The New TV

This is our big Black Friday purchase for the year.  Our old TV is a big ugly box that can't pick up the digital signals of today's TV broadcasting.  We had an adapter box for it, but that box stopped working a few months ago, turning our TV into nothing more than a DVD monitor.

We talked it over as a family, and agreed to scale back our family Christmas gifts this year so that we could get this and a blue-ray player for the family room.  The blue-ray player will access Netflix, and play my DVDs.  When it gets here.  I ordered the TV, the blue-ray player, a mounting system to bolt the TV to the wall, and an HDMI cable.  The cable came first, then the TV, despite the fact that the blue-ray player shipped first and the TV shipped last.  Go figure.

The picture on top is before decorating, the picture below is after decorating...

Winter Weather

I woke late this morning (after sleeping in as long as possible) to discover that it had snowed a bunch during the night and was still storming!

Now that Thanksgiving is over, it is perfect timing for a snowstorm to put us in the mood for Christmas! 

I love the snow during the Christmas season!  After Christmas is over, I want the snow to be gone.  Unfortunately, we still have to endure 2+ months of winter after the festivities.  Hmmm.

Bill and the kids ventured out in the cold and snow to find a Christmas tree, while I stayed home in the warm, nursing my illness.  This is the first time ever that the family didn't go get one all together.  Still, they brought one home and Bill and I decorated it.  Helena decorated the rest of the house.

I am hoping that we have a better Christmastime this year than last.

I'm Tired of Being Sick

I have been suffering from a series of bronchial infections all fall and now into the winter.  Each time, I start out with a very slight cold.  It is never enough to keep me home from work.  Over the course of a week, though, it migrates to my chest and lingers for the rest of the month.  October was a miserable month.  Half of November I felt great, then another illness struck.

I have been sick all of Thanksgiving Break.  I was able to fight it off on Thursday in order celebrate turkey day with the family, and I did venture forth on Friday evening to go Christmas shopping with Bill.  But I have spent the rest of the holiday break in my pajamas, trying to recover.  I may have to go to the doctor tomorrow.

Meanwhile, the kids have been out and about with their friends every day, especially Helena. 

17 Years Ago, Today...

... I became a mother for the first time!

Helena was born 17 years ago today.  It seems like such a long time ago when you say it like that.  It really does seem like forever ago when I look at this big grown up girl and remember the bitty baby placed in my arms that day.

When I was released from the hospital, I remember just about panicking that the hospital workers were sending me off with this little bundle of life!  I didn't feel remotely ready.  I felt like there ought to be some sort of test, or something, to prove that I could handle it.  If there was such a test, I was sure I would have failed it.  I wanted a manual, or something.

Looking back on it, we were too young.

We were 23 years old and very poor.  We lived in a tiny run down apartment on my husband's small salary.  I was still a college student, and suddenly became a stay at home mother.  We owned very little, and what we did have was hand-me-downed from other family members.  Those were the days when I dreaded the daily delivery of the mail, for the bills it would contain.  We were still newlyweds and I was still adjusting to the responsibilities of being married and keeping house.

It was a dark and cold winter that year.  I remember that because I felt so closed in that winter.  It was too cold to take a baby out, and my apartment had very few windows, so it felt like a cave.

She was a colicky baby.  She cried nearly non-stop for the first three months.  There were times in the middle of the nights where I would just put her on the floor of the hallway, sit down next to her, and cry right along with her because I was so tired and worn out with it all.  There were even times that I was afraid to hold her because I was so tired and, yes, angry, that I was sure I would hurt her.  So, yes, there were times that I didn't want to be the mom.

Like I said, we were too young.

Then, Spring came.

We were still very poor.  Bill had to sell personal items one by one to make ends meet.  I remember being so sad the day he sold his beat up old truck to help pay the bills.

But, with the warmer weather, my baby transformed.  It is almost as if the sunny weather brought a new personality with it, and Helena became a real person to me.  There was a spark of humor and mischievousness in her eyes that is still there to this day.  She didn't smile so much as grin; and constantly!

At that point, my life changed.

Being a mom became fun.  It became the most important and fulfilling part of my life.  Nothing could take the place of mothering in my life as a means of making me feel important.  I LOVED being the center of the universe for that little life that was mine, all mine!

Nowadays, I am no longer the center of her universe.  But she is still mine, all mine!  I love her dearly and I still feel that being her mother (and mom to her brother) is the most important and fulfilling part of my life.  She might doubt that, since I do enjoy my teaching job so much.  But I want her to know that being her mother is the most important thing I have ever, or ever will, do with my life.  Nothing can compare to it.  I like my job.  But I LOVE being a mom.

I hope someday (in the distant future ;)  ), she will get to be one, too!

So, Happy Birthday, Helena!  I love you!!!

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows; Part 1

Yes, it is here.  Yes, we went to see it at midnight last night.

By 'we', I mean Will, Helena (and her friends), and me.  Bill stayed home and went to bed.

