Your Mom Called

Nice, slow weekend

2009-08-29T14:39:00.000-07:00

It is Saturday afternoon and we are enjoying a slow, do-nothing day. We met friends for a nice dinner last night, THANKS MOM!, and bear woke up right as we got in at 11pm. He had a bottle and went right back to bed until 8am! Delightful!

Now, C is mowing the lawn with Abbey and Bear is settling in for a nap. We just got back from the grocery store. We got all the fixins to try out this Cooks Illustrated test recipe. It is called Tinga, Mexican shredded pork. I am going to make red chile rice with black beans on the side. Stay tuned.

On the way back from the store we were almost run off the road by an overly aggressive moped driver. Wild huh? Ever heard of that? Maybe no one told him mopeds aren't in the same class as beefy harleys. I almost put "aggressive moped man" in the same class of driver as "Man in a Mini-van" but presumedly this guy CHOSE the moped where men driving mini-vans I seriously doubt were given a choice. Hence, why they drive their windstar like it's a mustang, which mustang it aint.

btw - those who are curious... no cavities!

Recipe Tester!

2009-08-26T20:52:00.000-07:00

Yep that's right! I am officially a recipe tester for Cooks Illustrated Magazine. I'm excited but truth be told the regular emails they send me asked for volunteers so it isn't like I had to prove I could cook or anything. What's the recipe? If I told ya - I'd have to kill ya.

Speaking of cooking, last Sunday I went to see Julie and Julia with my mom. It was very cute and definitely one of those "why didn't I think of that!" kind of ideas. So simple - cook through the entire Julia Child cookbook and blog about it. I'll say though I'm not that into French cuisine so that particular book would be tough for me to stomach. I could easily blog about our adventures making pizza! Yesterday and today we had pizza. We used our sauce with onions and turkey pepperoni but were short on time and used Boboli crust. sigh. Just not enough hours in the day - and if there were I would be sleeping instead of making a fresh dough ya know!

These days I'm happy if I cook period. The last couple years I've been more into the buy a ton of something from CostCo and make lots of dishes and freeze them. For example Saturday I bought over 6 pounds of ground beef and make nearly 30 hamburgers. As I shaped them I put little squares of parchment paper between them on a cookie sheet. Then I popped them into the freezer (on cookie sheet andstill raw) until they were firm enough to stack in gallon sized freezer ziplocs. What's great is they go straight on the grill frozen and cook up pretty quick. Yep, I'm officially a mom with little time. Where's my station wagon?

Tomorrow - the dentist! I plan to pray to the tooth fairy that I don't have any cavities.

Whoopie Pies!

2009-08-16T19:58:00.000-07:00

Today we went to friends for a BBQ and brought dessert. We made whoopie pies. They are two mini-chocalate cakes with a marshmallow like filling.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whoopie_pie

The recipe we used was from Cooks Illustrated. The filling called for butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and fluff. Yes FLUFF! I never thought I'd ever make anything that called for fluff. Oh well, never say never.

They are a wonderful gooey mess. I have never had one nor eaten one before and it was goooooood. They turned out to have a diameter of about 4 inches so we cut them in half but they were still really rich and quite an investment. They reminded me of suzy q but the filling is much richer.

This got us reminiscing about other grade school lunch treats. There's the twinkie, naturally, but I was never a huge fan cuz they are spongy. I definitely loved ho-hos and ding dongs and those yummy zingers. mmmm lemon zinger. I can't remember when the fruit rollups came out but those were so yummy and fun. My sister and I loved Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies the best.

That got us thinking... the filling was very similar to the oatmeal creme pie. So all we would have to do is make oatmeal cookies and the filling and voila homemade oatmeal creme pies. mmm someday.

the BIG day

2009-07-10T09:26:00.000-07:00

This Saturday my big sis ties the knot! I'm thrilled for her! She has been engaged a little over a year and has worked her tail off thinking of every detail and plowing through to get it all done.
I admire her drive to do things well. It really makes me realize how different we can be. There are lots of things I would have let go as too much work that she takes on with ease.

For example, since the wedding is in Seattle and family is mostly in Chicago there are a lot of out of towners. So she planned a group outing to the Mariners game last night! WOW! It went off beautifully without a single hitch. Well, ok there was one hitch - we had the bright idea to try and bring out 4 month old to the game. He was terrified and cried the entire hour we were there. We got a dog and went to the outside tables to eat and feed him. He cried the entire time except the occasional stop to eat a little. Then stopped crying a little, we took him into the stadium to see everyone and he looked so scared we left within 3 minutes of sitting down. I'm not winning any parent of the year awards after that one. Live and learn. The only reason we tried in the first place was friends of ours with a 3 month old went to the game a few weeks earlier and they claim he slept through a couple innings and then they left. Not our Bear. I know everyone else had a wonderful time.

Today we our putting together the centerpieces at her house and then off to the rehearsal followed by dinner at their house. Tomorrow is the big day.

Sis I love you and wish you and your man years of happiness!

Fast forward

2009-06-17T16:40:00.000-07:00

Fast forward nearly two years! WOW! A lot has changed in my life and yet a lot is the same. I still have crazy curly hair and love to cook, laugh, and drink wine. I'm now 2 years into being a database developer. I'm now a mom! I have a 3 month old and he's just such a cutie. This week is my first week back to work following a 13 week maternity leave.

Well, three of my good friends are avid bloggers and I keep thinking about this blog and how much I enjoyed writing. I think it is more for my own enjoyment. I could continue to talk about the past but I'd much rather pick up in the here and now...

So this week is my first week back to work. It is weird I'll be honest but not as weird as I expected. I must admit, though, I have it lucky. Hubby has one more week of school and then he'll be off for the summer. My mom has agreed to watch Bear this week and my boss has agreed to let me work from home. It has been a great way to transition back to work. They have already given me plenty to do but I can take a little break here and there to cuddle the bear or just see how he's doing.

Next week and the rest of the summer I will be in the office three days a week and working from home two days a week. I am forever grateful my boss is cool. Hubby and Grandma will take turns watching Bear. I think I can do three days. I hope so anyway.

Bear is taking a nap right now. I am big time in love with that little guy. I must admit it didn't happen the moment he was born. When he was first born I was more in shock and fear than love. I kept thinking here's this little guy that I can screw up so completely. Maybe in addition to saving for his college I should consider saving for his counseling. The first week definitely did not help me shake that feeling. I remember the first night we brought him home hubby and I taking turns holding him and bouncing on a exercise ball until our thighs ached. Finally, we fell asleep on our huge bean bag LoveSac with Bear on our chest. I kept thinking how we are probably going to do everything wrong. Grandpa was in town and staying with my sister the whole week and came to visit everyday for a couple hours. I remember we were such complete zombies. It didn't help that I had huge nursing issues. It was a bittersweet moment when we decided to stop the insanity and switch to formula around the 10th day. I cried some everyday for a couple days and then somewhere in there I let it go.

Week 2 through 5 of Bear's life were great. My mother-in-law came for a week and whipped us into shape. Bear started sleeping in his cradle and we began to see a glimmer of an evening feeding schedule. That being, get up right when you started to fall asleep! WEek 3 my father-in-law came into town. Bear loved falling asleep on his chest. I called it GrandpaPedic. I mean the minute he held Bear he was out (sometimes so was Grandpa!). Hubby was home week 4 for spring break and my sister-in-law was out to help week 5. By then I had a rough idea of what I was doing. We had a great time. She got me solidly addicted to HGTV. That was trouble. I am still fighting the addiction to be honest. Luckily we are looking to buy a house so it has proven helpful. By the end of her visit I was sad she had to go but ready to try and take care of Bear on my own.

Week 6 was tough. I barely brushed my teeth or got to the bathroom on time and hubby would come home and ask what I did that day. I would reply, "um survived." After a couple days I did get into some form of a schedule. Sort of... I'm still working on it. Around week 9 we all flew to Chicago. I was hosting a Bachelorette Party and Bridal Shower for my sister and we wanted everyone to get to meet Bear. It was so strange to see people I haven't seen in 6 months but now I'm a mom. I feel the same but yet completely different.

