So I have this kid in my 5th period class. And he's annoying. He has annoyed me since about Day 2 and has slowly spread his annoyingness around the classroom so that now everyone is annoyed with him. This sometimes results in funny conversations between students. Today my kids are reviewing for their Odyssey test by going through the poem and identifying epic similes and then explaining the things that are being compared. I'm just sitting at my desk grading because this is stuff that they totally know by now and occasionally answering questions. Then I heard this:

Annoying Student: Annie, could you just give me a tiny hint about number 1?
Vince: Dude, it's on page 652.
Annoying Student: I know but-
Annie: AND we took notes on it. We aren't helping you.

Poor little Annoying Student...

smile on my friends

After a pretty long stretch since my last vacation day, I took today off (it was a minimum day anyway), so I could make it down to Campbell in time for my 1:30 interview at Del Mar High School. I was a little nervous, since my last interview with Fremont Unified was pretty lackluster. I think I did well, but it was a standard form interview and I didn't get any feedback. 

Immediately when I walked into the office, I felt comfortable. I was interviewing with the principal, vice principal, and the two English department co-chair, who looked about 3 years older than me. It was a casual interview and I got the opportunity to talk about curriculum design and freshmen academies and my experience working with a diverse student population. After about an hour and fifteen minutes of talking, they told me that they had one more interview that day and that they would get back to me pretty soon because they wanted to "act on this quickly."

An hour later, I got a phone call and the principal told me he was forwarding my name to the district and I would be hearing from them soon to sign a contract if I was interested! He also offered to talk to the principal at Prospect (where Brian has an interview in a week), to let them know that we are a package deal.

So now the focus turns from just trying to get a freaking interview to finding a place to live! Exciting times!

come closer

I have been a bad blogger.

But I've also been so busy I can barely think straight. So I think I should be absolved.

Spring break is a mere 4.5 days away and I am so ready. Last year around spring break I was thinking, "You know, I really like these kids. I can totally stay here another year." This year? So not the case. I am exhausted and overwhelmed and annoyed and cannot stand the thought of another second in this classroom or at this school after June 3.

That being said, I need a new job.

I've had a lot of good interviews, and another one this Friday, so let's all keep our fingers crossed.

Yesterday Brian and I capered about Sacramento with our wedding photographer, Kali Kraum, for three blissful hours of cuddling, kissing, and giggling. We had an incredible time and I am looking forward to some sweet pictures, which I will post as soon as I receive.

In other news, I am leaving for Boston to visit Bethany on the 11th for some spring break galivanting. And then Brian has a surprise planned for my birthday weekend, which he claims will rival last year's "Point Break, Live!" specatcle in awesomeness (I can't believe I didn't blog about "Point Break, Live!" last year. Bad blogger, indeed!). I'm a little worried since now that we are engaged he knows I can't break up with him if he plans something ridiculous. :)

just a litlte magic

In addition to being Pi Day, yesterday was of course also St. Patrick's Day. In honor of both, I braved my first Key Lime Pie (I am a much better cook than baker, so desserts always make me nervous. There is so much.... measuring, and I am too easily distracted).

I already had some Nellie and Joe's Key West Lime Juice from October when I made Key Lime Cupcakes for Brian's birthday, and since I don't have much occasion to use key lime juice in my normal every day cooking, I saw this as a perfect opportunity to use the rest of it.

After some searching online, I decided to use Emeril's Key Lime Pie recipe, but with a few adjustments (quite brave, as I usually refuse to alter a recipe the first time through, especially a dessert).

First, I was not even remotely interested in making my own graham cracker crust, especially when you can get them ready-made, so I bought one and saved myself the trouble. Second, the sour cream icing made me very uncomfortable, even though all the reviews raved about it. I made it as the recipe called for, then added another tablespoon of powdered sugar and the juice of half a lime.

Here is my pie ready to go in the oven - so pretty!


