Tanzanian Alphabet.

As I mentioned, I took hundreds and hundreds of pictures.  The best way I could think of sharing the animal pictures with you was by putting together an alphabet of sorts.  I did have to stretch a bit on some of them, but I thought we did pretty good for such a short period of time.  Mind you, I have SO many pictures (especially of the elephants, giraffes, and lions)!  I'll try to limit myself.  Here goes...

A is for African Elephant

B is for Baboon

C is for Cheetah

D is for Dikdik

E is for Eland

F is for Flamingo

G is for Giraffe

H is for Hartebeest

I is for Impala

J is for Jackal

K is for Kori Bustard

L is for Lion, Leopard, and Lilac-Breasted Roller

M is for Mongoose and Blue Monkey

N is for Nile Hippopotamus

O is for Ostrich and Oxpecker

P is for a Pair of Green Fischer's Lovebirds

Q is for a Questing Jamie

R is for Rhino

S is for Secretary Bird and Stork

T is for Thompson's Gazelle

U is for bUffalo (I know...)

V is for Vervet Monkey and Von Der Delken's Hornbill

W is for Warthog and Wildebeest

X is for HyraX

Y is for hYena

Z is for Zebra

The End

Needless to say, I was taking pictures pretty relentlessly and I learned a lot about Tanzanian fauna.  There are many other animals that we saw that I simply didn't photograph, or didn't include in the "alphabet".  I'll try not to duplicate photos as I recap the trip some over the next couple days...

Tanzania Disclaimer.

I cannot begin posting about our trip without first saying that this was among the most incredible weeks of my lifetime.  While I had been worried that the deal was too good to be true (seriously, $462 for a roundtrip flight to Kilimanjaro??), everything about this trip completely exceeded my expectations.  Our hotels/lodges were incredibly comfortable, our guide was extremely knowledgeable, our group was small (6 of us total) and so awesome, food was good, not one instance of illness, weather was perfect, and the animals were out in force.

To everyone who has ever considered traveling to Tanzania: DO IT.  Pro-Tip: schedule it for the rainy season on a "La Nina" year -- you get the off-peak prices and (non) crowdedness, while it's still green enough to be extremely photogenic, but dry enough that animals still congregate at the watering holes (i.e. they're easier to find.)

When we left for Africa, my only basis for what to expect on a safari was what I saw in movies/documentaries/YouTube.  That meant that I assumed that wildlife would not be as easy to come by as those movies, etc. made them out to be.  I still don't know if our experience was typical, but on our drive from Lake Manyara to the Serengeti (not on a game drive, mind you -- just along the HIGHWAY) I could not take a breath without seeing something amazing.  The land was teeming with life, and the land itself was breathtaking.  

Tree reflection in a pond in the Serengeti.

I literally took hundreds and hundreds of pictures.  Stay tuned...

Jambo (aka: "Hello" in Swahili)

Jamie and I just got home from our Tanzanian adventure this morning!  I will be updating very soon with my recap and pictures, but for now here's one from the Serengeti.  Lots more soon...

Day One: Longs Over the Atlantic

Hello from Arusha!  Hooray for free WiFi!

Jamie and I arrived in Tanzania after a long journey from DC to Addis Adaba.  Then another flight from Addis Adaba to Kilimanjiro.

The flight was actually quiet comfortable -- Jamie and I had a row to ourselves, and got to stretch out a little on our long flight.  Although we didn't get much sleep during the trip, we arrived in Arusha around 2pm ready to explore.  We decided to check out a restaurant that a friend (Hi Rebecca!) had recommended to us called Big Bite.  We wanted to go early since we had already heard the advice not to be out in the city after dark.  Sadly, the restaurant wasn't open yet...and so we wandered.

Despite bringing my camera along, I was a little reluctant to take it out and snap photos since we were not in the best neighborhood and the concierge at our hotel had warned us not to bring any money with us.  Sorry about the lack of photos.  Promise there will be no shortage of them from here on out.

