In A New Direction...

Day 9: Your Beliefs (in great detail)

2011-10-31T22:30:00.002-04:00

I believe the government should have no regulation over anyone's personal behavior unless it is truly harming other people.

I believe in the free market.

I believe life is what you make it.

I believe in the value of hard work.

Crisis in Dairyland

2011-03-03T20:53:00.001-05:00

I have a love/hate relationship with Jon Stewart. This is one of those times where I love him.

The Daily Show - Crisis in Dairyland - Message for Teachers
Tags: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

Had a pretty good day. I got to start teaching my absolute favorite thing in the world (World War II) today. I told my kids about the Miracle at Dunkirk and the Battle of Britain and Vichy France, stuff most of them have never heard of and know nothing about. I love it. I kind of love the way I teach World War II also. They color in a map of the ETO and Pacific theaters step by step while I narrate what is going on. When there are important moments/battles/events I have them stop, write a #1/2/3 etc..., and then we add it to our key on another page. We didn't get as far as I wanted to today, but they were so engaged. And it really was just me lecturing with my awesome PPT and them coloring the map and taking notes.

Government was kind of awesome too 'cos we did more with the Supreme Court. I'm so proud of my government kids. Sure, they fail a lot of my quizzes, but those kids know what a writ of certiorari is and they know all the Supreme Court justices and who appointed them and who is more liberal and who is conservative. My favorite moment of the day was when one my seniors walked in the door with a white t-shirt that said in magic marker, I <3 Sam Alito. I guess she saw on the update on my class Facebook page that Alito was the only one who dissented in the Phelps vs. Snyder case. Gotta love strong-willed and opinionated teenagers.

I'm still at school, in case anyone is wondering. Practice was done by about 5:15, buw We wave a meeting tonight with parents about AP next year so I've been hanging out grading papers and trying to get my desk a little more organized. I just came in from watching the girls tennis scrimmage, about 7 of my current students, 4 former students, and 1 girl I haven't taught, but coached in cross-country are on the team so I thought I'd cheer them on.

I'm missing a new episode of Bones tonight and can't remember if I set my DVR....

Feel Good Friday

2011-02-25T15:02:00.007-05:00

I haven't done Feel Good Friday in a while, but I have a lot to be feel good about! For those that are new to the blog and don't know, Feel Good Friday is a great idea from Erika over at The Girl Next Door Grows Up. Every Friday you list five things that made you smile this week. This week I have LOTS to smile about, but sometimes it can be hard. That is the best part of Feel Good Friday to me! Looking for something to smile about, even those weeks where everything goes wrong and you don't even want to get out of bed. Thankfully, this was not one of those weeks. I have a ton of things to feel great about!

1) My niece, Claire, turned one month old this week! Claire was very tiny when she was born (5 lb and 12 oz) and while she is doing great, she is having some trouble gaining weight. I know we are all envious of her problems, but if you could keep her in your thoughts it would mean a lot! I want big plump baby cheeks to pinch when I go out to see her.

2) I'm going to the barn right after I finish this post to ride Trouble! It's a little windy, but that's certainly not going to stop me from going. It is the best way to end a week.

3) I have a date tonight! I'm doing dinner and a movie tonight with a guy I'm pretty excited about. I have high hopes for our date and hope you hear about him again in next week's Feel Good Friday.

4) I got to teach one of my favorite units this week in history, the rise of dictators after World War I. It definitely helps that the kids seem to love learning about it as much as I love teaching it.

5) This marking period is almost over, which means I only have 2 more marking periods until the end of school. I can't believe how fast this year is going!!

I Love Trouble

2011-02-23T21:45:00.003-05:00

This is Trouble!

What Teachers Make

2011-02-22T20:25:00.000-05:00

30 Great Details: A Moment (In Great Detail)

2011-02-06T12:17:00.010-05:00

This was October of 2001 and is the moment I decided I wanted to become a history major (and indirectly a history teacher). I was 18 years old and studying abroad in France for my first semester of college. My mother came out to visit me and she asked me if there was anything I wanted to do together with her. I'd already traveled to Paris and to the south of France and all around the Burgundy countryside, but there was one thing I wanted to see. I had seen pictures of Mont St. Michel and thought it would be neat. For those that don't know French geography, Dijon is on one side of the country and Mont St. Michel is on the other. My mother suggested if we were going to be on that side then maybe we should see Normandy. I didn't know anything about Normandy aside from it was the setting for the beginning of Saving Private Ryan. Despite making all As in my high school history classes, I didn't really have an understanding of what the context of that famous scene was. World War II, blah, blah, blah. I'm not proud to admit it, but I didn't really know much and didn't care.

My mom insisted we go, that it was something every American should see, so we went. First we stopped at a spectacular museum where we spent most of the morning. Then we traveled to Gold Beach, then Sword Beach where we saw a spectacular 360 video called The Price of Freedom, then we visited the American cemetery and lastly we journeyed down to Omaha Beach. I don't know how to describe what it was like being there. To stand there and look out into the water was so humbling. I didn't know much about the Normandy invasion, but thanks to Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg I knew those waves claimed a lot of lives. I didn't know 1/10th of what I know now - not who was involved or even the context of the invasions - but just thinking about standing there and looking into those waves makes me choke up.

Then when I looked back up the great expanse of beach, to the cliffs behind and the pillboxes still visible in the hillside...it was overwhelming. For a long time I just stood there and stared like I am in that first picture. All I could think about was how anybody could have possibly made it up that beach. We came at low tide and it was just this tremendous expanse of sand just to reach the seawall and then those cliffs...it seemed impossible. It was so awe inspiring and humbling and just completely overwhelming.

I had this weird realization that the people who arrived at that beach, whether they made it to the seawall or even stepped onto the sand are the people who made World War II. And I had this larger understanding that the history I'd studied all through high school - presidents, kings, emperors - wasn't really history at all. Stepping on that beach made me realize that history is made by normal people like the people who landed that beach. And when I left it I bought as many books as I could on the Normandy landings and read as much as possible. To risk sounding cliche, the moment above changed my life. I developed a love of history that took me through 4 years of college, into graduate school, and now into my own classroom where I share the story of being on that beach.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-02-02T21:03:00.002-05:00

30 Great Details: Your Best Friend

2011-01-28T22:09:00.009-05:00

The picture above was taken way with my best friend way back in 11th grade. Yes, the huge dork on the left is me. No, I did not dress in all black on a regular basis. I was in charge of the props for 4 years for all our high school musicals (sometimes I had to run onstage to bring them on and off thus I had to dress in all black). The prop in my hands is what my best friend, Kara, and I refer to as the "creepy Blair Witch candle thing". This was taken for our high school production of Brigadoon my junior year. Kara was obviously a candle salesman/creepy witch with neon hair. This is the oldest picture I think I have of the two of us. Mostly I love it because of how ridiculous we both look. It reminds me of how awkward I was in high school, but how my best friend was kind of awkward too so it was all good.

I'd love to say Kara and I have been best friends since we were little kids, but that wouldn't be true. We went to elementary school together, rode the same bus for years, she's in all my first Communion photos standing right behind me, she lived only a couple blocks away, but somehow we did not become friends until 9th grade. When we did we became pretty fast friends. We both were huge Mets fans and I could tell more than a few stories about trips to Shea Stadium to cheer on our favorite Norwegian first baseman, John Olerud. We didn't have the same taste in TV (she loved the X Files, I loved Buffy the Vampire Slayer) or music (she loved the Monkees and They Might Be Giants, I loved Bush and the Offspring), but that made no difference. She was the friend who I reserved the best page in my Yearbook for (and who would write 2 pages worth of inside jokes that STILL make me laugh to this day to read). She was the friend I'd "talk" to on the phone every day, even when talking just meant I played the piano over the phone and she listened to me mess up or zoning out and saying nothing while flipping through the channels. She was the friend whose house I ran to when my brother and my parents were fighting so badly I couldn't take it anymore. Whenever I laugh at how silly my high school students can be I always just think of Kara and laugh. We were such goofballs and had so many ridiculous inside jokes.

Sadly, most of my college years were "pre-Facebook" and we were both lousy about keeping in touch. We'd get together maybe once a year when I returned home to NY, but no more than that. I sadly knew very little about what was going on in her life - what she was majoring in, how college was, who she was dating (the man who would one day be her husband). I hate that it took a tragedy for us to reconnect, but only after her mom passed away did we really start talking again on a regular basis.

She is now the person I can call in Charlottesville and hang up with two hours later when I'm home in Lynchburg. She's the person who inspired me to get back into long-distance running and to take up blogging. She's the friend I can call just to vent to who I know will always listen and understand, even if she doesn't agree. She's the friend I want to call right after a really good first date. She's the friend I want to call right after a really awful one. She is who I call when I need someone to talk me down from contacting my ex. Looking back at that ridiculously embarrassing photo of the two of us as teenagers or one like this of the two of us at our Senior Prom makes me feel so old.

It's crazy to think about the fact that I was the maid of honor at her wedding and gave a toast (in which I managed to incorporate both the Monkees and John Olerud) or that the next time I see her I will be meeting her little boy. Despite how creepy I look in this last picture I love it. To me it sums up how goofy and crazy we both are. We attempted to learn the Thriller Dance so we could do it at her wedding. It didn't achieve quite the same success as when Jennifer Garner and Mark Ruffalo do it in 13 Going On 30, but we got quite a few people out of their seats! I know Kara will be there at my wedding (whenever that may be) and I can't wait to see where the next ten years of friendship take us.

30 Great Details: Your Day In Great Detail

2011-01-26T15:33:00.002-05:00

The snow is falling and I am sitting on my couch watching Sex and the City enjoying the joys of a 2 hour early dismissal and the prospect of a day off from school tomorrow. I thought I would jump on the blog and make a dent in my 30 Great Details. So here goes: Tuesday, January 25 in great detail.

I woke up around 5:30 thanks to my two feline roommates. My alarm is set for 6 AM, but I almost always wake up before that thanks to my two cats. I usually lie in bed for a while and roll out and officially start my day around 6:16. I don't shower in the morning 'cos if I did I'd have to get up even earlier. Plus, I usually work out after school and I don't like to shower twice a day. I turned on WSET to see if the weather forecast for the week had changed. I swear it has changed about five times in about two days - from rain to sleet to 1-3" to 3-5". I fed the miserables, picked out an outfit (which always takes me a while), ate a bowl of cereal, and walked down the three flights of stairs to my car. My forty-five minute commute was not too awful. I got caught behind a logging truck on the last 15 minutes of the drive, but as my school is located about 6 miles down the road from a Georgia-Pacific Plant that is a normal occurrence.

I arrived at school around 7:30 which leaves me about 45 minutes to prepare before my first class. As per usual, the copier was not working. The copier is probably the source of most of my frustrations at school. There is ONE copier for the entire high school and middle school. It breaks down and is out of commission at least two days a week. It jams at least once almost every time you visit it. The machine drives me bonkers. I did not know a thing about copy machines before I arrived at this school, but I am now! I actually met a new student teacher in the school while I was at the copier. It felt so funny to talk to her as the "2 year veteran" teacher. I know I'm only in my second year and am hardly a veteran, but it was amazing to look back at her and remember MY student teaching. I showed her how to work the copier like I remember someone showing me, told her tricks when you unjam it, gave her a lesson idea for her government class (she has the regular government class I taught last year). It was a neat moment.

My first three periods zoomed by. My 10th graders took a quiz and we finished up imperialism. I think I taught it this year much better than last year. All my kids from last year remember is that I showed them a picture of people being strapped to a cannon (the ill-fated results of the Sepoy Mutiny). I'm telling you kids and violence and horrible methods of execution...they love it. They all loved when I taught them about the guillotine during the French Revolution. It's ridiculous. Anyway, the next big unit is World War I, which I really love teaching.

I didn't pack a lunch so I headed to the cafeteria to buy my sad little cafeteria salad and a fruit cup for $2.50. Lettuce, carrots, cheese, broccoli, croutons and ranch dressing. It's nothing special, but I'm pretty impressed that the school even offers it. All you hear about is how unhealthy school lunches are, but the high school I went to certainly didn't offer salad every day. I ate Funions and SmartFood! Lunch with the girl on my floor flew by much too quickly. It was the usual teacher lounge stuff: we talked about the possibility of snow, complained about students, gossiped about what a certain student had done to get 10 days of out of school suspension. Alas, the bell rang and I had to get to my seniors.

It is the class I look forward to least and I'm not sure why. I think it's just 'cos it's after lunch and I wish lunch was longer (a lot like my kids). We actually had a pretty good class. They were learning about the War Powers Resolution and I split them up into groups. Each group read a different article about the Iraq War and the powers of Congress and the President to wage war. They did a REALLY good job! At the end of class I gave them a silly quiz I found online called "How Much Do You Know About the State of the Union?". It was a fun quiz and even I only got 4/7 right. They were so excited to see how they did. I honestly don't know if they've ever been that excited. Their homework was to NOT watch the State of the Union and instead to fill out the chart I gave them about what they thought he would talk about. (We watched it in class today and they checked off what they were right about).

I had my planning period next and I hopped in the car and drove 1 mile down the road to the local post office to finally mail the package of all JC's old stuff back to him. No more blankets, shirts, sweatshirts, or anything of his in my apart ment. Hooray! I graded my history class quizzes and looked at pictures of my new niece on Facebook and then got ready for my 6th period, which went just like 2 and 3. 7th period was my other government class and I was really impressed at how well they did also. The class was cut a bit short 'cos we were handing out report cards, which means kids report to their homeroom at the end of the day. School gets out at 2:40. Lately, I've been getting out of school pretty early - around 4:15-4:30 - but last night I had gate duty.

Gate duty is one of those responsibilities teachers have that people don't realize. Three times a year we have to sell tickets and work the gate at a sporting event. I always choose the boy's basketball games because I'm friends with the boy's basketball coach and I have a ton of boys on the team. That's not to say that I don't have a lot of girls on the girls team, but I just can't make myself watch girls basketball. I really only get to watch the last quarter, but still. I brought my computer so I could multitask and make my WWI PowerPoint for tomorrow while I sold tickets. Usually I just sit there for 4 hours and do nothing but eat nachos and play with my phone. I was pretty pleased with my ability to multitask. It also just felt so much more familiar. My gate duties last year were so new. I felt like such an outsider. Here I had someone sit down with me and ask how the track team was looking this year. The girl selling concessions behind the counter shouted out, "hey Ms. R, can I get you anything?" (I had her bring me a hot dog and a Dr. Pepper). Lots of my kids from last year came over and said hello and asked what we were learning. I told them I was putting together a PowerPoint on WWI and they were all excited to show me they still remembered stuff from last year like the Lusitania and Franz Ferdinand and who was in the Triple Entente. It was actually not a bad night! I usually hate gate duty nights and go home exhausted.

I came home and since I had done most of my planning at the game I could relax a bit. I called my high school pal who I haven't talked to in a while. She is such a good friend and ear to listen. She is the friend I tell stuff to that I don't tell anyone else. After I got off the phone I watched the State of the Union, showered, and then got a surprise phone call from a friend of mine out in Wyoming. I call him my "little brother" and I've known him since he was about 9 or 10. He's currently a sophomore in college, which is just crazy, but I can save that for another post. Anyway, his phone call was such a surprise and it was so nice catching up with him! He is so excited to have me back out at the ranch this summer. The last time I saw him was my sister's wedding almost 2 years ago and we had so much fun dancing all night! I am so proud of what a wonderful young man he has become. I spent a lot of time with him when I lived out at the ranch and even tutored him his junior year so I like to think I have a little something to do with that. It was a nice way to end the night, even though I stayed up a bit later than I planned on talking to him (2 hour time change and all).

And that was my day in - as the title asks for - excruciatingly great detail.

Four Things Monday

2011-01-17T12:51:00.006-05:00

I know I still need to finish my 30 Great Details and as slow as it is going I have every intention of finishing it; however, my pal Kara over at Kara's Marathon tagged me in this so here goes...

Four TV Shows I Watch:

- Bones

- Glee

- Parenthood

- How I Met Your Mother

Four Things I’m Passionate About:

- Teaching

- Running

- Sports of all kinds

- Horses

Four Words/Phrases I Use Too Much:

- "Ummmm..."

- I just realized I call my kids "folks" all the time

- "One time at the ranch...." (I talk about the ranch way too much)

- "But anyway..."

Four Things I’ve Learned From The Past:

- Coupons are awesome

- Having pictures of your boyfriend in every room is a huge mistake. Breakup 1 taught me that, breakup 2 was much easie

- Don't be afraid to open up the door just because you think someone is trying to sell you something or get you to come to their Church. Sometimes you get carolers!

- Life is way too short to live with regret

Four Things I’m Looking Forward To:

- Spending the summer at the ranch with my little niece or nephew!

- Spring break at Harry Potter land in T - 89 days!!

- The last four weeks of school after SOLs

- Meeting Kara and Matt's little boy!

Four Things I Love About Winter:

- Snow days, snow days, snow days!

- Brunswick stew!

- Curing up with fleece blankets

- Buying an inordinate amount of Swiss Miss hot cocoa and marshmallows and using all the mugs I never use 'cos I don't drink coffee

I just got thanked on the Golden Globes!

2011-01-16T23:33:00.006-05:00

Thank you Ian Brennan, co-creator of Glee, for thanking ME and my colleagues while accepting your Golden Globe award for Best Comedy Series.

In a sea of boring acceptance speeches and platitudes, Ian Brennan grabbed the microphone and said:

"I just want to say thank you to public school teachers. You don't get paid like it, but you're doing the most important work in America."

I just got the first season of Glee on DVD and I fell in love with the show because it is not just about a bunch of misfits who sing and dance. I fell in love with it because it is, to me, about a teacher who cares deeply about his job and helps his kids be great.

My Illustrious Return to Blogging

2011-01-12T18:08:00.002-05:00

Okay, I just wrote a massive return post that the internet ate thanks to stupid FB chat. Whenever I hit backspace while I have FB chat open it deletes whatever I am writing - whether it is on a message board or on my blog. Grrr.

Anyway, here is my massive post in brief. I'm going to try to get back into blogging, but it will probably continue to be very random.

I actually had a coherent and organized post written tonight, but I don't feel like rewriting it. So here it is in short!

1) Ritz crackers are frickin' amazing. I almost ate a whole sleeve of them.
2) Two hour delays at school actually end up being incredibly long days. Seeing your six classes all in a row - even if they are only for 25 minutes - makes for a very long day. Additionally, trying to teach anything in 25 minutes is REALLY hard!
3) I'm drinking an incredibly large glass of Chardonnay right now in preparation for the enormous stack of papers I have to grade.
4) I am loving the 4 day weekend that is coming up, but not the fact that it will be the last break we have until Spring Break in April...
5) There are 94 days until Spring Break aka Abigail goes to Harry Potter land and Disney World and acts like a 12 year old

Days When I Love Teaching

2010-11-30T17:09:00.004-05:00

* When I can have fun with my students and they pinkey swear me they will get their homework in tomorrow
* When they're actually mildly interested in learning about historical figures like Miguel Hidalgo and Simon Bolivar
* When 75 % of them turn in their homework
* When I have a clear plan of where the week will go
* When students say hello to me at the door without me prompting them first
* When almost everyone in my class got A's on this week's quiz
* When I forget about how far behind in my pacing guide I am
* When students share with me how much they liked the new Harry Potter movie (knowing I went to the midnight show)
* When I realize my honors government seniors are smarter than the average citizen and can recall which amendment provided for direct election of senators (17) and which one the Lame Duck amendment is (20) three months after we learned it back in September
* When I can come home and curl up with a glass of Merlot on a cold rainy day and not have to worry about grading 40 essays

Sadly the last one is not true today as I have a ton of papers to grade. The good news is all the other ones are!

Follow-up to "Someone You Should Know"

2010-11-14T12:43:00.004-05:00

Remember my "Someone You Should Know" entry a couple months ago (or my "First Love" entry)? Well, apparently I'm not the only one who thinks the world should know this young man. His local paper ran a story on him, which you can check out here.

I am so happy to see him smiling and looking towards the future. I hope it brings a smile to your face as well!

30 Great Details: Your Definition of Love

2010-11-11T19:06:00.008-05:00

So the first thing that popped into my head when I read the prompt was this:

That is my opinion of love! "Baby, don't hurt me!" My last two relationships have been enough to make me pretty skittish about the whole thing. Obviously there are a lot of different kinds of love - family love/platonic love/romantic love. The last is something I've only experienced in brief flashes. I thought I was in love when I started up this blog back in February, but it wasn't reciprocal. I was in love with someone who *thought*, or perhaps even wanted to be, in love. Of course, I didn't know that until he broke my heart not so many months ago, so if you'd asked me this question back in February I probably would have had a very different answer for you.

I'm going to cop out on this Great Detail and cede to my favorite quote on love by Paramahansa Yogananda: "To describe love is very difficult, for the same reason that words cannot fully describe the flavor of an orange. You have to taste the fruit to know its flavor. So with love."

Sadly, I think all I've ever really tasted has been artificial orange flavoring.

d

2010-11-11T19:06:00.001-05:00

Your Life in Great Details: What you ate today in great detail

2010-11-09T20:22:00.003-05:00

I expect lots of criticism after this post, but welcome to the life of a stressed out 2nd year teacher. I don't eat as much or as well as I should.

Breakfast = Carnation Breakfast Essential, which I drink in my travel mug on the way to work. I got this REALLY nice Longaberger travel mug from one of my 10th graders last year for Christmas. I felt really bad because I never used it 'cos I don't drink coffee. I like that I have found a use for it and having a travel mug with me in the car stupidly makes me feel somehow more professional.

Lunch = $2.50 cafeteria lunch. I NEVER bought lunch last year, but started to this year when A) I realized that I could get a pretty decent lunch every day of the week for $12.50. B) The kids really enjoy seeing you in the cafeteria! Former students say hello and the principal is always there with something to say (I got a week's worth of trash talking last month in the week preceding a school fundraiser 5k where we ran against each other). I usually just grab a salad from the lunch line. The salad is a pretty sad looking chef salad, but it's a lot better than any of the options ever offered to me when I was in high school. It's usually just iceberg lettuce and a carrot or two, a couple cucumbers, sometimes a piece of broccoli or cauliflower. Then there are little containers of ham, cheese, croutons, fake bacon bits, and some ranch dressing. That's what it was today. I also ate snacked on a bag of Fritos during my planning period. And two banana Laffy Taffys. I have been snacking on my reject Halloween candy for the past week, but I am glad to say today I just started handing it out to all my kids. I have no willpower and I would eat those Laffy Taffys all up. So I just started having "candy questions" by 6th period and any kid who answered a question right got candy. It's insane what those kids will do for candy!

Anyway, back to what I ate today. I drank 1 Nalgene of water while I was at school. I'm sipping one mini can of Mountain Dew as I write this (I'm sleepy and as I don't drink coffee it is my caffeine boost). I heated up some Brunswick Stew that I bought for a basketball team fundraiser last month. It's been sitting in my freezer for weeks so I heated some up today and ate it with a piece of cornbread.

As you can see, my diet on a daily basis has an awful lot to do with my job! Today was actually a much better day than most. I to run out the door without lunch more often than I'd like to admit and there are many days where I work right through my lunch break. Dinner is often a Lean Cuisine frozen dinner unfortunately and I definitely don't cook as much as I would like to, owing to the fact that I get home around 6-6:30 PM and just don't feel like cooking.

Here's to hoping the end of cross-country season means more free time to try out new meals.

Your Life in Great Details : Your Parents

2010-10-14T17:57:00.010-04:00

As I grow older I realize that I am a wonderful combination of the best aspects of both my mom and dad. It sounds incredibly cheezy to say, but everything I am today is because of my parents.

I'll start with my dad, who is is a much quieter, much more bookish kind of guy. From what I gather, he was not the most popular guy at school, in either high school or college, and didn't have any girlfriends until he met my mom. He is a bit of a homebody, who has lived almost all of his 62 years in the town he grew up in. Exceptions include his 4 years at college in Virginia, a brief stint with the Marine Corps in Parris Island and a few months in 2008-09 when he lived and worked in Chicago. He came from a more privileged background, but that is not to say that he had an easy childhood or did not work for the life he has provided my family with today. My mom always tells me the story about when my dad and all his friends at work got their first big bonus. All his friends went out and bought fancy sports cars or took exotic vacations. My dad invested it. All of it. Now that is not saying he does not like to indulge every once in a while, but I think my serious frugality is definitely something that I get from him.

My dad and I share the same enthusiasm for a lot of things. We are both history nuts who have been getting non-fiction books for every birthday and Christmas for the past ten years. We are the only two history buffs in the family and could talk for hours about Winston Churchill and our favorite historical figures. We are both sports fanatics with an unusual enthusiasm for sports mascots (although I should say that my two older brothers also share this trait). We refer to ourselves as "mascotologists" and could probably write a book together on the college mascots - the good, the bad, the most original, the most historically accurate, or regionally appropriate. Just this week my dad sent me an email titled "another Mascotology [with a capital 'M' of course] disaster" about the changing of Johnny Reb at Ole Miss to a Black Bear in the name of political correctness. This brings me to another thing my father and I have in common, which is politics. Much like our mutual love of history, we are probably the most two politically savvy in the family. We like to talk politics and he cuts out and sends me articles in the mail he thinks I might enjoy. We both like to sit in front of the TV on Sunday morning and watch Face the Nation and Meet the Press and then call each other and discuss what we thought about the guests and what was discussed. We're both also the two most athletically minded in the family. I am so proud that my dad at 62 still makes an effort to go to the gym every day and makes efforts to stretch out his back and keep himself fit. He does perfect push-ups I'm sure many of my most athletically-minded friends would even be envious of.