And here is the pie after setting in the fridge for 2 hours, iced and garnished:


Success! Brian has eaten nearly half of it by now. The topping is yummy, but adding the lime juice might not have been the best idea for pie-preservation, as it made it more runny and prone to separate in the fridge. Other than that, totally delish, super tart, and way easy. I'll tackle something more difficult next time.

Tonight I am making Baked Halibut in Foil Packets. Brian and I are day-dreaming almost constantly about how much more wonderful cooking together will be when we have our own kitchen that is organized properly for cooking. I am so annoyed with this stupid kitchen in the house I am living in...

the lines of my eart

Tomorrow is Pi Day! I intend to make a pie.

Or maybe several small pies...

I have a student who LOVES pie, but she was absent today so I was unable to
be giddy about Pi Day with her. Sadness abounds.

Image from VROG in Bristol

one of us is leaving soon

Coaching soccer means I'm home even less than I was before, so obviously my nesting instinct has set in. I keep fantasizing about having my own place with Brian and being able to set up my kitchen however I want it. Two images that have had me drooling all weekend:

Megan and Sarah's Orange Nook

How much am I in love with an orange kitchen with a reading corner??

Just plain awesome

I don't even have words for how perfect this space is. It's just perfect. Perfect, perfect, perfect.

Time to cook dinner! Pork au Poivre and a green bean salad. Yum!

Mosaic Meme

Something fun from Kassey while I should be cleaning my room.

Answer the questions below in Flickr search, and then pick a picture from the FIRST page of photo results. Use Mosaic Maker to plug in the pictures and make your own journal mosaic.


1. What is your first name?

2. What is your favorite food?

3. What high school did you go to?

4. What is your favorite color?

5. Who is your celebrity crush?

6. Favorite drink?

7. Dream vacation?

8. Favorite dessert?

9. What do you want to be when you grow up?

10.What do you love most in life?

11. One word to describe you

12. Your flickr name, or if you aren't a member of flickr, your blog name, etc

1. Flying Megan......, 2. Açaí, 3. St-François d'Assise, Vienne – Saint Francis of Assisi, Vienna, 4. My purple all star for the first time at the park, 5. McDreamy getting dreamy, 6. natalia's prize..., 7. Sydney on the harbour, 8. Day 267/366:Halloween Week - Mini Pumpkin Cheesecake. Explore #109 on 10-26-08, 9. mom n baby, 10. Worship - Jesus set me free, 11. The Trees of Loyal Love, 12. The barefoot selfportrait

where were you

The week has gotten marginally better as we wrapped up Part 1 of the Odyssey in Advanded 9 today and began Romeo & Juliet in Benchmark. Things that pleased me immensely in both classes:

Advanced 9 - As we read the section in which Scylla eats six of Odysseus' men and Homer then compares the way she plucks them from the ship to fly fishing, Cody (a favorite from last year) walked into my room to give me roses for Valentine's Day. Without missing a beat or even waiting for me to ask about it, as I am hugging Cody, another student says, "Wait, that's an epic simile!" This is exciting because even though these kids are smart, they are kind of lazy and have been expecting me to spoon-feed all the literary elements to them so far. I am glad to see they are starting to take some initiative and get involved in the story.

Benchmark - We read the prologue together and then I asked them to determine the ryhyme scheme. After they figured it out (ABAB CDCD EFEF GG), I asked them if that particular rhyme scheme looked familiar. And in every single class? "A sonnet! Oh! Does that mean it's written in iabic... imbanic.... iambic pentameter, too?!"