When we did get to Big Bite, the host/waiter turned out to be the chef as well.  This little old man basically made our entire Indian meal from start to finish while we were there.  I'm talking curry, naan, tikka masala, the works.

Tomorrow, we'll explore Arusha a little bit more (after catching up on a little sleep tonight) and then head off towards Lake Manyara.

Backlog.

I meant to post here with a bunch of stories over the past week or so, but life has been busy lately.  A combination of family visiting, DC-CAS at work...just all around madness.  At the very least, I wanted to post a farewell before heading off to Tanzania tomorrow (er...this) morning, but I got home from work after 10pm today and have been busy packing and prepping for our big adventure and haven't had the chance.

I will definitely have a backlog of stories (or at least pictures) to share when we get back...

Until then, I hope everyone is enjoying their Spring, and that all my teacher friends enjoy their Spring Break!

Cause and Effect.

Today was the first day of the DC-CAS for our students.  This is how I feel right now:

I'm just so exhausted after so many months of non-stop prepping and planning.  Last night, I woke up at 3:40am and couldn't go back to sleep because my mind was running a mile a minute.  (Incidentally, there was a pretty awesome storm that hit around 4:30 that kept me company.)  Now is the time for us to see the fruits of our labor...but unfortunately, the actual results don't come out until sometime in July.  

Hopefully, I'll be able to get some sleep before then...

Get...the Comfy Chair!

It's the end of an era.  (Again.)  Jamie and I have listed our beloved comfy couch on Craigslist -- and with it goes the last remnant of our living room from Greenbelt.  When I was looking back at the old posts I had about moving into that place (here, if you're curious) it struck me how much time has passed.

There are some things that are exactly the same: Jamie and I are still madly in love, 7 years later I'm still in education, Jamie still reads abnormally huge books and umm....some other stuff too I'm sure.  But, more things have changed...new jobs, new responsibilities, rather than a pet plant we have two ridiculous cats, and of course, we're married and all that.

So it's kind of sad to me that the couch will not be part of our living room fixtures for much longer.  *Sniffle*

Sunrise, sunset.

Speaking of which, today is my big brother's birthday!  Happy birthday, D!!!

Tanzania!

Did I mention that Jamie and I are going to Tanzania?  We are!

That's Ngorongoro Crater.  We'll be there within a month!

Jamie has always been pulling for an Africa trip and this year the stars aligned and our vacation days (i.e. my Spring Break and his Recess) fell on the same day and we found a pretty phenomenal price tag -- like once in a lifetime phenomenal.  After checking in with the Better Business Bureau and doing lots of investigative work reading reviews, we determined that the deal was legit.  (We're still crossing our fingers too.)

So now Jamie and I are preparing for our second "just-the-two-of-us" international trip ever...the only other one being our honeymoon.  Needless to say, we're excited.  Today we got our immunizations and our visas so now it's official!

Exciting...right?

Dinosaurs.

Taking a work break to share the highlight of my day.  Being out of the classroom means that I don't get direct access to the awesome things that students say or do.  However, every once in a while a kind teacher takes pity on me and shares some of the awesomeness.  Today, that kind teacher was Catherine...and it was awesome.

The best part of all is that when he was showing his drawing to his teacher he pointed at the girl in #3 and said, "That's [a little girl in his class]."  Like a pro, Catherine managed to sternly tell Jason that it was not a nice thing to say without laughing.  I was especially impressed with how he was able to capture the emotion of both the dinosaur and the girl.  Well done, Jason.

Organized.

I know I said I would stop doing this...but this is the best ever.

Seriously?  It doesn't get much better than that.

Now for something completely unrelated.  At work we are starting a series of optional lunch sessions that are more focused on broader topics -- less grade-specific and more focused on leadership (i.e. designing agendas, facilitating meetings, etc.)  This Friday, one of our first sessions in the series is on getting organized.

