waisted

I went to the gym last Thursday and felt half-dead. Even on level 5, the elliptical felt too difficult, but I toughed it out for 22 minutes. I was too tired to do any machines afterward. The scale was at the top end of my normal range.

Tonight, I went again and rocked it out! The elliptical felt its normal levels again and I kept up a good, sweaty pace for 30 minutes. Then I did a circuit of machines and weights, trying to work hard on the reps. I felt great!

Lately I've been feeling squishy and have realized that what they say about metabolism slowing down in your 30s must be true. I felt like my trousers were getting tight and I wasn't feeling good about my body.

But for some reason tonight, while doing handweights in front of the big mirror, my torso looked firm and athletic. Now, I promise you that it's not actually, and I knew that, but I really loved that it looked that way. I looked kind of small in the mirror, or at least smaller than I look in my head. Probably a trick of workout clothes, and willful ignorance of thighs, but it was pretty nice to feel good about my reflection. To get out of my head and try to be more objective. It's got to be healthier.

nom nom

It's been a long time since I've made any sweet treats. Last week I had cookies on the brain, but no time.

On Saturday I met up with some friends, and while we were out and about, passed an ice cream sandwich truck. They looked tasty but I remembered that I can just make cookies! Also that I can't afford to buy a five-dollar dessert. (....though I bought a two-dollar Dough donut while at the Brooklyn Flea that morning...)



That night, as I was in the middle of making dinner, I decided to just do it. But I didn't want chocolate chip again, as I've done those a few times. I wanted to try something new. I came across a recipe I'd found for snickerdoodles and decided to just go for it.

Now you may remember my struggles with cookies and cupcakes, so of course I was worried that these also wouldn't be right. Especially when I put things together in the wrong order. (I always do that! Even though I profess to be good at Reading the Directions!) But I forget ahead, and loved rolling the doughballs in the cinnamon-sugar mixture.

Lo and behold! It worked! They came out beautifully, and tasted exactly like snickerdoodles are supposed to taste--delicious!



I took these pictures on my iPhone and ran them through Instagram. You've probably heard about it from everyone and their sister. It's a free app, and it's always lots of fun to try out different filter effects on your photos. Recently they added a tilt-shift feature!

Almost there

(legendary Santorini sunset)

For you, my teachers, there is but one more week of testing, and then you are free!!

Well, free from testing nonsense, at least. Then you get the pleasure of what, seven more weeks of pointless school? Start planning those field trips--book up June with as much interesting fun as possible! :)

For me, the 'almost there' refers to sort of getting close to caught up with photo stuff. I've got Greece photos up on flickr and out to family, and some up on facebook. I need to put more up on facebook, some on my photo portfolio, and some on my photo blog.

I just finished editing and processing an engagement shoot from last month, and I need to post that. Then I have a maternity shoot to finish processing and post that too.

I possibly have a shoot to schedule this weekend. There are several people I should contact to set up shoots this month.

Of course I would like to put up some photos and stories from our trip on this here neglected blog.

I'm just about caught up with all our tv shows from the past three weeks! I am extra glad that I put my netflix account on hold until later this month, too.

I decided to do another stint of the second job that I did over the winter. It's a shorter time frame and probably less volume per week. It's not the most exciting thing to come home and do more work (see all that photo stuff above), but money is a good thing to have a little extra of.

I have to keep reminding myself that it's a good thing, like mental exercise, to juggle a lot of things, and prioritize, and keep pushing through.

Here's a little taste: a panorama from Santorini, between Fira and Firostefani, looking out onto the caldera. Pretty sweet view, eh?

Aloha!

No wait, that's not right. Haha. :)

Yesterday we got back from two weeks in Greece!

two quick things

1. I updated my links over there for the first time in what must be several years.

2. The President kicked some political ass in a speech about the budget! For some dumb reason, the NY Times replaced the article that I read about it earlier today, which included this quote:

"The president described the Republican plan for reducing the nation’s debt as one that would let roads crumble, accept mediocrity in education, stop caring for senior citizens and lead to as many as 50 million fewer people being covered by health insurance. He derided the Republican approach as one that would not invest in “education or clean energy” while giving away tax breaks to wealthy people."

I agree with everything that he said--yes, we must cut some spending, absolutely, but of course that will have to go hand in hand with raising tax revenues. Duh.

Woohoo, go Obama!

another great monday

After a busy weekend of photography and finally submitting our taxes, it was so nice to have a leisurely morning at home, eat breakfast, relax. I went on a school visit and met with a like-minded teacher. The weather was INSANE--more like summer than spring! No coat, no sweater, just beautiful, warm sun!

