what a week

i haven't really slept in a week.  it's been those restless kind of 'dreams' that you could easily be awakened from at any moment, as though you were never really sleeping at all.

this week:
-i lost my work phone charger, leading to a dead phone for most of the week
-i lost my library cards
-i left my keys for work at home, effectively locking me out of the school all day

today:
-i found my library cards (on my desk at work)
-i found my phone charger (just ask christie)
-i was relieved to see my keys hanging on our key holder (although how i manged to grab only my house keys, which share the hook, is beyond me)

i'm just ready for the weekend.  and portland or canada.

more good things

last night aiza suggested picking up a roasted chicken from safeway for dinner, as it was the end of a week in which we'd both been pretty tired, and something quick and easy, but not expensive (ie, from a restaurant) seemed appealing.

normally safeway roasted chickens are pretty good and a satisfactory thing to eat; however, it didn't really sound that great to either of us.  an unenthusiastic "maybe" from me led to aiza suggesting "my favorite."  "man pasta?" i asked.  "yeah, we can go to trader joe's and get what we need."

the promise of man pasta was enough for both of us to summon the energy to buy ingredients and cook them. that's how good this stuff is.

we made and really enjoyed it last night as we watched house hunters international (the theme seemed to be italy, as that's where all 5 episodes we watched took place). 

then this morning, we went running along the alameda coast, where the bay actually smelled like ocean, and we could see the SF skyline.  afterward, we were both excited to eat man pasta again for lunch.

and so, i am posting the recipe here, for all to enjoy.  this is a jamie oliver dish, actually called "proper blokes' sausage fusilli" but translated into american we just call it "man pasta".  it pairs really nicely with baked potatoes (i know it's a lot of starch, but hey), which we make jamie oliver style as well, so i'll include that recipe too.

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/pasta-recipes/proper-blokes-sausage-fusilli

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegeterian-recipes/baked-new-potatoes-with-sea-salt-ros?clicked_from_search_results=true&query=baked%20new%20potatoes

really good things

my friend kristin has a blog with the concept of posting things that make her smile/happy and i like to think of it as a sort of public record of your 'favorites' but with the added delight of being able to share it with your friends/the world.

things that are really good that i want to share with my friends are as follows:

i am going to start volunteering at a garden so i can learn how to garden and figure out if there's a future in garden/nutrition education for me.

i'm also considering maybe doing a credentialing program, even though i'm pretty sure i don't agree with sticking 20 or more kids with one teacher.

friday night plans

i spent a good deal of time this friday night browsing a locally owned used books (and dvds/vhs/vintage clothing) store that has a giant handmade rocket model in it.  it made me happy to live here, and i got a present for huelo.

ear candy

heard this song on pandora and really like it.

kind of the perfect song for this morning — rainy and grey outside, congested and sickly in my bed, humidifier and electric blanket on, all the while doing work.

crap in my pockets

when you are a teacher, you hear a lot about "the teacher look."  it basically tells students you mean business and ideally gets them back on task without you having to say a word.

i'm not sure i have that look mastered yet, but what i have mastered is what i have coined "the teacher hand."  this is a deft movement that communicates wordlessly to a student who is off-task and possibly distracting others because of something that's currently in their hands that it now needs to be transferred to yours.

however, as a result of "the teacher hand," i often end up with a bunch of crap in my pockets, because  what else do i do with some worthless piece of flotsam that my students usually won't remind me to give back to them before they leave?


then, i get home and end up finding/emptying a bunch of crap out of my pockets.

this is my most recent booty, courtesy (mostly) of valentine's day.