Good times. I'm still glad it's the weekend, though.

rise up

I have been trying really hard to practice gratitide this month. Every day I do my best to think of one thing I am thankful for and post it as my Facebook status (silly maybe, but it reminds me to do it). Today though, I am not feeling grateful. Instead, today I am tired of overweight, apathetic students listening to crappy music on thier iPods as they saunter through the hallways, too cool to make it to class on time. I am tired of skinny jeans and weird-printed hoodies and black lace-up Vans. I am tired of "But I don't like reading," and "At least a 60% is passing," and "I lost my textbook because I put it in Bianca's locker and now it's gone" I am tired of sending kids to the nurse because "they don't feel good," when really they didn't study for the test and I'm tired of tracking them down during lunch and study hall to make up the test when I know they are just going to get a 17/50 anyway. I am tired of giving up my prep period to grade essays in the Learning Center and I am especially tired of "friendly reminders" from the tutors during 5th period that I have 15 essays to finish grading. I know how many essays I have to finish. Why do you think I haven't come in to grade them? It's because I'm not interested. It's because I'm tired. It's because I don't get paid enough to deal with obnoxious, ignorant, rude, and uninterested students every day. I am tired of having a class that is 95% weirdos and only 5% normal kids. Where are the regular kids? Where are the students with parents who make them sit down at the kitchen table when they get home from school and do their homework? Where are the parents who give out consequences for bad behavior and poor grades and reward their kids for doing well and raise their kids to be productive, positive members of society?!

I feel better now.

touch the sky

Thank you President Lincoln, for giving me the day off!

Yesterday Brian and I went to The Melting Pot for dinner to celebrate our one year anniversary! Crazy. We cannot believe that a year ago we were awkwardly sitting in the Tower Cafe and now we are getting married!

Today I slept in and then went for a painful run, reminding myself that when it comes time to do the alterations for my dress in June, we can either let it out or take it in, and I want it to be taken in. I have lost some weight already, so I need to start lifting weights again so I can tone back up.

The rest of today has been... strange. I read on a blog this morning that a girl I went to college with has moved down to LA with her husband of two years and while he works as an engineer, she started a wedding planning business and is selling jewelry on the internet. I found myself both disgusted and jealous at the same time. On one hand, I would never want to stay home all day while my hubby made the big bucks. I would get bored and would wear sweatpants all the time and would probably gain weight from all the lattes I would drink. However, I would also love the opportunity to sleep in and drink coffee and go to the gym when it is not overrun with people and pursue fun things that I enjoy like cooking and decorating and the like. Why do I have to be so driven? Why do Brian and I have to have jobs that require us both to work? Why can't I just be a lazy, crafting bum? Gah!

Consequently, I spent the day puttering around the kitchen and not getting my grading done. Now I feel overwhelmed with the amount of real work I have to get done before I go into my classroom tomorrow. And I never changed out of my sweats after my run (see?).

However, I did perfect my granola bar recipe (I can't remember where I found the original one, but I think mine is better - and better for you). They are awesome! Here's the recipe:

Grab and Go Breakfast Bars

1 cup Quaker Oats
1 cup Shredded Wheat 'n Bran
1/2 cup almond slivers
1 1/2 cups dried fruit (I used a combo of apples, apricots, prunes)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1/3 cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup dark chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly oil or coat an 8 x 8-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
2. Place the oats, shredded wheat, almonds, dried fruit, cinnamon, and salt in a food processor and pulse until the mixture is finely chopped
3. In a large bow, whisk together the eggs, honey, and vanilla. Add the oatmeal mixture and chocolate chips and stir to combine.
4. Transfer to the baking pan and flatten down gently with the back of a spoon or spatula to spread evenly.
5. Bake about 18 minutes until the edges turn golden brown and the bars are done. Let bars cool completely in pan before slicing and serving.

It is supposed to yield 16, but mine only yielded (yielt?) 12. I can't imagine cutting them much smaller than I did, or they wouldn't really be very satisfying in the morning. I should have taken pictures, but didn't. Oops.

They are about a million times better than the Fiber-1 bars I have been buying at the grocery store, and way cheaper, in the long run. I think next time I will use dried pineapple, guava, and mango and omit the chocolate for a tropical treat to psyche me up for Hawaii this summer (and motivate myself to work out some more so I look irresistible in my bikini).