When I got home, I had to celebrate with a photo!

Later I went to the gym. I got there before the peak time, but even so it seemed like there were fewer people there than normal, and I hope it's because they were outside enjoying the sun. I thought briefly about going for a bike ride, which I should have thought about/planned earlier. It's okay, there will be lots more time for sunny rides in the coming warm months. Woo!

Less than a week until Greece!

Hello and Happy Friday

Here's a happy spring photo for you, from last weekend:


I was coming back from a couple days in Boston, visiting my dad who was on a work trip there. It was nice to get away, to a city that seemed really quiet and clean. Also, there was some serious dessert!

I also saw a cherry tree that was starting to bloom:

A couple days ago one on my street started to show some petals too! Across the street is a magnolia that I've been monitoring--its buds seem to be working toward opening, slowly but surely!

Another spring sign are the two Mister Softees I spotted by schools on my way home. I just wish it weren't cold enough to need gloves today! Though I did hear that next week is supposed to be in the 60s--that's major progress!

(The political scene right now is so incredibly infuriating that I don't even want to talk about it. So instead, look, pretty spring flowers. :D)

I have three photo shoots this weekend--I'm really excited! One is at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. I've never been. Wish this were coinciding a bit more with the cherry blossoms, but I'm sure it will be pretty nonetheless.

Also, we leave for Greece a week from Sunday!!

for the record

I had a really nice day today and I felt like I should record it.

I got up early (which no, is not very nice), and went to the office for awhile. Have I mentioned that it's really sweet being part-time and having so much flexibility? Plus working with awesome and funny people? It's pretty awesome. I'm hoping to talk to them about going full-time. Which would cut down on the sleeping in, but would help my bank account actually grow, instead of lose money, like it has for the past three months. And the work itself is pretty fun.

The transportation gods were smiling on me today too--all four trains I took today arrived within a minute.

The perk of going in so early was that I did a lot of work and still had lots of afternoon daylight left. So I went to the nearby park for some pictures, which were a bit chilly at times, but jumping always warms me up a little.

Other random good news--my knees have been backing off lately, though my feet show no signs of stopping their aches. This makes for a much better jumping experience! On the way back to the train, I swear that I felt a few moments of almost warmth, when the wind wasn't blowing.

Anyway, I still got home before 4, and at 5 I went to the gym! Two days after my last trip! And it felt great! Other than a few knee twinges on the elliptical, my muscles were feeling the burn and feeling strong. I love that slight bit of soreness after a workout, just enough to feel them and know that you pushed them.

After an hour at the gym, and running an errand I've been meaning to take care of for a few days, I still had plenty of time for some snacks and some television. I made some weekend plans, and just now we *finally* got the last of our honeymoon arrangements made! Well, the ones we'll do from here, at any rate.

So again, it's been a good day. I hope you've had a good Monday. For you teachers, only a few weeks til spring break!!

springing

maybe someday it will finish--I sure am ready! :)

for something completely different

Last week, Dooce posted a few examples of fabulous mash-ups.
"...this one is beyond brilliant and I wish I could favorite it sixteen hundred times, "Mama Said Knock You Out" by LL Cool J remixed with "Come on Eileen" by Dexy's Midnight Runners."


Here are some others that I enjoyed, courtesy of her commenters:

Fleet Foxes and Beyonce:
This is strangely gorgeous.

Michael Jackson and Queen:


Adele and The Rolling Stones:

spring, etc

At the beginning of the month, I wanted to make some cupcakes. I agonized over which recipes to use, settling on this sour cream recipe from smitten kitchen for the cupcakes, and this easy chocolate frosting recipe from Martha Stewart.

With this baking attempt, I learned the hard way that creaming butter and sugar does *not* mean beating them together, so the cupcakes were a little grainy. I don't like sour cream, and I've never made anything with it before, so I was a little skeptical. But I hoped that it would make it creamy and moist, and I do want to try new things. Unfortunately, the taste to me was a little weird, though other people seemed to like them okay.

The frosting, though! Oh, that frosting...I may or may not have eaten a few bites straight from a spoon. It's super simple, mostly butter, which explains why it's so freaking delicious. This is now my go-to frosting. I dipped apples in it, I dipped banana in it. It would be gorgeous on strawberries. Or cookies or ice cream or anything you want. YUM.

