Where I Went, What I Saw… Thanks Derrick and Susan!

(…what I *bought* will be in tomorrow’s blog)

The much-anticipated trip back to Oz, a gift from my husband, was bumpier than expected or hoped for, starting with a delay before I ever stepped on a plane here in the Bordertown. A forty-five minute delay, and then an “involuntary transfer” from one airlines to another, with another hour long wait to board. Instead of flying from Texas to Colorado to Kansas, I instead went from Texas to Texas (Dallas/Ft. Worth) and then on to Missouri/Kansas in Kansas City. During my wait in Dallas/Ft. Worth, I looked up to see a celebrity in the snack shop buying treats and a white teddy bear with her friend/aide rolling the Louis Vuitton carry-ons behind her. While I did have my camera with me, easily accessible, I found it more interesting watching her from a distance and seeing, big surprise, that while plastic looking on tv and in magazines, she was a real human being. I did send a text message to my daughter however, since I knew she’d think it was “a cool thing.”

On the plane, looking forward to a late afternoon arrival to Kansas, all passengers were told that we’d be sitting for a while….another forty-five minutes. Sigh. Mid-flight I began to worry that I might not make it to town in time to have dinner with my friends, but did my best to get through KC International to the car rental hub quickly after we landed. I had a reservation at Dollar Rental, and received excellent and friendly service from Derrick M., even after my debit card was returned denied. Making a quick call to Husband, we figured out that money had been transferred out of the account and never put back in, leaving me stranded for twenty-four hours until the online transfer he made while on the phone with me would “show up.” Stuck, that is, until Derrick took me over to Susan S. at Payless Rental. Between the two of them, Kansas/Missouri hospitality and kindness were so very well represented, with sincere concern for me for not only that evening, but for the remainder of my trip. I couldn’t have asked for two better people to have been put in my path on such a draining day.

Derrick and Susan,

You are **terrific!**

I did miss dinner that night, but had a good drive on dry roads, checked into my hotel, and slept hard until the smell of waffles wafted up the stairwell and into the hallway, seeping under my door. I stopped at a favorite book store for a latte, got some necessities at WalMart, and met Shauna, Jess, and baby S. at Panera for breakfast. Quality time!

The next day, the weather was chilly and windy, but I decided to drive to

a favorite place of mine, home to my “haunts:”

Broadway Antique Mall

Cedar Street Antiques

Yesterday’s Rose Antique Mall

and Buckeye Antiques

Broadway tends to be my favorite, with three floors of furniture, antiques and collectibles to explore, but I had to laugh when I saw a small skunk collection they had on display:

They were in MUCH better shape than the skunks I had encountered on my drive to Abilene that morning, and didn’t require that I cover my nose as I snapped this photo.

I made a deal with myself that I would NOT buy anything that was too big to pack in my carry on bag, nothing that I would have to mail, nothing I’d have to buy additional luggage for to house on the trip home. Talk about discipline! “Little” or “compact” were my search prerequisites.

Salt and pepper sets were tempting, but none held my attention for long, not even these miniature tea/coffee pots. I did find items that passed my requirements however, and brought them home as reminders of Oz, Abilene, the shop owners, and friends.

As for the following sign, it’s an inside joke shared between me and my breakfast buddies (and no, I didn’t buy it Girls, I just took a photo!):

The return flights home were on time, my family has welcomed me back and I’ve been deciding where all of my goodies will go throughout the house- details in tomorrow’s blog of course!

Thank you Honey, for my trip. I loved it!

Catching Up and Clarification

I’ve been home since Monday evening. I have re-cleaned areas of the house that the family *thought* they had cleaned before my return (our techniques for dusting, mopping, vacuuming, laundering and disinfecting don’t exactly match), and I finished reading The Other Boleyn Girl last night. I baked some cookies that are perfectly accompanying my coffee this morning, and I’ve just made it through all of the blogs I missed reading while I was away. Wowzer, was NetNewsWire *full*! I’ve emailed friends and family, sent photos of my trip, and fast-forwarded through most of my recorded t.v. shows on DISH. Catching up, catching up.

I’m not certain what inspiration will find me today, but I’m guessing grocery shopping and re-thinking the seasonal decor in the house will occupy some of my time this morning. Of course I’ll be working up tomorrow’s Show and Share blog, with more photos of some of the goodies I bought while in Oz this past weekend, and will keep my fingers crossed that our internet tech is able to find the source of our internet connection woes sometime today.

I’m looking forward to Shannon’s visit next week as is Dear Daughter. Having moved four times in five years by this summer, time spent with our family and friends who are family helps us to stay connected in between our travels hither and yon. No, still no news on where we’ll be stationed next- I’m keeping my fingers and toes crossed that we will NOT be staying here in the Bordertown. Thank you for your good thoughts!

