Not in Kansas Anymore.

I started my new job on Monday.  It is very different from my old job.  But, here is the wonderful thing: it's still working towards the same goal and vision of opportunities for great education for all children.  As I meet the team, learn more about my responsibilities, and attend meetings I am finding myself so energized and confident that I made the right choice.  It feels good.

I won't go into all of the differences, but I will share two of my first discoveries that made me realize that "I'm not in Kansas anymore...":

This.

The bathroom has MOUTHWASH and hand lotion.  And the toilets are not teeny-tiny and made for 3 year-olds...of course, I never used those ones, but I wanted to drive the point home.  

I was fixated on the mouthwash discovery -- I don't remember, but I may have even called Jamie to report on this -- that I wasn't prepared for my next discovery.  The common space has a free soda fountain with Coke Zero.  FREE!  In order to limit my intake of Coke Zero I am only allowing myself to visit it a few times a week and will have to take the 8 flights of stairs up to it.  But FREE Coke Zero!  Glorious day!

Small pleasures, friends.

Oh!  And Happy Fourth everyone!!!

Damn Nature, You Scary.

That was a pretty big storm we just had.  Apparently, there was even a gust of 70mph at National Airport.  

Yet, by some stroke of luck, we still have power.  Huzzah!!

So Long DC Prep.

I have been meaning to post on this for a long, long while...but life happened -- as it usually does.  Sorry, friends.

Anyway, the big news is that I left DC Prep.  I had actually been planning on leaving Prep for a bit now...realizing that I need to try out new things in order to best prepare for future endeavors...wherever they may lead.  Plus, it is exhausting work.  Totally worth it.  But exhausting nonetheless.

I finished up the year taking over a classroom for one of our teachers who resigned mid-year.  While I was nervous about going back into the classroom after so many years out of one, it turned out to be a great way to reconnect with students and the whole reason I got into teaching to begin with.  I have a few backlogged stories (with photo evidence) in my pocket to share with the blog later.  But I'm going to try and stay on topic for now.

It has been incredible to be a part of the DC Prep family for the past five years.  Building the school from scratch and being a part of its growth into the successful establishment it is today.  It has been a true learning experience and I know I have made life-long friends.

Turning towards the future, I have joined another organization that is making waves called The Achievement Network.  I have been fortunate enough to work with them through Prep for the past few years and attribute a lot of our success in the upper grades with their work.  It's a really great opportunity for me to do some of the things I love: (puts on nerd glasses) like data analysis, consulting with school leadership, and really pushing teachers to think critically about how to improve their instruction.  I'm especially excited to be able to work with many schools throughout the District.  It will definitely be another learning experience.

So, last week, I wrote up my exit memo, finished up some projects, and took on the task of cleaning out my office.  I gave away so many years worth of books, materials, etc. since I'm pretty certain now that I will not be re-entering the classroom.  By the end, my office looked like this:

Trust me.  It hadn't looked like that in a long, long while.  It was sad leaving my office last Friday.  And I will not lie...Sarah McLachlan was playing in my head (I Will Remember You...natch!) when I turned off the lights on my office.  Specifically, the last scene from the first season of Felicity (you know what I'm talking about, D) -- granted, I didn't have Scott Speedman or Scott Foley waiting for me -- but I was thinking about it anyway.  (I should note, I was going to find a clip, but I could only find one that included the 7 minutes leading up to the scene...and also it was in Italian.  What did I say about staying on topic??)

Anyway, on that last day of DC Prep, I had a visitor that was very fitting.  He (she?) always came out around this time in the summer.  In fact, I spent a good amount of time looking for a post about him (her?) until I realized it was much more likely a Facebook post.  (Yep.  It was June 24th, 2011.)  But my little friend came out to say one last goodbye.

This guy was missing a couple of his one MILLION legs which made me feel a little camaraderie with him (her!) as that's how I feel after 5 years of some of the most difficult (but rewarding) work.  In the end, I let this little guy climb up the wall and out of sight -- free to terrorize the next occupant of that office.  

And then I left.  We'll see what's in store for me now!

Nawlins.

Did I mention that Jamie and I had our 5th wedding anniversary last weekend?  As it was the first wedding anniversary where we were not attending someone else's wedding, we booked a flight and made it over to New Orleans.

Interestingly, on the flight over we ran into a friend from high school also going to New Orleans...Jamie had actually known her since elementary school.  It was great to catch up with her...and be given the opportunity to apologize for how disgustingly schmoopy we must have been in high school.  In the tradition of Jamie knowing everyone in DC, we also ran into two other couples he knew on our flight.  Such a social butterfly, that one.

We arrived in New Orleans on Saturday morning and it was already sweltering.  Fortunately, our hotel was wonderful and centrally-located so we were able to explore the French Quarter while still being able to retreat back and get a much-needed AC break.

Our first day there, we noticed there wasn't much of a line at the famous Cafe du Monde and stopped in for some beignets.

We also ventured out to the bayou and got to see some Louisiana wildlife up close.

We did lunch a Commander's Palace -- somehow, forgot to take pictures -- and stopped by the Lafayette Cemetery.  

