Weekend Round-Up

Last weekend, Jamie and I made the trip up to the Big Apple. While we were there for less than 24 hours, we got to see a lot of people and have a lot of fun. We went up for a wedding -- which awesomely took place on a farm in the middle of Queens. Seriously. How awesome is that?




















The wedding was beautiful and I may have cried during the ceremony. Just maybe. And of course it was great to see some of our old friends...


In an effort to save some cash, Jamie and I looked for a cheap motel somewhere near the wedding site. Of course, we neglected to consider that that would mean the motel would be located in Queens, NY. QUEENS of Coming to America fame. I didn't think of this until just before we arrived in NY, at which point Jess assured me that Queens was a big, big place.

She was right. And our motel was adjacent to the Police Station -- which could be a good or a bad thing.

The next morning Jamie and I got up bright and early [give stink-eye to Jamie] to make the trip into Brooklyn to meet some friends for brunch. Despite the fact that we had planned our brunch for 11am, Jamie made sure we left our motel at 9:15am "just in case there's traffic". Sure enough, we were in Park Slopes at 9:40am. So we wandered around and took in the sights.

Sadly, I used up the battery in my camera before meeting up with Jess and Anne Louise so I don't have any pictures of that part of the trip...but it happened! Really! And we ate a delicious breakfast with bottomless mimosas! So great.

We had to return to reality and it was back to work. Today was especially eventful because I had my very first annual throw up. It could have been worse. Poor Cornelius had been complaining of a headache all morning, but managed to do all of his work despite clear discomfort. I was proud of him. As he had not complained of any stomach discomfort, I didn't think twice as he delved into his lunch. I was happy to see him feeling better during recess and running around. Then, during our science "exploration" he worked well with his team as they investigated air bubbles. It wasn't until we had passed in all of our materials that he unleashed the most vomit I have ever seen come out a 7 year old. Ever.

Poor Neal. Still, he managed it like a champ: ignoring the other kids' exclamations of disgust, somehow avoiding getting anything on his clothes, and not even shedding one tear. It was truly the very best situation that could have possibly been. The class was on the empty playground doing an experiment that involved basins of water (good for floor cleanup), paper towels, and none of my classroom or carpet.

Let's hope that will be the last of these.

The Month That Was.

Oh goodness. I've been bad about updating lately. And it's not that I don't have fun things to share with you all -- I really do! It's more about the lack of time and the fact that I have been doing most of my work from my "work" computer and therefore do not have access to my digital pictures. Sorry friend(s).

Work has been hectic and I am definitely feeling overworked and underpaid -- the resting state for most public school educators. Still, I'm hoping that I will see some real growth from my students this year.

But I'll post about them later.

Instead, I want to talk about the shining beacon of light in each of my weeks...the weekend. A few weekends ago (I know, so bad that I am just NOW posting about it) I got to see my lovely friends Abby and Samir in Cleveland. Despite the fact that it took us a good long time to get there by car, our gracious hosts made good use of every minute of our stay and we got to see a lot. We even got to eat some uber-tasty food at Momocho (which, Abby and Samir, is categorically "Modern Mexico" food).


















The weekend after, Jamie and I braved a backpacking trip on Assateague Island. Which kicked my ass (a-teague). While Jamie had assured me it would be a flat, easy hike, neither he nor I knew that it was actually a flat, "easy" hike on sand. Friends, sand is not easy to hike on. Not with hiking boots and a heavy backpack. To make matters worse, it was a beach that people could drive to with their OTVs so there were enough people frolicking in the surf with their Diet Cokes and puppies to make me hate my life a little.

BUT, as we hiked we got further away from the crowds, and we eventually found a place on the bay that was very nice -- if not infested with the largest mosquitoes ever. We got to make a campfire and sleep under the stars in our new tent. It was quite beautiful.

And! There were wild horses meandering around! Sure they liked to stay by the car-camping sites and not so much in the backcountry, but we got to see a few. In the end, the miles and miles hiked on sand was worth it.