Harry Potter has become a bit of an obsession with Helena.  She ADORES the books, movies, storyline, author, actors, and everything that has anything to do with it.  In fact, this is not our first midnight showing.

Last year, I took the kids to see #6 at the midnight premiere and had a good experience.  We went back to the same theater this time and had the same good experience.  That theater really knows how to run a successful premiere!

Let me back up and start from the beginning.

A month ago, I bought tickets to the 12:03 showing of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 for the kids, their friends, and me.  Advanced purchase is the ONLY way to be able to see a midnight premiere, as they sell out weeks before the show.

Originally, Will's friend, Dallan, was going to be invited.  After reading all the press about nude scenes, Will and I both agreed not to invite Dallan after all, because his mother would most likely say 'no' (both to the 'nude scenes' and the fact that it was a midnight show on a school night).  Will said he didn't need to invite a friend, so that left one available ticket.

I tried to give the ticket to my sister, Kirsten, but she was out of town.  Drat!

The final solution to that extra ticket was to turn the midnight show into a double date for Helena/Daniel and Megan/Christian (Megan's current boyfriend).  Done.

Two days before the premiere, I was frustrated to discover that my early morning faculty meeting got bumped back from Wednesday to Thursday morning.  That put my early morning to work on the same day as my stay up all hours of the night premiere.  Double Drat!

The day of the premiere, the school day seemed extra long to me.  When I got home, my plan was to take a nap for at least 2 hours in the afternoon to try to 'bank' some rest.  I set an alarm on my iPod and went to bed.

That lasted 30 minutes.  Helena and Megan got home from a quick shopping trip to WalMart and accidentally woke me up.  I tried to go back to sleep, but my brain wouldn't shut back off.  You know how that is?

So, I gave up the idea of a nap and just got up.  I made sure everyone had their tickets.  Helena and Megan planned to go over to the high school and watch Daniel compete in a dodge ball tournament (don't ask me!), then when it was over, they would head to the line that was forming outside the theater.  However, Daniel (who had never been to a midnight show before) was super anxious about getting a good spot in line.  So, Helena and Megan (with Will who had joined them) just took a few pictures of Daniel in his first game, then went to the movie line.

The kids took camp chairs and sleeping bags with them.  They stopped at a store and stocked up on junk food, too.  They got to the line at 6:30 pm. and began their vigil.

More power to 'em.

Meanwhile, I still couldn't sleep.  I spent my time doing some artwork, before finally giving up on that, too, because I couldn't get the Harry Potter theme music out of my head!

I guess I am as bad as the kids!

I finally joined the kids in the line at 9:00 pm.  We only sat there in the camp chairs for about 45 minutes more when, suddenly, it was time to pack up chairs and sleeping bags and take them back to the car.  15 minutes later, at 10:00 pm, they began loading the theater one line at a time.

The movie theater had the premiere playing on every screen.  The show times were staggered by two minutes.  The first show time was 12:01.  Ours was the second show time of 12:03.  Every show time was sold out.  You can imagine the crowds!  Helena's friend, Alec, bought tickets to the 12:09 showing, but his mom made him sell them because it was a school night.  Bummer!

There were lots of people dressed up in costumes for the show.  The costumes ranged from fantastic and expensive looking, to pathetic and rather disturbing.  The kids and I did NOT dress up.  I may be nuts, but I am not that nuts.

Anyways, the management and security staff kept the loading polite and orderly.  We were all settled with our ticket stubs and concession popcorn & sodas and spent the last 1 1/2 hours waiting in the comfort of theater seating.  The kids' early wait in line paid off in fantastic seats for everybody in our group.  The double daters sat up top in the middle, Will and I sat dead center.

I won't be a plot/movie spoiler, mostly because this post is long-winded enough already!  Suffice it to say that if you are a big Potter fan, you'll love it.  If not, you'll probably hate it.

What about that 'nude scene'?!?  You ask?  You are wondering why I am such a degenerate mother that I would allow my 14 year old son see nudity.  I suspected that the press had blown it out of proportion, possibly to add a bit of scandal to the publicity.

I was right.  The 'nude scene' turned out to be very mild, by my standards, at least.  I know that I am a lot more relaxed and liberal than many of my neighbors about things like that.  I am not really sure how Dallan's mom would feel about it, but I never felt a twinge of nervousness & Will never felt the need to cover his eyes (which he does if he ever feels uncomfortable with a scene on the silver screen or the boob tube).  For those of you who have read it, the 'nude scene' happens when the locket horcrux is trying to convince Ron that Harry and Hermione are lovers.

Anyways, we all had a fantastic time and the show ended at 2:38.  I know, because I looked at the time when the lights came up.

Will and I hurried home and he headed to bed immediately.  I had to wait up for Helena (Daniel was driving her home) until 3:15 because they took longer getting out of the theater & parking lot.

Once Helena was home, I had a shower and finally got to bed at 4:00 am.

FOUR O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING!!!!!

