Chuchería

Book Meme

2008-07-19T17:06:00.002-05:00

Swiped this from Mrs. Chili, who shamelessly stole it from Chatty.

1. Who are your favorite authors? Tough call. Right now, I'd have to say John Irving, Amy Tan, Julia Alvarez, Harper Lee, Lorna Landvik, Betty Smith, Maud Hart Lovelace and Lucy Maude Montgomery.

2. What are your favorite books? A Prayer for Owen Meany, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Anne of Green Gables, Middlesex, all Harry Potter, to name a few. It's almost like asking a mother which one of her kids she loves best.

3. What kind of books do you tend to read? I like an epic tale that spans a lifetime. I like books that explore the complexities of family relationships.

4. Do you prefer to borrow books from the library or buy them? Seeing as how I can never seem to get my books back to the library on time, I'd have to say I prefer to buy them- no pressure. I scour the Goodwill and garage sales and get really good stuff, but I also splurge on new books at Borders. Our school has a "Books are Fun" dealer who brings books to school for us to buy and I usually dump some cash with them, too. It's a sickness, really.

5. Do you prefer hardcover or paperback?
Depends on the book. If it's something I'm reading for fun, I prefer paperback, for it's weight and portability. Reference books or books for keepsakes, I prefer hardback.

6. What was the last book you read? What are you reading now? Right now I'm in a "mind-candy" rut. The last book I read was Janet Evanovich's Ten Big Ones, and I'm currently reading Eleven On Top. I love those Stephanie Plum novels- like I said, "mind candy".

7. Do you read everyday? Oh, absolutely.

8. On average how many books do you read per year? Never really counted. Maybe 25?

9. Do you belong to any book clubs? Yes, 2, but I'm thinking about breaking up with one of them.

10. Recommend a good book. Water for Elephants, The Thirteenth Tale, Lottery, A Girl Named Zippy, How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents, Lamb. Plus all the other books I mentioned. I will probably think of a gajillion more as soon as I click on "PUBLISH POST".

Friday Five

2008-07-18T14:49:00.003-05:00

You know how we all have our own little hot-button issues that bug the ever-living crap out of us? Here are some of mine:

1. It's "iced tea", people, not "ice tea". I know it's "ice water" and that it defies logic, but it is what it is. Get it right. Write it correctly on the menu.

2. That fruity, ice-cream-like treat that isn't sorbet? It's called sherbet. SHER. BET. As in "Sure bet", NOT "Sure Burt". Only one "r" there.

3. Cheap gauzy fabric= MUSLIN, with an "N".
Member of Eastern religion=MUSLIM, with an "M".
They are not the same thing.

4. Well, I was all set to tell you about the big ol' presentation I went to about the beauty of a well-run "advisor-advisee" program, where the presenter misspelled "advisor", only to discover that "advisor" is an alternate and acceptable spelling to "adviser". Hmmph. Smarty-pants me not so smart.

5. Jargon. Especially Edu-jargon. Here are the words that will be a part of my reality for the upcoming school year:

differentiated intruction
trajectory
paradigm shift
multiple intelligences
community
common planning
common assessment
sub-category
transition

On a Mission from God

2008-07-15T10:16:00.001-05:00

Um, imagine your 7, soon to be 8 year old saying THIS at the dinner table:

"We've got a full tank of gas, a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses. Let's roll."

Firecracker, firecracker ...

2008-07-07T15:25:00.003-05:00

Well, I blinked and there went June. Hope everyone had a good 4th. We kicked off the weekend by going to the Mississippi Valley Blues Fest. It's been around for about 20 years- in its early days it was free and rather seedy. I think Steppenwolf played one year, when I was in high school. It's always been held on the levee, along the river. There is a main stage and a tent stage. People bring their boats up close to the banks and enjoy live music and the comfort of their own private boat. You used to be able to bring in coolers, but they put the kabosh on that as well as upped the price from free to $18. Not bad for a day/evening of live music, but still pricey enough to consider not going. This year, they had to move the fest to higher, drier ground because of the crazy flooding. It was basically a street fest with the tent stage moved into the newly-renovated, historic Adler Theater. For me, I'm kind of "eh" on that. I like to hear the blues when it's HOT and humid and I'm in direct view of the Mississippi, a cold beer in my hand, the faint smell of cigarette smoke in the air. (Yes, I said cigarette smoke- when I'm outside, I actually kind of like the smell, as long as it's not too strong. It takes me straight back to my youth.) Besides being NOT on the river, it was actually kind of chilly- like in the mid 50's, which for July in Iowa is downright cold. We were, however, introduced to The Carolina Chocolate Drops, an immensely talented group of musicians from North Carolina. After that, we saw Otis Taylor and the Black Banjo Project, which as the term "trance blues" implies, was really hypnotic for this sleepy, still-jet-lagged girl. We capped off the night with some Elvin Bishop tunes.
Friday we hosted a barbeque at our house during the day, then fireworks at my mom's house. She doesn't actually do the fireworks, but she lives right by the park where the fireworks display is held every year. It's nice, we sit in her backyard and watch, not having to hobnob with the masses.
Last night we went to a baseball game- our team is a Class A, St.Louis Cardinals affiliate. Very exciting, as Ryne Sandburg was there, as coach for the Peoria Chiefs. We got our butts kicked 0-1, but it was still fun. The stadium is along the river, it's pretty, there's lots going on.
I'm trying to get caught up on laundry and sleep, as well as finish my assignments for my Spain class. I have to have it all done before Wed., when I leave for Nashville- the High Schools That Work conference. Is ANYone out there going to be there?