Last weekend we had the last BBQ of the year before the weather changed. Which it did, sort of...and this upcoming weekend, Jamie and I are scooting to New York for a wedding and to see some of our old friends. Cannot. Wait. I will try to be much better about posting in upcoming weeks.

To conclude, I would like to share with you a video for some new "you tube" baby that I am actually sort of in love with. Her name is Marie Digby.

Maybe it's because she's of mixed Japanese descent (like me!), or maybe it's because she's from the San Fernando Valley (like me!). Or, maybe I just like that she is able to take ultra-poppy songs and play them with actual talent. There is something slightly hilarious about an acoustic version of Britney Spears' "Gimme More". And yes, she write her own songs too, but I wanted to really hit home the poppiness.

Scrabble Queen.

As a testament to a woman's ability to multitask, I have always found that I am much more productive when it comes to lesson-planning when I am watching something. Today, I watched a few episodes of Felicity and finished up all of my lesson plans for the week of the 24th by 3pm. This left me relatively free for the rest of the afternoon.

As it was a glorious day outside, Jamie and I opted to walk to the park and play Scrabble. Amid the many, many children riding around on bikes with training wheels (which are different from tricycles as Jamie pointed out) and dogs running around playing with stuff. Seeing all the kids running around and people with dogs made me feel less old -- which is a blessing since I've felt really old ever since getting married.

After I kicked some tail in Scrabble, Jamie had to buy me dinner so we went to Cuban Food.

All in all: it was a good Sunday afternoon.

Good Intentions.

So I was very excited that this might be the first Saturday in over a month when I wouldn't have to go to school/work. I got all of my copies done and my classroom ready for Monday. I wake up bright and early this morning, have my breakfast, read my news...at 9am, sharp, I'm ready to start planning and...

I forgot my freaking Teacher's Manuals at school.

I had assumed they were in my bag because I had every single other book in my bag. But no. They are sitting at school. I called to see if anyone was at the building, and no. There is the possibility that some construction people may be there this afternoon so I am going to have to stake out the building. On my used-to-be-free Saturday.

In the meantime, I will work on the progress reports for my students...the ones that are due on Monday after 11 days of teaching. This school is hard core.

Burning Question.

I promise I will stop posting videos soon -- but Jason's comment reminded me of a question I had been wanting to pose for a while. Since Jamie and I don't have fancy cable, the only access we have to Flight of the Conchords is what they give us on YouTube.

I don't know what the premise of the show is -- but I gather that it is a random assortment of music videos strung together loosely by some vague storyline. While I am a fan of pretty much every song, the following two are my favorites. (I know these videos are nothing new, but you know you want to watch them anyway because they are always funny).

I cannot decide on which I like more, though...opinions?

And of course, the classic:

Okay. Done with the videos for a while. I promise. Unless there is a gem.

Sweet Distraction.

Because I cannot bring myself to write about work...I give you some immature humor. If you watch the whole thing, you won't be sorry.

Maybe I'll post again soon with some actual news on what is going on in my life...

Internet Killed the Video Star.

It's Sunday and that means it's time for some procrastination!

Maybe the fact that I have seen nearly all of these videos -- and even linked to some of them in this blog -- should be an indication that I spend too much time procrastinating on the internet. Still, I like the internet video commemorating all the other internet video people. It's very meta.

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow.

Apparently, here at the Long household (that's weird to say) shaving a sad excuse for a beard is the perfect opportunity for some hair-tomfoolery. Jamie's singing group will be performing at a 9/11 Memorial Service on Tuesday, and so Jamie decided that it was time for the "beard" to go.

I think he is trying to put off helping me at school on a SATURDAY (ETD was 20 minutes ago) because he decided to play around with his face, to wit I give you: 'Stache Attack!

The "Mountain Man".



The Skeevy Casanova.














The Ned Flanders.

Apparently Jamie has never seen an episode of The Simpsons as he does not know that this is clearly not a good Ned Flanders impression. Ned Flanders has FOUR fingers, Jamie! FOUR!

Now I can I see my husband's face again so I am happy. Also, I know that I am very lucky to have a husband who does not mind making a fool of himself for the sake of our friends and family. Okay, off to school...

