Today was my first day as a teacher.

I don't feel any different (maybe more tired), but I hope this is the beginning of something wonderful.

The day was chaotic, but the kids were awesome. Being the first day, they were on their best behavior.

It is nice to go into a new school where none of the teachers know the students- no one has made any judgments, the slate has been wiped clean.

Not many of the students know each other, either, since they came from all different places. Everything is fresh and new.

I have no idea how I'm going to learn all 270 of my students' names. Yikes. I have no idea how I'm going to keep the hundreds (and hundreds) of pieces of paper organized.

I heard many things I wasn't expecting- things that reminded me that I am teaching in the heart of the city, that many of these kids have many obstacles to face outside of my classroom. I also heard things that reminded me that kids are kids, no matter where they are.

All in all, a good day that gave me a lot to consider.

Hope you had a lovely Labor Day. Rich and I had a great day off, in which we, um, worked. Rich has a paper and a presentation due today, and so he spent most of the weekend knocking that out. I, on the other hand, am trying my best not to make a fool of myself on the first day of school. So, I worked on lots and lots of school-y things.

I also ran a bajillion dumb errands and during my ample waiting times, I read. I finished two books this weekend, both of which were about dysfunctional families. Hooray!

The first was The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. This is a memoir of Wall's life, and it basically reads like a manual on how NOT to raise children. In the first page, adult Walls sees a homeless woman on the street and realizes it is her mother. Walls does a good job of not condemning her parents and, instead, lets the reader make up his or her own mind about the parents. This was a totally enjoyable read, though sad and haunting. There are several images from this book that I will never forget.

The second was The God of War by Marisa Silver. This is the book our town is reading together this year. (Yes, our town essentially has a town-wide reading group. My sister says we live in Stars Hollow.) The book follows Ares, a pre-teen boy, as he helps care for his developmentally disabled brother, as he learns how to relate to his free-spirited mother, and as he negotiates his small town's social life. All in all, this was a good read, though, again, sad and angsty. This book made me glad I am not a teenager anymore. (Not that my teen years were anything like what is described in this book.)

I'd recommend them both!

Yesterday was my first day of professional development at my school site. Right after lunch, we took a tour of the whole campus, and when we got back to our building, there were flowers waiting for me in the office.

That's right- my parents sent me flowers for my first day of school. They might be a wee bit excited.

It was a great day all around (though quite long), and it made me even more excited for the great year ahead!

I got to see my classroom today, and it is awesome. I might have squealed out loud. And creeped out a couple of construction workers.

I've been feeling a wee bit frustrated and sorry for myself today.

That is, until I saw this. It made me smile, and stop being sad. Maybe it will do the same for you.

The one where Charlie drinks foot water

Richard got injured at TKD this week while sparring. He has a microscopic cut on one of his toes, which has caused his entire foot to swell up AND an unbelievable amount of blood. The bloody toe prints I've been cleaning off the carpet all weekend attest to that (and make it seem like we've got a serial killer on the loose in here).

We're having a party tonight, and I bought a little too much ice. Rich took advantage of the situation and decided to soak his foot in a giant bowl of ice. Charlie decided that this was, in fact, a giant bowl of treats for him and began eating the ice and lapping the water around Rich's foot.

Also, I hung some pictures on a wall. Yippee!

There are lots of things about schools in California that just blow my mind. Here are the top ten so far (I am sure there are many more to come):

10. In every high school I've visited, there is only one lunch period.

9. This is possible because almost without fail, the "cafeterias" are outside. Kids are allowed to roam pretty much as they please.

8. High schools in LA don't use lockers because of drugs and/or weapons. Teachers can use the lockers for storage, though, in the older schools that have lockers.

7. While there is typically a loose (often unenforced) dress code, it is nothing like the dress codes in Texas. Facial piercing, anyone? No? How about a hat, then? Neon mohawk?

6. Many schools have a "Nutrition" period, which is basically a 20 minute snack time. I found out they do this so they can get one more meal for the kids who are on free and reduced lunch.