Happy Birthday to Me!!!

2008-06-30T17:53:00.002-05:00

Yes, well, this is my last birthday in the land of the 30-somethings. Woo freaking hoo.
Nothing too crazy for the celebratin', just hanging out.
Did anyone catch the hostile comment left in my last post? I was going to comment on the comment but decided against it and instead just deleted it. I had no idea I could inspire such hate, such venom.
Moving on, yes, I did make my Zurich connection with minutes to spare. We were about 4 hours late getting in to Chicago because of a freak thunderstorm, so we had to land in Milwaukee, where there were blue skies and sunshine, and hang out on the tarmac. We could have DRIVEN to Chicago and back twice during that time, but US Customs regulates that no one get off or on the plane. We also were not allowed to be served any beverages during that time. Even though, you know, they were the EXACT SAME beverages we were drinking up in the sky.
It's wonderful to be home and the jet lag has not really been so bad. I watched Spain beat Germany in the Euro Cup final championship game yesterday- very exciting, as they haven't won since 1964. ¡Viva España!

Spain Post #4

2008-06-26T12:15:00.003-05:00

Well, I´m off to Madrid tomorrow, home on Sat. Please cross all of your fingers and toes so that I make my connecting flight in Zurich. It´s very tight and I really don´t wan´t to get stuck.

I wanted to also share with you the celebration of San Juan here in Spain. They celebrate the Noche de San Juan, which is the longest night of the year (summer solstice). Instead of celebrating his death, they celebrate his birth. In the south of Spain, they make bonfires on the beach and people jump over them 3 times. Sometimes the tradition is for a man to carry a woman on his back, piggy-back style, walking on hot coals. In the north, they make a strong drink of aguardiente and sing a song while stirring it while it´s on fire. We actually did this in one of my classes. They also pick herbs and wildflowers, soak them in water and then bathe with the water. On the northern beaches, it´s bad luck to get in the water without the blessing of San Juan. I think it´s probably just too damn cold to get in the water much before now.

I am surprised at how much Spain is like the US, and equally amazed at how it still feels like a "foreign" country.

I was observing the playground happenings in the Cánovas Park. The playground has that foam stuff on the ground, and cheesy equipment, but all in the shade. THe moms are all dressed to the nines and the kids are in some crazy color combinations, the boys in little espadrilles. I quite like it, but I know that it would be way too "metro" for the average bear back home. I´m sure that if one were to get dressed up like these moms in a similar setting in the states, the other moms who were there in cut-offs and tee shirts would talk about the dressed-up mom. "What´s SHE all dressed up for?"
Still need to get used to saying "vale" instead of "ok".

Spain Post #3

2008-06-24T10:51:00.002-05:00

A few observations on the day to day life here in Cáceres:

1. The woman really do use fans. Seriously. They carry them as sort of an accessory, like an umbrella, but they do use them.

2. I´m seeing lots of people dressed as though they are not afraid of color. They love their shoes here! I myself have bought 3 pair.

3. It is not uncommon to see Spanish women dressed in dresses and little heels as they are out and about. We´ve seen several weddings and boy are they all dressed to the nines!

4. People don´t walk around eating and drinking like we do. If you want a coffee, well, you go to a cafe or a bar and you have a coffee. They seem to take care of their things more so than we do. The conductor on the train will yell at you if you have your feet on the seat.

Did anyone see the Spain-Italy soccer game for the Euro Cup? They were 0-0 for the entire game and went into overtime. We were watching at a bar and then finally decided to leave because it was so late and we were afraid we´d be there all night. So, about halfway home, I heard this roar of people cheering and figured Spain had scored, but I didn´t hear anything else until I was almost home. There was this huge roar, people came out onto their balconies (where I live there are mostly apartments) and were cheering "ES PA Ñ A, ES PA Ñ A!" They were banging on pots and pans, people where honking their horns, lighting fire crackers, singing "Ole, ole, ole ole, me gusta España....", waving the Spanish flag, which they just don´t do here otherwise.It went on for about an hour and a half. So, so, cool to be part of it.

My new favorite snack is a piece of good bread, like French bread, sliced length-wise and toasted. Spread tomato puré on it, but not gopped on, a drizzle of olive oil and some thin slices of cheese, like manchego, which is like a milder parmesan and from sheep.

To answer Bellaza´s question, yes, my lectures are all in Spanish, so I´m learning lots.

I feel bad that I´ve not kept up with reading your blogs, but I´ll make up for it upon my return.