I think around week 10 I finally started to get into a groove with Bear. He had been smiling for a couple weeks and is really active and strong. Each week he grows and learns more and more. I think around week 11 I knew that this kid had me wrapped around his little finger.

up oh week 13 and 6 days he just woke up from a nap and I must call it a day.

I'm a big fat lier

2007-07-15T16:08:00.000-07:00

Well, here it is over three months later and I'm finally sitting down to blog.

What's new? OK I finished school! Yippee!! The ending was a bit rocky. Essentially, the remaining two tests were ready but the MS study materials were not. ugh... what to do? Look for a job was the answer. So after a couple lame job fairs and meat market type contract job recruiters I found Dice.com. I highly recommend it for anyone looking for a tech job! I posted my resume and cover letter on the website and heard from lots of recruiters. I also found postings for jobs there that I applied to. It took me about 2 months to find a full-time position. Not bad!

I am ecstatic to announce I'm employed after a year sabbatical. I can't tell you how awesome that first paycheck was!! My job is a SQL database developer (IT) with Quellos Group. It is a financial company that specializes in fund of hedge funds. That's about all I know thus far and the fact that regular people like me are not the typical investor for these types of funds. Bummer.

Friday marked my first month there! It went well (I think) and I finally am starting to feel like I'm getting it. There are definitely still lots of times where I feel pretty dumb but I'm ok with that in trade for not being bored in 6 months.

I close this blog as well as the end of this career change chapter with the one liner I finally came up with for the question I'm often asked, "Why did you leave teaching?" It is, "Teaching is a labor of love, and I have commitment issues."

pledge to blog more

2007-03-03T22:06:00.000-08:00

It has been QUITE a long time since my last post! Yikes...

Well, an update is in order. I passed my first exam for Microsoft Database Developer Certificate the middle of January. I really have enjoyed a break from studying like a mad-woman for a little too long. It is to the point where I am long overdue to get back into serious studying to get ready for the next two remaining exams. Otherwise, school is going well and I have learned a ton.

In the month of February there was school and tutoring. Becky hosted an awesome birthday dinner party for me. She turned her apartment into an Italian cafe complete with white and red checked tableclothes and olive oil and chianti wicker wine bottles at each little table. It was cool.
February ended with my dad visiting. Lots of laughs and good ol' fashioned hanging out together. Busy yet quite relaxing.

March is here and started with another snow storm. It was the weather pattern that ended in the east with wild long-range tornados. Scary to hear about truthfully. The world is going to hell in a handbasket I tell you! What did I see the other day driving down the road? The new Ford F-650! Yes, 650! It was practically a semi!!! On the road with the TV inside going. yep, that's just what we need.

plans for the month - Rick Steves talk, St Patty's 5k Race!, Wine Night, Dinners with friends big fun

looking forward to: Trying to find someone to let me make them a database and web app (thinking my tutoring friend would be perfect!) and finishing school APRIL 10!!!

Humbled Chicago girl

2007-01-10T21:02:00.000-08:00

We have been in Seattle for one and a half years. Whenever a chance of snow showed up on the forecast we would mock the Seattlites that would run for cover.

Tonight was one of those nights. It started snowing while I was tutoring up on a high hill plateau littered with subdivisions. Within one hour at least three inches came down and cars were backed up everywhere. I was driving my '99 front wheel drive Cougar.

I never thought I would say this...
I ended up abandoning my car at the top of the hill on Sahalee. It is the main hill down to the rest of Seattle suburbland. I was happy to reach that point and started to skid on the 1 mile long 10% grade. I threw in the towel and parked on the side of the road and walked down the hill towards the flatter main state highway.

I was on the phone with Chris and he came and picked me up along the road. (thankfully the other car has 4x4) I probably walked about 2 miles give or take. That road was not too bad compared with the icy hill. Glad to be home safe and sound. Not much worried about the car.

Adventures of 2006

2007-01-02T11:01:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! Many moons ago I saw my step-mom, Jeni, writing down the years events. Actually, what I saw were pictures she drew to retell the events. I remember it was a particularly bad year, 1982 I think. My Grandma died suddenly, Jeni's Mom's house burned down, and a teenage friend of the family was killed in a car accident. I was only 7 and can close my eyes and still see those pictures.

Fortunately, I do not think my family has had another year like that since. (knock on wood). Sadly, my husband's family has... this year. Chris' paternal Grandmother had knee replacement surgery and his sister-in-law had complete jaw replacement surgery! Both were successful operations phew. Late spring through late summer brought many tough phone calls and worry. Chris' Uncle had a heart attach and stroke. Chris' maternal grandma had a minor stroke. Finally, Chris' Aunt suffered a major stroke and is still recovering. boom boom boom. Naturally, his family is mine and it has been tough for us on many levels.

Living states away sucks. We love living in Seattle but hate being far from family. Especially during tough times. As I type I realize getting family photos of fun times is tough too. It is difficult to face the reality that loved ones will die. We went home for the holidays and definitely squeezed harder and held on longer to everyone we love.

In regard to the rest of 2006, we completed our first full year in Seattle. I ran a 10k and walked/ran a half marathon. I quit teaching and am in school to become a DBA. It is tons of fun but I am nervous about finding a job and where life will take me come mid-April when school ends.

This summer we spent three weeks teaching together. That proved to be a great test for having babies I thought. At first it was rocky but by the end of the first week it was a blast!

Following the three week teaching stint we went to Chicago for a weekend then off to Italy! It was a fabulous trip and I am surprised how much I miss being there. I love travelling with Chris and look forward to another trip. We are hoping to learn Spanish fairly well and go to Spain next.

We had tons of visitors. We ended 2005 with Chris parents in for a week. In January my dad and Jeni came out for them to experience what real rain is! In February my sis-in-law, Marcy, visited for my birthday. April brought my Dad and Jeni once more to snowshoe! May brought in Chris' friend Al. My Dad visited in Sept for his birthday and to calm my nerves before school started. In October my friend, Gina, visited - also to calm my nerves! My mom and dad came out for Thanksgiving which was so fun! Chris' brother, Matt treated us with a visit in December. We ended 2006 with our good friends Cara and Josh coming in from San Fran to ring in the New Year. It was a fabulous way to end the year.

I anticipate an amazing 2007. There will undoubtedly be bad days to help me appreciate the good days. I am fortunate to have so many wonderful people in my life to keep me smiling and ready to take on the next challenge. (Yep, I'm getting sappier by the blog) Although I'd give anything to be 7 again and content to run around the house and play with my pandas I love where I am in life at age 31 and 11/12 and look forward to the next part of the ride.

I hope you enjoyed 2006 and wish you an adventurous 2007! Much love to you.
L

holidays bring out the best in people

2006-12-10T22:29:00.000-08:00

or do they? I could blab on and on about the fowl mood most people (myself included more often than I'd like to admit) seem to be in when it comes to holiday shopping, public buildings putting up the politically correct decorations (or not), not to mention the impending extra couple lbs we are doomed to put on cuz of the extra cookies that we all eat and know we shouldn't while we encourage others to indulge...

then that would defeat the purpose wouldn't it? Do you think Walmart or Amazon or any other retail store should have anything to do with the holidays? I don't. I think it epitomizes what's wrong with America. We have more garbage than we know what to do with and that's just in our house! Christmas rolls around and we all run around grabbing more stuff for one another that "normally we wouldn't buy for ourselves." It is nice to give, it is nice to receive. But do we really need all of it? We grow up getting mostly everything on our list. As adults we strive to get everything on our list. Good to have goals, bad to have greed.

How hard is it to say no gifts? No bs. Why is it so hard for people to be honest with one another? Adults anyway. It just seems wasteful considering all the unused ties, bad perfumes, and scented lotion sets stashed under every bathroom sink in the name of "you gotta give something." Kids I can understand to a degree. I was spoiled I get it. I loved opening gift after gift ALL FOR ME. What's the lesson? More is more. Sooner or later it ends and you enjoy what you got. I wonder if I ever truly played with every toy I was given. hmmm anyway can't solve the world's (or America's) problems.

