Miscellaneous Missives

I'm in Okoboji. Although the cat doesn't realize it, going to the vet is not traumatic. The most traumatic part (for me at least) was getting the cat out from under the bed. Oh, I might also add he gained .5 lbs. This was not really a surprise. I also called my father who is not currently residing in his house to ask him if he wanted me to shoot the gophers who were making holes in his yard. Of course I would not have the ability or patience to do this task, but we had an interesting conversation. He did tell me to take pictures and let him know if I saw any. Well...

Recent Facebook conversation: K- Original post- I want to be the first to post it here... The Birth Certificate is *F*O*R*G*E*D!!! Just trying to beat the rush... D- What did I miss??? Me- Let's be real, if the president of the United States can't forge a birth certificate, who could? S- And he really didn't go to Harvard. B- give it up people. B- If he wanted to forge it, I'm sure he could have done that some time ago! In fact the document was produced two years ago, Faux news has just perpetuated the distraction, so that the big oil boys have their way with us. Wake up! K- ...And he doesn't believe in the Constitution because Muslims aren't allowed to read the Constitution. Me- May I also remind you that he's, well, not white... K- But I'm not racially prejudiced. I just think a Muslim born in Kenya shouldn't be allowed to run for U.S. President, is all I'm saying... (But being born in Panama and running for president is okay if y...

It is pathetic, but I love to watch the NFL draft. I liked it better when it started Saturday morning and ended on Sunday because I could get things done around the house while having the draft on continuously. The current format should allow me to do the same thing, but I don't seem to have the same desire on Thursday evening. Instead of being productive, I am geeking on the internet and watching the draft while drinking an adult beverage. My only other desire is to pack for my abbreviated trip to Iowa tomorrow. BTW- Did you see the sun this evening? When I walked in to the gym, it was yucky; when I walked out, the sun was shining. I took a picture since it was a rare occurrence.

“Remember the Sky...” by Joy Harjo Remember the sky you were born under, know each of the star’s stories. Remember the sun’s birth at dawn, that is the strongest point of the time. Remember sundown and the giving away to night. Remember the moon; remember the dark. Remember your birth, how you were given breath. You were given laughter, you were given crying. Remember the earth whose skin you are: red earth, black earth, yellow earth, white earth brown earth; we are earth. Remember the plants, trees, animal life who all have their tribes, their families, their histories, too. Talk to them; listen to them. They are alive. Remember the winds. Remember their voices. They know the origin of this universe. Remember you are all people and all people are you. Remember you are this universe and this universe is you. Remember all is in motion, is growing, is you. Remember. Remember. On Wednesdays I start class by asking students to write about a poem. Today'...

Jealousy is a feeling I've frequently felt during this blog image challenge. First, I am jealous that others have iPads. Maybe the challenge contestants could chip in money to help me buy me one! Next, I can't draw, so I am envious when others display their artistic ability during this challenge. Being artistic is something I've always envied. I've even taken community education drawing class with little to no success. When I put those two things together, I can only come up feeling green with jealousy. This jealousy reached its peak last night when I downloaded two drawing apps to my iPhone, "draw4free" and "DoodleBuddy". Of course it only made me realize that the app isn't going to make cool pictures with my help. At least I was able to put clothes on my stick person which is important. Often I draw pictures on the white board to help students. They always laugh at me. It works well for those students who also are lacking artistic ...

My character viewer is missing the heart? Anyone want to help with this problem? BTW- Although you may think this post is lacking creativity, the creativity comes from Eddie Vedder. It constitutes an image which is great for Monday morning. Relax and enjoy the music.

Happy Easter! Although I graded most of the poetry books last weekend, I saved the last set for this weekend. Some would call it procrastination and ill timed at that since today it is sunny (for a change). My largest problem was not the procrastination as seen in today's image. I hope everyone has a wonderful sunny Easter day!!

As You Like It, Act V, Sc. I "The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool." Today is the Shakespeare's date of birth and death. Although his birth is not officially known, some say it was probably the 23rd. Today is also the last day of Lent which means my Lenten practice is officially finished with this post. I have successfully hand written a note to someone (46 total) each day of Lent and listed three things of which I am thankful each day on my blog. If I am to be honest, both proved at times to be difficult, but it also made me realize all of the good things and great people I have in my life. Today I give thanks... 1) gift of Easter candy in my mailbox 2) Easter (early) dinner with friend and her family 3) going to Target without a list -- getting everything I needed and NOTHING I didn't