To those that don't know him well he is a pretty serious guy. Getting him to smile in a picture is an almost impossible task, which is ridiculous because he smiles all the time at home with his family. He really is an incredibly goofy guy with a very silly and random sense of humor (which is probably where I get it from). Most people outside of our immediate family do not get to see that silly side unfortunately. This is my favorite picture of my father ever, taken about eight years ago. I surprised him as he was walking in the door from work one winter evening.

If you notice it is pretty dark outside as my dad is arriving home from work, which brings me to my last point about my father. He is the most selfless and hard-working person I know. My father has worked his entire life to provide and provide for my brothers and sister and I with little regard for his own comfort or needs. Whenever someone compliments me on my work ethic and determination to complete a task I know that I owe so much of that to my dad and the example he set for me.

My mother is so different from my father that I often wish I could be a fly on the wall to see how exactly it was they got together. My mother grew up in the smallest of small-town Indiana. She came from a very modest background, including an early childhood before she was adopted by my grandparents that I know little about. All I know is that her life before my grandparents was not very pleasant and she did not have mich. I know there were many Christmases where the only gifts she had were from Toys for Tots, a charity that has always held a very special place in her heart and consequently in mine. She left home soon after college to be a "stewardess" and eventually found herself in the big city of New York where she would soon meet my dad. If my dad was shy, quiet, and bookish, my mom was the exact opposite. Her stories and her sibling's and friend's stories from high school, college, and the years after describe an outgoing and gregarious personality that I can easily still see in my mother today. While I would hardly consider myself a social butterfly, over the past 6-7 years or so I have started to recognize more of that part of my mother in myself. She is an unbelievably kind, generous, and outgoing woman. She's the kind of person who saw a man walking home from the train station last night in the pouring rain without an umbrella and pulled over to give him a ride home. When I'm standing in line at Kroger and I strike up a conversation with the woman in line behind me or the cashier who is ringing me up, I think to myself that it is something my mother would do. And that's something I am proud of. I'm not the kind of person who will go to a party where I know no one and make a million friends, but I make an effort to get know people. I genuinely think being my mother's daughter is part of what makes me the teacher that I am who genuinely cares about getting to know her students, who they are, and where they come from.

I am truly lucky and so proud to say my mother is also my best friend. We have our moments, but she is the first person I want to call when something huge happens in my life - good or bad. When I go home to NY for the holidays one of my favorite things to do is lay around in my pajamas with my mother and do crosswords and watch Animal Planet and HGTV. She is not the kind of mom that I share EVERYTHING with, but she is definitely a confidante and a person I turn to as much as I turn to my college pals. She doesn't always tell me what I want to hear, but she is unconditionally supportive of the decisions I make. She understands that if I mess up and fall I am perfectly capable of picking myself back up on my own, but she is still an important part of my life and a person I rely on a great deal to help dust myself back off again.

Wow, I did not anticipate this entry being quite this long! I guess it is just a testimony to how awesome my parents are. I am so grateful and proud to call them my parents and cannot imagine my life without them both.

Feel Good Friday

2010-10-01T18:46:00.004-04:00

Today's Five for Friday, courtesy of the Girl Next Door Grows Up!

1) I ran 7 1/2 miles! That is the most I have run in probably 4 years and I felt great. (The downside to this is I have been unable to follow-up this performance as I have a bad muscle strain and can't run until Monday).

2) I'm going to my first UVA football game of the year tomorrow! AND I'm meeting a boy at the tailgate that my coworker has set me up with (or his wife has). What better place to meet someone than at a tailgate with cold beer, food on the grill and football!

3) I booked my spring break vacation to Disney World and Harry Potter land! One of my old friends and I from high school decided it would be a fun to just kick back and be a kid for a few days.

4) I have raised almost $500 for Team Fisher House with only about 3 weeks to go until the big race. Donate, donate, donate!!!

5) I made it through the first 6 weeks of school without any meltdowns (on my part), calls to a parent, or all-nighters (which I had more than a few of last year). All in all this year is shaping up to be immensely better than my first year.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-09-29T19:14:00.000-04:00

Wordless Wednesday (one day late!)

2010-09-23T19:38:00.002-04:00

Your Life in Great Details: Your First Love

2010-09-19T16:50:00.013-04:00

I am fortunate enough to be able to say that the relationship I currently maintain with my first love is a friendship I am so happy to still have. If you have been reading my blog all summer, you have already met him so I don't need to go into great detail about what kind of a person he is. It's SGT D. I met him while he was a 19 year old newly promoted Specialist on his first tour to Iraq and I was a senior in college. I was participating in a wonderful program called Adopt A Platoon that allowed me to show my support for our military in a more explicit way than just slapping a magnet onto my car. I was sending monthly care packages and weekly letters to a soldier, who happened to be SGT D's best friend. To this day I'll never know how D actually got my email address and contact info from his buddy, but we started talking and over the course of his deployment became great friends. Our friendship resumed when he returned to the states, but it wasn't until he got news that he was going to deploy again (just a mere seven months after returning from his last 14 month tour) did I finally fly down to meet him face to face. We met, we had a great time, I left. Only when I returned to NY did both our mutual feelings for each other come back so back to Georgia I went to spend one last glorious weekend with him before he deployed for 15 more months.

There are a multitude of reasons why our relationship did not work out in the long term. Among the largest reason was the fact that we were very different people at very different places in our lives. We had an awesome friendship, but as a boyfriend I wanted him to be someone he was not. We were both young and very immature as far as our experiences with relationships went. We ended up breaking up just four months after he returned to the states. It was an ugly breakup. He was my first love and consequently my first heartbreak and neither of us handled it well. It was awful and I was in a lot of pain for a very long time. Fortunately, the old saying that time heals all wounds was true. Looking back now, we can both admit that we made mistakes. We both realize rushing into a relationship like we did three days before he deployed probably wasn't the greatest idea in the first place. We were great friends, but not the most compatible couple. We fought over everything from his tattoos to how he spent his money to what time he should call me every night. We both are who we are today because of our failed relationship though. I learned so much about myself in my relationship with him and he recently paid me one of the highest compliments he possibly could by telling me a lot of who he is today is because of me. There is still a great amount of love for him in my heart, but it is a different kind of love. He is a wonderful person, but he was just never *my* person. I am proud to call him my friend and proud that, no matter how many mistakes I made, there is no regret when I look back at our relationship. After all, how could you ever regret a moment like this?

Wordless Wednesday!

2010-09-15T19:46:00.002-04:00

I can't be completely wordless because I can't contain my excitement! My Fisher House t-shirt arrived today! It kind of hit home that I'm really going to be running this thing in a little over a month.

Why I Love Harry Potter

2010-09-12T13:39:00.009-04:00

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There are only 69 days left until the beginning of the end of Harry Potter series. I got a glimpse of this movie poster earlier this week and it made my stomach do somersaults! I am so excited to see how they play out this final chapter on screen, but I also now how bittersweet it is going to be to say goodbye to this wonderful story.

My introduction to Harry Potter came when I was 18 years old and living in Dijon, France with a family that just so happened to have an adorable 8 year old son. It was French brother, Etienne, who first exposed me to the wizarding world of Harry Potter. At 8 years old, Etienne was about the only person I could communicate with in the house and we got along quite well. I hadn't been living with his family for more than a month before he asked me one night after dinner if I would read some Harry Potter to him. I was not too comfortable with my French language skills, but I obliged the little guy mostly 'cos he was so gosh darn cute. He had clearly already read the book before 'cos he helped me pronounce words and names and seemed to really enjoy how I stumbled through it. I have to be honest, I had no idea what I was reading. I just read it to see my little French brother smile. That entire semester abroad I remember seeing Harry Potter merchandise everywhere. The city of Dijon was in full-out Harry Potter mode. I remember seeing action figures and lunch boxes and all kinds of merchandise covered with (what I did not know then to be) golden snitches. Then two weeks before I was scheduled to leave Dijon and return to the states, my family asked me if I wanted them to buy me tickets to see Harry Potter. Apparently the movie would be premiering two days before I left and you had to purchase tickets weeks in advance. I said yes. Once again, not because I was all that interested in the movie or the book that I did not understand, but because it seemed like a fun thing to do and my little French brother was bouncing off the walls with excitement about it.

I remember so vividly the excitement that night as we piled into the family car to drive to the big cinema in the center of the city. Even the older sister, at 16, seemed very excited. And oh the lines! The line wrapped all around the city block. There were French kids, teenagers, adults and families like mine all chattering with excitement. The movie was entirely in French and, even after four months living there, I could understand little. I do remember certain images from the film, but mostly I remember little Etienne who was so excited to see his favorite story come to life on screen he could hardly contain himself.

And that was my first experience with Harry Potter. I didn't know much about the plot lines or characters. I understood little aside from the excitement and enthusiasm it seemed to generate in people of all ages. I would not actually pick up a book to read myself until the summer of 2005 when I finally decided it was time to give them a try. I had, by that time, seen the first film in English and was mildly intrigued. Moments I remembered vaguely from the French theater - like Hagrid breaking down the door, the letters flooding Privet Drive and the ghastly 2 headed Professor Quirrell - suddenly made much more sense when watching it play on HBO in English. I asked for the books one Christmas one year and my parents got me the first four in a box set. That summer of 2005, I finally read all four and went out and bought the fifth book and had a Harry Potter marathon watching all the movies that had been released thus far. I was hooked.

My Harry Potter mania reached an all time high with the release of the 7th book. I ordered it early from the local bookstore and went to an all-night celebration that included peopled dressed in character (as many adults as children), games, food, drinks and a countdown at midnight that I proudly partook in. I never knew I could be so excited for a book and a fiction book at that. In case I haven't made it clear, I am a full-fledged history dork and read almost exclusively non-fiction. The one exception to that rule is the magnificent work of J.K Rowling. I wish I could put my finger on what it is about the books that I enjoy so much. All I know is I picked up the 7th book to reread it this past Friday and, just like back in the summer of 2007, I was unable to put it down. I tore through those pages so fiercely that I didn't go to sleep until 3 AM (and even then I was only able to lay in bed for 5 minutes before I flipped the light back on and read just one more chapter).

I just love these books and these characters so much and, for the life of me, I can't explain why. I don't know what it is about the books that gives them this exalted position on the very top of 5 shelves of military history books, narratives, and historical texts.
I've tried to put it into words before, but what I end up with is a long list of the themes that I think are present within the pages (love, loss, friendship, free will, sacrifice, duty, jealousy). But you don't love a story because of the themes, you love it because of the people! I love the characters Ms. Rowling created. They are terribly imperfect and sometimes I want to smack them, but I love them all the same. I love the world she created that I was able to immerse myself in this weekend. The first time I read book 7 I was so excited to finish I didn't even take a moment to let a lot of what happens in the pages sink in. This weekend I'll admit I shed some tears at Shell Cottage, I laughed out loud at the one liners that still manage to make their way into the most serious of times and I was smiling and giving a triumphant fist pump when the actual castle at Hogwarts, suits of armor, desks, and all, begins to fight back. I've never had a book that makes me turn the pages quite so quickly, that can quite literally have my heart racing for the last 200 pages. I know it sounds trite, but when I read these books I really do forget about the rest of the world. It's not something I have ever experienced with a book before. When I read Harry Potter I want to lose myself. I want feel like my little French brother again.

So I will line up with the masses on November 19 just like I did for the first film, back before I even understood what it was. I'm proud to be a part of this phenomenon. And I'm proud of the fact that I can't quite explain why I love it so much. The greatest loves, after all, can never be explained.

Feel Good Friday

2010-09-10T12:26:00.006-04:00

1. Jon got his new leg!! It has been a long road since June 24, but seeing that picture of him standing made me smile like no other.

2. My high school marching band, which is one of the most underfunded and underappreciated programs in this school, won a national essay contest. The grand prize? $40,000!!! This is to a band full of some of the most hardworking kids ever. They are not very big and don't even have uniforms. Through fundraising efforts they have managed to raise enough money for new uniforms, but they have marched the past two years in matching jeans and t-shirts. This is huge news for our tiny school and our exceptionally tiny band aI am so proud of my kids!

3. I ran 6 miles and felt pretty awesome! With 6 weeks to go until the 10 Miler it makes me feel like I am in pretty good shape.

4. I am officially registered for the 10 Miler and can now start raising money for Team Fisher House!

5. My sister had her second sonogram and my little niece/nephew looks healthy and strong! I can't wait to meet him/her (although not knowing the sex is driving me INSANE)!

Someone You Should Know

2010-09-08T17:34:00.017-04:00

So I’ve been wanting to write this blog post for a while, but I haven’t because I wanted to get permission from the person I was writing it about first. He’s been a bit busy the past several months, you see. You may actually have seen his picture online or in the paper. Since a photographer snapped this picture of him and his buddy being MEDEVACed and the Pentagon chose to publish it this summer, it seems to be popping up everywhere.
Here’s something you need to know about the young man on the right before you look at this picture and go feeling sorry for him. He loves what he does. Contrary to what seems to be the unfortunate opinion of our nation’s men and women in uniform, he didn’t join the Army because he was a criminal. He didn’t join ‘cos he had nothing else to do with his life. He didn’t join it as a last resort. He’s an exceptionally bright guy who can quote Rudyard Kipling and Kurt Vonnegut better than some literature professors, has one of the sharpest tongues you’ll ever encounter, and has remained a pretty accomplished drummer despite multiple tours overseas where all he had was a pair of drumsticks and a practice pad.

If I sound like I know him pretty well, it’s because I do. I’m posting this ‘cos I want you to know him too. On June 24th, while serving as a cavalry scout (19D) with the 10th Mountain Division in Afghanistan he stepped on a land mine rigged up to two 84 mm mortars. The blast sent him up in the air and when he came back down he was missing the bottom half of his left leg, most of the skin off his right, and had shrapnel all throughout his body. He was flown to Germany then to Walter Reed, which is where he spent the next few weeks. He is now at the Center for the Intrepid making huge strides (quite literally) every single day.

The reason I’m sharing this with you is not to make you feel bad for the guy. He certainly doesn’t want your pity. It’s to share with you his story ‘cos it’s the story of thousands of other servicemen and their families. Here’s a guy who served two 12-15 month tours to Sadr City and Ramadi (not exactly bastions of peace in Iraq for those who know) and who loved his job so much he reenlisted while in theater for four more years. Not only that, but he chose to reclass to another MOS (change his job for any non-military folks who might read this) to one that would put him about as “front line” as you can get in a war with no real front lines. Two crappy tours and only ten months at home in an almost four year span would send most guys running from the Army. He ran straight into it with a smile on his face. Not ‘cos he’s a daredevil and has a death wish, but ‘cos he loves what he does and he loves his brothers in uniform.

If you thought losing a leg on his third tour would slow him down or change his attitude you’re dead wrong. Since he got hit, he has been nothing but a beacon of positivity. Every time I’m tempted to go on Facebook and post an update about how miserable the heat is or complain about a traffic jam, I see yet another uplifting post he has left on his page, just like every other since the day he was hit. Saying he’s an inspiration is unbelievably cheezy and would probably make him mad (he’d insist it’s the guys over there and their families at home that are the real heroes), but it’s true. He makes me want to do something unbelievable with my life. ‘Cos guess what? You know what he'll say the hardest part of losing a leg is? It’s not the skin grafts or the surgeries or the rehab. The worst part is not being with his fellow scouts. More than anything, this sergeant just wants to be back with his Joes.

So America, meet SGT D. He is but one face in this war that I wish America saw more of and is someone I think you should know.

30 Great Details: Introduce Yourself

2010-09-06T10:24:00.018-04:00

So instead of grading and planning I am sitting on my computer about to embark on a 30 day blog journey. Well, considering my daily schedule and blogging routine it will probably take more than 30 days, but it is a great blog undertaking. Over the course of the next few months I will be blogging about myself in 30 great details. Today is just an introduction, but as you will see the theme is: your life in great detail. I got this wonderful idea from two of my blogging pals, Jenny and Abby. I think it is a wonderful idea and a great way for my blog friends, who might not know me so well, to get to know me better.

So my name is Abigail (as you all hopefully should know by now). Some of you might know me by a few other names. As described in the post below, my boys and most of my grad school friends call me "Babs". That nickname originated in a very silly way, but it has stuck over the years. I have mostly just been called Abigail my whole life. For 18 years I was never called anything else by my friends or family. In fact, my mother loves to tell the story of when she had a friend over to our house and introduced her to me. The woman immediately shortened my name and said "hello Abby!". Apparently, I put my hands on my hips (bear in mind I was 5 or 6 at the time) and said very matter-of-factly, "my name is Abigail!". In truth, I really don't mind being called 'Abby'. Lots of people, including many of my coworkers over the years, shorten my name to Abby. Some of my closest friends in college and family call me "Abs" and I have a friend out West who calls me "Gail Gail", but mostly I'm just Abigail. Hopefully three syllables is not that much of a pain to say.

I spent 18 year of my life in the same house in Long Island, New York. I grew up in the suburbs of one of the biggest cities in the world (we always just call it "the City"), but always longed for the country, wide open spaces and a slower pace of life. I'm not a city girl in any way, shape, or form. No matter where I go, I will proudly call myself a New Yorker though and will always be a New York Mets and New York Giants fan. Mets games with my family are some of the earliest memories I have and riding the train to Shea Stadium with my big brother and my best friend is one of the first things I was ever able to do on my own as a teenager. The Mets are a family tradition in my family as much as they are a sports team. And no matter how miserable they are, I will always be proud to be a Mets fan!My acceptance to college came a little funny and, due to the fact that my college overaccepts students every year, I actually spent my first semester living abroad and studying in Dijon, France with 14 other freshmen. French was my weakest and least favorite subject in high school so I was very resistant to going. I wanted the typical first year of college and summer orientation and shopping for your dorm room and meeting your roommate. Instead I got to fill out paperwork for a student visa and prepare myself for 4 months without skim milk. As reluctant as I was to go, I can say today that it was one of the most amazing things I have ever done. I loved the time I spent there and it is actually the reason I ended up majoring in history. While I was there I got to not only travel all over France, but also to Italy, Switzerland, and London. I have not been back to Europe since that time and I would love to go back some day. I absolutely love to travel! The weekend trip to Interlaken, Switzerland I took with my friends was one of the most impromptu and spectacular vacations I have ever taken!

From France I went on to the frozen north (aka central Maine) where I spent the next four years of college. I attended a very small school of only 2,000 students and while I don't love my alma mater the way lots of people do, I had a great time there. I had wonderful professors(many of whom I still keep in touch with), shared lots of fun times and made some of the best friends I could ask for. We recently went back for our 5 year reunion and I had such a fun time being back on campus and walking and living in the buildings that were my life for 4 years. Maine could be a bit bleak and I endured my fair share of 30 below zero days, but it was a beautiful place. One thing college did for me (and Maine in particular) was help me learn to appreciate little things, like grilled cheese Thursday in the dead of winter and how beautiful campus looks after an ice storm.
I graduated with my B.A in history, but didn't have a great idea of what I wanted to do. So I lived in The Most Wonderful Place on Earth, aka Wyoming, for the next 2 years. While working there I figured out I liked working with kids and I loved history enough to pursue a Masters degree in secondary social studies education. So in 2007 I packed up my car and drove from Wyoming to Virginia, which is where I have been for the past 3 years.

I spent two years in Charlottesville where I became much more attached to a graduate school than most people. The shift from a school of 2,000 to a state university was a huge change, but I loved my time there. I became a very proud Wahoo and in 2 years as a grad student there I never missed a home football game. My boys and I had some awesome times tailgating, traveling to away games and singing the Good Ol' Song whenever we could. Even though Virginia football was pretty miserable in the 2 years we were graduate students, we never let that dampen our spirits and always believed the next game would be better. Here we are about to do battle with USC. (For those interested the end result was USC 52 - Virginia 7 and, yes, we stayed until the very bitter end!)
I've lived by myself since graduating college in 2005 and, aside from my two feline roommates, I continue to live alone. I would be lying if I said I did not have days or nights where I got a bit lonely, but overall I enjoy being able to leave the dishes in the sink for a few days if I don't feel like doing them that night. I like being able to walk around my apartment in my underwear or be lazy and spend the day in my pajamas and order Chinese whenever I want.

That said, I had the most wonderful experience this summer living with my boyfriend for 7 weeks. I never imagined living with someone could be so much fun, but we had such a blast! Though we are no longer together, living together had nothing to do with that. In fact it was just the opposite(long distance) that split us up. I think it certainly helps that I am a huge sports fanatic and did not mind having ESPN on 24/7! My enthusiasm (read: fanatacism) for most sports really tends to scare off most boys. Speaking of boys, my love life is pretty short and sweet. I have had exactly two boyfriends in my entire life and both happened to be members of the United States Army. I have endured all the highs and lows that come with a military relationship, the constant separations and hurry up and wait mode, from deployments to homecoming and everything in between. The military is no longer a real part of my life anymore, but our military and their families will always hold a very special place in my heart.

Thus the reason I am running the Army Ten Miler this year as a part of Team Fisher House. I used to be a very serious runner and have renewed my training this month and rediscovered my love for running. I help coach both the track and cross-country teams and try to cultivate that same love for running in my kids.

That brings me to the last important piece of my introduction: I am a teacher. A high school history and government teacher to be specific. My primary motivation for teaching is my love of history. I was not a huge fan of history when I was in high school and did not develop an appreciation for the subject until I got to college. If I can help just one or two students realize the great stories that there amid all the facts and dates and names and terms they have to learn in high school then I would consider myself successful as a teacher. The other reason I chose to pursue teaching is because I discovered while working out West (and my first year teaching only proved even more) that I enjoy working with teenagers. Yes, they can be a huge pain in the butt most days. They can be self-righteous and annoying. They can be lazy and stubborn and oh so wonderfully awkward. But they make every day different and for that I am grateful. I love my job (even on those days when I say I hate it) because it is never ever the same.

I'm sure there is much more about myself that I am leaving out, but that's what the next 30 posts are for!

Me and My Boys and My Football

2010-09-05T19:51:00.004-04:00

Computer problems have forced me off the blog this past week. I had a picture for my Wordless Wednesday and my Five for Friday all ready to go, but I had to send my HP into the shop (thankfully it is covered under warranty and won't cost a dime). My temporary replacement is a bit slower and has been not so functional with allowing me to upload pictures or even get on the internet at times. Tonight I can get on, but I can not get into my fantasy football draft.

Yes, my name is Abigail and I am a fantasy football player. I have been for three years running now. Sadly because of my computer issues, for the first time in three years I have to sit back and let the computer pick out my fantasy football team for me. I am the only girl holding it down in a league full of eleven other boys so I really pride myself on drafting a good team and putting up a good fight (my team name is Title IX after all). They all call me "Babs" and have lots of fun ribbing me just 'cos I'm a female in an all boys league, but they know I'm a good sports fan and a consistently competitive member of the league. Fantasy baseball is another story, but I can hold it down alright in football.

For the past few years my enthusiasm for football and most other sports has led to many occasions where I look around and find I am the only girl surrounded by boys. It started my first day of grad school when, so excited to be at a Division I school, I excitedly asked if anyone was going to that Saturday's home football opener. There weren't many enthusiastic responses (the University of Virginia isn't exactly a football powerhouse), but there was one other grad student who said he wouldn't miss it. I am a sports fanatic and even though I have many friendships with people who couldn't tell you the difference between a free throw and a free kick, I gravitate towards people who love athletic competition as much as I do. Thus began my friendship with a fellow sports fanatic, who has also ended up being one of the most fun and loyal friends I could ask for. He was not frightened by my enthusiasm (I am crazier about football than most boys) and through him I found myself a wonderful circle of friends.

Throughout our grad school years we went to countless happy hours and trivia nights, traveled to away games and tailgated for hours at home games, we painted our faces and we stormed the field, we played wiffle ball in the spring and midnight football games when central Virginia got snow. If I tried to list all the awesome times we shared I would probably be here forever. Oh yeah, they all pretty much all happened to be boys. The story of my grad school years (and so far my years teaching and coaching) has been the story of "me and my boys".

I look forward to the annual fantasy football draft because even though we are spread out across the state of Virginia (and the country), for a few hours we all get to exchange barbs and talk like we're all together again watching away games at Wild Wings over a pitcher of beer. So let's hope the computer does an okay job drafting my team. I need to do more than just talk the talk when it is me and my boys!

I Love Running!

2010-08-29T20:00:00.003-04:00

I'm back baby! 23 miles this week, including two very intense hill workouts on Tuesday and Friday! (Note: you may have to scroll back to see my workouts from last week as I didn't realize this updated. I must find a way to get this on my blog permanently!

Happy New Year!!

2010-08-28T19:32:00.003-04:00

I had every intention of writing this blog post last Sunday, but life got in the way and I never quite had the time to sit down long enough to write. But here I am relaxing in my apartment on Saturday night thinking about how much I love the start of the school year. The more I think about it the more I think the new year should really be in September.

