The No-Blog Summer

Yep, I've been gone for a few months. Did you miss me?

I began this blog as a way to track my memories of starting my full-time teaching career and my move to Urbana in addition to the other randomness that constitutes my life. Turns out that I turned the lights off on the blog this summer to enjoy a teacher's bliss - summer.

So in an attempt to keep things fairly short, this blog will be mostly in pictures with a few notes here and there. Let's dive in!

In June I got a new companion for my home and quite a little buddy he is. My puppy, Piccolo (which means small in Italian) is constantly making me laugh and when he wants to be, is incredibly smart.


















Also in June my beautiful, wonderful niece was born.
July brought cousins in from Italy. Lara & Martina enjoyed an entire week in Chicago on their first trip to America. We had a BLAST and I did things I never thought I'd do. For example, we went to the 103rd floor of the Willis (Sears) Tower. I've never once been inside the Sears Tower and I have a fear of falling so that was amazing. We hit every major museum in the city, the zoo and even a baseball game. And laughed a lot. Apparently I say a few things incorrectly. And they learned a lot of new words and tried a lot of new foods.



















I was fortunate to work 3 shows this summer and attend 2 of my favorite shows, REO Speedwagon and Sister Hazel.



































And thus the summer concludes. I'll expound on these a bit more at a later date. Once I get my teaching legs back next week!

June is Awesome!

I watch a lot of How I Met Your Mother so if you read the title of this post just as Barney Stinson would, well, then you get the gist of how great June has been.

June is officially my favorite month. It's the month where my summer vacation starts. It's the month I got my puppy, Piccolo, who has been just an adorable, small, bundle of fur and fun. I laugh constantly. He sleeps funny, often on his back with paws twitching when he dreams and he loves to chase his tail. He caught on to words like sit and "high five" right away. I'm impressed every day how much a little pup can make your life fuller.

June is also the month my miracle little niece entered the world. I look at pictures of her constantly. Maddie is so precious, small and has eyes that just soak up everything around her. Holding her was such a pleasure. (I can't wait til I have a little baby someday! Don't worry Maddie, you'll have cousins at some point!) Her Mom & Dad are doing great. I'm so thrilled for them, too!

June was also the month of celebration for weddings. My friends Mandy & Matt got married at the end of May (almost June) and it was such a celebration. Coworkers David and Allison got married yesterday and it was wonderful to witness their relationship from "officially dating" to "we're engaged!" to the actual ceremony. It was also nice to see all my coworkers over the holiday, especially all gussied up!

We're only half way through the month so I am sure there is more in store. Although, I don't know how many more blessings a person can receive in a 30-day span! It has been a great reminder that although there are big things that I wish I had, there are so many other things that I already do have that make life simply perfect.

I am living the dream.
KB

Accomplishments

What a week!

I had a laundry list of things to accomplish when this week started and so far, most of them are complete. It finally feels like the summer is coming. I'm in the tunnel and the light is more than just a a small hole at the far end. It's now giving a soft glow, slowly reaching towards me as I reach it. This almost sounds like something a person expecting Judgement Day tomorrow would say, actually. Let's get the facts here guys: We weren't told a specific date by God.

Okay back to the post.

I began the week with the following tasks to do:
1. Enter all birthdays people had bought to put in the student planner
2. Scan all the ads for the student planner & create 5 pages of ads for my department to put in as a shameless plug
3. Submit the entire planner to company to print
4. Turn in all my finals for those taking them in the Learning Center & Lecture Hall
5. Find a place for Prom 2012
6. Find a place for Post-Prom 2012
7. Collect $$ from kids selling candy for class of 2013
8. Go to middle school next door to try and sell birthdays for the student planner (failed, by the way).
9. Grade any leftover items
10. Find a vet
11. Register for Puppy class
12. Finish tallying all of my student work hours and make copies to give to students
13. Submit course to possibly teach this summer
14. Do laundry
15. Bake cookies for students

Yep, lots of things, outside of the ordinary clean, cook, take out trash, etc. Let's just say I have gotten everything done EXCEPT #5 & 6, which are both works in progress.

I made Italian Wedding Cookies for all my students today. Actually, I've made them in batches all week. Always nice to give a little "love" to kids when they are stressed out. We do that with babies & puppies, don't we?

I've been meeting with my Sophomores all week to discuss picking next year's Prom location, now that we finally have a date. One student and I went to visit our current top choice. It felt weird and I always swore I would never have a student in my car, ever. It was the only way though and all went just fine. It was a nice space and hopefully big enough. The lady in charge of the space is VERY nervous about hosting us. Right now I'm hoping that our other 2 possibilities work out better. I think it will still go smoothly but it's best to have all party's involved to go into happy. I recall many a concert where the venue was NOT happy with us doing a gig at their place. It made life difficult.

