Tsk. Tsk...

Time flies! It has been all of two months since I last posted. Nothing too terribly interesting has happened since then. School is going great! But, I guess the best news is that TNP has assigned Clint to a brand new project as an EIT! The assumption is that he will start the Monday after graduation on December 13th. Hallelujah!!! I am so proud of him and all he has been working toward. He is generally too modest to respond to praise... but I can praise him all I want here! :)

The only other thing that has been on my mind lately is this election... I find it so tragic that our country and the fate of every life, here and abroad, that is affected by the great U. S. of A. has been placed in the hands of a man elected almost entirely due to skin color. It seems to me that we have gone the complete opposite of racism to celebrate a form of reverse racism. In a community, the idealism of non-racist behaviors would be to eliminate the affects of skin color on attitudes and decisions.

And yet, for this election, the skin color of a man who is black almost entirely in name only, is a primary determining factor for the majority of American's decisions. Where is the wisdom in this? It is sad that our country is full of adolescents incapable of researching facts in preference of feel-good emotions. Even in my own classroom I hear 7 and 8 year olds praising this man as distant to them as the moon for his skin color! People are swayed by every pretty thing that comes across the television.

Have we sunk so low that we do not care? Do not mistake my words. I did not find in John McCain a perfect candidate. But, I did not pick McCain because he was white. I picked him because his agenda more closely aligned with my own ideals. I did not fail to pick Barack Obama because he was black. I did not choose him because I disagreed with his intentions. Skin color was NOT a factor.

In a country so quick to avoid racism so as not offend a certain people group, we have allowed a plethora of race-centered agendas to overrun our country. Race exclusive scholarships for students (Black, Hispanic, or Native American only), race specific recognition programs (Black Music Awards, etc.), race isolated media (news, radio, etc.), and race engineered presidential campaigns. Where is the equity? Where is the freedom? Where is the equality? The inverse would be heartily objected -- white-kid-only scholarships, white only awards, White ABC News, and hallelujah we have another WHITE President!

Yet, the media, the country, and even most of the world praises our new BLACK President!

Does skin color affect intelligence? As a teacher who has seen white, black, and hispanic children, I can say that, skewed test data aside, children are children. Their skin color does NOT under absolutely NO uncertain circumstances affect their ability to learn.

Does skin color affect ones ability to lead a country? Absolutely NOT! There are already leaders around the world from nearly every culture in power. Having a black President is not an implied advantage.

Does skin color give inherent benefits? Medical conditions aside, God created us in his image - He is not a respector of persons. One person is NOT above another.

Does skin color win a Presidency? Apparently so.

School Year Numero Dos...

Yes, my title is half English and half Spanish. No, I'm not trying to be multicultural, this is my job. For some strange reason last year when it came down to move my classroom or become a Dual Language teacher, I chose DL. What I didn't know was that it literally entailed splitting myself into two self-sustaining and entirely independent teachers! As crazy as it sounds, I am living a double life. My words, actions, lessons, musings, and mutterings now affect two groups of adolescents. I am super teacher! Ultra Educator! Well, at least I hope to be, because even though it is easier with a year of experience under my belt (an expression that effectively holds zero meaning for me, a non-belt-wearer) the experiences and the needs and the events of this year are drastically different.

Starting from the very first day of school I have had to repeat, reiterate, and rephrase everything for children who struggle with the English language. Add to that the fact that I know essentially NO Spanish and we have for an interesting year to say the least.

I do think I am starting to get a handle on things now. But, things still pop up that must be dealt with - what if we start a chapter book read-a-loud? the other teacher has to finish it. What if we do not have time to finish an assignment before we switch classes? HOMEWORK! What happens if our two sets of identical twins decide to switch classes? Pray that NEVER happens or I QUIT!

My Latest Sewing Venture

Sew... :)... Last Saturday was the meeting for my sewing group where we were sharing our creations. We also did a fabric swap. I got a lot of really cute fabrics for another baby quilt, but I also got some adorable cherry fabric. I had no clue what I was going to do with it, but I just couldn't leave it there! So, I picked it hoping that I could find a really cute use for it. This is what I came up with:

I think CoCo likes it - don't you? Penny's dress is almost finished as well and then they will have matching sister dresses! YAY!