I knew today was both Earth Day and Good Friday. This is the first time they exist on the same day. The next time won't be until 2095. At first I thought the juxtaposition was a bit strange. Then as I attended the noon service I realized the two fit together, and I appreciated the fact that they were mentioned together. We were asked to remember the crucifixion of Jesus along with the crucifixion of the Earth. Although this seems a bit strange, this article says it more concise. As for yesterday's jelly bean challenge, it seems as though someone has been in my kitchen counting jelly beans. There were exactly 61 jelly beans in the jar. My gratitude list... 1) Earth day 2) finding a leak and having a plumber come and fix it before I returned from church 3) Bookmarks magazine

This morning I realized my headlight was out. After school I went to an auto parts store. My hope was to look helpless (and well, female) in order to get someone (male) replace the headlight. I'll be honest; this has worked in the past. Actually I felt quite confident until I walked into the auto parts store. Although there was a male behind the counter, there was also a female behind the counter who had no line. She was the one that helped me. When I tried to act helpless, she told me to check my owner's manual. What are the odds that I would get the female? At least there was a small car repair business next door with men. He put my headlight in for free although I gave him some cash. Bonus challenge: Since the image challenge has become more challenging than I had imagined (After all, I didn't think it would be difficult to post an image each day. I was wrong.), I added a challenge of my own. How many jelly beans are in this Bell jar? One correct answe...

What are you doing at 4:20? I think teaching middle school helps me remember the reference. I'll stop posting snow images when it stops snowing! These lovely pictures were taken this morning. As I sit watching students sleep once again, I am also able to watch the snow still coming down outside.... insane. Today I give thanks for... 1) the snow... not the snow itself but the beauty of it... 2) last day of MCA reading testing and movie afternoon for the students 3) birds chirping this morning even with the snow accumulating on the trees

Today, while I was watching my first hour students sleep, I read a blog in which the author quote Angeles Arriens. Let me explain. Today was the reading MCA, and students tested in their first hour class. Since it was my prep hour, I started the test, left for a bit, then returned to finish the test. When I returned before the break, half of my class had finished their test and needed to be quiet, so they had their heads on the desks. I understand why one wouldn't want to read after taking a reading test. My problem is these students obviously rushed through the test and should still have been testing. This bodes well for the philosophy that teachers should be judged on their students test performance since many of my students obviously didn't give a shit. As I sat watching the students sleep and reading this blog in which Angeles Arriens was quoted, I had an epiphany. Yes, I do exaggerate, but her message was this: “Show up. Pay attention. Tell the truth. Don’t be att...

Posting every day about nothing is difficult. Finding an image to go with an uneventful to quite uneventful day is challenging. As I was talking to H on the phone this evening, I whined about not having an image for today. Actually I whined more about the snow that was supposed to come tomorrow and Wednesday, but I also whined about not having an image. I feel too much pressure. This pressure is similar (kind of) to the pressure I felt at the chiropractor this afternoon. My neck hurt, and I really couldn't think. When I was asked if I wanted acupuncture needles today, I replied, "I don't know. My neck hurts." I didn't get needles, but I did get muscle stimulation and manipulation (Now, there's a title for an adult novel...). Anyway while the neck pain was somewhat softened, the pressure of not having a image intensified (Do you see how I kind of, sort of, tied it all together?). Finally after listening to my whining, H sent me an image to use. She...

Fragile by Sting "On and on the rain will fall Like tears from a star like tears from a star On and on the rain will say How fragile we are how fragile we are On and on the rain will fall Like tears from a star like tears from a star On and on the rain will say How fragile we are how fragile we are How fragile we are how fragile we are" As I was driving home from Palm Sunday service, Fragile by Sting was playing on the radio. I found it quite appropriate after today's message. I always appreciate the progressiveness of my service. Today's Palm Sunday message was partially a comparison between then (Jesus' Palm Sunday) and today (craziness in our world and politics). Without a lot of detail the message was that we need to consider the most needy in our country in this system of domination. As we all know, while corporate leaders are making exorbitant amounts of money, our government leaders are taking away from those who need it the most. It se...

I knew it was snowing last night, but I was a bit surprised that it was actually staying on the ground this morning. Boooo! This tree should be covered in buds not snow. I am thankful for... 1) nature's humor 2) flannel pajamas and good night's sleep 3) a surprise e-mail from a friend

The Lazy Song by Bruno Mars "Today I don't feel like doing anything I just wanna lay in my bed Don't feel like picking up my phone, so leave a message at the tone 'Cause today I swear I'm not doing anything." I am going to school with a thank you/apology note in hand. Yesterday I was "caught red handed" making illegal copies on the staff copier. It's not like it's the first time I've done it. It's not like everyone doesn't do it. It's not like I feel sorry about making the copies The problem is that I was caught, completely "busted". I watched the copy police (lovely lady) walk into make a copy and knew she would see the copies I was making and be upset to quite upset. "Shit," I uttered as I was talking to the secretaries watching her walk into the room. According to the copy police I am banned from the staff copier. Maybe I'll try to follow the rules for the next week or two. An ea...

