"August / Die she must"

August 13th marked the beginning of my eighth year of teaching. For the first time in awhile I have more underclassman than upper which brings with it challenges and joys. I often comment that during my Confirmation I missed the 'patience' fruit and perhaps over 100 14 and 15 year olds is the Lord's way of reminding me I need a big ole bite every now and then. During the first writing prompt of the year a freshman girl asked me what I meant by "please skip lines". After I blinked for a moment to make sure she was serious, I calmly took a deep breath, walked over to her desk and pointed to every other line, indicating that she should literally write on every other line. I didn't end the instructions with 'duh' ... for that I'm really proud of myself. Shortly thereafter, another student after observing her classmate recycle a piece of paper TURNED HER OWN WRITING ASSIGNMENT INTO THE RECYCLING BIN. Sheepishly she retrieved it after I suggested perhaps she should instead turn it in to the shelf marked 'World Literature 9' instead. I actually did this without my words dripping with sarcasm. Again, I deserve a pat on the back, in my humble opinion. My seniors and I are all finishing our fourth year at the IA together; for them, it is their last, for me, it's just the beginning, I imagine. For me the cyclical nature of a teaching career is comforting and rewarding. Reading their first writings of the year allows me to share pride in how far they've come as writers and thinkers. I'm constantly in awe about how damn hard these kids work (my mom swears I worked just as hard .. I don't believe it). In my AmLit class, on a whim, I assigned a poem about the students own immigration experience or their take on what it means to be an American. As I skimmed through them, I came across one (among many which impressed me) written in the shape of the United States. Seriously?! Despite the fact that they're in school three weeks earlier than their friends, they come to class with smiles on their faces, ready to give it their all -- they inspire me to be a better teacher each and every day. Frank McCourt in his book Teacher Man wrote the following: "In the high school classroom you are a drill sergeant, a rabbi, a shoulder to cry on, a disciplinarian, a singer, a low-level scholar, a clerk, a referee, a clown, a counselor, a dress-code enforcer, a conductor, an apologist, a philosopher, a collaborator, a tap dancer, a politician, a therapist, a fool, a traffic cop, a priest, a mother-father-brother-sister-uncle-aunt, a bookkeeper, a critic, a psychologist, the last straw." How true it is and how lucky I am to have this crazy job. If you're a teacher, you know what I'm talking about .. if you're not, you probably know a teacher who obnoxiously tells you stories of the madness. It's all in good fun, really.

Also .. I know you've been dying for an update on Project Goldfish. I am a grandmother, great-grandmother, and possibly great-great grandmother. I now know what the original fish have been doing since I last laid eyes on them: feasting on whatever it is that 'wild' goldfish eat, growing like whoa, and makin' babies. My pond is a mixed race neighborhood at this point, complete with the 8 original fish and many smaller fish of all sizes and colors .. black, white, and orange all over and every variation in between. I'd take a picture except they are shy! It actually would be quite the genetics project. As fall sets in, I'll keep you updated on the sanctuary that is the Secret Garden .. I wonder which perennials will pop up in September?

Though the autumn winds are not yet growing chilly and cold, as Simon & Garfunkel sing, "August / Die she must" and thus begins another school year and change in seasons - literally and figuratively. Oh and a new Mumford & Sons cd! I'm off to Nashville for the weekend so my next post will be no doubt filled with adventures of honky-tonk and  perfecting my Southern accent.

California Dreamin'

"Fine.Fresh.Fierce."
Katy Perry sings, "You can travel the world but nothing comes close to Golden Coast" (don't you judge me .. you know it's catchy) and now that I've been there, I see from where she's coming. I'm not saying she's totally right BUT the over 19 million hits on the Google when you search 'songs about California' can't be completely wrong about its perfect weather, crazazy traffic, and seriously AMAZING people-watching. Kate took it upon herself to create a playlist of music devoted to the great state of California and let me tell you, even Wikipedia did not narrow the list down for her (I highlighted a few of her choices in this blog). Taking on the daunting task of such a CD's creation is just one more reason why this girl is an ideal travel partner .. that and her love of delicious treats, mad navigation skills, and serious booty-shaking. Basically, the list goes on and on. I LOVE THIS GIRL and much of this post is devoted to our girl-time which comes with adventure, laughter, and an uncanny ability to never get lost.