I got up at 6:30 am to get ready for work.  Ugh.

Most kids who go to the midnight show skip school the very next day.

I didn't let Helena and Will skip.

I suffered through work on 2 1/2 hours of sleep.  They suffered through classes.

And now, here I am, at 10:00 at night, STILL UP!

I need to go to bed.




But I can't wait to do it again with Part 2 in July!  So glad I'll get to sleep in the next day.

In Search of Kate

WARNING: this will be a long and rambling post.  I cannot guarantee it will be particularly interesting, so you are welcome to skip it altogether if you find yourself dozing off.

Five years ago, I changed my nickname.  I felt a bit scandalous doing it, but that didn't stop me.

My full name is Katharina Joyce Weierholt Watson.  None of those names feels entirely like me.

Katharina is the name that strangers use when they call to sell me something.  They usually mispronounce it.  It is the name my mother hollered when I was in trouble as a kid.  It is the name I have to use on legal documents.  It was never a name that I actually felt comfortable in.

Joyce?  Never used at all.

Weierholt is part of my past.  I more readily identify with it because I use it for my e-mail address.  When I first tried to create an e-mail address as a married woman, I discovered just how impossible it was with the last name of Watson.  There are a million other Watsons out there.  Sheesh!

Watson is the name of all of them that I wear most easily.  I am called by that one daily.  It is thrown at me like celebrity status every time I walk into the school cafeteria.  "Mrs. Watson!!!!!" they cry as they plaster themselves to me as though they hadn't been in my class just 30 minutes prior.  I really need to get that celebrity wave down for our next assembly, since about half the school population will be trying to make personal eye contact with me and trying to get me to wave back at them.  Oi.

But nicknames?

I have been known as Kathy all of my life.

Here is my shameful little secret...

I have always hated the name Kathy.

Always.

When I was a child, I was made fun of.  I was called "Chatty Cathy" by spiteful children.

Remember that stupid doll?

Maybe you didn't think it was stupid, but I sure did!  I HATED it when anyone called me a 'Chatty Cathy'!  Even adults in my life would make reference to that stupid doll when hearing my name.  For years, whenever I was introduced as Kathy, I tried to downplay my nickname by pointing out my real name, Katharina; I guess because I thought that at least that sounded dignified. 

And so, five years ago.  I was transferring from a school where I was one of three Kathys on the faculty/staff to a school where I discovered there would, yet again, be another Kathy on the faculty.  I wouldn't mind sharing the name so much, if it weren't for the fact that 9 times out of 10 when someone said "Kathy" they would be talking to someone else.  Since I am a part time specialist, I am in less of a demand conversation wise?  Whatever the reason, I began to feel really invisible every time someone called out for a "Kathy" that turned out not to be me.

So, in a split second decision, at the first ever Harvest Elementary faculty meeting (before the school was even completed), I stood up and introduced myself to my future co-workers as "Kate".

There were no other "Kates" on the staff.  There still is only me.

I have always liked the name "Kate".

It took me a full year of being called Kate before it began to feel like they might be talking to me.

And here we come to the real meat of this post.

Who, exactly, is Kate?

How do I put this into words?

We are a sum of all our past life experiences.  Am I the shy girl named Kathy, who had a hard time saying "no" and feared both failure and authority figures above all else?  Am I the young woman, Kathy, who never set a toe out of line, and was so insecure that she never went on a single date in high school and could count the number of boyfriends she had on one hand?  Am I the young adult Kathy who rushed into the romantic idea of love and marriage, then had to spend a lifetime sorting out the reality of life, love, and marriage in the real world?  Am I that young mother Kathy, who was poor and creative and managed to spoil her kids despite having no money?  Am I that Kathy who managed my family's lives so well, but couldn't manage my own?  Am I that Kathy who let everyone else's needs come before hers, so that her body slowly morphed into this marshmallow disgusting-ness? 

Maybe it is a mid-life crisis, but I don't want to be who I have been.

I want to be Kate.

I want to put me first on my agenda.  I want to be the person who likes exercising and finds the idea of adventuresome living doable.  I want to water ski, and cross country ski.  I want to run a marathon.  ... okay... maybe a half marathon.  I want to hike in Europe.  I want to surf and scuba dive in the tropics.  I want to be the cool, hip, skinny grandma with the spiky, blindingly white hair and black leather jacket.  I want to be the person who says "no" to anything that gets in my way.  I want to BE the authority figure who is not intimidating, but respected anyways.  I want to fail spectacularly and not care AT ALL!

I have already begun the transformation.  It is a slow process.

Murphy's Law

Today I didn't have time to fix a lunch, so I planned to just buy school lunch.

These days, when school lunch is served to a class, the students line up in alphabetical order (by last name), which they call "lunch line order".  As the students file past the workers at the two touch screen computers, each student calls out his/her name and the worker touches a photo of that child on the monitor.  This debits the student's account for the cost of that day's lunch.  Then the child is free to walk into the kitchen area and select a tray of food.  Usually, this is a very fast, efficient system.

