Mmmmm...Sleety.

So I'm stubbornly sitting at my computer in my robe just waiting and waiting for Baltimore City to jump on the bandwagon and delay school for two hours. There is a bunch of snow on the ground outside my window and there was a bunch of sleet last night. Of course, when you are supposed to leave the house for work BEFORE the announcement for snow days is due it's a little bit of a dilemma.

Sometimes the commute just REALLY sucks.

Edited to add at 5:59am: Still waiting.

Ol' One Eye.

So being a homeowner turns out to be quite a lot of work. There were the locks, the alarm system, the washer/dryer, the stove, the cable, the internet, the lights, the washer/dryer again...and again. Still, we are making it through -- albeit hundreds of dollars lighter.

But, I did almost gouge Jamie's eye out.

One of the problems was that our dryer didn't dry things. In order to fix it, Jamie needed to punch a hole in the "filter" that was blocking the exhaust vent so that no air passed through. Easier said than done given that the vent was over a storage shed in our backyard -- a good 8' to 10' off the ground. Once the hole was punched, Jamie needed to find a way to get back down, so he handed me his hammer and screwdriver.

At this point, I had no idea that his intention was to jump from said roof. I assumed that he would turn around and climb down backwards. But, apparently he is not as much a granny as I am, and he jumped down. He jumped down and fell forward onto the head of the hammer that I was holding for him. When I say "head" of the hammer, I actually mean the pointy side that you use to pull nails out of the wall.

I screamed, Jamie cursed, and blood ran. Thankfully it was a good three inches above his eye and did not actually strike all that hard (although I'm sure it did from Jamie's perspective). Needless to say, the alternative life that could have been flashed before my eyes and I am so grateful that things turned out the way they did.

While it was a freak accident, I will never hold a hammer again. Just in case.

Welcome Back.

I know it's a downer note to celebrate my return, but it seems significant enough. This was my thanks this afternoon for all the blood, sweat, and tears I put into my job:

Ahhhhh...inner-city schools. I can't say I wasn't expecting it and maybe I should be honored that mine was one of the last cars standing in The Great Keying. It's sad that I'm not even considering getting this fixed because I am almost certain that it will be keyed again if I do. My poor little Prius.

I promise I'll have a happier and bigger post coming soon. LOTS has happened! We are in a HOUSE! More later...

Go Traffic Light Boy. It's Your Birthday.

Today was Traffic Light Boy's birthday. To commemorate, I would like to share with you an excerpt from his sensory descriptive writing. His subject, of course, is a traffic light "...with glittering ponds of light with colored grass." (Just a note, this boy is incapable of writing a complete sentence on anything else.)

Also, today on the bus for our field trips he pointed out that his very favorite thing about Maryland was that they have "all-new" traffic lights.

I. Love. This. Kid.

A Quiet Sunday.

First some important news: hours of enjoyment for all those involved is as simple as a ping-pong ball, a bathtub, and an orange tabby.

Second, I'm a little stressed out as the big shopping season begins and I'm watching as things on our registries are sold out before I even got a chance to share the registry information with my guests. The plates I fell in love with are on backorder now! So sad! I want to bust the collective knee caps of all those pushy shoppers taking the last item off the shelves.

Give our registry a chance...

Yam Withdrawal.

I know Thanksgiving has come and gone. I know that I shouldn't even be talking about food at this point, but I have to blog about this. For many, many, many, years my family had Thanksgiving with our closest friends. Everyone would share the cooking, but one unfortunate family would have to host at their home. However, this was fair because the host family rotated between the three families.

While the family hosting the event would change, and the people present at our official Thanksgiving dinner would change, one thing would not change: the yams.


The sweet, delicious, yams topped with marshmallows. My favorite Thanksgiving item without contest. I know in my heart that the pilgrims found some way to manufacture marshmallows using a churning device and that they had their own platter of authentic yams topped with marshmallows at the first Thanksgiving dinner.


Sadly, Jamie declared that yams with marshmallows were airing on the side of (for lack of a better phrase) "white trash" and that they should not be part of our Thanksgiving dinner. Of course he is wrong. For two years an epic battle ensued, and I fought and fought for my yams. For two years I was victorious.