Even if you are not in school anymore just think about what the start of the school year used to mean. There was so much hope and so much promise. You got new clothes, maybe a new haircut, you got new books, new notebooks, planners. You had all these great ideas to get organized and improve your grades and join all these teams and get in shape. You have all these ambitions and awesome plans and dreams. The weather is awesome. You want to be outside in early fall. It's not like in the middle of January when it's cold and there's snow on the ground and you just want to sit on the couch in your PJ's all day. But that's not how it is at the start of the new school year! In the fall optimism runs high and there isn't anything that is out of your reach.

So enjoy that new fall wardrobe, fill up your new planner with dates, mark that Turkey Trot on your calendar, enjoy all the awesome summer produce, play outside and keep your dreams alive that your team will win the Super Bowl. 'Cos the fall is all about hope!

Happy New Year!

Five for Friday

2010-08-27T18:45:00.004-04:00

1) I didn't have to send anyone to the office in the first week of school. :O)

2) I ran 6 miles.

3) My fish is still alive! I got a fish for my classroom and am happy to report after 2 weeks Napoleon is still kicking (even after all my students harassing him).

4) I had dinner at the restaurant across the street and they returned my favorite sweater, which I left there over 2 months ago. I thought I had lost it forever!

5) I have become the official 'unofficial assistance coach' of the cross-country team and managed to recruit two kids to our tiny team this week, which gives us a top 7 for the first time in 10 years.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-08-25T19:23:00.004-04:00

I'm not dead! School has just started up and taken over my life. Things are great so far, but then again it is only Wednesday of the first week. This is a picture for my wordless Wednesday of my commute home from work this afternoon. (Yeah, I know. I failed at being wordless.)

Endorphin Highs Rock!

2010-08-19T21:53:00.003-04:00

So this marked the official start of my training plan for the Army Ten Miler. The past couple weeks have mostly just been about getting back into a routine and used to running distances longer than a mile. Most of my runs average 2 1/2 miles until this week and I was using the Jeff Galloway method of running for 8 minutes or so and walking for 1 to get through it. They were easy slow runs and it was more just about getting me back into a routine then anything else. Since I have gotten back to Virginia I have upped my mileage and eliminated walk breaks and I am feeling great!!

I'm also an unofficial assistant coach on the high school cross country team so I have been running with the girls on the team on the trails and that has been awesome. The high school has some great trails behind it that will be a nice change from running on the road. I think tomorrow we will probably be doing some track work, which will be a nice change. Today I knocked out 3 1/2 very hilly miles. I did not have a watch on me so I wasn't able to clock it, but I was running without music for the third straight day and I love it. I used to rely so much on music to get me up a hill or through the next mile. I love being able to get through that on my own. Today's run was by no means easy. The town I live in is called "the Hill City" or "the City of 7 Hills" after all so I guess I shouldn't have expected it to be flat. Some of the hills were pretty intense and though I know I wasn't moving very fast at times, I definitely did not stop once. I powered through the hill at the end and felt VERY strong finishing, which is how I always like to finish.

I was on such an endorphin high when I got back! I forgot how much I absolutely LOVE to run! Seriously, if running were a drug...it would be illegal. I'm definitely back and feeling better than ever. Looking forward to a Happy Hour tomorrow with my teacher pals to celebrate the end of the work week and the start of the school year. Yes, that's right, I said celebrate the start of the school year. That's what running does to me!!

Freaks and Geeks

2010-08-10T15:01:00.006-04:00

Has anyone ever heard of this show? I was looking through my family's DVD collection for something funny to watch, not too serious and definitely lacking in romance. I saw this and knew it was perfect. The show is set at a Michigan high school in the 1980's and aired for only one season on NBC back when I was in high school. It is the truest depiction of high school on TV and actually has actors who look their age and look like people I went to high school with. It's like the Wonder Years only less cheezy and much funnier. Nobody finds their one true love in it, there are no passionate declarations of love or conversations that sound like they're from a college textbook. There are some awkward dates and breakups that are painful to watch, but this is not a show about finding your true love in the 10th grade (though I know it does happen for some people). It's a show about the awkwardness and insecurity of high school and not knowing where you belong or what you want or who your friends are. It makes me so angry that this show didn't even make it through the first season. It was such a realist show with such real characters. Not to mention it was a Judd Apatow creation with awesome actors like James Franco, Jason Segel and Seth Rogen. It definitely goes on my top 5 favorite TV shows of all time. I wonder if my family will even notice if I take them with me down to Virginia...

Maybe we got lost somewhere...

2010-08-09T14:48:00.008-04:00

I found myself among the ranks of the heartbroken last night as I left California for New York. I knew it was coming. In my heart, I knew this Rob Thomas song that I kept hearing all summer would be our anthem. Too many of the lyrics just rang too true. Somewhere along the line we got lost.

He is too rational a thinker to get caught up in a romance based around phone calls, emails, and a week here or a week there. Things have to make sense for him. I was really hoping that I would make sense in his life and I really think I did for a while. We got caught up in a romance that took us both by surprise at a time when we both really needed each other. For the first half of our relationship he ignored the rational part of his brain and we both just got way so wrapped up in each other. I'm not the kind of person that plans their wedding when they don't even have a boyfriend or names their unborn children, but he brought all that craziness out in me. He was figuring out which furniture of ours we would use when we moved in together and including me in choosing his next duty station. We were at a point, after only a few short months, that we were planning our futures around each other when we should have just been enjoying the time together. He realized way before I did that we were moving way too fast. The logical part of his brain caught up with him eventually. He didn't say anything and when he finally did, he didn't know how to go back to where we were before.

It was a very teary goodbye on both parts and definitely not something I'll be able to shake for a while. He is not a man to wear his heart on his sleeve so seeing him cry really shook me up. All he could keep saying as he hugged me was "you're going to be fine". I have no doubt that I will be. I know I have great friends and family who will support me and I will land on my feet and be okay in the end. I'll just miss him more than I can say. I loved sharing my life with him. For 1 1/2 years he was my confidante and best friend. And now just like that, he's not there. It's horrible how breakups work like that. He wants to still be a part of my life and hear that I got in alright and made it to Virginia and that I havegood students in my classes. I'm not built like that though. Maybe down the road a friendship will make sense with him, but I don't see it happening anytime soon. I will miss him with all my heart, but I need to do what's best for me. So here starts Day 1 of JC detox. Wish me luck on the last endeavor I ever wished to embark on...

Feel Good Friday

2010-08-06T11:45:00.004-04:00

1. I went running this week and it felt awesome! I'm very slow, but feeling better each time I go out and I hit the hill at the end of the run hard. Hitting the hill hard always helps me end the run feeling awesome about the effort I put in. Ten Miler, here I come! Speaking of...

2. I got my bib for the Ten Miler! I was starting to get frustrated with my inability to secure one, but am so happy I got it all sorted out. The circumstances of the woman I am getting it from makes it all that much more special.

3. I'm going sailing tomorrow! One of JC's classmates in the Navy is taking us out tomorrow afternoon. I have never been sailing before and have really never been a big fan of the ocean (Shark Week hasn't helped much with that), but I am so excited to go.

4. My mom and sister are having an awesome time together painting the nursery out in Wyoming. They have always had a bit of a strained relationship and had a big blow-out this June that I helped mediate the hard way (i.e having them scream at me so they wouldn't scream at each other) so it makes me so happy to know they're out there spending and enjoying this time together.

5. JC and I cooked dinner together three times this week and had a blast doing it! Neither of us are very good and we weren't too adventurous, but we have fun. I'm looking forward to grilling out some steaks tonight for my farewell dinner and hope the weather cooperates.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-08-04T14:44:00.002-04:00

My last Wordless Wednesday from California.

Good News, Bad News

2010-08-03T15:52:00.006-04:00

I got good news and bad news today. I guess I will start with the bad news since that is what is weighing on my mind most. I found out from my mom that my 62 year old father is in the hospital. My first thought - and I found out my sister's as well - was "heart attack". My dad works on Wall Street and is probably the most stressed out, negative person I know (which is probably where I get it from). He should have retired 2 years ago, but obviously that is not the case, and he has just been miserable and constantly worried about his job these past several years.

I'm glad to report that he did not have a heart attack, but what he did suffer was a a cat bite. Yes, you read that right, a cat bite. A cat that my family took in three years ago escaped the other day and ran under the deck. My dad tried to pull him out and he bit him on the hand and gave him a nasty puncture wound that has gotten infected pretty badly. Apparently, cat bites are reallydangerous because they can be so deep. So word to the wise, beware of cat bites! What makes the story so strange is that this cat was the most docile, gentle thing ever. Elvis was an enormous cat, but he seriously wouldn't ever hurt a fly. My 8 1/2 pound ginger kitty chased him all around the house and he never once lifted a paw at him. I'm not sure what my family is going to do with Elvis. My mom has already said she's looked into a few no-kill shelters where she can surrender him. I'm not sure what my dad wants. He used to love Elvis, but I can't imagine he's too happy with him now after 4 days in the hospital. I called him this morning and he sounds pretty miserable. Apparently they don't get ESPN2 or the financial network on TV, which he is irate about. I hope the stronger antibiotics work and he is out of there soon! I hate thinking of my dad lying in the hospital.

The much happier news, which I was happy to share with my dad since he sounded so down, is that I finally got a bib/registration for the Ten Miler! I'm getting it from a milspouse down at Fort Hood, whose husband was MEDEVACed to the military hospital in San Antonio back in 2008. So when she found out that I wanted to run for Fisher House she jumped right on it. (Her husband is fine now, just set to deploy soon thus the selling of the registration). I'm SUPER excited to have this become official and cannot wait to officially join Team Fisher House, start raising money and increasing my mileage at the end of the month. Today is a strength training day so I think I'm going to bust out my EA Active and attempt to work with the resistance band a little. The boy has free weights, but they are a bit much for me as I'm just getting back into things. I'm thinking I might walk to the beach later since the sun is starting to come out. Really anything to avoid packing and facing the fact that I leave California in 5 days...

My Running Story

2010-08-02T13:40:00.004-04:00

So I thought after yesterday's post that today I would share my background as a runner. I'm going to go back, waaaaaay back, to how I first came into running in the first place. The reason I started running, way back when I joined the cross-country team as a scrawny middle schooler, was 'cos my brother did. Unlike my brother, I joined the track team too. I ran competitively all throughout high school, 3 seasons a year (cross-country, indoor and outdoor track). I was never all-state or anything, but I loved running and was able to go from the "B Team" to captain of the team. I am an incredibly competitive person so running is the perfect sport for me 'cos I get to be competitive with myself! I was asked to run in college, but didn't and even though I ran with my friends all through college I somehow lost that love of competition and ran mostly to stay in shape and keep off a beer gut.

I took a year long running hiatus after college, but started up again while living out at the Ranch where I took my running to a whole new level. I was just doing daily 3-5 mile runs with a friend of mine, nothing huge. Then one day this guest arrived at the Ranch and asked if any of the wranglers liked to run. We said yes so he came on a couple of our little 5 mile jaunts. Turns out he runs ULTRA marathons, which are insanely longer than marathons and usually cover a distance between 30-62 miles. He asked us if we'd like to go on a run in Grand Teton National Park with him on our day off, but we were obviously a little hesitant once we learned of the ultra-marathoning. First he suggested we run this 6 mile loop around the lake, then all of a sudden he was proposing this 13 mile run up a canyon. My friend and I both told him "no way, Jose!" but he kept insisting that we had no idea what we were capable of. And you know what? With a couple well-timed walk breaks, my friend and I ran 13.3 miles while climbing 1800 feet. It was the most amazing feeling in the world and one that I would love to duplicate. Here we are stopping for a quick photo at mile 6 after running up a HUGE hill!

Unfortunately, between grad school and student teaching, my running has all but fallen off the radar. I coach track and help with the cross-country team so I will run with my kids all the time in season, but I haven't done a great job keeping up with it on a regular basis. And I miss it! I miss the competition and I miss setting my sights on a goal and trying to achieve it. I miss trying to beat my own times and get better every race. I didn't realize I missed it so much until I came across the ad for the Ten Miler and I started thinking about running, what it means to me and why I didn't keep up with it. I didn't love running when I ran to lose weigh or stay in shape. I wasn't committed to it, I wasn't excited about it like I used to be. I did it just to do it. I don't mean to knock anyone who runs to lose weight or stay in shape! It just doesn't motivate me personally or inspire me to get better or improve my times or mileage.

Anyway, I'm sharing all this because I was hoping there were some other girls on here who call themselves runners and would like to share their stories about when, how, and why you became "a runner"!

Guess What I'm Training For?

2010-08-01T18:16:00.006-04:00

OK, well technically registration is closed and spots in the race are sold out. However, I have it on good authority from a friend who is a road race warrior that it is fairly easy to transfer registration for a big race like this. I am so excited!!! My running this summer has not panned out like I planned and I think part of the reason for that is that I am a competitive person who likes to have something specific to train for. I need more than just "I want to get back in shape" or "I want to start running again". I like having a time and a purpose and a very specific goal. I'm currently trying to get a spot on Team Fisher House, which is a charity that assists families of wounded soldiers. This is something very near and dear to me, as a very dear friend of mine was recently wounded in Afghanistan after stepping on an IED back in June. His mother has been by his side the entire time and I would love nothing more than to run in honor of all our military families. He will be up and around by the day of the race so hopefully he and his mother can attend!

I am SO excited to train for this and hope I am able to obtain a bib. I have found several 10 week training programs, which would be just perfect. I know I can make a million excuses for why I can't run and won't have time, but if my college pal can train for the Boston Marathon while in her 2nd year of law school, I know I can do this. This will be the perfect goal and the perfect event to get my running back on track. I have completed half-marathons before and am so excited to start training and be a part of this race. I'm not really looking forward to the fall in any way, shape, or form so this will certainly give me something to look forward to!

Any blogging friends in the VA/DC area who would like to train with me and try to obtain a spot in this year's Army Ten Miler as well, let me know!

Feel Good Friday

2010-07-30T10:39:00.006-04:00

1) I'm going horseback riding tomorrow!! Yes, it's only going to be a plodding nose-to-tail trail ride, but I'm going to be back on a horse. AND I managed to convince JC to come too!

2) I finished my religion class (see previous post) and really enjoyed it! It definitely had its highs and lows, but I got much more out of the class than I anticipated when I first signed up for it.

3) I went to the beach yesterday and really enjoyed just walking along the shore. Between living in Wyoming and central Virginia, that is definitely something I haven't done for the longest time.

4) This goes along with number three, but the weather here has been beautiful this week. It has been very cloudy and grey here for most of the summer. Most days I can barely see the ocean from the back porch (that Wordless Wednesday picture was taken from the porch). This week the clouds and fog have been burning off by noon and the weather has just been perfect in the afternoon. Not so hot that I'm sweating through my clothes (like the whole East Coast), but I definitely don't have to bring 3 layers with me when I go out. Nothing like a month of clouds to make you appreciate the beauty of a blue sky!

5) My sister officially made it to her second trimester! That is probably more her good news than mine, but it makes me so happy. I am so excited for her! She has been wanting a baby and saving for a baby for a long time and I know her and her husband are going to be the best parents. And, let's face it, I'm going to be the best aunt EVER!!!

Teacher to Student

2010-07-29T22:42:00.006-04:00

Today marked the end of my six-week summer class. It was my first experience with community college and was definitely different from any class I had ever been in. The class was in the course listing as "History of World Religions", but it was really much more of a philosophy class. I was a little disappointed at first, but I learned to embrace that it was something new and different.

I think I have been pretty up front about what a huge history dork I am, but I still don't know if you all get it. I need to take a picture of my bookshelves at home to convey the dorkiness. I'm talking shelves and shelves and shelves of history books. In college I took predominately history classes. My senior spring I think all 4 of my classes were history. Needless to say, philosophy classes were nowhere on my radar. I think the closest I got was intro to Psychology. I enrolled in this history of religion class expecting to learn the tactics Asoka used to spread Buddhism throughout southeast Asia and the details behind the Sunni/Shi'ite divide.

Instead I got a philosophy class full of high schoolers and students not much older than those I was teaching 3 months ago. There were retired professionals in their sixties, and a gentleman who was going back to college after a thirty year hiatus. There was a former Marine using his GI Bill and a 21 year old recovering drug addict. Mostly though it was students much like most of the seniors I sent off last year. Students with hopes to attend four-year universities in the future, but currently working hard to earn their credits in community college. They weren't the students I was used to sitting in class with, but they added a perspective to the class that I think I needed as a high school teacher.

I needed to be a student again and be that one person that gets it while nobody else does. I needed to be the person who has a large chunk of the lecture fly right over their head 'cos they've been absent for days. I needed to see how admirable (and not annoying) it is for a student to step up and ask what a vocabulary word you just used means. I needed to remember what it's like to sit in class every once in a while and be bored and count down the minutes until I'm free again. While I was often uncomfortable at how much my classmates shared it definitely opened my eyes up even further to all the different paths kids can take out of high school.

I will really miss my goofy hodgepodge religion class. We were a motley crew and had some very interesting conversations over the course of six weeks. I took the class for the factual content and did not expect to gain much else from it. Regardless of what happens this summer with the boy, I am truly glad I was out here this summer and I am so glad I took this class. I think every teacher needs to go back and be a student every once in a while, not surrounded by other teachers or grad students, but by real students.

Have you ever been pleasantly surprised by a school or work experience? Or had an experience that completely changed your perspective about an issue?

Wordless Wednesday

2010-07-28T21:51:00.002-04:00

Guilty Pleasure

2010-07-26T22:40:00.010-04:00

I just finished a rousing game of Tiger Woods Golf with the boy. I didn't do that badly for someone whose golf experience doesn't really extend past the Chip N' Putt! I was tempted to hone my skills this evening while he studied for an upcoming test, but I opted to veg out on the couch.

I'm currently watching one of my #1 guilty pleasure movies. It's a movie that came out my sophomore year of high school and currently has a 57% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. That's really not that bad considering it's really nothing more than just another silly high school drama. Drew Barrymore saves it and Michael Vartan makes for some serious eye candy! Yep, I'm talking about Never Been Kissed. I'm embarrassed to admit I actually went to go see this movie in theaters (along with such other awesome movies as She's All That and 10 Things I Hate About You).

The plot is so unbelievable and it's ridiculously silly, but it is just a movie that I always seem to get stuck on once it's on TV! I'd definitely put this and 13 Going on 30 as some of my top silly guilty pleasure movies. I could probably add a ton of movies to that list, to include Pretty Woman and Dirty Dancing, but I'm definitely not as hesitant to admit that I enjoy them as I am this film. I'm a sucker for a happy ending, I can't deny it! There are some really uncomfortably awkward moments in the movie (especially if you were a high school dork like me), but you just have to love Drew Barrymore in the role. No matter what my mood is, this movie will have me smiling by the time the credits roll. (Although it is debatable that that might just be due to looking at Michael Vartan!)

Do you have a favorite guilty pleasure movie? A movie that once you stumble upon you can never quite seem to change the channel? One that makes you smile despite yourself and that you might not admit to many people you enjoy?

Feel Good Friday

2010-07-23T14:36:00.008-04:00

I'm changing up my Five for Friday to Feel Good Friday! I got this from my fellow bloggers, Abby and Jamie (who got it from The Girl Next Door Grows Up). All you do is make a list of 5 things that made you happy this week. Easy enough, right? Here goes...

1) I found out my teaching schedule for the year and I have a study hall! AND it is first period AND I have 2 classes that only have 12 kids AND my largest class is only 18. I love teaching in a rural school district!

2) I got another A in my religion class! Even though I only need to pass it to receive credit, I'm obviously doing my best and am pretty stoked I'm doing so well. It is different from any class I have ever taken before and philosophy is really not my thing. Go me!

3) A friend of mine, who lost part of his left leg in a bad IED blast 3 weeks ago, took his first steps (sans prosthesis) yesterday! Read his story here. He is such an inspiration and I am so proud just to know him.

4) I got to see the Golden Gate Bridge on Sunday, which is something I've been wanting to do for a loooong time. It capped off a great weekend in San Francisco with the boy.

5) I heard from so many wonderful friends on my birthday and turned 27! Let the countdown to 30 begin (at which point, according to my favorite quote ever by author John Grisham, I'll finally have to be taken seriously).

My Roomies

2010-07-23T13:47:00.015-04:00

So I've been feeling a bit under the weather this week and the weather has been awful here in California so I've been having a lot of lazy time. I'm laying on the couch and watching Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmerman, one of my favorite Travel Channel shows, and thinking...what would make this lazy day even better? Then it came to me: my felines. I miss my cats! If I were home right now Hobbes would probably be stretched out across me right now and Journey would be curled on the blanket at the end of the couch. I can't believe it's been almost a year since I adopted them! I really only intended to get this little guy when I moved last August:

He was a cat marked "special needs" by the Humane Society 'cos he required a special and more expensive diet. He had been there for a couple months and they were starting to get doubtful he'd ever find a home. After visiting with him once I decided it was about time I had a ginger kitty in my life. As I was finalizing when I was going to pick him up, the woman from the Humane Society told me about another cat on the same diet. She was a black tuxedo, which made me hesitant as I had a tuxedo cat I loved dearly that I had put down the month before. I really only had plans to adopt a single cat, but then they went and told me that she had been at the Humane Society for over two years! I'm a huge animal lover and volunteered extensively while in grad school at the local SPCA. The adult cats and dogs who had been there for 6+ months always broke my heart and I always worked so hard to get the 'old-timers' adopted. Speaking of volunteering and helping out cats, a friend of mine has started up a blog for the strays in her area. Check it out! I don't know much about dealing with strays, but if you have any ideas for her (two of the cats are pregnant) definitely let her know.

Anyway, I went to their website and saw the picture of "Felicia" (I renamed her Journey) in her cage. This was her home for over 2 years:

Even though I said I wanted to meet her first, I knew I'd end up bringing her home and sure enough I did! She has plumped up extensively since that photo was taken a couple years ago and is quite the fat kitty now (though on her last visit she only weighed in at 12.5 lbs). They brought her and Hobbes (originally "Samson") to PetSmart and I just fell in love with both of them. And that's how my ginger kitty, Hobbes, and my big fat girl, Journey, came into my life. They can certainly drive me crazy (don't all roommates?), but they have been a wonderful addition in my life and I love coming home to them at the end of the day.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-07-21T20:47:00.002-04:00

Expectations

2010-07-21T13:02:00.004-04:00

So I've been thinking a lot this summer about expectations and how I am my own worst enemy sometimes. Maybe it's the history of religion class I am taking right now that has caused me to think on it so much, but I really think one of the biggest issues I need to work on is how I cope with disappointment. I'm not even talking about major disappointments, but little things I hype up in my mind that don't pan out.

So I've made it my goal this summer to let go of expectations with attachment to results. Maybe it's all the Buddhist philosophy I've been reading for class, but the more I think on it the more I see the truth in a quote my professor introduced: "expectations are just a future resentment". I build up things in my mind and then when they don't pan out I let it negatively affect my mood and my relationships. What I end up with is resentment because I'm just too attached to what I hoped or planned would happen.

So I'm trying to let go of that attachment. I don't think there's anything wrong with having expectations. I'm a planner and will always look into the future. If I'm expecting something - whether it's what I'll do with my brother when I return to NY or how I'll do my second year in the classroom - it means I'm living in the future, which isn't reality! I need to live in the present and focus on what I have and what I can do now. I need to enjoy the time I have right now with the boy because in 3 weeks I'll be long gone from here! I will still be mindful of certain outcomes - not to be would be antithetical to who I am. But I will be mindful of them and then let them go. I'm going to stay right here where I am: in the present. And if the weather is ugly or the boy is busy or we don't go out to dinner Friday...so be it. I need to get out of the future (and while I'm at it, out of the past too) and focus on today.

Now I'm off to go read the Torah! We've gotten to the major monotheistic religions in my class and I definitely am interested in getting a deeper understanding of Judaism, which I know little about aside from the basics.

What about you? Do you have a problem with building huge expectations in your life? How do you deal when they don't plan out like you hoped? Do you think it's true that "expectations are just a possible resentment"?

Five for Friday

2010-07-16T11:28:00.003-04:00

1. You bring me a glass of juice to bed
2. You're appreciative
3. You pick me up from class every day when you don’t have to
4. You like to cook (or at least try to!)
5. You got me a birthday present we can enjoy together

35 By 35

2010-07-13T22:09:00.005-04:00

So I'm stealing yet another thing from Bri. She did a list of 30 things to do before she turns 30. Seeing as I turn 27 in four days, I extended the list to 35 things to do before I turn 35. Some of it might be a bit ambitious, but why not dream big?