Today, there was a snag.

The server was down.

I don't mean the food servers, I mean the Internet server.  The lunch program runs ONLINE!  There was a tech at the school working on the server and took it down for about 30 minutes today and failed to take into consideration the fact that about half the school was backed up in the hallway, waiting to be served lunch!  They really need to have an emergency plan in place to deal with this sort of thing.

What crappy timing I have!  I would choose a crisis day to try and buy school lunch.

I gave it up as a bad idea.  The server finally came back online, but half of my lunch period had already gone by, and there were still lots of classes impatiently waiting.  Fortunately, I had a couple of dollars in my pocket, so I bought a soda and a bag of chips out of the vending machine in the teacher lounge.  What a horrible lunch, though!  I know I will be starving when it is time to go home.  At least it isn't that much more nutritionally worse than what the lunch room is serving.

Today is pizza day.

***

Incidentally, the Jr. high/high school lunch program runs very much like always; students pick out what they want to eat, and how much of it, then pay for it out of their accounts.  The only significant difference is how they pay.  There is a pin #/scan machine to pay.  They can either punch in their student # or scan the bar code on their student ID.  Helena only ever buys a Gatorade, so her money lasts a long time.  Will buys main line usually, so he runs out of money more often than Helena does.

Also, at the elementary level, kids who are out of money are allowed to run up a tab of about $5.00.  In Jr./high school, if you are out of money, tough cookies.  You don't eat.  If you picked out food and you have no money to pay for it, you will be cleaning the lunchroom to pay for your meal (as my son has found out because he forgets to keep track of his balance).

To Have Your Cake and Eat It, Too

Helena has come down with a cold.

SUCH BAD TIMING!  Grrr!  I am feeling frustrated for her.

You see, there is a Youth activity tonight that she really wants to go to.  And, more importantly to her, tomorrow night is the midnight premiere of Harry Potter.  I have purchased tickets, not only for the kids and me, but for a few of Helena's friends as well.  She will be double dating with Daniel, Megan, and a boy named Christian.  And with me in the same theater.  Harry Potter is the only movie franchise we have gone to the midnight show; we have done it for the past couple of installments and she is super excited for Thursday night.

Today, she wanted me to excuse her from first period so she could rest and take her time getting to school.

Oh, how I'd love to let her!  She is obviously not feeling well.

However, I had to point out to her that if I excused her from school, she wouldn't be able to attend the activity tonight, or the premiere tomorrow night.  It is not a matter of punishment, but a matter of perspective.  If she is too sick to do the things she NEEDS to do, she is too sick to do the things she WANTS to do.

Now, some of you might be thinking 'just keep her home from all of it so she can get better!'

To that, I say, "She is going to be 17 in just 5 days.  It is time for her to take responsibility for those kinds of decisions.  I know she will choose to suffer it out, because she wants the premiere so badly.  You might think that is an immature decision, but how many of us have made similar decisions in our own adult lives?  We suffer through illness in order to do the things we need & want.  This cold won't kill her.  It is her decision."

My Gingerbread House

Since I was already making gingerbread and icing for Helena's 'day date', I decided that I might as well make enough to be able to build my own gingerbread house, too!

This is what I did while Helena was off on her evening date.

Please notice Daniel's fire pit has been installed in the side yard.  The snowman was created by my son, Will.  He is very creative and made all of the yard decor, other than Daniel's fire pit.

This is a close up on the door mat that Will designed.  He dipped a toothpick into the food dye bottle, then wrote with it on a Necco wafer.  He did the same thing with a different candy that turned into a mailbox and wrote 'Watson - 84003' on it.  I can't believe I failed to get a picture of the mailbox!

Here are some archery targets Will designed.  It is hard to see in this shot, but the black thing leaning up against the target is a bow.

Please note the dog house and the well, both designed by Will!

The roof line.  I thought this house turned out rather well.  It will make a nice centerpiece this holiday season!

How Helena financed the big date

Helena doesn't have a job.

She wanted to pay for Preference.

I didn't just want to hand over a bunch of money.

So, I hired her.

I have a garden that needed to be cleared out.  I worked long and hard on that garden last spring, but for some reason, it was a stunted and pitiful thing.  I only got a handful of produce out of it.  Phooey!

We still haven't had a hard frost, but I decided it really was time to put that pathetic garden out of its misery.  The only problem is that I didn't want to have to do the work of pulling up the stakes, pulling and piling all the plants/weeds, and burning it.  So, I hired Helena to do all that unpleasant labor.

For the cost of Preference.

It was a win/win situation as far as I'm concerned!

Preference 2010

The "Day Date"

Every school dance has evolved into the day long event.  I have written about this before.  Just click here for Prom 2010 if you want to revisit that post.

For Preference, the day date was discussed and debated for weeks on end.  The girls just couldn't come up with a great, yet inexpensive activity to do.  Then, one day this past week, the thought of gingerbread houses just popped into my head while at work.  I quickly texted Helena, who showed the text to Megan (they were both in Physics together) and it was an instant yes!

