20 Lbs of Homework

I love being a teacher. I really do. I really love being a writing teacher. Kids can come up with some of the most creative things to write. However, there are a few downsides. The biggest one being all of the homework. No, not the kids' homework. My homework!

Here's my current bane: 20 pounds of essays!

For the last three weeks I have been hauling around a large bag of essays. Haul them home, haul them back to school, haul them home, haul them back to school. I would pick an essay off the top, get bored or distracted, and never grade it. The first batch of essays were 145 scary stories written before Halloween and still not read. Then we finished another essay and it was added to the pile (145 essays on "The qualities of a good friend.") Finally last weekend, I decided it was time to do or die. Sink or swim. I settled in for a long weeknd of grading. Once on the couch, I promptly fell asleep. Then I woke up and made myself some hot chocolate. Then I remembered errands I had to run. And then... and then... and then... I sank.

Now, it is Thanskgiving weekend. I have five whole days. This coming Tuesday is the District Direct Writing Assessment - the DWA! The kids have to have feedback on their writing before they take the test. Otherwise they will never know if they are writing correctly or not. So, I have done it. I have finally graded almost all of those essays.

20.6 lbs of papers - and you thought I was exaggerating!

Sorry this one is sideways.

Puzzle Weather

Last Saturday we woke up to snow on the ground. I was soooo excited. I knew it wouldn't last and so I decided to make the most of it. I cancelled my previous plans (to read 20lbs of essays, but that's another post), and made new plans that complimented the weather.

First, I ran to Kmart and searched until I found a new jigsaw puzzle that looked pretty but challenging. I chose "Flags over the Capitol Building" by Thomas Kinkade. Then, I came home and made homemade rolls and potato soup. Jake and I ate lunch together then went downstairs, set up the card tables and spent the rest of the weekend vegging in front of the television putting together a jigsaw puzzle! It was a great way to spend a windy, snowy, icky weekend. Not only did I do some yummy cooking (with enough left overs I may never need to cook again), but we spent two whole days having fun.

How is it that hooking two pieces of painted cardboard together can be so exciting? I always feel very successful when I find two pieces that match. When I put a whole section together, I start thinking that I may be the smartest person ever. The completed picture is always the best. It only took us two days because neither of us like to give up on a challenge. Once I would start looking for a specific piece I couldn't quit until I'd found it. Of course, that led to another piece I had to have. We stayed up late working on the puzzle, and where did I find Jake the next morning after my shower? Downstairs working on the puzzle before church. We've had the puzzle up all week long to look at it. We put to much work into it to take it down right away.

I love puzzle weather!

Dining Dilemna

I have a new concern. You see, the other night I dreamt that I overheard Jacob telling a friend, "If we only ate when Katie cooked, then we would have starved to death years ago." When I woke up, I got to thinking about it. I cook dinner... um...maybe two or three times a month, at the most (maybe 24 nights a year, maybe). I suddenly felt like such a slacker. It's not that I don't want to cook, really. I would cook dinner if someone expected me too, or even if someone would eat it whether they expected it or not.

Unfortunately, we have two regular conversations at our house. The first goes like this:
K: Are you hungry?
J: No, I ate a large lunch.
K: Okay. I'll have some cereal.

The second conversation goes like this:
K: Are you hungry?
J: I don't know. I guess so.
K: What do you want to eat?
J: I don't know, you pick.
K: Nothing really sounds good to me. You pick.
J: I don't know you pick.
(This goes on for at least 45 minutes.) Finally,
K: Okay, when you decide what you want let me know. Or there's cereal in the kitchen.

We eat alot of cereal. It seems like between not having the time to cook, not being able to pick what we want to eat, and not having all the ingredients for what does sound good at the time, I never spend any time in the kitchen. The biggest meal we usually eat is Weekend Breakfast. This could be a combination of omelets, eggs cooked to order, hashbrowns, bacon, sausage, pancakes, waffles, and french toast. While absolutely my favorite meal of the week I'm not the one that cooks it. Jake is. Jake is the culinary mastermind in our house.