This is a complete shift from my regular presentations which normally have to do with something data-related or some instructional practice.  But this one kind of stumps me.  Granted, I am pretty organized when it comes to work -- but I just think it's so funny that I would be considered competent enough with organization to put together an entire professional development session on it.  Now to plan the PD.  If only I could get organized enough to start.

Also, anyone who has seen my closet understands the irony...

This Too Shall Pass.

This blog has been pitiful!  Life has been busy lately...and to be honest, I have been going through some kind of semi-dark times.  Generally-speaking, I'm so blessed in life that when I say "dark times" I am still extremely lucky, happy, and well (so no reason to worry).  I guess it has just been a regular feeling of overwhelmed-ness (not a word?  I'm making it one) and exhaustion.  

This too shall pass.

Of course, the tragic events in Japan really do put things into perspective and jolted me out of my "funk".  Despite all of the destruction from the earthquake, tsunami, and aftershocks, people have been incredibly resilient and it truly does inspire me.  My friends and family are safe and sound and have amazingly been able to stay connected to the world via the interwebs.  There is just so much to be grateful for that I take for granted all of the time.  And there is so much to do with that gratefulness...like donate!

Okay, PSA over.

One of the things that is most challenging about having a blog (aside from posting in it regularly, evidently) is deciding what to put in and what to leave out.  I know that may be difficult to believe that I actually think about what I blog about considering my last few posts included a car commercial and some kind of rodent juggling rocks, but I do think about it for the most part.

Sometimes it feels so superficial to chatter away happily when there are truly sad and important things going on -- not necessarily in my life, but in the lives of loved ones and around the world.  But then I think about why I started this blog: to have some way to revisit and remember stuff that happened to me and as a way to keep in touch with friends.  SO...I will do a better job!  I must!  

While I can't promise a post each day, I will try to get at least five in a week for the next month or so.  It is the busiest time of the school year for me -- we're gearing up for the state tests soon, planning for next year, and dealing with the exhaustion that comes with this point of the school year -- but future me would want to have record of this crazy-busy time as well. 

Please pardon this stream-of-consciousness post.  In summary, more regular (and occasionally questionably entertaining?) posts from me starting now.

Mother Goose with Leah and Riley.

Wanna see what I was doing last weekend??

You're welcome.

The Force.

Just had a good giggle at this commercial.  I am continuing my trend of lazy blog-posting because I wanted to share with you what I think is a good bit of kid-acting.  I tend to be pretty critical of kid actors in movies...but this kid can emote through that Darth Vader mask and that's pretty awesome.  (Thanks, Patricia for leading me to this video.  It warms my SW geek heart.)

I wish I could "the force" things.

Hello Ladies.

Old Spice - Scent Vacation - (2011) :60

Real post soon!

Google Takes on Art.

Have you seen this?  It's incredible.

Magic Act.

Couldn't resist.

Snow Day Chores.

So the snow dance had a delayed effect and our snow day was today!  I have an unhealthy obsession with snow, and I had been tracking this particular storm for the past week or so.  At the beginning, there was a pretty small chance that it would actually come together enough to drop snow over DC...something about the two fronts having to "thread a needle" to create a perfect situation.

Then, as time passed, all the various weather models started going crazy and weather people just started throwing up their hands and fluctuating between a bunch of snow, and no snow.

In the end, we had THUNDERSNOW which is something of a "chupacabra" (as in legendary) in the weather world.  I heard a couple rumbles, although I didn't see the lightning.  For a while there, snow was coming down so fast.  Our school let out at regular time since the storm hadn't hit by the time we had to make the call -- my weather nerdiness knew that it was supposed to hit right a dismissal so I was panicked about the thought of driving home in it all day.  As admin, I should have been staying until the last student left, but I had a shining beacon of hope.  Our school consultant was at our school that day, and I usually drive her to the hotel after her visits...fortunately, she needed the ride and my kind, sweet, understanding boss let me take her.