1. Excel in my career
2. Run a a marathon
3. Learn another language
4. Read the Bible
5. Still be a student
6. Return to Colby for my 10 year college reunion
7. Travel to 2 more continents
8. Adopt a dog
9. Become an equestrian
10. Get married
11. Become a homeowner
12. Start a family
13. Travel to the remaining 50 states I haven't been to
14. Spend a week camping in a national park
15. Own a piano
16. Have a garden
17. Cook a Thanksgiving dinner by myself
18. Find a church I like and can go to on a regular basis
19. Be the best aunt EVER!
20. Go fishing
21. Learn yoga
22. Learn how to change my own oil
23. Take up a martial art
24. Be a regular (and not just sporadic) contributor to my favorite charities
25. See the Grand Canyon
26. Spend another summer at the Ranch
28. Learn to drive a stick shift (well)
29. Throw an awesome 30th anniversary celebration for my parents
30. Experience as many other cultures as possible
31. Learn how to knit or quilt
32. See as many Oscar winning movies as possible
33. Go on a hot air balloon ride
34. Learn how (and have enough patience) to play golf
35. Go to Las Vegas

Making New Friends

2010-07-11T21:47:00.004-04:00

I realized this weekend while out to dinner with the boy and his friends how much I enjoy meeting new people. This is something that ten years ago I would never have said. I was incredibly shy and quiet all through high school. I was not the type of person who would agree to go on blind dates, or introduce myself to someone I didn't know, strike up a conversation with someone in line at the grocery store. I hated speaking in class and any/all attention drawn towards me. I had a tight group of friends and that was about it. I didn't feel the need to seek out or make new friends at any point in high school. In a lot of ways, a lot of that is true. I still have a core group of friends - whether it's my college pals, ranch friends, grad school friends - that I rely on. So much about me has changed in the last decade though.

I was trying to figure out when this change occurred. If you ask my college pals they'll tell you it was after I went skydiving in Switzerland at age 18. They swear I came back from that and was a much more effervescent and outgoing person. But when I look back I really don't think I was that different a person in college than I was in high school. I was still, in many ways, still very insecure and quiet. I still hated speaking up in class and dreaded the thought of going to a party where I knew no one.

I think my two years at the Ranch were really important and helped me gain a new sense of independence. I started to realize I could do things I never thought I could. Whether it was learning to drive a stick shift the hard way, operating a chain saw or fixing a 1/4 mile stretch of fence all by myself. I also met an insane amount of new people. I had to get along with coworkers who were very different from me. I had to take teenagers and adults out on rides and, not only teach them how to ride and make sure they arrived back at the Ranch safely, but I had to talk and entertain them for 2 1/2 hours. I look back and see a very marked change in myself after my time at the Ranch. I was more social and outgoing, but most of all, I was much more confident.

I think my first boyfriend (and consequent first heartbreak) after college was a really important experience. It sounds odd that getting your heart broken could build confidence, but I really think it did. I realized a lot about myself that has played such an important part in my relationship now. Getting dumped sucked, but it is beyond true that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

Now I'm living on my own and the girl who hated speaking in class does just that all day long. I've been on blind dates and done things 10 years ago Abigail would have never done. I coach track and go to dinner parties and get-togethers where I don't know anyone. And I love meeting new people! I've made good friends with the wife of one of JC's classmates in the last couple weeks. She and her husband hosted a dinner party a few weeks ago. I gave her my number 'cos I figured we were both home alone all day while our men were in school. We met up for lunch one day and had such a blast we've become great pals. I think it surprised the boy a bit last night when we met up with her and her friends and husband. Honestly, I surprise myself at how easily and how much I enjoy making new friends. I used to hate leaving places all the time 'cos I hated leaving friends behind. In fact, my friends and family can testify that when I left the Ranch to go to grad school I said something along the lines of 'I don't want to make any friends, I just want to get my degree and move on'. That's laughable now when I think about the awesome friends I made at school and how much I enjoy making new ones. It's comforting to know that wherever I go and whatever happens, I have a network of friends all around the country who have my back and I can always make new ones!

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

Five For Friday

2010-07-09T15:33:00.004-04:00

Thought I'd try something new for a change. I stole this from my friend Bri's blog (http://mylifeasbrianne.blogspot.com) and thought it would be fun. I'm not sure what the future holds for the boy and me, but I do know a few things. So here we go...

1. You know the best kinds of weekends are the ones where you do nothing.
2. You’re as competitive as I am and never let me win anything (and I love you for it).
3. You always smell great.
4. When you set your mind on something, I know there’s no doubt you will attain it.
5. You love to learn.

The Best Horse In the World

2010-07-08T14:23:00.016-04:00

I found a couple places to horseback ride in the Monterey area and am hoping I can get onto a horse soon. JC and I were supposed to go to a San Francisco Giants-Mets game on my birthday next weekend, but I really want to go riding. We'll see. I miss being around horses so much. The horse that is in all those pictures in my last post is a horse that came to the ranch during my first winter out there. The ranch buys all its horses from auction and they often come to the ranch in less than perfect conditions. This horse, who I named Orangejello or Jello for short, was a real headcase. He clearly had suffered a pretty serious case of neglect, was pretty skinny and had the permanent mark of a halter on his head and was very head shy (did not like his head or ears touched at all). We think someone just put the halter on and left him out there. It kills me the way some people treat animals.

Anyway, when spring finally arrives at the Ranch there is sooo much stuff to do. We have to fix fence, clear trail, fix saddles, shoe and vaccinate the horses and all that. Well, I will never forget when Jello became my horse. On shoeing day, we have to tie all the horses up along the fenceline inside the corral. Jello untied himself about 4 times and was causing all kinds of trouble. By the end of the day they just had to turn him loose in the round pen. My boss pointed at him and just asked, “you want him?” Now how it works at the Ranch is the wranglers always end up with all the horses we can’t put guests on. Most of the “best of the worst” are already taken by the veteran wranglers. I wasn’t about to turn away what looked like a perfectly sound and athletic-looking horse.

See how athletic (if not always a little on the skinny side)?

So I took on Jello as my horse for the summer. He had a host of problems aside from his ability to untie himself and his issues with having his head and ears touched. He was a HUGE scaredy cat. He’d never seen buffalo or elk before (which we see ALL the time on rides). He’d never crossed water, never opened or closed a gate before, never been ridden bareback, never swam in the water. He was afraid of everything! Scary looking rocks, scary looking logs, scary looking holes in the ground. He was a serious head case. My kids (the teenagers I took out) took to calling him “Ronald” (like Ron Weasley from Harry Potter) ‘cos he was a redhead and a big scaredy cat. I just loved him to death though! I spent HOURS working with him on my lunch break, after work, on my day off. By the end of 2 years I turned him into a helluva trail horse and was so sad to leave him.

A sad, sad day...my last ever ride on him

I got to reunite with him briefly in 2008 on a drive cross-country and then again last year when I was out in Wyoming for my sister’s wedding. Unfortunately, that was the last time I ever saw him and, sadly, the last time I ever will. He had some issues with his new rider last summer and had a couple accidents and the Ranch deemed him a ‘dangerous horse’ and ‘liability’. So they sold him : ( . It makes me unbelievably sad. He taught me how to be a better rider and I’m so proud of what a great trail horse I turned him into. I know it’s silly, but I wanted to buy him one day. I hope he’s alive and happy wherever he is and has a new owner who is as patient with him as I was and appreciates what an awesome horse he is. He is a big scaredy cat, but if you build up a relationship with him he will do WHATEVER you ask him to. And believe me on the teen ride, I made him do some pretty crazy things! We race through the water, go swimming bareback, ride along cliffs like this, climb HUGE vertical mountains, go down crazy inclines. And if he trusts you, he’ll do it all and more. I know it’s stupid, but I feel like I let him down ‘cos I wasn’t there to vouch for him. If I were still there and continued to ride him I know they never would have gotten rid of him.

I miss you buddy! and hope you are fat and happy wherever you are!

My Favorite Place in the World

2010-07-07T11:10:00.014-04:00

I've been MIA from this blog for just about a month and an awful lot has happened. The school year ended and I have been officially hired on for next year. I'm out in California for the summer with the boy and have been having a blast relaxing and doing a bit of sightseeing (but mostly just relaxing). I have been meaning to blog for a while, but wasn’t quite sure where to start.

I think one of the reasons my blog was on hiatus for so long is because I wasn't quite sure what I wanted it to be. Most blogs have specific niches - a wellness blog, a teaching blog, a running blog, a baby blog. I didn't really know what I wanted my focus to be. So from here on out, I'm just going to talk about me and my life in general, however uneventful it may be.

I figure a great place to start would be with my favorite place in the world, a place that if you spend any time with me you will find comes up in conversation an awful lot and that I simply refer to as “the Ranch”. I have to admit that I’m a bit pleased that while I am enjoying my stay in California it still doesn’t hold a candle to “the Ranch”. The Ranch is Triangle X Ranch, a guest ranch in Moose, Wyoming (just north of Jackson) that I first journeyed to on a family vacation back in 1997. My family of six returned every year, though the number of people dwindled each time. First my oldest brother opted not to return, then my dad decided a week of horseback riding just wasn’t his thing, then my sister went out there to work (she never left and is now married and about to start a family there), then my other brother could no longer take the time off. All in all, I came to the ranch as a guest for seven years before I started working out there myself my junior year of college. I was a glorified toilet scrubber and bed maker, but I loved every minute and returned after I graduated. I loved it so much that I stayed out there through the fall, winter and spring.

Pushing out the herd in the summer (photo courtesy of John Schairer)

The herd moving across the pasture in the fall

The ranch in winter

That summer I was promoted from toilet scrubbed extraordinaire to "teen wrangler" whose job was to teach every teenager that was a guest on the ranch (like I used to be) how to ride a horse and to make sure they had a fabulous week. I had always been a horse lover, but never rode seriously so it was a dream. My biggest problem of the day was whether or not to take my ride into the mountains or down to the river to swim with the horses. I stayed out there for two full years after graduation ‘living the dream’ before I decided to move on and go to graduate school. Sometimes I wish I’d stayed a few years longer, but I’m grateful for the time that I had out there. I look at my boyfriend who went right from college to his job in the military or my friends who went right to a full-time job and I realize how lucky I am.

This horse was my best friend for 2 years

The Ranch is and will always be my happy place, my own personal paradise. I know if life were ever to get rough or I were to get fired from my job that I could return to the Ranch and have a place there. I have family out there now, a sister and brother-in-law (and soon a niece or nephew). Just last week I received a phone call from my former boss offering me my old position. I turned it I down simply because of logistics, money and the fact that I already planned to spend my summer out here with the boy. We won’t get many opportunities to spend time together like this so I have to take every opportunity I can. It’s nice to know that after almost 3 years they still remember me. To this day they say I was the only teen wrangler who ever enjoyed being around teenagers that much. I talk and think about the Ranch all the time so it is comforting to know they think of me too.

Meeting Babe

2010-06-08T16:42:00.009-04:00

While traveling back from my 5 year college reunion I had quite the celebrity encounter in the Philadelphia airport. He might not look to you like a celebrity. I highly doubt if you lined up 100 people many people would have been to spot him out of a crowd, but he is indeed a celebrity. There are newspaper articles, books and an entire miniseries about this man. Still, as I said, not many people would likely be able to pick him out of a lineup.

I came running to Gate B19 to catch my US Airways flight out of breath and annoyed at just about everything. I was annoyed I was in the Philly airport to begin with, but my original nonstop flight the night before had been canceled and it was all they had. I was annoyed that my flight that morning was delayed and then sat on the runway for thirty minutes. I was annoyed I had to run through the airport and race to catch a shuttle because of that stupid delay. I was annoyed my gate was all the way at the end of the terminal. Never mind that I had just spent an amazing weekend reconnecting with my college friends, all these little inconveniences were just adding up and stressing me out.

That is until I arrived at the gate, realized I hadn't missed the connection and looked around, as I always do, at who I would be sharing the plane with. That's when I saw Babe. The first thing I noticed was a 101st Airborne cap on his head. I always notice veterans when I go out and if I haven't heard of the unit that they proudly display on their cap, I always make an effort to look it up when I get home. I looked closer at this man and saw a 506th battalion logo, then a Currahee patch. I took a long hard look at his ruddy face and I thought to myself, "my gosh...that's Babe Heffron!"

Now for those who don't know, I have been quite the military history enthusiast ever since visiting Normandy in 2001. That is honestly the whole reason I became a history major and, consequently, a history teacher. I stood out on that beach and looked back up and I visited the battlefields and cemeteries in the area and was just in awe that I didn't know more about this place and what happened there (I was 18 at the time).

It started with a basic book I bought for myself in France on the D-Day invasion. It has spread over the years to include an entire bookshelf full of books on the topic and a shelf full of DVDs and documentaries. My best friend from college once responded when asked what I would do if I could only do one thing for the rest of my life: "she
d read books on D-Day". My fascination with D-Day extended to an overall interest in World War II narratives and the first-hand accounts of men who, to quote Don Malarkey, were so brave as to be unbelievable. Babe Heffron was one of those men.

He was 19 years old when he answered the call to serve in 1942. He went to jump school and though he didn't jump into Normandy, he fought in Operation Market Garden and earned a bronze star at the Battle of the Bulge. He was an ordinary guy called in to do extraordinary things. HBO chose to focus on Babe's unit, Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne when they made their epic miniseries Band of Brothers (which I have probably seen 5-6 times). Babe is not featured prominently in the film. If you have not read the book or seen the miniseries before you probably wouldn't remember him. He was a replacement who joined after the Normandy campaign and quickly earned the respect of his fellow soldiers. The actor who portrays Babe, Robin Laing, does a fabulous job portraying the 22 year old in combat. One of his most memorable and emotional episodes is the Breaking Point, which depicts how Easy Company endured the horrific Battle of the Bulge. It boggles my mind how these men survived the conditions they did and were able to go on to live such meaningful lives. If you have not seen the miniseries, I highly recommend it. The excuse that "I'm not into war movies" does not hold up. Band of Brothers is a film (miniseries) that every American should see. It's not just a "war movie". The real men of Easy Company are featured prominently at the start of each episode. that is when you'll hear these men vehemently deny that they are heroes or celebrities. To quote Babe, "the real men, the real heroes are the fellows that are still buried over there and those that come home to be buried."

Knowing that, I was very reluctant to introduce myself to Babe. I was genuinely starstruck once I realized it was him and could not work up the courage to speak to him. I wondered if I should just leave him alone. I was 99% confident it was him, but just to be sure I stammered a weak "Mr. Heffron?" to which he turned to me and, in his wonderful South Philly accent, replied "yeah, that's me! I'm Babe!" I introduced myself and told him the story about how and why I became a teacher and what an honor it was to meet him. I only talked to him for about 5 minutes, but in those 5 minuets he told me about all the speaking engagements he does all over the country and how important it is to him to make sure people remember and understand the sacrifices that men and women in uniform make. He told me about how he tried to go to Iraq in 2008 (at the age of 85!) but was stuck in Kuwait 'cos of a sandstorm. He told me about how much he can't stand the liberal papers and people who do nothing but slam the United States. I think everyone at the gate was wondering "why is this girl bothering this poor old man?" Like I said, I was hesitant about bothering him because, despite the fact that he does many speaking tours and wears a jacket and cap that proudly display his service, he does not love being a celebrity. Like I said above, he doesn't believe he's a hero and believes very strongly that he is just a guy who did his job.

Now I'm not the kind of person who glorifies military service and thinks it's "cool" and that everyone who dons a uniform is a superheros or something. I think war is awful. To quote Babe's CO, Major Dick Winters, "wars do not make a man great, but they do bring out the greatness in good men." I think the veterans of WWII are men who led awe-inspiring lives and who this world owes a debt of gratitude to that can truly never be repaid.

As if my exchange with him at the gate wasn't enough, as he was exiting the plane he winked at me, handed me a folded up newspaper, and in his awesome South Philly accent says, "here ya go, I wrote ya something!"

There was a two page article in the Philadelphia newspaper about him and his buddy and fellow Easy Company veteran, Bill Guarnere. On the back page he wrote: Thank you for teaching American history! ~ Babe Heffron, Easy Company, 506th, 101st Airborne. "Band of Brothers". I was in awe as I read it. To think that this guy was thanking ME was mind boggling.

The article was all about Babe and Bill fighting for a monument to honors their former commander, Richard Winters, to be erected in Normandy. which would symbolize the leadership of all Americans on D-Day. The statue would include a statue of Winters leading from the front, as all good leaders, and the quote, "wars do not make men great, but they do bring out the greatness in good men." Nothing could sum up my feelings of the men of this generation any better.

I leave you with the last 7 minutes of the Band of Brothers miniseries. It includes a wonderful narrative by Damian Lewis, who portrayed Major Winters, of what all the men did after the war and interviews with the real men of Easy Company. If it doesn't bring a tear to your eye, I might be convinced you're dead inside.

The Story of Lima Company

2010-06-02T22:25:00.006-04:00

One more day of regular class!! I'm so excited and antsy I can't even concentrate on the little grading and work I have to finish up. It has been an interesting couple of days. JC has been super busy with school (of course), but he called to tell me that he got a package I sent him. He said it made his day, which was obviously the whole point in sending it so that made me smile. He has a test tomorrow that I know he is nervous about so I wanted to make him smile. Speaking of studying, I emailed the professor of the religion class I will be taking this summer to tell him that I would be missing the first two class meetings and to ask for the syllabus and book list. He got back to me and after reading over the syllabus I am even more excited than ever! I'm sure my tune might change 6 weeks from now, but I am excited to be a student again and have something to do this summer 'cos I HATE doing nothing.

As for the title of my post. I got a comment today on a YouTube video I posted several years ago about the Marines of Lima Company. What is my relation to Lima Company, you ask? I'm an Army girlfriend, with no involvement to the Corps, right? WRONG!

It's quite a long story that starts my senior year of college. I was, at that point, not directly involved or tied to the military in any way shape or form. I was working on finishing up my history degree, which had an emphasis in military history, but aside from a deep admiration for our men and women in uniform, I had no connections whatsover. It was November 2004 and I remember seeing TV footage of Operation Phantom Fury (aka the 2nd battle of Fallujah). I remember being so moved seeing pictures of Marines and Soldiers who looked younger than me and at that moment I started searching for a program that would allow me to do more than just slap a magnet on my car to "Support Our Troops".

So I signed up for a program called Adopt-A-Platoon that would pair me with a deployed servicemember to support for the duration of his/her deployment. It took a couple months and even a phone call to verify that I was in fact, me, and was serious about the support I would provide. I was paired with a 19 year old Lance Corporal in March of '05 at the very start of his Reserve unit's 7 month deployment to Iraq. It was expected to be a rather uneventful deployment and for the first few months it was. I sent letters, emails and packages to my adopted Marine, who was quick to write me back and introduce himself. He told me to longer call him the formal name which the organization had provided me with and immediately picked up on my introductory letter where I informed him that while my name was Abigail, my closest friends and family called me "Abs". His first letter back to me read "Dear Abs" and I knew then that I had been paired with an exceptional young man who was not about to mistake my support as a dating service (like many unfortunately do). He was originally from Ghana, West Africa and his dad had been a U.N officer wounded on duty, which is how he ended up in the states. He joined the Corps right out of high school, but was pursuing a degree at Ohio State and just sounded like an all around exceptional young man. (My dad is still convinced he will end up being the Secretary of State one day!)

Anyway, his company's uneventful deployment sadly ended up being a nightmare. The emails and phone calls I received from him were difficult to read and hear, but he frequently told me how much talking to me helped as I'm sure they weren't things he could tell his family. I was out in Wyoming for much of his deployment and I think he loved hearing my stories about life on the range being chased by buffalo that were so far away from the hell he was enduring. His unit unfortunately ended up being the hardest hit unit to serve in Iraq (they lost 23 members, including 14 in a span of 3 days ). He and I developed a wonderful friendship and my mother and father would even write him sometimes throughout the deployment. Though I was not able to be there for his homecoming (which was an absolutely AMAZING event) because I was out in Wyoming, I did get to go meet him several months later. We kept in touch for several years after, but have unfortunately lost touch over the years.

I was so deeply moved by the trials of his company, and most especially, the way they were welcomed home that about a month after he returned home, that I put together this tribute video together using pictures he sent me while deployed and others from local websites of their homecoming. I get frequent comments and messages about the video, most often from family and friends of those who served, but often from the Marines themselves.

Every time I receive a message I always view the video myself. I know the stories and lives of these fallen Marines so well. Most of them were in my friend's platoon and he has told me a lot about them. Today I received a message that inspired me to check up on the company to see what they were doing and if they were deploying again, which I do every so often. Sure enough my old friend is deploying again, this time as a Corporal in charge of new Marines. He is apparently one of only eight Marines who went through the 2005 deployment that is still with the unit. Although I have not heard from him in several years, I sent him an email to offer my support yet again. I truly hope I hear back from him so that JC and I can support him and his Marines this summer. My life has changed so much since I last talked to him. I think about him often and wonder if he accomplished everything he planned on doing.

Anyway, I must finish making my final and figure out what on earth I should do on my last day of class tomorrow.

The Home Stretch

2010-06-01T18:13:00.003-04:00

Well, I'm down to the final stretch in this marathon that is my first-year teaching. Last Thursday was the last day I saw all of my seniors as that Friday was unofficial senior cut day and this week is senior exam week (except none of the seniors have to take exams). I can't say that I will miss them at all. There are really very few redeeming things about teaching seniors. I'll teach them again because it's a job, but if I could afford to be picky I would never teach seniors again.

These last couple weeks since the SOL tests have been a weird combination of relaxation and unneeded stress. The lesson planning isn't stressful. I honestly so lesson-planned out and so sick of teaching 'new' content I can't even tell you. I've pretty much been winging it and making it up in the 10 minutes before I leave for school. I'm teaching current issues and showing lots of videos. They watched Hotel Rwanda and we had a Socratic Seminar about it, then watched a documentary about North Korea. I taught them about Tianamen Square and current issues in China today. We had a class discussion today about what the term terrorism means and what their goals are. It should be interesting stuff and it is all stuff I really want them to learn. The problem is they've checked out. As one of my brightest students even said to me today when asking if he could make up a quiz from last week during math class, "SOLs are over. We're not doing anything." The kids know it and it's hard to convince them otherwise. I can't force them to pay attention to what I'm teaching them right now. I'm not going to test them on it the last day of school and they know that.

While their behavior and outlook about these last days bothers me, I can't be too much of a hypocrite. After all, I did just confess I haven't put a terrible amount of thought into my lessons these last couple weeks either. Bottom line is, I'm ready to cross that finish line and be able to say I did it. I finished my first year teaching. Two more days of class and then one week of finals and workdays to go.

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can...

Reason for the Season

2010-05-31T08:56:00.009-04:00

There is always such an uproar about how commercial the Christmas season has gotten and you often see bumper stickers with or hear the phrase "remember the reason for the season". I'll admit house after house of giant inflatable Santas and snow globes gets a bit tiresome, but I feel even more strongly about what Memorial Day has turned into.

Most Americans love Memorial Day because it means a day off from work or school, a long weekend and the start of summer. It means cookouts, trips to the beach and days on the lake. For military families, it means something else entirely. It means someone is missing their family this Memorial Day so you could enjoy the day with yours. Memorial Day is, above all, a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service.

It is also a day of mourning for so many families. There are a lot of people I want to pause and remember on this day. The picture above is of the widow of a soldier from my hometown, SGT James J Regan, who was killed in Iraq in February, 2007. He was a graduate of Duke University who could have done anything with his life upon graduating. He scored very high on the LSATs and could have gone on to law school, but he chose to enlist in the U.S Army. Most people believe that he enlisted because he felt it was his duty. My hometown sends a lot of communters on the train toward Wall Street every morning. On 9/11 a lot of those commuters didn't come back and there were funerals all over the town. No one can ever truly explain what calls someone to serve. Whether it is the challenge, love of country, or simply the sense of adventure and opportunity to "blow things up" (as many of my high school seniors going into the service have confessed), the bottom line is they sacrifice a tremendous amount and deserve to be remembered.

I can't lie, I am enjoying my three day weekend. I will enjoy cooking burgers and eating watermelon and pie with my big brother, but at 3 PM I will pause for the National Moment of Remembrance. Did you even know there was such a thing? I would wager 90% of Americans don't. Most Americans probably don't know why people wear poppies on Memorial Day. The reason for that is most Americans have forgotten the significance and traditions of Memorial Day.

The story behind the poppies, by the way, comes from a UGA professor who wrote a response to the WWI poem "In Flanders Field". The first line of the poem reads, “in Flanders fields the poppies blow, between the crosses row on row." The UGA professor was so moved that she wrote a response poem and vowed to wear a poppy as a symbol of remembrance for those who served. I leave you with her poem.

We Shall Keep the Faith
by Moina Michael, November 1918

Oh! you who sleep in Flanders Fields,
Sleep sweet - to rise anew!
We caught the torch you threw
And holding high, we keep the Faith
With All who died.

We cherish, too, the poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led;
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies,
But lends a lustre to the red
Of the flower that blooms above the dead
In Flanders Fields.

And now the Torch and Poppy Red
We wear in honor of our dead.
Fear not that ye have died for naught;
We'll teach the lesson that ye wrought
In Flanders Field

And the worst new blogger of the year award...

2010-05-22T07:30:00.004-04:00

...goes to me!! I hate how little I have posted lately because so much has been happening with the end of the school year and I love writing it all down.

For starters, my kids all made me a celebrity at the school because every single one of my kids passed their World History SOL.

I am so proud of them I could almost burst. My kids had to learn 500 years of history (from the Renaissance to NAFTA and the Bosnian genocide) in about 8 months and there were VERY specific things not just broad, general understands for each standard. For example, they didn't just have to know effects of the Protestant Reformation, they had to know: the effect of the Edict of Nantes in France, the leader of German unification, how Jomo Kenyatta helped achieve independence in Africa. To gauge their "understanding" of all this content, they are given a 60 question multiple choice test and if they don't pass, they do not receive credit for the course. In addition, the results reflect very poorly on both the teacher and the school in both state and nation-wide assessment regarding its accreditation and success rate.