P.S. Jamie came up with the punny title. Not mine!

To the Bone.

Let me begin by saying I love my new school. It is a positive environment for our students, and I believe that we will really be able to make a difference in the lives of all of the young girls and boys that walk through our halls.

But...dammit do my feet hurt. Never in my life have I worked as hard as I have been working for the past week. And sadly, I have to report that I feel like a first-year teacher all over again -- a feeling that I had never intended to revisit. There is something to be said for building something like this from the ground up.

I get to school at 6:30 in the morning and usually leave well past 6:30pm. My first few days/nights I definitely didn't get out of the building during the single-digit hours going home only to sleep for a measly few hours.

I have always felt that the Teacher Union in Baltimore City was the reason for many of the public school system's problems. Despite being a paying member of said Union, I rarely agreed with their practices and felt a great sense of freedom when I resigned from Baltimore City Public Schools and stopped being a member of the Teacher's Union.

I no longer am a member of a Teacher's Union...and as much as I regret to admit it...I think that they may have had a point. A teensy-itsy-bitsy point. Like having a period for lunch is good. Also, having a time to pee during the day is also good. Oh, and being able to sit down for a little while is also good. As it is, I am with my kids every single minute of the day. I am with them for breakfast. I am with them for lunch, recess and until they get picked up at (sometimes) 5pm. I take them to the bathroom twice and I look longingly at the toilets knowing full well, that I will not be going to the bathroom for several more hours.

As soon as the last child leaves, I am overwhelmed by the simultaneous urge to eat something and to use the restroom and I have to decide which is more important. I left my lunch at home once, and didn't even know I had left it at home until I got home and saw it sitting on the kitchen counter. I don't even know why I make a lunch anymore, as I usually just recycle the same sandwich from day to day.

I love my school. But I also love my feet. I must find the most comfortable shoes on the planet and somehow make them cute enough to be business casual.

Okay. I'm done with the rant. And if anyone from school is reading this: please don't fire me. I really am committed to our kids and to our school. Honest.

Mountain Man.

I know I said I would blog about school/work...but I still can't bring myself to do it yet. Instead, I will post about the return of my darling husband. He got back from his backpacking trip to the Sawtooth Mountains and brought back pictures and more facial hair.

Kind of hilarious.

I have to buckle down and do some work now -- but I think it is a safe bet that I will be posting again soon to tell you about the first days of school...if only to procrastinate from the work. For now, let's just say that I have never worked so hard in my life.

Sore Feet.

I can't muster up the energy to go into a description of how the first day went -- instead I'll post a recap of the week tomorrow. And of course, here are pictures of the final arrangement of my classroom...




I include this picture so that you can get a feel for my new set of names. My favorite name is Joevontae. It is also interesting to note that the people with the "normal" names were no-shows today (ie; Jordan, Carlos, David, Will, etc.)


I saved the best for last. One of our school goals is to have all of our elementary students leaving with a determination to graduate from college. So, we all chose a college to represent -- mine, of course, is Williams. I ordered a banner and whatnot from Goff's, but in the meantime I had to get something for outside our room. I now present, the single best part of my classroom...

That purple cow is a masterpiece.

Slow Progress.

This has got to be short since I have a lot of work to do tonight and not much night left to do it in. Just wanted to update you all on my progress. I had a hard time sleeping last night and probably got around 3 hours of sleep last night. I got to school at 6:30am and left it at 6:30pm. I'm tired. But there is so much work to be done.

Here is my room on it's second day...getting closer, but I still don't have some of the crucial pieces of furniture.


I found a way to put all of my desks together so that they can actually fit. Of course, after all of that work -- and those desks are not all that light -- we learned that they were going to wax our floors tomorrow thereby moving all of the desks back out of our classrooms. Why they must wax the floors tomorrow (the day before our 3rd graders come) and make it so that we may not enter our rooms is beyond me. Although this is the same logic that goes for most everything in our education system. Oh well. More pictures soon.

New Era.

