Driving gloves

I would never buy them for myself, but I love them. I had on my suede gloves today while I was driving home for work. It was like a party between my hands and the steering wheel With only a light touch from my hand, the gloves gripped the wheel and I could turn it as easy as spinning a pinwheel. They were wonderful.

Then I thought... leather... hmm... what's my opinion? Well, I decided that if you eat meat you can't be against leather because you're already killing a cow. So, of course, use it for whatever you can. Take a lesson from Little House and the Prarie and make a toy out of the organs. But, the problem of course, is that maybe animals are being killed just for the skins.

At some point I will remember to research this.... but for now - any opinions out there? Does leather come from cows that are also being slaughtered for the meat? Or, are the animals killed for the meat and the other parts are discarded and different cows slaughtered? Any insider info out there?

My vacation week

Things I have done during this week off...

Eric's cousin was here, so we piddled around with him.
Visited LaDonne. (yay!)
Tried on dresses. and more dresses. and more dresses.
Celebrated my Grandma's 84th birthday.
Finished putting together all of the invitations.

But... the climax of the week happened today.

I don't know if this is politically correct, but we did what we call "Poor shopping." We go on to craigslist.org, and straight to the "Free Stuff" section. Then, if we see something we can use - we get it! Today was a big score. We got a sweet dresser and matching nightstand.
Until now, Eric's things have been in these storage crates from Staples, turned sideways like a makeshift shelving unit (if youre not sure what I mean, think back to college.. i'm sure you knew someone that had the same). So, a real 6-drawer dresser is quite a step up. Plus, it will allow us to organize the room a lot better and for me to take back some of my space (WOO HOO!!).

But I have to work tomorrow. The more I'm an employee, the more I think I was made to be self-employed. This whole "going to work" thing just doesn't sit well with me after awhile. Maybe I'm just lazy. I don't think so though.

I have a blog?

So, until Arzhang asked me why I havent blogged in awhile, I really had forgotten that I had one. Weird.

I've been busy though. The wedding is in about 8 weeks (I think). Unbelievable. Im starting to have a bit of an identity crisis - trying to appreciate my last name before I lose it. I'm torn between my traditional values of becoming a family and joining names and holding on to my own name. If we were in Venezuela this wouldn't be a problem because they take both names (and then have 4). I don't really want to get rid of my middle name either. It's weird. I never would have thought it would be so trying.

Work is good. I'm working extra, mostly for the connections that it gives me. I enjoy it too. I'm really changing things a lot at my school. I don't think anyone else ever slows down long enough to appreciate what I am doing, but I can tell that the attitude of the school about math is changing. FOr example, we gave a practice state test and I convinced the administrators to pay the teachers extra to do this data analysis where we looked at every question and analyzed the mistakes. It made the teachers feel good for two main reasons: the practice test was actually used to develop instruction from that point, the administration gave money to the math teachers, showing that it is also a budgeting priority.

Teachers are collaborating more and more also. The more teachers work together, the more successful a school is. If teachers are collaborating, they can obviously share resources, but it also helps students to pass from grade to grade. I meet with the teachers weekly by grade level and we talk about whats being done, plan lessons, or whatever the needs are. Also, we have identified key vocabulary for each grade level as teams. It's a nice change.

I think the administration is also recognizing much more how great their math teachers are. Well, they always respected them, but blindly I think. Now, when I have my meetings with the administrators, I tell them exactly what each group of teachers is doing that week, and they recognize specifically the work that they are doing.

So... my life is good. I still need a wedding dress, and that stresses me out sometimes, but if I wear flannel, oh well. We have the church and the reception center, so those are the biggest things. Now we just need..... (Haha, that list still has like 800 things). Oh, and I bought my plane tickets... Haha, a previously overlooked IMPORTANT part for this thing to happen.

In resolution... I am good. If I dont post anything for a week or two, shoot me an email and remind me that I still have a blog. Tell me to do my laundry also, it's been equally neglected.