While I felt so guilty leaving with the students when I knew that some staff was going to have to hang tight for 15 more minutes, as soon as I hit the road I was thankful. I was slipping all over the place and the storm had just started.  Half an hour later and the roads looked like this: (sorry for the foul language in the commentary...it was the only video I could find on YouTube that had a street near my home in it.)

It took me over an hour to drive what usually takes about 12 minutes.  I was one of the lucky ones...We had some teachers who left at 4:15pm and didn't get home until past midnight.  DC is just not equipped for snow.

So, in risking life and limb for this Snow Day, I figured I should make the most of it.  Slept in.  Big workout.  Caught up on some work.  Made this long overdue video:

Adventures in Cancun.

It's shameful (again) how lame I've been at updating.  I feel like I should do one of those daily posting things to make up for it, but then I realized that that would be largely boring for anyone who reads it.  My life these days consists of little more than work and sleep.  It sounds worse than it is...since I like work and all.

First things first, I know I promised an update on my winter break -- sorely out-of-date, I know, but since pictures of my nieces are timeless...

Here they are on Christmas Eve after they donned their fancy (and crazy-expensive-for-toddler-clothes) dresses.  The first thing they did when they put them on was twirl.  It totally brought me back to my days as a little girl when I would put on my pink taffeta "twirling dress".  I absolutely loved wearing that thing and kept on wearing it long after it was ratty, too small, etc.  Still, I would wear it and hide it so my mom couldn't throw it away.  Alas, one day I came home from school and found out that my mom was using it to mop the floor.  Tough love.

Jamie and I got in to LA and got spend some time with the Jamie-side of the family.  It was wonderful to spend some time with everyone again -- and to see all of the changes they had been making to the house.  After spending so many days in high school at their house, I have so many great memories there -- it's nice to know that even with all of the changes being made, it still feels like "home".

After a pretty delicious Christmas Eve dinner (thanks, Mom!) we tore open the presents and watched the girls play with their new treasures.  Lots of books and new toys.  In the end, I think they did enjoy the puppet theater that we got them...at least more than the puppets we got them. 

I don't know that they were clear on the concept that the puppets were supposed to go in the puppet tent.

At the crack of dawn we headed to LAX and made the trip to Cancun, Mexico.  I sat next to Leah and was therefore reading a nice little rotation of books for a good portion of the flight. I have since memorized Something from Nothing as I read that particular book several times as Leah gleefully pointed out "Joseph" on every page.

Heaven blue water, swimming, trampolines, beach, and one killer view from our balcony awaited us in Cancun.

So much fun!  Jamie and I did make the trip over to Chichen Itza one day too...

 Those Mayans were short.

 In the end, it was a really restful vacation for Jamie and I (don't know that I can say the same for my brother and sister-in-law).  Did I mention that the rooms had a giant jacuzzi in the middle of the room overlooking the ocean?  It did.  Also, the minibar was free.  Tequila every night!  (Not really.  Jamie and I didn't even break into the free wine in the room until the last night.)  We're totally spoiled by family...

And now...on a completely different note, but because it is necessary when there is a Winter Storm Watch: it's Snow Dance time.

A Taste of What's to Come.

So negligent in my posting duties.  While I am not going to post now, I will post soon.  I offer these pictures as a gesture of friendship and promise to return soon!

A Dozen.

It's my favorite time of the year!  Jamie and I are heading to the West Coast tomorrow to celebrate the holidays with family.  I'm so excited to see my nieces and bask in their adorableness.  I'm hoping that they don't run away screaming from me since it's been so long since I last saw them...ALMOST A YEAR!

After a very brief time in L.A., we are heading off to Mexico for some more rest and relaxation.  Sadly, I will be bringing along plenty of work to do, but it all seems so much better when said work is being done with an ocean view.