Keep a Poem in your Pocket by Beatrice Schenk de Regniers Keep a poem in your pocket And a picture in your head And you’ll never feel lonely At night when you’re in bed. The little poem will sing to you The little picture bring to you A dozen dreams to dance to you At night when you’re in bed. So - - Keep a picture in your pocket And a poem in your head And you’ll never feel lonely At night when you’re in bed. from NPR: "Is That A Poem In Your Pocket, Or Is It Something Even Verse?" The Second Annual VVMS Poem in Your Pocket (PiYP) Day went well. I am always amazed at the VVMS staff. Actually I know everyone is incredible, but today two events overwhelmed, positively, me. We have a staff member who has a legitimate reading learning disability. When asked to read his poem out loud in front of the camera, he read it. My guess is I don't even know how difficult this was for him, but it is incredible for him to read it (even though it took several t...

Today is " Day of Pink ." Our school celebrated diversity by wearing pink. Most of the staff wore the pink t-shirt pictured. Students wore all shades of pink in the halls. At the beginning of the day, I figured most kids were wearing pink because everyone was wearing pink. Then I sat in on a colleague's class as she was discussing acceptance and bullying and changed my mind. Even if it the message was only received by a few kids, it was worth it for the school to participate. I'm thankful for... 1) wearing t-shirt to school 2) book club this evening at People's Organic 3) Dad's good news from the doctor

I was wondering how I would be able to leave my Uggs when winter left. The answer is my new slip on Keds... no socks... easy on... easy off... One of my friends asked, "What's next? Velcro?" Perhaps because I love the ease of these shoes. Today I say thank you for... 1) sun and warmer temps 2) activity from yesterday's workshop worked well today 3) spring slip one shoes

Part of tonight's staff meeting talked about the stress of the upcoming MCA tests. I'm not sure of the correlation or how it was introduced, but we were shown a video (notice I am only giving the link to the video and not posting it). It was weird to quite weird and uncomfortable to quite uncomfortable. The good news is that it gave me an idea for today's image. Several years ago I took a picture of an opossum on my dad's deck. Plus as I googled opossum, I found a picture that we were shown at tonight's staff meeting after the video letting us know that massaging an opossum is dangerous. Do you think I could make this stuff up? Did I mention weird and uncomfortable? Tonight I give thanks for... 1) leaving a workshop with ideas even though the workshop was BAD 2) last day in the computer lab went well 3) conversation with C

I love Sundays, and I love my church community (Sacred Journey... not "Big Church"). Today I give thanks for... 1) open windows and screen doors 2) church community (prayers for my dad and Uncle Jim) 3) fresh cut flowers (while April showers bring May (or late April) flowers).

April By Alicia Ostriker "...The seasons go round they go round and around said the tulip dancing among her friends in their brown bed in the sun in the April breeze under a maple canopy that was also dancing only with greater motions casting greater shadows and the grass hardly stirring..." I have been productive today. Finally my swimsuits from spring break are washed. The aloe that has been growing out of its pot is repotted while the dead plant has been replaced with a new vibrant plant. Similar to the process that will soon happen outside. In preparation for this actual change to spring and warmer temps, I even replaced the storm door with the screen door. In addition I put my grill on the deck. Heck, I even removed the winter wear from my car and replaced it with my golf clubs. Although I have spent much of the day preparing from spring, I have stopped short of shuffling my closet. I'm grateful for... 1) a productive day 2) dinner with ...

Instead of working out this evening, I stopped by Chipotle for a burrito. Although I will regret this later, currently I'm happy with my choice. I am not happy, however, with the gold wrapper. What's up with the gold wrapper? Will I still be able to use it on the grill? Since I had more questions than answers, I did a search on the interweb. It seems Chipotle went with gold to bring attention to the "gold ingredients" (naturally raised meats, local, organic vegetables and rBGH-free dairy-- although I question the local and organic vegetables). Gratitude list... 1) Chipotle and the "gold ingredients" 2) absolutely no school work over the weekend 3) Hulu (forgot to watch Grey's last night)

Today was day two of the seventh graders typing their poetry books in the computer lab. I realize it's not all about me, but it's day two of being absolutely bored because they really don't need me. It did give me a chance to finalize some PiYP day stuff, to talk to people who passed the lab and to check my news feeds. While checking my news feeds during my first class, I noticed that the third egg (eagle cam) hatched, so I opened the eagle cam web site. As class ended, the eagle moved off the eggs to show the white fluffy baby eagles, so I showed my class. Many wanted to know if I had spent the entire hour watching the eagles. Somewhat honestly, I answered, "Not really." Of course the truth is that I did have it on in the background as I was doing other tasks and periodically helping students. When I saw the fish (still breathing or at least the body was moving up and down), I decided to take a screen shot of the video. I'm not sure why I find the ...

