Blah, blah, blog!

A video to share...'cause it was pretty dang cool

 

Be sure to double-click to enjoy in fullscreen.

The Amazing Race...again

We were resolved in our decision to forgo the 8th grade Europe trip for our oldest child.  We had a pros and cons list that was torturous, and we chose to sit this one out.

Then Gilbert called me.

Gilbert is the trip coordinator.  He is also a dad of a fellow student, one who has grown up with my daughter from the time they were five.  He  is French, has a passion for sharing his homeland and by ALL accounts and testimonials, "You will NEVER see Paris like you do led by Gilbert!  You simply must go!"  When Gilbert heard we were not going to make this trip he called me and said simply, "What happened?"  He said, "You of ALL people have been talking about Paris for years". 

He went on to explain that his fear was that my daughter was going to leave our school and all of the kids that have grown up together, and gone to school together since they were five would never have this chance to experience this trip, this time together again.  We only travel this way once in life.  Sold.

We leave November 11.

Thank You Steve Jobs

Thank you Steve Jobs. "Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They invent. They imagine. They heal. They explore. They create. They inspire. They push the human race forward. Maybe they have to be crazy. How else can you stare at an empty canvas and see a work of art? Or sit in silence and hear a song that’s never been written? Or gaze at a red planet and see a laboratory on wheels? We make tools for these kinds of people. While some see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do."

- Think Different, Apple Computers

I remember standing in the Apple retailer, with my mom,  purchasing my first Apple SE in 1987 when I went away to college. It was a HUGE leap of faith for my parents who were not versed in technology at the time, but they trusted I needed one and they trusted Apple was the way to go.

From 1985-1986 I made the trek up to the Moscone Center in San Francisco to the Mac World expo to wander the trade show floor. I was just a kid, but I was enamored with all things Apple. I remember marveling at the possibility and creativity. Just being surrounded by that energy flipped a switch for me.

When I moved to Ecuador in 1993, I couldn't take very much with me, but I do remember taking this very quote from a full-page Apple marketing ads for decor in my site "This is for the crazy ones....".   It somehow fortified me when I was so far away from home for those two years.  I also brought back a Mac PowerBook to write grad school applications after a Christmas visit home. Today's Peace Corps volunteers go over pretty wired. I took mix tapes and a Walkman

Today, I use my Macs (yes, multiple) in my work and private l life extensively. I use my iPhone to communicate and manage my time, my children use iPads in the classroom and for homework, iPods for games and music and even for music instruction. I use my iPad in many ways , both as a productivity tool and for relaxing (reading, movies, browsing). 

Thank you Steve Jobs.  You are a force.

4th of July is Back!

 

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Happy Valentines Day to me: Another Celebration Purse

Why haven't any of you TOLD me about Hobo Wallets before?

Oh my gawsh....
Thursday night, after our charter school pre-enrollment meeting a big group of us went out for tacos and two girls whipped out their Hobos to pay and I said "LET ME SEE THAT RIGHT NOW" and I knew I was holding something great.  Of course they looked at me like I was a fashion moron and said, "Don't you know about Hobos?"

Well I do now.

Friday I set out to find me one. Since my personal shopping rules involve never stepping foot inside a mall, never paying full retail, and usually only supporting vendors that provide shopping carts, I started with Nordstrom Rack (3 for 3!)

The Shopping Stars were aligned just right for me that night because though the choices were limited, I promptly found the PERFECT Lauren Hobo in a Black and Tan fade combination at way, way below retail.  In fact, I saved so much money, I decided to finally grab this caramel suede Utility sling bag I've been eying for months:

It reminds me of a suede leather  utility tool  belt with Swarovski crystals embedded in polished steel studs. 

The last time I bought myself a Celebration Purse I had a ton on which to reflect.  Today is no different.  Thursday night was the first of six pre-enrollment meetings for our little charter school.  We had chairs for 100.  We estimate 200 parents were there to learn how to enroll their children.  We have five more meetings between now and the open enrollment period, which kicks off February 19 and runs through March 20.  We plan to open year one with 728 students (k-8th grade).  We have over 850 Intent to Enroll forms on file.  Our advisors have shared that most charter schools start with a first year enrollment of 100 or so students.  They say we are "incredibly aggressive" to go this big.  We don't know how to do it any other way.

Valentine Marathon Lap One Is Done!

Last night I got home from our first charter school pre-enrollment meeting (AWESOME turnout--seats for 100--standing room only--had a crowd of at least 200 turn out!)--anyway--got home at 11:30 PM and stayed up until 1:30 AM printing over 100 of these  little bags one by one.

I've lost my ability to be proactive and do things in a sensible time line.  Why plan ahead when you can hobble around on crutches baking five pans of brownies before hauling ass out the door to a meeting then stay up all night printing cute little bags so you can appear like you  had this all planned out for months?

At least it gave me a good excuse to purchase that Ultimate Brownie Pan Thingy from the As Seen On TV asisle at WalMart.

The kids loved the production line madness of assembling their brownies in a bag Valentine treats for their classmates this morning:


Whew!  Lap One is Done!

Party planning

The research has begun!

