Year Four, Continued

Things are going well at school. I've been very busy over the past few days--as to be expected--but I think the routine is setting in.

Took a trip to Med Express today... seems that I have brochiospasmodic bronchitis, or something to that effect. I figured I'd better get in to see a dr. and get some meds before things get worse. I don't have the time or patience to be sick at such an early point in the school year.

Went to the past two MSU home football games. The first one of the year is always a blast--the student section (near our seats) really gets revved up for the first game of the year. This last Saturday, however, we lost to CMU- a really good MAC team, but a MAC team nonetheless. I received a good ribbing from my co-workers who are CMU grads over the past few days. That's OK, once their QB graduates in the spring, they'll be back to square one.

GO GREEN!

Year Four, Day One

This school year seems that it will be very challenging. I start my day off very well, and rather enjoyably, but the class that follows will make me earn my pay for sure.

Anyone have any good methods for teaching maturity and responsibility to standard 10th graders?

The advanced classes are WONDERFUL. The standards are going to be difficult...

Teaching: Year Four

I begin year four of my teaching career tomorrow.

For once, I think I'm ahead of the game... and it only took four years!

Ohm Nom Nom...

I have forgotten just how much I enjoy Ranier Cherries.



That is until I found them at the grocery store yesterday. Now I remember.

Summer

After just roughly one month away from teaching high school, I have found myself being ridiculously busy for the summer. The whole idea that "teachers get the summers off" certainly is not working in my favor this year.

One week after high school let out, Jay and I went up to the Upper Peninsula to go charter fishing and see my brother Grant and his family. It was fun indeed! I would say that charter fishing was a great adventure!

Shelter Bay Charter Success! 9 Lake Trout, 1 King Salmon

Big Lake Trout

Big King!

Lupines looking out on Black River Harbor-Lake Superior--about 15 miles from my brother's house.

Upon returning, I've started teaching two college courses at Baker on Mondays. One remedial English 091, and one Composition 101. Extra money is the benefit, eating away at the summer is the downfall.

Also, upon returning home from our mini-vacation, I started taking two courses towards my Master's Degree at Michigan State. I'm taking Children's Literature and Film Studies (TE 891) and Advanced Methods for Teaching Language Arts (TE 847). Both are semi-interesting. The first one has helped me see the importance of film literacy in our current culture of visually and technologically-minded students. The latter course is working on collaborative literacy in "book club" type settings. It seems as if most of the students in there are elementary teachers. Not many seem to be secondary teachers as I am, and it's a challenge to see how some of these "little kid" techniques will fit in with my Juniors and Seniors.

The garden had exploded upon our return home from vacation. I harvested our first veggies yesterday-- a whole bunch of salad lettuce! I gave a big container of it to mom, and Jay and I have been working our way through a gallon sized bag of it over the course of the past two days. Our zucchini and summer squash have flowered, and we have 2-3" mini squash, which I will have to keep an eye on. Those buggers can be the size of your leg in about a day if you don't watch them. The tomatoes, peppers, onions, peas, radishes, corn, and cukes are growing. We'll have plenty when the time is right.

Also, Jay and I re-upped our gym membership. We signed on for a 2-year plan, and we're only paying about $25 total per month for both of us. We've been going daily after Jay gets home from work. Seems like we're motivation for each other to go work out!

Well, sorry for the delay in posting. Let's hope I find some more time this summer to keep up on my blog!

Up North

Up North is a certain way the wind feels on your face and the way an old wool shirt feels on your back. It's the peace that comes over you when you sit down to read one of your old trip journals, or the anticipation that bubbles inside when you start sorting through your tackle box in early spring.

Up North is the smell of the Duluth pack hanging in your basement and the sound of pots clinking across the lake. It's a raindrop clinging to a pine needle and the dancing light of a campfire on the faces of friends.

Up North is a lone set of cross-country ski tracks across a wilderness lake and wood smoke rising from a cabin chimney. It's blackberries in June, blueberries in July and wild rice in September.

Each of us has an Up North. It's a time and place far from the here and now. It's a map on the wall, a dream in the making, a tugging at one's soul. For those who feel the tug, who make the dream happen, who put the map in the pack and go, the world is never quite the same again.

We have been Up North. And part of us will always be.

-Sam Cook

Snowy Spring Break

Spring Break has officially begun. (I guess it began on Friday at 3:18, but this is the first day of vacation where I don't have to report to work, so I'm counting it as today...)The weatherman calls for 3-8" of the slushy white stuff between now and Tuesday.

My poor crocus and early tulips are screaming out in the yard. I know it.

On a lighter note, Jay and I have made the conscious decision to cancel our satellite TV service, in an effort to throw some of that money toward the down payment on the house we'd like to buy in August. No withdrawals have been reported yet from either he or I, however the truth will rear it's ugly head some evening this week, I'm sure. Oh well. It should be a move in the right direction.