Disclaimer: the next section is especially cutesy and self-indulgent.  This is where the "blog" is more for me to record my thoughts and memories for selfish purposes rather than as a place for others to see what I've been up to.  Feel free to skip to the dancing dog!
-----
Yesterday, Jamie and I had a mini-celebration for our "date-iversary" and dammit, I'm going to celebrate that forever!  We don't do presents or send cutesy little e-cards, we try to do a little dinner or something, but most years we are actually already at home with family for our date-iversary so we can't really celebrate anyway.  This is the first time since getting married when it really was just the two of us...so we went to a nice dinner (paid for, in part, by a belated and generous wedding gift from a friend) and reminisced about the past 12 years and discussed the years ahead.

Despite knowing Jamie for over half my lifetime now...and spending so much of the past dozen years with him at the forefront of my mind (if not physically with me), it's nice to know that there are still so many things I have to learn about him...And that we can still laugh at the things we already do know about each other and have so much fun with one another.
-----

Why a salsa-ing dog?  Why not?  (I'm on Winter Break!)

The Potonacs.

I still argue with Jamie about whether his singing group's name should be spelled "Potonacs" or "Potonecs".  It's a pun -- would you expect anything else from Jamie -- having to do with the fact that they are based in D.C. which  is nestled alongside the mighty Potomac River.  I still say it should be the latter.

Anyway, here's a recording of the Potonacs/necs singing a song that I think he added to their repertoire for me.  Because, I love James Taylor (my Berkshire buddy) something fierce.  Jamie denies it, but I know better...

(Click on the little play button below...)

Lonesome Road - Po...

Edited to add: In case the little audio player above doesn't work for some reason and you're in desperate need for acapella (?) here's the "acapella" song (that there is some pretty heavy production) from tonight's Glee.  

We Are Marshall (and Lily).

A few years back, my brother and sister-in-law introduced me to the show, How I Met Your Mother by telling me to watch this video (which I have referenced before in this post.)  I am including it again, because I can still watch it and laugh.

Despite it not being as funny as 30 Rock or Community, or as entertaining as Glee, it still holds a slot on our Tivo.  Mostly because Jamie and I are "Marshall" and "Lily" (only awesomer because we never "took a break" in our relationship).

Now, I know that shows purposely create their characters so that people can relate to them, and Marshall and Lily, in particular, are very relatable.  In fact, I have heard more than one couple say that they were Marshall and Lily -- never mind the fact that they are based on the guy who actually created the show and his wife.  In those situations, I smiled politely and secretly thought to myself that Jamie and I were still more aligned.

• Marshall is Jamie's middle name
• Marshall is an environmental lawyer
• Lily is a elementary school teacher
• Both went to a liberal arts college (albeit, a rival liberal arts college)
• Like us, they dated for 9 years before getting married
• Like Jamie, Marshall comes from a family with 3 tall boys
• Marshall is from Minnesota
• They tend to have their big life events at the same time as us (i.e. wedding, moving, new jobs)
• Lily clearly wears the pants in that relationship

And many other reasons.  The final nail in the "we-are-Marshall-and-Lily" coffin came with the episode a couple weeks back (like I said, we Tivo) when they simultaneously came up with the name "Jamie" as an awesome name.  I agree.

And now, for another uncanny resemblance: a friend of ours visited the Norman Rockwell exhibit that is up here in D.C. and found Jamie's doppleganger on canvas.

Look at him flirting shamelessly with that redhead!

Happy Halloween.

For the record, I got the green light from Jamie to post this Halloween picture.  I find it to be adorably hilarious.

I think it may also be the closest I've ever seen Jamie to being unhappy.  He's just a pretty happy guy.  Also, for some Halloween fun, you may wish to check out this site.  I definitely had some costumes that belonged on that site.  Couldn't dig any of those up...but here is me as a bumblebee.

Rally Call.

A pretty great day for a rally.  It was gorgeous outside -- very crisp and fresh -- and the sun was shining.  It wasn't below freezing like the last time we stood outside on The Mall for a long time.  So, we strolled over to the Capitol and tried to find a place to stand and see the nearest Jumbotron.

Note: the sea of people on the other side of the stage.  Yowzers.

Even better, Marty McFly and Doc Brown came down from NYC to attend with me.  