Last weekend I decided I needed to make something. Since I bought a Giant Bag of Chocolate Chips at Costco, it was time for another batch of Nestle Tollhouse cookies. Thankfully, mine and the husband's colleagues ate most of the cookies so I didn't have to. (Of course, I had plenty of dough while getting ready to bake...)

Last night I really wanted something cakey, but I didn't want to bake an entire thing. So instead I heated up a treat I've been saving in the freezer for awhile: Trader Joe's Chocolate Lava Cake. Diviiiiiiine.

In weather news, check it out:



The weather is slowly but surely improving; Friday was absolutely glorious! Today, the first day of spring (!), is in the 40s. But the overall trend is definitely going the right way.

I went for a bike ride to book club! Can't wait for real biking weather!

Did you see last night's "Supermoon"?


I've done three photo shoots within the past week. I still have some editing/processing to do for two of them. I love being out and about trying to take good portraits. I really want to do more!

Look what I saw today!

I can't believe it! The winter is actually on its way out!!

update:

Finished my 26th book today!

This gives me some hope for the government!

Have a listen to these awesome lady-senators fighting back against what they rightly call a war on women, children and families!

These two conservative Wyoming state reps are also fighting the good fight on their own terms:



Here's a brief written synopsis with more detail from the reps about the bills.

You can't be serious?

(edited to have the good stuff up top!)
Please read this brief article summing up American inequality:

"In this ridiculous country, it’s “class warfare” when working people would like a fair wage and health insurance, but it’s “Morning in America” when the top 1% have harvested nearly every dollar of financial gain in this country for the past 30 years. Corporate taxes have dropped as quickly as CEO salaries and bonuses have risen, and we’re all supposed to “take one for the team” while Wall Street criminals make up new ways to earn billion-dollar bonuses while you get to spend a couple of months arguing with your insurance company (if you’re “lucky enough” to have health care coverage) over whether your kid’s concussion or dad’s cancer is something that might be covered."

It's talking about this set of data showing exactly who has what in this country.


Jon Stewart put together an incredible segment on Monday's episode.
Part 1:



Those talking heads make me see red.

Part 2:




Last week I got into a very long facebook thread about unions...

Person 1: "That doesn't change the fact that public employees are paid less, as compared to their education level, than private employees. They are underpaid and yet the target of budget cuts. When we complain about America losing in science, medicine, education, etc. it is in no small part due to the fact that our teachers are underpaid, that they don't have the resources necessary to be successful, and that they are subject to ridiculous standardized testing that doesn't actually test what students know."

Person 2: "Whether or not teachers are underpaid is debatable. Some are much better compensated than others, and teacher pay in low-income communities certainly outstrips the average pay of taxpayers in the locale." ...

Me: I think everyone who understands what teachers actually DO (ie, a lot more than 9-3 or whatever) along with the importance of their work would say that teachers are vastly underpaid. think of doctors and lawyers, who are held in high regard... for doing good and necessary work, and have the salary to match. police and firefighters, who do public good, get overtime. if you paid teachers for all the time they were working, plus perhaps hazard pay for the noise, threats, lack of break time, etc, salaries would skyrocket (justifiably).

Administrators (good ones, at least!) do a lot of work, and get a lot more shit (from board/superintendent/etc, as well as from teachers, as well as from students/parents/community), so I'm okay with them getting paid more. it's relative though--should an admin make twice as much as a teacher? no way. a certain percentage more? sure.

Person 3: "Government employees (including teachers) are NOT underpaid relative to their peers in the private sector. At low and mid range positions, they are significantly overpaid. This is not opinion, but the conclusion of numerous studies conducted over the past 30 years." ...

Me:

i'll go back to the teacher issue--there are some districts/states where teachers earn a decent STARTING salary (there are at least as many where the starting salary is just barely above a living wage), but the advancement does not match private sector salaries. i'm a perfect example: at 25, when i started teaching, the NYC starting teacher salary was $43,000 (now it's $49,000)[keeping in mind there are both state and city taxes, so the take-home is not nearly what you'd think]. after six years of teaching, at 30, i was making about $56,000, with a master's degree. my friend worked for the city for four years, without a master's degree, and got up to about $65k, and now after a little more than a year in the private sector she's making more than $80k. she's 28. if i continued teaching, i wouldn't earn $80k until i was 48.

for me to get to $100k, i'd have to teach for 22 more years *and* get 30 more credits (which of course cost money). i'd be 52. and freaking exhausted.

Can you think of any private sector professions whose employees can earn $100 before they're in their fifties? YES. Many without an advanced degree, even. My friend will earn $100k before she's 35.