This morning I'd been thinking about my dream again so I decided to make dinner tonight. I left work kind of early, called Jake and asked him to thaw some steaks, went to the grocery store, bought produce for a salad, and went home ready to cook. Guess what happened? Yep, Jake had eaten a big lunch and wasn't hugry. I don't know how to use the barbecue outside so Jake cooked my steak for me. I opened a bag of salad, grated some cheese and sliced a tomato. The extent of my "cooking" was chopping a tomato.

So now I have to ask: Do you actually make dinner at your house? How often? And if so, does that dinner include a main dish and side dishes, or just a single dish like mac and cheese or hamburger helper? Am I the only "slacker" out there?

Dandelion Wine

I have begun a new tradition that I would like to share with anyone who would care to read about it. It is the reading of a very special book. At the beginning and end of every summer I reread a book called Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury. It is the story of a boy named Douglas Spaulding and the summer he was 12 years old. So many things happen to Douglas that summer, and yet not a single one of them is out of the ordinary. There is almost no plot to this book. You can pick it up in the middle and read a chapter here or there and it wouldn't even matter that you hadn't read what happened before or what will happen after. This book is not about plot, it is about life. It is about savoring every moment of summer, and every person that crosses our paths. To use a phrase of President Thomas S. Monson it is about "finding joy in the journey".

You might be asking yourself why would I want to read a book with no plot. Well, the answer is that you might not want to read it. I can't promise that everyone who reads it will love it. However, if you have ever tried on a new pair of sneakers and felt like flying, or sat on the porch steps on a summer evening and listened to idle chatter, or wanted to build a Happiness Machine, or wanted to experience summer as a child but with the knowledge you've gained as an adult, then you will probably love this book. I will warn you though that you will probably need a box of tissues. It's just that good!

Today is the First Day of the Rest of Your Life

Change is usually difficult for me. I don't like when things are not the same as they were before. I was pretty sure that this would be a hard week for me. School started at O'Leary Middle School on Monday, and I am teaching sixth grade instead of eighth grade. I had prepped myself for the worst. I was convinced that sixth graders would be obnoxious, and whiny, and squirmy, and annoying and therefore I would hate my job.

Luckily for me, changes can be unpredictable. I guess that's the good thing about changes. If they were predicatable maybe they wouldn't have as big as an impact on our lives. Changing from an eighth grade teacher to a sixth grade teacher may have been one of the best decisions I ever made. Not only are the kids sweet and funny, they are still dedicated little learners. They are excited to be in school and they LOVE when they get picked to do anything at all in the classroom.

My transition was made easier by the fact that I work with great teachers who are almost as excited as the kids to take on this new challenge of sixth grade in the middle school. These last few days have been full of forgotten locker combinations, lost schedules, and more laughs than I can count. Kids really do say the DARNDEST things. I believe my transition was also helped by the prayers of friends and family. On the first day of school, I left my classroom during my prep to run around the school and finish errands. When I came back I had this great surprise from "Teddi, Sara, and the gang". Thanks gang! It made my day!

(Bonus points to you if you can identify the gift and what movie it comes from!! Hint: it's a Meg Ryan classic! )

Pictures of the house

So I've finally gotten around to taking pictures of the house. I am almost completely done unpacking, and so now that the house looks half way decent I decided to let others see it.

The upstairs rooms are the only ones that are decorated. Actually, I haven't finished the dining room yet but its getting close.

The Dining Room

The Basement:

(Sara -- please notice the blank walls!!!!!!!!!)

Jake in his lair.

I'll post more when I have some time, and as I get them decorated. The boxes in the basement are full of books that are waiting for book cases that are on back order. When those arrive I will no longer have any boxes in my house!!!!!!

It's Good To Be Home

We're all settled into our new house. The move was wonderfully smooth (but I can say that because I wasn't underneath the gun safe as it was being lowered down the stairs). We have unpacked almost all of our boxes and put everything away. I haven't hung much on the walls yet, but I did place a framed fabric piece that says "It's Good To Be Home" on top of the bookshelves. It really feels like we are home. This is where we are meant to be.