So, yesterday morning, Once I was up and dressed, I designed a template and began cooking gingerbread.  It took several hours and I was still trying to bake the last batch and mix up the icing when Megan and Helena picked up the boys and brought them over.

Daniel Allenbach was Helena's date, and Westin Wong was Megan's date.  All parties were good, good friends, so it made for an ideal double date.  Helena and Daniel made one house, while Megan and Westin built another one.  I could tell that Daniel was very into it and wanted very much for their house to look good.  Megan and Westin just goofed around inventing all sorts of funny stuff.

This is Helena and Daniel's house.  There is a scrap piece of gingerbread trying to prop up the roof, which kept trying to slide off.  I think I didn't mix that batch of icing right.  That's what I get for being rushed!  I really should have made the gingerbread and icing the day before.

Westin grinding up candy and pretzels.  He ended up using it as "dirt" in the "garden" of their gingerbread house.

Daniel having a great time building with gingerbread.

There was lots of fun and laughter, but by the end of the afternoon, both houses had collapsed.  This was Daniel's fire pit. I liked it so much, that it got salvaged and saved for my gingerbread house's yard.

Preference Night

 

The girls took the boys home at 3:30 in the afternoon, so they could spend an hour and a half getting dressed up fancy for the dance.  At 5:00, Helena went to pick up Daniel.  She took her camera with her so that Daniel's mom could take some pictures for her.  I think Daniel's Mom was about as excited about this date as he was.  You see, it was his first formal.  They make a very cute couple, don't they? 

Helena drove to Megan's house, and both couples drove together for the remainder of the evening.  They went to DS Portraits for their dance photos.  There was a photographer at the dance itself, but DS is in the neighborhood, are friends of ours, are extremely professional, and had very reasonable rates.  They are the photographers who did our most recent family portraits.  Helena said it was 'freezing' while they had the photos done (in the studio gardens outside), and was glad for her wrap between shoots.

After pictures, they went to Olive Garden for dinner and had a fantastic time.  I think they all enjoyed being in a grown up type of setting on their own.  Helena got lots of compliments on her dress while there.  She was also pleasantly surprised that her bill wasn't as high as she feared.  I had made sure she had enough in her account for the evening, so she was worried about spending too much.

After dinner, they all stopped by our house so Helena could put her leftovers in the fridge, and pick up the ice cream coupons she had forgotten.  After a quick photo shoot in the family room, they were off on more adventures.  They went to Coney's (a new little hot dog/ice cream parlor next to Rubio's) for some frozen custard for dessert using some coupons I had picked up at work, then they were off to the dance.

Aren't Megan's shoes cute?  They match her personality completely!  You can't see Helena's shoes, but she is wearing 4" heels.  Without them the dress drags terribly.  You can tell the dress still drags some with the shoes on.

Helena said the dance was much more fun than Prom last spring.  I think that is because last year she went with someone that she only knew a little, whereas this time, she was there with best friends.  It makes a big difference.  They partied and danced every single song.  Helena was thrilled to discover that her dress was unique at the dance.  Not another girl was wearing one like it and she got tons of compliments on it.  Even Daniel commented on it.  That made me very happy to hear.  No girl wants to show up at the dance and see another girl in the same dress!

The dance was held at the Provo City Library ballroom.  This library is housed in the old history Brigham Young Academy building.  It was the original BYU back in pioneer days.

Imagine it without the tables, and you get some idea.  It was really a beautiful spot and made dressing up fancy even more fun.

They were supposed to be home by midnight, but of course, no evening is perfect.

We forgot to warn them that the freeway construction crews would be shutting down the freeway after 11 pm.  Helena sent me a frantic text saying they wouldn't make the midnight deadline because they were at a dead stop on the freeway in a massive traffic jam.  When she got home (at 1:10 am), she told about how the lanes got reduced down to one, then that one lane was finally diverted off of the freeway altogether.

Her feet were sore, but she was so very happy!  It makes me very happy to see her having such a good time!

This morning, I snuck into Helena's room and took this shot while she was sleeping, because I thought it was a perfect illustration of where she is right now.  A beautiful ball gown to go play dress up and behave like a grown girl for the evening hanging right next to the chair by the window upon which sits a trusted old childhood friend, her teddy bear.  Helena is on the verge of womanhood, soon to leave childhood behind.  Yet she is still full of the joy of childhood, and the innocence of youth.  Such a beautiful time to be alive!

"The Price of Freedom"

Helena has been mentioning a new friend, lately.  His name is Alec Taylor, and he is in her Latin class.  Apparently, he is also in the Chamber Strings orchestra class and plays the viola exceptionally well.  Helena told me he is sitting first chair viola in another orchestra, as well.  It's called the Lyceum Orchestra at American Heritage.