Now, NYC pays its teachers "relatively" well. In many states, there's simply no way for a teacher to earn anywhere near $100k--EVER. *and* they're required to keep taking (ie, paying for) coursework and pay for certifications/tests.

(Do you have to pay for another year of college to earn your raise?)

So yes, teachers ARE underpaid relative to their private sector peers.

Unions have a tough job. Teachers' interests need to be protected, but then you get into bad teachers vs good and who needs to be protected "more." I don't have an answer or solution to that. I know that teachers work their asses off for not enough money and no recognition, and in fact get all kinds of shit from people who don't know better about getting summers off. Teachers deserve the teensy tiny raises that unions have managed to secure (many of which are now gone), and teachers don't deserve to lose their pensions that unions may have bargained away or that states frittered away. Teachers don't deserve to have huge classes because of budget cuts.

I also know that there are really bad teachers who don't do anything all day but still collect a paycheck. Does it make me angry that they still have jobs when there are many qualified, eager teachers who don't have jobs? Damn straight. (Do I also know that there are many, many idiots out there collecting paychecks for not doing anything in other fields? Yes indeedy.)

Anyway, the Wisconsin governor appears to believe that he can just invalidate unions or pretend they don't exist. Like them or not, you just can't do that.

Person 2:
"I don't agree that you are comparing peers. My wife is a teacher and we love it, but her "full-time" teaching job is only 0.7% full-time employment. Divide your pay by 0.7 and you would be making $70k per year if you worked the same schedule as the rest of us. Our state pay schedule is lower than yours, but the pattern of increase is basically the same. On the receiving end, I'd love higher teacher pay. On the accountability side, I'd like to see pay that wasn't based on how long you've been on the job."

Me:
your wife is a teacher and you still think her job is only quote-unquote full-time?

Same schedule as the rest of you? You can't be serious.

Hours spent in front of children are only part of the equation. Our friend S is at school for nearly twelve hours a day as a public school teacher, and I did the same as a charter school teacher for two years, which meant that I was with kids for eight hours a day instead of six.

Can you actually take a lunch break for more than 15 minutes? Can you come back from lunch and it doesn't really matter because there aren't thirty short people waiting for you in your cubicle? Can you go to the bathroom whenever you want? Does your boss require you to decorate your cubicle with certain amounts of meaningless paperwork every few weeks? Do the parents of your colleagues question your methods and motives? Do any of your colleagues or 'underlings' actively try to prevent you from doing your work, by yelling at other people, throwing things, disrupting everyone else? Are you required to submit all the work you're going to do for the next week, in detail, with the reasoning behind every piece, to your boss a week or more in advance? Are you allowed to have a personal life as a human being without worrying if it will be acceptable to the general public? Does your boss evaluate you (and can they fire you) after only seeing you work once a year, or never?

[More that I thought of later] If you manage others, do your employees talk back, refuse to do their work, call you and the other employees names or threaten you?
Does your office have a functioning air-conditioner?
Do you have a working copier??? Do you get to use it at will without knowing that within a few months, your entire office will run out of paper and can't afford to buy more?
Do you have a supply closet??!!!
Or do your colleagues break all of their and your writing utensils, pencil sharpeners, file holders, calculators, etc? And then refuse to work unless more magically appear, from money out of your own pocket?

There are a lot of difficult jobs out there. Almost none of them are as difficult as teaching.

Person 2:
"Wow. "Almost none of them as difficult as teaching" is a pretty bold statement. Yes, there are many kinds of challenges from all kinds of jobs. I think we can also agree that you cannot be fired due to one bad observation by your pri...ncipal. Due process requires much more than that. Nor, for that matter, can you be fired for churning out kids who've learned nothing during their time spent in your classroom. My father-in-law is the HR Director for another school district and has published a book on HR administration in education. I'm not anti-teacher, I'm against the holier-than-thou attitude of many educators who claim they work endless days when it simply is not true.

Twelve hour days are brutal. I know from often working them myself. I, and you, also know that it is far from the norm in teaching."

Me:
My statement above is indeed a bold one, and I stand by it.

Hearing about your wife's experience, I'm sure, then, that you understand that for most teachers, there's almost no time during the day to do the daily work of teaching--grading an...d preparing for the next day/lesson. That has to be done on one's own time, whether it's at home or at school. Some teachers leave school right away and work for hours at home. I never took work home, myself.