5. Many kids will take public transportation a ridiculously long way to get to school (more than an hour, people!), especially if the school they are attending is perceived as "better."

4. Every high school has a "Dean's Office." From what I can tell, this is basically a principal who just handles discipline. When you get sent there, you know you are in big trouble.

3. Many of the buildings I've visited are literally falling apart. I never realized how privileged I was to attend a school whose walls were painted nearly every year.

2. Classes are often enormous. Like, 50 students enormous.

1. Because of the incredibly strong union, it's against the rules to have a dress code for teachers. What?! This one really blows me away.

Are any of these especially surprising to you?

This morning I won some major points with my principal by being the only teacher to volunteer to help hand out flyers to promote our school at the East LA Farmer's Market.

What I discovered is it is very hard to convince someone to go to a different school. For example,

Me: Are you in high school?

Student: Yes (looks at me like I am a creepster)

M: I'm a teacher at *School*, and I wanted to talk to you about how awesome *School* is going to be this year. Have you enrolled at a school yet?

S: Yes, I'm going to *Other School*

M: Well, you should think about *School*. We have a brand new building, the best teachers, lots of activities, cool technology, etc. (Hands over a flyer) You should think about if you want to be overcrowded over at *Other School*.

S: (Takes flyer and basically runs away)

Yikes! I felt a bit like I was on one of those mandatory evangelism trips at the mall. But, I did get a killer pupusa out of the deal, so all awkward conversations aside, I think I came out ahead.

Thanks for the many kind comments, friends!

I am getting used to the new haircut, but it always takes a while when I make a drastic change.

For better or worse, I took the plunge.

Also, school staff meetings are scary. I am now officially overwhelmed.

The hummingbirds are getting a little out of control.

At first, I really enjoyed watching the occasional hummingbird visit our feeder. Now, our balcony has morphed into a hummingbird crack den. They camp out, lounging on the feeder until they are hungry enough to get their next fix. Except for when another hummingbird approaches and everything gets out of control. Who knew hummingbirds are so grumpy?

They are still fun to watch, but in a more high-action sort of way.

I'm thinking about cutting my hair short again. Really short. Mainly, I am lazy and hate to do my hair. And teaching will require me to get up at dark o'thirty o'clock.

But I'm also vain. And even though I've had my hair short before, I'm not sure how I feel about it this time. Here's what I'm thinking of:

This is slightly longer than my shortest hair before, which looked like this:

Any thoughts?

Being a teacher requires a lot of stuff

Here is the stack of books and paper and flotsam I acquired during my 4-week orientation.

Just for reference, that stack is over a foot high! Yikes.

And here are my new class sets of crayons, map pencils, markers, and glue stick. School can officially begin! Just kidding- I'm nowhere near ready.

All together, just for kicks. Thank goodness for an extra bedroom!

Wow, what a month! I've been very busy this past month attending an orientation to become a teacher in the fall (and all the homework that went along with that). I'm glad it's over, and I'm excited about actually having my own class. I have a job at a school teaching Algebra and Geometry which I'd be happy to tell you about individually if you care. The kids start on Sept. 13, and I will be at school about two weeks before that. So, sorry for the absence!

Yesterday we had the privilege of attending the lovely wedding of two great friends, Corey and Carl.

It was a perfect day, and everything about the wedding dripped with Corey and Carl's personalities (which are awesome). Carl is a friend from TCU, and he could not have chosen a more beautiful, kind, or intelligent partner in life than Corey. We were so lucky to be included in their special day!

The Office, but not that one.

I've fallen off the proverbial "Room-a-Month" wagon, but I think I caught up this weekend. While Richard was out of town, I decided to rearrange furniture in nearly every room in our home. Because I'm smart like that, and I think flirting with lower back injuries is fun.

I didn't mention this plan to Richard, who would have probably freaked the heck out imagining me sliding 6 foot tall bookcases across the floor. So when he came home, he had several nice surprises.

The first surprise was his office. When we moved in, we used our second bedroom as a guest room/office. Which was fine for a while. But with the addition of a third (!) bookshelf (and a desperate need for another bookshelf), the room was feeling a wee bit crowded and not really all that relaxing for our guests. Here are some "before" pictures that don't really do justice to how crowded that room really is.

