Thanks, karma

I was driving home from work feeling terrible about the following: a big decision, the fact that I blocked the sidewalk while turning left out of the school and a pedestrian called me out for it, and that I'd gotten so distracted I didn't notice a light had turned green, infuriating both a school bus driver and the driver behind me.

When I picked up the mail, I found yet another reason I love my dentist: He sent me a personally written thank you note and two movie tickets for referring a friend to them.

And it's warm enough that the ice cream truck is patrolling the neighborhood.

Thanks, karma, for reminding the world is not a completely terrible place.

A veces

Sometimes I think I am actually certifiably insane. Case in point: the next week of my life.

Monday-Wednesday: Complete inventory of entire library collection at work. Yes, that does mean 11,000 books. At least I have volunteer help?

Thursday: RIF distribution day at our school. I'll be in the auditorium all day helping every student pick out a free book to take home.

Thursday, 11 pm: Get on a plane and fly to Pittsburgh.

At least spring break happens at the end of this ridiculous week? If I still know my own name by Thursday night, I'll be lucky.

Up past my bedtime

Somewhere along the lines of the last few weeks, I have forgotten how to sleep. It is now 1 hour after bedtime, and my eyes are exhausted. My brain, unfortunately, stays awake.

One of my favorite parts of working in a library is reading out loud. I used to be active in theater, but now I save the theatrics for read alouds at school. I actually scared several children today when I yelled a line of Vernon Dursley's from the first Harry Potter book. The fourth graders groan when I have to stop telling Harry's adventures when we run out of time. The first graders die laughing when I read Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus. It makes me so happy to share their joy as they listen to a really good story. I allow myself to be silly and read Fudge's lines in total and complete baby talk, which always makes the third graders smile, and I feel safe making silly animal noises with the kindergartens. Reading to kids makes me a kid again, too.

Yesterday I went to the Molly Brown house & the Capitol building on a third grade field trip. I learned all about Margaret Brown (which is what she was actually called) and how her family struck gold (literally), leading her to be aboard the Titanic (and survive the event). She was a generous humanitarian, and also an excellent decorator if you're into the whole Victorian look. The Capitol was fun as well...trekking up to the top of the inner dome with 30 nine and ten year olds is an experience I think everyone should have. I was glad to learn a bit more about Denver history along with the kids.

Tonight I made a vegan lentil walnut loaf. James keeps calling it meatloaf because that's the most efficient way to describe it, but I find it humorous, as there's not a single animal product in it. It was quite tasty with lots of ketchup and a side of roasted potato wedges and broccoli stems. I will no longer purchase the Kroger Value bags of frozen broccoli cuts. The trunks vastly outweigh the leafy tops...and I don't like to eat the broccoli tree trunks!

I had something else to write about it, but can't remember now. Such is the life of my addled, sleep-deprived brain. I think I will read a few blogs and try to get to sleep.

A funny thing happened...

I'm reading Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing to the 3rd grade classes. They love pretty much anything Fudge says or does, and I'm loving the chance to read a childhood favorite aloud.

This week we were working on describing a character, based on what the book has told us about the character. We were thinking of words to describe Peter, the older brother and narrator of the book. I had students talking in pairs about words they'd use to describe Peter and why they chose them. When we got back together as a group, I asked for people to share what they'd talked about. I had heard several students saying Peter was jealous of his younger brother Fudge. The first kid I called on told me that Peter was jealous because Fudge gets special food when he refuses to eat. At the same time, another student right behind him held up his hands, scrunched up his face, and said, "Ugh, now I'M jealous!" [because he didn't get to share his answer, which was the same.] His teacher and I died laughing, and then I was able to take a moment to have the student dissect why he was feeling jealous so we could all understand the emotion a little better.

Man, I love a good teachable moment.

Confessions of a sometimes-blogger

• I cannot sew, so I've recently taken to using book repair tape to hem my pants.

• Sometimes I listen to pop radio (as in, the songs my 5th grade students listen to).

• I feel incredibly happy when I get to listen to three good songs in a row on the radio.

• I am a terrible water drinker.

• I am known to eat large spoonfuls of peanut butter topped with chocolate chips.

• I love to watch M*A*S*H episodes on DVD.

A feast! A feast!

Last night, there was a feast. We called it an Un-bleak the midwinter feast, in the hopes of increasing the joy in this generally sad, dull month. I do not love February...it always seems to drag on, even though it's the shortest month. This year, I wanted to do something about it, and I wanted to cook a really big meal with my very good friend, Kate.

So we did it: a four course dinner using as many "seasonal" ingredients as appropriate. For us, this meant root vegetables, citrus fruits, and hardy winter greens like kale and spinach. We had SO much fun, and our feast (coupled with the sunny weather with temps in the 50s and 60s) has definitely boosted my spirits.

Course 1: Spinach Soup with Basil and Dill, yogurt drizzle, and Parmesan Crisp garnish



Course 2: Golden Beet and Blood Orange Salad with Fennel



Course 3 (Main): Baked Tofu with Root Vegetable Medley (carrot, parsnip, turnip, sweet potato, fingerling potatoes, onion, Brussels sprouts) and Roasted Kale Chips, served with Balsamic Reduction



Course 4: Lime Yogurt Cake with Blackberry Sauce



All recipes (except the cake) came from various Mollie Katzen cookbooks. I highly recommend adding one to your kitchen, even if you aren't a vegetarian (or if you're a sometimes vegetarian like me).

I'd laugh, if it didn't make me want to cry

Me: [while reading a book about animals to 3-5 year olds] Who likes to eat hamburgers? Where does hamburger come from?

Child: Burger King!

Sigh. If you know me, you're aware that knowing where your food comes from is a passion of mine. Friends, there is much work to do.