American Heritage is a private school that was built right next to the Mount Timpanogos Temple.  In fact, walking out of the front doors of that school, the temple is perfectly framed in the doors and is right there.  The school is a private LDS school.  My nephew, Abram, attended that school for a while, but hated it.  Probably because he wasn't given a choice in the matter.

But really, Abram could be a whole different post, and I don't want to talk about him right now.  I want to talk about Alec.  Or rather, Helena and Alec.

Alec invited Helena to attend a performance by his other orchestra (the Lyceum Orchestra), and Helena asked it she could go.  I purchased two tickets and went with her.

I WISH I HAD BOUGHT TICKETS FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY!!!!!

The performance was entitled "The Price of Freedom".  Click on the name to check it out!  Words cannot do it justice!  Helena and I spent half of the performance in tears, and at one point she was completely sobbing!  SUCH a good show!  The orchestra was amazing, the performers were excellent, and the video/lighting/effects were all top notch!  The composer asked veterans and families of veterans to stand before the performance, and again during the final number.  Helena and I stood in honor of my great grandpa, my grandfather, my dad, my brother, my brother-in-law, and my son.  That is a lot of military service and I am proud I got to stand for them!

But this post isn't just about the performance.  It is about Alec.

You see, he likes Helena.  She thought it might be the case, and I confirmed it when I saw the way he looked at her after the show.  We were out in the milling crowd, and I saw him before he saw us.  It was obvious that he was anxiously looking for someone and his face lit up when he saw her.  His family had come to the matinee, so he was only looking for her.

We invited him to join us at JCW's, a local burger joint, because, you see...

Helena likes him, too.

An Early Birthday Present

Helena turns 17 at the end of this month (on the 22nd).  For months, Bill and I planned to get her a new camera for her birthday and I have been researching and researching to try to find the very best one in a price we could afford.  I would LOVE to buy an SLR camera for her, but that is just out of the budget.  So, I began researching what's known as 'cross over' cameras.  They are still point-n- shoots, but they look a lot more like SLRs and have a lot of manual usage ability.  They aren't much more expensive than traditional point-n-shooters, so I found that I could make room in the budget for one!

I found just the one I wanted to buy at the local Costco.  Bill and I talked it over and decided to give her the camera early.  She is currently in a digital photography class that is only one semester long.  There was no sense in making her suffer another three weeks with her broken down old camera, when she needed this one for the class.  So, on Friday, we stopped by Costco on our date night and picked up the camera, along with some gallons of milk.  On the pretext of sending her out to the car to unload the milk, I hid in the spare room with the window open so I could record her reaction when she saw the camera box in the car.

She absolutely LOVES the camera and is having a blast trying out all the amazing features on it.  I am quite impressed with the sharp images and quality of both speed shots and super up close shots.  And it'll do panoramic shots!  NOW I WANT ONE!  Hee, hee, hee!

Band Bash 2010

Will plays the Euphonium (Bass Clef), aka, the baritone.  He is in the Junior High Symphonic Band.

Last week, American Fork High School hosted the annual Band Bash.  This is an event where ALL of the bands from the high school and the junior high put on a concert in the gym of the high school.  Literally hundreds upon hundreds of band students fill the floor of the gym, while over a thousand spectators watch from the bleachers.  Every year this extravaganza starts with the beginning jr. high band and works its way up the experience ladder to end with a stunning performance from the reigning, undefeated state champion marching band.

The band program is the pride and joy of the high school and a lot of funding has gone into it.  It seems very incongruous, therefore, to see this amazing band crowded in and performing in the school's run down gymnasium!

Still, a fun night of performances.  Afterward, it took literally FOREVER to find Will again, because, of course, we forgot to designate a meeting spot.  Doh!

Ah well.  We all found each other in the end, and it was a very mild night, so all's well that ends well.

Helena's orchestra concert

Back on November 2nd, Helena had her Fall orchestra concert.  I have to be honest, Helena's orchestra class has a lot of inexperienced players this year, so the sound was a bit raw.  She played well, though, and I always enjoy hearing her!

The Chamber Strings class followed immediately after her class (the Concert Orchestra), which I thought was not very sporting of the teacher.  How better to highlight the awkwardness of the newer players than to put them back to back with the very best players in the school?  The Chamber Strings group was phenomenal!  My favorite piece of the evening was Vivaldi's Spring, from the Four Seasons.

Helena doesn't currently plan to continue with orchestra class next year, though I hope she doesn't give up entirely.  I sort of hope she decides to take a class or two in college.  I love the violin for it's beautiful tone, and its compact portability.  She can take it with her to college much more easily than a piano.

Crybabies

This week we had another assembly at school.  One of the new teachers (at least, new to Harvest Elementary... he was my children's 4th grade science teacher at Shelley Elementary), remarked that we have already had more assemblies this fall than they had all year at his old school.

Anyways, this assembly was the Rhinestone Roper Drug Free Extravaganza!  This guy, Dan Mink, came WITH HIS HORSE to entertain all the kids with trick roping, bullwhip target hitting, and messages about finding your 'special purpose' in life, and staying away from drugs and alcohol.