Rich and I had been talking about moving his office out to the empty, unused garage for several weeks now. The garage is actually bigger than this room, offers a place away from the distractions of the house, has a pleasant climate about 99 days out of 100, and was empty (mostly). So I surprised him (by not making him move all of that stuff himself). Here are the fruits of my labor.

It's not the most beautiful space, but it is very functional and has plenty of space for when we decide to finally take the plunge, and buy another bookshelf. We plan to cover up the storage shelves with a curtain at some point in the future, as well.

You don't even want to know how many trips it took to get all of these books out to the garage. Or how long it took to organize them.

By some strange twist of fate, I've had two days off work this week. Of course, it coincided exactly with Richard's trip to Chicago. So I've had lots of free time and no husband to share it with! But that's okay because I've found plenty to do anyway. A full report is forthcoming. And I'm back to work tomorrow.

Killer Bees!

Hummingbirds make a pleasant whirring sound as they fly around. Another creature that makes a (slightly less pleasant) whirring sound is the bee. (Nice transition from the previous post, right!?)

We've gotten up close and personal with a startlingly high number of bees in our home this week. Richard has become a pro at killing them with the latest issue of Reader's Digest. Every time he smashes a bee, he tears off the back page of the magazine. Guess I won't be finishing the book excerpt this month!

Yesterday, we heard a bit of a commotion outside, and I nosily sneaked a peak at what was going on. Turns out, some bees had decided to make their home in some duct work in our building. The bees were entering our home through THE VENTS. Just pause for a moment, and let that nightmare wash over you.

Thankfully, a friendly man dressed in a beekeeper outfit took care of the problem, and there are no more bees. Here's hoping they hadn't started making honey that will attract other creatures! (And that our complex covers that hole with some mesh!)

Summer plans: Watching Hummingbirds

This weekend, I accomplished one of the items on our summer plans list: Sit on the porch, and watch hummingbirds visit the feeder.

With War and Peace and my water glass in hand, I sat at our table and waited patiently for our little hummingbird friends to visit. Here are my favorite shots from the afternoon.

Hooray for hummingbirds!

I voted!

Did you?

Summer plans

Rich and I made a list of all the things we want to do around LA this summer.

Here's our list:

1) Visit 5 different beaches around LA, and figure out which beach we like the best.

We've made progress here. We've been to Santa Monica, Pismo Beach, and Avila Beach, though Pismo and Avila aren't exactly in the LA area.

2) Hike Icebox Canyon.

3) Attend our town's summer concert series, free on Thursday nights in the town's biggest park.

4) Visit the Getty Museum. Sketch the artwork, compare drawings, and have a good laugh over our lack of artistic skills.

5) Camp in Yosemite National Park. Hike Half Dome.

6) Attend an Angel's game.

7) Go to San Diego for Carl and Corey's wedding in August. Celebrate our fourth (!) anniversary while there.

8) Go to the Huntington Gardens and Tea Shop.

9) Lay by the pool at least one day per week.

Right on schedule with this one.

10) Buy a hummingbird feeder. Sit on the porch, and watch the hummingbirds visit.

We've purchased the feeder, and we have seen many hummingbirds over the past few days. We haven't actually made a concerted effort to sit on the porch to watch them, though.

11) Read War and Peace.

This is my goal, not Richard's. I've checked the book out from the library, and I'm about 100 pages in. Only 11,000 more to go! This may take a back seat because I'm teaching the summer reading program at work this summer, and I'm sure I'll have to reread most of those books.

12) Buy a used Calculus book from the library, and re-learn Calculus.

Again, my goal. And ugh.

13) Go rollerblading at the beach.

14) Watch The West Wing on DVD.

We're working steadily on this one, though I wouldn't describe it as "work." We kind of wish Bartlett would actually run for president. Several years ago, we had the chance to see Martin Sheen speak at the Black Tie gala in Dallas. People from our church even offered to pay for our tickets. Sadly, we couldn't go because we already had plans, and every time we watch The West Wing, we silently kick ourselves for missing that chance.

