The Adventures of Kinky Reggae: A Vagabond for Beauty

I don't know if I could possibly be any more excited for my birthday plans. In two days, I will be flying out to Vegas!!! I will be joined by six of my favorite friends. Although most people go to Vegas to party, my priority is canyoneering. I just want to be out in the desert, in the wilderness. I am so, so excited that I get to do that with some of my favorite people. AND, this will be my first technical canyon! Saturday's hike will have rappels! I am organizing stuff to pack, and this is what's on my bedroom floor: I feel like this pile is very representative of me as a person: hiking shoes, helmet, Camelback, and GPS next to my Louboutin's and cute dresses. It is going to be a crazy weekend, for sure. In addition to the excitement of going to Vegas, I just had a fairly interesting weekend. My mom always goes on and on about some old scary movie she loves, The Dark Secret of Harvest Home. I tracked it down for her birthday, and she was thrilled. She refused

I feel like I can finally write about this now that I've had some time to process and know more about the situation. The evaluation process was unfair. I did not know there was any kind of serious issue until after Christmas, when I had two formative evaluation meetings within three days of each other. After the first meeting, at which I was told there were problems with my leadership skills, I came up with an action plan, which I presented at the following meeting. The idea behind formative evaluations is that you're supposed to use that that feedback to improve your performance. Three days was obviously not enough time to do much, but I was determined to improve. I was receptive to the criticisms; I know I am less than awesome at leading meetings. It's different with kids; you can tell them to be quiet and stay focused. But dealing with adults is another story. I knew I had a lot to learn. Another criticism I felt was unfair was that I hadn't been going into

(This is pretty much the worst picture of me ever. I look about 50 pounds heavier than I actually am. But it's JERRY freaking JOHNS, so I had to post it.) Last night I went to hear Jerry Johns speak at Concordia for free!!!! Dr. Johns is super duper famous in the world of reading. I would argue that he's even a bigger deal than Stephanie Harvey, Anne Goudvis, and Cris Tovani (all of whom are rock star teachers/authors that I'd give anything to know). But Dr. Johns is like, on another level. His book, Improving Reading , is a resource I go to on a regular basis. It's practically the reading teacher's Bible. And he's the guy who put together the BRI, the reading test I administer to determine a student's reading level! I mean, that's a big freaking deal! He's written a bunch of other great books, hundreds of journal articles, and was the president of the International Reading Association for a while. So I was beyond excited to get to hear

I'm not a huge fan of the holiday itself, but for some reason, I really love Valentine's crafts. I made this banner for my mantle (there are sayings embroidered on the hearts): and these hearts for my windows: I didn't mail Valentines to my friends like I have in years past, but I did send a bunch of Valentines to soldiers in Afghanistan. I want everyone to feel loved today. :)

I feel like I should blog, but there's not really much going on. I had brunch with Nina and Sarah on Saturday because Nina decided our lives need to be more like Sex and the City. And, unintentionally, our brunch was oh so similar to scenes from the show- Sarah loudly and graphically describing an encounter from the night before (Samantha), Nina making witty remarks (Carrie), me trying to hush Sarah and worrying that the guy at the next table would overhear (Charlotte)... we played our parts well. After a delicious brunch at Bite, we discovered a craft fair at the bar next door. I got an adorable flower to wear in my hair. It was a morning that reminded me how much I love Chicago, despite the fact that it was 12 degrees outside. I started reading One for the Money by Janet Evanovich and think I'm going to be addicted to these Stephanie Plum books. I turn 30 in less than three weeks and am five pounds away from my goal weight. Well, my original goal. Now that I'm five

I have the best friends ever. I feel like I spend a lot of time writing about that, but it continues to be true, and I continue being thankful for it. I feel so undeserving of such love and generosity. Last week, I found out I will not be returning to my school district next year. (That story will be for another post, one that I am not ready to write yet. There are still too many emotions surrounding that. Also, my parents don't know, so if you know them, please don't tell them. I don't want them worrying.) One of the hardest things about all this is that I still have to go into work every day with a smile on my face and act like nothing's wrong. I still have to do my best and work hard for the kids. And I have to maintain positive relationships with the administrators who think I'm inadequate. It is so HARD to go to work every day, and I come home completely exhausted. And I've got four more months of this! I know I'll get through it, because I k