Spain Post #2

2008-06-22T09:26:00.002-05:00

It´s quite hot here right now. 34 to 40 degrees centigrade, which I have trouble making the conversion.
We visited a museum on the outskirts of town of Wolf Vollett who was a German artist in the tradition of Yoko Ono. He made a lot of "happenings". Very interesting. His philosophy was "La vida = arte= La vida". It was in this national park type of place called Barruecos, which are these humongous rocks. The land here is very harsh, hence the name "Extremadura" (extrema , extreme and dura, hard).
The way of life here is so much different. My days have pretty much been like this:
1. Wake up at 7 or 7:30. Drink my cafe con leche out of a big bowl and eat some pan.
2. Walk to our meeting point, which means I walk through this beautiful park called Canovas, which I think means canopy. It´s got palm trees and benches and a fountain, so pretty.
3. Catch the bus to the university.
4. Have classes with amazing professors who are teaching us all about Spain in the 21´st century.
5. Go home for the main meal at around 2. Have a siesta.
6. Go back to class or do something with the group.

So far it has been great. We went to Salamanca yesterday, which is sooo beautiful. We went to Trujillo today, which if it had been much cooler would have been much more enjoyable.

More later.

Spain Post #1

2008-06-17T12:40:00.002-05:00

Hello from Spain.
After a hellatious time at the Heathrow Airport, I am here. We spent a fabulous weekend in Madrid, a much different experience than being here on a canned tour with students. We did 2 interesting walking tours. One was a tour of the Barrio de las Letras, where we got to see the traditional craftsmen of Madrid who are still working. For example, we saw where they make churros, a guitar maker, a silver smith and an iron works/foundry. Very cool, very ``off the beaten path``. In the evening, we went on a tour of the taverns and learned about how they evolved and the legends and customs surrounding them.
Right now I am in Caceres, a small city in Extremadura, to the west of Madrid. I am living with a delightful older woman and attending classes.
Mas later. We are getting ready to go and I´m paying by the hour.

Fiddle Dee Dee

2008-06-03T15:41:00.002-05:00

What's going on with me these days?
Well, we had our 13 year old cat put to sleep today. He's been ill for some time now- kidney/liver failure due to complications from feline diabetes. He was not able to keep food down and was starting to crap all over my house. I brought him home in my jacket when he was 6 weeks old to the day. A woman I worked with had a cat who had kittens and I picked the one I wanted. I remember counting the days and circling the date on the calendar that I could go get him. I miss him.

My mother in law was diagnosed with stage 3 lymphoma and starts chemo this week.

I have a mountain of school work to do.

The girls and I are supposed to go camping this weekend with the Brownies.

I leave for Spain in 9 days.

So, what am I doing tonight? Going out with some girlfriends for dinner and "Sex in the City".

How very Scarlet O'Hara of me.

Small but Mighty

2008-06-02T19:39:00.003-05:00

My very first teaching job was teaching bilingual kindergarten at one of the poorest schools in our district. For the first month and a half, I was in a trailer with no bathroom. I had 26 kids- 24 at all times, and it was like a revolving door. Probably 6 or 7 that I had at the beginning of the year had left and 6 or 7 different kids came to take their place. It was crazy, but I was young, inexperienced and desperate for a job, so who was I to complain?
One of my students was this itty-bitty girl, Sharnice. She was a young kindergartner- had a late spring or summer birthday. She had little braids all over her head and a twinkle in her eye, but you hardly ever heard her speak. She often times could not sit still with the rest of the group and would get up and walk around the room. Her home life was tumultuous. I believe she lived with her great grandmother and her boyfriend, who would haul himself out of bed to walk up the hill to get Sharnice at dismissal time, which was like 11:30 (days before mandated all-day kindergarten.) He wore slippers and a cowboy hat and smelled like a distillery, but was a nice man all the same, and she was pretty attached to him. He didn't quite have the pick up procedure etiquette, however. Instead of waiting for the kids to be dismissed, he would stand outside of the trailer and bellow "Shah-neece!" I would very primly pop my head out and say in my best kindergarten teacher voice, "Are you here to pick up Sharnice?" Oh, I could do perky.
About the middle of the year, this man suffered a heart attack and it really kind of rocked Sharnice's world and she got kind of clingy with me. Her mom was in jail and I can't remember the deal with the rest of her family.
One morning, she was hanging out with me as I got ready for the day. She didn't chatter at me like some kids may have, just stood by me and trailed around after me.
After being with me and being virtually silent, she said something to me. She had a really soft little voice, so I didn't quite hear her at first, so I asked her to repeat what she had said. So, she said a little bit louder, "I found a little baby mouse in my house this morning." I did an internal "ew", but since she had initiated conversation, I prompted her- "You did? Really? A little baby mouse?" She looked quite pleased with herself. "Mmmmm hmmmm, " she nodded, grinning. "And I squished it!"

I wonder whatever happened to Sharnice. I hope she's happy.

Here they come.....