P takes her birthday party planning pretty seriously.  Last year, she planned every last detail of her Tiny Treats Birthday Party.  Around Halloween, she started putting her thoughts together for her upcoming 12th birthday.  She started with a Halloween themed birthday party.  Then she changed her mind and thought about a Phantom of the Opera themed party.  She finally settled on a Murder Mystery dinner party and has been putting her thoughts together since.

We are just a few months out now, so guest lists, plot lines, and prop shopping must begin.  Thank goodness for Google because we quickly found the assistance of some fabulous websites.  I think we have are leaning toward this company.  They will create an entire themed kit for us.  P likes the the Miss Teen U.S.A Pageant Murder Mystery theme.  She has already typecast all of her guests.

Literature Day 2009

Oh how we love Halloween around here...

Miss P, exercising her typical artistic nature, began planning and designing her Pele costume months ago.  She had complete sketches ready for her 94 year old great-grandmother and off to the fabric store, craft store, make up store, and thrift stores we went.  I love this kid's creativity!

I searched three local bookstores and all of the online catalogs for our city and county library systems for a book on Pele, the Hawaiian Volcano deity, but no luck.  We finally ordered Madame Pele from Amazon.  Our school requires a book report and costume based on a character for "Literature Day".  You know how we can't celebrate "those days" anymore in public school.  And don't you dare go saying Christmas now....but wait let's not get ahead of ourselves we still have Thanksgiving to get through.  Is that still allowed to be called by name?  I forget.

Back to Halloween, er, Literature Day...Oh yes, Madame Pele:

 

And my girl:

 


 

And then there are the old folks who just want to have a little potion in the teacup and relax (Vampire Pinot Noir, BTW):

Bringing a little Aloha home

It was tough, but we managed to drag ourselves on to the plane and fly away home.  We had an absolutely wonderful time.  We flew home on the red eye at 7 AM Friday morning July 3 and got to work right away in preparation for our annual 4th of July neighborhood block party.  Inspired the the luau feasts of Hawaii, I got up early (kinda cheated actually since I'm still on "Hawaiian time) and put on the Kahlua Pig for roast for 10 hours....yum.  I'll feed a crowd with rice and fruit and of course the good 'ol standard grilled hotdogs. Happy Independence Day.  Let Freedom Ring!

My Celebration Purse

Today I bought myself a celebration purse:

Do you have any idea how long it has been since I've bought myself a Celebration Purse?  I don't.  But today I felt like it.  So I did.  And I love it. 

While true celebration may be premature, today sure feels like some hard work is beginning to pay off and a new day is upon us.

Yesterday I ran from a full day at school running among dual award ceremonies to grade level field days to the district interim Superintendent search hearings to our charter school parent information meeting.  My day started at 6 AM and I slid home sometime around midnight.  While helping out with the Q&A session at the charter school meeting I got a text message that Wayne Joseph (our top choice for interim Superintendent) was voted in 3:1.  You have no idea how huge this is for our school community. I feel like Johnny Nash should break out in song any moment with "I Can See Clearly Now The Rain Is Gone....All Of The Dark Clouds Have Disappeared..." Our school district has seen some dark days, bad management, and outright mean-spirited, ruthless, power plays that lined pockets and enhanced resumes, but left our kids worse for the wear.  Today that changes.  A reason to celebrate.

Our little charter school parent information meeting last night was not advertised other than on our little blog and the few Starbucks bulletin boards I managed to post.  We had no idea if 10 or 20 people would show up.  We had planned on two 30-minute sessions to get people in and out and move on.  We had over 100 people show up, with standing room only and the meetings went on for three hours.  We will host a second round on Sunday evening as an encore event.  A reason to celebrate.

Baby D had her kindergarten "promotion"/awards ceremony today and was recognized for excellence in ALL academic areas and for reading over 228 books this school year (go us!)  But the big reason to celebrate is that we are FINISHED with the 1/2 day kindergarten schedule and that come fall I WILL ACTUALLY HAVE ALL THREE CHILDREN IN ONE SCHOOL FOR THE ENTIRE DAY!!!
Another reason to celebrate!

Today was also bittersweet.

The morning started with a school-wide "Send Off" continental breakfast to say thank you to our teachers, staff members, and most recently, our Dean (who we learned late Friday afternoon the District decided to move to another campus--a.k.a. "the admin shuffle").


Then the bell rang and the kids lined up and the sixth graders led the Parade of Universities into the Student Union for their last time as Rhodes Scholars.  With fight songs blaring, pom poms waving and tears flowing, this particular tradition, this year stung just a little, because we watched the most amazing teachers lead these kids in for the last time as Rhodes Professors.  Two of three of these sixth grade teachers will be without a job in this district next year.
 

Today was filled with celebration and goodbye.  We acknowledged our traditions and smiled with all that our community has worked together to create.  At the same time, the end of this school year is like no other.  Most years, I look forward to seeing the bridge of summer and familiar faces in fall.  Today I know that nothing will be the same when we return.

So....with award ceremonies complete and grade level parties finished, reports card in hand, and desks cleaned out, I have decided to play hookie on the last day of the year. The past few months have been intense. I have my reasons.  Call it a mental health day if you will.  I'm taking my family and we're going to go play off campus.

Maybe I'll go show off my new purse.