15) Master Super Mario Brothers.

This is Richard's goal, and I have no desire to play the game at all (mainly because about all I can do is make Mario walk in a straight line). He is well on his way to being a Mario-Master.

16) Play piano and violin together.

We use to play together all the time, but we don't so much anymore. We'd like to get back in the habit, like Sister Act 2.

What's on your summer list?

Hello again!

Long time, no see. The past weeks have been rather busy. With finals looming, my part-time job has turned into a full-time one. Richard started a job of his own, in addition to studying for his French exam.

We also took a little trip for Memorial Day, and we got to hang out with our dear friend, Kate. Sometimes you hang out with an old friend, and it's hard to remember why you were friends in the first place. But sometimes, you hang out with an old friend, and you end up bummed because you live on entirely opposite ends of the country. Seeing Kate inspired the latter type of feelings.

In all the chaos, I have managed one project: my succulent garden. I love succulents because they are beautiful (especially in large groups), easy to grow (though I did manage to kill a jade plant in college), and require very little water. In Texas, you can't really plant them outside because it rains too much, but here in the desert, they are perfect for environmentally-friendly landscaping.

I snagged this strawberry pot a while back for $3 at Target, and this week, I finally planted it with a bunch of tiny succulents (that I hope will one day grow into big, hearty succulents).

We went to the beach today. I took my camera, and promptly left it in the car, so there is no photographic evidence of today's outing. Oh well. Here are some pictures of last year's visit to Santa Monica, the same beach we went to today.

It was nowhere near that crowded (or that pretty for that matter). In fact, it was rather overcast and a little chilly. I still managed to get a little sunburned (as that is my spiritual gift).

While at the beach, Rich and I talked about our plans for the summer. Summer officially begins for Richard on Monday, once he's turned in his last paper! We don't have any huge plans, but we do have a few small things we'll be doing together around town. Should spice things up around here.

First thing on Richard's list? Spend an entire week watching TV and playing Super Mario Brothers. Isn't summer the greatest?

Weekending

We had a lovely, but busy, weekend in Houston!

First, we celebrated Cara and Danny's marriage with Richard's family. They laughed because Richard told a slightly inappropriate joke. In a church. With no encouragement from me. (Okay, I made him tell the joke).

Then we met our newest niece, Annive. She's pretty awesome! We nicknamed her "Monster Truck Rally." It's catching on (not really). I declared that she will call me "Aunt-ive."

We also celebrated Mother's Day, hung out with family, and had a great time.

Oh dear. Charlie is in the puppy hospital for the night. He has a slipped disc (and a lot of pain and muscle spasms because of it). The vet had to sedate him for x-rays, and Charlie had an allergic reaction to the medication, so they decided to keep him overnight for observation. Poor, poor puppy.

When Charlie's not around, our house just doesn't feel right. Sigh.

This week is shaping up to be a wee bit stressful. Richard is still furiously typing his paper (due tomorrow morning, thank God!), and I am trying desperately to get everything on my to do list done before the weekend. Or tomorrow night, rather, as that is when our weekend starts this week. AND then, Charlie began acting rather strangely last night- which resulted in a stressful night followed by an even more stressful morning. The good news is, we already had a vet appointment for today (originally for routine vaccinations, but now commandeered by mystery illness/injury) so it's not like I have one MORE thing to do.

But what I REALLY wanted to talk about today was my love/hate relationship with Facebook. On the one hand, I appreciate Facebook's stalker-but-not-in-a-creepy-way-because-we're-friends! capability. I like getting back in touch with old friends and family that live far away. And also knowing what's going on in people's lives without actually having to talk to them.

What are your favorite/least favorite aspects of Facebook?