Regardless of the number of hours worked, the intensity of the time in-classroom is insane (you have to be "on" every second, with your eyes in every corner). The work that is done inside a classroom is almost unrivaled--a teacher is also a parent, a nurse, a psychologist, a mediator, a data analyst, a behavior therapist, a battle strategist (seating charts! line spots!), etc etc. Teachers have to teach kids how to be people, so to speak, not just how to multiply.

This is why teachers are underpaid compared to their peers.

Here in NYC, your supervisor gives you a rating at the end of the year, based on observations. In many schools, administrators are too busy or incompetent to do those or do them correctly (with pre- and post- meetings with individual teachers). In my fourth year of teaching, my principal never once set foot in my classroom. My AP, who was awesome, observed formally and informally a couple times.

If a teacher gets an unsatisfactory rating, that can be the start of the process to get them out. If you're in your first few years, a U could allow the admin to deny your tenure.

This is why unions have such a tricky job--some teachers really do deserve those U ratings and need to be fired. But because of union politics and bureaucracy, it's become almost impossible to get rid of a teacher. Other U-rated teachers are the victims of admin bullying and need union protection. Ratings can be really subjective or can be recorded without any actual evidence to back it up (see again busy or incompetent administrators).

Again, I don't have the answers for how to protect schools from bad teachers and teachers from bad administrators. But I do believe that unions have to exist (and hope to whatever-deity-you-want that somehow things improve) so that kids get the kind of teaching they need in order to--oh right--earn more money than teachers in professional jobs as adults.

Person 1:
"Mr. President, in the year 2007, the top 1 percent of all income earners in the United States made 23 1/2 percent of all income. The top 1 percent earned... 23 1/2 percent of all income--more than the entire bottom 50 percent. That is apparently not enough. The percentage of income going to the top 1 percent has nearly tripled since the 1970s. In the mid-1970s, the top 1 percent earned about 8 percent of all income. In the 1980s, that figure jumped to 14 percent. In the late 1990s, that 1 percent earned about 19 percent. And today, as the middle class collapses, the top 1 percent earns 23 1/2 percent of all income--more than the bottom 50 percent. Today, if you can believe it, the top one-tenth of 1 percent earns about 12 cents of every dollar earned in America."

Do the richest 1% pay 12% of the US tax revenue?

"If you can believe this, since between 1980 and 2005, 80 percent of all new income created in this country went to the top 1 percent--80 percent of all new income. That is why people are wondering and asking: What is going on in my life? How come I am working longer hours for lower wages? How come I am worrying about whether my kids will have as good a standard of living as I had? From 1980 until 2005, 80 percent of all income went to the top 1 percent."

In that period did the richest 1% pay 80% of the US tax revenue?

The answers, of course, are both "no." Because we all know, whether we'd like to admit it, that the tax burden in America is on the poor, not the wealthy. Who make their millions on the backs of those paying the lions share of the US tax revenue."

Person 3:
"The speech is nice, [Person 1], but his conclusion is flat wrong. And so is yours. The working poor hardly pay income taxes in this country. It's not trickery or loopholes that does this. It's the tax code.

The tax burden has steadily shifted over the last couple decades to being more heavily born by high earners, not the working poor. Don't trust political speeches to provide facts. Check it out for yourself at the source - the IRS."

Person 4:
"Lol. Of course the rich pay more in taxes in pure dollars. But they most definitely do not as a percentage of their income. Tax rates are currently at an all time low. But people still whine. For the wealthy they have never been lower. But ...maybe if we give them more then things will get better. Right? There's a reason Bush sr. called it voodoo economics.

The ultimate result of conservative fiscal policy is a feudal state with no middle class. It is wealth redistribution to the top. It has worked quite well with inflation adjusted income going nowhere in thirty years for most Americans. Meanwhile a fraction of the upper crust enjoys meteoric income growth.

This action in Wisconsin is just the next step on that road."

Person 3:
"[Person 5], the percentage is precisely the issue. The percentage is absolutely higher for high earners. Check the IRS stats. This is not a matter of opinion." ....

Me:
yes, of course the rate is higher, but does that mean that those wealthy people are actually paying those rates? perhaps a better way to look at is the effective amount they pay. there are so many ways that rich people (and corporations) get out of paying those taxes, since their income isn't all necessarily a paycheck that gets taxed a standard rate (inheritances, stock revenue, real estate, etc).

This is an old example, and seems to be cited often. but it's effective:

"Buffett cited himself, the third-richest person in the world, as an example. Last year, Buffett said, he was taxed at 17.7 percent on his taxable income of more than ...$46 million. His receptionist was taxed at about 30 percent.