"I stopped into a church .. I pass along the way"
I'm going to fast-forward a few days into our trip to highlight the main reason for our trip: to celebrate the wedding of my dear friend from Kzoo/LifeTeen days, Bryan and his love, Elena. I felt truly honored to be a part of such a special day for them. As we witnessed the Sacrament, it was so evident how present God is in their lives and what an important role God played and will continue to play as they develop their relationship as married people. The ceremony was personal: it was all about their love for one another, their devotion to God, and the people who support them in all aspects of their lives. What a gift to the world their marriage will be! The party which followed embodied their fun personalities and love for Spanish cultures - mariachi musicians and dancing to match, sangria, and a beautifully lit outdoor meal. The bonus was catching up with great friends from St. Cat's!

Over ten years of friendship!

"They gathered for the feast."

Despite being small women, we like to eat and when we planned this grand adventure, we decided we'd challenge ourselves not only with California-themed mixes but also with a whole vacation fueled by Groupon (with a few minor exceptions). We ate tacos at Benny's, blintz and omelette at Cafe 50s, Indian at Addi's Tandoor, and tapas at La Luna Negra, just to name a few. I could fill the blog with all the pictures I took of Kate eating but we had a pretty good trip together and I don't want her to be mad at me so I'll leave you with this one of her in her glory with Hawaiian Shave Ice (another reason I love her: she introduced me to this tasty treat!)

"I hide

Behind my shades
Cause the fame is blinding my eyes"

To be perfectly honest, I don't really ever need to see Hollywood Blvd again. To see such an iconic place was totally worth fighting the crowds (and TOTAL weirdos enacting Michael Jackson, Darth Vader, and even Hello Kitty!) ONCE. See picture below for the main reason I was excited:

We rode bikes (heyyy, Groupon!) from Santa Monica Blvd. to Hollywood Blvd and down to Melrose. It was harrowing at points and quite congested but overall it was a fun way to see that part of LA. The highlight of our Hollywood experience included our girl Katy Perry. Imagine our ...... surprise ..... when we redeemed our Groupon at Grauman's Chinese Theater for the only movie playing there: Katy Perry: Part of Me. Yep, in 3D. Kate really enjoyed the popcorn and frolicking through the (nearly) empty theater. It was super cool to see a movie (documentary?) in such an iconic and historical space.

I don't want to brag but I'm pretty sure this viewing gave us 'KatyCat' status.

 "All I see are stilettos / Guess I never got the memo"
 We met up with a few of Kate's friends from Lapeer and they definitely showed us a good time and great food (and even loaned us couches for our last night in Cali!) They took us Midwestern girls out on the town and we decided that we not only did not pack the right clothes for L.A., we probably do not have the right clothes in our closets at home, either. In the picture below the ways in which we stuck out are hidden because we're seated; interestingly, these reasons both begin with Cs : Chacos and Crocs.

Lilly, girlfriend of Justin Webster, and Gwen Webster, two of our fabulous hosts

 

"All I wanna do is have a little fun before I die ..."
In my world this is synonymous with visiting THE SAN DIEGO ZOO. Since my youth, this particular zoo sat on my bucket list and to suggest I was excited is an understatement. I literally did not sleep much the night before in anticipation. Upon arrival, we beelined for the crown jewel of the park and oohed and ahhed as Yun Zi (Busy Boy) noshed on his breakfast. Actually, we did more squealing and clapping (quietly so as not to disturb him)! Seeing such a beautiful animal so close brought tears to my eyes. The below pictures capture the variety of animals we saw at this world famous -- rightfully so --- zoo and the joy it brought me.

Hippo mama and baby, playing :)

Naptime!

Daily elephant maintenance includes pedicures - JEALOUS!

We had really good luck at the zoo which included passing by
these fellas later in the day and witnessing afternoon schnaktime.

Babies with their mama .. she eventually got annoyed by the tail biting (imagine).

Happy girl with my twigas (7 total!) and ice cream

"I can't remember all the times I tried to tell myself
To hold on to these moments as they pass"
What a trip .. enjoy the last few photos that capture our adventures (yes, it's always an adventure - don't you remember the gas station in Spain?)

Is this a Don't Tell Mom moment?

Or this?

Please note the dates on the 'temporary closure' - welcome to L.A.

Trusty Forenzi took us all over SoCal; the sunlight de-emphasized her bumps and bruises (not caused by me, for the record.)

Sunset Cliffs

 California Love.