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Clarification:

For those of you who followed the link in my Knowledge is Power post, and were wondering if I was advocating that all parents pull their children out of school during mandated assessments, the answer would be “no.” I do encourage and am an advocate for parental involvement, LOTS of parental involvement in the lives of their children, but I believe that in our country’s present state of turmoil, not many parents have taken the time (for whatever reason) to really sit back and look at the long-term effects of decisions they’ve allowed others to either make for them or scare/convince them into making themselves in regard to NCLB. When I provide links that I’ve found interesting and thought-provoking, I share them in the hopes that their content will somehow engage others, get them thinking from another angle, or provide another detail or interpretation that will help with the bigger picture for those readers who are spending time to survey the terrain outside of their own backyard.

Remember, I’m not only a teacher (who has the year off, is not presently employed and is therefore not representing any state or any school district) but a parent as well. I don’t believe that my own children will get “do-overs” once NCLB and its testing malpractice(s) are shown to have succeeded in obliterating both the pros AND cons of our public school system. My children will be out of school, and hopefully in college, surrounded by other problem solvers, knowledge-lovers and big thinkers who survived in spite of NCLB, while younger students still in junior high and high school will be doing all they can to just make it through. How many students that reach basic proficiency through today’s drill and kill testing practices are really going to be motivated to attend or adequately prepared for a college’s or university’s rigorous curriculum?

Looking to the future, it’s probable that should my children decide to study Education while in college, they’ll take classes on the history of education, education reform, testing and assessment, etc. I suspect that college professors and other education analysts will tell future teachers that NCLB (and all of its programs, those based on punitive measures AND rewards) was one of the biggest and most successful tools used to control our country. Maybe my crystal ball is a bit cloudy, maybe my vision is a bit off, maybe I’ve had too much coffee… but WHAT IF…

What if the NCLB machine was engineered to make sure enough children failed? No, not every school, or every child. When enough students fail, the school puts canned programs into place that are not only endorsed but mandated by NCLB. When students continue to fail (and some always will, sorry to burst your Pollyanna bubble), for whatever reasons, school environments are taken over and restructured completely, and parents, if they so choose, can move their children to schools that have made AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress). “But what about those schools that have received accolades and rewards and who proudly advertise their school’s report card that PROVES they’ve made adequate yearly progress? Doesn’t that mean that at least those schools are succeeding thanks to NCLB?” Uh, maybe.

Let’s assume those beribboned and shiny gold star schools are accurately reporting their test scores. That doesn’t necessarily mean that the teachers are providing your child with the most comprehensive and well-rounded educational experience possible: it means that students have been taught enough to pass a single test. And guess what, if that gold star school honestly continues to do well while neighboring schools fail, the students from the failing school get to overcrowd Gold Star Elementary, increasing class size, bringing their less-than-proficient scores with them, thus increasing the chance that the school will lose ribbons and gold stars in the future. Yep, in giving schools those fun little awards, the government goes out of its way to make it more difficult for those schools to continue to succeed, though somehow most parents feel placated when told, “don’t worry, your child can go to the good school now,” and don’t think too much past their own reassurance. For those who need an analogy:

Imagine a weight lifter. Strengthening his body, monitoring his diet, trying to make it to the next competition. He pushes himself, hopefully safely, by adding more weight, making his muscles stronger over time. He can bench press two hundred pounds, two hundred twenty five, two hundred fifty, three hundred, three-fifty, four hundred, success after success. Five hundred, six hundred, more. Believe it or not, there will come a time when someone puts enough weight on the lifter that no matter his training/development or his previous successes or trophies, he will not be able to lift it. Ever. Pick up the truck. Pick up the house. Pick up the weight equivalent to a neighborhood block. You can’t. You failed! YOU FAILED. Gee, how did *that* happen? Guess you need us to take over.

Tsk, tsk.

Another thought that today’s intake of cookies and coffee have fired off in my brain is this: If the NCLB machine has indeed been created to guarantee that all schools eventually fail, wouldn’t those beribboned and gold starred schools that continue to blatantly “succeed” no matter how much weight is dumped onto their own weight bars be easily spotted and eventually identified as deserving of investigation? Of, perhaps, misreporting their assessment scores? Of altering test administration? Of cheating? It would certainly be a red flag to me if I made sure everyone would fail (gradually of course, don’t want to tip people off), and one little upstart continued to succeed no matter what. In fact, if I were a real mastermind, I would have made sure that ribbons and gold stars were mandated as rewards BY ME, as my failsafe catch-all. Everyone would be on my radar, easy and clear targets.

Maybe my children will choose to study architecture in college instead. Maybe I should try a more well-balanced breakfast in the morning. Maybe it’s time for that grocery shopping I’m supposed to be doing today.

I’m Baaacccccckkkkkkk!

Did you miss me?