Guess that's the ultimate issue. how can one person make a difference. I think we all fundamentally feel this way. I feel like America is like the 50 year old chain-smoking McDonald junkie that lives (and dies) by the mantra, "Fuck it, I'm gonna die anyway!" The holidays just super-sizes the problem. Somehow it is a big traditional burden passed down yearly like a fruit cake that year after year gets bigger and heavier and even more obnoxious. The worst part is the Christmas aisles are put in place in stores the day after Halloween - sometimes sooner! Shoot me now!

All for what? several days to hang out with the family. What did you get last year for Christmas? I don't remember what I got. I do remember what I did. I spent part of Christmas Eve with my best friend from college and Christmas Eve and Day with my wonderful husband and dear sister together missing our family back home in Chicago. The gift was that we had each other and could call and get pictures. Cheesy but true. This year we are flying home rather than calling and get to hug instead of miss. Do you think I'll have to check my fruit cake?

only 2 days left of summer...

2006-10-16T15:41:00.000-07:00

That's right school starts Thursday! It has been the longest summer break EVER for me. I feel quite relaxed and refreshed. I am naturally quite nervous yet excited about database training. It'll last 6months ending in mid-April.

I started tutoring again. It has been over a year since I tutored and I forgot how much I enjoyed it. I have 6 hours per week of tutoring. It'll be a great source of some $ for groceries etc. I have a feeling it'll be a welcome break from computer stuff at the end of a long day.

Otherwise life is good!

what to write? what to write?

2006-10-09T20:26:00.000-07:00

There have been several times that I opened my blog to write and then decided not to. Why? No clue. Writer's block maybe. I think mostly I don't have anything super exciting going on. The days are filled with checking email, cooking, sort of cleaning, reading, hanging out with dog Abbey. Not much.

ultimately, I register for classes tomorrow. Classes begin Oct 19. I'm ready!

e-vent

2006-09-26T09:17:00.000-07:00

While emailing my former dept chair from Chicago I found myself in the middle of a good ol'fashioned "Lisa Roll." When I was a kid I would get on a rant about one thing or another and get real cranked up and just go on and on and right when you thought I got it all out I'd say, "and another thing..." and just keep right on rolling. So my parents named it a "Lisa Roll." Most of my rolls were back in high school regarding my shitty volleyball team. This one is a positive roll. Here is an excerpt:

>>
Did I tell you Chris and I taught together? We had the most amazing opportunity at University of Washington! For the last three weeks in July we taught Energy through Chem, Bio, and Physics to incoming and outgoing gifted 6th graders at the Robinson Center of UW. We had 24 cute little guys and 2 college TAs and practically an infinite budget. I carpooled during the schoolyear with a science teacher who passed it along to us because he could no longer teach it.

We went to a solar cottage community, and a hydroelectric power facility, and several professors guest lectured. Gifted kids are awesome! Not to mention teaching with Chris was so much fun! The first few days were tough but we caught our groove really fast. The hardest part for me is not having a clue about many of the science concepts. I loved teaching science though. It was a really cool change. The absolute best part was watching these students interact. Normally, they don't fit in too well with their peers (as the parents informed us). They LOVED the class because everyone there loved learning and noone made fun of you for being the smartest person in the room.

we had an Energy Science Fair the last week, which was hilarious in and of itself. The parents came to watch (and videotape of course). Many of them stayed to talk with us after and tell us, with tears in their eyes, how nice it is that their child is coming home loving the school day instead of crying that the other kids picked on them for being so smart. All of these kids scored in the 95th percentile on standardized tests. They can continue with the summer courses through the end of 8th grade. Some then decide high school isn't for them (before going!) and then go to UWash for high school. It takes them 1 year to finish "high school" and continue on college courses through UW! Can you believe it? One of our TAs was 19 and had enough credits already to graduate from college.

Anyway, I had to geek out about that to you cuz I knew you'd dig it! The weird thing is that many teachers I told about the experience didn't seem at all interested for themselves. They nodded and said wow a few times. I definitely got the impression working with gifted children wasn't appealing to them. Weird to me. I loved it! Obviously! ;)

I enjoyed CorePlus although it is difficult to teach. I felt I learned more math in one year than my six years at Hinsdale. Not to mention I felt my teaching management style improved the most too. It was great I only played 1 game all year because the rest of the we actually used the book!

It is true I left the classroom. I haven't even cried about it yet. I may return someday who knows. I love Seattle and don't want to move. I took a $15,000 pay cut to live here and don't see the salary schedule improving anytime soon. The teachers here are quite complacent that it'll never change and they can't do anything to bring on change. So sad and defeatist. I could pursue admin but it is a 24-7 gig out here where they work you to the bone, although the salary jump is huge. Truthfully, I want to try something else and see what it is like. Mid-October I start classes for a fast-track program in Microsoft Database Design Certification. Eventually, I would like to get into Business Intelligence and help companies interpret the massive amounts of data they collect through databases. I think my math teaching background will be a natural fit for explaining the data so anyone can understand. We'll see where life takes me. I will finish the program in mid-April and look for a full-time year round (gasp) job. I hope to still take time to teach the Energy course. I realize that is a pipe dream but it is ok to dream.
>>
Told ya, the rolls are LONG

no job, no cry

2006-09-25T23:10:00.000-07:00

Late September, the school year is well underway and I am still doing my own thing. There are definitely "About a Boy" moments where I look at a long unfilled day as units of time to occupy myself. Walk the dog 2 units. Do daily push ups and sit ups 2 units. Drink coffee and check email 5 units. Brush teeth 1 unit. Make chocolate covered pretzals 4 units. Check email again 3 units. Then somedays are pretty busy and I wonder where the time goes. Chris has been trying to help keep me busy with various errands but even those run out eventually. I suppose I could clean and organize... It just doesn't seem right. I can't change and forget who I am just cuz I have a little extra time ;) One thing that's for sure is I haven't cried yet. I take it as a sign that I haven't lost it completely yet. Classes start Oct 19. I'm sure a tear or two will fall within the first week if not day with the realization that I have a lot of work ahead of me.

I am tutoring math. I have picked up 4 hours per week tutoring some Geometry, Alg 2, and SAT. It is fabulous money and will help out so much in the coming months. Such a relief.

I finished reading Under the Banner of Heaven. I joined Becky's book club and it was this month's book. It was fascinating yet difficult to read. I can't believe how different the world is a few states away in the fundamentalist towns. Dad and Jeni recommended Skinny Dip and that is next on my list, not on the book blub list but oh well.

This Friday is wine night and Becky and I are hosting. That should be fun. We are featuring Sauvignon Blanc. I'm not a big white wine fan but I'm a trooper. Then Saturday night we are going to see Wicked. I am super psyched to see it. I have heard it is amazing. Wow I sound so cultured.

Big news flash as well, my dad turns 60 this Saturday. He visited last weekend and we sort of celebrated then. The next few weekends they are off to various fun fun places, Nashville for bluegrass festival and then Mexico for an Elder Hostel at Copper Canyon. Happy celebrating and Happy Birthday Dad!!!!

Car Camping @ Lake Chelan!

2006-09-10T18:17:00.000-07:00

Chris calls it "reserving a driveway." This weekend we camped with my former teacher mentor, Carol, and her husband, Don, and many of their family in Washington (all transplants from Chicago!) at Lake Chelan State Park. It is car camping to the nth degree! We had a blast!

Got in Friday evening, pitched a tent - margarita/beer in hand. BBQd and chatted aroudn the campfire. The site was literally across from the campground bathroom, can't beat that. Plus, about 400yds the other direction was Lake Chelan. It is a 50 mile long lake (How wide? Don't know). We bummed at the beach and jet skied Saturday and schmoozed with everyone. I drove the ski with Chris and got it up to 35 mph (fast for me) and truly felt exhilerated!

