and Islam faiths. Ooooh......deep! I was quite proud. Here they are on our wall - right next to the liquor cabinet.

I'm only halfway finished. I have a poster sized picture of a peacock from the Bahamas on order which should arrive this week. I also have three frames with more Bahamas and New Mexico pictures that will go on our shelves above the couch, as soon as Chud gets around to hanging them. Once all of these pictures are up, my next project is to work on the hallway, where I want pictures of family and friends to dominate the space. We'll see how it goes...but if you consider yourself "family" or "friend," you better start sending me your favorite pics of yourself now, because I'm hanging something in the next few weeks, and there's no telling what kind of pictures I have on file of you already!