Buffett said that was despite the fact that he was not trying to avoid paying higher taxes. "I don't have a tax shelter," he said. And he challenged Congress and his audience to see what the people who "clean our offices" are taxed.

The rich can take advantage of tax loopholes, including one that allows those managers to pay the capital gains tax rate of 15 percent instead of the ordinary top income tax rate of 35 percent."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/27/AR2007062700097.html

Person 6 then goes on to talk about why a flat tax is a good idea and that trickle-down economics is real...

Another person pointed out the flaw in flat tax but that it's not such a bad idea.

This thread had gotten really long and it finally petered out.

Choice Matters

(Feminazi: Because wanting to be treated like a human being is just like invading Poland!)

I attended the rally in support of Planned Parenthood on Saturday. It was exciting and empowering! I believe that all women need to have the power to make their own decisions about their bodies and their lives, and having choices is a vital part of that power.

This comment on Jezebel's article about it perfectly captures everything I think about this issue and people who disagree or are anti-choice:

I'd be more than happy to help prevent abortions; it's the main reason I support Planned Parenthood.

Planned Parenthood helps prevent abortions.

There are so many birth control methods available: the pill, DMPA, condoms, etc. All of these are ways to save the lives and quality of life for woman and girls around the world. By helping woman control family size, they also save the lives and quality of life of children around the world. Parents are better able to devote more time and resources to the children they have and raise the next generation in healthier and happier environments.

We need better sex-health education in the States. Yes, abstinence is one way to prevents pregnancies and STDs (To those who say it's the only method that's 100% effective, I think there's one notable exception.), but we need to discuss and explain the options available and then MAKE SURE THOSE OPTIONS ARE AVAILABLE.

If we're going to be serious about preventing abortions, then we need to be serious about birth control. If you don't like the idea of an IUD because it prevents a fertilized egg from finding purchase, then you can use a condom and there's no fertilization. Why not prevent the egg from even being released, as with many hormonal methods?

Heck, if you're really serious about preventing abortions, why not look at the reasons a pregnancy isn't wanted?

How about the health issues? Provide care for the mother when she needs it. You want a healthy baby? Prenatal care is vital and Planned Parenthood provides it.

Once the baby is born, how is the mother supposed to care for it? Programs like WIC handle some of that. If we're going to be serious about being pro-life, then let's take care of that life!

Is it a financial problem? Can the woman not afford to have the child? How much work will she miss while pregnant? Does her employer offer maternity leave or is she facing job-loss for that baby? If she loses her job, HOW IS SHE SUPPOSED TO CARE FOR THE CHILD?

No one joyfully has an abortion. It's a horrible, invasive, painful, traumatic, messy, embarrassing, heart-wrenching, and unnecessary thing. It's not a casual decision.

Unless everyone has access to safe and affordable birth control, unless everyone has access to prenatal care, unless everyone has pro-natal job protection, unless everyone has the financial stability to have and care for a child, unless everyone can guarantee health care for all children, unless all rapists wear condoms, unless there's no such thing as a "complication", unless the mother's life is never at risk, unless insurance will cover 100% of a birth, unless we can find homes for every child in the adoption system, unless there's a real effort to educate people, unless ALL OF THAT is true...

...Then we just aren't serious about preventing abortions. (Edit comment)

Personal Goals #14, 15, 16, 17, Couple goals #5, 7

14: Exercise at least once a week. (stickers)

Success! For eight weeks! And really that was a continuation from December. Overall last fall I did a pretty good job of going once a week too (though there were several times when I got too busy or sick or hurt-y though).
Speaking of hurt-y, my knees are once again acting up. A few weeks ago they started aching a lot again, out of the blue. A little over a week ago, they started just plain hurting, pretty bad. This week I wasn't sure if I would be able to do much or if I should. But I ended up doing 20 minutes on the elliptical after all. (With some definite hurt/ache after I got home.)

15: Blog once a week. ("B")

I haven't necessarily had much to say, or anything at all (photo post), but I've been trying to stay in the habit of posting regardless. I actually have several things I've been wanting to post for awhile, I just haven't gotten around to it. Someday I might! :)

16. Post on photo blog more than once a month. ("P")

Last week I shot my first maternity session, which was fun! I just posted a 'sneak peek' shot and will do more next week. Another goal which I apparently forgot to write down was to do a photoshoot once a month. I was unable to do one in January because of the weather. There are three people I've been in contact with, trying to arrange shoots. Without a studio though, I'm at the mercy of Mother Nature.