Sat afternoon we even played the bean bag toss game and had a water balloon contest. Later with appetizers of stuffed portebello mushrooms, brushetta, roasted garlic brie blue cheese and toast we had an old fashioned wine tasting. Each couple brought a bottle of red Italian wine for the evening wine tasting. It was hilarious and tons of fun. We lost but I really don't feel bad cuz we brought a $7 bottle. There were 7 wines to taste. Needlesstosay, we were all beyond tipsy by the end. I'm pretty sure I embarrassed myself more than once. It felt really good to let loose.

True to car camping form we enjoyed a kick ass dinner and more gabbing at the campfire. My clothes smell smokey and fabulous and I am relaxed yet slightly worn from sleeping on a so-so air mattress. One thing that's certain is I'm loving that it is Sunday night, a school night, and I feel light as air and happily typing a blog rather than nervously preparing for school. No matter how well I planned I just never felt ready, unless I was giving a test. :)
Much love and hugs and have a great week.

No more white pants or shoes!!

2006-09-06T21:43:00.000-07:00

Labor Day has come and gone. Becky assures me that I can still where white pants these days but it just won't feel right.

Yes, it has been awhile so if anyone is still checking thanks for hanging in there in my hiatus. OK we finished the Energy class for gifted students (6th graders). It went REALLY well! Much fun in fact. Maybe I've been teaching the wrong age or maybe the wrong length of time. Three weeks is a breeze.

We flew to Chicago to see family and friends. It was fantastic to see everyone!!! The weather was awful. I mean steam bath hot and miserable. My dad and Jeni BBQd for family one night and we went to a Cubs game and hung out with friends too. Great time for sure.

Then off to Italy! That was a trip of a lifetime! It was our first time in Europe and we spent 3 solid weeks in Italy. In order - Rome, Siena, Montalcino, Florence, Pisa, Vernazza (Cinque Terre), Bologna, Venice. I journaled the whole way which I thoroughly enjoyed, not too much of a shocker given my blogging. It was definitely better to have waited to honeymoon a year later. I was a nervous wreck before, during, and after the wedding and couldn't have handled the stress of planning a vacation as well. No way.

The odd thing about writing in a journal is once you get it written down I don't feel like jotting it down again. Yes I still like talking about the trip (please I have wonderful conversations with mutes). Instead I'm going to rely on nuggets coming out where they fit in. Recently, I've been putting together the Ofoto albums and figure I am about halfway through the trip. ugh. If you want to see the slideshow drop me an email and I'll send you the links.

Other than photo detail I've been pretty busy getting my life in order. Chris has been super-supportive and letting me do my thing. I am still planning to take the 6 month fast-track program at our local community college. Ultimately, I'll walk away with a Microsoft Certification in database design. Classes don't start until Oct 19th. In the meantime I'm looking to tutor math and/or pick up a fun low stress part-time gig. I've put in resumes at a local wine shop and a store called "Dinner's Ready!" The second one is kind of an interesting niche. You order 6 or more dinners from the menu and sign up for a session (a certain day and time like taking a yoga class by appt). When you show up you bring a cooler and prepare you pre-ordered dinners and fill up your cooler. When you get home they can go in the fridge or freezer and feed up to 6 people. Cool concept plus I love cooking. They contacted me and that might be cool. We'll see.

This weekend we are going camping with my mentor from last year and her husband. They're a riot plus originally from Chicago so you know it'll be a great time.

alrighty that's enough for now... I'm back on bloggin so keep watch.
L

8 blogless days later

2006-07-25T17:40:00.000-07:00

In the midst of a four day heat wave in Seattle (I know I can't complain) and planning/running the three week Energy class at U Washington and our trip home and to Italy 8 days flew by. nothing super exciting to blog unfortunately.

Saturday we BBQd with friends in the evening (waited for the cool down). Everything was yummy. Everyone brought different microbrews from the area to sample. One thing for sure the Northwest knows how to brew awesome beer. This coming from a mostly retired beer drinker (sad to admit but true). I often feel like those commercials like the one where the guy is throwing away his beer straw helmut. The ad is for one of the Miller beers implying the guy throwing away the beer hat is growing up to a better beer. huh? Miller is a better beer than what? Schlitz? Natty Light? The Beast? Warm PBR? Don't get it plus I'm sure there are plenty of Miller beer drinkers everywhere in shock that the company would suggest ever parting with a beer helmut. Getting back, my story is a little different. I graduated to no longer being able to stomach large amounts of beer. Gin and Tonics are ok but still just not the same drive to drink. Guess college truly helped me get it out of my system.

Speaking of college... being back on a college campus has really gotten my thinking. I see these kids walking around campus with their heads in the books. I mean serious learning is going on. All I can think is man I really pissed away that time when I was supposed to be learning I don't know MATH and the other now fun sounding classes. I remember Geology 101, aka Rocks for Jocks. Did I learn about rocks? No I learned the phrase "blow off class" means easy not to literally blow it off. oops. So embarrassing. I wonder just how well I would've done if I actually tried. I mean tried like I see from my crazy students at Newport and Hinsdale High. Maybe even if I tried like Becky! hard to even imagine.

Never too late to learn I always say. Plenty of that come late October :) You bet your ass I'll take that seriously. Not only am I older and wiser, I'm paying.

Where have all the Dead Heads gone?

2006-07-17T11:23:00.000-07:00

Years ago Chris was not a Grateful Dead fan. Hard to believe but true. When Jerry Garcia died Chris tormented Dead Heads by getting in their face and saying, "what will you do now? Where will you go? Who will you listen to without your leader?" awe...

Fortunately, times have changed, Chris found the error in his ways, and we have more Dead CDs than any other type of music. Our second largest collection is Widespread Panic. They are another jam band that has been touring for at least a decade. We saw them at Marymoor Park, walking distance of our apartment Saturday night. The show was awesome! It was 4 hours, no opening band and only a half hour break in the middle.

Where have all the Dead Heads gone??? Many of them were sighted at the Panic show Saturday night, complete with the coolest tie dye and Dead t-shirts seen. Beforehand we were worried about being among the oldest people at the show. Hardly! We were right at home. In fact, we felt quite young.

Let the good times roll!

A week of gifted kids leads to Widespread Panic!

2006-07-15T08:10:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday the clouds rolled over Seattle and stayed around until mid-Wednesday. It was cool, almost cold in the mid to low sixties. The perfect weather to start summer school. We are teaching incoming or outgoing 6th graders about Energy. It is a gifted school on campus and connected with University of Washington. These kids had to score within the 95th percentile on a standardized test in math or science to enroll. We're talking super smart kids, all in one room!

Monday was the longest. We were learning about them and they were sorting out the pecking order and figuring us out. I'm used to high schoolers so that really made things tough. They would run rings around some of my former students any day. Fortunately not all. I've had a good number of years teaching honors Geometry to 8th graders bussed over from the middle school. They just LOVE learning and are the best kids to teach. Just like the kids we have for summer challenge.

The rest of the week went awesome (not that the first day was bad - just LONG). We had a guest speaker talk about global warming and went on a field trip to a solar cottage community. That was neat. The kids had a blast! Finally, the end of the week we created a lab where the kids attempted to generate a horsepower. Very cool!

We are finally at a point in the year where we never ever thought we'd get to. The first week of the energy class is done, two more to go then ITALY!!! Woo Hoo! It is becoming real now. Also, tonight we are going to see Widespread Panic, a band we have loved for years and years. Oddly enough it is in the park where we take Abbey to run around in the designated off-leash area. We can walk there and stumble home!

Criterium = Nascar for Bicycles

2006-07-09T08:40:00.000-07:00

Shout out to Jeni - Are you watching breakfast at Wimbledon? We used to watch together when I was little (usually somewhere in there Martina would school someone in the game of tennis) Right now I'm watching Federer v Nadal in the 4th set. Good game. Federer is taking it at this point. This is a huge day sports day for sure! Wimbledon mens final, World Cup, and Tour de France. Which one is probably most watched by Americans?