After book club tonight I stopped by SA, so I could spend $3.77 a gallon on gas. Actually I also wanted a fountain Diet Pepsi. A group of three kids, and their father, were searching for food. Each child could spend $1.25. The oldest child wondered, "I don't know if I'm making the correct decision." The youngest child was antagonizing the middle child with her Oreos. The middle child was upset because he wanted to spend $1.50. When the father was firm, the middle child exclaimed, "I hate my life." At this the father responded, "I hate my life too." Maybe it's because I don't have kids, but I found this hysterical and actually laughed while leaving. I, on the other hand, don't hate my life. Today the seventh graders were typing in the computer lab while I worked on Poem in Your Pocket Day. After school I went to get acupuncture. This evening I had book club with a wonderful group of ladies. All are reasons why I don'...

Today was a teacher workshop day. It was not the kind of day when one sits through meetings. The workshop day was actually a work day, an entire day to do grades and work in our rooms as needed. Days like today are wonderful because without today, I would have done the same work at home. My colleague and I actually took a working lunch. We planned the next two weeks while eating at Old Chicago. Of course we called first to make sure they had WiFI. Although we still have to secure some materials, we were able to schedule computer time and plan while enjoying pizza. Since the April Blog Challenge includes images, I brought my iPhone and camera to take a picture of the pizza as I ate. After the pizza was gone, I realized I had not taken a picture, so I decided to settle for the Old Chicago sign outside. As we finished up some last minute ideas in the parking lot, I forgot to take a picture of the sign. I guess it's good that images can be procured from anywhere. Today...

It's just another manic Monday I wish it was Sunday 'Cause that's my funday My I don't have to runday It's just another manic Monday Today is my last day of spring break, and I will spend the majority of the day inside because I am feeling sorry for myself. This is not completely true because I am thankful to have one more day to to relax. The truth is that I am finding it bleak to quite bleak outside. My image today is of the snow pile at the far end of the parking lot. As I looked at the snow pile with disgust, I noticed a portion of the pile looked like a whale's tail. I guess there's positive in everything if one looks for it. My gratitude list includes... 1) one more day of vacation 2) looking for the positive 3) the eagle cam

"The Breeze at Dawn Has Something to Tell You. Try to Stay Awake, Choose a Path to Take, Even if you don’t know where you’re going. Trust own unknowing. Don’t Go Back To Sleep!" ~Jalaluddin Rumi This morning I awoke for church although I really wanted to stay in bed. Psalm 23 was the text and in unusual fashion it was read from the King James Version. Next we were shown images of sheep (mainly in peaceful settings on the country side). As I watched the computer images wandering about their Google search, I also spent time wandering if images of sheep were worth getting out of bed. After the sheep images, the 23rd Psalm (same version) was read again. More images were shown, poignant images, of recent catastrophes (hurricane, tsunami, oil spill, glaciers melting...) After these devastating images came images of people helping and showing compassion. Of course this was followed again by the 23rd Psalm. It was amazing and worth leaving my comfortable bed. I realize it...

My vacation is officially over. I arrived in Minneapolis at 3:30 yesterday then proceeded to drive to Okoboji. Snow shows up in clumps and ice still inhabits the lakes. All is not loss. The ice on the lake is starting to turn black. This is a sure sign it is close to being "out". In places near the shore where the ice is out, it appears a similar color to the Pacific Ocean. Well, not really, but kind of... At least there's hope since the sun is shining. I am thankful for my great friends in Okoboji... 1) Janette (breakfast and conversation) 2) Sheree (conversation while beautifying my hair) 3) Beth (Taco House at 3:00) Life is good... even if I can't see the ocean, the beach, the sun, and the next margarita...

I think it's fitting that I have to leave Mexico on April Fool's Day. April 1 also marks the beginning of the next blog challenge . If only it would have started earlier, I could have used all of my pictures from Mexico. Mexico has been wonderful although today I want to point out the negatives of Puerto Vallarta in two words "American commercialism". One find Senor Frogs plus a long list of American restaurants including: Burger King, Dominoes, Mc Donalds, Baskin Robins... Most of the signage is in English which is helpful and disheartening. Yep, that's the negative. Oh, the other negative is my sunburned stomach. It seems I didn't put on sunscreen because it was cloudy yesterday, and well,... Although I can't really blame this on Mexico, can I? On a positive note, I am always amazed at how hard the Mexican people work. Everyone is constantly cleaning (for tourists and for pride). The ingenuity is also amazing. I've seen dust pans made of...