The best part of the move was the support of friends and family. My cousins, Annie and Donna, helped me move a lot of boxes over the day before the big move. They also unpacked the boxes, organized the kitchen, and organized the linen closets and bathrooms. They are sweethearts. Then on Moving Day we had lots of help too. Mom and Dad Schwabedissen, Mom and Dad Fiala, and Jake's friends Garrett and Maxwell came and stayed for seven hours packing the moving truck and then letting me direct traffic when they unloaded. I owe everyone a HUGE thank you for all that help.

The neighbors across the corner from us came to welcome us to the neighborhood. They are LDS and were excited that we were too. They brought us cucumbers from their garden and while we had all of our helpers here they brought over pizza, cheesesticks, soda, and homemade chocolate chip cookies. Talk about nice people!

We have been here for five days now, and it really is beginning to feel like home! I will post pictures as soon as I can. In the meantime, here is a picture of Frank. He didn't like moving at all, but he found that the pile of boxes makes for a pretty nice fort when he needs to hide.

And So It Begins. . .

For those of you who don't know, Jake and I have purchased a new house and are in the process of moving this week. We are excited for the change, nervous about upsetting our currently calm life style, and anxious to have the whole thing over with. We will be switching to a new ward and a whole new side of town; however we will still be in Twin Falls, Idaho.

We were supposed to close yesterday, but these things never run as smoothly as planned, especially when you're on a fairly tight time schedule. Luckily we got the keys this afternoon and I had the help of my two wonderful cousins, Annie and Donna, to help begin the process of moving boxes. I wasn't able to get any pictures today because we were all too busy and tired to stop and grab a camera. I'll do better on Friday and Saturday when they come back over to help move the big stuff. In the meantime, wish us luck. And if you're in the area feel free to stop by and visit. We'd love to see you.

A Tribute to Roommates

I had an opportunity to take two really long drives this week. The first one all the way to Montana and the second all the way back home. Driving is always a good time to reflect on life and I started to think about friends that have come into my life throughout the years. I was very lucky to be roommates with some awesome girls. We became good friends and we are still good enough friends that even though I haven't seen them in over three years we can pick right back up where we left off.

Laural --

Laural was one of my very first roommates and we are still good friends even though we haven't seen each other in quite a while. She insisted that I take audiobooks with me on my drive and am I glad that she did! Thank you Laural! Artemis Fowl was great.

On my way through Rexburg I decided to stop and see some friends/roommates from my last semester at school. My visit was a surprise but everyone was nice enough to take time from their busy lives so that we could catch up. I'm sorry that I couldn't stay longer and see more people while I was there.

I could probably go on and on about everyone but I think I'll just post some pictures . . .

Grace -- I'm so excited that you're going to be a mommy. You're adoreable.

Tara -- Good luck on your move to St. Louis. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.

Jennifer -- I'm still planning on seeing you this year. You'd better come visit!!!

All together now --

More pictures just for fun --

♦On Scenic Roadtrips

I recently told Jake that if we went on vacation to one state per summer, I would be 75 before I saw them all. However, no matter where we visit I am sure nothing is more beautiful than what we can see in our own back yard.

I drove (by myself!!) to Billings, Montana through Yellowstone and across Beartooth Highway this week. Usually the disinterested passenger with a book to read, I had never paid attention to the magnificent scenery. Every hairpin turn revealed a new, breathtaking view. I sat on the edge of my seat, finally understanding exactly what the term "white-knuckled" meant. The vertical cliffs towered on either side of the road making it hard to see upcoming turns and oncoming traffic. The intensity of the drive was like a roller-coaster ride. Sharp right, sharp left, sharp right, a steep upward climb, an incredible crest, and then an even scarier descent.

The purple mountain majesty and snow capped peaks always look beautiful from a distance but they are stunning up close. The skies were over cast but it had been raining and the grass was green. There were dozens of hidden lakes formed from the snow drifts that were still melting. Wildflowers, pine trees, brooding rain clouds, and massive buffalo -- need I say more?

In case you're wondering -- buffalo walk approximately two miles an hour and they do NOT use turn signals. :)