I think I was more stressed than my kids were on SOL day! I was so stressed and averaged about 4 hours of sleep a night making review sheets and prepping my kids for the test the two weeks before. I went in with the utmost confidence that MOST of my kids would pass, but I had a handful of VERY weak students. I was hoping for at least an 85% pass rate (the average is between 85%-94%) and in my wildest dreams never believed I could get EVERY kid to pass. I had a couple kids that have gotten D's and F's on almost every single one of my tests and seem so lost every day in class. It's hard enough for veteran teachers to get a 100% pass rate, nevertheless someone in their first year.

They took the test at 12:15 and I was a nervous wreck from 12:15. My 5th period seniors all had a good laugh at how nervous I was. The principal came in after an hour to report back that 15 kids (out of 55) were still taking the test, but was thrilled to tell me that I currently had a 100% pass rate. I knew exactly who those 15 kids were and just sweated it out for the next hour and change waiting for the final results to come in. Then finally, the last class of the day, the principal and guidance counselor were beyond thrilled to come to my room and tell me that 100% of my kids had passed their World History II SOL. Not only that, but almost half of them received an "Advanced Pass" and seven of those got a perfect score! I'm sure the principal was thrilled, 'cos it makes him look great for hiring me. The guidance counselor hugged me and handed me the print-out with their scores so I could tell them all.

I was so proud and excited, it's a feeling I honestly can't even explain. Knowing I made it to the end of my first year teaching is quite positively one of the BEST FEELINGS EVER! I sometimes have to pinch myself that I made it. To know that I also achieved a 100% pass rate makes it all even more amazing. It makes the stress and anxiety and late nights all (well almost all) worth it.

Anyway, I dropped $40 at Sam's buying up brownies, cookies and Capri Suns for a party for each class where I told them how proud I was and we played history charades. When I told them we had a 100% pass rate they went NUTS! They were slapping each other five and congratulating each other and shouting how awesome they were (which they are, for the most part). My joy in their results and their own excitement made me realize, if I can get this pumped up about the results of a standardized test, maybe teaching really is my calling. The amount of support I got from my fellow faculty and the smiles and fist pumps I got from those kids makes me honestly never want to leave this school (for all the headaches it has caused me). I felt like a CELEBRITY after the bell rang. Math teachers, science teachers, janitors, even students I barely knew were all congratulating me! It was a truly wonderful feeling that I don't think I will soon forget.

The news of my pass rate was followed up by a call from JC to tell me that he found out where he is PCSing to, but I suppose I will have to save that for another email.

Track season isn't over yet 'cos we still have 9 athletes going to regionals so I will still be busy until the end of the school year, but the end is very near so hopefully better blogging habits will resume. Until then...

SOL Week

2010-05-11T17:36:00.007-04:00

So today is SOL week at my high school and, boy, is it a sight to behold. I had heard that schools during SOL testing were crazy, but I have never been in such a stressed-out place in all my life! The kids are stressed out, the teachers are stressed out, the guidance counselors and administrators are stressed out, the computer tech and librarian are stressed out. Everyone is stressed out! The SOLS are the Standards of Learning state standardized tests that our school will be assessed on when the state and national government look at it.

My kids take their World History II test tomorrow. I truly think I am more nervous than my kids. The test covers EVERYTHING we have learned all year (from the Renaissance to the European Union) and is 70 questions long. Actually, it's really only 60 because 10 of those are 'field test questions' that aren't counted. I really hope those don't throw them off too badly when they see questions we haven't ever gone over before. The best they can get on the test is 600/600. Any score over 500 is an "Advanced Pass" and anything over 400 is just a plain old "pass". I would honestly love as many "Advanced Passes" as possible, but I just want all my kids to pass!! I would be thrilled if I could get a 90% pass rate, but would be content with anything over 85%. I really think I am way more nervous about this test than my kids are and that is saying something.

I guess it's mostly because by 10th grade these students are so used to standardized tests 'cos they've had them since elementary school this is nothing unusual. I honestly don't know how they do it and are not completely "tested out" by this point. We have been in SO review mode for 3 weeks now, which means for 3 weeks in all their core classes (math, science and history in grade 10) they have been taking practice tests and drilling and going over test-taking strategies. The life has literally been sucked out of them! This = most of my kids after the past 2 weeks:

It is really sad, in my opinion, that 3 weeks of instruction are used to review this material and prep the kids for this exam. Some of my kids have an SOL every day this week! They had biology or chemistry Monday, they had geometry or algebra II today and they have mine tomorrow. It's just testing overload! I don't understand how they aren't about to explode right now. Most of my kids are pretty motivated and will study tonight. The ones who don't care think if they fail then it is no big deal and it is all "on them", but they have no idea that it really is a reflection of us as teachers and is one of the ways that we are assessed by the school and the state. The US History SOL was Monday and they had a 94% pass so now I feel pressured to match that, which I know is silly but I can't help but feel it. All the U.S teacher does is get up there and lecture and have her kids read the book in class. Meanwhile, I spend hours putting together all kinds of PowerPoints with pictures and political cartoons and I do as many interactive activities as I can. I really just hate the fact that these tests will end up being the measurement that says whether I'm a "good teacher" or not. Ugh.

So at the moment, I am stressed out and so glad it will all be over soon. At this time tomorrow I will either be bouncing off the walls with joy or laying on my couch depressed at how dumb my kids are and how bad a teacher I am. I'm so tired of being exhausted all the time 'cos I'm spending all my energy getting my kids ready for this test. We're watching Hotel Rwanda after the test and using that as an opportunity to talk about individual and collective responsibility and to apply it to current genocides and conflicts in: Sudan, Uganda, Nigeria and Bostwana. I also have some lessons planned to teach them about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and what's going on in North Korea and Iran. I'm excited 'cos for the last 4 weeks of school I get to teach history the way I want to teach it. Not the way the government tells me I have to.

Uncertainty

2010-05-02T08:19:00.006-04:00

As per usual, I should have attacked the pile of grading I have to do in order to get my grades in by Monday, but I was lazy and watched Kentucky Derby coverage all day yesterday. My parents stopped by for lunch, which was wonderful. My dad is at his 40th college reunion this weekend, which is only an hour away, so he and my mom came by to have lunch. It is crazy to think I have not seen them since Christmas. I love my family and love spending any time I can with them, however brief.

They asked about JC at lunch and were curious if he had gotten any word on where he is headed this fall. My parents are very supportive of our relationship, but they're not quite sure how to handle the uncertainty of the Army and the fact that JC could end up anywhere in the world next year. It's something I have learned to deal with surprisingly well in our time together. It's a very good exercise in learning that some things in life are just out of your hands. I'm preparing myself for the Army to send him to Germany. I figure, prepare for the worst and then anything else is a pleasant surprise.

That's sort of how I am handling the uncertainty in my job! Despite the fact that every other school district in the area has done so, my wonderful school district has yet to finalize their budget. They've pushed it back FOUR times since March when talk about making cuts first started. (Seriously, they're worse than the Army!) Consequently, all of us - first year teachers and tenured faculty alike - are sweating it until the end of the school year to know whether we'll be back or not. To say the entire faculty is frustrated at this point is a tremendous understatement. We think they're just holding us in limbo so people don't find out they're getting sacked and then use all their sick days, which I would so do. Needless to say, for someone whose lease is up in June and whose summer plans depend on my having a job next year, it is a very uncertain time for me. I don't understand how a school district can do this to hundreds of employees. If an employee has to give a 30-day notice shouldn't an employer extend the same courtesy? I've found my experiences with the Army have certainly helped me deal with this hurdle life has thrown at me. I'm developing contingency plans if I get sacked and plans if I don't and plans if I don't find out until the middle of the summer. I suppose it's good preparation for life with the Army. Plans can change on a daily basis and I just need to learn to roll with it.

Bottom line is, and this is what helps me deal, I'm a firm believer in "everything happens for a reason" and no matter where JC gets stationed or what happens to me job, I'm confident we'll make it through. Tonight, we continue our coast to coast cooking adventures and will be having a Mexican fiesta! Last week it was chicken cordon bleu, which was a huge success. We're really both getting quite good and have said we should compile all our recipes and call it the "Coast to Coast Cookbook".

I need to go hit the store to pick up some taco seasoning and cilantro (the latter has become JC's favorite seasoning in the world (thank you, California!)). I haven't left my readers with a question in a while, but I'm curious to know: how do you deal with all life's uncertainties? Are you the type of person who pushes them out of your brain and doesn't worry about them until they happen or do you make a million contingency plans like me? Or do you have an even better way of handling

Harry Potter > Twilight

2010-04-24T10:53:00.008-04:00

So as I was having my lazy evening last night and kicking back with my Chinese, I flipped through the channels only to discover that the first Twilight movie was playing on HBO. I had never seen it and, truthfully speaking, had never really had the desire to. However, in keeping with my lazy evening, once it started I was too lazy to change the channel. I have heard the "Twilight is the new Harry Potter" comparisons, which I always scoffed at, but as I never saw the movies or read the books I felt I couldn't really weigh in on the debate.

So what did I think of the Twilight movie? For starters, I nodded off twice during the first hours and had to rewind my DVR to understand what was going on. I thought the movie was pretty terrible. The acting was horrible, the writing was atrocious and the effects were just awful. I'm sure the books are better, as they almost always are, but you won't see me picking one up to read anytime soon because nothing about that storyline hooked me in at all. The premise of the Twilight stories isn't even all that original to me. Ten years ago, when I was a dorky high schooler I loved the show "Roswell" that was on the WB, which to me is pretty much the same premise as Twilight. A quiet girl falls in love with her biology lab partner, a handsome mysterious outsider at the school, after he saves her life using his supernatural abilities. His family and friends are beautiful outcasts from the school who keep to themselves and are unhappy that he revealed their secret to her. Relationship complications ensue because of his supernatural status and the danger it puts her in. Yada yada yada. There seem to be an awful lot of similarities. I'm not saying Roswell was completely original and the show went downhill pretty fast, but to me Twilight is just a new twist on an age-old story and it's not even told all that well. I'm all for a good love story, but the chemistry in the movie was pretty nonexistent and Robert Pattinson was just downright creepy! There is absolutely no comparison to Harry Potter!

In Harry Potter - both the books and the movies - are very original and have more layers to them than just a girl who can't live without a boy. I'm all for romance like I said, but come on. Even if it just in a movie, hearing the words "I would rather die than live without you" just make me want to vomit. Perhaps the books shed a little more light on this, but Bella doesn't seem to have much of an identity outside of her infatuation with Edward. Not something I really want to see in my heroine. I love all the themes in Harry Potter - friendship, death, loss, free will, prejudice, bigotry, and love in so many different forms. You have parental love, unrequited love, platonic love, sibling love, first loves, crushes. It's not just this over-the-top "I can't live without you" and "we're meant to be together" kind of love. It's characters have substance and depth, which are brought out wonderfully in the books, but that you can see brought to the screen through the wonderful acting of men like Alan Rickman and Michael Gambon. I also love the reality of adolescence as it is depicted in the books over the years. Not everyone is a new girl who automatically makes friends and gets the most handsome guy in school. I'm a tried and true history dork and do not read very much fiction at all, but I love and have reread the HP books.

My last reason for why I think Harry Potter is superior to Twilight (and then I promise I'm done) is because I think it's fanbase stretches far and wide and it has much more reach. I remember being so surprised at my old job at how many teenage boys dug the Harry Potter movies and read the books. I think you'd be hard-pressed to find many men who have sat down with the Twilight books or voluntarily gone to see either of the films. Harry Potter is something I can share with my friends, my mom, my kids (when I have them), my students, even my boyfriend.

As I said, I'm sure the books do the Twilight story a lot more justice, but I like the multi-layered story in HP much more than the single story that was presented to me in Twilight. I was hoping the movie would help shed some light on the Twilight craze and why so many of my students still walk around with vampire shirts or binders that have "Team Jacob" written on them, but it did not. If anything it explains why so many of my kids think a boy will solve all their problems and be the answer to everything. Harry Potter wins. Harry Potter always wins!

PS - just a random rant: why weren't vampires this popular when I was in high school and got ridiculed for liking Buffy the Vampire Slayer? (still in my opinion the best show EVER)

Feeling old

2010-04-23T18:58:00.006-04:00

Is it bad when the weekend arrives and all I want to do when I get back from work is collapse on the couch and sleep? I miss the days when Friday night meant making plans and going out and having fun. Now all Friday night means to me is I can go to sleep early! I am so wiped from this week. I had a field trip with my seniors and 2 track meets this week. I didn't get back to the school from one of the meets until about 9:30. Add in a 40 minute commute home and you have a very long "hump day" on Wednesday. This week just felt super super long. It took forever just to get to Wednesday and I feel like I barely made it to Friday.

Now Friday is here and all I want to do is sleep. I just hate being this exhausted all the time. I want to do fun things on the weekend and learn how to play tennis with Kendra and go visit my grad school pals up in Charlottesville. By the end of the week I'm so exhausted and backlogged with grading and cleaning and laundry that I hardly ever leave my room. I'm only 26, but I feel so old!

Honestly, I can't figure out if I feel "old" or I just don't know what 26 feels like. I feel like it's a very diverse age and you can have young single people who still live it up on the weekends and people who are also married with kids. I get told all the time that "I'm still young" and should be out having fun, but maybe it's the fact that the only people I ever hang out with and see on a regular basis here are all married and/or have kids. I had my share of fun in and after college, but I've never been one for going out. I'm definitely attracted to a slower pace and lifestyle. Maybe that makes me boring, maybe it makes me old, I don't know.

Today I had a couple students come in off their lunch break to make up a test and I had my pathetic little teacher lunch out on the desk and I was reminded of a My So Called Life episode where Angela comments on how sad teachers' lives are and they zoom in on this frumpy middle-aged woman eating a tuna sandwich. When my kids came in and I took out my pathetic lunch I suddenly felt like that frumpy middle aged woman. I'm sure I look awful some days when I go into work. Most days I barely have time to run a comb through my hair nevertheless put on makeup. Lots of days I forget to eat breakfast and run out the door without taking a lunch. I end up eating school lunches or grabbing one of the frozen dinners I have stored up in the teacher's lounge. I have to remind myself that this whole 'being exhausted all the time' gig that comes with being a first year teacher is only temporary. Next year HAS to be better than this year and if I end up at a different school I don't know if coaching will be on my repertoire. As much as I love it, it is sucking the life out of me.

I miss blogging and wish I could get to a computer more often. Until June 11 I think once a week will pretty much be par for the course for me.

Thankfully, we only have one meet next week and it is a varsity meet that I think we are hosting. We run a pretty quick meet and usually finish up in about 2 hours, which means I will hopefully be home before 8 PM. I start my SOL review next week, which is the 2 week review for the big Virginia state test. It will be stressful to review everything we have learned since August, but will be nice not to have to plan actual lessons anymore. SOL review is just drill, drill, drill, drill.

My Seniors have their prom this weekend and I was asked about 12 times today by my kids if I was going to be there. It's Saturday night and I've already been invited by my grad school friends to go up to Charlottesville and hang with them for the weekend so I am torn. I honestly would just like to stay here and do nothing. I get so lazy on the weekends it's not even funny. I think I will probably end up donning a dress and going to prom. I was flattered they asked me to attend. I figured they would want it to be "their" night and wouldn't want teachers anywhere within a 5 mile radius. The faculty sponsor for the seniors, the 12th grade English teacher who I conference with all the time about my kids, encouraged me to go. She will be there so who knows. Maybe I'll revisit my high school days and go hit up the prom for an hour or so. It will probably make me feel even older than ever!

Right now all I want to do is collapse on the couch though. I think before I do I may order Chinese and go pop in the "Brothers At War" DVD that I never finished from back in February. JC is going to a San Francisco Giants baseball game tonight, which he is super excited about. He's had a rough couple of weeks and didn't do as well on his speaking test this week as he wanted to so I'm happy he's going out and doing something fun. We've hardly talked this week at all, aside from a couple 5 minute phone calls and some texts and emails. I love talking to him and it is usually one of the highlights of my day, but twice this week he called and I was already passed out and slept right through it. He left me a super sweet voicemail and I replied the next day with an email. And that's just how we roll. I know he's thinking about me. He know I'm thinking about him. We just have to focus on our careers right now so we're making good decisions and focusing on our studies. Do I hate that I'm so busy? Yes. Do I know there is an end in sight? Absolutely. The end of the school year is now only 7 weeks away!

And I'll see him soon enough and we'll have an awesome time tog ether this summer. I thought these weeks after our spring break together would be so painful and, no doubt, the first one back was. But we're back into the old routine now. We set aside time on the weekend to "be together" on Skype. We have our dinner dates. We email during the day. It's all good. Whether we have 2 months left of it or 12 more, we can kick this long-distance thing in the butt. Of that I am confident.

And on that note, I'm going to go order my crab rangoons, egg drop soup and Kung Pao chicken. Ah, Friday....

April 16, 2007

2010-04-17T10:45:00.008-04:00

This post is a day late and was supposed to go up yesterday, but I ask all my blog readers to pause and remember the 32 people killed at Virginia Tech on April 16, 2007.

I had just returned from a trip visiting UVA when the news of this story broke. I was only 2 years out of college and I saw so many people I went to college with in the faces of the victims. One young man in particular jumped out at me. His name was Ryan Clark or "Stack" as he was known by his friends. I never knew him, but his picture and story captivated me in a completely unexpected way. Ryan was an RA in the residence hall where the first life in this tragedy, that of 19 year old Emily Hilscher, was taken. As a resident adviser, he walked over to investigate what was going on and make sure his residents were alright, was shot in the neck and killed. A bright young man, whose smile could apparently light up a room, who spent summers volunteering at a summer camp for special needs children, who was a month from graduating with a triple major and intended to pursue a PhD in neuroscience, gone just like that. Simply because he went to go make sure everything was alright.

I don't know why Ryan affected me the way that he did. I obviously did not know much about him, but as I said it was his picture and smile that captivated me most. The more I read about him the more I could see that the world lost an amazing young man. The world lost 32 amazing men and women that day. Lives snuffed out too soon for no reason at all. I felt helpless like most of the nation and wanted to do something to help the grieving friends and family and to make sure the memory of these students did not fade as the years go by. So I decided to honor Ryan in a very unconventional way. I made a video, using pictures people submitted to his Facebook memorial page and newspapers around the country, quotes from online tributes and messages left for Ryan. The purpose of the video was simply to remember Ryan and his life.

I could never have imagined the response that it got. It hasn't reached Susan Boyle fame, but 13,000 people have viewed the video and for those 3:30 second they remember Ryan. I have received many emails and messages about the video over the years, including a CBS news broadcaster who informed me that he had played the video for Ryan's mother and sister, strangers from around the world and a close friend who informed me how the video was shared with all Ryan's fellow Marching Virginians.

To this day, I still can't explain why exactly Ryan touched me so much considering I never met him. Maybe it was the smile, maybe it was that he reminded me of classmates I knew, perhaps it was the knowledge that in his 22 years on this earth he accomplished more than some people will in a lifetime. Just like Ross Almedinne, Jarrett Lane, Matthew La Porte and Lauren McCain and all the lives taken that day. Pause today and remember them. Say a prayer for their families and challenge yourself to give and do more with your life. That is Ryan's legacy to me.

I'm Alive!

2010-04-15T19:51:00.006-04:00

I'm not sure how long exactly how it has been since I posted anything, but I assure you it's not 'cos I haven't wanted to. I've had a few blog posts that I've wanted to post rattling around in my head all week, but haven't even had the time to go grocery shopping this week nevertheless sit down and blog. There is lots that I would like to include in this entry, but I don't have time and just wanted to share the most amazing story ever about the wonders of the blogging world and how incredible it is.

Thanks to my best pal, Kara, an amazing good Samaritan and the New Balance company, my athletes will finally have actual running shoes!! Not hand-me downs, not lightly used donations, but top of the line New Balance running shoes.

So here's the story about how amazing the blogging community and people in general can be. My friend Kara runs an amazing health/marathon training/wellness blog over at . She is actually the reason I started blogging. She has made so many positive changes in her life and is able to successfully juggle so many things in her life and she somehow manages to document it all on her blog. I don't know how she does it. She is seriously such an amazing inspiration to me. Anyway, back to how she got my kids shoes! I told her one day when we were chatting about how frustrating it was to see these kids run around the asphalt track in skateboard shoes and basketball sneakers. She mentioned it on her blog. One of her blog readers works for New Balance. This amazing reader thought New Balance might be interested in helping out my track team. She asked for sizes and I got 17 sizes and emailed them to her, still very hesitant that anything would actually happen. That was last week over Spring Break. I returned Monday to discover an email that said New Balance was getting all the sizes together and just needed an address where to send them. I sent them her way, completely amazed that this was taking place, but still somehow skeptical. Maybe I'm just a pessimist. Maybe I was just in shock, but I resigned myself into thinking that it would take a month for the shoes to get there. I know, I know, I'm such a pessimist. I think I was honestly just in disbelief. I could not believe that a company could possibly be so generous. She emailed me the next day to tell me New Balance sent the 20 pairs of the New Balance 760's in both men's and women's sizes!

They should be here early next week! I am hoping they miraculously arrive on Monday so our kids will have them to the meet that day. We don't have sweats or jackets or cool t-shirts or anything like that. The track team, despite winning a state championship about 4 years ago, is pretty much the lowest team on the totem pole at this high school. Football is king and baseball and softball, especially, are really popular. The kids that run track get very little notoriety or respect at this school. It's a hard sport and I'm immensely proud of the kids who have stuck with it. I CANNOT wait to see the looks on their faces when they get these shoes. I am definitely going to bring my camera and cannot wait to get a picture of them holding up the shoes and then trying them on. I am hoping to submit an article to the local paper thanking New Balance. I am still in shock that they would so freely donate almost $2,000 worth of shoes to a school in need without any annoying paperwork or verification of students "in need".

I just cannot wait for the shoes to arrive. The other coaches who know these kids, the community, their families and where they come from, have told me most of them have nothing. They told me I'd be appalled if I saw where they live. One of my favorite kids is a talented and hardworking sophomore who runs just about everything we ask him to, from the 100m to the 4x400 in basketball sneakers and never says a word or complains about injuries or being tired or anything. He wears shoes that are a size too small and, apparently, he lives in a house where you can practically see the dirt floor. And now he's going to get brand new $100 running shoes!

Is this not the most amazing story EVER??? Thank you so much to everybody involved. Kara, Emily and most importantly NEW BALANCE!!!

Smile Moments

2010-03-27T17:50:00.005-04:00

The week started off pretty awful as I lost my keys at school Wednesday and didn't realize it until I was ready to go home after practice around 6:30. Needless to say, I literally spent two hours looking for the keys with the only people left in the school, the head janitor and his wife. The keys eventually turned up (locked in the secretary's office) but it made for a horrible night and consequently an awful start to the week. I felt like I was playing catch-up all week because of that one awful night. Throw in parent teacher conferences on Wednesday night and you have one rough week. The good news? Less than 1 week from now I will be in Monterey, California!

I have an awful lot of work to get done before then however. I have a stack of papers to grade that is about 2 weeks old that I need to knock out today. I have to finish cleaning the apartment, pack, plan, get some dry cleaning and ironing done that I've been meaning to do for MONTHS, and hopefully a couple decent workouts in and some lesson planning.

Despite my lack of sleep and planning, I somehow managed to make it through the week with my sanity intact and I even had a couple "smile" moments. The first was the day after the great key fiasco. I apologized to my kids that they had to take so many notes today, but explained that I lost my keys, got home very late and didn't have time to make them a worksheet. One of my students who is an office aide immediately responded, "oh, those were YOUR keys? We were trying to figure it out!" She went on to explain that they were examining my key ring and saw the Army keychain and stopped to think "now what teacher would have an Army keychain?"

Immediately another student in the class responded, "the one who loves World War II!" It seriously made my day. That is indeed my favorite historical period and is pretty much the reason I became a history teacher. I never told that to my kids, but I'm glad to see I conveyed my enthusiasm well. If all they remember 10 years from now about their 10th grade history class is that their teacher 'loved WWII' my life will be compete haha! It definitely also made me laugh that she was trying to figure out what teacher would have the Army keychain. She admitted she thought it might be me 'cos of how I talk to her about her best friend who is about to go to Afghanistan and how much I know. They definitely don't know about JC (I keep my personal life personal) so they just think I know a lot about the Army. I think some of them actually think I served, which is kind of comical.

Another smile moment came Thursady during track practice. I had to work with the distance squad for the first half of practice and then the head coach wanted me to do something with the girls team (only about 5 girls) to get them away from the boys he wanted to work with because, as he put it, they "go into heat whenever they're together". So for starters, in case I haven't mentioned it, I was a distance runner in high school. I have no natural speed and like running long distance because there is so much opportunity for improvement and personal advancement. Well, the 5 girls I had to work with were all 8th and 9th grade girls who - except for 1 - lack any real natural talent. That's perfectly fine with me, but add to that the fact that they have horrible attitudes and call themselves "the Black Mafia", are lazy and are only in the sprinting group because they just don't want to run anything more than a lap and you get an idea of what I had to work with. Now I come to practice every day in running attire. I like to run with the kids when I get a chance, especially the girls, even though they complain the entire time. The kids all know I have a distance background and I think whenever the Head Coach (we'll call him Coach T) says "go with Coach R" they are terrified because they think I'm going to make them run a distance workout.

