Hey! Look at a cute picture of us at a wedding last summer!

The one where I learn all about ankle monitors

I never knew I'd learn so very much about ankle monitors.

For example, did you know that for minors, ankle monitors are on timers? (This might be true for grown ups, too?) As in, from 8 am until 3:30 pm, the ankle monitor must be at school or else it goes off. And exactly at 3:30, the monitor must be on its way home or else it goes off. And it has to stay at home until 8 am the next day or else it goes off. I always thought house arrest meant house arrest.

So because of this timer issue, basically, if you are on house arrest, you can't stay after school for detention or tutoring without making special arrangements with your probation officer. Ironically, kids on house arrest are probably most in need of staying for tutoring and with the most detentions.

Also, it is most fashionable to wear ankle monitors with shorts and black socks, I guess so everyone can SEE your ankle bracelet.

Seemingly every urban high schooler knows (or at least claims to know) how to disable an ankle monitor. Not sure why the kid is still wearing the monitor if that is the case, but he will swear up and down that he could take it off if he wanted to. I guess they just wear it for kicks?

Finally, ankle monitors are run on batteries which are most likely to run out right in the middle of math class (this has happened TWICE in two weeks with two different kids!). It's official, America's justice system hates math.

So now you know.

Highlights

• This week, we bought a new (to us) car. It only took us about two hours, which was shocking to both Richard and me. As we sat in the CarMax cubicle signing the last papers, Richard whispered to me, "Wow. This IS the way car buying should be!"

• In other news, Richard got his black belt in Tae Kwon Do this week! So you should know, if you didn't think Richard could take you before, he can definitely take you now. Unless you're a black belt, too. Then it might be a little less one-sided.

• Finally, I fussed at a kid this week and embarrassed him in front of the whole class for what I thought was a cell phone going off repeatedly in class, but was actually a malfunctioning ANKLE MONITOR. They don't train you in how to deal with these things in your credential classes.

• Richard has Spring Break this week, but mine is in five more weeks (not that I'm counting or anything).

The one where Charlie learns to tell time.

Last night, Charlie and I had a talk.

"You are not to wake me," I said, "until this clock says seven-zero-zero." I held up my cell phone. "And when you wake me up, do not stand on my shoulder and put your cold nose in my face. It's not polite."

Charlie moaned (as he often does) and nosed his way under the covers.

He is turning into a bit of a pain in the neck, what with all the opinions and grumbling and waking me up at 4:00 am on a Saturday. He used to sleep until we woke him up- around 10 or 11, when I felt sure it was bordering on dangerous for him not to eat breakfast and go outside.

This morning, Charlie woke me up by standing on my shoulder and putting his nose in my face, as always. But imagine my surprise when I looked at the clock. It read 6:59. He almost made it, which is about all I can ask of a dog.

The one where we DON'T buy season passes to Splashtown

I am basically beside myself excited for summer. Lazy days at the pool, at the beach, and warm, warm weather. Evening concerts in the park, picnics, and day trips. Camping, hiking, and taking Charlie to the dog park. Rich and I are in the process of making our second annual summer list of things we want to do and accomplish this summer. And this year, we are actually going to put things on the calendar since we are much more likely to actually do these things if we have them on the schedule rather than relying on our spontaneity. Of which we have none. Because we are old, old farts. (I'd had a sneaking suspicion that we were old farts for a long time. This was confirmed at the Valentine's Dance, which we chaperoned at school on Friday night.)

Anyway, does anybody have any good suggestions for fun things we should do this summer? I'll be sharing our list soon, after we've finished formulating it.

The three questions I am asked most often by my students are:

1) Are you married?

2) Do you have kids?

3) How old are you?

No matter how many times I answer these questions, the kids either forget (pretty likely) or don't hear (also pretty likely), and so it seems as if the same students are asking these questions over and over again.

I have a picture of Rich and me on my desk, and the kids are totally fascinated by it. I don't know if it's the interracial thing or the shock of figuring out that I have a life beyond the school day or that I know people they don't know, but they are constantly asking me about that picture and who the handsome young man in the picture is.

Just the other day, a boy saw the picture while getting a Kleenex from my desk and asked, "Miss, is that your boyfriend?" (He sounded a bit incredulous, I might add.)

"No," I replied, "that's my husband."

"Wow!" he said. "He looks like a really cool guy."

"He is," I answered.

