Reader, Welcome Back

So...no posts for me in 2021 (not even my annual National Parks road trip)?...Interesting...

Who knew that being a principal during a global pandemic would be so time- and energy-consuming?

Reader, don't answer that.

The good thing is that while the work has been seemingly never-ending, there has been time to take breaks - morning weekend runs, Broadway in Chicago shows & the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, binge watching "All Creatures Great and Small" and "The Mandalorian," prayer/faith groups at church, visiting my sister and brother-in-law, holiday light shows, old roomie catch-up evenings, weekly family FaceTimes...

It's important to take time for the things one enjoys. Because Reader, guess what? The list will always be there, staring back with a growing amount of checkboxes on any given day. The emails will always be there, asking you to do something or complaining about a new policy, or asking important questions. Each of us is only human. Each of us needs boundaries. Otherwise, each of us won't make it till 2023...or possibly even to next week.

Now that we're in 2022, I hope to do a lot more of the aforementioned activities as well as bust out of my Chicago bubble to see some friends I haven't seen in awhile and *fingers crossed* to finally make it to Acadia. Reader, wish me luck.

I doubt my blogging will be regular moving forward - most days I find my brain gets to empty around 4pm, and any insight or wisdom I may have had vanishes. But, we'll see what happens.

Until next time, dear Reader, be well.

Brace Yourself: The Stress is Coming...

End of school year = stress

Brace yourself.

Well, I suppose I should phrase that as "brace myself" or "brace yourself to see evidence of stress overtaking my life." I can't really explain it, but the inevitable and quickly approaching "pack up, clean up, check off, and get out" strikes a chord each year.

Seeing as I have finished all immediately required tasks and grading (at least, I think I have), I chose to put my stressful energy to creative means. Please realize that I am no artist - I'm definitely not claiming to be one - but I think it's helpful to have artistic hobbies...

(image of girl adapted from https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/72/2a/25/722a2564afdfeafed27c978fbc0fa51b.jpg) 

Bring it on, end of the year. I'm ready for you...

I think...

The Phantom Tollbooth, Standing the Test of Time...

To keep myself sane in the midst of unit performance assessment grading, I turned to one of my favorite hobbies: reading.

And I didn't just read any book - I turned to an old favorite, The Phantom Tollbooth. With countless puns (from the Island of Conclusions you get to by jumping to Dictionopolis where you literally eat your words) begging to be laughed at on every page, the novel is brimming with whole-hearted fun and opportunities for belly laughs. But what makes this book a true classic (in my humble opinion) is the many messages/themes Milo (the main character) comes to understand about spending time, being creative, and seeing what's in front of you with new eyes. (Think Wizard of Oz "no place like home" theme.)

Bottom line - I can't wait to read this aloud to my 6th grade ELA class at the start of the school year, for I think it was during my own 6th grade year when I first fell in love with it. (I'm glad some of my tastes (especially in books) haven't changed much since then.)

There is so much to be learned from books - we just have to put the "right" ones in each student's hands...

Tonight, I leave you with a few Phantom nuggets of wisdom:

P.S. Did you know they made a Phantom Tollbooth movie? I've only watched a bit of it so far, but it seems pretty close to the book. Check it out on YouTube.

A Hobby for a Sunday

Everyone has 'em - they are fun; they keep us sane; they bring us joy.

The list goes on.

Yep, you gotta love a good hobby.

Today, mine was baking. I've been dying to try this pumpkin bundt cake recipe - I was going to make it for faculty potluck last week, but, alas, I didn't have the instant butterscotch jello mix. (Who would have thought that would have been the hardest thing to find?) Needless to say, that day I settled on muffins (which, let's face it, are not quite as exotic).

But, lo and behold, after going to Target yesterday, where, by the way, I purchased two packages of instant jello (not to be thwarted again!), I decided to put my baking skills to the test.

Here's the evidence/process:

all ingredients combined, pre-mixing - guess I need a bigger bowl next time

post-mixing, in the process of adding the mix to the bundt pan - yes, there was a little mix left over - darn...

in the oven - and lookin' good...

the final product

all wrapped up for tomorrow

The final test will have to wait until tomorrow. (I'm hoping it's not as dry as it looks!) At that time, we will see if, as they say, the "proof of the pudding is in the eating"...

Or, um, in this case, of the cake.

In the Good Old Summertime

Ah, the joys of summer time...the time when (as a teacher) it's okay to putz around the house because, let's face it, to voluntarily choose to work on lesson plans or ideas for next year just seems crazy.

And what kind of "putzing" have I been doing?

Well, I've been reading...(obviously)

exploring Pinterest...

watching interesting YouTube spoofs...

visiting with family & friends...

    

testing my skills at dollar bill origami...

  

running (well, jogging...slowly)...

watching classic movies...

     

You know, all the normal stuff. Good ol' summer stuff...