2008-06-01T15:21:00.002-05:00

Dear Helicopter Parents:

Yes, I mean YOU! You, who "hover", thus earning yourself the quippy title "Helicopter Parents". You, who have the greatest of intentions and want whatever is best for your child, as long as it means that they get good grades and possibly extra credit. Notice that I did not say "earn" good grades, because, while many of you pay lip service to the whole "getting vs. earning" of grades, the truth is that you desperately want your children to get All A's All the Time. You spend an inordinate amount of time looking at the online gradebook ~~we have been forced to use~~ gladly employ ~~so that you will quit asking us for an updated grade report every other whip-stitch~~ for your benefit. You send me "concerned" emails when your kid's grade dips below the coveted and much more acceptable "A". You express "disappointment" because your kid was "doing so well". You wonder if your kid can do extra credit ~~in a last-ditch effort~~ to pull up the percentage points to the 90's. See, that way, it appears that your kid is doing really well in Spanish, when really, he's basically a B student with average language skills who could do much better if he studied more and didn't rush to get last night's homework done during the first 5 minutes of class.

Please loosen your apron strings a bit and let your kid earn the grade he earns. He's old enough to operate a large, gasoline-powered vehicle. I think he can handle his Spanish 2 class. It will be ok.

Very snarkily yours,

Mrs T

Welcome to "Pimp My Book"

2008-05-30T20:13:00.002-05:00

I've been reading Jess Riley's blog since I started blogging 2 years ago. She is quite a talented writer, is laugh-out-loud funny and is a Midwest girl like me. Her long-awaitedbook, Driving Sideways has just recently been released. I am excited to read it and am really hoping she does a book signing that is close to my home!

Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road?

2008-05-29T08:27:00.002-05:00

I got this as a forward- enjoy!

BARACK OBAMA:
The chicken crossed the road because it was time for a CHANGE! The chicken wanted CHANGE!

JOHN MC CAIN:
My friends, that chicken crossed the road because he recognized the need to engage in cooperation and dialogue with all the chickens on the other side of the road.

HILLARY CLINTON:
When I was First Lady, I personally helped that little chicken to cross the road. This experience makes me uniquely qualified to ensure -- right from Day One! -- that every chicken in this country gets the chance it deserves to cross the road. But then, this really isn't about me.......

DR. PHIL:
The problem we have here is that this chicken won't realize that he must
first deal with the problem on 'THIS' side of the road before it goes
after the problem on the 'OTHER SIDE' of the road. What we need to do is
help him realize how stupid he's acting by not taking on his 'CURRENT'
problems before adding 'NEW' problems.

OPRAH:
Well, I understand that the chicken is having problems, which is why he
wants to cross this road so bad. So instead of having the chicken learn
from his mistakes and take falls, which is a part of life, I'm going to
give this chicken a car so that he can just drive across the road and
not live his life like the rest of the chickens.

GEORGE W. BUSH:
We don't really care why the chicken crossed the road. We just want to
know if the chicken is on our side of the road, or not. The chicken is
either against us, or for us. There is no middle ground here.

COLIN POWELL:
Now to the left of the screen, you can clearly see the satellite image
of the chicken crossing the road...

ANDERSON COOPER - CNN:
We have reason to believe there is a chicken, but we have not yet been
allowed to have access to the other side of the road.

JOHN KERRY:
Although I voted to let the chicken cross the road, I am now against it!
It was the wrong road to cross, and I was misled about the chicken's
intentions. I am not for it now, and will remain against it.

NANCY GRACE:
That chicken crossed the road because he's GUILTY! You can see it in his
eyes and the way he walks.

PAT BUCHANAN:
To steal the job of a decent, hardworking American.

MARTHA STEWART:
No one called me to warn me which way that chicken was going. I had a
standing order at the Farmer's Market to sell my eggs when the price
dropped to a certain level. No little bird gave me any insider
information.

DR SEUSS:
Did the chicken cross the road? Did he cross it with a toad? Yes, the
chicken crossed the road, but why it crossed I've not been told.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY:
To die in the rain. Alone.

GRANDPA:
In my day we didn't ask why the chicken crossed the road. Somebody told
us the chicken crossed the road, and that was good enough.

BARBARA WALTERS:
Isn't that interesting? In a few moments, we will be listening to the
chicken tell, for the first time, the heart warming story of how it
experienced a serious case of molting, and went on to accomplish its
life long dream of crossing the road.

ARISTOTLE:
It is the nature of chickens to cross the road.

JOHN LENNON:
Imagine all the chickens in the world crossing roads together, in peace.

BILL GATES:
I have just released eChicken2007, which will not only cross roads, but
will lay eggs, file your important documents, and balance your check
book. Internet Explorer is an integral part of the Chicken. This new
platform is much more stable and will never cra...#@&&^(C% .........
reboot.

ALBERT EINSTEIN:
Did the chicken really cross the road, or did the road move beneath the
chicken?

BILL CLINTON:
I did not cross the road with THAT chicken. What is your definition of
chicken?

AL GORE:
I invented the chicken!

COLONEL SANDERS:
Did I miss one?

DICK CHENEY:
Where's my gun?

AL SHARPTON: Why are all the chickens white? We need some black chickens.