There were lots and lots (and lots) of people there.  And, I found that -- just like at inauguration -- people were in such good spirits.  It was an important message, and in the end, I'm glad that so many people felt the clarion call to attend.

P.S. How awesome are Jess and Chad's costumes???

A Joke.

A three-legged dog walks into a saloon in the Old West.  He slides up to the bar and announces: "I'm looking for the man who shot my paw."

I just skimmed through a list of the "Top 50 Funniest Jokes Ever Told" and the one above was the only one that got me to chuckle (and it was #44 so that's not a good sign.)  That being said, here is a great joke (for those of you who are craving a little update on the progress of the CUTEST NIECES IN THE WORLD):

You're welcome (...Abby).

Happy Heart.

One of the main reasons I left Baltimore was because of the heartbreak.  I loved my school, I loved my students,  and I felt successful within my classroom.  The problem that I couldn't get past was the uncertainty that surrounded my students when they left my classroom.  There was the chance they would continue their growth with their next teacher, but there was also a chance that they could be placed on the roster of a "lemon".  Every year, I watched and suffered repeated heartbreak at seeing some of my students slide back into bad habits, lose confidence, or end up suspended more and more often.

So I left.  There were many, many other reasons why I left -- we bought a house, the commute was rough, etc. -- but I may have been able to live with those, had it not been for the lemons.  Unfortunately, I felt powerless to stop it.  It was a city-wide...and even nationwide issue.  So I decided to go with charter schools where the school could hire the most-qualified teachers and fire those that did not pull their weight.

Today, DC Prep was in the news again and it made me cry.

The students in that video are largely made up of my former students -- the last class I ever taught.  After all these years, it is wonderful to know that I have passed them along to excellent teachers in 3rd grade, then 4th grade, and now 5th grade.  What is even better is knowing they will get more of the same at least through 8th grade, and very likely through high school and college.  So proud of DC Prep.

One of my teachers always tells her students that they make her heart smile.  My heart is smiling now.

Musket-free Post.

Hop into my time machine and get magically whisked back to a couple weekends ago when Jamie and I decided to spend Columbus Day (or Indigenous People's Day) in Harper's Ferry.  So we hopped into our car and drove over to West Virginia for a glorious autumn afternoon.

And, of course, it being a holiday weekend, there were all sorts of civil war reenactments going on.  Including this one of Jamie pretending to be President.

All in all, a lovely day with my favorite person.  Thanks, Harper's Ferry!

Heroes.

Look!  Prep is in the news!  Aren't our babies adorable?

If you're in the area and would like to volunteer let me know! 

Be The Hero.

Tonight I spoke on a panel for TFA.  It made me realize how long it has been since I have thought back to when I was nervous about my interview, or when I actually got in, and all of the adventures that followed.  Plus, I never would pass up an opportunity to brag on our students.  They are pretty awesome, though.

I got a little thrill seeing all of the eager, young faces eager to take a part in the movement.

Along the same vein, Jamie and I (and Scott!) went to see Waiting for Superman a couple weeks back.  Our School Board hosted a private screening for staff and friends.  And I know that I have posted the trailer on here before, but I'm doing it again...

Because, seriously, if you haven't seen the movie yet...you should.  As an added bonus, when you buy your ticket online, you actually get a $15 gift certificate to spend at Donorschoose -- which is an awesome organization and is the source for many grants I have received in the past...and actually have many of you to thank for the generous donations!  (Thanks!)  

As a sidenote, Davis Guggenheim allegedly told one of our Board Members that if he had the chance to do the movie all over, he would have included DC Prep in the schools he followed.  I take it with a grain of salt, but still fun to think of...

Speaking of which, if anyone is local to DC, DC Prep will be on the news again next Tuesday...at 6am...got a DVR?

Another Fine Day in Our Nation's Capital.

Oh boy, do I love long weekends!  They are very much worth the pain and sorrow of having to return to work.

