Fun-Filled Saturday

This afternoon, we're meeting some friends to enjoy the sunshine at Georgia Beer Day.  After that, my parents are arriving for their visit and then Nate and I are going out with (one of) my book club(s) to see a hockey game! (yay for grandparent babysitters!)

More New Books!

I got two big boxes of books delivered on Wednesday and ALMOST got them all out and in kids' hands by the end of the day.  It makes me so happy to see the kids excited about the books.  

12 mile bike ride

After school today some coworkers and I went on a bike ride. The weather was so perfect (75 degrees and sunny) and our ride ended up being 12 miles!  If I add in my 3 miles to school this morning and the 2 miles Korra and I rode to the grocery store and back this evening, I rode 17 miles total today!  I'm going to be tremendously sore tomorrow. 

GWC Lunch

As part of our school's Black History celebrations, our cafeteria served a lunch based on George Washington Carver's pamphlets of recipes. 

Busy Days in the Library

Yesterday and today have been extra busy in the library thanks to Black History events.  Yesterday we did Pound exercises during my classes (two 45 minute workouts made me rather sore today).  Today the 5th graders are doing a freestyle rap activity with Soul Food Cypher all morning in the library.  I started planning the spring Book Fair and the Family Reading Night AND my new library assistant started yesterday.  It's been super fun but definitely out of the ordinary.  

Season Opener

Tonight we went to the first game of the season for Atlanta United. 

Cookie Booth

Korra had her first Girl Scout cookie booth of the season. It was outside a local bookstore and the girls cleverly made book and cookie pairing signs on Canva. The weather was mild today and the foot traffic was good. Two men each bought a full case of Thin Mints and a MARTA bus driver stopped to get a box of Trefoils. They easily sold 15 cases of cookies in 2 hours, which is extra impressive now that they're intimidating middle schoolers instead of adorable Brownies. 

Errand/Erin

Korra and I ran a bunch of errands this morning (glass recycling, buying bread for dinner,  a stop at the thrift store, and picking up an order at the book shop). When I was a little kid, I used to think my mom was saying  Erin's instead of errands and I was always confused and disappointed when we didn't go see my cousin Erin. 

Taxes Filed

Filed my own taxes for the first time since we sold our house in 2017.  It only took about an hour and a half.  Also, we're getting money back for the first time in 2 years so that's a relief (much better than the last 2 years when we owed a lot). I feel like I need a gold star or a cookie or at least someone telling me what a good job I just did at adulting.  

Lunch with Lindsay

Today I had lunch with a friend who I met in the 7th grade- the same grade my daughter is in now.  It was so lovely to catch up and eat delicious arepas.

Late Winter Break

This week Korra and I are off school. Yesterday I went and organized Nate's office and supply closet in the morning. Today I spent a few hours helping a friend do the same thing in her home office/craft room. I genuinely enjoy organizing and was happy to be helpful. 

We've also done a bit of socializing the last two nights. While Korra was at climbing last night, we hung out with a few friends at a brewery and tonight we did speed puzzling with some new friends (and won second place!)

Student Age Range

I realized today that my first group of students are 31-32 years old now. My youngest current students are 5-6. If I retire from an elementary school in 13 years, my oldest former students will be 45, while my youngest will still be 6. That's a range of 39 years. Whoa. 

Paddington in Peru

For our family Valentine's day celebration we went to see Paddington in Peru. It was delightful. 

Valentine's Day Memories

I might have blogged about these things in the past, but probably not for a long time.

Teaching middle school on Valentine's Day was always tough.  So. Much. Drama.  Carnations and Candy Grams and hurt feelings and intrigue over anonymous cards left in lockers.  

One bright spot was the year that I was teaching 8th grade math and the end of our solving systems of equations unit coincided with Valentine's Day.  I'm not sure how much you remember from Algebra, but there are 3 ways to solve systems of equations. The students had a choice- a review worksheet OR making a valentine in which they professed their love for one of the methods and explained why it was the best.  You'd be surprised how many students chose the worksheet just because they wouldn't profess their love to math out of principle.

One Valentine's Day, I got a call from the front office that I had a delivery.  When I got there I received a delivery of a beautiful bouquet of pink roses and white daisies (our wedding flowers).  This was surprising because Nate hadn't gotten Valentine's day flowers for me since college.  The card was the best part.  It said, "I love you, Katie.  Happy Valentine's Day.  Now I never have to do this again."  Many of my coworkers were confused about why I found this so perfect, endearing, and hilarious.  It just perfectly encapsulated our relationship.  I loved it once, but Nate knows I'd find it ridiculous to spend that much on flowers regularly.  He also knows how to make me laugh.

When I was in first grade, I was very stressed out about making my Valentines for my classmates.  My mom let me take my very first mental-health day to get my Valentines done.  She taught me that it's ok to take time off to take care of yourself.

In second grade, my mom came to my school to help with my class's Valentine's party.  My brother, Todd, was born only a week after Valentine's day that year so my mom was VERY pregnant.  A boy in my class said my mom was fat, so I punched him in the stomach.  I don't remember exactly what happened in the principal's office, but I do know I came out with a cookie...