In other news, we've made a LOT of progress on the Dual Citizenship hunt. Between Mom's investigations (and my prodding) and my contacts, we've found that my great-grandparent's marriage cert DOES indeed exist as does my grandfather's birth cert, both of which I will need to prove citizenship descent. The ONLY missing piece at this point is my great-grandfather's birth cert in Italy. I'm really struggling to find it but I may have uncovered a few details. I'll make a new blog on this mystery soon.

Puppy planning is the other big thing on my to-do list. I still don't know which of the 6 pups in the litter I am getting and had hoped to know by now. I pick the little one up on June 2nd. I've got a car booster seat (cool!). Amy is giving me her dog crate (her dog, by the way, is named Bacon and is my current favorite puppy!). I signed up for puppy training today. The people at PetSmart are so helpful. Plus a former student was there who I had in Law last semester. She said he learned so much and still had all the resume examples I had given her. And that she had gotten the job because of my help. THIS IS WHY I LOVE BEING A TEACHER! I also bought some puppy treats and a few mini tennis balls. In addition, I have a heartbeat pillow, a little toy that you heat up in the microwave to help the dog sleep and a doggie bed and bowls. I'm nearly ready. Last weekend I prepped the bathroom which is where Piccolo (my dog's name means small in Italian) will be starting out and adjusting to new life. I also cleared a corner in my living room to put the doggie bed and toys.

Obviously, my list was mostly school-oriented stuff up above but I'm getting so many other things done. I got my bike turned in to get tuned up prior to Bike the Drive next weekend. I got my oil changed on the car. Got gas for the drive to Chicago for Mandy & Matt's wedding. I did 2 seriously tough turbokick workouts and am still sore.

So there you go. Awesome week. So much done. And so much more to look forward to.

6 more work days (4 with students). Bring ON SUMMER!

Ciao,
Kristen

Liftoff

Today, Shuttle Endeavor lifted off for its final voyage towards the stars. I made the decision last night to show the launch in my 1st hour class. It took place at 7:56am Central time, just before 1st period began.

I was hesitant because anyone from my generation or older can remember the Challenger explosion. All those classes tuned in to watch the first teacher, Krista McAuliff, soar to space only to explode just seconds into the flight. Nonetheless, I went forward knowing that this was history they may never see and just might remember. The 2nd to last Shuttle to ever orbit the earth. Atlantis will be the last one from this NASA program.

I had just 2 students at the time of the launch. One had never seen a Shuttle launch. The other said he'd seen it on tv before, but I have doubts he had seen the real deal LIVE on tv. It was textbook perfect. Around 8am, the boosters were deployed and just after the announcements concluded for the morning, the main rocket booster had been loosed. At that, I started class and moved on with my day.

A normal day in most ways. Perhaps these kids won't remember. But just maybe they'll think back on those 8 minutes and remember that they were in high school to see one of the last Space Shuttles liftoff. You never know what kids will remember. I'm sure something will stick.

Next week is finals. One of my traditions is one of those things that "stuck" with me from Mr. Haut, my favorite science teacher. He gave every student a sheet of paper to use on the final exam. You could cram as much as you wanted onto it and write really small (not very useful) or just a few key terms you couldn't remember from studying (very useful). I recall using my ever-present color-coded system for chapters, terms and formulas. When it comes to finals, I give my kids that same 1/2 sheet of paper (color coded by class) and let them write on it and use on the final.

So we're down to 10 more school days, 9 with students. I can't believe it is here already. 4 more days teaching/preparing for finals. 4 giving finals. 1 cleaning my room and 1 just wrapping up the year with whatever I hadn't already completed.

Liftoff to summer in (days) 15..14..13...12.........

Crossing the Finish Line

Another big weekend in the books for 2011!

I spent the better part of Saturday morning on 1st street prepping for the 10k race and part of the Illinois Marathon race events. It was my 1st 10k and I have been training since February! I posted many months ago that I was going to challenge myself to get fit now that I'd had a successful surgery back on Dec. 30th. As I drove toward the race I caught the National Anthem on the radio which signaled the start to the festivities and the beginning of the wheelchair race.

The walk to the starting line from where I parked was pretty chilly. It was about an eight minute walk as it turned out. I didn't park where I had planned (at the iHotel) and pulled into the first parking lot I saw still had tons of spots. Turned out I didn't focus enough on where I parked because it took some time after the race to figure out exactly which brown brick building I had parked near of all the identical buildings in the Research Park area on 1st.