That is...until this year. Yams were absent from our bountiful Thanksgiving spread and some other fortunate family got to enjoy those yams pictured above. Jamie announced that instead of yams we would be making a "maple autumn blend" of veggies with butternut squash, acorn squash, and parsnips. Butternut squash is no yam, my friend, and parsnips are definitely not marshmallows.

Ultimately, I conceded because we discovered that marshmallows are not vegetarian and therefore, I would be the only person at Thanksgiving eating the yams since Scott would never lower himself to partake.

Candied Yams? This one's for you...

Thanksgiving Recap.

Happy Thanksgiving to all! I know it's actually not offically Thanksgiving anymore, I just figured I would check in anyway. I hope everyone had a lovely holiday spent with loved ones. I spent mine with two of my very favorite men -- an intimate Thanksgiving. Even though there were only three of us, we still managed to whip up a lot of food (in addition to the aforepictured turkey masterpiece):















It was yummy. On the menu was a simple roast turkey that I basted with a mixture of orange juice, garlic, and a littl soy sauce. Totally improvised, yet surprisingly good! Yummy mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans and a roast with autumn vegetables. We had some crostini with roasted red pepper and goat cheese for our appetizer.

Scott approved of the food so that was good.

But now I am exhausted from cooking and cleaning dishes all day. And the bellyful of turkey probably doesn't help. I am thankful for the warm, soft bed that's awaiting me as soon as I finish this post.

The only casuality (aside from the turkey) was a wine glass that fell victim to Scott's fork-flinging antics. We are down to 3 sad little wine glasses thanks to the brothers Long. I think we should register for plastic wine tumblers instead of glasses.

Germ Central.

So I'm sick and many of my students are sick. The result of which is that the classroom is a veritable paradise for germs right now. Here is quote from today to illustrate:

Jordan: [coughs weezily]

Diamond: [clears the phlegm out of her throat]

Ms. U: [honks nose while blowing it]

Dre'Kwon: It sounds gross in here today.

I promise you I do have other children in my classroom other than these three -- although I do realize that I have mentioned all three of these students in previous posts. Dre'Kwon just cracks me up on a daily basis. The other day he brought me a stress ball that was in the shape of an apple.

Dre'Kwon: [puts apple/stress ball on the corner of my desk]

Ms. U: ???

Dre'Kwon: It's so I don't have to bring you a real one everyday...

Ms. U: Thanks Dre'Kwon!

D: ...and so when you get mad at me you can just look at me and squeeze it a lot.

Sometimes, I love my job. Even when I can't breathe out of my nostrils.

Found Treasures.

So in our packing frenzy, Jamie and I found some long-lost items. Here of two of note. The first was my acceptance letter into TFA - Baltimore. Once we were assigned a region in the country, they sent us a pretty standard welcome letter. Attached was a letter from a student in the Baltimore City Public School System. It was a cute letter and I vividly remember sitting in my dorm room reading it over and over.

It wasn't until I found it again today that I realized that I actually taught the kid who wrote my letter. Tell me -- what are the chances?? This was long before I knew what school I would be teaching at -- even long before I knew what grade I would be teaching. Of all the kids, in all of Baltimore City, the letter they ended up sending me was from a future pupil of mine! Now, I can't wait and find her tomorrow to show her the letter she wrote four years ago.

The other awesome thing was from the same era. Right around when I was finding out where I would be teaching, Jamie was applying and getting into law schools. When he got into GW I made him this drawing:

(I know it's crappy quality, but I don't have a scanner)

I don't know why exactly, but I think this totally encapsulates our relationship. Please note: Jamie's spiky head of hair in all but his infant stage of life, and the fact that he always has that big ol' grin. Also note the fact that there are piles of CD (cases) in the back of our car as we drove across the country because Jamie insisted that they come with us and get prime seating while they did. Meanwhile, all clothing got piled on top of our car and pounded down by the elements (including but not limited the most incredible rainstorm ever).

Boy howdy do I have a crush on my fiance.

Leader of the Pack.

Actually. Jamie would prefer if you called him "The Packing King" in deference to his mad packing skills. Here is a boring picture of him in action:


Yes. After 2.5 years we are packing all of our accumulated junk and getting out of Greenbelt and moving into D.C. Into a real house! One that has nice floors and brick walls! And its own washer and dryer! And a fireplace! [does a happy dance]. It's awesome -- so awesome that I don't mind the addition 20 minutes of driving it adds to my hour long commute to work. Wanna see? (You may also want to appreciate the most awesome Harry Potter scarf I made for Jamie).