Speaking of sports we jogged 5 miles yesterday! Sticking with it an having a good time. We ran in a popular trail for horse riding. As you can imagine there's a lot of fancy footwork needed to avoid the landmines. Our new goal is to race the Seattle Half-Marathon which is the week before Thanksgiving.

What is a criterium? Redmond's Derby Days was yesterday. Along with the usual food and carnival there are criterium races all day. Sounds mathematical to me somehow. Here's the def from wiki
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criterium

Basically it is Nascar for cyclists. The course is a series of streets in town closed off usually less than a mile in total length. The racers go round and round for a set amount of time and crazy speeds. The last ten minutes are a number of laps based on the average lap time. In Redmond we watched the men's pro race last night. It was cool. There were maybe 100 guys on bikes zipping around in a big square block for 60 minutes. As I joked with Chris we only had to make about 20 seconds of chit chat before the racers came around again. To add excitement every couple laps the announcer would ring a cow bell and annouce over the microphone a prize for leading the upcoming lap. I wouldn't have guessed professional athletes would care but they really kicked it into high gear on those laps. Some of the prizes were a case of Gatorade, a box of powerbars, 20 dollars cash (that was a favorite).

We grabbed dinner at a place with outdoor seating on the corner of the race to eat and watch. There were women's pro and amateur racers dining next to us. We eavesdropped, not that it was too hard, and they were definitely in competition for who earned the most cash by the end of their respective race. I gathered that it is tough to win the whole race but doable to win a lap. Kept the lap averages up and the race interesting to watch.

We stayed at Derby Days after the men's pro race, last of the day, and watched an average Blues Brothers cover band and waited for the fireworks. Redmond opted to not have Fourth of July fireworks in favor of a Derby Day show. They were really cool. Definitely better colors these days and really cool effects. Do you know what I'm talking about? They are different I can't explain it. As Dad and I would say, "GCF! good, clean, fun."

With that, Federer wins Wimbledon! Not a big surprise. Next up... World Cup.

10k, the sequel

2006-07-05T21:03:00.000-07:00

Lisa, Chris, Becky left to right taken by innocent bystander before the race two weeks ago.

Julie's in Guatemala!

2006-07-04T09:54:00.000-07:00

Our friend Julie is in Guatemala for 8 weeks to learn more Spanish.

Check out her blog. It's like being there (without the bug bites)

http://julies-journey.blogspot.com/

Surprise!

2006-07-02T21:12:00.000-07:00

Today's hike was great!
The top was a crystal clear lake. Beautiful.

I've also included a shot of me with Abbey in her pack. That's right she's graduated to carrying her own treats.

Our First Steps in the Olympics!

2006-07-01T21:32:00.000-07:00

Friday we made our first trek to the Olympics. We took a quick ferry over to the peninsula with car. From there we drove about a half hour or so to the forest road we needed. But a mere 14 miles to go. Unfortunately, what we have learned from our time here is that the last few miles are usually the longest. The road is uphill, mostly dirt or gravel, and windy. The miles are slow right when you want to get there the most... and of course have to pee! You hold it and hold it and hold it and hey I'm a former teacher, trust me, I can hold it.

We did eventually make it to the trailhead and I didn't have to turn around and go home for a change in undergarments. phew what a relief, literally!

So up we went. Up and up (20% grade most of the way!) and out to a meadow about a third the way. It had endless switchbacks but beautiful wildflowers and incredible views of Mt Rainier, the Cascades, and eventually Mt Baker. Chris even spotted smoke billow straight in the sky south of Mt. Rainier, we're thinking maybe Mt. St. Helens. Once done with the meadow we arrived at a series of erosion steps that were about the very last thing in the world I wanted to see. Did I mention it was sunny (not a cloud in the sky) and in the 80s? What are you going to do? turn around? stairs it is. Well, we did make it to the top and here are some photos to prove it. From the top you see all of above mentioned plus the Juan de Fuca Strait, the San Juan Islands, and supposedly into Canada. This demonstrates just why we wanted to live here.
All in a day and I get to sleep in my own bed.

Tomorrow morning we head to hike Surprise Lake. hmmm wonder what the surprise is? When I was a kid my dad would always make hot dog surprise, pieces of hot dog hidden in pillsbury dough biscuits. I remember teasing him and saying, "Why call them that? It ruins the surprise."

10k, 1 yr, 90s!

2006-06-27T19:50:00.000-07:00

This was a very busy and exciting anniversary weekend indeed!

Fri, we had Becky and friend Julie over for a going away dinner. Julie left today (Tuesday) for Guatemala for 2 months! She plans to take daily Spanish lessons and relax through Salsa and Yaga classes as well. Best wishes to her.

Sat, June 24th Becky, Chris, and I completed our first 10k race! It was a trail run and we all finished without needing medical help phew! I have been running off and on since I started teaching but not in races until this year. This is the first time I have felt a true desire to run.

Sun, June 25th was our first anniversary! Can't believe how fast the year went. Normally, Chris and I love dining out. One thing about Seattle is the dining scene isn't all that. Not to mention we are trying to pinch every penny we can and unfortunately seem to have the most expensive tastes. Instead of dealing with either guilt from spending too much $ or disappointment from going to a so-so place we hung out at home and made grilled Copper River Salmon. Did you know there are different types of salmon? News to me but it makes a big difference and this is the season. It was really yummy!

Sprinkled in during the days we took Abbey to the dog park on our continued quest to get her to learn and like to swim. We have the learn part accomplished and who knows if the liking part
will ever happen. Not up to us. We were definitely having way more fun than Abbey.

My dear friend Carolyn and her husband Steve recently bought the most gorgeous log cabin! We went to visit and took a tour. It is unbelievable! The story is pretty unusual... On the property is a double wide that the previous owners (retired couple) were living in since the 1980s. In about 2000 they started construction of the log home on their land and continued to live in the double wide. The wife passed away due to cancer and then the husband died of a heart attack within the year. The home was very close to completion but sadly isn't finished and the couple never were able to live in it. Carolyn and Steve will definitely have their work cuz out for them. It'll be totally worth it though. You should see the place! WOW! We offered our services to help them out. I think they'll do the previous owners proud.

Anyway, the weather. What's up with Chicago and Seattle switching weather patterns for a few days? We have had low 90s the past few days and I'm dying here! Today was only the mid 80s. Hopefully it won't be a prolonged heat wave. eeeeck.

see ya

Confessions from a TV junkie

2006-06-21T23:28:00.000-07:00

The good news: When I break down and seek therapy for my life-long addiction I won't mind the couch.

The bad news: This might be the next hot topic used by self-help book gurus to freak people out.

Chris and I both love TV. Friends and fam asked us how we accomplished planning a wedding and moving to Seattle within the same year. Simple. We stopped watching TV. It wasn't completely cold turkey though. We weaned ourselves off cable first to just network.

Back in college my roommates actually locked me out of Comedy Channel as a cruel joke. No Comedy Channel = funny. hmmm Englishy people what is this? Irony? Luckily there were 99 other channels to entertain me. One roommate told me a couple years later. I still have scars but I'm managing.

Necessary footnote - these are the some of the same roommates that love, yes love, the Weather Channel. Watched it night and day. Am I missing something? The Weather Channel is alright in a do your own make-up, Wayne's World gone informative kind of way. The thing is it's like CNN for weather, the forecast repeats every half hour. Oh the agony! The weather is predicted again and again uh for parts of the world you are NOWHERE near. Explain the appeal cuz I don't get it.

Anyway, I can top myself in college with the humility I experience reminiscing about grade school through well college when Dad would tease me about sitting rediculously close to the TV. Gee why do I need glasses? Why did I need to be right on top of the glass? This is all part of the therapy.

So fast-forward to now. Life is a little more laid back. Done with the wedding and moving. We can relax and chill in front of the boob tube again. Still no cable just network crap. Which brings me to the lowest of the low TV confessions. Chris is asleep so he can't stop me from admitting this to all that happen to actually read this. I have to confess, now that "The Deadliest Catch" season is over, lately the channel-surfing rests more and more on two reality shows that are not too surprisingly quite far from reality. The first one, not a big shock for me, "Hell's Kitchen." This a--hole chef ridicules wanna-be chefs for attempting to cook with the oven not turned on and asking him to gasp repeat an order! It's a train wreck. The second show you probably didn't even know was on the air, "So you think you can dance!" Uh huh that's right. Brought to us by the people that brought us American Idol! I can't help it. Probably some side of me that "Wishes I could dance."