On the other hand, I loathe all Facebook apps (Farmville, I'm looking at you) and their never-ending notifications and wall posts (I don't care that you just planted imaginary potatoes in your imaginary field). More than that, though, I get extremely irritated when people use Facebook as a platform for what I think are "discussion" topics- namely politics and religion. These are both topics I (sometimes) enjoy discussing, but Facebook isn't about a discussion- it's about a soapbox. So, if you talk about either with any regularity, you have a one-way ticket to Sarah's "ignore" list. Just like a person on a physical soapbox, you have the right to say whatever you want, but I have the right to walk away.

It's kind of scary when the kids I tutor don't understand my pop culture references- because they weren't alive. Or when they don't remember pivotal national events because they were either too young when it happened or not alive yet. This is one way I can tell I'm getting old. Also, when they tell me I am a "cool old person." Yikes. Send me to the nursing home now.

I can also tell I'm getting older because I can tell exactly where I'll have wrinkles in about 10 years. I've been having kind of insane dreams the past few nights, and I guess I've been scowling all night because I wake up with huge wrinkles on my forehead and between my eyes. Signs of things to come, I guess.

What about you? What are the signs that you are getting older?

Hey! I passed the second set of tests I took recently. So, yes, I am smarter than a fifth grader.

Richard is working his fingers to the bone typing his final papers for exams, and I am working like a dog because AP tests are next week, and everyone decided that they need last minute reviews.

Last night, I had a fun trip down memory lane as I helped a student identify and define incredibly minute parts of a fetal pig. I remember when I was in high school, I felt like I would never need to know what a sternocleidomastoid muscle is. Turns out, I was wrong (sort of). I mean, it's not like I bust out muscle names in every day life, but I have used it again. So, thanks, Mrs. Fabian, for making me learn this stuff. Sorry I was such a jerk about that white board review game.

I also wonder- has the fetal pig become the new frog? What did you have to dissect in high school?

Housekeeping

I changed the layout yesterday! Sort of. In a very minor way. I added a list of friends and family whose blogs I read (don't fool yourself into thinking I only read blogs of people I know). You can find it right over there ------------------------>.

If for some reason you are on that list buy DON'T want to be, let me know. If you're not there, but for some unknown reason, you wish you were, you can tell me that too. And you'll be guaranteed one more person lurking on your blog, reading all about your life!

Also, on an unrelated note, Charlie often makes my heart pitter-patter with his cuteness. He is able to recognize the sound of our car and scooter, and he is always waiting when one of us pulls up. The other day, Charlie and I were walking on the college campus, and Richard drove by on the scooter. Charlie completely freaked out, insisting that we follow that sound! right now! He was utterly perplexed why we were walking the other way when Richard was going that way. Kills me.

Does this picture make my nose look big?

One of the nice *bonuses* of my job is that I get to think about what I will/won't let my (hypothetical, maybe one day) children do. Turns out, I would totally let my kid get body piercings (as they are reversible), but I'd make them wait until they were 18 to get a tattoo. Rich and I are on the same page here. So future, hypothetical, and non-existent children, you've got it here in writing.

This week I...

This week I...

• Successfully cooked every meal I planned to cook. (A major accomplishment, people!)
• Found out I passed two tests.
• Attended a recruiting meeting for a local school district's intern program.
• Set up an interview with said district.
• Got the oil changed in our car.
• Found out the car needs new tires. Sigh.
• Discovered I did our taxes wrong last year (whoops!)- and the IRS didn't like it. That's what happens when you have 8 W-2's, scholarship income (some of which is taxable, and some of which isn't), and other non-taxable income. I wish we just had normal jobs sometimes!
• Exercised nearly every day.
• Gave up dusting in pursuit of more enjoyable tasks.
• Went to the library, and checked out new books.
• Found out that Richard got an Honorable Mention from the Ford Foundation for his grant application. (Sadly, honorable mention does not come with a cash prize, but still- a HUGE honor.)
• Did not go to the pool even once. Sadness.

This was a really busy week around these parts, but it was a good one. Some huge successes, including hope for the future. I really like my life.

Hey FLOTUS!

Richard saw this video the other day and has since taken to calling me "FLOTUS." Swoon.

Tap, tap.... Is this thing on? What? I still have a blog?