Here’s a quick peek at some of the treasures I brought home with me from Kansas:

And a photo of the baby blanket I made for Miss Shauna (she’s due around Easter):

I’ll keep this post short and sweet since I’m still enjoying cuddle time with the kids and husband (They missed me, they really missed me!), and internet-connection-willing (it’s been available sporadically today, a techie is supposed to come out to the house tomorrow to “diagnose and fix” whatever is ailing us), I’ll be back to blogging tomorrow. I hope you had a wonderful weekend- mine was terrific!

Knowledge is Power

Is your child an English Language Learner?

Does your child have an IEP, or 504 plan?

Does your child receive “Special Ed” services?

Does your child have any label, “EI,” “ADHD,” “Speech/Language,” etc.?

Is your child demonstrating reading and math skill acquisition at HIS OR HER OWN PACE (did you know that most teachers with experience consider the third grade the “magic catch-up year?” Go ahead, ask them *why*.), regardless of what the required NCLB assessments demand?

Did you know that when a “school loses funding,” it’s not money the government takes away from a building, or a staff… it’s money the government takes away from YOUR CHILD’S EDUCATION?

Knowledge is power. Try this on for size:

Parents Lead to Testing Boycott

Fun Photobucket Meme

1) Answer the questions below.
2) Take each answer and type it into Photobucket.
3) Take any picture from the first page of results and post. (click on the picture and copy the HTML code)
4) Have fun!

~What age will you be on your next birthday? thirty nine!

~ A place you’d like to travel to/visit? Europe

~ Your favorite place? Home sweet home.

~ Your favorite object? My wedding ring.

~ What is your favorite food to eat? Chinese!

~ Your favorite animal is… a koala bear.

~ What is your favorite color?

~ What is your favorite t.v. show? The Tudors

~ Favorite celebrity male, favorite celebrity female? Harrison Ford, Angelina Jolie

~ What is the name of your pet? Anni

(She’s a cat, not a smiley though)

~ Who is your current love?

(actually, it’s “Chris-the-Lasikally-enhanced-soldier-and-Harley-tech!”

~ What is your nickname? For some, it’s “Mikey.”

~ What’s a bad habit of yours? OVER-cleaning! Ha!

~ What was your first job? I was a teacher aide!

Photobucket

Thanks for the meme, Paulette!

Show and Share Thursday: Happy Hearts

Happy Valentine’s Day to you!

Hearts, flowers, candy, cards, romantic emails, delicious you-don’t-have-to-cook-or-clean-up-afterward meals… it’s all good in my mind. I’m missing making those valentine mailboxes this year as I’m not teaching. Empty shoe boxes, covered with bright paper, decorated to the hilt with doilies, stickers, glitter, lace, sparkles, and students’ names…Valentine’s is actually my favorite holiday to observe in school each year. My kindergartners so enjoy delivering special cards and treats to their classmates, and every child loves opening his or her “mailbox” to see all the illustrated, names-neatly-written expressions of friendship- if they are accompanied by a new pencil or lollipop, or even those little message hearts, all the better! Wearing my sparkly heart jewelry to work, no matter how gaudy, is a *must*, though my husband and kids prefer being seen with me in public in less over-the-top accessories.

Daughter will be delivering her goodies and cards to friends today, Toddler will enjoy his Valentine jelly beans, I’m sure (though the vacuum will certainly eat its fair share of them during naptime), and hopefully Husband will like the motorcycle book the kids picked out for him. I’ll finish off the chocolate covered strawberries and stop to smell the roses (thank you Honey) as I pack for my trip, and then try to figure out what we’re doing for dinner (did I mention the no cook/no clean preference?). But before that, here is my list of “loves:”

~Family, of course. Perhaps mine is non-traditional, but it’s our own permutation of affection, care, concern, and involvement, spread out over the miles. It grows, it changes, it evolves, and it endures.

~ Friends, because they are my chosen family. Each knows me in his or her own way, knows how far I’ve come, and is looking forward to finding out (or acting as partner-in-crime to) what new adventures await me. Yes, I even have friends who would help me hide the body if it ever came to that!

~ Vera Bradley placemats and tablecloths. Why? Yes, the colors and patterns are vibrant, wonderfully seasonal, and thankfully, machine washable. I love using them to set our family’s dining table daily, and for the first time in over a year, we’ve all eaten together, nightly. Deployments will do that to a military family. I can’t tell you how much it means to me that we can all sit and eat together.

~ Random acts of kindness.

~ Full-on hugs. No air kisses or ooh-don’t wrinkle-me requests here!

~ Discovering new music. I’m reading This is Your Brain on Music to find out why (it’s a GOOD READ!).

~ Being a “maker.” I enjoy crocheting, cooking, baking, decorating, and doing other crafts. While I’m happy to find treasures and purchase them, it makes me feel good to know that I can put my own tastes,wishes, and skills into making things for my family and friends for truly personal expression.

