I am Michael Scott

So much has happened since my last blog post. Trying to find the time to sit down and write it all seems an overwhelming task sometimes.

Last week I finally made it to the doctor for some dry skin I had on my foot and elbows. I thought it was winter eczema because my skin always gets very, very dry in the winter. However, it is actually psoriasis. The doc gave me a new cream to put on it and told me it would best if I could wrap my foot with saran wrap at night after I put the cream on. Naturally, my first thought goes to The Office when Michael Scott burns his foot on his foreman grill because he likes to wake up to the smell of bacon. Of course he wraps his foot in bubble wrap. That's what I thought it would look like so I decided to just stick with the cream and not go all Michael Scott (sorry doc). The good news is that it is starting to heal and looks so much better. While I was there I also talked with my doctor about the horrible headaches I've been having for the past three months. They are worse than migraines and they make me sick. Of course they start as soon as I leave school and begin my hour commute back home with the sun blaring in my eyes and a chatty five year old in the back seat (Note: bright light and noise do not help migraines). The doctor found that my blood pressure was way too high and he was very concerned about it and started me on a medication for it. I went to school the next day and had the nurse check my BP and it was still too high. She and my principal sent me home to rest. I'm not sure which is worse: stressing at school or stressing at home because I'm not at school. Either way, I found it hard to rest. Day three of the medicine was like the clouds parting because for the first time in a very long time, I felt good and headache free.

In related news, Jason and I joined the Y. We have needed to get our butts in gear for a long time. The issues with high BP only pushed us harder to change our lifestyle. We have been going almost every night to work out. The girls have been taking full advantage of the open swim times, swim classes, and kids play area. It is so nice because it's something that Jason and I get to do together and support each other on. We took the girls to the aquatic easter egg hunt yesterday. They got to find eggs in the pool and practice their swimming. They had so much fun! They are like little fish.

Last weekend we bought a new kitchen table. There is an Ashley Furniture that is going out of business near us so we went to the show room and took advantage of the sale. The table we found matches everything perfect. The regular price was just over $900. The sale ticket had it for $404 and we talked them down to $300. We have black appliances and dark cherry cabinets. The table is black with dark cherry wood. It couldn't be more perfect. Jason and I put the table and all the chairs together last Monday and felt a real sense of accomplishment.



For my birthday Jason got me a Garmin GPS (which I use even when I'm going to the store because I love it) and three shelves that I've been wanting for our living room. I finally put the shelves up but didn't have anything to put on them. Yesterday, the girls and I went to Hobby Lobby in Carmel and they were having a huge sale. Almost everything was 50% off. I found these little monogram frames that fit perfect on my shelves. I'm still debating on whether or not I should take the ribbon off of them.


Well, we are off on vacation tomorrow for spring break so the next post will be of all the fun we had. Enjoy your week everyone!

A tough task

Today I was asked a simple question.

What do you remember your teachers saying or commenting on about your writing?

You would think that it would have a simple answer. It was asked at a workshop I attended today as something we were supposed to think about quickly and jot down a list of responses. Only, I didn't have a list of responses. I didn't have any responses. It is very odd for me to not have a response to something because that's what I do. I respond to things. Everything. Now here I am almost six hours after the workshop is over still trying to think about responses to complete my list in my writer's notebook.
The only thing I can come up with is that once when I was in second grade, my teacher told me that I spelled the word 'whistle' wrong in a sentence in front of the whole class. Although, it was a problem because it was one of our spelling words that week. Clearly, I didn't learn my studying skills until after second grade.
All of those years of school and that is the only memory I have of a teacher responding to my writing. Which is a problem for a few reasons: 1) I don't ever remember writing as a child (or the memory was so bad I blocked it out...which I'm not ruling out. I had an incident in second grade when I wore some kind of strapless bra under my shirt. I don't know why I did that or where I even got it. I'm 100% sure it was my moms. Of course we had to change clothes for gym and it came off without me knowing because I didn't have the necessities to fill it out at the time. Needless to say someone other than me found it. It's a miracle after that I remember anything from second grade.) 2) It makes me understand what I need to do as a teacher of writing
As a teacher, I couldn't possible begin to understand student writing until I myself became a writer. It's not that I was never a writer (although sometimes my second grade memories tell me different). I was just never discovered. No one ever tapped into that part of me as a child. And man, would I love to hear what I had to say back then!
See, that's what Katherine Bomer does when you go to one of her workshops. She, who has been one of my most valued mentors for teaching writing for the past four years, makes you think. I don't ever remember writing for myself, or others, until she started coaching me, coming all the way from Texas and spending time in my classroom modeling with my students. Through that and attending her workshops, I began to understand the process and understand what it means to be a writer...that feeling deep within your soul that urges you to constantly see the world though different eyes and forces you to respond...respond to everything like your life depends on it.

Professional books by Katherine I recommend:
Writing a Life: Teaching Memoir to Sharpen Insight, Shape Meaning--and Triumph Over Tests


Hidden Gems: Naming and Teaching from the Brilliance in Every Student's Writing (I am so excited to get this book..It comes out on March 25th)