Speaking of moving, I've got the spring cleaning bug something terrible. I cleaned out all of the closets and cubbies upstairs, and in the office, and I have eliminated much clutter, and "packed" many seasonal things into Rubbermaid tubs. I think all of our hunting gear and seasonal clothing, and camping gear, etc. has filled at least 15 tubs (camouflage clothes and sleeping bags take up A LOT of room, btw...).

I'm also on a downsizing mission. I took three recycle bins full of paper to the recycle plant this morning. Most was papers from three ring binders I had in college and high school. I figured that if I haven't looked at it in the past 3-6 years, it doesn't warrant further keeping.

Well, off to a dentist appointment, and the college campus to finalize my syllabi for upcoming Spring term which begins soon...

Meanwhile, the snow is still flying.

Update Time

Sorry for the delay in posting. I had been on a good writing streak there for awhile, and that went out the window when things began getting busier!

For the time being (next two weeks), Jay and I have a mini hiatus from teaching college classes. The Spring session begins on Holy Week. However, some of my class meetings are on Good Friday, and the campus is closed, so I won't start most of my sections until after Easter.

I am in the process of trying to enroll for summer graduate classes for my Master's program. Michigan State thought it was appropriate to re-assign me my original ID # and email address from when I was an undergraduate there over six years ago. This is all fine and dandy, or so I assumed. I hadn't opened that email address in over six years, and when I did so last night, I had over ELEVEN THOUSAND messages to sort through. Most were spam, but I am still trying to clear it out. It is taking FOREVER!

Jay and I are also still working on plans to buy a home. The gym teacher where I work is planning on retiring, and we had looked at his home this fall. It has hunting property, and is a very nice home. He's even willing to sell to us on land contract terms. There are a lot of things to think and research about before we make any decisions, however. This will be a "back burner" issue at least for the next month or so.

5 days until Spring Break at school. The kids are getting squirrely. I'm ready to have a break from them!

The problems with my friend at the parochial school are still dragging on. More people are becoming aware of what is going on. However, it is still uncertain as to what will happen. It's interesting.

Time to work on lesson plans, and syllabi for the next two college courses I'm teaching. I've been dragging my feet on doing both of them for a while now! :)

Put Your Knees To Work...

Please pray for my friends and colleagues at my old school, Valley Lutheran.

Some very un-Christian-like behavior is occurring at the top, and it is affecting many as it trickles down.

Please pray that their questions get answered, and God will lead them in whatever way he deems necessary.

Please pray that those making decisions there will make them in a God-fearing, and God-pleasing manner. Currently, this is not the case.

Woo Hoo!

It is official, I've been admitted to my Master's program at Michigan State University.

Dang, it feels good to be a Spartan!

2009 Taxes.

Done. Filed. In the mail. Anxiously awaiting a return!!!

Cross one more thing off the list.

I Told Myself...

I told myself I would get a lot of things done this week.
It is the Mid-Winter break for our school, and I didn't have regular classes, only my two night classes on Thursday and Friday.

I had originally had lofty goals to get much done.

I told myself I would read the rest of The Grapes of Wrath. I did not.
I told myself I would read the rest of The Count of Monte Cristo. I did not.
I told myself I would get all of my student grading completed. I did not.


I did however get a few "fun" things completed.

I had a day to relax.
I got Timber into the groomer to get his hair cut, nails trimmed, etc.
I did get a decent cleaning of the house completed (sans dusting).
I did approximately eight loads of laundry.
I did approximately four loads of dishes over the course of the week.
I did cook and freeze about 5 full-size meals for convenience sake.

Now, I should be planning for my Composition class tonight. Alas, I am not.

Someone kick my butt into gear!

Congrats to Whatami

Cheers are in order for my LJ blogger friend, Whatami.

He successfully made a cross-country trip this past weekend to meet the love of his life.

How cute is that?

Too Warm, But Not Quite Warm Enough

I know I live in Michigan, and I know the weather here is ridiculous, but seriously. Is it spring? Is it not? What's going on?

This past weekend, we were to go snowmobiling, but the days prior to the trip were 50+ degrees, with an overabundance of rain. This led to a lot of local area rivers, streams, and towns (Vassar) being flooded. Snowmobiling was out.

Today, the sun was gloriously shining. For this, I will not complain. Still, it was 38 degrees outside, and tonight and tomorrow we could get six to eight inches of snow. Really?

Oh, and at the store today, I spent a little too much time perusing the garden seeds and mentally planning what would go in the vegetable garden. I know it is far too early, but I'm mentally "through" with winter. I'm ready for spring.

The crocus are too.
They're poking through.