~ Treasure hunting in flea markets, vintage shops or antique stores. Isn’t it recycling? Adopting what was once used elsewhere, by some other person? Some of my treasures beg to be rescued and taken care of, like heirloom Russian icons, old china, and books. Why buy new when you can find something with personality, character, and experience? Items that have a story to guess, tell, or imagine have strong appeal to me.

~Candid photos of family and friends. Posed can be nice, but candid is so much more memory-inducing.

~Silly girlfriend chats, generating cry-your-eyes-out-hoarse-voice-oh-my-goodness-I’m-going-to-pee-my-pants euphoria.

~The freedom to express myself, which I don’t take for granted.

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Link Time!

* Seeking Everyday Beauty & Velvet Strawberries shares her beautiful heart collection

* Mamacita at Scheiss Weekly shares the story of Cupid and Psyche

* Terri Terri Quite Contrary tries to help Mars understand Venus for year-round harmony

* Bent Objects gives us a sweet moment that will probably keep me from eating any chocolates received today (no, no, it’s not bad- in fact, it’s….SWEET!)

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I’ll be out of the loop and away from the computer until next Monday or Tuesday. If I find the time and inspiration, I’ll post some more here today to tide you over, if not, I look forward to touching base with you again in a few days! Have a terrific weekend!

The Mom Thing

I’ve been doing “the mom thing” today. All day.

I’m going on a trip on Friday- a*four day* trip- back to Oz to see friends, their new babies, and do some treasure hunting. Yes, only four days. Get there on Friday afternoon, and leave around Monday, lunchtime. But to visit Oz, I am leaving my dear husband, my thirteen year old daughter, my toddler son, and my cat here in the Bordertown. For four days. Without moi. So the “mom thing” that I’ve been doing has included:

~anticipating any and all grocery needs/emergencies/cravings

~ shopping for said groceries

~making sure the laundry is done

~making sure Daughter puts all of her school and social activities on the calendar

~making sure Daddy knows to *check the calendar* in case he has to pick her up from school (and he WILL have to)

~ watering the plants

~ and any other housecleaning-type-jobs that I just won’t feel good about leaving undone before leaving.

So when do I pack? When do I figure out what toiletries to take, clothes, shoes, etc? Eh, the night before. Packing doesn’t stress me out- I’ve told friends I’m not a “panic packer.” If I forget something, I know how to stop at a store to correct the situation. No, what to wear, what to bring, how much room I’ll have to bring stuff home…these things don’t bother me.

Imagining the state of disarray the house will be in upon my return…THAT bothers me. While secretly grateful that my husband will have a smidgen of a taste of what I’ve done for years while he’s been TDY or deployed, I still know Daughter will end up taking up the slack. A lot of it. The toddler has entered a Destructo-Mode recently, requiring much more hands-on time, and exponentially more clean-up time, and the cat has begun to feel more comfortable expressing her displeasure with the boy whenever he chases her under the beds or couches. I fear the phone calls I’m going to receive. I’ve had nightmares for the last two nights in a row. I know, I’m over-reacting, but hey, it’s “the mom thing.”

More “mom thing” related documentation:

Daughter’s Valentine Treat Bags are almost done (just need cookies and the pecan/rolo/pretzel nummies added, then bows tied on), as are her cards:

Cookies? What cookies? Oh yeah, I need to make cookies! Red and pink sugar was added later:

While cleaning out the fridge, I found a lone pie dough roll…oh darn, I guess that means I’ll just *have* to make date and marmalade pastries:

For a pick-me-up, I enjoyed a snack, er, “taste test” of the cookies:

…and then right as I was wandering back toward Worrysville, darling husband appeared with these:

Okay, so maybe I shouldn’t worry about him, the kids, and the cat…

Maybe.

February Flowers

These will be around a bit longer than the flowers my husband is bound to get for me and our daughter- and I can take the bouquet apart and use the flowers again in the months to come for new arrangements, decor, and crafts. For now, they cheerfully greet any and all who come through our door.

Start to finish:

Whew!

Done! And not a moment too soon:

The 3-D hearts were a wonderful discovery yesterday at Target- did I save the packaging so I could give proper credit where it’s due? NO~ apologies! Target- Scrapbooking Section-Stickers/Embellishments-About 60+ in a pack. Hope that helps!

Valentine Inspiration

Red Velvet at CakeSpy

Love Songs suggested by YourHeartOut

Valentine Imagery at V&A Prints

Duda Daze illustrates a girl choosing a prince from her selection of frogs …

InspireCo produces a heart/ticker of a clock…

Rosebud Design Studio keeps the valentine humor pretty …

There is No Place Like Home’s vellum valentine banner is quick and easy to make…

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Show and Share Thursday’s Theme this week: Love (of course!)

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