Wedding

I am having a lot of fun with this whole "we're getting married" thing. I have a nice red box to keep all of my stuff in and a tricked out binder is on it's way to me. I'm also trying to keep things in perspective. Every once in a while I feel like I may slip into that girl...but then I read about the new trend of asking bridesmaids to get botox for your wedding and I knew I would never be "that girl."

Also, I made a lot of jokes about it when my friend Laurie called. Those girls don't joke.

boxes

We've been rockin' the boxes here at the new house since the big move of '08. I'm sure we'll continue to have a close relationship with boxes for some time. Mostly it's fine--it has brought a zen-like lifestyle of not too much stuff.

Today, however, it brought frustration. I need to alter some of the drapes we have decided upon and was ready to jump in after a little procrastination (read: Project Runway watching, TJs going, and prosciutto wrapping). I dove into the box room, found the following items: sewing machine, straight pins, iron and good scissors. I even made a little sewing station. I did not find the pedal/plug that makes the sewing machine go. I have a clear memory of putting the bag with said item into a box that was different than the sewing machine. I even remember thinking that this is a bit of a bad idea.

Now I'm faced with unpacked stuff and long drapes. Grrr.

WSJ

I cannot fold things neatly (except for sheets). I live with someone who can fold like a champ. He, however, did not work at the Gap.

Home

At this moment, I'm enjoying coffee, news reading, and music. I'm home.

Moving

On Sunday I will be moving into the new house. Not since my move from north of the Van Ness metro stop to Mount Pleasant (circa 2000), has a move been over so few miles. I don't have to ship anything (or 20 boxes of anything). I don't have to coordinate relatives and friends into some type of shuttle system. I am going to experince the joy that is professional movers, who will be here to haul my stuff 4 miles from where I sit now.

Since I just made the leap to the west coast, I am also oddly unburdened by things. I would say, in the past, that about 38% of the items I packed were unusable junk. Before I moved to LA, there was a series of yard-sales, signs that advertised free stuff, and some donations that allowed all of that junk and a ton of books to make its way to other owners in the NY Metro region. The non-junk stuff that did make the cut has been living in the garage since I arrived--I like to think of it as pre-packed. And Dave is all neat and his things are easy to pack.

My typical nervousness about the packing process seems to be unwarranted. I am, however, about to go into the garage. It could all change once I have a look-see.

Cleaning

I spent most of yesterday with my head in closets/up on ladders/degreasing in my first new house kitchen cleaning. I had the epiphany that the house would only become as clean as I make it. This is something that has always been true. However, now that the house is our responsibility, that is holding a whole new level of meaning.

FYI--I'm now a big fan of the book called Cleaning by the nice people at Real Simple. It's not quite Hints from Heloise (I'm not ready for that)...but it is giving me the tools to move beyond the Clorox wipe.

Happy Birthday

For your birthday, I got the keys to the house.
Let the bar-be-ques begin.

Happy Birthday, Dave!

Delayed Gratification

I have a problem with delayed gratification. I get very excited about little things and have a hard time not dipping into the obsessive thought place. When there is a secret I am not privy to, I take part in a lot of speculation, rapid-fire questions, and shaking of boxes. I don't really want to ruin a surprise...but I like to take part in the sport of trying to figure it out. Dave knows this and uses it to his enjoyment. He always has a secret that he's telling me he's not telling me.

Today brought a new twist on this bit of immaturity that is my life. Dave got two boxes in the mail today and I'm not going to know what is in them for a week! His birthday is tomorrow. He's away until Friday. I leave Wednesday and come back Monday. Oh, the torture.

Zeeker

Zeek was having a moment. He had a lot to say and was all about being in my space. He was so insistent with the meowing that it made me worry that we were in a Timmy-is-in-the-well kind of situation and Zeeker was the only one that knew. I was able to distract him with zucchini left over from dinner. I guess he was just in the mood for people food.

gee

hi there. i was thinking about the blog. why do i blog? what do i want my blog to be? why don't i edit more? you know, all of the big questions. i like to read the blogs of those i know. but they all edit.

i need to work on my commas.
love,
me.

ps i've pushed the envelope on what should be watched during the daytime hours. i just watched a showtime show at six in the afternoon and, while awkward at first, it turned out to be okay.

bad day at work

i had a bad day at work. really it was just a bad moment. it was such a bad moment that i put it out of my mind until my walk to ralphs for some emergency milk for tomorrow's coffee. it was a moment of teacher unethical behavior. those are the moments that resonate with me for the longest time. unfortunately, it was not the first time i've seen unethical behavior from a teacher.

really, at some point, a teacher needs to stop teaching. it is a hard job. you are responsible for the minds, bodies and souls of little children for a huge portion of their day. and, these kids are expected to know what the square root of 64 times three to the third power is when they are 8 years old. it's a lot. at some point, i think a teacher stops being effective. they are tired. they are old-school (literally). they cover their own ass rather than fill the minds of children. why spend your time in a classroom if you are not going to even try?

since i began teaching, i always said that i hope i will recognize the point when it is no longer the job i should be doing. i wish there was a way for some people to bow out gracefully, before legions of children are exposed to an ineffective year of art projects and beanie babies.

scones

i'm a very hard critic of my own cooking. as someone with no training (other than hours of of cooking shows) and a predilection for not loving recipes, i often find that what i made doesn't taste like what i imagined it would taste like. yesterday i had plans of reclaiming productivity with scones. well, scones and a hike up runyon canyon with annie (which was fab, by the way).