I do have plenty to share -- most of it not all that exciting, but I will have to parcel out to several days rather than try to cover it all at once.  Jamie and I are trying to turn over a new leaf and get to bed at a reasonable hour these days.  We gotta be in bed by 10:30!  But, you can stay tuned for: (a la Friends)

• The One Where Jamie is Handy
• The One With the Muskets
• The One with the Panel
• The One with the Rally
• The One with Superman
• The One with the Transformers

I'll actually start with the last one, because it is the mystery that has been bugging me all day.

Jamie and I live on an Emergency Thruway -- meaning we're among the first streets to get plowed, and that we have emergency vehicles going up and down it like nobody's business.  That said, we are pretty used to hearing sirens and firetrucks whizzing past our house.  It doesn't really bug us anymore.  But this morning...

This morning, we had sirens blasting for a solid half hour and I counted more than a dozen emergency vehicles go past our house.  It was enough for me to get out of bed and check the computer for any breaking news regarding an attack on the Capitol and think about whether we should close the windows to combat a biological attack of some kind (as if it would help).  Some story about how Transformers 3 would be filming in the area and shutting down streets around town for the next week or so.  Aside from being bummed that I couldn't be inconvenienced for a better movie, I thought nothing of it.

When my friend, Kayla, (hi Kayla!) mentioned that Bumblebee (a Transformer??) was in an accident with a police car today, I immediately pictured some giant Transformer animatronic something or other crushing a police cruiser...something like this:

It did not occur to me that movies these days actually do most of that stuff with computers.  So, in fact, the accident looked more like this*:

Apparently, the police SUV was responding to a bomb scare somewhere on the Hill (which Jamie insists are a weekly thing) and did not get the memo about the streets being closed for filming.  I wonder if he noticed that something was off when he saw the giant Optimus Prime tractor-trailer passing by.  Fortunately, the police officer was okay -- minor injuries -- and no bomb went off on the Hill, and my mystery from this morning was solved.

*If you watch the full video here, you can see how sad it is when they totally have 7 people attending to the Transformers car while only one guy is checking on the police officer (only after seeing the fancy car first.)  

Another Year, Another Go.

In an effort not to stay up way too late and wake up the next morning in a complete funk, I am posting from work!  No worries, kids have been safely dismissed and I'm just taking a mini-break before my next meeting.

I know it's been less than a year, but the OK Go! guys put out a new video today.  I figured, since I had made a little tradition out of posting them on here, I wouldn't stop now.

What would have been really impressive was if they did this with cats.  Or porcupines.  (No.  I'm still impressed.  Apparently, this was Take 74 or 75...)

Back to work.

All Work and No Play...

...makes for a very boring blog.

The trouble with spending over 12 hours at work, then an additional 4 hours working from home every night, is that there is nothing to blog about except work.  Put into that the fact that it is generally not a good idea to blog about work and the blank screen staring back at me gets pretty intimidating.

(Don't worry about me -- I whine, but I do get to do fun things too!  Thanks for the post-work dinner, Kayla!  Ooh!  And thanks brunch on Sunday, Lindsay and Connie!)

Anyway, I realized that I never finished the Wedding Trivia -- so here is the final question:


What is Melissa’s favorite phrase that she picked up from her students?

a)      You big baldheaded boy!

b)     What d’do shorty?

c)     Oh-wah!

d)     I didn’t do nothin’! 

To be honest, I don't actually know which one I would have listed as my answer -- I actually hated ALL of these because of how many times I had to hear them.  If it is based on the phrase that I adopted as my own, it would have to be option "c".  The "Oh-wah!" is a perfect expression of shock at an "unjustified" accusation.  Of course, "unjustified" is in quotes because it was ALWAYS justified.  Always.

In Baltimore at the beginning of the decade, "a" was the worst insult one 3rd grader could throw at another 3rd grader.  And "d" gives me indigestion just to think of...I had to listen to "I didn't do nothin'" about 25 times a day.  *shudder*

And so ends wedding trivia.  Can't believe it took me so long to get around to finishing that up...hooray for procrastination...and now: bed.

