19 days and counting!

I'M DONE!

So, I'm done with my Work Sample (turned it in Wednesday, along with my final evaluation)... I'm done with student teaching (even though I still show up for some classes; I'm hooked on the kids!), I'm done with classes.... I'm done!!!!!
I just have to wait for my license to come through, maybe sign a paper, and that's it! I'm a full-fledged teacher! Ahh.... it feels so good to be done.

The picture has nothing to do with this post.

Happy Birthday, Ginny!

Happy Birthday to my wonderful wonderful wonderful sister, whom I love dearly and miss a lot. I hope you have a really fantastic day, and I'll be thinking about you!

I can see the light....

Quick update:
Finished teaching my worksample, writing it up this weekend to turn in Wednesday morning. So much work, so little time!

I'll probably be teaching one sesson (10 days) of summer school for MHS the beginning of July. Also, possibly be the teacher on staff for a two-week student film class. Sweet!

Looking forward to vacation to Yellowstone, Driggs, Jackson, Island Park with Hubby, Grandparents, and the Solid Nucleus (you know who you are!). Thank you, Mom and Dad!

Next weekend: overnight retreat for MACA. Lots of trainings, meetings, and possibly a ropes course or canoeing. Probably will be just what it sounds like.

Just bought a huge hunk of Citrine/Quartz, and a hunk of Silicon. Yay for geekdom! Or geekicity?

Blast! Still can't find my digital camera cord.

I'm Edumacated!

Last Saturday, the 5th, I walked in Graduate Commencement. Now, I sorta have a Master's Degree! (the diploma says differently)


















Claire and Noah playing in the background. Mom, Ginny, Claire, Noah, and James came to cheer me on. I'm certain that the more advanced degrees a person earns, the sillier he/she looks on graduation day.














I spent the previous Wednesday with Mom and Dad. We went all over the place! Cannon Beach (ate at Mo's), the cheese factory, the Spruce Goose, MACA's open house, and out to eat with Hubby. It was a really great day.

Before PhotoShop...

...there was cut and paste.

(That's my old darling tarantula, Fluffy. And my first car--the yellow one.)

Congratulations, Dani and Paul!

You two are beautiful! I'm so privileged to be a small part of your lives and your ceremony. You'll have an extraordinary life together.

I HAVE A JOB

Yay!
The past two weeks have been a crazy rollercoaster of job offers, interviews, school visits, job offer declines, and this evening: job offer acceptance. I was offered a job in Anchorage, Alaska--James and I wanted it, but no pet skunks allowed. :( Corbett, then, sounded perfect (the school owns 13 acres in the mouth of the Columbia river--and they're building a mini observatory to house their new telescope. They wanted me to teach the Astronomy class. Suh-weet!), and I had my heart set on it. Then I interviewed (and subsequently was offered a job) with MACA--the brand new Media Arts and Communications Academy down in McMinnville. Next year will be their first year. It's a small charter school that focuses on integrating all subject areas and technology. In the end, that's what I chose. It's exciting to be part of the process of creating a school--I feel like I'll be part of a real team, and the school will be small (which I like). I feel fortunate that I even had the choice between two fantastic schools that both seemed right for me. Never did I hope that I could find a job in a small school with proper funds and really great support--but everything came together, and I'm so thankful.
Check out MACA...

**Addendum**

That comic might lead you to believe that Josh secretly hated me. That might be true, but that didn't stop him from asking me to prom. We didn't go together, but it was a nice thought. Josh and I were great friends.

Once upon a time, in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho...

In high school, I had a friend named Josh Montreil. He was a fantastic artist. In Senior English one day, he whipped this baby out in about 10 minutes. I'm not sure where the final draft went (it was in ink, and involved a gruesome scene with white-out) but I liked this one better anyway.

In case you can't decifer the dialogue, it goes like this:
"The blessedly brief adventure of Audrey, wanna-be Queen of the Universe!
...Once upon a time in the village of Coeur d'Alene, in the kingdom of Idaho...
...there lived a poor comic book artist named Josh...

One day, Josh was minding his own business, when suddenly...'I am AUDREY...QUEEN OF THE UNIVERSE!'...an annoying pixie bust in...

...and Josh said... "Holy freakin' bloody motherlovin'sweet merciful CRAP!"

"You seem to be an artist, Draw me a comic starring me!"
"...I must be drunk..."

Josh tried to ignore Audrey, but everywhere he went, she popped up and went off about how she was the Queen and must be drawn.

"DRAW ME" "Shut up" "DRAW ME" "Shut up" "DRAW ME" "Shut up"

Suddenly, Josh had an idea! "She's just a drawing!" So he got an eraser.

"NO!"

And he lived happily ever after.


I like the part about being a pixie.

Once a Queen of the Universe, always a Queen of the Universe... right James?