Everyone was LOVING the assembly, at least until he pulled out his bullwhip and let it crack a few times.  Suddenly, a kindergarten girl popped up from the front row and ran straight into the arms of her teacher, bawling in fright!  She was settled down and sent back to her seat after being reassured that she would not get hurt, I guess.

I was very impressed with a couple of 4th grade students who volunteered to come up on stage and each held a long piece of straw out for him to target with the bullwhip!  The girl held it in her hand, the boy held it in his mouth.  That took a lot of courage!

Later in the assembly, the performer went outside and brought in his horse, Lucky Joe.  Almost immediately, another kindergartner was sobbing in her teacher's arms, inconsolable and wanting to go home!  Oi!  Apparently large animals frighten her?

Really, though, it was a super cool assembly!

Yesterday, I was teaching my first graders about Primary and Secondary colors.  The students were supposed to find a true blue, a true red, and a true yellow out of the crayon box so they could blend them to make orange, green, and violet.  As I was walking around watching them work, I came across a little boy who was SOBBING!

I asked him, "What's wrong?"

He replied, "I c-c-can't f-f-f-ind the ri-ri-right col-ors!"

?!?

Now, I know that this little boy was only 6,  but after having dealt with literally thousands of children over the past 12 years, I was annoyed.

I told him, "Stop crying right now!  Crying won't help you solve your problem!  If you are bleeding or hurt you can cry, but crying won't help you find the crayons you need, so just stop it!"

Amazingly, but not really surprisingly, he did; though there was still a hitch in his breathing.

"Now, what CAN you do that will help you get the colors you need?" I asked him.

He instantly answered, "I c-c-could ask someone to sh-sh-share."

"Good plan.  Do that!"

Of course, the rest of the kids were watching avidly to see how the art teacher treats kids who are crying.  They seemed satisfied that I wasn't too scary, because they all went back to work, and the little boy was smiling and happy within a few moments.

Crybabies are just a part of life in school.  When they are little like the kindergarten girl (the second one, not the first... I get being scared by the whip), or the first grade boy, it is easier to deal with.  All little kids cry at some time or another, so there is no 'shame' involved.  It gets more painful for the child the higher up the grade levels you go.  A third grader who cries might be teased about it on the playground for the rest of the day by the other children, but it is quickly forgotten by the next day.  A sixth grader who is a crybaby?  He's/She's just signed up for a year's worth of shunning by his/her peers.  That turns really ugly and has even turned violent on a couple of occasions.  I am not saying it is right, or that the kids ought to treat each other that way.  Of course not!  But that is often the reality, especially when large numbers of kids congregate on playgrounds, and that is why I won't accept useless tears, even from a 6 year old.

Art Hands on Workshop

A couple of weeks ago, the PE teacher came to me with a request.  He wanted to build a bowl to give to his mother for Christmas and wondered if I could help him.  I said "sure!"  And then I got to thinking...

If I am going to stay after work to help one teacher play around with clay, why not open it up to anyone who wants to come?  I could teach them some basic hand building clay techniques, and show them where the kiln is and how to run it.

I took my idea to the principal, Karl Bowman, and he LOVED IT!  He said he would offer re-certification credit to the teachers who signed up.

And so, the Arts Workshop was born.  I sent out an e-mail invitation and set out a sign up sheet in the faculty workroom.  Before I knew it, there were 22 people signed up!  I kept the cost minimal (just $3 for the cost of supplies) and scheduled two sessions; one for building the clay bowl, another for glazing the bowl a week later.

Today was the first day of the workshop.  It began at 4:00, though I had about 5 people show up 20 minutes early (including the principal) and sit around visiting while they waited for it to begin.  In the end, 16 people actually came.  I had received cancellations throughout the week due to scheduling and illness.  It didn't bother me at all, though, because we were just doing this for the fun of it anyways.

Everyone had a great time and it was a big success!

This last one belongs to Karl (my principal).

Although it wasn't my intention, this workshop also did a great job at promoting my job security.  Next year our projected enrollment is expected to plummet due to the construction of a new school very close by.  The numbers are expected to drop so sharply that our principal is anticipating have to drop one or possibly two of the specialty classes at Harvest!  He told me tonight, though, that he would make sure to keep both music and visual art.  So my job is safe.

It can't hurt to show your boss just how valuable you can be to him, right?

*****

Oh. on a side and slightly related note, Karl sent me a copy of an e-mail he sent to someone at BYU (?) recommending me as an excellent mentor for art education student teachers.  It is nice to be so valued.
I used to take on student teachers when I taught in Orem ("in town"), but stopped when I moved to the outer reaches of the district.  Apparently, they are having a harder time finding mentors "in town" and had sent out search requests.  We shall see if they are willing to deal with the distances involved.  Our district is truly HUGE!  There are 10 high schools, 11 junior highs/middle schools, 51 elementary schools (with at least 2 more in construction phases), and 3 special needs schools!  It covers all of northern Utah County.  Remember, too, that my school is sitting at 1,200 enrollment this year.