Then I tried to figure out my espresso machine, which has been sitting abandoned since I opened the box at Christmas. I succeeded at steaming milk and making a super weak pot of espresso. I decided to try again for a stronger brew, but must have screwed the filter on incorrectly, because the pressure from the water caused the whole basket to explode and I got gross coffee grounds everywhere. It was disgusting. I added my steamed milk to a cup of Earl Grey tea and gave up for the day. Maybe barista is not the non-teaching job for me after all...

Now I'm considering doing some laundry and making dinner (Butternut Squash and Cumin Couscous - our favorite vegetarian meal) before our soccer game tonight. And maybe doing some lesson planning. Why am I so unmotivated today?

EDIT: I can't believe I forgot to mention that I wrote the entire wedding ceremony script on Saturday! It is so multi-cultural and hippie-ish and beautiful, I just want to read it all the time. I can't wait for July!

holy moly

Several exciting things this fine Wednesday afternoon:

1. We booked our honeymoon! Leaving CA on Tuesday, July 28 we will fly to Maui, drive the Road to Hana, and stay at the beautiful Hana's Heaven until Thursday. Then, we will check into my family's condo on Ka'anapali and stay for another beautiful week full of snorkeling and sun and all around fabulous good times. I am so excited already!

2. Spring Break. Cruise to Mexico. Enough said.

3. Last night I purchased software for my computer for the first time ever. I am so unbelievably obsessed with MacGourmet, it's kind of ridiculous. Brian watched in amazement as I clipped (hundreds of!) recipes that I have saved in my Delicious into the most ingenious software that is, essentially, iTunes for foodies. I am in heaven. The best $25 I have ever spent, hands down.

4. I should be expecting my photography contract to arrive in the mail any day now! Two months until engagement photos - hooray!

5. I have been running with my soccer team and I feel like I will look hotter in my dress already.

6. Brian updated our wedding website (which I cannot access on the school server- lame). "His story" is pretty adorable.

this rut that i fell into

A first-year teacher from Iberia, Missouri just emailed me to ask for my point-of-view worksheets which she found the instructions on my student-teaching webpage through Google. Also, I just realized that the abstract for my thesis has been published on the School of Education Inquiry Projects page. I'm like a famous teacher person or something.

sweetness

Some cute things from my students yesterday.

Adri left this note on my board while I was heating up my lunch:


And Sonja made this in MS Paint during 5th period while the rest of the class watched Goonies (it was Career Fair Day, so no actual teaching got done):
Alright, so the grammar and spelling leave something to be desired. Perhaps more time should be spent teaching and less time introducing my culturally deprived students to works of cinematic genius from the 80s? Oh well. All together now: "Aawww."

sledgehammer

This year I want to simplify my life and I am trying to do so by being more organized. Consequently, I spent much of today's work day in my classroom cleaning, and filing, and organizing, and throwing away crap I don't need. I have also cleaned my bathroom, put away all my laundry immediately after washing it, loaded the dishwasher, and decided that I do not have to grade every single assignment my students turn in.

I feel better already.

this could be

New wedding-related posts up at Weddinged! Mom and I have accomplished a lot in these last two weeks. I'm so excited for July!

My time in the Bay Area is up and I have to drive back to Sacramento tomorrow morning. Unpacking, lesson planning, and finals grading will take up Sunday afternoon and all day Monday, and then I see students again (including my brand-new 1st period with 32 new students!) on Tuesday. I am trying to psyche myself up to be back in the classroom after the debacle that was the last two weeks of last semester. At first, I was telling myself, "Only 18 more weeks, and then you can get a new job in a new school with new students and new co-workers," but I realized that that's not the best attitude to take. I do, after all, have to teach this job at this school with these students and these co-workers for another 18 weeks and I don't want to be miserable and counting down the whole time. I need to remind myself why I enjoy teaching and remember that second semester is so much easier and way more fun. Poetry, Odyssey, and Romeo & Juliet, plus a unit on Brave New World for the Advanced kids. Honestly, second semester is my dream job. Plus, I'll be coaching and it's always nice to see students in a context outside of the classroom.