Pretty sad but true.

Ok I heard that! I know I could shut the tv off. Yes it's true. I do have two perfectly good books that I am quite close to approaching being in the middle of. Why am I drawn to cheesy, down right lame shows? Noone will ever know. Nor do I care for that matter. What I do know is someday you may read this blog and learn that Chris and I are the next contestants on "The Amazing Race!" This is Chris' dream and my fear. It might be the final straw that leads me to prayer or more likely the couch.

now what?

2006-06-20T13:27:00.000-07:00

The last grade has been entered. I turned in my laptop and tearfully said goodbye to my friends in the math dept. One thing I know about Newport Math teachers is they are real people. They say what's on their mind making no apologies.

When I first started the dept chair told me "you have to be a bitch to fit into this dept." oh no missquote... "you have to an anal bitch to fit into this dept." I believe it was within appr 5 minutes of meeting her. I said, "well I'd like to think I'm not a bitch and I know for a fact I'm sure as hell not anal." I thought great what did I sign on for? Turned out I was more anal and bitchy than I thought (not sure how I feel about that but oh well what can I do?)

So as I make my goodbyes through my tears and wonder what on Earth I am doing it is reassuring to know I can always go back and they will hug me coming back in as they hugged me leaving. Bitches? Hardly.

Happy Dad's Day!

2006-06-18T21:06:00.000-07:00

Today's blog is dedicated to my dad. For many years when my sister and I were little Dad would lead the Unitarian Church on Father's Day. I remember him talking about our Grandpa, his own experience being a dad, singing, and most importantly telling us that he loved us. Truthfully I couldn't tell you exactly what else he said or sang, just that he said, "I love you." It felt like our day as much as his.

One thing he says is, "Never give advice to someone, only options. In the end a person will always do what they want."
Now, is that giving advice to not give advice? :) Little did he know that he was giving advice indirectly all along.

Indirect advice from Dad (aka El Padre or the Dude):

1) Never give advice, in the end people do what they want.
2) For every goofy, outlandish sounding rule there is always an even goofier story to explain the need for the rule.
3) Smart people, even with PhD's in math, can be short attention span readers... and that's ok
4) Finding humor in completely screwed up situations helps get over it more than anything else. (quite handy as a teacher)
5) The class "Picture Lady" doesn't have to be a lady nor does he/she have to talk the whole time about the picture.
6) Why have 1 piece of cake when you can have 5 slivers?
7) The kiddie table is more fun than the adult table.
8) The trickiest part to starting a new job is figuring out where the bathrooms are.
9) Often finding the solution to a problem is knowing the answer and working backwards. Math reference, determining delta (or was it epsilon?).
10) Never refer to senior faculty as "dinosaurs."
11) Following an itinerary isn't as much fun nor as memorable as just hanging out together.
12) Avoid making more than one major life change per year; e.g. marry, move, change jobs (see indirect piece of advice number 1)

Thanks for all you've taught me, Dad. You have been a wonderfully loving and supportive parent. I miss you and can't wait to see you in July! Living in Seattle is awesome but I miss the days in Chicago when I could just hang out with Dad.

I love you,
Lisa

the last...

2006-06-15T13:38:00.000-07:00

I just worked through my last problem on the overhead for the foreseeable future. The schedule Wed and today is a little strange but essentially I saw half of my classes for class one last time yesterday and the other half today. Then the last 2 hours of the school day are for the first final. From now until Monday afternoon are finals.

I haven't told any of my students yet and plan to when they finish their final. Hopefully, they won't take up the whole time. As I watch them take the final and as I type I am trying to decide what to say exactly and how to say it. We'll see how it goes. Last year when I left Hinsdale to move to Seattle I told all my students at the end. It felt really good to share such a big part of my life with them. (Not to mention it helped explain the many days I may have been cranky)

Anyhow, in my last class I said, "Hey, this is the last 'class' of the year before finals!" They cheered! We had to go over a test. When I got to the last problem of the test someone asked met to work out the problem on the board. I was about to start writing when a student shouted, "Hey, this is the last problem Mrs. Mirecki will work out this year!" hmmmm guess so. It was a weird bittersweet feeling. I was sad for obvious reasons. It felt good because it was the third time I had worked it and much of the rest of the test out today!

With this year complete I continue on the path of my life without much of a map.
L

A ______ without a teacher

2006-06-10T21:42:00.000-07:00

There's a movie called "A Day without a Mexican" making the statement that the nation would come to a near halt if one day all Mexicans were gone. http://www.adaywithoutamexican.com/

In a parallel thought, I am curious to know how long you think it would legitimately take our society to notice the absence of teachers. A day? A week? A year? Longer? Never? This has been on my mind for three days and I've yet to decide.

Lights out!

2006-06-09T18:38:00.000-07:00

Almost daily the students beg, " Can we turn the lights out? It's so soothing and relaxing." I say, "so relaxing you fall asleep."
They assure me, "No we work BETTER with the lights off."

Guess what happened today? Power outage!! No lights. Now, what are they saying? Yep, "Awe there's NO WAY we can work with the lights off." Yeah right.

iHeartMath.com

2006-06-06T18:29:00.000-07:00

Being soon-to-be unemployed motivates me to look for avenues for side jobs. The most flexible, stressfree, high-paying thing to do? Tutor! Evonne, friend and soon-to-be former colleague, and I are cooking up ways to publicize in order to drum up steady tutoring hours.

Realistically, 4-5 hours per week would be perfect during school. Anything beyond that is gravy. So today we are brainstorming website names:

iHeartMath.com
mathChicks.com
whenWillWeEverUseThis.com
mathGoddesses.com
calculateThis.com sadly is already taken.
Maybe yourMomLikesMath.com is available?

the list goes on and on... also part of the plan are cheap yet chic business cards for teachers to give kids or parents.

got any ideas?
btw- 75 degrees and sunny today!! Just lovely.

L'Chaim!

2006-06-03T09:22:00.000-07:00

Last night was our second to last soccer game of the season. The league we joined is supposed to be Division 9. There weren't enough shitty teams so the league merged all Friday Division 6 through 9 teams. I think we were the only Div 9. I believe there are 5 other teams and we play each twice. Hands down my favorite team to play is L'Chaim! They are competitive but slower paced. Playing them I don't feel completely useless on the field. The best part is at the end they do a cheer for our team at the end. Very cool. Both times I happily said to all of them, "Mozal tov!"

B and I are meeting later this morning to run. We are entering a 10k that is the end of the month. yikes.
L

Catch a Rising Star!

2006-06-01T19:14:00.000-07:00

Chris' college friend, and former coworker from Pizza Hut, is now writing for Southern Screen Report in Atlanta. The periodical just launched in Sept 2005.

What I believe to be her first published article can be seen if you follow the link. She describes her audition to become a stuntwomen. Cool story.

http://www.screenreport.com/news/stuntwoman.html

L

Side Bar?

2006-06-01T18:57:00.000-07:00

Question - Can you see the side bar on the left when you open this blog?

On my desktop I can and on my laptop I cannot. What gives?

Thanks, L

Nest Egg

2006-05-31T20:55:00.000-07:00

Each state in the US has been scored based on average retirement savings. Follow the link to see an interesting pattern. It seems most states that are above average are typically considered "Blue" States. hmmmmm

http://www.agedwards.com/public/content/sc/invedu/nest_egg_savings/savings_results.html

vs

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_states

Ta Da!!!!

2006-05-29T20:16:00.000-07:00

Two links that were brought to our attention by Big Al:

www.tadalist.com is a free web service for keeping many to do lists. Very simple and cool

www.pollstar.com
allows you to search for when and where your favorite band is playing or upcoming concerts (and I mean all of them) in your city.