I jumped, stretched and pumped myself up for about 20 minutes while waiting for the GO! signal. I'd been cold at one of the last Shamrock Shuffle 8k's I ran and felt really tight as I ran that race. I was doing all I could to stay warm. The half marathoners were lined up behind us and the marathon runners behind them. It definitely felt weird being at the front of the line! I'm used to being near the back. The announcer told us to high-five our neighbors and with a final good luck to the guy in the orange shirt next to me and a high-five we then turned towards the starting banner and mentally began the countdown...

When the GO! signal was given, I headed out telling myself, "don't go out too fast! Pace yourself!" I say this every race and I have been fairly good the last 2 races I ran to heed this advice. I thought I was doing well at the start because everyone, and I do mean everyone, was passing me up! After noticing the large numbers of people whipping past me looking confident, I began to feel my body's motion. I felt my legs, the feel of the road and then checked the iphone I was running with to see what my pace was (10:13?!?!!!). Wait, was that correct? Yup, I was running WAAAAY to fast. Despite the runners blazing trails past me, I was still motoring. I hit the 1 mile mark just over 10 minutes into the race and a few feet later got a lovely cramp in my right side just below my ribs.

Darn it! I wanted to prove I could run the whole darn race. That was now out of the question since I knew I had to walk if I wanted get back on track in this race. With 5 miles to go, I gave myself a 3 minute walk, massaging my side to help it along (that probably did nothing but it mentally made me think I was doing something helpful since I couldn't be running).

I am a firm believer that things happen for a reason and I think that cramp was one of those things. As a result, I spotted some runners near me who were going about the same pace as I was. One was a gentleman in his 50's with a blue race shirt and a yellow headband. The other a girl in a pink shirt that had a cute running saying on it (which I never got around to reading!) And so it was, for the next 5 miles, I kept those two folks in my sight and ran.

For the most part, I ran all 5 miles. There were a few hills and I decided that I'd walk barely slower than I would running up the inclines so I walked up the hills. I was a bit embarrassed on the hill just after the turn from Armory (which had the biggest uphill climb of the race) and then south onto Prospect which had traffic stopped. Here I am walking, with about 1 mile to go, past cars of people who were probably watching us as we ran past. It was enough to get me to motor up the legs again and keep pushing.

We neared U of IL's Memorial Stadium and my thighs and calves were burning. I was ready to complete the race but just wasn't quite there yet. We turned in towards the Stadium and just before we hit the tunnel leading into it I decided to sprint. It was about .1 mile and I knew I could do it. I wanted to make an entrance. Who wouldn't? As a swimmer, I was always great at finding a few drops left in the tank to push myself as hard as possible and finish strong. I used that same method to complete this race.

I finished in 1 hour, 11 minutes and 57 seconds. The only other time I had gone the full 6.2 miles was the weekend before, on a glorious afternoon along Chicago's lakefront and on that occasion I had gone 1 hour, 20 minutes, barely able to run much of the last mile. I was so proud of this race. And it really, really was a big accomplishment.

It was also an accomplishment to come home, grab a 2 hour nap and then sit in a car for 2 hours as I drove up to Chicago! I had stretched dozens of times since running the race but getting out of that car was tough. As my Dad, who has run 5 marathons, said to me, it's got nothing to do with stretching - it's lactic acid. Yup, it sure was. Painful but such a great feeling. It is your body saying "thank you for pushing me." I actually wanted to run a long run again today. Yes!

My weekend ended with a lovely shower for my little sister. She will always be my little sister, although as adults I feel like we are equal in age. It is great to see her happy and to imagine how much her life is going to change with a baby girl in the house in just a matter of weeks. Baby Sip got so many great gifts and I think Momma was really touched. She's going to be a great mom!

By the way, sorry for being away from this place for so many days! Lots of fundraising and meetings with my Sophomores, a Banquet for my Coop students, another Banquet for Rotary which sponsors awards for some of our Business students and finally Prom this weekend which I work with my Sophomores. I'll be back soon with news on my new family addition, a puppy.

Enjoy May guys! It will be cold here tonight but warmth is on the weather forecast for the weekend. Bring on Summer. 28 Days away!

Kristen

Lazy Weekend

This is actually the third blog I've written this week. The last two seemed more like personal journals and so I decided not to publish them. At least not yet. So here I am, delaying today's 10k training by writing another blog and watching the Cubs game.

I have had a great weekend so far, as far as weekends alone can go. I was craving a burger and fries yesterday but I have done such a good job at keeping to my budget and not eating out that I decided I couldn't break it. Instead, when I went to the grocery store, I purchased some ground beef and splurged on Ore-Ida fries (crinkle cut since that is what I was envisioning). On a whim, I bought some greek yogurt and fruit, in an attempt to make a healthy fruit salad that is PCOS-diet friendly. I made it about an hour ago. It was so tasty I had to sneak a bowl of it, which I am eating now. Greek yogurt has a ton of protein in it and balances out the carbs in the fruit. This is so divine!