The Road to Crazytown

2008-05-27T15:54:00.003-05:00

Pardon my hiatus last week. Apparently, all hell decided to break loose last week at my school.
Let's see, Monday there was a huge fight between 1st and 2nd Block in which a boy pushed another girl down the stairs. He is now up for expulsion. Minutes after that and one floor below, there was another huge fight. I was in my room not doing hall duty, I know, bad me, when I heard the din in the hallway change - sort of a rise in pitch, reaching near hysteria. I opened my door to see my 6'4" principal barely able to hold back one of the kids and a police officer practically lying on top of the other kid to hold him down. Whew. All of this in an 8 minute passing period.
I had to come back to school in the evening for the Junior/Senior awards ceremony. I parked my car in the usual parking lot, left at around 8:15. I checked my school email from home later that evening to find out that there had been a shooting in said parking lot that afternoon at around 4:30. Holy shit! A shooting. With actual guns. Shot out the window of one staff member's car-$2600 worth of damage- insurance will cover, except for the deductible, of course. Who will pay that? I think the district should be responsible for it, but we'll see how that goes.
Tuesday there were 3 huge fights at school- 2 girls got suspended, then one of them decided to come back to school-texted her sister, who was in class and subsequently left in the middle of that class to go fight someone outside. WTF?
In the meantime, we had the honor and privilege of having the youngest survivor of Schindler's List come and speak to us. How amazing was that????
Thursday, a man was shot to death at the IHOP- going to work.
Friday, everyone on my floor was mysteriously hustled into the auditorium during 2nd block because a container holding an unknown substance was found in the hallway. Keep in mind that we've been having all kinds of crazy bomb threats scrawled on our bathroom walls the last month. So, they called in the Bomb Squad to make sure that we weren't all going to be blasted to smithereens. 20 minutes later we were all dismissed back to class. The superintendent came, there were about 5 or 6 cops . And for what? Well, one of the science classes had done experiments using a calorimeter. One boy was trying to put his in his friend's locker and it accidentally got left on the floor next to the locker. The funny thing is that this kid is an itty-bitty slip of a boy- probably weighs 95 pounds soaking wet and is the nicest, most unlikely culprit. I guess they cleared him of any charges, since it was completely without malice.
So, by the time Saturday rolled around? I was ready for some down time.
8 more days ....

Prom King

2008-05-15T16:30:00.002-05:00

There are a handful of things school related that are currently bugging the ever-living hell out of me, but I'm not going to post about them. I'm sure you all have your own fresh hell to gnaw on. I'll save it for another day. Posting about them doesn't promise to be cathartic, but rather to have me re-live them all over again. So instead, I have somehthing nice to share.

There is a senior boy at my school who has mild autism. I'm going to call him Ron. He is quite funcional- I had him in class for 2 levels of Spanish and his written work was impeccable. Socially, he is a bit off- it's like having a brilliant 8 year old in class, but intellectually, his mind is like a steel trap. One of his goals has been to refrain from blurting out answers and waiting to be called on. Having him in class was really delightful, as he and I have somewhat of a rapport and the other kids get used to him and are quite nice to him.

I mentioned earlier that we have a Sadie-Hawkins type dance every winter in which Senior boys are nominated for the honor of being crowned King. Well, this year, Ron was the recipient of this honor. It was really a genuine gesture on the part of most of the student body- there weren't any snickers or sarcastic remarks. He wore that crown all week- and then sometimes just for the heck of it.

Fast forward to April. The kids are in Prom-mode. Ron puts a note up on the bulletin board in the cafeteria looking for a ride to the dance. A Senior girl in one of his classes asks him about it. "Ron, I saw your note. Did you end up getting a ride to Prom?" No, not yet, was his answer. "Well," she said, "I talked it over with my parents, and they'd be happy to drive you to the Prom. And a bunch of us are going out to dinner before the dance and we'd like you to join us- your dinner will be all taken care of." These kids all chipped in to pay for his meal, as well as his Prom ticket, and arranged for his ride home. They didn't do it for any recognition, nor for any fun to be had at his expense. They just did it because he's their classmate, and they think he's cool and they know that he's not like them in many ways, and they wanted him to have a good time at his Senior Prom.

So the next time you see teenagers being loud and obnoxious or hear about some heinous crime commited by teens, I want you to remember this story.

Tree and Random Monday thoughts

2008-05-05T18:32:00.003-05:00

You can barely see the little green buds, but they are there, along with some eager dogwod blossoms. Every couple of years, this tree is amazing when it's in full bloom.

Here's another, up-close and personal"

In other randomness:

- Is it just me, or are we being surveyed to death? Every time I answer the phone it's another marbles-in-the-mouth doing market research. I used to do them, then I got a small case of paranoia and wondered if the people conducting the surveys were really who they say they are and just what exactly are they doing with this information and could it ever be held against me. And, I'm just sick of it, so now I say "We don't do those." and hang up.

- Although I am big fan of The Leftover- a huge believer in the "Cook Once, Eat Twice" philosophy, I think food reheated in the microwave is kind of gross. So, I've discovered that using my huge honking Pampered Chef non-stick skillet is perfect for reheating most leftovers. Just put your stuff in and put the lid on. Sometimes you need to add water or broth- depends on what it is Tonight I had leftover roasted potatoes, and grilled chicken- enough for the 4 of us. We had a Greek salad and pita, which we wanted warm and I didn't want to use the oven, so I wrapped it in foil and just stuck it on top of the chicken and potatoes. Worked like a charm, and I didn't heat up the kitchen with the oven.