Know any cool links? Share!

How come Long weekends are still short?

2006-05-29T12:59:00.000-07:00

Thank you Veterans! True Seattle it rained most of the weekend off and on. (mostly on). Chris' close college buddy Al visited. He was the famous reader from our wedding. We had a fantastic time hanging out around town.

The tide is at an all time low so we went to the beach at the lowest tide time and checked out all the cool sea creatures. One proud dad caught a crab and was holding it for his son to check out. No surprise he was pinched within moments. He squealed louder than the kid :)

Then off to the annual NW Folklife Festival. Tons of live folk music and crafts and especially prime people watching. We ate lunch at Pyramid brewery so we didn't get to partake in the yummy smelling international flavors being offered.

Sunday was another fun relaxing day enjoying the beer and wine in Woodinville. Sunday night Becky and I met for dinner. It was quite a moment for me as it was my first official time trying sushi! She helped pick things that are pretty tame and it was cool to experience such a celebrated part of Seattle. We had spicy tuna, some kind of Ahi roll, and a salmon roll. It turned out I liked the spicy tuna best.

We caught up and talked about summer plans. B is signed up for a triatholon and comtemplating the STP bike ride (Seattle to Portland). It is 200 miles and you can do it in one or two days. We - Chris, B and I - are in on a trail course 10k race the end of June.

Chris and Al went to see Rev Co and Ministry play. You can find out what they thought of the concert from Chris (or Al) They met up with us at Becky's and had us laughing! So right as Chris drives Al to the airport the skies are clearing up and it is just beautiful out. Despite the gloomy weather Al claims he in for another visit someday. With that, anyone interested in checking out the very laid back, very damp, yet amazing northwest give us a call or email. We'd love to see ya.

Graduation Speech

2006-05-25T17:20:00.000-07:00

Family friend, Robin, was chosen to give the following speech at her high school senior awards assembly. She has Down's Syndrome and her speech is inspirational. Her plans are to study to become a library assistant at the community college next year.

This 18 year old truly understands the word accomplishment. Please take a minute and check it out.

http://guweb2.gonzaga.edu/~dewolf/robin/Robin_GradSpeech.wmv

Mrs. Mirecki has left the building!

2006-05-23T16:25:00.000-07:00

Today was my meeting with the principal. It lasted nearly an hour and went quite well. She agreed to write a reference letter for me as well. It was unfortunate that my first meeting with the principal was to resign. I am happy that I remained open and honest with her about why I am leaving. She is a really sweet and understanding person.

I filled out the paperwork to ask for a leave of absence instead of resigning. She said most of the time it is approved. Guess there is a shortage of math teachers or something. ;)

Thank you friends and family that listened all these years to be whine. You have been great and I owe you big time. Now I just have to figure out a way to make a living doing something other than teach. hmmmm

Much love,
Lisa

Ramen is our main meal as of Labor Day

2006-05-22T12:12:00.000-07:00

OK!! I told my mentor and dept chair and have a morning meeting with my principal (that's right I've been called down to the principal's office!). This is the last year in the near future that I will be teaching. It was a good 7 years with many ups and downs but it is time to hang up my chalk and try something new.

There are several reasons listed below in the best order I can put them in: (understand the order changes daily)
1) Pay. I wanted to live in Seattle, which has a higher cost of living than Chicago. In order to move here I took a HUGE pay cut.
2) Questionable respect for teachers. If only all members of society could be like my wonderful Aunt Susan. Not only is she volunteer of the year, she actually has her sons' teachers over for dinner every year!! Now, I do not expect dinner but a thank you from a parent or student more often than once a year would be nice. Again the pay factors in here also.
3) Teenagers. Need I say more here really? They have their good days and definitely their bad days and it is hard to ride on their roller coaster. It is a tough job to grade papers and give them bad news. :(
4) Sadly, math... it is a very challenging subject for people. Some days I truly feel like a jailer holding the students captive and forcing them to learn math one painful day after the next.

What will I miss??? Easy.
vacation days, the kids, and fellow teachers that never cease to have a good sense of humor about students.

I am feeling alive yet scared and hopeful that taking this risk will pay off and help me find whatever it is I'm looking for. Wish me luck!

Reason #238: Subs

2006-05-19T07:37:00.000-07:00

Remember having a substitute teacher in high school? Maybe not cuz you would see the sub and sneak out. Well, naturally it was often the mission of students to make the sub's life a living hell.

From a teacher's perspective getting a good sub that can handle tough classes is prized. I have found such a sub this year that the students love that gets the plans I leave accomplished and we're all happy.

I called in sick Wednesday and couldn't find her special sub number. Without this number I had to leave things to chance. Well, the sub was "mean and disrespectful." "She treated us like we were stupid." This was what my very best student told me afterschool with noone else around. Needlesstosay the students gave this sub a royal run for her money. arg.

Now I am put in the position of giving a lecture to mostly soon-to-be grads. When do students learn to stop pushing back during classes and just shut up and try and learn?

An Inconvenient Truth

2006-05-17T12:07:00.000-07:00

Al Gore and Larry David's wife, Laurie, and others teamed up to make this documentary that I believe kicked off Sundance film festival. It is being released May 24th (next week)

here's an article from the Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/25/AR2006012502230.html?referrer=emailarticlepg

Love,
Lisa

85 DEGREES!!!

2006-05-16T11:17:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a scorcher! We had a record breaking 85 degree high. We are quite spoiled with cool days and zero humidity most days. This was quite a shock to me after less than a year living here.

It definitely doesn't help that my non-ac classroom faces south and has two tiny little windows. The students would literally walk in, sit down and droop to near sleep status immediately.
The only ray of sunshine is I will no longer need to turn off the lights, turn on the overhead, and speak in a soft monotone voice to lull the students to sleep instead of crazy pre-summer mayhem.

This kind of weather makes me long for a bbq and an ice cold beer!
Cheers!!!

Keep it in perspective

2006-05-14T18:53:00.000-07:00

In the current issue of Discover there is an interesting article about technological change. The gist of it is, technology is not moving as fast as some perceive, at least in peoples daily lives, and all of us could us a break from technology... even for a few minutes.

Check it out.
https://www.discover.com/issues/jun-06/features/feature-one/

Happy Mother's Day

2006-05-14T14:08:00.000-07:00

This blog is naturally for Mom. I love you and miss you!!!!

This blog is also to explain our blog title "Your Mom Called."
Many many many years ago in college my friends and I would tell your mom jokes like they were going out of style. Eventually it led to friend and roomie CC and I making up and singing the dorkiest song about Your Mom. "Your Mama says you're ugly! And you know it's true!" It always just made me giggle - not sure why. I guess it was my equivalent of a good fart sound making someone giggle.

We grew more sophisticated and sneaky with our your mom jokes. CC would come in from class and ask if anyone called. I'd say, "oh yeah your mom called and left a message." She would naturally say, "what'd she say?" I'd respond with the straightest face I could muster, "You're ugly!" TEE HEE!!!
Since, we have annoyed the shit out of loved ones with our your mom called line. Fortunate coworkers have also had the pleasure of knowing their mom called.

When I open my cell phone it greets me with the message "Your Mom." I haven't stopped making your mom jokes. No, don't be silly. They continue to amuse me. In fact, my students slip them in every once in awhile and I have trouble continuing with class cuz I usually laugh so hard.

Know any good your mom jokes? BRING IT ON!

They are usually situational in which someone asks a question and the punchline answer is Your mom. Like someone walks in the room and says,
"ooh who stunk up the room?"
answer -- "Your mom!"

Your Mom Called

Fun Friday

2006-05-12T10:19:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday! This has to be the first Friday in a long time where I woke up and actually had that, "YEAH it's Friday" feeling! Previous Fridays I wasn't in a bad mood per se but it just felt like any other day.

Anyway, the main purpose of this blog is to give a big shout out to Jake! He tells me he actually checks our blog. Yo wat up Jake! I can't tell if people are out there reading this. Do I really care? Not too much honestly, but it makes me slightly self-conscious about how often I should bother blogging. If you are out there reading and feel like checking in to say "Hey" I'd love it! No pressure though really.