General Muir

Nate's dad is in town, so we went out to dinner tonight at The General Muir. I've only been there for breakfast (which was delicious) and dinner did not disappoint. While my, Ron's, and Nate's sandwiches were all fantastic, the real winner of they night was Korra who ordered a NY strip steak with asparagus and a pea puree. The icing on the cake was that they gave us a free bag of bagels and a loaf of sourdough bread as we left! We'll definitely be going back. 

Pre-break busyness

It's been a rather busy two weeks at work. Maybe it's because of all those days we missed from snow or maybe it's just that time of year. Home life has been pretty packed, too, which is making me very thankful and very ready for the "late winter" break that we have next week. I have a good-sized to do list as well as some fun and relaxing things planned. 

It's My Favorite

Almost every day, when a student asks for a book suggestion, I say, "This is my favorite part of my job."  I genuinely mean it.  I ask them questions about what they like and I start pulling books.  I ask them to read the back or the first page of each book and sort them into yes, no, and maybe piles.  I keep pulling books based on how they're sorting the ones I've already given them. I'm good at it and I love it.  Helping a kid find their next favorite book is a gift to me as much as to them.  

Book Festival!

We had a packed day yesterday!  We started off the morning with a walk to Forsyth Park and Collins Quarter for breakfast (a breakfast sandwich with bacon jam, caramelized onion aoili, and runny egg and the most delicious iced peppermint mocha ever!) 

 Then we went to E Shaver bookstore before seeing on of my all time favorite authors speak (Rainbow Rowell). She was fantastic- so engaging and thoughtful and hilarious. Afterwards we got Katie's books signed by her and then went out for ice cream. A search for a brie baguette brought us back through Forsyth Park and to the discovery of an artist neighborhood called Starline that neither of us had been to on previous Savannah visits. We stumbled upon a small Renaissance festival (at first I thought that occasional people in elf ears were just quirky SCAD students) and then found plenty of art local artists' shops to browse (Katie even got her portrait done by one). We found a coffee shop to relax in (Katie wrote letters in the many cards she purchased and I read) until it was time to go to the improv comedy show we'd purchased tickets to. It was funny (and Katie especially enjoyed it) but we chose to leave before the second show because it had been such a long day. Before putting on our pajamas, we decided to use our free drink tokens at the hotel bar. We ended our day staying up way later than we meant to talking and giggling in typical sleepover fashion. 

I've had an amazing trip and also, I'm ready to go home today. 

Road Trip

My friend Katie picked me up from school at noon (thanks better-than-a-jeans-pass!) and made it to Savannah by 4. Not surprising, we talked the entire way. 

We checked into our hotel and then went to check out the book sale tent for the festival before walking to dinner at The Grey. The front is this very cool art deco diner, while the back is one of the most expensive restaurants in Savannah- we sat in the front. The food was delicious!  We decided to walk along River Street. The weather was lovely- about 70 degrees. We stopped to look at the statues, a really cool artist's shop, and the candy store before taking the recommendation of the artist we met and going to a dessert bar. Snickers cake and a sparking wine for me!

We walked back to the hotel and I was in my jammies by 9:00 and falling asleep by 10. Perfect for me, though I imagine it was a little early for my Night Owl friend. Looking forward to the Book Festival and more exploring today!

Gift card drawing

On the first Friday of every month, the coffee shop across the street from the school donates 2 gift cards to be raffled off to the teachers.  They do the drawing during our whole-school morning meeting and it never ceases to amaze me how excited the kids get for their teachers to win something.  They are so happy for the people they love and that makes me so happy (even though I haven't won yet).

Anxiety and Chocolate Cake

Today I felt panicky, overwhelmed, and unfocused for no particular reason. My body felt like when you get a really large unexpected bill or when you forgot to do something really important.  I made it through the school day as best I could. In general, it was a good day, but I just couldn't shake the yucky feeling. Coming home, picking up the house, and making dinner actually calmed my body and mind better than the breathing and positive self-talk I did at school. Todd and Sarah came over for dinner and on a whim I made a chocolate cake. I'm feeling back to normal now. I packed for my weekend trip and I'm feeling excited for tomorrow.

Beta Club Induction

Tonight was Korra's Beta Club Induction. The whole thing was a mess. They didn't have a door unlocked for the kids who went home and came back. Less than half the parents were able to fit in the auditorium, which didn't have the AC on. After 20 minutes of trying to make everyone fit, they moved the whole thing to the gym. It ended up starting 40 minutes late and when it was finally over, they made all the kids go to the cafeteria to get their certificates. It was long and overwhelming and I'm so glad it's over. 

Better than a Jeans Pass

At past schools, teachers were only allowed to wear jeans on Fridays. "Jeans Passes" were used as incentives (and sometimes even had to be bought) to allow you to dress-down other days. 

Last night I made a joke to my principal about getting a Jeans Pass- the joke being that we can wear whatever we want any day because they treat us like adults who can decide how to dress ourselves at this school. Today she gave me a slip of paper that allows me to take a half day off. Way better than a Jeans Pass. 

Perspective Family Event

Tonight I volunteered to help with an information session for families considering attending our school (a lot more families signed up than we anticipated and a bunch of staff is sick). I had a fantastic time. I really love talking with people about things I really love. 

Online Conference and Dinners with Friends

This weekend we spent a good amount of time attending an online conference, but we still made time to see friends each evening- two dinners out and a birthday party.  Korra really enjoyed the conference and wants to go again next year so I'll count that as a big win.