I have been holding off on writing about school/work because there is just so much to talk about. But, with the first day right around the corner, I figured I should update my friends and family with what has been consuming my post-wedding life.

Looking back at my blog I realize I never even mentioned that I found a new job. I did! It's very exciting for two reasons: 1) it is in D.C. so I will not have to drive 2 hours each day to get to and from work and 2) this school is amazing.

Before the wedding, I was somewhat anxious about finding a job closer to home. I did my research, sent out my resume and waited. And interviewed. And waited. And waited. I hadn't heard from anywhere for a while and was beginning to envision myself as unemployed and pathetic. Then for some reason I got a bunch of offers from different places on one afternoon and I was immediately drawn to one school in particular. It was a start-up public charter school connected to a very successful middle school.

I was officially hired for my new job as the 2nd grade Lead Teacher a few days before my wedding. It was all very sudden...my new boss came to watch me teach, we went to dinner that night and I was hired.

I have been doing various projects for the school over the summer and started the official training on August 5th. The staff is amazing -- everyone is so dedicated to education, intelligent, and motivated. All was going great except that we didn't actually have our building yet. It is a brand new school and the warehouse we were using was undergoing some serious renovations. Needless to say we were all pretty anxious since school was starting THIS WEEK.

But last Friday...we got in. And it looks incredible.
















Seriously. There is so much light and so much color. It is just going to be such a inviting environment for our students and our families.

Today, we were able to start putting our things in our rooms. All by my lonesome [gives evil eye to Jamie] I managed to carry all my stuff from the car and up that big ol' flight of stairs and to my room. Which incidentally was 1/3 the size of my old room...so I had way too much stuff. I wasn't even sure how my student desks would fit in the room (as the Lead Teacher I would have the inclusion class which means I would probably have more children join my class as the year progressed). I admit that I began to panic. And the boss saw me panicking.

She ultimately decided to have me switch to a bigger room currently occupied by another teacher who had moved from Jamaica and as a result did not have tons of stuff. She told me that it was her decision since I was the Grade Level Leader and because I would have more students...but I feel so guilty. My colleague was so great about it and I hope she was honestly not upset by it.

The worst part was that I was not panicked because I had so much stuff -- honestly, I would have just stuffed it in a closet -- but rather that I did not understand how to possibly fit all 20 students in that classroom. Which is a problem regardless of how much stuff you bring in...

Anyway, despite the overwhelming guilt...I am very excited to begin the new school year. Here are some "before" pictures of my new classroom...



So those student desks were the bane of my existence today. Although they are very cool and conducive to collaborative work...they are just so big. So fitting 20 of those in my room was quite the task. Anyway, I'll be taking more pictures as I set the room up. Hopefully there will be some good progress...Kids are coming on Thursday!

Barooooooooo!

So apparently Cody just wigs out for more than I had originally thought. I promise (barring extreme cases) that this will be the last one of these...I just had to put this one on because it is. so. cute.

Not What You Expected.

Remember that time when I was arguably torturing my poor Cody? I found another video that makes him search for the distressed kitty...except it's not quite a kitty. I found this to be awesome...and weird.

The Cat's Will Play.

When Jamie's away I get to do a lot of things I normally wouldn't be able to do. I get to watch "Good Eats" while I'm getting ready for bed, I can cook chicken, and most importantly, I get to rent movies from Netflix that only I would love.

Case in point: last night I watched "Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken". A much beloved and fondly remembered movie from my childhood.


Is this a classic film? No. Is this movie so cheesy it's cringe-worthy? Yes. Is this a movie that is so bad that it's great? Absolutely. As a kid, I remember thinking that it was the most incredible story because it was true. As an adult, it was more exciting to see Jake Ryan in his last film role. It was also exciting when I realized that the girl who plays Sonora Webster was also in Scent of a Woman and she tangoed with Al Pacino.

It was a very good choice for a "Jamie's Gone" movie rental. Now if only Netflix carried The Flight of Dragons. That would be the ultimate sans-Jamie rental...

A Call for Help.