Brian is stressed out about his Master's (but wasn't I at this time last year too?), so I'll be in charge of cooking comfort food dinners and orchestrating coffee house weekends coming up. Plus, you know, planning my wedding.

just say yes

After cleaning up my room this afternoon and finally escaping into my beautiful holiday break, I realized that I had left every single final exam and paper sitting on my desk in my classroom.

So much for finishing my grades over break...

last dance

I am sitting in my classroom. 5th period is taking their final and I just finished taking roll. There are 12 students absent. 12! 12 students in a class of 32 decided not to come to school today and to miss their English final that is worth 10% of their total grade. 12 students who are already in danger of failing decided to say "F--- you, Miss Garcia! We don't give a crap about your class or about our grade or about how hard you have been fighting for us this semester!"

Blah. I can't wait for 12:30.

hello it's me

You can read a rather abridged version of the engagement story here. There are only 2 days left of school before the holiday break, I ran a 100+ degree fever last night, and it looks like my closet vomited into my room. Glorious.

Happy Holidays, all!

Happy Thanksgiving!

This post is belated, but you'll soon understand why. Hopefully I will come up with a massive list of things I am thankful for this year soon (a la 2007 and 2006), but right now what I am most thankful for is my amazing fiance!


We are squinting because my ring is so shiny, obviously.

mighty to save

Here is a school update :)

Last Friday I was scheduled (at the very, very last minute) to be observed as part of my formal "I'm a new teacher so I need to be observed several times each year to ensure that I'm not destroying the literary competancy of my students" obsesrvation. The only period available for observation? Fifth.

Oh. Crap.

Here's the deal. My fifth period is kind of crazy. Like, monkeys in a banana factory crazy. They are loud and off-task and goofy and immature and generally pains in my rear. They are sweet kids but, good Lord, I would pay so much money to just get them to be quiet and let me teach.

So. Formal observation during fifth period. On a Friday. With only one day to prepare. Awesome. This is totally going to go so well.

So I cobbled together a lesson plan involving a reading quiz, a Think-Pair-Share activity, a worksheet about parallels and conrasts in Of Mice and Men, and some independent work time to let them get caught up in their reading packets.

I prayed for a fire drill. Or a real fire.

Friday rolled around and the kids came in from lunch, sat down, and did their opener - quietly. I passed out their quizzes and they took them - quietly. I collected the quizzes and reviewed the questions. Several students raised their hands to answer and the rest? They sat quietly. We started talking about parallels. I gave some real life examples, and then one or two obvious examples from the text that we have already discussed. I then asked them to think for a minute and write down one more parallel. When they were done, I told them they were going to share their parallels in pairs and then we were going to share them with the class (See? Think. Pair. Share.).

Surely, I thought, this will not go well. This activity will, as numerous activities before, instantly devolve into madness. I stood back and watched....

My students thought quietly for a moment. Then, they turned to their pairs and shared briefly. Then they all looked at me and waited for their turn to share with the class. And then they raised their hands to share! And they shared! We had an amazing discussion, everyone was engaged and participating, and no one spoke out of turn.

It was a little creepy.

When I gave them time for independent work, I reminded them about one page in their packet called the "Chronolog" which was designed to help them review the plot of the story. Victor raised his hand, "Is it in chronological order?"

"It is," I replied. "Does everyone remember what that means from the first week of school?"

And then, as though inspired by angels, the entire class chorused in unison, "The order that events happen in time!"

My post-observation conference was today, after I threatened to rip the gum out of a fifth period student's mouth if she blew another bubble while I tried to teach and made another student sit outside for the duration of the period because he couldn't just sit quietly while we watched the end of Of Mice and Men.

"You are doing an incredible job," my VP said. "I don't have a single recommendation for you."

Oh, come on.