So he told these 5 girls yesterday to go with me and you would not BELIEVE the complaining he and I heard. When I told them we were going to go run through the woods on the cross-country trails, I may as well have said we're going to fly to the moon. I told them I would run it with them and they seemed to accept it a bit better after that. I fudged the distance and told them we were running about 1 mile (it's really closer to 2200 meters, which is almost 1 1/2 miles). They complained for the first 5 minuets almost nonstop. What if we get attacked by a bear? What if a "wild Cujo dog" runs out and tries to kill us? What if a crazy man runs out of the woods to get us? What if we got lost? What if they got impaled by a stick? Complain. Complain. Complain. After about 3/4 of a mile they all started taking off their sweatshirts (I honestly think it's the first time they've worked up a sweat in track practice). When we popped out by the back baseball field with only about a half mile left they were all in pretty good spirits. I honestly think they couldn't believe they did it and that it was so much easier than they thought. We got back to the track and, for about the first time all season, we stretched as a team. One girl remarked "I really feel better after stretching." AMAZING. Another finally admitted "that was kind of fun." Still another - the one with the worst attitude in the world who scowls all throughout practice - asked, "can we do that every week?"

I was seriously on Cloud 9. The girls found something they like to do at track practice and it involves running more than 100 meters. I'm excited because I think it will be good conditioning once a week to build up some distance. I also think it really helped those girls realize I'm not so scary and I won't make them run 10 miles. I doubt they'd ever admit to it, but I think they liked that I ran it with them.

Another good thing that happened this week: JC's running shoes are now being worn by 2 of my favorite boys on the sprinting team. Like most of the track team, they were running in pretty sorry looking basketball shoes before. I have made it my goal to get them all in proper running shoe and thanks to the donations of a parent and my old pair of shoes I have now outfitted 4 athletes (out of about 30) with lightly used running shoes. Never mind that one of the boys is running in my size 11 girls shoes and has no ideas. Running shoes are running shoes and they're definitely better than what he used to have.

Other smile moments include an exchange with a particularly tough parent at conferences. A father that came in noted the flag on my wall and the several pictures I have on my "Heroes Wall" of people in uniform. He asked where I got the flag and I told him my boyfriend who returned from Afghanistan in November. He seemed to have an interest so I asked if he served. He said, "still do. I'm just on medical leave." I asked what branch and he responded, "the ONLY branch, the Army". I immediately replied with an instinctual "hooah", which just made him grin from ear to ear. It was a very tense conference up until then and after that he slapped me on the back! It was a fun way to end parent teacher conferences. I relayed the exchange to JC later that night and he complemented me on my excellent use of 'hooah' and told me he'd never been prouder.

Today has been a more productive Saturday than usual. I have been alternating cleaning, organizing and grading (packing will be added in tonight!). I do a little of this and a little of that and the day has flown by. I actually have to run to Kroger to go get my ingredients for my cooking date tonight. We're doing it tonight because JC has a big German test on Monday and I have a fantasy baseball draft. We're making a couple of old family recipes his dad passed along to him so it should be fun. I ate both things we're making back when I met his family back in January and they were delicious. I'm definitely looking forward to having them in my fridge all week.

In other news, my ex boyfriend will be deploying for Afghanistan. I found this out last night via Facebook and my stomach has been all queasy ever since. He is going to a particularly volatile and dangerous part of the country. I talked with JC at length about how I felt about him deploying. It's his 3rd deployment and his first as a sergeant in charge of other soldiers. Despite not being the right guy for me at all, he is a good person with a good heart and an outstanding soldier. Obviously, he is not a part of my life anymore like he used to be, but I still care about him and would ask you to keep him and his soldiers in your thoughts and prayers throughout the year.

Alright, I'm off to go pick up the ingredients for "Burger Puddin'" and "Ro Ro Salad". I do love my South Carolina boyfriend!

Still Moovin'!

2010-03-22T17:45:00.005-04:00

Well, I've been pretty awful at both posting about and keeping up with Casey's Get Moovin' Challenge...or at least the aspects of the challenge that she set up. As a reminder the challenge for the entire month of March was: #1 No fast food! #2 Workout at least 3 times a week! So here is how I've done so far....

The no fast food part I figured would be super easy. I can count on one hand the number of times I've eaten fast food in the last year so I didn't expect that to be a problem...except that was BEFORE track practice started. Ever since I started coaching and leaving school at 7 and 7:30 I have become a Chick-fil-A junkie. Okay, to be honest "junkie" for me means I went there once during the week, but I did it two weeks in a row. I honestly don't feel too guilty about it considering it IS Chick Fil-A and is not that awful compared to say a Big Mac. I actually check the calorie counter for my chicken sandwiches and I'm doing alright. Maybe it is JC's sad stories about no Chick-fil-A's in California, but I'm definitely starting to become obsessed with the place. I can definitely see myself getting into a habit for the rest of track season of going to Chick-fil-A once a week. I'm not proud of it, but sometimes I just don't have the energy to grade, plan AND cook dinner. The good news on the eating front is that JC and I are doing awesome with our Sunday meals. My interpretation of fast food in this challenge was always fast food in the sense of frozen/microwaveable meals that are fast to prepare. I am proud to say that since I started the challenge I have not had a single frozen meal! That includes my teacher lunch, which is still going strong with a Peanut Butter Crunch Cliff bar and a fruit cup. I recently switched over to the Dole No Sugar Added mandarin orange fruit cups as the Del Monte peaches were just WAAAAAAY too sugary for me and I absolutely love them. I think cooking with JC on Sundays has really helped my mission to eat better. Not only do we cook relatively healthy and balanced meals, but we cook enough to last the week, which helps me out a ton. Last night we made broiled salmon with mustard sauce and steamed broccoli. I just put a little bit of lemon juice and garlic powder on the broccoli (no butter!) and it was delicious. We were both pretty proud of ourselves for cooking such a healthy meal. Not to mention the fact that neither of us had never actually prepared fresh fish before so it was quite the accomplishment

As far as working out goes, I have unfortunately not had the greatest luck there. I had a great first week to start off, but track practice has completely derailed my attempts to get back into running. I have to spend too much of the practice actually coaching (which I really didn't think I would do), timing or babysitting and I don't have time to actually run anything aside from the occasional 400. I'm frustrated because I just bought a new pair of running shoes (my first pair of Brooks, which I adore!), but I think I'll probably only get to run on the weekends the way life is going right now. I honestly can't believe I've made it through two weeks of coaching. My life feels so busy right now. This half hour I'm taking to blog will be some of the only free time I have all day before I get so exhausted I fall asleep at 8:30. Words cannot begin to describe how much I am counting down to Spring Break...but back to my plan for the week.

Monday
B: cereal and banana
L: Cliff bar and fruit cup
D: salmon, broccoli, wild rice

Tuesday
B: cereal and banana
L: Cliff bar and fruit cup
D: leftover thin crust pizza (not the greatest, but it's in the fridge!)

Wednesday
B: cereal and banana
L: Cliff bar and fruit cup
D: salmon on top of a spinach salad

Thursday
B: cereal and banana
L: Cliff bar and fruit cup
D: salmon, wild rice and small spinach salad

Friday
B: cereal and banana
L: Cliff bar and fruit cup
D: haven't decided yet....possibly a take out night...

I know it's repetitive, but I don't mind eating the same thing throughout the week at all. If I get bored with it I will change it, but I never usually get tired of leftovers. I will need to try to resist the urge to run to Chick-fil-A on either Wednesday or Thursday. By then the work and grading starts to pile up and I get super exhausted.

I will also try to run more at practice when I can, though I highly doubt it will be for 30 minutes. If I get one workout in at practice then I can probably can fit in 2 runs Friday-Sunday, possibly even some EA Active action on the Wii on the "off" day. We shall see! I realize I've been awful about posting my updates about this (blame it on track season and my tendency to pass out between 8:30 and 9), but I have been trying to keep up with it as best I can.

Pinch Me Moments

2010-03-20T08:03:00.006-04:00

So it has basically been a week since I've updated. Sorry I'm such a bad blogger. Life is going well, it is just very very busy with track season now. We ran an inner-squad 'mock' meet on Friday and it was absolute insanity, especially without the head coach there. It was exhausting, but a whole lot of fun. I had a ton of out-of-body moments during the week where I looked in on myself and could hardly believe it was me coaching.

Do you ever have moments where you have to pinch yourself to believe the life you're living? Lately I've been having a lot of those moments where I wonder A) how the heck I got here? (in a good way) and B) if only my family and friends could see me now...

On my forty minute commute to and from school every day as I drive past the now familiar farm stands, tiny train stations, family farms and livestock, I can hardly believe that I've made it to March of my first year teaching. I remember thinking I would never even make it to Thanksgiving back when I first started. JC kept encouraging me and telling me I would hit my stride soon enough and I just didn't see how that would ever be possible. But now I can make up lessons literally on the spot. Obviously that's not ideal, but I made up my history lesson Friday on the formation of the UN and the Marshall Plan on the fly first period. And it was GREAT! The kids were asking all kinds of awesome questions and the graphic organizer I put together in about 10 minutes was PERFECT. Sometimes when I'm up teaching in front of the class, whether it's my seniors or my 10th graders, I just can't believe this is me. I still think it's amazing when I say something and my kids go and scribble it into their notes. They take notes about what I say? I'm a teacher? Seriously?? We had to hand out grades to our homeroom classes at the end of the day yesterday and I remembered how nervous I was the first day of school when I first met my homeroom. I didn't know any of them and wasn't sure what I should even do in homeroom. Now both the routine and the command of my classroom is so natural. It's hard for me to believe this is really me. I feel like I was just in grad school "playing teacher". My school district is kind of a mess right now - much like every school district across the country - and I'm not sure I'll be here next year, but I really hope I am! I can't wait to incorporate everything I've learned this year into next year. In good news, I had my evaluation meeting with my principle and I got satisfactory all around, which is the highest I could get. So yay me!

The other pinch me moment in my professional life has been this past week in track practice. My first week with the team was really just all about getting my feet wet and learning the routine. This week I actually ran practice a couple of days and taught kids how to hurdle and how to high jump and work on their form while running a 400. I honestly cannot believe I am coaching track. I can't believe when I talk to these kids, who for the most part would be labeled 'at risk youth' in today's PC world, that they actually pay attention and seem to care. They are 9th and 10th grade students I have never met, but whose names I know from seeing on the In School Suspension list just about every week. They have behavioral issues in the classroom and many have serious attitude problems. I won't say their behavior issues go away completely when they get to the track, but when I'm coaching them...they listen. It's amazing. I seriously have to pinch myself that little ol' me is able to keep and hold their attention and keep them working for 1 1/2 hours. I started four kids on Thursday on the 300m hurdles and really couldn't believe how I was able to hold their attention. I ran the 400 hurdles in high school and am pretty surprised at how much I remember about proper form and technique. I heaped on praise about specific things they did right and videotaped them so they could see for themselves. I think it really went a long way. I was talking to a friend about this and she was having a hard time coming up with other examples either of us knew about a girl coaching boys (and I hate to play the race card, but a white girl coaching a bunch of black kids). The head coach was out Friday so the distance coach and I ran the practice meet with our team all by ourselves. I was in charge of all 30+ sprinters and spent all day making teams and relays and choosing who would be anchor and who would be in what heat. Of course, two of the best kids didn't show up so my perfectly matched teams went out the window. Running the meet was absolute INSANITY since most of the kids had no idea what to do or where any of the races started. We had students pulling up with muscle cramps and I had to make up new relays on the fly. It was crazy and a serious headache trying to corral all these sprinters and get them to the right place at the right time, especially since we had to finish up before the late bus got there at 5, but it was a lot of fun and makes me excited for the real meets, even though I know they'll be a much bigger headache. It was a great way to cap off my first real week of coaching. It's frustrating. It's time consuming. But it's a whole lot of fun.

My final pinch myself moment occurs all the time outside of my professional life and is all about my personal life. Yes, that's right, I have to gush about the boy (again). I have to pinch myself several times a day to believe #1 that this wonderful man - who calls me every night just to say goodnight, sends me thoughtful texts and emails throughout the day, pays for my $450 flights out to see him, sends me packages full of random stuff that he 'just saw and thought of me' - exists at all and #2 that he is mine. I honestly cannot believe that we found each other and I cannot believe that he has become such a tremendous part of my life. I know that's a little sappy so I guess I'll leave it at that and get ready for Bunco. It's a brunch theme and I have to go buy a quiche from the amazing bakery down the street. Yeah, I'm copping out and not making anything but I totally think it's worth it for this bakery.

Do you ever have "pinch me" moments in your life where you can't even believe this is your life (in a very good way)?

(PS - I still need to pick a recipe out for tomorrow!)

Long Distance Dinner Date

2010-03-14T16:11:00.008-04:00

So I don't have much time to blog (STUPID DAYLIGHT SAVINGS!) since this day has flown by, but I have been told by numerous people that I should share my and JC's new weekend tradition with the world. So obviously maintaining a long-distance relationship is not easy. When your whole relationship for months at a time is the phone, things can get old very very fast. I know many people in LDRs say they run out of things to talk about. JC and I haven't run into that problem yet, but maybe that's because we're pursuing a "strategic theory of preventive action". (Seriously, how much of a military history dork am I?) What I mean by that is that we do things to make our relationship as new and different and fun as possible to avoid the boredom or monotony of phone call after phone call. Last month, we went on a "movie date". We both went to the theater - him in California and myself in Virginia - to see Avatar. Then we called each other and talked about favorite scenes, what we thought etc.

Our newest long distance date has been cooking dinner together from across the miles. We both have set goals for ourselves to try to cook better and eat right and one of the ways we've started doing that is by cooking together. How do we cook together from across the miles? Through the miracle of Skype, of course!

Seriously, Skype has made this distance thing a piece of cake. Whether we're playing each other online in a not-so-friendly (we are both uber-competitive) game of backgammon or Scrabble, or watching the Olympic hockey finals together, we have been able to spend lots of afternoons and evenings 'together' without actually being together.

So onto the dinner date. What happens is that each week one of us picks out a new meal for us to try out and make on Sunday night. We both are super busy during the week and so making one giant meal that can feed us for most of the week is the best way to go. I always TRIED to do this back in the fall, but most Sundays in the fall I am parked out watching football and planning lessons around the clock so I never did. It doesn't take me hours to plan lessons now and cooking with him over Skype is so much fun I love doing it. This weekend he picked out a lemon-poppyseed chicken dish. I suggested adding veggies and roasted red potatoes on the side and so we are set with what we need. Usually, we get that to each other on Saturday so we have plenty of time to go shopping. Now with the 3 hour time difference, it usually happens that I eat late and he eats early, but compromise is a part of every relationship, right?

So we'll usually text back and forth about when we want to start dinner. When we're ready, we'll both sign on Skype and I'll park my laptop on the breakfast bar and position it so he can see everything I'm doing. He'll do the same and then we get to work, chatting with each other as we go. I will say it can get pretty comical. Neither of us are the greatest cooks so there is a lot of: "when did you add in that?" or "how long does this need to cook for?". It's all very amusing though. And we're both so proud of ourselves when we finish. The best part is definitely sitting back - still on Skype of course - and enjoying the meal together. It is a wonderful new tradition that I hope we continue. I get to scratch off so many of my goals for the year - eat better, learn new recipes, become a better cook and do more fun things with JC! So that's one tip out of the Abigail and JC long-distance book of love. We've only been at this long-distance thing about 4 months and certainly don't claim to be experts at this, but it's definitely working for us!

Next week I get to pick the recipe so anyone have a good one to share??

track season = the end of regular blogging

2010-03-12T20:50:00.002-05:00

My not so subtle boyfriend reminded me today that it has been six days since I updated my blog. I know it has been a while and while I have intended to blog every day this week, I am so exhausted when I get back to my apartment after track practice that I genuinely am lucky if I remember to eat dinner. Track is incredibly exhausting/frustrating. The distance squad is awesome and I would love nothing more than to help coach them. I don't coach them however. I help coach the sprinters AKA the kids too lazy to run more than one lap who have no natural sprinting ability but call themselves sprinters. The boys team is comprised of incredibly lazy kids with serious behavior problems. The girls team is a bunch of young, lazy, unmotivated 9th grade girls who call themselves "the Black Mafia" (no lie, I couldn't make this up if I tried). They are not fast enough to be successful sprinters and don't have the work ethic to cut it at anything over a 400, but I'll see what I can do with them.

On Tuesday, Todd, the head coach, completely turned the girls over to me. He pointed to a couple hurdles and said "teach them how to hurdle" while he did the high jump with his boys. I was very surprised at how much I remembered about form when going over hurdles. I even remembered a few drills for the girls to practice. Since we only have about 7 girls, they really need to learn to do as many different events as possible. I will give them credit, they seemed to be interested and eager to learn and paid attention to me when I was instructing them about proper hurdling form. It was my first real "coaching" moment and wasn't something I'll forget anytime soon. I'm not sure if I can turn them into hurdlers or not, but we'll see. The following day I helped teach kids how to high jump, which is something I hadn't done since the eight grade! Thankfully, one of my best friends in high school was a high jumper so I was around the pit a lot and have a good idea of the basics.

I'll have to post more later. I'm pretty wiped (which is awfully sad for 9PM on a Friday) and think I will hit the hay soon. I got a new Droid this past week and I am loving it! Will have to post more on that later as well. I wish I wasn't so tired! I feel like I have so much to say about the team, how practice has gone, how my WWII unit is going and life in general. I guess it will have to wait until morning....

Getting in the Groove...

2010-03-06T07:33:00.007-05:00

No teacher likes being observed. Unfortunately, it is a reality of the profession - and especially of a first year teacher - that administrators and other higher ups will randomly appear in your classroom from time to time to watch you teach and take notes on everything you say and do or don't do. I used to dread getting observed when I was student teaching, and while I don't exactly look forward to it, I do enjoy the post-op where I get feedback on my lessons. I am always my own worst critic and it is great to learn what an outsider thinks of the lessons. I got observed for the 4th and last time this past week. I didn't think it was a great lesson by any means, but the woman who observed me couldn't stop raving about it. Seriously, all I did was use PowerPoints, but she said my use of primary sources in there (photos and political cartoons) was outstanding. Apparently, that's not something she sees a lot in the county (she is the social studies coordinator for the whole county). I was critical of the lesson 'cos I would consider it more of a lecture. It was mostly me talking, showing images and talking about them, but I did give lots of opportunities to ask questions and engage the kids. She just LOVED it. She said it wasn't lecture at all, it wasn't me just talking and the kids taking notes. She complimented me on how awesome the PowerPoint was and said she recognized how much effort probably went into making it. It was a very positive way to end the week.

I haven't talked to JC a ton this week 'cos we've both been pretty busy. His German classes just swung into full gear and it's pretty exhausting. He described it as being like Pathfinder School, which he completed back in January, except it's 'a marathon not a sprint'. He used the ol' baseball metaphor (we do love our sports metaphors) that he used with me at the start of the school year when I was struggling. It's just about "getting out of that first inning. Then you find your groove." I told him the same thing he told me when I'd stress out about figuring out how to manage my time and get everything right, which is "that he shouldn't worry too much about giving up a few homeruns 'cos he has Albert Pujols warming up in the on-deck circle for him." Looking back, it's crazy to think about what a big role he played in my life this fall from halfway across the world in Afghanistan. He was a sounding board for me when things got rough and I needed advice on how to deal with behavior issues. The emails I would read during my planning periods were bright spots in the middle of days where all I looked forward to was the last bell. And of course he sent me the most amazing flag to hang in my classroom. I'll have to get a better picture of it, but here is the best I could do for now. It's the flag in the frame underneath the flag.
(side note: don't I have the worst teacher handwriting ever?)

The certificate under the flag basically says, "this flag was flown on a combat mission over Afghanistan for Abigail on this day...." It is so amazing. My kids really loved it and it helped me make a connection with many who came up after class to tell me their brother was in the navy or the cousin was in Afghanistan. This flag came to me back in September when I was really struggling. JC told me he was sending me something, but when I walked up the stairs to my apartment and saw this huge waist-high box I had no idea what to think. My first thought upon looking at the state of the box was honestly, "what the heck is this? it looks like it's been through a war zone." Turns out it had! I basically melted when I saw it was from him and read the note inside. I can honestly say I think that moment, when I just sat on the floor looking at the flag and reading and rereading the unbelievably supportive note, is when I started to realize I had some serious feelings for this guy over in Afghanistan. He's heard that story about a million times (and if you're reading this, JC, a million and one), but without him I don't know that I would have been able to get through my first year of teaching - at least not with my sanity intact.

Our countdown is at T-28 days and a wake-up until I fly out to see him in California for spring break. I know the time will actually fly 'cos we will both be so busy. To put it in teaching terms, I'm at the Hitler's invasion of Poland and the miracle at Dunkirk right now (yes, I'm teaching Dunkirk) with my history kids. I need to be at the Fall of the Berlin Wall by the time I go see him. I told my kids today to buckle up 'cos we're about to start racing through this content, as much as that kills me. According to the state of Virginia, all I have to teach them about the actual events of the war are the fall of France, Battle of Britain, D-Day, Pearl Harbor and the bomb. Pacing guide or no pacing guide that is just not going to happen. I will not fly through this content. I love this stuff. My kids love this stuff. It's the whole reason I became a history teacher. I will not be forced to "cover" (I hate that word) WWII in a week! SOLs and pacing guide be damned! I'll race through the Cold War if I have to and the African and Indian independence movements, but not the Second World War!

I actually have to say that, whether it's due to JC or not, I have really been enjoying my job much more since Christmas break. I always heard that after Christmas is when it gets better and you start to 'hit your groove', but it really is true. Maybe part of the factor is that I really know and love this content more thaan the earlier stuff, but even government is getting easier (and I'm learning all about appellate jurisdiction on my feet!). I don't stay up EVERY night planning lessons late into the night anymore. I have time to work out, cook actual meals, talk to my boyfriend, do fun things on the weekend. Even better, I am learning what works in the classroom and how to make the kids 'get it' and they are doing much better. I'm learning that, as much as some of them infuriate me, I really do love these kids and I will miss each and every one of them. Yes, sometimes I want to drop kick them out of the room, but even my apathetic seniors have their moments.

I am really looking forward to start coaching Monday also. I've never formally coached anything before and I'm sure it will be a 'learn as you go'/on your feet type of thing, but I really think I will like it. I watched the best documentary EVER on cross-country this weekend called "The Long Green Line".

You don't find many movies about cross-country, save from a couple Hollywood films on Steve Prefontaine, so I was excited to hear about this movie from a college pal. It is an amazing documentary that really hits on what makes running so great. Anyone can be a runner. And if you have it in your heart to be great, you can be. This school has won 24 straight cross-country championships. Somehow I don't think it's because of the water in York, Illinois. They have a great coach and they work hard. That's all there is to it. Here's to hoping I can tap some enthusiasm in the younger grades and get some girls to appreciate that aspect of running.

Okay, I've written way more than I planned. Something about blogging...I just keep going and going and going....

I didn't even get to write about the midterm break that JC found he gets in June! OR my amazing interaction after school with one of my 10th graders! OR the hysterical conversation that took place with my senior government class on Wednesday.

Alas, another time. I must make breakfast, do some grading and get ready to head to Charlottesville to reunite with the grad school game for the UVA-Maryland game. Wahoowa!!

Getting Lost....

2010-03-04T18:19:00.010-05:00

So I am a huge dork and have always gotten way too into TV shows. I was obsessed with Buffy the Vampire Slayer back in high school (yeah, go ahead and laugh, but I dare you to find a list of the best TV shows of the decade that doesn't have that on it). I love Friends, Sex and the City and old reruns of 90210 and the OC are definitely guilty pleasure of mine. Several years ago, sort of on a whim, I started watching the show Alias. I think it was probably mainly because of Michael Vartan (aka the hot teacher from Never Been Kissed!), but the bottom line is I got sucked into it. So much so that I watched two whole seasons over the course of about..3 days. It was the dead of winter and I did very little aside from eat, shower, use the bathroom and watch Alias. Not my proudest moment (or was it?), but yeah, JJ Abrams hooked me. Unfortunately, all the awesome twists and turns and questions he raised through five seasons never got any answers. All he succeeded in doing was killing off my favorite character, introducing new annoying ones and most importantly not answering ANY real questions about so much that was introduced in the show.

I SWORE when Lost came out that I wouldn't watch it and I listed those exact reasons. I know JJ is not in charge of it anymore, but I still consider it the brainchild of JJ Abrams. So aside from an episode here and there I stayed away from Lost entirely...until last year when those damn preview for the new season (you know the ones with Matthew Fox yelling "we have to go back!") hooked me in. So in a matter of weeks I caught myself up on all the seasons and sat glued to my TV every Wednesday night last year and every Tuesday night this year. But Lost is starting to lose me. Make no mistake, with only 10 episodes left I will certainly keep on watching 'til the end, but I have lost all faith that they will answer so many of the questions that kept me watching for years. Sure the current good vs. evil or dueling gods/whatever the heck Jacob and Smokey McKillsABitch are is interesting and it does give an overall blanket explanation for what's going on, but it makes entire SEASONS worth of questions nothing but filler. The reality is none of the content of this season seems at all relevant to the developing story that attracted so many of us and kept us watching.