A Concerted Effort.

Despite the craziness that is work right now, I'm going to make a concerted effort to blog more.  It seems like all around me things have been happening -- people are suffering loss, people are celebrating successes, people are moving away, people are multiplying, people are hitting milestones -- and it makes me remember why I wanted to have this blog in the first place: to keep in touch with friends.

Now more than ever, as I get more and more of my time swallowed up by work, it is important that I leave this trail of breadcrumbs behind me as I go.  As has been established in past blog posts, I am terrible at keeping in touch with friends -- no matter how dear they are to me.  So, if I haven't spoken to you in a long time, just know that I'm alive and well!  While I may not be able to swing a post a day for 30 days, I'll definitely try to do much better than the post a month as of late.

No Spoonful of Sugar.

Too tired to post anything of substance -- it's been exhausting at work lately.  But, I'm still alive!  And well!  Just super-busy.  And now, a video of a puppy taking some medicine.  We've all been there little Spanish-speaking puppy...we just don't look as adorable when rejecting icky food.

A real post soon.

Emerging.

I am emerging from my blog silence.  A couple reasons for this: 1) my parents are out of the country and I bet they are checking my blog for updates while they are in Peru and 2) I was encouraged to "breathe, then blog" by a colleague at work (who I didn't know knew I had a blog.)  I started this blog as a way to keep in touch with people -- or rather, for them to keep in touch with me -- while I was across the country in Massachusetts.  It's kind of sad to think that my work schedule is such that it has now become a way to keep in touch with people who are across the building.  Bum bum.

Still, it's worth it right now!  Our kiddies started up again this past week and things seem to be going pretty well.  By day two, the kids were looking great walking in the hall, the teachers are on top of their game, and we are already moving pretty quickly towards our goals.  Feels good!

I promise, I'm almost done bragging about our kids and teachers, but I have to get one last one in there.  After all of the District's test scores were released, our Assessment Associate pored over them in order to run some comparisons.

• In the end we found that overall, our 3rd through 8th graders performed over 35% better than the average for all DC public schools and public charter schools.  
• Our middle school is ranked #3 in reading and #4 in math for overall student performance (and that includes schools that have very different or "traditionally high-performing" demographics then ours).
• Our middle school is #1 in reading and #2 in math in overall student performance among the "disadvantaged" demographic.  
• Our 8th graders -- those who have been with us the longest -- are the highest performing students in the city.  (You can't get much better than 100% proficiency.)

I see how hard our students and our teachers work every day and it is the most motivating thing...

Is It Wrong...

...that as someone who works in a public charter school I can totally relate to the dog owner in this video?  Constantly encouraging kids/people...making excuses...not getting much back in return.  Although, I can probably relate to that dog too...(disclaimer: there is some foul language and a pooping dog in this video.)

It's been a very long week.  Students returned to school and it has been early mornings and late nights*.  Totally worth it, though...but I'm going to get into that in a later post.  For now, I need to finish up reviewing these lesson plans before I can start packing for our quick trip to New York!

*I am so sleep-deprived that this video made me laugh so hard that I cried.  

Pacey-Con.

Stumbled upon this today.  As you know, in my youth (er...and my adult life) I was a big fan of Pacey...So I enjoyed this.

Pacey-Con with Joshua Jackson from Joshua Jackson

I would totally go to Pacey-Con.  Drew...you game?

Can't Resist.

Hope my brother and sister-in-law don't mind me posting the latest nieces video despite them being the tub -- because, holy moly: my nieces are smart/adorable/beautiful/articulate/etc.

I have watched this video a ridiculous number of times today.  My favorite parts are Leah's attempts to cut the time short (i.e. "three? four? FIVELEAHTURN!!!") and Riley's simple "No! no." response.  And of course, Leah's sighing "fiiiiive" (at 0:47) and passing off the bucket to her sister.  

Baby geniuses.