Yesterday was among the laziest Saturdays I've had this year. It was rainy til about 5pm. I slept until 8am then went to the bookstore to check for a book that I had heard about. Since B&N was having their teacher special week, I bought 3 books! The one I had intended, it's sequel and a book about the GI diet, something I know I need to consider when I eat but haven't really investigated yet. Trust me, it is not easy to always eat protein whenever you eat/drink something with carbs. I'm improving by leaps and bounds and actually feel healthier when I eat. I'll read the GI book soon and keep you posted.

The remainder of Saturday was spent reading the 2 books I had bought (280 pages each). Sometime around 5pm I went to the grocery store, made my amazing burger dinner followed by a box of dairy-free brownies I needed to use up before they expired (still amazing as any brownie I've ever had - gooey and chocolaty!) Then I watched some sports and a Hallmark movie and then bed.

I've been resisting going to church down here. I found a place with a large congregation (about 1/2 the size of what I'm used to), good worship and pretty good preaching but it still isn't Park. I miss the maps. The challenging voice in Jackson and JR's message. I miss seeing a room full of people my age. Thankfully a good friend pushed me to go back and being Palm Sunday, I made sure I did so this morning. The message was insightful. So many things about that day 2000 years ago that I hadn't thought about. I have some studying and reading up to do.

I made another burger for lunch (no fries this time). Let me tell you, a burger loaded with pickles, lettuce and just a hint of mayo is phenomenal. Pickles make the sandwich. The toasted bun does too.

That brings us to now. The Cubs are tied in the 8th. Looking okay. I hear the Hawks are on but I didn't see them on any channel here. Hopefully I can find that game. Bulls are on tv tomorrow night against Indy. I hope they win again. They are on fire right now! White Sox lost again today. Dodgers just aren't their team to beat this week.

I promised myself that if I had some fruit salad I would go for a run. It's a 52 min run today which will probably be about 4 miles. I've got 13 days until the 10k race and I have yet to reach the 6 mile mark. I'm not worried. I've done pretty good on these run 2 minutes walk 3 minutes routine and I think I can step it up a notch by the race. Correction, I know I can. I'll be thrilled to say I've run my first 10k race. Can't be too much harder than an 8k, can it?

Alright, time to get suited up. Chat with you all again soon! Hopefully with a bit more substance to report...
Kristen

Italy Part 7: I visit a Tuscan Winery

30 June 2010 (above photo courtesy of Il Palagio website)

IMAGINE scenery filled with lush green grass, green trees, and occasional mountain slopes that look more like cliffs that cut through the country side. On this particular day on our journey, we were heading from Cambria in the south through Lazio and then Toscana, known in English as Tuscany.

If you know anything about Italy, it is probably the people, cities and events that have happened in Tuscany more than anywhere else in this country. Florence, Siena and Pisa are all cities in Tuscany. It has been home to Michelangeo, Dante, Petrarch, da Vinci, Galilei, Vespucci, Puccini and of course, the Medici.

With all of this in mind, our bus headed towards a Autogrill for our mid-afternoon stop. Greeting us there was a group of very handsome looking Polizia. They were young and as we all hung out front we tried to subtly take photos with them in it. Italian police don't like you to take photos with them. Nonetheless, I snapped one with them in the background. It's not the best but does the trick to remembering this gorgeous group of men!

We continued on our trek through the gorgeous scenery of Toscana and soon arrived down some narrow, winding roads just about 30 minutes south of Florence. This was immaculate landscaping. A combination of natural meets planned. Rows of grape vines butted up against rows of olive trees. Nestled between them was a gorgeous, 800+ year old building. Much of the building was stonework but one side was a mustard yellow shade with brown accents. The stones were a mismatch from the various centuries but it gave the "castle" so much character. I think the translation from Italian to English should really make this building to be a fort, not a castle, but it was called Il Palagio (Palace).

We toured the grounds along the olive trees where baby olives were just starting to sprout, chickens roaming near a small barn nearby. We also entered inside the building through a large, iron door to the basement of the ancient winery (can something 800 years old be ancient?) where dozens of huge barrels full of aging chianti lined the dark, cellar walls. We saw what is claimed to be the largest wine barrel in the world. I took a photo with it but you can't tell because I couldn't get the whole barrel in the shot.

We then had a lovely wine tasting paired with cheeses, crackers and tapenades under a awning draped courtyard. My group sat in rows of chairs and toasted (Salute!) with each sampling. It was a gorgeous spring day and we had so many great memories ahead of us, despite the numerous memories I had already made in Modena and in Sorrento/Capri.

Up next...we arrive in Firenze - Florence - Home of the Renaissance.