I heart herbs and pots and pans

Hubby gave me one of the most thoughtful gifts I think I've ever received for my birthday. I came home to discover that he had installed a very cute shelf in the kitchen and bought pots and herbs! He even accounted for "morning sun" so our lovely kitchen garden will grow strong. Yay! He knows how sad I've been about not having a garden of my own, so he brought one to me. How sweet is that!?






















Also, Toby is super cute. He's found himself a new favorite hidey-hole: behind some pots in a kitchen cupboard. This is him peeking out. I woke him from a nap. He was using some stored-away plates as a pillow.










He says, "I'm coming out now!"

Change of plans

I was so so so looking forward to our backpacking/fossil hunting trip this weekend.

Alas, my plans were thwarted--by a terribly painful sinus infection!












And rain, to boot!









It wasn't meant to be, I suppose. We were even invited to a "Stache Bash" (party celebrating the glory that is the moustache--James was going to shave down to a gnarly Fu Manchu), but sinus ickiness prevailed.
I tried to make up for my party-pooperness by making banana pancakes Sunday morning! Made with an organic, genetically modified banana and a little fingerling banana thrown in there too. Possibly the fluffiest pancakes I've ever made.

This week, on "Fossil Hunter"

Today was a teacher work day, so we could enter semester grades. Ken is awesome and organized, so we were 100% done yesterday. I questioned the point of coming to school at all today, besides getting my mid-term evaluation... but I'm glad I went. For a couple of hours, I explored Ken's fossil and amber collection... which is expansive, to say the least.















Boxes and boxes! I pulled out a dissecting scope and examined a group of ants and a dragonfly in amber and dino bones. Below is dino-bone cross-section. He has a few very good specimins, several polished. They look like this--very beautiful, and colorful!














This is coprolite: dinosaur poop. If you ever see a chuck of rock that looks like poop that's been fossilized, it probably isn't. It's probably a mud formation. Ken has many of both.











He also told me all the best places in Oregon to find stuff just lying around! Most of his collection he's gathered himself, on the weekend, just hiking around. So, from now on, my backpacking trips are now FOSSIL HUNTS!

The fossil hunt for next weekend is still on, by the way. Anyone else coming with us?

Backpacking anyone?

This picture was taken last year on the last camping trip I've taken. James and I went with Kelli + her date, Bryce, and Kadra to Trillium Lake. It was beautiful, and we took our little Toby. He was just a little baby then! He could fit in your jacket pocket or up your sleeve.

My spring break is the last week of March, and I'd love love love to go backpacking (just for one night). For convenience's sake, I'd leave March 31 and come back the next day (Saturday-Sunday) and I'm open to suggestions as to where to go. I'm thinking perhaps the Clackamas River Trail? Anyone ever been? I guess there's places to camp right on the beach, and we'd only hike in about a mile or so. Nice!

I'll drive. Oh, and I don't have a tent (I prefer open air) so if you need/want one, you're on your own. Other than that, I can supply most everything else. And if anyone wants some great warm-up hikes, my beautiful Marquam Nature trail is a convenient 1.5 blocks from my house, so we can warm-up together!

Anyone? Anyone?

Busy busy busy!

I just realized that not only have I not posted for a while, but I also hadn't been checking anyone else's blogs much either. School is totally wiping me out!

...but I must confess, I'm having a great time. Oh, so many differenced between middle school and high school! And student teaching is supposed to be a truly terrible experience! I mean, I'm really busy, and overwhelmed, yadda yadda, but the students make it worth while. I'm surprised I've become this attached to them, after only three weeks. And they make me laugh so hard! Every class period, every day--laugh laugh laugh! There's a saying among teachers, "Don't smile until Christmas." You've got to show them who's boss, and get them used to it, before you can show real personality. I can try doing that, but these kids are so hilarious that I physically would not be able to stop myself from laughing at some of the things they say.

And I'm so impressed with how smart and inquisitive they are! We'll be discussing meiosis, and question after question--all valid, all important--is asked from all the students. "I'm sorry, but we can't talk about genetics, or eugenics, or vegetative propagation, or neurobiology right now." Every day! They're so curious! They will be little genius biologists soon.

That's not so say they're all so smart. Really. But at least they're curious, which is what really matters.

And even learning how to address learning disabilities, like autism, has been less of a struggle than I thought. We have one delightful, mildly autistic girl that most other teachers didn't think could do much--but Blacksmith (my mentor teacher) proved them all wrong by holding her to the same standards but letting her have a little more time than others, and she has an A in the class. And it's a HARD class. But she can do it.