That "Under Contract" sign is because of us! That's us! Standing in front of our new house! So now, we pack and get ready for our big move in December...

Better Than Some Stupid Bond Movie.

So yesterday we celebrated my brother-to-be's birthday. Actually, it was one of my BTB's actual birthdays -- but he's far away so we couldn't really celebrate it with him. Scott had his birthday earlier this week so we took him out for some dinner, fed him some ice cream cake, and watched a movie.

The whole day I had been dreading seeing the new Bond movie. I knew that's what Scott would want to see and as it was his birthday and all, there was little that I could do to stop it. There's nothing I really hold against the Bond movies...except that they all suck and I have yet to see one that I enjoyed. But last night the movie gods were smiling upon me and sold out all the showings of Casino Royale and plopped Stranger Than Fiction in the only convenient time slot. That was awesome.

As I had been wanting to see this movie for quite some time now, I was setting it up to be a huge disappointment. It was not. I liked it -- which means you should all go see it. And while you're at the theater, glare at the Casino Royale poster.

And because I now can, here's the trailer:

Just So You Don't Have to Look At Captain Planet...

...I update.

I feel like this last week has been all wedding, all the time and I'm finally getting to check some things off the ol' list. The biggest accomplishment came on Tuesday-- I finally picked out my wedding gown! It really is as dramatic as is in movies. You try on a dress and you start crying because it's so overwhelming. So I forked over the money and now I get to wait around for it.

Yesterday, Jamie and I visited a couple of stores and scan-gunned to our hearts content. Of course, we've been adding things to our registry ever since we got home, but the scan gun is also as awesome as it seems.

Finally, we went dancing to check out a band we've been thinking of having. They were great and I'm happy to report that at no point did I wipe out on the floor completely. But listening to the band raised a good question. We decided that if we were going to get a band -- this would be the band to get. Which also means making a decision that would completely affect the entire atmosphere of our reception. While Jamie and many of his friends are big fans of swing dancing and the like, I lack rhythm and grace. Also, unless my friends have been harboring a secret passion for dance, they might not be as willing to get on that dance floor for jazzy music.

The band is really good. They will definitely entertain and Eric Felton seems like an excellent master of ceremonies. But, I want everyone to feel included. So the big question is: should we risk getting a D.J. that might botch things up, or go for the classy band? Opinions?? Help.

Finally: I know that I have been seriously lame lately as far as updating goes. To make up for it, here's a little gem from Friday's class.

[Kids are cutting up grocery circulars to put together a shopping list for our lesson on money.]
Kid 1: Oooooh! Let's get some sausages!
Kid 2: I want Mac n' Cheese!
Kid 3: Let's get some bleach!
1: Why [sic] you want bleach???
3: It's good!
1 & 2: [laughing]
3: What? Ms. U! Can't you drink bleach??
Ms. U: [horrified] What??? NO!
3: Ya you can! Like, mixed in with some water??

After much panic and discussion, we determined without doubt that Kid 3 does NOT drink bleach at home, but rather lemonade that comes in a similar looking container. Jebus.

He's A Hero.

So, the fiance has revealed his true identity (...we all had suspected it from the beginning...)

"By your powers combined..."

"...I am...Captain Planet!"

"The Power is Yours!""
(Accompanying Planeteers not pictured)

Sure, Captain Planet is looking a little skeevy these days, and he's graduated to boxers, but he's still a favorite of mine.

Happy almost Halloween!

Why? Because It's So Awesome.

So my dear friend Eileen sent me an email today that made this day awesome. Now I would like to spread some of the love. Enjoy!












If only these were letters from my classroom...my goodness.

Mountain Day without the Mountain.

I have been nostalgic for the alma mater lately. It just so gorgeous in that neck of the woods in the fall. Mountain Day is a class day when the Williams community sleeps in and climbs up a mountain to enjoy the fall foliage. Apple cider and singing ensues.

Well, couldn't enjoy a Williams Mountain Day, but I did get around to taking a stroll around our neighborhood lake with my camera. Looks like fall is here!
Anyway, sorry for the long absence -- I have been pretty overwhelmed this past week. But! I did manage to go gown shopping with my pal Eileen on Friday. It felt so surreal that I didn't get emotional about it until I got home. I did find some things I liked -- wee!