"I mean, he looks like he really likes basketball!"

"Uh.... okay?"

Here is that image, where it is clear that Richard is a huge sports fan.

Nothing says basketball-lover like a pair of khakis.

The one where we don't go camping

We were thinking of going camping this weekend to honor our dead presidents and the day they got us off from school. Trying to decide whereto go tonight, I pulled up the weather report only to see this:

California went and decided to have some weather after all. It is even supposed to rain in the MOJAVE DESERT this weekend. No camping for us, I guess. Maybe s'mores in the microwave instead?

This has been a banner weekend. For one thing, Rich and I finally got to meet our incredibly sweet and adorable niece, Lucy. She's two, so Rich and I officially win the worst aunt and uncle ever award. I did my best to convince her that I was her Aunt Richard and that Richard was her Uncle Sarah, but no dice--she mostly seemed confused about that. She did mention the bunny I made her for Christmas last year, so that was cool.

Rich and I also finally went hiking on the trail nearest our house- maybe a 5 minute drive? And holy crap. This is where we live.

This was taken on my camera phone, so really, it was about fifty times better in real life. The whole time we were hiking, I couldn't stop asking myself why we haven't bothered to go up there before.

And, my friends, that's where priorities come into play. Having limited time, resources, and energy means we are constantly making decisions on where to put that which we have. And sometimes, we make crappy decisions (like not meeting our awesome niece until she was two years old) and miss out on awesome things (like seeing this amazing view and enjoying how awesome the place we live is). So yeah. Once somebody (wise) told me that you can have anything, but you can't have everything. I think they were talking about money, but how true is that of the rest of life as well?

Today a girl in my class looked at me and said, "Miss! You forgot to put your earrings on today!"

It totally cracked me up. The things kids do and don't notice. For example, I can put the same exact problem on a warm up, a worksheet, a quiz, and a test. And still no one will notice (except maybe one kid). But I don't wear pearls in my ears? BAM! Instant observers. I part my hair slightly differently? WOW! They all make comments. I wear a new pair of shoes? KAZOW! 25 compliments.

New Year's Resolutions

This year I made one overarching resolution (to create more balance in my life) made up of several sub-resolutions. So here's an update on my sub-resolutions.

-Cook dinner at least once a week.

Pathetic, I know. But baby steps, people. This resolution has been successful so far. I have not only cooked at least once a week in the two weeks since returning from school, but THREE times a week. The plan is that I don't cook on Mondays (since my night class keeps me out until about 9:00). I cook a hunk of meat in the crock pot on Tuesday. I love the crock pot. When I get home on Tuesdays, dinner is already done! Wednesdays I make something that is pretty quick (like tacos, pasta, hummus...). Thursdays, I use the leftovers from Tuesdays hunk-o-meat to make something in the crock pot (soup, a casserole, whatever). Friday nights, either Richard cooks something or we go out to eat. So I've managed to maintain this for two whole weeks! Hooray!

-Incorporate more exercise in my life.

I've had to really force myself here because I am a naturally sedentary person. I really loathe exercise, with the exception of water aerobics (which, let's face it, isn't exactly physically challenging). So I've been doing the couch to 5k program, and it's going well! I try to run at least twice during the week (Tuesday night and Thursday/Friday nights) and then once or twice on the weekends (Saturday and/or Sundays). And hey, I'm doing it, and I have a lot more energy lately. Running is stress relieving- I sometimes picture smashing my feet into a particular night class or class I teach- and it's not too painful. Rich and I are registered for a 5k on April 9, so that's giving us something concrete to work toward.

-Spend less time working on the weekends.

I've changed the way I grade this semester, and it has seriously cut the amount of time required to get all my student's work graded (at least in half). So yeah, this is working well. I still have the eighty-bajillion hours of work required for my night class. Sigh. April 2012, you cannot get here soon enough.

-Read more.

I've started listening to books on tape on my way to work, which is pleasant. Since I am home more during the week (after quitting my part-time job), I have more time to read. And since Rich is back at school and reading approximately 800 books per week, it's much easier to read than turn on the TV. I've been finishing about 2 books per week (plus one book on CD) which is awesome!

-Be less anti-social, and make it a point to see people I don't work with.

Last weekend, Rich and I went to a party AND hosted a party. So, yeah. This is good.

The end. How are YOUR New Year's Resolutions working out.