Some highlights:
Two other of my Concordia cohorts teach at Milwaukie--on the same hall, too, so we have some good support.
I have learned more in the last three weeks than I ever did in any other Biology class I've ever taken. Part of this is because I'm helping teach a Bio 2 class, and I've *gulp* never taken a Bio 2 class in my life. Lots of studying and faking confidence.
It's fun to make the students uncomfortable. We're starting a genetics unit, so of course, we have to talk about sex. I try to nonchalantly remind them that their parents did it, and I delight in their squeamish responses.
My work sample, we've decided, will be the Evolution unit. I'm up for a challenge.
Ken Blacksmith, my cooperating teacher, has given me enough material to teach an entire Biology 1 class, September through June. Including notes, materials, worksheets, and a daily breakdown. Woot!

Like a fine wine

So, yesterday was my first day at Milwaukie H.S.

Wow, is it trippy to be back in high school!

And hilarious!

I was mistaken for a student three times, once before school even started. Suh-weet! I'm 25 but still can be mistaken for a 16 yr old? I'm down with that. Not that I want to look like a teeny-bopper, but hey, if I can be mistaken for a 26 yr old when I'm 35, I'll be thankful.

One strange phenomenon got me laughing. When I was in high school, I mostly hung out with the not-so-popular crowd. That's not to say I was an uber-dork, but the Drama Club isn't that high up on the social ladder at most high schools. But I was happy where I was and had great friends.
So yesterday, right before third period, I went down to talk to another teacher that I now will be working with. He teaches 10th grade Biology. We chatted for a few minutes while students filed in, and I asked him where I could sit. "Anywhere you can find a seat!" he said... and immediately a sharply-dressed young Sophomore exclaimed "You can sit by me!" I introduced myself and thanked her for the seat, to which she replied, "Are you a sophomore?"

Now, I realize that it's sad for me to be happy that I would now fit in with the "cool" crowd in high school. Really, it's pathetic. But that's not really what tickles me. What I'm really pleased about is that my kick-assedness has been steadily growing in the seven years I've been out of school. And now it's finally being recognized! I don't dress like a soon-to-be science/math teacher, only slightly less nerdy in appearance than the elementary school librarian. Thank goodness.












In related news, I'm pretty much freaked out about the next three months. The teachers I managed to sign on with are superb, friendly, and helpful, and the classes couldn't be better. Really, this is an ideal situation that both myself and my supervisor are very pleased about.
...but the fact that I don't have a Biology degree will really hit me hard. I'll be teaching Biology 1, and technically, I'll be teaching charter school kids. They don't have a book, and the teacher makes up the class as he goes. This means I'll have to draw straight from my knowledge, with almost nothing as a guide. Also, the other class I'll be teaching is a Biology Tech class, Bio 2. Those kids probably know more Biology than I do. I haven't taken any class beyond Bio 1. Now, I chose to take on that class, but I am feeling overwhelmed. Oh, and I'll be doing an Algebra lesson here or there as well... which I can handle, but that leaves me with pretty much no prep period. *sigh* Bring it on, I guess.

Am I going to drown?

Old school

Newness

New place...




























New hair...



















New specs...

















...and new placement: Milwaukie High School, Biology 2.
PS: I told James to "think fondly of me" while posing for the camera.

Astonishing!

I was completely flabbergasted to discover last night that not only is a Platypus a freak of nature because it's a mammal that has a bill, lays eggs, and has funny flipper feet, but also for a plethora of other freakish reasons. Listen up:

It is one of the few venemous mammals; the male Platypus has a spur on the hind foot which delivers a poison capable of causing severe pain to humans.

Unlike a bird's beak (in which both the upper and lower parts of the beak separate to reveal its mouth), the snout of the Platypus is a sensory organ with the mouth on the underside. The nostrils are located on the dorsal surface of the snout while the eyes and ears are located in a groove set just back from it; this groove is closed when swimming.

Modern Platypus young have three-cusped molars which they lose before or just after leaving the breeding burrow; adults have heavily keratinised pads in their place.

Monotremes are the only mammals known to have a sense of electroreception: they locate their prey in part by detecting electric fields generated by muscular contractions. The Platypus' electroreception is the most sensitive of any monotreme.

The female Platypus has a pair of ovaries but only the left one is functional.
Although possessing mammary glands, the Platypus lacks teats. Instead, milk is released through pores in the skin. There are grooves on her abdomen that form pools of milk, allowing the young to lap it up.

In 2004, researchers at the Australian National University discovered the Platypus has ten sex chromosomes, compared to two (XY) found in most other mammals (for instance, a male Platypus is always XYXYXYXYXY). Furthermore, one of the Platypus' Y chromosomes shares genes with the ZZ/ZW sex chromosomes found in birds. It lacks the mammalian sex-determining gene SRY, meaning that the process of sex determination in the Platypus remains unknown.

Click to read the article at Wikipedia.

Eat it!

Pineapple shortly marinated in vanilla rum, sprinkled with cinnamon and brown sugar, and grilled to perfection. Served over pound cake and topped with whipped cream. Oh my!















Thank you hubby!