- Speaking of Greek salad, here's a recipe:

romaine
feta cheese
kalamata olives
tomatoes (I use grape tomatoes- they have a good taste even in the winter)
red onion, thinly sliced
cucumber
pepperoncini

Assemble the salad to your liking.

dressing

good quality, fresh Extra Virgin Olive Oil
red wine vinegar
oregano
garlic
salt & pepper

Pour oregano into the palm of your hand- it should be several tablespoons. Rub it between your palms into a glass jar. Rubbing dried herbs releases the flavor. Crush several cloves of the garlic and add to the jar. Salt and pepper to taste. Add oil and vinegar. Last but not least, add a couple of tablespoons of the pepperoncini brine. Shake it all up. Enjoy. It's good on the salad, of course, but equally good on warm pita, chicken. I would like my casket to be lined with this dressing, please.

I use a 3-1 ratio of oil to vinegar. For a cup of dressing, use 3/4 cup of oil, 1/4 cup of dressing. For more, I use 1 1/2 cups oil to 1/2 cup of vinegar. (I'm sure you are all smart enough to do the math, but it took me a while to figure this out.)

Queen of the May

2008-05-04T21:59:00.004-05:00

My younger daughter, Lydia received her First Communion this afternoon. Her second grade class (they go to Catholic school) has been preparing for it for months. I love that her school maintains some traditions for this celebrations. For instance, several weeks before the big day, the class goes to one of those "paint your own pottery" places and everyone paints their own chalice, which the priest then blesses. After the First Communion mass, which is on Sunday, the school has a special May Crowning ceremony. All of the second graders are to come in their First Communion duds, and the 8th graders who are being confirmed are to come in their special clothes as well. All year long, the 2 grades have been getting together- they are assigned a "prayer buddy" - an older child with a younger. They attend mass together- and it's really cool, because the older kids kind of keep the younger ones in line. So anyway, on the day of May Crowning, the kids come all dolled up. Each family is asked to bring flowers to place around Mary- they haul out this huge statue- they say a few decades of the Rosary, they sing "Salve Regina" and the crowning point (get it?-couldn't resist) is when the 2nd and 8th graders walk up with their prayer buddy and the boys bring a votive candle and the girls all bring flowers to place at the base of the statue. 2 girls are chosen to crown Mary. It's all very sweet and old-fashioned. I love it because the 8 graders are so lovely- some of the girls are so pretty and they have no idea how beautiful they are. Most of the moms cry.

Here is a picture of Lydia in front of a rhododendron in the courtyard at her school:

And another:

It was sure something to see all of the little girls running around in their white dresses and veils before the mass. The boys were all in blue blazers and khakis- horsing around. I could imagine them all in about 15 years at a wedding- acting the same way, pretty much, only probably enhanced by too much keg beer.

Tag!

2008-04-30T20:45:00.002-05:00

Mrs. Bluebird, who is one of my favorite selections, tagged me for this meme.

Here's the rules:

1. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.
2. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
3. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5-6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they've been tagged and asking them to read your blog.
4. Let the person who tagged you know when you've posted your answer.

So let the fun begin!!

1) What was I doing 10 years ago? Well, I had just returned to work after 11 weeks of maternity leave. I was wondering how in the hell I was going to be able to be gone from my sweet baby girl every day and being wistful about being a stay-at-home-mom.

2) What are 5 things on my to-do list for today (not in any particular order): Well, seeing as how today is pretty much shot, I'll go with my to-do list for tomorrow.

1. finish correcting make-up tests for Spanish 1 class
2. copy quizzes
3. make lunch
4. get Lydia all prettied up for First Communion picture
5. start reading "Lottery" for book club

3) Snacks I enjoy: The list would be shorter if I included those snacks I DON'T enjoy, but here they are: popcorn, chips and dip, chips and salsa, guacamole, ice cream, chex mix....

4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire: Pay off all debts, invest wisely, give to charity, not stress about money, and go shopping, duh!

5) Three of my bad habits:I'm so glad they limited it to 3, otherwise this would be a bit of a morale buster for me.

1. nervous eating
2. staying up too late because I don't want to miss out on anything
3. not staying on top of grading papers

6) 5 places I have lived:

1. Davenport, IA
2. Galesburg, IL
3. Cedar Falls, IA
4. Colima, Mexico
5. Council Bluffs, IA

7) 5 jobs I have had:

1. cashier, Walgreen's
2. Migrant Head-start teacher
3. bilingual Kindergarten teacher
4. Spanish teacher
5. quality-assurance coordinator/customer service trainer

8) 6 peeps I wanna know more about:

