One Year And Counting!!!

Summer Plans!

Things To Do This Summer:

Clean and purge apartment.

Sleep.

Try new recipes.

Investigate retirement and investment stuff then get started.

Attempt to become a master artist with charcoals and pastels.

Go to Astros game.

Make people smile.

Continue debate about Quantum Physics vs. Suzi Physics.

Walk through large waterfall and enjoy the journey.

Regain our sanity from a year of teaching.

Exercise.

Further our knowledge of Houston area miniature golf courses.

If We Have Extra Time:

Become captains of our own crab fishing boat.

Get the dog to get a job and stop freeloading.

Win a Nobel Peace Prize then takeover the world.

Suzi's Birthday!!!

Happy Birthday to Suzi!!!

Suzi celebrated the 6th anniversary of her 18th birthday yesterday. To celebrate, I made her a special dinner. It started with bread with a parmesan-garlic dipping oil. The main dish was molloni pasta with a pecorino romano tomato sauce. I served two side dishes with it. The first side dish was parmesan roasted fennel and the second was a timbalo of arrobo with peas and panchetta. The timbalo was by far her favorite dish. To wash it down we had sparkling raspberry juice from World Market. For dessert I used her grandmother's recipe for red velvet cake and made her cupcakes.

I hope you had a fun birthday Suzi and I hope you liked your presents. I love you dearly and I can't wait to celebrate our anniversary coming up.

Love,

Mike

Thursday...

Yesterday was really crazy! I drove up to my middle school and there were a lot of people standing outside. Obviously, something was going on. My school is a really old building located in a wooded and easily flooded area so we have many interesting and random things that happen. Everyone filled me in that the power had been out since 2 am and nobody know when it would be fixed. Eventually we had to go in, get prepared, and put together a plan. The trip up to my room was awful! It was hot, humid, and smelled like a nasty locker room. I dumped my stuff and grabbed the flashlight I had in my desk. When you start working at this school one of the first things they tell you is to always carry a flashlight with you if it is the slightest bit windy or rainy. I deposited my uneaten yogurt in the trash figuring that being hot and sweaty would only be made worse by being hot, sweaty, and sick. We all waited downstairs and discussed every possible scenario and any little tidbit of information we had heard. As the buses began to roll in we put students in the dark cafeteria and sweltering gyms. The students cheered and looked as if Christmas had come as they walked in and realized the power was out. Their joy subsided quickly when they realized breakfast would only be cereal or pop-tarts. Eventually, everyone had arrived and the day began. The students squirmed and whined as the teachers agonized over every uncomfortable minute. Our school awards program was planned for later that evening so all of the teachers had thoughtfully dressed in their nicest and newest clothes with cute little high-heels and hair perfectly styled. Rumor had it that if we made it to around ten o'clock they would send us all home. By then, the state would have considered us in school for the day. As that time came and went things got really tough. It was way too hot in the gyms so they took those students outside. Not long after that, they had to come back into the gyms because it started raining. A bunch of maintenance guys showed up with gasoline powered generators and big fans. We gained a little more physical comfort but were now inundated with the smell of gasoline. It really didn't take very long to get our power going again once they finally started working on it. Part of the problem was that there were many other schools without power. Unfortunately, our school is the furthest out so we were the last to get assistance. Finally, as the cafeteria workers were rolling out the first round of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch, the power came back on. The rest of the day was a blur as everyone scrambled to try to put together a semi-normal afternoon. The students were full of energy and none of the teachers had time for lunch or anything else. Though it was a bad day things weren't totally awful. We got to stand around and talk most of the day and the students were actually fairly well behaved considering the circumstances. I enjoyed watching the students stealthily use their cell phones to try to call anyone who might be able to come pick them up. Having all those parents show up definitely added to the chaos. I was happy to see them though because most of the students leaving were the ones causing problems. The best parts about the situation for me were that I had worn jeans and a t-shirt (planning to change for the awards program) and all my classes were over before once we were able to get back on schedule.

Stuff!

These are a few of my favorite things!

- Post-its (in many different colors)
- Crayons (the fresher the better)
- Markers
- Febreeze
- Swiffer
- Clorox Wipes
- Shoes
- Bags
- Getting rid of stuff through donations or just throwing it away
- Cooking
- Games
- Blankets
- Goldfish
- Cereal
- Milk
- Paint
- Nail Polish
- Pajamas
- Dishes (not cleaning them)
- Reality TV
- Nintendo Wii
- Rainy Afternoons (good for taking naps)
- Art
- History, Government, Economics, and Geography (ESL is great but I do miss teaching Social Studies sometimes)
- Kleenex
- Frogs (and other animals)
- Presents (who doesn't?)
- Coffee
- Ice Tea
- Flowers

I guess that is enough for now...

Summer!

Even with TAKS testing next week and all sorts of ESL paperwork due soon I am very excited about summer coming! I know my summer doesn't start until June 3rd but I am still counting down the days. It can be difficult to be positive with so many negative people around you. Apparently some teachers think I am "too happy" but I guess I would rather be known as happy than something else. Sometimes I do have to take a few minutes to refresh my brain when I am having a tough day. If that doesn't work, having a cup of coffee usually soothes me. We do have a few things planned for summer already! The less exciting things are dentist appointments for both of us, curriculum planning, cleaning, and band hall projects. We are going to take a little road trip in late June and early July. I have always wanted to see Niagara Falls so Mike decided that would be a great road trip. Since he is very into art and music he decided to find out what kind of events might be in the area. I was very excited when he said we were going to see Wicked! I've had the music on my IPod for more than a year. I tried to see it in Dallas and Houston and things just didn't work out.
I really like the contrasting colors in the artwork for the show. It reminds me of how different my twin sister and I are. We are different in physical build, politics, religion, food, hobbies, strengths, weaknesses, personality, and just about anything you can think of. As far as comparing the two of us to the Wizard of Oz I think we both have our Wicked Witch of the West kind of moments. My third period could probably give you some examples! I have always thought we fit more into the roles of Katherine and Bianca from Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew. Unfortunately, I am the stubborn shrew.

Grumpy!!!

I don't know what was wrong with me this week! I was so grumpy all week and I really didn't have a reason. Mike was very sweet though. He brought home flowers one day and dinner another day. I even woke up to him doing dishes and laundry on Saturday morning. Hopefully, I can start this week with a much better attitude and not let things get to me. I know that I am in control and I can be positive.

I am amazed sometimes when I realize how much I am responsible for at school. Maybe I'll plan a day or two of irresponsibility soon! :)