Things I DEMAND answers to (but highly doubt I will ever get)
- where is Desmond??? seriously, it is so uncool to introduce this incredible character that everyone loves and then basically ignore him for 2 seasons.
- will Desmond's time traveling ever be explained or do we just accept that he is some super time-traveling man?
- what are Widmore and Eloise all about?
- WAAALLLLLTTTT!!!! Seriously, remember the episode where the bird flew into the window? or when he appeared all dripping wet and speaking backwards to Shannon? Now he is like...18 and 6'0 tall so I doubt we'll see him again.
- why can't babies be born on the island?
- why did Locke see the smoke monster as "beautiful white light" when everyone else sees it black?
- what's the deal with Christian? Sun's father? the fortune teller? Libby?
- what the heck happened when the hatch imploded?
- who were the people in Antarctica when the hatch blew up??
- why did Cindy and the kids get kidnapped?
- why is the statue broken? who broke it? why does it have 4 toes?
- why was Sayid in Australia? (did I miss this?)
- Jack's tattoo?
- random black horse in the woods?
- who did Locke talk to in the cabin?
- how could Christian appear on the freighter way the heck off the island?
- why did Sun, Ben and Frank not flash back to 1977 when the plane crashed?
- what did blowing up the bomb accomplish (since that was the whole focal point of season 5)?
- Adam and Eve?
- why do the others whisper and then appear?
- who was shooting at Sawyer and co. last year in the outrigger?
- what is the deal with Richard?
- who is Ilana and why does she know so much?

The list could go on and on and on...

I honestly don't think many of these will ever be answered. I don't think in the current direction the show is going that there is even a role for most of these questions to get answered. But we watch on.

Are you a Lost fan? What do you think of the new season? Do you really think they will answer all those questions? Do you have any nagging questions?

Let's Get Moovin'!!

2010-03-01T20:00:00.010-05:00

Getting inspiration from Casey over at Ever-Changing Life and making a commitment to working out and really eating right.

Her challenge was:
1. Put the above button on your blog or in your posts.
2. Commit to cutting out fast food for the month.
3. Commit to exercising in some form 3+ days a week.
4. Post your progress each Monday and link up on my blog.

I start coaching track next week and am committed to not being that coach that tells the kids to run something she can't run herself. One of my favorite things about my high school track and cross-country coach in high school was that if we had to run a 5 mile loop that day he would run it with us. He would sometimes even run our speed workouts on the track with us. The track season starts a week from today so my plan is just to get 3 or 4 runs in this week to at least get my muscles used to doing something other than sitting on the couch planning lessons, standing in front of a classroom or playing Wii. I only ran about 30 minutes today, which is not a lot considering 3 years ago I was running half marathons, but it's a start. On the urging of my wonderful boyfriend, I have been stretching every day since deciding to start running again. I have always been a huge advocate of stretching before and after workouts and that is something I intend to pass onto my kids. I actually always use a jumprope to stretch, which I highly urge everyone else to do. Okay, onto my workout plan for the week.

Monday - 30 minute run(already accomplished)
Tuesday - long stretch and some EA Active on the Wii
Wednesday - 30 minute run
Thursday - long stretch and some EA Active on the Wii
Friday - 30 minute run
Saturday - 30-45 minute run
Sunday - REST

That will give me one day to rest before practice starts up. In terms of my meal planning, I have never been a huge fast food eater. However, I am guilty of consuming "fast food" if you are referring to frozen food I can prepare fast. The last three weeks I have been committed to cooking more and eating more balanced meals. Every Sunday I have been trying a new recipe and this past Sunday it was turkey burgers, which I have never attempted to make before. I also made some wild rice and a spinach salad. Today after my run, stretch and shower I heated up both and put together another spinach salad. No points for creativity, but I didn't mind because (if I do say so myself) my turkey burgers are delicious!

I did very well food shopping this week and definitely stuck to my list when I went to Kroger with my only real impulse purchase being some stuffed portabello mushrooms that looked amazing. Breakfast for me is pretty much always either a bowl of Special K or Activia yogurt and granola. I go through phases where I get tired of one and switch to the others. I used to prepare salads for the week for lunch, but that has definitely fallen by the wayside in favor of grabbing whatever Lean Cuisine meal is on sale that week. That is the kind of fast food I have been trying to eliminate from my life, so instead my lunch has been a very minimal Cliff bar and fruit cup. I know it doesn't sound like much, but it's actually pretty satisfying. I have been awesome at drinking more water throughout the day (something I used to be GREAT at doing), especially since I bought a big case of Propel water at Sam's the other week.

All in all, I am very satisfied (albeit a little sleepy) with my progress and plan so far. I just need to buckle down on my lesson planning for tomorrow. Thankfully, I knocked out all my grading (woohoo!!) until this weekend when my sophomores turn in their dictator projects. Then I will have a mountain to grade, but based on what I have seen so far I am really looking forward to seeing them. My kids LOVE learning about Hitler and their brains exploded today when they learned about Stalin and his gulags. They couldn't believe they hadn't learned about it before.

Anyway, I have a lot to do tonight and may or may not need to consume a 5 Hour Energy to stay awake and not crash on the couch at 9PM. I know they're not the best, but hey at least they're zero calories!

Lazy Sunday

2010-02-28T09:21:00.005-05:00

Well, thanks to NBC's spotty coverage of the men's slalom (and one of the greatest Olympic stories of the year) even if you wanted to, you couldn't watch Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong. Despite being covered by media from London to D.C and appearing on spots like the Today Show, NBC chose not to show Kwame competing in the men's slalom yesterday. To say I'm a little disappointed would be an understatement. I have enjoyed watching all of the Olympics and am beyond stoked to watch the gold medal hockey game tonight, but I was looking forward to seeing Kwame compete since I first saw him walk out in the Parade of Nations proudly waving the Ghana flag. I read his story, figured out what day he would be competing and then...nothing. I had to resort to reading a newspaper article that described the magic on the mountainside after he finished. Chants of "Ghana! Ghana!" apparently kept on going an hour after he left the slopes. I should add, for those who are curious, that on a slalom course so difficult and covered in fog 50% of its competitors finished with a DNF (including Bode Miller and the reigning world champion in the event from Austria), Kwame made it down the slope. AND he attained his Olympic goal of actually competing, beating an Albanian skier by more than twenty seconds. I loved his story, to me it summed up the true 'Olympic spirit'.

He is a competitor. That was one of the most appealing parts of his story. Finishing was not enough for him. Maybe it's the old cross-country spirit in me. I just love competition, even if the only person you're competing with is yourself. It even got me excited to start coaching. The head coach informed me the other day that I will be in charge of the 8th and 9th grade girls team (YIKES!). While a daunting task, I am excited at the possibility of working with young runners who are new to competitive running.

I am having a lazy Sunday morning trying to motivate myself for a big day., sitting on my couch reading newspaper articles my dad sent me last week and watching Meet the Press while I eat a leftover cinnamon-cream cheese brioche from the new bakery down the block. I don't feel that guilty about my lazy morning so far - especially considering the fact that I had a very productive morning yesterday getting laundry done and cleaning my house. It really is ridiculous how much of a morning person I am. If I stay in bed for a good chunk of the morning or stay in my pajamas 'til 11 AM I feel like I've wasted half the day and I hate it! Since it's almost 10 AM, I probably ought to hit up the grocery store as my cupboard and fridge are starting to get bare. I need to finally finish grading my senior's projects on the executive branch and plan 4 engaging intro lessons on the judicial (that doesn't involve me just showing them episodes of Judge Judy and the People's Court). I also need to figure out how to plan my 10-day unit on World War II. I'm still determined to be past the Cold War by Spring Break, which is currently only 25 instructional days away. It will be challenge, and a painful challenge at that considering World War II is the reason I became a history teacher in the first place. I'll have to post more on that in another blog post. For now, it is off to make a grocery list and head to my favorite Kroger.

I am equally sad/excited for the hockey game this afternoon! Excited because I think it has the potential to be an epic game and sad because the Closing Ceremonies will follow and then comes Olympics withdrawal and the long wait 'til baseball season. I have really enjoyed these Olympic Games. I loved always being able to have them on in the background while I graded and planned into the wee hours of the night. Baseball season is just around the corner though and with baseball comes spring break and the wonderfulness that is a teacher summmer.

Will you be sad to see the Olympics go? Did you have a favorite Olympic story or athlete this year? What sporting event will you be looking forward to next?

Watch the Snow Leopard!!

2010-02-27T10:19:00.008-05:00

Everybody watch Kwame and the one man Ghana ski team today in the Men's Slalom!!!
Read more about Kwame here.

Survey time!

2010-02-26T17:45:00.012-05:00

My best high school pal, Kara, over at www.karathon.blog (AKA my inspiration to start blogging) posted this fun "Have You Ever" quiz on her blog so I thought I'd give it a shot. I used to love doing these things back in the days of AOL and Compuserve. I definitely would send them out to my closest friends all the time, even though they obviously already knew most of the answers.

1) Walked out of a movie in the theatre?
I honestly can't say that I have, at least not that I remember. I was in a theater where I saw numerous people walk out and that was when I was living in Wyoming and went to go see Brokeback Mountain. The movie actually premiered in the town a couple of weeks before I went to see it and it definitely made some waves with the local population. I really wanted to ask the folks who walked out, "what exactly did you expect?"

2) Spontaneously bought/watched a movie that was out years ago…but brings up “sentimental” feelings?
Yes! Little Giants was in the $5 bin at Walmart and I definitely picked it up. It reminds me of my brother. He and I LOVED that movie so much. We will still watch it whenever we see it on TV and I even got this movie for him as a nostalgic Christmas present. I think it first came out when I was 10-11 years old and I remember I didn't really get the line, "Timmy, I'm not sure, but I don't think that goes there" (said by Rick Moranis when a child puts a protective cup over his face). I can sit down today and watch it and probably quote half the movie. I still crack up at so many of the lines and Greg and I are silly and will quote it all the time when we're together. One of my favorite lines? A player's response to being issued his jersey: "So the guys at the morgue can identify the bodies..."

3) Had a major celebrity/athlete/singing crush “back in the day”?
I LOVED Johnny Whitworth (aka AJ from Empire Records) back in middle and high school! I had such a crush on him I watched the movie Bye, Bye, Love - in which he has a bit part - about 20 times. I even made a fan website for him. For a long time it was the ONLY Johnny Whitworth fan page out there and was the very first search result on the search engines Yahoo and Excite. Fifteen year old me was very proud of this accomplishment!

(C'mon, you know you loved him!)

I also definitely had a thing for Gavin Rossdale, the lead frontman of Bush, no matter how much I insisted that "I just liked the music."

4) Called in “sick”/made an excuse to work or canceled an appointment/meeting/get-together with friends, co-workers, etc. (but you weren’t actually?!)
I definitely took a "sick" day at the end of last month to go see JC graduate from a grueling 3 week Army course. I don't take many sick days because to me it is like losing an instructional day and the kids get behind. I must confess I felt pretty guilty about it when I was driving down Thursday night, but my 3rd period class was the last thing on my mind when I got to pin his wings on that Friday morning.

I have to confess to canceling on friends and relying on a lame excuse about being sick/having an appointment more than I would care to admit. Lots of times it's just because I'm lazy and sometimes I would much rather lay around the house in my sweatpants (like I'm going to do tonight) than go out. More specifically, I remember bailing on a get-together with my college pals in Boston for New Years 2008. I was still pretty heartbroken from getting dumped that summer (yes, it took me a LONG time to get over him) and the prospect of spending New Years surrounded by 6 friends who were all happy and in love and joined with their significant others while I was very much alone and still miserable just was not appealing to me. Especially when you factor in 6+ hours of driving time to get there. I think I used a family obligation as an excuse not to go. I ended up spending New Years with my family and randomly meeting up with an old high school friend I still jokingly refer to as "the one that got away", which was awesome. Random side note about this guy: He was a polite, intelligent, thoughtful, athletic, quirky boy a year below me on the cross-country team. We were very good friends and he was such an awesome upstanding kid. I think if I had had a bit more confident and been less self-conscious and concerned with what other people thought, I would have asked him out. Silly high school Abigail.

5) Just come home from work – when you should be going to the gym/doing some activity/being productive…and instead plopped on your butt with FOOD and a book/TV, a bath, some music….and just completely VEG OUT and become a LAZY BUTT…but not give 2 damns’??
I'm doing that right now! I'm contemplating ordering Chinese (I haven't had Chinese food in about 2 years) and curling up with my comfy blanket and sweatpants and watching the DVD I picked up at Target last week, Brothers At War. I have a mountain of grading I need to do, clothes that need to go to the dry cleaner, a dishwasher that needs unloaded, laundry that needs to be done, awesome "engaging" lessons that need to be planned for next week considering I am going to be observed by the social studies coordinator for the district at some point. I told myself when I got home I would knock out some grading, but I just do not see that happening at all. I honestly seem to have a lot of these kinds of afternoons. I make excuses for myself on Friday, which is valid, but then I want to make the same excuses on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning. It's something I think I really need to work on. I think if I did, it would improve my mood immensely during the school week.

6) Had a HORRIBLE hair-cut that made you want to cry or hide out for, well, a year until it grew out?
I'm pretty boring when it comes to hair cuts and coloring. I cut my hair the shortest it has ever been my sophomore year of college and it took some getting used to, but I ended up loving it. I cringe when I look back on some of the haircuts my mom gave me, but I don't think that counts.

7) Had your heart broken? How did you deal with it?
Yes. My first boyfriend, first real relationship, first love, first everything also sadly ended up being my first (and hopefully only) heartache. I relied on my friends and family a great deal in the aftermath. I basically moved in with my friend and her husband 'cos I couldn't stand being alone for that first week and I needed someone to keep me from calling him. I had wonderful friends to distract me for much of that fall and remind me of how awesome my life was without him, but I still was an emotional wreck for a long time. It sounds cliche, but I dealt with it by just getting through one day at a time. I had student teaching to concentrate on for much of the fall. Then I focused on finding a job, finishing my masters and making the best of the time I had left with my friends there. As the months passed by, I even started actively "dating" for the first time. Before I even realized it I was slowly falling in love with somebody else. (Cheezy, but true!)

8) Wanted to look like or BE another celebrity?
Back in college, my friends and I always used to joke about who our "girl crushes" were. I think to this day the only person I could state having a "girl crush" on would be Reese Witherspoon . I think after we went to see Sweet Home Alabama (such a guilty pleasure movie), we all pretty much wanted to be her. People magazine always used to show her working out or doing something fun and athletic and she seemed to have it so together. Throw in her adorable children, dreamy husband and perfect marriage (this was pre-divorce) and I'd say she had a pretty enviable life. My current celebrity crush is totally Emma Watson from the Harry Potter films. She is so classy. I just love her.

Adventures in Room 101

2010-02-24T17:01:00.005-05:00

So one thing that they never teach you in ed school? What to do with 19 students locked in your classroom ALL day long.

After a horrific morning commute that involved being stuck behind a school bus AND a logging truck AND a tractor (only in south central Virginia, baby!) I went into the office to sign in and check my mailbox only to see four uniformed police officers. The principal informed me that I should not go to the copier and instead should proceed back to my classroom, collect any kids in the hallway I might see and direct them to an open classroom. He didn't give any explanation as to why, but he appeared very serious, so like a good soldier, I just did as I was told and headed off. On my way down the hallway I saw two other teachers that were there early directing traffic. I assumed it was some kind of drill at first, even though I thought it was odd that they would conduct a drill at 7:30 AM before school even started, but a part of me also immediately wondered "I wonder what kind of threat the school has gotten?"

By 8 AM, I had about 19 kids in my class, the majority of whom I did not know by name and did not have in my government or history classes. I ended up having those kids locked in my classroom for the ENTIRE school day aside from about 30 minutes for lunch. Due to the nature of the threat and the alert from the local sheriff's office, the school was in lockdown all day long. The students, who had not even been allowed to go to their lockers or get breakfast from the cafeteria, were stuck in a classroom with no books to read, no fun games and absolutely nothing to do. First. I just let them talk and went about planning what to do with the rest of the school day, which I incorrectly assumed would start after a delay. After about an hour of talking they got restless so I consequently spent the rest of the day entertaining a class full of 16-18 year olds. First, we watched Supersize Me on Hulu, then we played trivia games on Sporcle (during which I amazed them by naming 193/195 countries in the world), then we watched YouTube videos for an hour and then went back to Sporcle.

Aside from a couple complaints about when they could go to the bathroom and griping about not being able to get breakfast and having to wait 'til 1 PM to eat (which I would probably gripe about too), the kids all blew me away at how calm and patient they were. They didn't know me at all and were more acquaintances than friends with each other, but you never would have known that by the end of the day. I had them smiling and laughing by the end of the day and one even began taking pictures to "capture the memory" of her day in lockdown with Ms. Robson. I heard a couple of them at lunch brag about how much fun they were having with me, while others griped that their teacher was just at the computer working and ignoring them.

Supersize Me definitely got them all talking (especially the part where he described his sex life as "worthless" - thank God they were all juniors and seniors and not freshmen!) and I really actually enjoyed playing Sporcle with them. We would do something silly like Disney songs and then I would follow it up with a quiz on U.S presidents. Then name that Simpsons character followed by U.S state capitals. I'm not going to lie, I definitely loved playing trivia with my kids. Their eagerness to name all the Presidents was very fun to watch and so was their overall enthusiasm and competitiveness to "name them all". My only concern was that the two students I actually have in my regular classes who were in class with me all day might now see me as more of a "friend" than teacher. It's a line I have been very careful about crossing from day one. I am aware that I am closer to them in age than any other teacher they have and I know they like that. They talk to me and joke around a lot, but when I get up in front of the classroom, I try to convey that I'm all business. I hope an hour of laughing at silly YouTube clips has not somehow undermined my authority. I'm not sure what else I was supposed to do in the situation. I could have gotten a lot of grading done, but I left it all at home. I could have ignored them and planned lessons all day, but I think I would have heard a lot more complaining and restlessness. As it was, they had a completely "free" day at school where - aside from naming some states and presidents - they didn't have to do anything academic. Honestly, I really just didn't want to ignore them. By the end of the day, we were all very relaxed, but I'd imagine it was a very scary start to the school day for a 16 year old - cops and a gun sniffing dog all over your school, teachers who won't answer questions, evasive statements from the principal.

After 8 days off of school due to snow at the start of this month, missing another instructional day was not exactly ideal today, but I definitely understand the administration's decision to err on the side of caution. A threat was made to someone at the school and they took every precaution to keep the students safe. I know parents will be up in arms over what happened, but it seems to me like a situation where the administration can't win. If they did nothing, people would have been up irate and if they did more and had gone ahead and closed school, people probably would be upset too. It seems like a lose-lose all around, but I commend them for taking the proper precautions.

Today's events definitely got me thinking, especially this morning when I was standing in the hallway and directing kids into classroom, about how different the teaching profession is now vs 15 years ago. School shootings now have become a sad reality in America. I don't know that if 15 years ago the administration would have taken such extreme precautions. I don't think the thought ever crossed teachers' minds "what would I do if a gunman entered the room?" But when I was standing out in the hallway this morning directing students into classrooms with the 6 other teachers on my floor, it occurred to me that - at that moment - we were all in charge of their safety. The well-being of the kids often gets lost in all the focus on lessons and testing and report cards. I don't often think about what I would do in extreme situations at school. We had a weird incident that tested me earlier this school year, about a month into my teaching career. A weird chime went off on the loudspeakers and, not knowing what alert it was, I erred on the side of caution, locked the door and shut off the lights. It turns out all the teachers were as confused by the weird chime as me, but many had done the same exact thing and erred on the side of caution. One even went so far as to instruct all her students to move to the side wall, as we usually do in lockdown drills.

It's a sad reality that these are things teachers today have to think about. I know the safety of your students should always be paramount, but my first instinct when I think about the safety of my students is creating a safe classroom environment. It was a shock for me when I started student teaching to learn that every school now has an SRO - or school resource officer - in the building at all times. We never had any kind of school police or security officer that I knew of in my high school in New York. I don't think as a student I ever sat in the classroom and wondered what I would do if a gunman came to the door. It's awful! And it is something I never seriously thought about in all my time at education school. But for the first hour or so of lockdown this morning, my head was certainly spinning with all kinds of "what ifs?". By that time, I understood the situation and was clear that there was no longer a real threat to the school or students and the lockdown was in place more to find the student in question than anything else, but I still couldn't help but wonder. I was trying to figure out what piece of furniture would be best to barricade the door with, how many students could get out the window at once. My classroom is the last one in the hallway, very close to a door. I was trying to figure out whether that was a good or bad thing, as it is the door most students use to enter the building also. I guess it's sort of like how my mother, a former flight attendant, used to always make me check for the nearest exit whenever I boarded an airplane. There's a very small chance something will happen, but you have to be prepared. Sadly, I think the odds of a violent incident occurring at school are much greater than an airplane crash.

Bunco!!

2010-02-21T11:34:00.010-05:00

For several months now my best teacher pal, Kendra, has invited me to serve as a substitute in her Bunco league. For those that don't know Bunco, it is a "parlor" game that involves absolutely no skill whatsoever (naturally, it is perfect for me). You roll dice and count. That's pretty much all there is to it. If you roll three ones, you get a Bunco and you shout Bunco. If it sounds simple, it's because it is. It's also a lot of fun though. The women in Kendra's Bunco league get together every 3rd Saturday of the month. It's basically like a girl's equivalent to Poker Night. They bring food, drinks (usually lots of wine!) and contribute money every month to a pot so that the winners get prizes. You can get prizes for most Buncos, first Bunco, even biggest loser (which is what I was aspiring for this week)! I filled in at Halloween and Christmas and made out like a bandit - I got wonderful bubble bath (which I used Friday night), shower gel, a picture frame and an MP3 player. Sadly, this go round I was not as lucky. They did all ask me to officially join their Bunco League though, which was quite an honor. The league is basically an excuse for all the women (most of whom are married and have kids) to get out of the house, socialize, eat and drink. I guess it's like a book club, except without all the pretending to read a book.

I was a bit awkward the very first time I went since I didn't know anyone aside from Kendra. I almost stupidly assumed I didn't have much in common with most of the women. As I said, they were all married and everybody had kids. I discovered pretty quickly how silly that was of me. Most of the ladies are in their thirties, but it's just like hanging with my big sister. They are a blast! I honestly feel like I have more in common with them than a lot of girls my age. I am at a point in my life where I am definitely thinking about the future more than I ever have before. I'm not talking marriage and babies or anything, but I do like to think about where my life is going and I enjoy hanging out with people who "have it together" and have a life I could see myself having when I am their age. These women all have careers and families. They are talented crafters and bakers, cooks, teachers, nurses and are awesome mothers. I really enjoy hanging out with them, hearing about their lives and I honestly feel like I can learn a lot from them. I don't think aside from Kendra that I would keep in touch with any of them once I leave, but it is a nice social network to have. Also, I have to mention the fact that the two women who were pregnant back at Halloween both brought their newborns, who were 8 and 10 weeks respectively. I have never been a baby person (no offense to you if you are) who "ooohs" and "aahhs" at every baby they see. I have NEVER been around babies that little before though and they just killed me, especially the little boy in his little Blues Clues onesie! I may or may not have freaked my wonderful boyfriend out a bit when I came home raving about the babies.

Regardless, I am now an official member of the Bunco League, which means every 3rd week of the month I have to make some kind of awesome party dish to serve. I guess, if nothing else, Bunco will make me a better cook. I told them I doubted I would be able to host it in my apartment, as it is pretty limited with space and anyone who is allergic to cats wouldn't be able to attend. Kendra said she could host for me, which would be perfect.

I'm very happy I went yesterday, even though it did put me behind a little bit regarding work. I woke up this morning and was very productive and finished grading my 12th grade current events assignments. They are due every Friday, but usually I get pretty behind getting them back to my students. I start coaching in a little over a week so I am trying not to get bogged down with paperwork and grading. I honestly don't know what to expect from coaching regarding the time commitment. I am looking forward to it, but am not sure I am ready. Whether I am ready or not, I'm about to dive in headfirst! I'm sure there will be many blogs in the future that will very much be a 'learning as I go' approach to coaching. Currently, I don't know what I'm coaching aside from the 400m hurdles, an event I participated in in high school, which is a great way for teams to pick up points in district meets. The problem is recruiting someone who is crazy enough to want to sprint a lap with 15 obstacles to jump over. If I can get any athletes interested it would certainly be fun to do. I know nothing about how to coach them, but that is what the internet is for, I suppose.

I'm off to do some cleaning, laundry and ironing. I have quite a bit more grading to do as all my students just turned in their notebooks and study guide Friday, which require a grade. Interim reports go out on Tuesday, so I need to stay after school Monday and make sure all that is ready. I also need to develop my lesson plans for the week. I know what I want my kids to learn this week, I just have no idea how I am going to get them there. Such is the life of a teacher, I suppose.

My question for you today is: have you ever been a part of a social club or league like Bunco? Why and when did you join?