1. Happy Chyck-
my "old" blog buddy. I probably already know a lot about her, but she
tells a good tale.

2. Mrs. Chili- a newer
blog-friend. Definitely a kindred spirit.

3. Adeline New job, new house,
expecting a new baby. If she's got time for a meme, I'd love to
read her responses.

4. Professor J She's
probably up to her ears in papers to grade, but who doesn't love a
meme?

5. Sunshine a
fellow Iowan- she's hosting the Prom this week! It's crinoline free,
so check it out!

6. Dolce -her blog is a
delight to read. I'd love to hang out with her.

Rollin', Rollin' on the River

2008-04-28T17:43:00.004-05:00

So, a week and a half ago, we had this little earthquake. Guess what now? The Mighty Mississippi is expected to crest at 19.5 feet on Wednesday, flood stage is at 15 feet. Oh, it's a sight when that river leaves its banks. The above picture is from 2001- no baseball that spring. So far, the baseball stadium is dry- it's a bit soggy getting into the stadium, but they've got sandbags up. This weekend is prom for the school where I teach, which could be tricky, since it will be held on a riverboat. If the river is too high, I'm guessing they won't actually sail. Before you get all "Oh, how quaint" about having your prom on a riverboat, which I did, think about it. Sails at 9, comes back at 12. You're in the middle of the Mississippi for 3 hours. (a 3 hour tour, a 3 hour tour....) You are stuck on that boat for the entire time - there's no leaving early. And if you're late? They take off without you. There goes your prom- and my school only had Senior prom, none of this Junior/Senior stuff. The tradition was that the Junior class hosted the prom for the Seniors. And sea-sickness? A little bit- not hurl-over-the-railing sick, but definitely some queasiness. From a parent's point of view, the boat is awesome- you know where your kids are, they are safe and contained. From a kid's point of view, it's a tad claustrophobic.

We're not Oprah

2008-04-26T19:58:00.004-05:00

I've been part of a book group since 1995, or thereabouts. My original group has long since dissolved, but I'm now part of 2 others. One is very much a book clubby book club, in that we really talk about the books and don't just get together for too much wine and "me time" away from kids and bedtimes and household stuff. Not that I'm above that, because I'm totally not. My other one, with which I'm contemplating breaking up, is comprised of several women whose daughters all go to school together and they spend an inordinate amount of time bashing their kids' teachers and things at school. They are all very interesting women, many of them are very accomplished. We share similar political views, although I've come to realize that many of them who are in a much, much, higher income bracket than we are here at Casa de T, subscribe to more of a "do as I say, not as I do" kind of philosophy. It's a little annoying and I sometimes privately refer to it as their WLG , or White Liberal Guilt.

But, I digress. My other book group, the more "bookish" one, is such a treasure to me. We meet every 4-6 weeks, depending on holidays and how big the book is, at 5pm on Sunday. We vary the time SOMETIMES, but not much, since the 5:00 time just seems to work best for everyone. I like that. In the other groups, we'd try to accommodate everyone, which is impossible and then people would cancel at the last minute and try to reschedule- a nightmare. The way we choose our books is to have a particular meeting dedicated to the choosing of the books. Everyone brings 2-3 possible choices to present to the group. Then, the group votes on them. Then, we assign a month for each person to host. No one is obligated to host at their home- we've met in pubs and coffee shops and parks. If you are unable to host during your month, we go ahead and meet anyway. Light snacks and beverages are the norm, but some really like to cook, so they make more. We've acquired several traditions- one is that every summer or early fall, we have a potluck picnic at this wonderful park overlooking the river. The other is that in December, we do not have a book meeting, but rather a potluck brunch with a gift exchange. Gift exchanges can be kind of dicey, but ours is always a success. People choose well - this year there was kind of a "green" theme, probably as a direct result of our reading Barbara Kingsolver's "Small Wonder". In addition to the gift exchange, we've added another element, which was to find the most awful Christmas sweater we could, and wear it to the brunch. The funniest was one woman's vest- made of Christmas calico, it even had bells or other tchockes sewn to it. She said her husband kind of liked it, which we all had a big laugh over. He didn't get that it was a joke.

So here are our picks for the year:

The Whole Truth, by David Baldacci I know nothing about this book, other than my perception of the author is that he's kind of John Grisham-y.

Little Heathens, by Mildred Armstrong Kalish This looks really good- about growing up on an Iowa farm during the Great Depression.

I Capture the Castle, by Dodie Smith, who also wrote 101 Dalmations
It's the story of a teenaged girl in England in the late 1940's, whose family lives in a decrepit castle. One of those coming-of-age kind of novels.

Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott Many of us have never read this classic! We feel we need to. Actually, Claire and I were reading it, and got stuck about halfway through it. I know what's coming, and Claire does not. I fear that Beth's death will hit her pretty hard.

Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follett I mentioned this in my previous post- I just got it today- boy what a heavy book it is! I am considering taking it with me to Spain, but the weight of it concerns me.

The Double Bind, by Chris Bohjalian (sp?) He wrote Midwives, which I did not read, and Trans Sister Radio, which I listened to on tape- a very clever title, since one of the characters was undergoing gender reassignment surgery and the other worked in public radio. Get it? Anyway, I think he's a pretty good author.

Never Let Me Go, by Kazuo Ishiguro This is about students at a special school- it seems like a more complicated version of Lois Lowry's The Giver. The students are "told, but not told", as is the reader. I am very intrigued by this book.