Moving day

And it wasn't even ours! Although, ours will come soon enough...

No, we were moving a TON of stuff into the new apartment that my mom and dad and Katie will be staying in and eventually will become Jeff's. I am so excited because it really is a great apartment and is in a great location, looks great and will work out so well.

But, before all that work and exhausting labor, Penny had her "girlie" appointment today. It was so sad to drop her off early in the morning! She was doing just fine until we pulled into the Petsmart parking lot. Then, she knew where she was going! I even have a scratch mark to prove that she knew exactly what was going on. It was so hard to hand her over to the nurse! She looked so tiny and I just wanted to hold her and take her home! All day long I thought about her and fretted over her.

During the day I had a workshop at school to go over the new textbook adoption. Last year we adopted a new curriculum, but it is TERRIBLE! None of the teachers in the district or in all the districts that adopted it like the way it is laid out. The lessons don't make sense, the kids don't get it, and we don't like it. Well, today we were introduced the new textbook adoption and we LOVE it! It is so nice because the Teacher Editions are easy to use, the kids' books are user friendly, there is lots of technology support, leveling, intervention, centers, absolutely everything you would need is already included, organized, and color coded! We were so happy...

Then, "THEY" drop the bombshell on us. We still have to use the old curriculum. "But it is very different" we point out... We are told to make it work and to use both. So now we have to take poorly written curriculum and very well-written curriculum and put it together to rewrite NEW curriculum. Stressful to say the least.

So, in a "blog"shell, that was my day... Penny, stress, labor.

Hates and Loves

I HATE:

Crawling bugs
stinging bugs
big bugs
bugs with 6 legs
bugs with 8 legs (spiders technically, but for the sake of the list...)
flying bugs (with the exception of Butterflys and Damselflys of course)
buggy bugs
bugs, etc.
low lighting
licking
clutter
missing things
crackly tv shows
slow internet
lack of ice cream in the freezer
big band
pastels
jeans shopping
lost keys
people who park in other people's driveways
cops who won't do anything about people parking in other people's driveways
tow trucks who won't tow people parked in other people's driveways
diet cokes

I LOVE!
guacamole!!!
minties (the yummy pink, green, and yellow ones from the candy store)
CLINT!
soft pillows
finishing a quilt
comfortable days with blue skies
non-sticky floors
chocolate shakes
green
sing-able music
furry puppies
sparklies
feathers
daggers
candles
sleeping
Thanksgiving
rod iron
spice cabinets
fireworks
pretty sinks
foam soap

My NEW QUILTS!!!

This is the quilt that I made 2 weeks ago. It is rather small (like for a carseat baby blanket).
This is a close-up of one of the squares. I love the vibrant colors and the quilting!
This is the quilt I finished today. It is more of a crib sized quilt (no hints or subliminal messages - I just like doing some small quilts as well!).
And a close up of one of the squares. The colors are great (they show up a little muted, but they are wonderful reds, oranges, greens, and blues).

Musings of a dog owner...

Wow! Penny and CoCo were so good today! This evening was very nice (a little warm, but still nice) so we took both dogs outside to run around and play. CoCo isn't much into playing, but Penny had such a great time! I was working on the last finishing touches of my latest quilt when Clint decided to brush the girls' teeth. Usually this is a task better left for bad days as the brushing only makes the day worse. The girls hate it, we feel it needs to get done, it makes a mess, and no one is left completely happy.

Usually...

But tonight CoCo was first and for once she didn't cry, whine or try to get away at all! She just laid there and accepted the fact that we were bound and determined to get those teeth sparkling (or at least half as bad-smelling). Penny was next and I guess she took the cue from her sister because she was a little sweetheart.

So, a normally VERY difficult procedure was quite peaceful... Good thing, too, because we were having a wonderful day!