So the other day we stopped for groceries. yeah yeah zzzzzz We were buying some beer so the cashier carded me. She entered my bday into the register and proclaimed, "awe you don't look 27. I excitedly beamed back, "awe you're sweet but I'm really 31" (and mentally also grimmaced at the poor math skills and the fact that I felt oddly compelled to tell her the truth as if she needed to know)

This put her over the edge! She was like, "OMG you totally don't look 31! You are 31?! WOW you really don't look at all 31! I hope I look as good as you when I'm 31!" uh I get it I'm an old fart to you. thanks. digging a hole.

Well, fortunately this girl was a RIOT! She tells me how fabulous my skin is and that her Asian cousin has "fake tan orange skin and bleach blond hair." Quite a picture. She then continues to tell me about how to remove spray-on tans. I was laughing and crying all at the same time.

Just goes to show it's all perspective... this high school student comes in to class and turns 17 tomorrow. Another student yells, "WOW you'll be 17?! Already!? Wow... I mean." the birthday girl was like, "Thanks I'm not THAT old!" All perspective. There's always someone younger :)

ooh gotta run have a great weeeeekend!
Lisa

Brainstorms

2006-05-06T22:08:00.000-07:00

Saturday night and we just thought of the perfect mastercard commercial. Here it goes:
Suits and luggage … $ 600.00
Airfare for two, hotel and food for three nights … $1500.00
Boxes, packing tape, and moving … $1000.00
Shipping a car … $1200.00
Four nights, dog-friendly motels and gas …$ 500. 00

Moving across the country to live where you’ve always wanted Priceless

Chris' Birthday!

2006-05-04T20:38:00.000-07:00

Yep, Chris turned 31 yesterday! The weather was awesome - 65 and sunny. After school we took Abbey for a hike and then grabbed dinner. Very relaxing, almost felt like the weekend!

He had a nice long chat with his sister Marcy and I pretended to set up the last week of our trip to Italy in August. We are going for three weeks. We need to decide a city to hang out in for two days before ending in Venice. Maybe I'll leave those two days up in the air and see where the road takes us when we get there. That's an idea... btw - nothing got planned.

Things are winding down at school. Washington schools start after Labor Day which means end late June. Try June 22! YIKES!

Today I somehow got roped into playing in the student-faculty soccer game. ummm hello I've played 5 games what up?? I told them I would strictly be a sub (and I don't mean permanent sub!) A couple students in my class asked me if I'm playing - hard to say no to students ya know.
Love and hugs
Lisa

Happy May Day

2006-05-01T21:03:00.000-07:00

In loving memory of Jeni's hilarious mother and my honorary Grandma, MR (Mary Roberts), Happy May Day to all!

Where did the weekend go?

2006-05-01T20:58:00.000-07:00

Friday I picked my Dad and Jeni (Step-Mom) up at the airport. After they checked in and relaxed a bit we grabbed dinner at an Asian Bistro by Becky's place.

There's no shortage of fabulous Asian restaurants in Seattle. Chris and I are completely addicted to a couple Thai places within walking distance! YUMMY... Is curry really that bad for you? Please say the coconut milk is the good kind of fat like avocado (avocados are ok right?) I don't care cuz I'm never ever giving up curry or guac! Chris mostly likes ordering as hot as he can handle it.

Anyhow, Friday we had a 9pm soccer game. The other team rolled us up and smoked us. It sucked. It was kind of fun I guess, in a "won't it be fun when the game is over?" kind of way. ok ya got me it wasn't that bad but it's fun to exaggerate.
Chris and I both took hard falls and got some scrapes. I was trying to stop the ball and tripped myself. yeah the only thing smooth about that was my volleyball roll move and all the dust on my ass. Chris thinks he bruised a rib. I'm enjoying trying to make him laugh.

Saturday was rainy so we did Seattle stuff and hung out. It was a super relaxing day. Sunday we went to the Ballard Locks and then the Fremont Market and had dinner at our place. I enjoyed the visit and was glad I didn't have to take them to the airport cuz I would've cried for sure. I miss family even though I love being here.

Oh one last thing, this is mostly for Brian W. and his parents. We finally bought a couch! We have to be the two pickiest individuals on the planet. I won't bore you with the details but we love it and there's plenty of room for anyone to crash!

L

Dad and Jeni are visiting!

2006-04-28T09:59:00.000-07:00

I'm picking them up at the airport around 3:30!!

We have a soccer game tonight so hopefully they will be awake enough to cheer us on!

Observation!

2006-04-25T08:18:00.000-07:00

Well, this morning I am being observed by people from the Gates Foundation. They just wanna see a typical day in a typical freshman level class. Shouldn't be a big deal but I can't help being nervous. Mostly it is caused by the fact that the students are collecting data which can be risky and quickly turn south. This is what we typically would do today so I gotta roll with it.

YIKES.

Futbol!

2006-04-22T09:55:00.000-07:00

GOOOOOOOOOOAL!!!!!!
Friday's are now reserved for our soccer games! Chris played in high school and I played for a minute in fifth grade. I'm getting better. I know I know, nowhere to go but up. It is so much fun! This has to be the best way to end the week. The first game I was terrified to play. We played "Team Xbox!". They all worked at XBox and were sponsored by them with hideous neon green jerseys. Think my school will sponsor us?

Chris, cuter than ever, cracks me up. He has a knee brace and foot inserts. The knee brace is for the knee he did NOT have surgery on. hmmmm are we getting old?

Chris's school webpage

2006-04-18T20:49:00.000-07:00

Here is a link to my school site. Nothing fancy... just information on various science topics for students and family. Please be aware, it is a work in progress.

When it rains in Seattle

2006-04-18T20:14:00.000-07:00

It snows in the mountains!! Here's us with my sister Snowshoeing. My dad and Jeni were in town visiting. Let's just say there was a LOT of snow in the mountains... so you know what that means.

Chris and Lisa in Seattle

2006-04-18T19:52:00.000-07:00

Here we are Fall 2005
at Eva and Kahn's going away party.
Was is something we said?

Hello? Hello? Long lost friends?

2006-04-18T11:15:00.000-07:00

I thought I had lost you forever! No numbers, no nothing! Glad to have you back, old friend.

Lisa as Teacher

2006-04-18T08:53:00.000-07:00

Check out my Web Site at Newport High School

Lifemusers

2006-04-18T08:51:00.000-07:00

Lifemusers: Risky Business

This is my friend's blog about preparing to start new careers... what you may ask?
Good question. She's studying for the first actuary exam. I'm looking to start classes to become certified as a Database Developer. We are also exploring the infinite entrepreneurial options we constantly come up with.

Abbey's no pup

2006-04-18T08:37:00.000-07:00

I realize this but please not too loud she has feelings ya know.

Yes, Abbey's 3.5 years and filling out and looking like well, a dog. We've gone a many hikes with her and have pictures but either a) Chris can't hold a camera steady or b) Abbey won't stand still because she's blurry in all the photos. (or frankly I just plain don't like how I look in them)

So Bryan, we'll work on it. In the meantime I thought you would enjoy seeing your parent's old couch again for kicks.

Gimme a L! Gimme a C! What does that spell?

2006-04-17T21:31:00.000-07:00

Okay, spelling out W-E-L-C-O-M-E-L-I-S-A -&-C-H-R-I-S would have been too long for a title, but HOORAY!!!!

Two cheers that you made the move. Welcome. Very glad to have you here.

=)

Abbey as a puppy

2006-04-17T20:07:00.000-07:00

Here's Abbey as a puppy! She's uh... a bit more filled out these days.

Inaugural Blog

2006-04-17T19:52:00.000-07:00

Welcome! Thanks for stopping by our blog. We are Chicago natives Lisa and Chris. Summer 2005 we married and moved to Seattle to see what the Northwest would offer us.

This blog is for us to keep in touch with our family and friends and make new ones along the way.

Be sure to leave a message!!!

Cheers! Lisa and Chris