Sometimes student teachers are wonderful, though more often than not they are just added stress and work load for me.  At least there is a stipend involved!

The Great Technology Divide

I was waiting for my food at a fast food restaurant the other day.  The table next to me was occupied by a an older lady and her friends.  She was telling them that they wouldn't be able to e-mail her, because her computer had been 'down' for a couple of months.

First of all, kuddos to the elderly lady for even HAVING an e-mail account!

However, I was struck instantly by the stark fact that there is currently a sharp divide in this country between generations. 

Her generation will dabble with e-mail and the Internet.

My generation lives and dies on the computer.

I CANNOT go a single day without using a computer, let alone a couple of months!

I often teach online.  There are links to museums that I project on the whiteboard straight from my computer for the students to 'virtually visit'.  I communicate with parents online through e-mail and my class blog.  I grade online.  I journal online (hello!).  I pay ALL of my bills online.  I research online.  I compare prices online.  I shop online.  I entertain myself online.  There are currently two laptops, one desktop, and three WI-FI connected iPods in this house (one of the laptops is my work computer).  And we are looking at getting a connected TV and another laptop!

It is just amazing when you realize that this massive change in the way we live has occurred in just the past decade!  It makes me wonder what the next great generational divide will be?  What will my grandchildren be doing that I would never have dreamed possible today?

My Pepper and Me!

In case you needed hard proof that I am a cat lady.  NO, not a crazy cat lady!  Every night, Pepper seeks me out and snuggles in my hair.  And I used to be allergic to him! 

In fact, here he comes, now.

The Little Plant that Could

You know the old children's book called The Little Engine That Could?  The old "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can" moral story?

I have a plant that seems to be trying to live that story.

We have a peace lily that was used in the decoration of the open house of the Mount Timpanogos Temple.  My mother in law was one of the volunteer gardeners who tended all the live plants during the open house.  When it was over, the gardeners were allowed to take the plants home and she gifted this peace lily to us.

That was 15 years ago.

I do not have a green thumb.  In fact, when it comes to house plants, I have a decidedly black thumb!  I forget.  I neglect.  It suffers.  It dies off.

And yet, it refuses to truly die!  Like a phoenix, this peace lily is reborn every time it seems to be truly gone.

A peace lily ought to look something like this...

Ours looks like this...

It is a pathetic little plant, yet it holds the place of honor by the front door.  So, if you ever stop by and wonder why in the world this little bitty plant is resting in such a large pot on a pedestal in the living room, now you know!

A Welcome Home

Today was one of those nasty 'Minimal Mondays'.  I have to back up and tell you what those are.

Once upon a time, when the economy was strong, the school district decreed that on certain days the students would have a 'day of rest' (day off), while their teachers met together and learned ways to be better teachers.  These days were known as Professional Development Days.  The children of the land were happy, and while the teachers wished they could take the day off, too, at least they knew they would receive an extra day of pay for their efforts.  And so, everyone was content.

Then came the dark times.  The economy fell.  Money was scarce.  The district, in an effort to spend less money, yet still assign the teachers time to meet together and improve themselves, decided to do away with Professional Development Days and decreed a new system... Minimal Mondays!

Four times a year, students would be released from school at a ridiculously early time (12:30).  The rest of the day would be spent by teachers in meetings that would go much longer than their normal contract time.  In this way, the professional development could happen on 'face to face' instructional days and the district could cut out the extra pay needed to have the teachers come to work on non-teaching days.  Students have less time in the classroom, and teachers have less pay, what's not to like?  (insert sarcastic voice here)

Okay.  So.  Today was one of those 'Minimal Mondays'.  The kids got home from school before 1:00, and I didn't get home from work until 6:00 pm!  On a normal day, the kids and I usually hit the house at about the same time... 3:00 pm.

By now, you are probably wondering what this post has to do with the photo at the top?

Bill and I got home at the same time tonight, an event that never happens in real life.  Will was gone up the canyon with his friend's family, and Helena was asleep in the basement.  The puppies, missing the human part of their family, were OVERJOYED to see us and were wriggling nearly to pieces in their ecstasy and eagerness to slobber us with love.  Bill is the loving parent to the puppies and lets them 'kiss' him all over the face.  I am the evil puppy parent.  I will pet them briefly, but that is all.  And yet, they are still brimming over with love for me, too.  That is the beauty of owning a dog.  Absolute and Unconditional Love.  Where a dog loves, she loves with every fiber of her being.  There is literally no room in her body for anything else.  She is just bursting with it.  That is the annoying part, too.  I don't always want puppy affection.  But they don't know how to turn it off.

I think that is why I am a cat person.  Cats are more aloof and will mix equal parts love and disdain, just to make sure you know that you are NOT the center of their universe, thank you very much!