I'll be posting again sometime soon, but Jamie's kicking me off the computer. Lamebutt. Here are some more pictures of our lovely neighborhood.

Time for Reflection.

While I know that teaching is hardly one of America's most dangerous jobs, sometimes it is hard to swallow all of the violence that surrounds our children and still feel like we are able to protect them. When they walk through my classroom doors, those kids become my kids.

Every day, my kids come into the classroom with so much worry and sadness and I work to help them leave it behind for seven hours. Still, my heart breaks when one student cries about going home everyday, or another tells me he has to miss school the next day because he has to go to juvenile court.

Last week, was a particularly bad one for Baltimore City Public Schools and included two school shootings. One of which was mere blocks from my school and the other was in a third grade classroom. When 8 year-olds are bringing guns to school we need to pause. We need to take action to fix our broken school system. We need to make it everyone's responsibility to protect these -- our -- children.

Celebrities!

Jamie's younger brother recently informed us that we were mentioned in the school newspaper (you have to scroll down about two-thirds of the page to see us mentioned). Yes, I realize that my high school has a school newspaper that publishes online -- it's a little redonk. As half of a couple that was extremely schmoopy all over the high school campus, I am slightly mortified.

I completely agree with Ms. Cuseo, though. I think high school couples do stand a "better" chance if they go to separate colleges. I say "better" even though it's still a snowball's chance anyway.

AH! Late for work.

Getting Warmer...

Today:

Robert: Ms. U, is you from Japan, China, Mexico, or Baltimore?

Ms. U: Actually Robert, the question is "are you from Japan, China, Mexico, or Baltimore?" To answer your question, I am from California.

R: [running back to his group] Daaaaaaang! She [sic] from The O.C.! And she get here early every day too!

U: [just proud that Robert knew that Japan and China were different countries]

It's progress...As intelligent and capable as my students are, most of them have no concept of the world beyond Baltimore. They consider it a country and are always shocked when I tell them that Texas is not a different country and neither is New York.

Also today, the light of my life brought me flowers! Not only that, but my favorite color roses! For no apparent reason! Exclamation point! Aren't they beautiful?


And I didn't even need to pick a fight and pretend to be mad at him to get them....not that I'd do that or anything...

Slap-Happy.

So I may be getting a little too excited about learning how to put videos in my blog. Deal with it -- there is nothing exciting going on in my life right now.

Anyway, these guys have put out a bunch of videos and every once in a while, one comes along that makes me laugh and laugh and laugh (and laugh). This one was one of them.

Maybe it's because I have never heard the "interrupting sloth" joke before. Or maybe it's because these guys remind me of so many people in my life. Perhaps its because the interrupting cow joke was a personal favorite of my youth. Or maybe it's because I'm incredibly immature. While I didn't laugh as hard for this one as I did their Mother's Day video, I felt as though it was worth posting. Also: because I don't want to lose the two readers I may have gained in the past week (hi guys!) by falling off the face of the planet.

Ready to Pump [CLAP] You Up.

So, many posts ago, I told you all about the sweater that I had been knitting for Jamie since FOREVER ago. Well, I failed to mention that I actually did get around to completing it over a year ago. I had to wait around until my mom could sew the pieces together for me -- because I suck at sewing -- and it was then that the true misfortune that is my first sweater unveils itself.
Here is Jamie in a corny modeling pose. This is the angle that is most flattering for the sweater. It actually looks like something that he might wear in public. But, turn slightly to the right and you get an unfortunate view of gorilla arms. Somehow, the sleeves are uneven and have like twice as many stitches as they are supposed to. Consequently, Jamie's arms look huge. Almost like Hans and Franz's arms might look. Let's compare:





Yep. Hans and Franz.

With a different pose, Jamie has dreamy "princess shoulder poofs". As much as I might enjoy the thought of Jamie with princess poofs, I could not let him venture out into public with said poofs.


Fortunately, my mom graciously offered to remove the poofs with her knitting/sewing wizardry. At this point in the sweater's history I was through looking at it. You'll be happy to know that it is back in Jamie's hands where he can go on to make more goofy poses in it this upcoming winter. So ends the saga of my first sweater.

Jamie is a good sport for letting me photograph him in the sweater. What a catch.