I am SO THRILLED that the weather is definitely getting milder. I can't wait to see signs of spring, and get out there and shoot!



17. Return Netflix after three weeks no matter what.
Started out with a fail on this one, as I had the same three movies for most of January. But this month I've been better. I just have to be honest with myself about what I will actually watch--those Serious Dramas and/or Thrillers are just going to sit there, so I may as well not even pretend, and just leave them out of my queue to begin with. If it's a movie that I'd wanted to see in theaters, or a silly rom-com that I would have been embarrassed to see in the theaters, then that's what I'll actually watch. :)

5. Try one new restaurant a month.

Success!

In January we tried an Italian place in our neighborhood. It had tasty food and this very yummy chocolate cake.
In February we tried a diner, also in our neighborhood. (One always needs to know good diners!) This one was only ok.

7. Live entertainment/culture activity every two months.

On Valentine's Day weekend, we did a Watson Adventure scavenger hunt, about chocolate in Soho. We saw some new places (including the real, original Ray's Pizza) and learned some interesting things about NYC. We had to buy treats at a certain number of places along the way; We only had a few bits of things on the way, and ended completely stuffed. This is what we took home:

On Valentine's Day proper, we saw a show at Upright Citizen's Brigade. Next month, we have tickets to Pete Yorn concert, and a Mike Birbiglia comedy show. We're also hoping to see another Baby Wants Candy show (improvised musical! those people are brilliant!) soon.

Happy :)

Did you have a nice Valentine's Day? At the very least I hope you enjoyed an extra snack of candy and/or chocolate!

We decided to see a show at Upright Citizens Brigade and then had a quiet dinner at our favorite Brooklyn burger joint (they have the best curly fries!).

The day after Valentine's Day...

was our six month wedding anniversary!

To celebrate, as you can see, I put my wedding dress on again for a few photos. That was fun. :) I think normal life has too little time in fancy dress! We went out to dinner again, to a local diner we hadn't been to before.

Also, on that day, I got an email from theknot.com for the occasion. Apparently they have an agenda, or they want us to have one, as the subject read: "Pregnant? New Parent? Trying to Conceive?" Sheesh, subtle much?! No, we are none of the above, but good to know that they're looking out for us, I guess. :)

Our first six months of married life have been pretty quiet, since I didn't have a job for three months and we stayed home at Christmas. But in two months we'll be going on our honeymoon, to the Greek islands! We're hoping for some kind of domestic trip this summer too, either somewhere in the West or taking a road trip down the East Coast. Regardless, I'm confident that there are many adventures yet to come, because I get to spend more time with the best husband ever!

Please

So the budget needs some major help. Yes, I understand. Some things will need to be cut or pared down. Definitely.

However! We, and by we I mean our representatives in Congress, who are supposed to represent the PEOPLE, not the industries and interests, need to think very carefully about how to pare down the budget, because of the way it affects our people.

I see on facebook that people are signing a petition to save PBS and NPR. And you know, I like those programs. They're educational and interesting.

The House Republicans want to eliminate those, but they also want to cut AmeriCorps.

AmeriCorps isn't as trendy or as well-known as NPR or PBS. But AmeriCorps is a (huge) family of programs that make people's lives better. AmeriCorps quite literally makes the country better, on an individual and an institutional level.

I've talked about AmeriCorps here before, so I hope I don't have to preach to you about how it affected me. Suffice it to say that without AmeriCorps, I wouldn't be here today, in New York, after directly affecting at least 500 children, as well as volunteering in cities around the country.

Here's a great article whose title really sums up the issue: Show Me a Program that Does as Much as AmeriCorps. You should read the entire thing, but I want to highlight the last few paragraphs, because he's just perfectly captured the key point:

As one of the oldest threads in our national fabric, service shouldn’t be partisan issue, especially in a recession. The loss of AmeriCorps would do the most harm to vulnerable families and communities already struggling to weather the recession.

AmeriCorps instills the ethic of service in members, places them in community organizations that are desperate for resources, and charges them with tasks that provide critical resources and support to struggling Americans.

Just over a year ago, Congress voted to expand AmeriCorps to 250,000 members, based on the program’s overwhelmingly positive impact in helping build a stronger America. Since then, our economy has suffered, millions of Americans have lost their jobs, and the poverty rate is growing dangerously. This is a moment when we should be looking to grow AmeriCorps to help keep the nation strong.

Last week I finally emailed my Representative (for the first time ever!) in support of keeping AmeriCorps. I believe that the House has already debated the budget, but I'm not sure if they've voted yet.