12th grade thoughts on the State of the Union

2010-02-19T15:19:00.009-05:00

After we finished watching I had the students write down their thoughts on the President's State of the Union address. I so enjoyed their responses that I thought I would share them with you

- I was surprised he didn't talk about the war first. It seemed like he just put it at the end cuz he had to.
- I noticed how the woman behind him seemed like she would support him on anything.
- He sounds good and smart and has the right attitude, but actions speak louder than words.
- I don't think he will do everything he says he is going to do and if he is he needs to hurry up.
- I think he blamed Bush for everything wrong today.
- I think he gonnna get done whatever he wants done whether people like it or not.
- He focused too much on health care.
- I think he needed to talk about the war more.
- Dis is the first State of the Union I've watched. I liked it.
- It seemed fake in a way because some of the things he said in the speech won't never happen.
- I thank him for trying to help out people like me who are trying to go to college.
- I thought that some things he said about the previous administration weren't right. For him just becoming President, he should be wanting to stay on good terms with the Republicans.
- I thought it was wrong for him to trash the Bush administration.
- I think Obama is a great talker, but not a good President.
- Too much standing and clapping.
- I wasn't convinced.
- He seems like he really wants to help the people. This made me change my view on him a little.

And that's just a random sample. I know my students hate whenever I give them an assignment like this that makes them reflect on anything and actually THINK (the horror!) not just copy or rewrite something. Since so many are reluctant to share, it has become my de facto method of formative assessment. In this instance, all I wanted to see was that they watched and listened to the speech and understood the main messages the President was trying to convey. They showed me, not only that they did, but that they also thought about the things he said (or didn't say). Honestly, it is getting back stuff like this that makes me love my job. Also, getting back test results like this:

Aside from the student who failed (who, I believe, has failed every test I've given her so far), I think I will check this unit off as a great success! The student who failed is one who has been a thorn in my side all year. My happiness level increased a great deal when I finally learned to accept that I wasn't going to reach every student. As soon as my coworkers helped me come to that conclusion, I was immensely happier. I realized I could push this student and do everything possible for her in the classroom, but if she isn't going to the work on her part (and the answers to her test indicate that she did ZERO outside preparation) there is nothing I can do. As for my other students, here's to hoping they don't let everything they learned about the Treaty of Versailles fall out of their heads by Monday 'cos we will go right into how it leads to World War II. I know what I have to get through next week. I just need to stick to my schedule and not let the students (or their awesome questions) distract me. I have five days to make sure the students understand (I won't say "cover" or "get through") what caused global depression in the '30s and the rise of Stalin, Hitler and Mussolini. In government, we begin to tackle the judicial branch, although a sudden push from administration to play the online stock market game might mean a sudden improv lesson in investments and the stock market in the middle of learning about the Supreme Court...let the fun begin....

Maxing out Productivity

2010-02-18T18:03:00.006-05:00

Today marked the second day this week where I have been very productive and then crashed. This seems to happen to me a lot. I'll have a period of several hours where I get a ton of things done and then I'm so proud of myself for doing all that that I kick back and do nothing for the rest of the day. The first day was Sunday. I had a great morning cleaning, getting laundry done, dishes cleaned. I went grocery shopping at Sam's Club and then hit up Target to get some prescriptions filled (my doctor told me it was the cheapest place in Lynchburg to go). Now before you say anything, yes, I am a single girl and I shop at Sam's. I felt a little silly at first considering I live alone and everyone in there seems to be buying food for an entire football team. I love going there though. I LOVE getting shopping done and knowing I won't have to run out for toothpaste or toilet paper or Kleenex for a long time. (When the Swine Flu was making it's way through my classes, my students were especially grateful for the endless supply of Kleenex). Sam's also has a lot of items you can't get anywhere else. They have unbelievable salsa that I am in love with and I discovered this weekend they also have INCREDIBLE chicken salad. I am a sucker for good chicken salad. I especially like it with craisins or grapes in it. Anyway, I finished shopping at Sam's in a very good mood and happy with my purchases. I also had picked up two crates of water and one of Gatorade for my schools "Hope for Haiti" drive. Each grade level is assigned an essential item to bring. So far we have a pretty amazing show from a school made up of kids who don't really have much to begin with. On my way to my car I was asked by a group of people if I wanted to donate money to support the local Boy Scouts. I was about to politely decline and keep walking when I thought about my boyfriend, the Eagle Scout who has just signed up to volunteer as an assistant scoutmaster with the local boy scout troop in Monterey. I ended up buying the most AMAZING locally made wheat bread and raspberry jam. Between the cleaning, the laundry and the groceries, I got back and just crashed. Played some Wii, hung out online, made some phone calls, watched TV. I was very lazy for the second half of the day.

The same thing happened today after school. I had a very successful day at work and think my kids really enjoyed my "Family Feud" style review. I got a surprise observation yesterday by my principal, which went better than I thought it would. I don't mind being observed at all as much as I used to, which is good. It was actually a pretty good feeling to compare today to the last time he observed me back in September. It's crazy how much more comfortable I feel with the kids and the content. I can't believe I've almost made it to March of my first year! But I digress. I had a very productive day at work. During my planning period, I ran off copies of my test and uploaded it onto the Test Information System (TIS) database we're supposed to use. Many of the veteran teachers complain about TIS, but I've been using programs like it for as long as I've been teaching. It is a pain to upload the test, make an answer key and align every question with a state standard, but in the end I find it very useful. It graphs and aggregates all the data. You can see how your students did by class, by question, by standard. Not to mention, when you have a particularly successful test (like my last unit on the Industrial Revolution and European Imperialism) you get beautiful graphs like these!

I never knew looking at a graph could make me so happy, but seeing these truly puts me in the best mood. I'm also proud to report that one of the students who recorded in the 60's now has a 91 average in my class. She has worked her tale off this six weeks and I am so proud of her! Anyway, the two other history teachers in my school were both complaining about how they have not used TIS at all (it was a yearly objective for every teacher this year) and were actually asking ME for advice! I could hardly believe it. Anyway, I got all the test info uploaded, I added all the students, printed out the bubble sheets and am all good to go for tomorrow. My government class is finally going to finish playing State of the Union bingo, which we started playing back in January. I could hardly believe when we finally came back after almost 2 whole weeks off from school and they all remembered exactly what we were doing. Every class kept asking, "when are we going to finish State of the Union bingo??" Now, I'm no dummy. I know they love it because it is a pretty mindless exercise and they don't have to do much. But for some of the kids, this will probably be the only State of the Union they ever watch. I'm offering a running commentary while it plays, explaining who is who and where the Supreme Court is, explaining many of the things Obama talks about. I think it will be a great way to wrap up the Executive Branch.

So back to how productive I was. This morning a friendly neighbor left a post-it note on my car to remind me that my inspection sticker expired last night so after school I took it to a local garage and got that taken care of (thanks again, apartment 109!) I also scheduled checkups for both my cats at the vet, and graded all my senior government papers. By 4 PM I was so proud of all that I had accomplished over the past couple days that I just checked out completely. I played some more Wii, snacked on some Tostitos and yummy Sam's Club salsa and did some blog surfing. I officially got JC hooked on blogging and am patting myself on the back for that. He starts his language classes today, which means his schedule is about to get pretty busy. I have to say I have enjoyed having him around all the time. Flexible schedules aren't exactly common in the military. Neither of us know what to expect from the language school and what his days will be like so it will be an adventure. All I know is T-40 days and a wake up until I head out to California to see him! As I have tomorrow all planned out, I think I'm going to veg out tonight and either watch the Olympics and the Office or my new DVD, Brothers At War. I can't decide.

Do you ever max out on productivity? Do you feel like after you accomplish a lot you deserve to reward yourself by relaxing? or do you just like to keep the productivity going?

Budget Cuts + Girl Scout Cookies = bad combination

2010-02-16T15:33:00.008-05:00

I just came from the most depressing, sad and frustrating faculty meeting ever and I'm dealing with it by gobbling up the 3 boxes of Girl Scout cookies I just purchased from the chemistry teacher. My county is facing a serious budget shortfall next year and are looking at cutting 65 faculty positions and closing down 2 schools. It was an incredibly depressing and sobering meeting. The principal was visibly distressed. All 50 faculty members in the middle and high school (yes, there are only about 50 total faculty members in both school schools) were clearly upset by the news. It was certainly a bleak welcome to the world of education. I'm not sure how to feel as a first year teacher. I don't know what their RIF plan is (Reduction in Force) and what the procedures are for laying people off. I would imagine it would come down to a number of things. 1) Tenure, which I obviously don't have 2) Degrees held, I have a masters so they have to pay me more 3) Success and accountability, which in today's world of education means test scores, mainly the SOLs which aren't until May. So the jury is still out there for me. The principal warned us not to speculate and told us he would know as soon as he found out more. He broke it down to us by numbers, explained where we can expect to see cuts, what next year would probably look like.

One of the schools they are thinking about closing is our "alternative" education center for kids with behavioral problems who are labeled 'at risk' and don't do well in a traditional academic setting. He said we could expect to see our class sizes increase due to that as well next year. The more he talked the more depressed/frustrated I could see my fellow teachers getting. When he opened up the floor for questions, one of the health and PE teachers finally asked what I know was on everybody's mind. Why is education always the first area to get cuts? All you hear about in the state of Virginia when you watch TV or go to sporting events is 'Virginia lottery, helping Virginia public schools'. This gym teacher quoted those commercials and asked "where does all that money go?" The principal handled the question and broke down where we receive most of our money. He explained that our county needs to make $7.9 million in cuts and if they don't close the 2 schools they will have to cut even more jobs. Our busing and transportation is going to be affected (no maintenance done to buses and maybe 1 new bus for the entire county), our athletic schedules and teams will be affected (fewer games and less traveling), our class size, the physical makeup of our school, even our school calendar...

We were just talking in the teacher break room the other day about cuts that a neighboring school district had to make. I don't think any of us realized we would be on the chopping block next. The big thing I have going for me is that - outside of saving money by hiring someone that doesn't have a Masters degree - they won't really save much by getting rid of me. It's not like I am 1 of 6 other World History and Government teachers at the school. I'm it. Our whole history department is 3 people. That is actually something I really like about this school and something I will definitely miss once I move on from here (wherever that may be). The community here is so awesome. I will forever praise all the positive things that teaching in a small rural school like this one has to offer.

I love the community here and even though I am about as much of an outsider as I can get (native New Yorker, haven't been living in VA long, not familiar with area) I have been welcomed wonderfully. I have done a lot to get involved. I make an effort to go to as many athletic events as possible, including the girls and boys playoff games tonight that will cause me to stick around here 'til about 10 PM and miss tonight's LOST episode. I really hope I remembered to set the DVR! Ah well, I suppose that's what Hulu is for. The girls game starts at six so until then I will sit here and munch along on Samoas - or, I'm sorry, Caramel Delites (do the Girl Scouts not know how to spell anymore) and Tagalongs - Peanut Butter Patties - while I grade papers and send emails homet o parents about their children's inability to do homework. As our principal said, we still have this year and the best thing we all can do is to focus on this year. It was so hard to look around as he said that at the faces of people I know were planning on buying a new car or a house or having a baby in the near future. It was awful. I'm lucky that I'm young and mobile and was planning on moving on after next year anyway, but it didn't make hearing the news any easier.

Why do you think education is always the first place that sees cuts when it comes to balancing a budget? Have you or someone you've known ever faced the prospect of being laid off? How did you deal with the news?

Snow Days and Catch Up

2010-02-15T17:11:00.010-05:00

One of the first things I noticed at my high school when I was meeting my coworkers this summer was a handmade sign above the 9th grade English teacher's desk. It looked like a cute craftstore/boutique purchase (something I would totally buy) and it said: Please Pray for Snow. I'm a Teacher. I loved it, but never really knew how true it would be. We came back for our first full week today after 8 straight snow days and a 2 week work week last week, in which we only saw our classes for 25 minutes each. I have gotten so used to not going to work day in and day out or having 2 hour delays. It's really bad. My phone started buzzing at 5:30 this morning (the time I usually wake up during the work week and the time my alarm is always set for) and the first thing I thought was that school was delayed. My heart soared for a moment, but then I realized how silly I was being and that it was in fact just my normal alarm. It's crazy what two weeks off can do to you!

I'm way behind my county pacing guide, which has me super stressed out. (Somehow I am still praying for snow days though...go figure.) If my administration or county supervisor asks why I am so behind I will just have to tell the truth. I tried a lot of "fun" and more student-centered lessons that flopped. They wasted a lot of time and most of the students didn't get what they were supposed to out of them. My World War I unit is going pretty well. We have been moving pretty fast the past couple of days, but I think they are getting it. One of my best teaching moments was way back before the 2 week snow break. I really wanted them to "get" what World War I was like. I can talk about how awful life in the trenches was until I'm blue in the face, but unless they really like history they won't get it. I can show pictures on my PowerPoint and even have them line up in opposing trenches across the classroom (which I tried). But they still didn't get it. So I showed them this video:

Their reaction was amazing. They started off giggling at the silly old music as they watched all the armies march off to war. They laughed at first as they saw a Soldier fall in the mud. Then they started realizing that mud and dirt was pretty much a Soldier's entire existence in the trenches. They were silent for a good 4 minutes as they just watched the video and listened to the somber music. I knew it might hook a few kids, but I had no idea they would all be so captivated by it. With about 2 minute to go in the video they all started to ask the REALLY good questions every history teacher wants their kids to ponder. What was the point of all this? Why did they go over the top when they knew it probably wouldn't accomplish anything? All this just because some Austrian guy got shot? Why did they fight a war like this for 4 years? It was truly, what they call in grad school, a "teachable moment". You hook their attention and then see how long you can keep it.

I actually think, for as disjointed as the WWI unit has been with all the snow days and 2 hour delays, it has gone really well. On Friday, we did a dramatic reenactment of the Paris Peace Conference and the Treaty of Versailles. It included some memorable moments from my wonderful 10th graders - including a Prime Minister Clemenceau (aka The Tiger) who wanted to punish Germany so badly and got so into it he almost knocked over the podium. I had a Premiere Orlando from Italy in one class who so perfectly captured Italy's annoyance and frustration with the conference he had the class in stitches. It was a fun activity, a short activity, but best of all I think the kids really "got" it. They got that Germany was punished very unfairly. They made the connection that Italy would probably end up "joining the other side" in the next war since they were so ticked at the Allies. I rarely am able to get them to make connections and foreshadow what will happen so this was a huge success. My grad school professors would be so proud. I finally reached the highest level of Bloom's Taxonomy.

Unfortunately, despite how well today went, I just got the call that I am now faced with yet another 2 hour delay tomorrow. So much for teaching the Russian Revolution! I don't think there is any way I can teach the whole thing in 25 minutes. I'm about to go into panic mode, which will not be good. Panic mode usually just leads to me stressing myself out and accomplishing nothing. I know I will have to make cuts and sale through certain units. Unfortunately, the time period I think I will need to sail through right now is my favorite period of history and the whole reason I became a teacher in the first place, World War II. Teaching World War II as a "here are the causes, here are the effects, these are the major leaders" war will really bum me out, but I suppose I just need to suck it up. Time to make a coup of hot cocoa, get up close and personal with the county pacing guide and the Virginia Standards of learning and maybe listen to JC's calm and collected voice of reason in an attempt to keep myself from freaking out.

What do you do when you get super stressed out? How do keep yourself from panicking? More importantly, what do you do to calm yourself back down?

Olympics!

2010-02-13T14:18:00.010-05:00

I am very much enjoying my lazy Saturday at the moment. I am sitting back on the couch eating some Trader Joe's pecan praline goodness and watching the Olympics (ski jumping and biathlon!). I think the last Olympic games I got very into was probably the Salt Lake City games in 2002. It was my freshman year of college and my roommates and I got very into watching as much as we could. One of my best friends at the time was from Canada and was actually a national biathlon champ in high school(that's the event that combines cross-country shooting and riflery). Her aunt was also a prominent curler on the national scene so I got to learn a lot about that unknown and frequently mocked event too. For example, I learned the curling stone is called a "rock" and the thing that looks a swiffer is referred to as a brush. She told us all about the throwers vs. the sweepers. She tried to explain to us how you have to know when to sweep and all the strategy involved in the game. I can't say I retained the specifics of all that she taught, but I definitely do have a new respect for the sport. That year was definitely a memorable Olympic year, although I think I remember it more as a memory from freshman year than a memorable Olympics. That was the year with the crazy figure skating controversy surrounding the Canadians though! Remember that?

Aside from that year, I cannot remember a time in recent years when I have been that interested in the Olympics. JC has been excited enough for the two of us and I suppose his enthusiasm was contagious and has rubbed off on me. Last night, while watching Mike play I watched the Parade of Nations. The geography nut in me loved seeing how many nations were represented. A lot of the 'stans are there - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan. Most of the European microcountries are competing as well - Andorra, Monaco, San Marino and Liechtenstein have pretty solid teams. I suppose Andorra makes a lot of sense since it is a tiny little country smushed between the Pyrenees Mountains. I have to say the moment that got me was the lone athlete from Ghana who came out proudly waving his nation's flag. I looked him up online when I got home and learned that he is "The Snow Leopard" (Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong). Here is his story:

I know there are many people that don't like these kinds of athletes competing in the Olympics or all the attention their stories seem to generate. I have a friend who thinks these "sappy" stories detract from the stories behind the real athletes who actually have a chance to medal. I know that after Eddie the Eagle, the British ski jumper from the '88 Calgary games, they changed the qualifying rules, but people who have no chance at getting a medal still qualify all the time. I seem to remember an Ethiopian nordic skier, who I think I saw in the Parade of Nations last night, who finished dead last at the last games. Everyone knows about the Jamaican bobsled team, who sadly haven't qualified for the last two games. I love these stories! I don't see what the fuss is over. I ran cross-country and track all through high school and while I was never in the running for any all-county honors, I loved being able to compete with the best. That's really what the Olympics are all about, the opportunity to compete with the world's best. I think what "the Snow Leopard" is doing for his nation is a great thing. To me, these stories are the whole reason I watch the Olympics.

Are you at all excited for the Olympics? What is your favorite part of the games? Do you have a favorite event to watch or any favorite memories from previous Olympics?

Anti anti-Valentine's

2010-02-12T17:37:00.016-05:00

As the inevitable Hallmark holiday draws nearer and every aisle from Kroger to K-Mart is filled with pink teddy bears and aisles full of heart-shaped candy boxes one would think I would be somehow sadder with JC on the other side of the country. I guess I should be more bummed out, but I'm not really. There's not really much to the holiday aside from delivering a Valentine and saying "Happy Valentine's Day". I have someone to say it to this year so I'm more than happy!

I didn't have anyone to spend Valentine's with for the longest time, but that never really bummed me out all that much. Holidays like Christmas and New Years - especially in recent years - were way worse to spend alone. I never hated Valentine's Day. I honestly don't really get people who rage about what an awful 'Hallmark holiday' is and how it makes single people feel miserable. I think it makes them sound bitter and very petty. Halloween and Christmas are just as commercialized as the 14th of February. My beef with Valentine's Day has more to do with the ridiculous things that stores sell than the holiday itself I just don't see the point in giving some of the things that are sold in stores. Does a fluffy pink gorilla holding a heart actually have any sentimental value? I really can't wrap my head around it. I don't think any of my silly high school students would buy half of the junk these stores sell. I suppose there must be demand for all the silly stuff or it wouldn't be in the stores, but man...I'm left scratching my head. If I got some of that stuff I don't think I could even feign excitement.

Back to my anti-anti-Valentine's rant. I don't love the holiday or anything, but I really don't think there's anything wrong with setting aside a special day (even if you do it every day) just to tell people you love them. Like I said, up until very recently I spent most of my Valentine's alone. It sounds lame, but I would just send Valentine's to my friends and family. In fact, my favorite Valentine's memory (aside from 10 minutes ago when I just opened JC's card) was my senior year of high school. I was in the goofiest ten-person AP bio class ever with a teacher who was the nicest/most laidback/clueless man ever. Quite spontaneously, we decided as a class the day before to have a Valentine's party. People brought in cupcakes, cookies and we exchanged those awesome Valentines you used to get in grade school. None of us were best friends, but we had a blast writing each other cards. Most said silly things like "you're the best at crossword puzzles!" or "thanks for dissecting the fetal pig for me!", but they all made us smile. I really think I might even still have one of the cards in between the pages of one of my yearbooks! Man, that was a great day. Good times...crazy to think it was almost a decade ago.

Anyway, when JC asked what I wanted for the big day this year, I made the decision that - since it was our first one together - we should set a precedent of 'low-keying it'. Then in the future there's no expectation for anything big. I do love sending care packages though so I did send him a housewarming box with a couple little things in it and he (unbeknownst to me) did the same. Kind of crazy that without telling each other we both did the same thing. His box was awesome and contained all kinds of deliciousness from Trader Joe's, which is a store Lynchburg will never see in a million years, but is on pretty much every street corner where he is. Oh, and reason 10,512 I love him? He included cat treats in the package for my two crazy cats. Fat little Journey gobbled them up, but crazy Hobbes could care less about the treats. He was way more excited about the box! See if you can find Hobbes in this picture. (Sorry about the poor photo quality and bad lighting. If I turned on the flash he had 'demon eyes' that the red eye couldn't fix.)

He seriously slept and played in that box for 2 hours. I wish I could be amused by a box for an hour! After the shortest work week ever (2 days and only 25 minute class periods), I am headed out tonight to go see a coworker and friend of mine play a show at a local restaurant. He is one of the first friends I made at my school and I love hanging out with him. He is a huge college football fan and loves to root on the Wahoos, which is a rarity here in Tech country! We were even thinking about driving up to Charlottesville this fall to go to a game together, but that fell through. The funny think about Mike being one of my best pals? He's 42, married and has 2 kids. It never even occurs to me that he's close to two decades older than me, which is pretty crazy to think about. He likes to get my input for what 'new' songs from the last 5 years he should include in his set. I told him he doesn't need any help, he already has a great set so I'm off to go hear him play some Keith Urban, Sister Hazel and Billy Joel (he plays a mean harmonica!)

I leave you with a question about Valentine's. Are you an anti-Valentine's day person, do you love it or are you just kind of 'meh' about it like I am (but completely confused by the ridiculous candy and toys!)

Don't be shy, just say hello...

2010-02-10T12:15:00.012-05:00

"To tell you the truth I've said it before, tomorrow I start in a new direction.
I know I've been half asleep, I'm never doing that again.
I look straight at what's coming ahead and soon it's gonna change in a new direction."

So as I sit here and enjoy an unprecedented EIGHTH day off from school due to the snow, it occurred to me that a natural followup to my introductory post should be an explanation regarding the name of my blog. The title is taken from one of my all-time favorite songs by the band Guster. I found out about Guster long after they become popular on the college scene, when my brother gave me their 4th album, Keep it Together, for my 20th birthday. (Note to readers: any good music I find is usually due to either of my brothers introducing it to me). I fell in love with the band and the album, but especially this song. It is a phenomenal song that starts off very quietly and slowly builds. The kicker for me though is the lyrics. The song is my ultimate, get-off-your-butt, stop-letting-life-pass-you-by, go-out-and live-it song and contains lines like "no more messing around and living underground or New Year's resolutions". I couldn't think of anything more fitting for a blog all about living life to the fullest and achieving my goals.

I could probably listen to this song about 12 times in a row. It has always been one of my favorite running songs and is guaranteed to pick me up off the couch after every listen (in fact I think I'll listen to it right after I post this). Do you have a favorite song that you listen to to pump you up? You know, the kind of music that can - without fail - inspire you and push you to achieve more/run that extra mile/kick it in another gear? This song is likely at the top of my list, but there are many more I could add. I'd love to hear yours! Who knows, maybe I'll add a new song to my next workout playlist...

Here goes...

2010-02-09T09:46:00.022-05:00

I always dreaded the first day of school - whether it was 2nd grade, 10th grade or graduate school - because I always hated the awkward icebreaker introductions the teachers and professors inevitably always made you do. The ones where you stand up and share things like a) why you're in the class b) your favorite dessert c) what you did during the summer...you know the drill. I sort of feel like this introductory blogpost is just like those icebreakers. It's slightly awkward. I don't think anybody really cares and you're really just waiting for class to start, which is the whole reason you're there in the first place. I'll try to make this succinct. Here goes...

* I'm Abigail.
* I'm 26.
* I grew up in New York and currently live in south-central Virginia.
* I'm a (struggling) first year high school teacher.
* I still have to check the single box, but am very much in love with one of the finest officers in the United States Army.
* I am the 'mom' to 2 crazy cats, who I adopted from the local Humane Society back in August.
* I used to be a pretty serious long-distance runner and am trying to get back into it.
* I have never been much of a cook and desperately want to work on my cooking skills.
* I thought I was an organized person, but teaching has seriously challenged that notion.

I moved to a sleepy little Virginia town (that likes to call itself a city) back in August. I didn't know the area. I didn't know a soul in the area. I was completely unprepared - despite a Master's degree - to start teaching high school. It was one of the scariest/most exciting things I have ever done.

I like to write and what I want this blog to be is a sounding board, of sorts. I want to catalog any and all progress towards accomplishing my goals. I want this to be a log of what I eat and what I cook throughout the week. I want this to be a running journal that catalogs my mileage and training routine. I want to share my journey as a first year teacher, including my uphill battle to get apathetic seniors to care about their government and to get my tenth graders to pass their state administered World History test. I want to discuss life as an Army girlfriend and all that that entails. I want to share tips for nurturing a healthy and successful long-distance relationship, which is no piece of cake. I want to share the highs and lows of life on my own. I want to meet new people sharing any of the same experiences I am. I want this blog to be many things, but for now...I just want to say hi and thanks for reading this far!