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genious, by David Eggers It is a memoir, which I've come to be very wary of. David Eggers tells his story of how he had to raise his 3 siblings after the sudden death of both their parents. I understand that Eggers is rather funny, so I hope that will make it less, well, heartbreaking.

Downriver, by John Hart According to Amazon, this book "settles once and for all, the question whether thrillers and mysteries can also be literature."

Water for Elephants, by Sarah Gruen I read this in the other book group and LOVED it, as I mentioned earlier. I highly recommend it.

Lottery, by Patricia Wood This is about a mentally challenged boy who wins the lottery. I predict it will be very Forest Gump-ish.

If I'm of a mind, I will post the runners up later.

The Earth Moved

2008-04-23T20:47:00.003-05:00

First of all, many thanks to those who offered advice and suggestions regarding my upcoming travel, and to those who simply wished me well.

As for the bomb threat last week, nothing happened, but on Friday, we were all awakened at about 4:30 by a freak earthquake. I have all my necklaces hanging on this vanity in our bedroom and I woke up to them shaking, as if a cat had just jumped off of it. I looked over at it and saw no cats, thought that was odd and went back to sleep. It wasn't until later when someone asked if I'd felt the earthquake that morning that it dawned on me.

Want to know what you get on a Friday that starts with an earthquake, during a full moon, the day after a poorly written bomb threat? You get a whole lot of crazy. Boy was I glad to say goodbye to that week! I then spent a crazy amount of time correcting papers that had piled up- ugh.

In other news, I just read Water for Elephants and I am telling you all to go read this book. It has romance, mystery, love, murder, and it all takes place during the Great Depression- in a circus. What an amazing book- it hooked me right away- I read it in 3 days. My one book group chose books for the year- and I'm pretty excited about them. I'll post the list later- I'm too lazy to go downstairs and get the list right now. I will say that one of the books is Pillars of the Earth, which intrigues me to no end, especially after visiting incredible cathedrals in Toledo and Seville last summer. (Sadly we did not get to visit the cathedral in Segovia- only the Castle, which is really cool)

Spring has definitely sprung- the grass is finally green and we've finally rid ourselves of the oak leaves that have plagued our lawn since they finally fell at the beginning of December just in time for the first snowfall.

Update

2008-04-17T16:01:00.002-05:00

Well, after much much time spent on Orbitz, Priceline, Cheapoair, Expedia,Travelocity, I FINALLY got my ticket to Spain. I will leave Thurs. June 12 and fly to London; change planes in Heathrow, fly to Madrid. I ended up booking through Travelocity. On the way home, I will take the train from Cáceres to Madrid, then stay overnight at a small hotel , leave the next day for home. I fly Madrid to Zurich, Zurich to Chicago. I reserved my hotel room and next week I will book my train ticket- you can't reserve more than 62 days prior, for some reason. I will get to Chicago via airport shuttle from Moline, and I booked that yesterday. I am trying not to freak out about making my connections.

In other news, we had a bomb threat at school today. Some dipshit wrote in pencil on the boys' bathroom wall "I'm going to Blow Up this scholl Thurs. 4-18". How seriously do we take that? Hats off to our administration, though. They took it seriously enough without over-reacting. I think some kid thought we'd get to go home early if there was a bomb threat. I did like the email we got asking us to please look around our rooms for any suspicious looking packages. Does any other profession regularly have the Bomb Squad come and have a look-see?

España

2008-04-10T14:40:00.002-05:00

And I was doing so well! I kinda dropped the Blog 365 ball and have cut myself some slack. Some days, I just do not have a post. 3 months was pretty good- now I will just relax a bit. I was getting a little ocd about posting.

So, it looks like I'm going to Spain. I will be taking a graduate level course (or I will be taking a course for which I will receive graduate credit) that is designed for teachers of Spanish. I will live with a Spanish family and class will be held at the University of Extremadura. We just got word Monday evening that the class will run. So now I have the task of getting my plane ticket. I also need to take into consideration that the town where I'll be staying (Cáceres) is several hours away by train; so I'll then have to allow for travel time between the train station and airport, as well as being at the airport 3(is it 3 for international flights?) hours prior to departure time. I have to be in Madrid by 2:00 on June 13 and will leave Cáceres at any time on the 27th. I'm having a minor freak out. Does anyone have any advice on purchasing my ticket online? I've done it many times for domestic flights, but I'm a bit afraid that with all my time constraints, I may have to go the route of a travel agent. Help! (No Debby Downers, please. I'm looking for help, not "you'd get a cheaper price if you'd booked in January". )

El Sucko

2008-04-03T16:35:00.003-05:00

Today my colleague and fellow trip planner were talking to a student about our trip next summer to Mexico and Costa Rica. He asked what the exchange rate was and I said that for Mexico it was pretty good. We explained that we wouldn't be going to Spain because it would be soooooo expensive. I even cleverly, or so I thought, interjected that the value of the dollar vs. the Euro was "el sucko". He just looked at me. "El sucko?" he said. "Aren't you a teacher?"

Um yes, yes I am. I'm a teacher, but I'm NOT FREAKING DEAD! Now, be gone! And grow a sense of humor over the weekend!