The house is in need of a thorough deep clean, and I have plenty to keep me busy this week on our "off week" from school. I think I just have a bit of the cabin fever.

Vegetable Gardening.
Blooming Lilacs.
Putting clothes on the line.
Mowing lawn.
Trout Fishing.

These things are definitely on the brain.

Vay-cay.

We'll be off on hiatus for the next few days. The original plan was to go snowmobiling, but since all of the snow is gone, who knows what we'll do. All I know is that I need to get away from talking about this "school board" situation any more.

If you don't know what I'm talking about, see here:
http://www.tuscolatoday.com/news/2009/feb/11/school-board-says-no-new-principal/

It's the hot drama occurring in my school building right now.

Ick.

Fed Up

I can't stand our current government or our current school board.

Why is it that those in charge rarely know how to actually run things?

The Lord could make his triumphant return ANY day now... and I would not mind! :)

We Have Gas! (Again)

(No, we didn't make chili for dinner.)

Consumer's Energy must have heard our scary threats!

More to come later. For now, we have heat, and I am as busy as a beaver.

Papers to grade tonight after teaching from 8AM to 9PM = not fun.


To keep you amused however, here is a ridiculous elementary-school-age-kids-joke:

Did you hear about the kidnapping?

















His parents woke him up.

Below Forty.

When it's below forty degrees in the house, we officially lose our minds.

Being the ever-resourceful, loving science nerd that he is, Jay has taken the concept of "Hot Pockets" to a literal level.
No. I wouldn't let him actually put them in his pockets.

Oh, and he wanted me to tell you all that he is declaring martial law.

Effective...now.

It's Official...

I can't feel my hands.

Breaking News Alert!

The house is now at a balmy FORTY-TWO degrees.

(Global warming is a crock, by the way.)

Stupid Consumers. (Energy, that is)

**WARNING: If you do not want to read proof that idiot corporations interfere with us, don't read this post.***

So approximately three weeks ago, we had to report the smell of a gas leak to our energy company. They sent a kind person promptly to address the problem. It seems as if the sub zero temperatures cause our new furnace to go into overdrive, and spew natural gas into the air. This employee told us it was a simple fix, no major leak, and that they would "fix the problem" in the summer when outdoor temps were not an issue, and our heat wouldn't be interrupted.

That's what we were told.

However, upon arriving at home, we were greeted by this on the door:
Nothing more than a friendly note saying our "problem was fixed."

Um... it's winter. Last time I checked, they said summer. From my calculations, this is approximately five to six months off the mark. (I'm sure these folks got at least a D-average in basic elementary calendar-reading 'science'--this of course is the benefit of the doubt)

Looking at the side yard, we saw this:
My poor, poor tulips. They've been murdered from their winter slumber.

Upon closer look, we saw this:
Oh joy, a new meter! Wait... that means our HEAT IS OFF, on a day like today, when it's:
that's right... NINE DEGREES OUTSIDE (for all of you sideways thermometer readers)

But wait... it gets better.

How warm is it in the house, you ask?
Forty-six degrees. AWESOME!

(and yes, I am aware of the fact that the thermostat is telling me to change the furnace filter.)

I feel the fury welling up inside.
Heads may roll if the tech doesn't come turn the gas back on.

Immediately.

In Mourning for the Mourning Dove.

So this morning, a mourning dove decided it had a deathwish on my way to work.Barrelling toward the highway, going about 55, I briefly saw a puffed-up bird on the road. I told him to move. I made hand motions.

I tried, I really, really, tried.

Instead of flying on an angle, he flew straight up, and head-on with the truck.

(I don't think there is a birdie heaven, but if there is, he and the bird version of St. Peter are now the best of friends.)

At first, I didn't know it was a dove. It hit really, really, hard, and I would have guessed it was a grouse or a huge crow. It really had a good "whump" on impact.

Anyway, I got to work, only to find a gaping hole in the grille of the truck, surrounded by feathers, and the poor critter wedged down by the fog lights.

One call to the insurance people, and a $100 deductible later, it appears as if I need a WHOLE new grille/front end to my truck. It appears to be all one connected piece that needs replacing.

Whomever thought it was a good idea to make a TRUCK out of plastic was mistaken.

On the bright side, the field biology kids got the dove today, and it apparently got them out of a boring lecture. I was thanked many times by many a student.

I'd take the credit, but I didn't break my neck this morning.

And for this, I'm in "mourning."

Here it is!

The "Summer" look.



The "Winter" look.

Priorities.

1. Homework/Lesson Plans.
2. Super Bowl watching.
3. Afghan/Quilt rack pictures.

I promise, they're coming... and yes... I'm terrible for putting it third on the list.

What Of It?

Yeah.

I changed the name of this mighty blog.

It's much more "me."

Let it grow on you for awhile. You'll like it too.