I received some rather good news today: I passed those math tests I took a while back! This is good because I had already decided that if I passed the tests, it would be a sign that I was doing the right thing. I guess if I'd passed one and failed one, it would have been a sign I was sort of doing the right thing.

As excited as I am, it does kind of irk me that I passed these tests because what does that say about who they let become math teachers? I mean, I studied, but I haven't taken math since my senior year in high school (that's EIGHT years ago if anyone is counting). YIKES. You people are desperate.

We had a pretty exciting weekend around here.

First, we got to experience our first wide awake earthquake- and it was a little scary. Nothing fell, and there was no structural damage here, but the doors and blinds were swinging all over the place.

Second, my sister had her baby! Annive Maura Ardill was born this morning around 2:45. She is tiny- 5 lbs, 7 oz, 17 3/4 inches long- and everyone says she looks just like Amanda (I agree from the pictures). Amanda and Annive are both doing well!

My sister is home from the hospital, off bed-rest and anti-contraction meds, but she hasn't had a baby yet! That means she's gotten to get a few things done, including this! Go check out the completed (I think?) nursery on her blog.

One a penny, Two a penny

Not my picture- credit goes to http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/real_food/article3574489.ece

This week, I am busy making hot cross buns for Easter at our church here. Apparently, it's a tradition to eat hot cross buns at Easter (though, I've never done it before. I'm more of a gorge myself on chocolate eggs kinda gal.). Hot cross buns are a spiced bread with dried fruits inside and a lovely, icing X on the top.

Apparently, the tradition goes all the way back to the Greeks who offered spiced buns with a cross on them to the goddess Eostre (aka Easter), but the buns became popular in Tudor England. A law enacted by Elizabeth I in 1592 that said hot cross buns could only be sold on Good Friday (as part of Elizabeth's anti-Catholic crusade- take that, Catholics! NO delicious baked goods for you.).

The real kicker is the superstition surrounding these buns. Many people believed they had special properties; thus, the buns were hardened in the oven and kept in the home all year. Basically, the bun then became a good luck charm: it would protect a house from fire and rats, would prevent shipwrecks, and would be ground and mixed with water as a medicine. Kind of puts the rabbit foot to shame, don't you think?

Anyway, you should try to find a hot cross bun- or just come to California, and I will give you one for your trouble. We can sing the song together, too!

The darker side of crafting

Thank you all for your kind comments. This quilt was quite an undertaking, but it was also a labor of love. I thought of my niece with every stitch.

But there is a darker side of such a long (2 1/2 months!), labor intensive project- and that darker side looks a little bit like this (cue sinister music):

Yes, my friends. I became a wee bit negligent about putting things back in their proper place once I'd used them. Also, I began chronically forgetting to take my reusable grocery bags to the store, which explains the overflow of plastic grocery bags.

Once I finished the quilt, I knew I would have to address this ever-growing problem. But it required making some tough decisions. Which scraps of fabric to keep? How many plastic bags to recycle? Richard suggested that I just store the things there wasn't room for in the garage, but I knew they would just take up space out there, only to be donated/tossed the next time we moved.

That's the problem with holding on to "things": they get out of control. So here's the new, much more under control craft closet. I can breathe again.

Annive's Bedding

I finished all of the bedding for my newest niece's room a while ago, but my sister just opened the package a few days ago.

Here is the quilt, the main attraction- which took the longest. The big flower is a quilt square made by my maternal grandmother, Annive, my namesake (as well as my niece's namesake).

It was my dad's idea to incorporate the quilt square, and I think it makes the quilt extra special.

Another one of my favorite features on the quilt are the ruffles I used for grass at the bottom.

I embroidered the ric-rac on the ruffles and the stems on the flowers.

And of course, the bird is pretty cool, too, if I say so myself.

I also made bumper pads using all of the fabrics I used in the quilt.

I think they are my favorite part of all.

Last, I made this bird mobile using the embroidery hoop I used to embroider the quilt.

You better believe that it feels good to have finished this- I feel like it's a huge accomplishment, and I'm really pleased with how everything turned out!