Right now, Jamie is probably pitching a tent somewhere in the Idaho wilderness. He's backpacking there with his friend, Jason, and I'm sure he is having a great time not being eaten by bears. Meanwhile, I've been working hard over here getting ready for the new school year. It was probably the best and the worst time for Jamie to go away since I'd be too busy to actually spend time with him, but it's also a time when I am most stressed out and a pleasant, smiling face would be a huge comfort.

Last night I realized that this stretch of time will be the longest I go without speaking to Jamie since junior year in college when he went to Australia. And even then, it was only for the portion of his overseas trip that he was staying with an aboriginal tribe which was probably only a week long. So it was comparable to this stretch of time.

I would say I was doing pretty well without him for the past few days...that is until tonight. Among Jamie's many duties in my life is one nightly routine that is very crucial. Every (or nearly every) night I misplace my phone. It is Jamie's duty to call the missing phone so that I can track it down by following the dulcet tones of the Indiana Jones theme song.

Needless to say I cannot find my phone and I am now fearing that I left it on the bus or the metro today. The absence of phone leaves me feeling very vulnerable and helpless. So, kind reader, if you are reading this post right this second (11:24pm) give me a ring and help me find my phone. Otherwise, tomorrow evening would be optimal.

...I miss my husband...

The Front Fell Off.

I know it has been far too long without a post but I have been busy with school. I'll leave that update for a later post. In the meantime, I would like to share this video I found today of an Australian Senator being questioned about an oil spill.

Clearly this has to be skit........but what if it's not? Either way it's hilarious. If any of you "older" types who were actually alive when this oil spill happened to clear that up for me I would be forever in your debt.

Cat Nap.

Ever since we got back from our trip, Cody and Junior have been staying pretty close to us. Every once in a while, Cody will lay down for a nap. If no one is around when he wakes up, he'll do his pitiful "howling meow" until we call him.

One of the results of having our cats following us around is that they nap in weird places. One of Cody's favorite spots as of late is right next to my computer. It does not look like the most comfortable spot though...


Poor guy is squished up against the window and through the hole puncher. All so that he can hear the comforting type of my keyboard. Actually, I just think he likes the coolness window and metal on his big fur coat.

Also, it's probably an improvement over the alternative...

Notice how Junior pauses for approximately 6 seconds after Cody yelps before going back in for more. What an adorable jerkface.

Back to Reality.

Jamie and I got back from our honeymoon late last night. Of course, because Jamie and I are unable to travel alone together without problems, we had delays. For a while I was worried we would miss our connection because of the delays and because we had to go through customs before making the switch. Thankfully, Canadian airports are much more efficiently run than airports in the U.S...Miami. We and our luggage made it passed customs and then we ran through the airport to get to the gate on time. Of course, our second flight was also delayed. But we're back! The kitties meowed their welcome and just kept on meowing.

So, on the flight back from Canada, I learned something awesome. Actually, it's probably not awesome to most people, but dammit it is for me. Months and months ago this video came out:

Of course, I am a dork and watched the crucial parts of cuteness over and over again. What I found out yesterday was that those little celebrity otters were the otters we saw in Vancouver.



Very cool.

In not so cool news, my car got effin' keyed again. This time someone scratched a not-so-nice word in big letters on the hood. Boo. Let's hope that the DC Metropolitan Police are more helpful than Baltimore School Police -- although they won't even come to see the car. I just have to wait for them to get back to me in order to file a report. This does not bode well...

Honeymoon: Day the Last.

Sadly, we are nearing the end of our honeymoon but we made sure to get a lot of sights in today. We started our morning with a trip to Sunshine Meadows. On the way we ran into some pretty awesome Big Horn Sheep! There were a bunch of them -- including a baby. Very cool.

Another animal to check off on our little list. We had seen bear, elk (it was an elk and not a deer dammit), deer, and a whole bunch of littler critters in the wild.

Shortly after we set off on our hike in Sunshine Meadows we ran into a MOOSE. A real, live, moose with big ol' antlers and everything. We had startled it -- it was only about 20 feet from Jamie when he noticed us and took off. Two things I knew about moose before today: 1) they are elusive, and 2) they are mean. Two things I learned about moose today: 1) they are BIG this guy was about 7 feet tall not counting his antlers and 2) despite being BIG they are able to run very quietly. Sadly, the moose visited us so early in our hike that I didn't even have my camera out. I took a couple shots of the inside of the lens cap instead. But...I swear we saw a moose!

