Vegetarian and Vegan

(This is an older pic of the cousins. Chef Bette is on the left, big brother Max in the middle (He's currently working for labor unions in CA for the lower paid university employees), and on the right is Sally (currently finishing a degree in Marine Biology. She just finished studying the mating habits of sea turtles.).

My son decided to go vegetarian about a month and a half ago. The concept is not new to my family. I’ve gone vegetarian in the past. I think it’s actually a great idea. I love the idea of eating locally grown food and healthier choices. Ever since he was a baby I made sure to feed him a healthy diet. My diet growing up was filled with sugars and processed foods. We are now eating better and feel great.

My cousins’, aunt, and uncle have been vegan for years. The middle cousin is so dedicated to being a vegan, after she finished culinary school she opened a vegan restaurant here in Chicago, The Balanced Kitchen, which has been a huge success for her.

( http://www.gfreev.com/balancedkitchen.html )

I have tasted things I thought I would never eat in a million years and loved. Bette and Zack are masters of the veggie. What great kids they turned out to be. And to think Bette was the pickiest eater as a child. Now she creates works of art in the kitchen.

Summertime

Haven't had much time to enjoy summer yet. Too much work to do around the house. I did get a new tattoo on Wednesday though. Once it heals a little more I'll post some awesome pics. I had to think about what really represented me. 21 years ago I got a tattoo that represented me. A part of my life that made me who I am. When I was disfellowshipped from the JW's (for smoking cigarettes)I was (and still am)considered an unholy goat. Someone who is worse than any other non-JW because I turned my back on the true god. I wanted a symbol to my rejection of that horrible life. I had just finished reading the Scarlet Letter and decided that I should I wanted a scarlet D to represent myself marked among the wicked. I know red ink would have to be touched up and didn't like the idea of the pain so I got it in black.

Now, 21 years later, what would be the one thing that would completely represent me and what I am. It came to me, coffee. When people spend enough time with me they begin to notice that I am never without a cup of coffee in my hand. From the time I get up to the time I go to bed, there is a cup of coffee in my hand. So, naturally, a cup of coffee was to be my next tattoo. It was pretty cool. I picked out an old time diner coffee cup that my grandparents had, complete with the green stripe. For the coffee itself I had to have it tan to represent the milk I take in my coffee. Although it hurt the closer he got to the elbow crease, it was so worth it! Once the reddness goes away from the steam lines (that are a light gray) it will look great. I am so happy I got this tattoo and can't wait for the next one. Of course I say that now. When the time comes I will be just as nervous as before. But at least I got my next tattoo before my 40th birthday, which is gulp, next year.

Senseless Drive-By

I am still attempting to process what has happened in the past 24 hours. I received a phone call yesterday late afternoon from a fellow teacher telling me that a wonderful teacher is no longer with us.

While waiting to pick up her children from her mother's home she was a victim of a drive by shooting. It left her dead and her 3 children without a mother. She was an incredible teacher. Dedicated above and beyond to her students. She had the hardest teaching position in any school, Special Education. Ms. Prince was never without a smile or even temper. In the past year I never saw a frown or shortness of temper on her. Even when I wanted to pull my hair out because of one of my students, she would work with them and create a calm environment. She was the 7th grade Special Ed Teacher so my students were her students. She was always my partner for field trips and never without an excellent story.

Working with my students to process this was so hard on all of us. Ms. Prince went above and beyond in my school, as all of the teachers do that I have seen. It breaks my heart for her children and the students whose lives she touched.

The next few days will be difficult for the kids. What a horrific way to end a beautiful life that who truly gave back to the community.

Last Day of Spring Break

The last 2 days prior to Spring break were insane to say the least. The weather was beautiful to add to the mix. I write this as I am looking out of my window watching up to 9 inches accumulate outside.

On Thursday I broke up 2 fights with 2 different sets of boys and on Friday I broke up a girl fight of my own homeroom. Happy to be able to leave and begin a weeks worth of grading, I managed to get all the way to my car with all of my bags when I noticed a fight with 2 other girls from one of my 7th grade classes. I dropped my things, had my 2 of my students watch my bags, break up the fight, and managed to bring one of the girls to the Principal, explain what I saw, and leave for my break.

Now I am on my last day, with lesson plans to write, laundry to do, grades to enter, grocery shopping to do, and an apartment to clean. I have done nothing but work but feel even more behind than ever. The only thing I actually did for myself this whole week was go to lunch with my BF and some friends from the company I worked at before teaching, and managed to get my eyebrows threaded just before. That was the first time in 2 years I've had the chance to have it done professionally. My silly plan of actually having time to work on something for myself was a dream. Guess that work will have to wait until summer vacation. Oh, wait, they decided to go with year round school this year. What summer vacation?

Last Saturday School......Till Next ISAT

Yesterday was the Saturday school for me, Hazzah! Only 3 students showed up for class. They were probably thinking the same thing that I was, ISAT's are over why have class? Since it was such a small class I thought it would be quiet. My usual "difficult case" was not there so the constant disruption would be gone. Silly me. One boy who is normally quiet decided to take his place. He was bouncing off of the walls for the entire 3.5 hours! I had him at one point do some jumping jacks to get some of the energy out of him. I swear, he must have eaten an entire box of CapNCrunch before he came to school.

With ISAT's over I didn't feel like putting them through drills of extended responses. Instead we played a version of Jeopardy. It was actually a lot of fun. Except for my bouncing off the walls boy. He just couldn't focus to save his life. Being a parent of a child with ADD/ADHD all I could see was what my child looked like in 7th grade without meds.

All I have to say is, one more week till Spring Break!

No More Taxes

I guess we should get some sort of congratulations here in Chicago. We will now have the highest sales tax rate in the U.S. Now if I spend $100 on an item I will be paying an additional $10.25 for that item. Don't get me wrong, I understand the concept of taxes and don't argue them. But when I drive over literally HUNDREDS of potholes on my 60 mile round trip to work (and they just keep getting bigger and bigger. I saw the entire front end of a car swallowed a few weeks ago by a pothole. I was just thankful it was in the opposite direction from the way I go to work!) and gas is projected to be $4 a gallon by summer, something has got to give. I already pay $3.29 a gallon and have to fill up twice a week.

Progress Reports

It's funny how a class full of students that refuse to be quiet, rarely turn in work, and are disrespectful become enraged when they see D's and F's on their progress reports. I waited until I was dismissing by the door to individually hand them out and push them out the door. Other teachers gave out the reports before we left. I was accosted by 10 students enraged by their grades, one student who gave me a high 5 because his Dad came to school a few weeks before after he received an F (he was pulling a C and was not only happy but very respectful), and one boy who looked almost at the point of tears because he got an F. He is a sweet boy but never seems to be able to keep his mouth closed. I usually have him as a helper to burn off his energy but it doesn't seem to be enough.

Tomorrow I will probably have 15 calls from parents who can't understand how I could give their child a grade of C, D, or F. What they should be asking is, why is their child earning those grades? Most of the parents who will call I have called several times about behavior issues. At least it is only Progress Report, not the actual 3rd quarter and I have the data to back up my grades.