after the hike, i made the scones, ate one as soon as i could bust it out of the pan, and was disappointed. i had big plans for the scones. dave had to go to palm springs today and i was going to make crumb-y snacks for the car. but, after eating them, i deemed them crap. despite their crapiness, i was forced back to the scones today for my after school snack because i have a general lack of food at the moment.

and they were good. kind of. well, good enough for me to want to eat a second for my post dinner snack.

now, i feel bad that i didn't let dave take any to the desert.

skype

I just skyped with four-fifths of my immediate family and I am pleased to say they are making progress with the technology. My father is no longer more focused on fun-with-feedback. My mother is well adapt at restarting the chat once we get kicked off my slow internet connections. And, well my sisters were always good with it.

It's nice to have a little face time with them.

OCHD

I have a severe case of OCHD (Obsessive Compulsive House Disorder). We're still rockin' the apartment and the final bits of buying a house need to be tied up...but I've found myself mentally painting and furnishing. Or, searching for the perfect paint and furniture. I think, in some situations, this is a good thing. But, I have taken it to a level that borders on obsession. I am hoping, in a few weeks I can use my focus to paint up a storm. I hope.

Rainy (Southern CA) Friday Afternoon

I'm all bundled up, in a red hooded sweatshirt and fuzzy slippers, enjoying a rainy afternoon. I just found out that you can make playlists from All Songs Considered. So, I'm using M. Ward as my musical accompaniment to this rainy, rainy day. It's practically perfect.

The decline of the meal

It has been a few weeks since I've been flying solo around dinnertime. It has been an eye opening experience.

I had thought I was rediscovering the joy of cooking this year. I frequently planned a week of meals. My fridge was overflowing. I experimented with meat, adjusted recipes, and bought a good knife.

But since I've lost my appreciative audience/best dish-washer ever, I've returned to my old ways.

Tonight, my post school dinner was: the two bites of Italian sausage, peppers and onions left over from yesterday, paired with a bit of bread to sop up the sauce; followed by a sugar-free-ish ice cream bar; and all capped of with a bowl of hummus, some cucumber and grape tomatoes.

I may completely revert to a tapas only life-style. My left-overs-for-lunch may be a thing of the past.

Home

*We are getting closer and closer to a new home. It's brought about some (expected) sentimental moments for me. The moments, however, have been with people who would normally not be included in my sentimental world. The most interesting one was with the real estate agent. She knows her stuff and really gets the job done. But, we are very different kinds of people and it is not always easy to feel like she understands my language. The misinterpretation issue did not stop me from talking with her about the significance a house plays in my world with a level of uninhibited insight that surprised me.

*I've been in LA for a few days less than 11 months. Although the NYTimes is much better than the LATimes and my family is decidedly NY, I love life in LA. Yesterday I saw a truck filled with oranges and could not contain my joy. It is good for me to have sunshine and outdoors. And, I love the farmers markets. They tap into both my love of supermarkets and outdoor adventure. It's the perfect combo, in my book.

*I feel like now, in my 31st year, I'm ready for home in a way I have never been before. It's so good.

I may need summer

Teaching can sometimes a little overwhelming. I get caught up in the fear that I could be doing something else to make the educational process more enriching. Or, I become frustrated by the realities of my students. Today some of those things are happening. I think it's mostly because I'm closing in on day 180. Although 180 days does not seem like much. Right now 180 teaching days is feeling like whole lot. At the end, it always does.

I'm going to count the days I have left. It may make it worse. But, I'm feeling compelled.

The Laundry Wars

I am currently engaged in laundry wars with my downstairs neighbor. In general, she has bad form when it comes to shared laundry. She's the queen of abandoned laundry. Tonight, she crossed the line. I went down to switch out my stuff (from washer to dryer) and to put in another load, only to find that it had already been moved. And...a new load was in the washer! She touched my stuff. It's not like my stuff had lingered for the hours/days hers will linger. I used the well developed timer system Dave has perfected. She must have been stalking my laundry waiting for the moment it stopped. Grrr.

The good news is I beat her down there, took her stuff out of the laundry and put mine in. I am feeling victorious and petty all at the same time.

I'm against shared laundry. It makes me cranky.

Oh, State Testing

Due to my own misguided planning and the fact that I work with students in first, second, third, fourth and fifth grades, I have just finished the my third week of (high-stakes/these numbers will follow you for life) testing. That's 14 instructional days devoted to filling in the bubbles. My students have been troopers. Fueled by a steady stream of Cheerios and water breaks, they really gave it their all. Each day, their behavior has been getting a little bit more wonky. I've had lots of odd noises, chit-chat, and repeated questions about the schedule.

They knew today was the last day and they were totally wiggly when I asked them to take a seat. Their engines were on high. I knew that it was not the kind of ya-yas that could be gotten out with my typical combination of jumping jacks and standing yoga poses.

So we took off for the track. Half way there, I began to jog and all of my well-trained students did what I did.

I engaged my best elementary appropriate trash talk (i.e. I'm gonna smoke ya! You're being beaten by an old person) and kept running. After two laps around (except for one boy who made it around three times), their engines were all significantly decelerated and we got down to business.

I'm thinking of giving everyone a 100% on tomorrow's spelling test just so I don't have to give any more tests this week. As the teacher, that is way in my jurisdiction.