We did a nice 12km hike to, above, and around Rock Isle Lake and Laryx Lake through gorgeous alpine meadows.


Afterwards, we went to Bow Glacier and enjoyed the view from the summit. Sadly, the camera could not capture the amazing colors of all of the places we visited.


Sad to go, but we still have an evening...for which I should probably start getting ready...

Honeymoon: Day Six

We're nearing the close of our too short honeymoon [cry]. But, we decided to go out with a bang -- or a *banff*! We're in Banff National Park right now and the day was spent exploring the area a little bit. The real adventure begins tomorrow morning when we head off bright and early for a big hike.

However, today we visited the infamous Lake Louise and Morraine Lake. Both were pretty amazing.



I preferred Morraine Lake -- even thought it was much smaller -- simply because it wasn't as overrun by tourists. We also ventured a quick "scramble" up a rocky mountain to get some pretty incredible views of the lake. Let us also note, that before attempting the scramble up the mountain, Jamie attempted to scramble across a bunch of floating logs to get to said mountain. So Jamie ended up having to do the hike up with wet shoes. Hilarious.












We finished off our evening of exploration by driving the scenic route towards the hotel in search of wildlife. We had some success -- we ended up spotting not one, not two, but three black bears and two cubs! It was pretty incredible. One of the cubs was about 20 feet from me and running towards me, but I was awestruck by how cute it was that all I got was this blurry picture.


I was so preoccupied with the cub, that I didn't even notice mama bear about 15 feet in front of us...needless to say, I was nervous enough when I did see her to ruin that picture as well. I hear it's a death wish to get between a mama bear and her cubs...



Oh well...perhaps I'll have some steadier hands tomorrow when we are on our hikes...

Honeymoon: Day Five

Today we had some fun times exploring the deserts of British Columbia before making our way to Kamloops and eventually Sun Peaks. We decided to stop in at the British Columbia Wildlife Park given my love for all things that are made for kids. We figured we would get to see some of Canada's wildlife just in case we weren't able to catch them in our travels.

One of the best parts about this zoo, was that it was pretty much empty. We were able to get really close to the animals without having to crane our necks over fathers with kids on their shoulders. Seriously there was little more than a wooden fence between us and most of the animals. Had I felt like my right hand was unnecessary for life, I could have reached out and pet Mr. Grizzly Bear. It was nice.





















The other great thing is that in Canada there are none of those foolish scruples of protecting the kids from seeing carnage so we got to see plenty of the animals during feeding time. Although the bears mostly ate fruit, there were definitely some bunnies in with the eagles. Sorry vegetarians.






Hopefully we'll get to see some of these animals (well, except for the cougar since they're not so much from these parts) in their natural habitat tomorrow as we make our way to Banff.

Anyway, what I really want to talk about is the hotel we stayed at in Whistler. I booked it because it was among the better deals I could find, and because it looked like fun. Seriously, the room was crazy -- it had a fake fur everywhere and all these crazy details. Some were awesome (ie: the iPod alarm clocks), and others were just bizarre (ie: the oxygen dispenser). We stayed in a loft suite which was most excellent. The place is recommended if you're ever in the Whistler area and you want something different.

The plan for tomorrow is to get to Banff in one piece and enjoy a big hike to the lakes and meadows Banff has to offer. Hopefully I finally get a picture of these alpine meadows I've been hearing about...

Oh! And today we got our first honeymoon nod at the hotel. Chocolate-covered strawberries in our room. Yum!

Honeymoon: Day Four

Superquick update since we're about to have some breakfast before heading out to Sun Peaks. Just wanted to share some pictures from our hike around Whistler Mountain yesterday...
















Needless to say, the hike was gorgeous, if not a little stressful when hiking across steep mountain faces on snow. Next time, I'll bring a big stick.