Are you a person? Do you support other people having the best life they can? AmeriCorps helps.

Please, please share the power of AmeriCorps with your friends and family. Please contact your representatives in Congress and urge them to keep AmeriCorps running and making America a better place for all of her citizens.

teaching teachers and schools

I saw some interesting links on GothamSchool's round-up, and I have some thoughts to share...

First, the former First W Lady is starting a school initiative! It's targeting middle school, because "research has shown that ...6th through 8th grade..is a crucial time in determining future success" as well as high school success/dropouts.

So this program wants to improve middle school classrooms: "The program focuses on 11 elements for success, including school leadership, reading interventions, effective teachers, dropout prevention and school, student, family and community support."

I think this is great. Middle school has long been the redheaded, defiant stepchild of the school system. (There are some AMAZING teachers accomplishing AMAZING things with twelve and thirteen year olds year after year--I say give them Wall Street-level bonuses! They EARN IT.) It's where kids start to question academics and self-worth more in terms of social level. It's where many kids experience some nasty bullying. So the more programs on helping kids do better at a difficult age and be in a position to achieve more later in the life, the better.

But reading this article felt like deja vu to me. Is this really news, that middle school is where things fall apart?

And then I remembered. That's what charter schools are. This entire article is saying exactly what charter schools want to do and what they're for.

I think this is completely hilarious. Is George W Bush and his institute still so blind to the world that he's twenty years behind in education news? Tee hee.

But sure, really, the point is, more focus on helping kids = good news!

--

Also, someone wants to grade the schools who make teachers! I say full steam ahead! My teacher ed experience was underwhelming to say the least. In my elementary ed program, I had a fantastic literacy teacher, a completely useless social studies teacher, and pretty good math and science teachers. But we had ZERO class about discipline or management. We had to take a child development course, which interestingly enough, completely nullifies the idea of standard achievement on tests on children below 13, as according to some development theories, kids don't develop those kinds of skills until that age. Anyway.

On a basic level, I think it's pretty silly that education programs don't think they should get graded. After all, students get grades, schools themselves get grades, and we've all heard that now teachers get grades! Hell, even restaurants get graded!

"They [education programs] are faulted by a recent wave of education advocates as emphasizing education theory over hands-on classroom training, and as graduating teachers with weak academic skills."

If we do want to produce intelligent, thoughtful citizens through schools, it stands to reason that education programs are supposed to put the right kind of teachers in place to achieve that. I have worked with many intelligent, driven, and determined teachers who are doing the right things and getting good results. However, I've also worked with teachers who can't spell very well on their posted charts [and let me be clear--if you're not the best speller, fine! But take your time and carefully prepare anything written for your students to see! Shouldn't they learn by example in the right way?], or who focus on coloring instead of learning (there was a science teacher like that in my high school! I was really glad that I'd taken that class at another school and that I'd actually learned stuff instead of just coloring things.), or who generally don't seem as, well, smart.

Teaching is HARD, and you have to know a LOT of things about many different subjects, not to mention actually being able to control your class well enough to teach them those things that you know.

Throw your stupid theory out the window. Theories don't teach kids, especially not in New York City. Why on earth is there not a multi-course discipline/management curriculum? Or is there? If so, please enlighten me and let me know if it's effective.

Now, is it an ed program's job to give someone a complete education? No, the teacher has to bring something to the table. But there needs to be some accountability, some competition or selectivity.

"To arrive at its ratings, for example, the group has requested detailed information about courses, textbooks and admissions selectivity."

That sounds like a good start.

"An alliance of organizations representing education schools said in a statement at the time that grading them based on textbooks and course descriptions was like 'evaluating the quality of restaurants by only requesting that menus be mailed to the evaluator — without sampling the food or visiting the site.'"

Oh snap! Good rebuttal!

Surely there must be more to it, though? The group's founder "said that short of sitting in on a college’s classes for a year, her evaluation methods are sound." This article doesn't elaborate on what those methods might be.

Another opponent "said the ratings were focusing on superficial “inputs” rather than “outcomes,” like how well teacher graduates perform in the classroom." Hmm, interesting! How does one test an education program? How do you 'evaluate' teachers on a broad scale and then link it back to their graduate programs?

I don't know. I'm not sure if there really is a way to do that. I still don't believe that there's any concrete way to evaluate teachers at all, actually. There's so much give and take beyond just academics in the classroom. But that's a whole different can of worms and we won't get into that here. :)