Before I managed to evaporate in the heat, we did get to walk around the beautiful Garden District and see some of the famous homes.  My favorite was the Benjamin Button house.

As one of the ways to duck out of the heat after walking around the Garden District, we took the trolley back to the French Quarter and stopped in the Audubon Aquarium.

There are so many things that I didn't manage to get pictures of.  There were Po'Boys, Jazz on the streets and in clubs, Bourbon Street debauchery (not mine), so many excellent meals, and of course, lots of time spent with Man Boo.

Despite the 5-hour delay getting back, I wouldn't have changed a thing about our trip...

Celebrity Twins.

So much work needs to be done right now, but I had to  post this.  Because it's awesome.

My nieces are famous.  It should also be noted that I totally bought them those onesies.

Lima.

Yup.  Man Boo and I went to Lima, Peru.

It had been 7 years since we last went to Peru and it is incredible how much has changed.  The economy there has been doing great and it is reflected in how clean the streets are, the free WiFi in the parks, how many restaurants have sprung up, and how many more cars are on the road.  Apparently, Lima has more Pinkberries than Los Angeles...go figure.  And I'm sure the American Pinkberries don't sell Lucuma froyo.

Of course, Jamie and I had changed too.  The last time we came to Peru, my dad cornered him in a bar (I was not invited) and had the whole "what are your intentions with my daughter?" talk.  A few months later we were engaged.  Needless to say, I have fond memories of our last visit.

This time, we only had a week to spend, so we stayed in Lima.  And had a blast.  Here are a bunch of pictues (in no particular order)...

And So It Goes.

This is old news, but I hadn't gotten a chance to put together a video until now.  The Potonacs (the a capella group that Man Boo started some years back with friends from Law School) performed a couple of weeks ago to benefit SMYAL.  In the end, they ended up raising around $2000 for them in their short concert.  It was good times.

Man Boo always sings this one for me...

Fun with Pets.

Yeah yeah yeah, I haven't posted in a long time, whatevercakes.  SO busy I'm going out of my mind, but tonight I will post a super-short one.

So, I recently downloaded an app to my iPad that I heard about on NPR.  It's an app for cats.  Yes.  CATS.  Little fish swim around the screen and your cat bats at them and gets points each time it "gets" one.  I downloaded it think there was no way it would actually entice my cats into playing.  But, it was the most incredibly entertaining 4 minutes of my morning.  They went bananas!  Cody was clearly the better fishercat and beat out Junior who didn't grasp the concept and just kept jumping around the iPad and gnawing on the edges.

Unfortunately, when I got up to get my phone, they immediately thought I was going to feed them and they lost all interest.  I have yet to recreate those magical 4 minutes.

Since I have no video of them to show you, I give you this one...which is not all that unlike Cat Fishing.  Watch until the end for awesomeness.

Bahamas Bums.

It takes a thousand miles and the relaxed environment of the Bahamas to make me feel like I have time to post! I won't lie, there were many times over the past few months when I have really, really, wanted to post -- things like Thanksgiving (when I ate a TURDUCKEN!), my 30th birthday (eek!), and so on and so forth, but just wasn't able to get it all down.  But now...thanks to the magic of WiFi I can post from our island paradise!

How is everybody??

I'm spending the holiday season with the Long side of the family -- enjoying the total relaxation that comes with being on Man-O-War.

As you can see, Jamie and I went tidepooling this afternoon.  Easily one of my favorite pasttimes when we're on the island.  You can also probably see that I was having way too much fun with my fisheye lens.

The island suffered a little damage from the hurricanes that passed through earlier this year.  When we got here, I was surprised at how green the island still was.  The main casualty (at least that I noticed) was our dock.  But the house still looks great and there is plenty of sand on the beach.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season!  I'll check back in soon...

Ech.

It is probably a symptom of not getting nearly enough sleep the past few months, but I literally wept from laughing so hard at this video.  I'm loopy.

Sleep now, catch up posts later!

Final Stretch.

Tomorrow is the last day of school for students.  Friday is the last day of school for teaching staff.  I don't think I have had more to do in my life than I do this week.  For the first time since I entered the professional world I actually fear it. will. not. all. get. done.

I think it might have been written all over my face today because more than one person sent me this link.

Kid Gives Speech After Learning To Ride A Bike - Watch more Funny Videos

Thanks for the perspective kid!  (Oh how I wish your dad could have panned up to the American flag that was just over your shoulder...)

I promise there will be more posts after the teachers are out for the summer!

Happy Mother's Day.

First things first, HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all of the mothers out there!  Of course, to my wonderful mother who is in Moscow tonight, my sister-in-law (mother to the two most intelligent and adorable nieces I could ask for), my mother-in-law who raised the single most incredible person in my world, and to all of my friends who became mothers this year.  I hope this day was filled with the love and reverence you deserve!

Although it is unrelated to Mother's Day, I wanted to share this story given to me by Catherine as it might make other smile.   As always, I appreciate any "students say the darndest things" handouts...Here is yet another golden nugget.

I bet my teachers friends can decode that last word at the bottom of the page...I think it's a pretty awesome example of invented spelling.