Buried Hopes

I discovered produce heaven today. Finding good produce has been more of a dilemma than I expected, because there really isn't a ton of farmer's markets around here. And I shop at Von's, which is crazy expensive if you don't shop like I do (armed with piles of coupons and my grocery game list). And there is no HEB-like store, with low prices on everything and tons of cheap yet delicious produce. But today, I found "King Market". I went because they had cans of beans on sale, and I am appalled at every store charging $1 for a freaking can of black beans. So I stocked up on beans, then walked down the aisles to see if anything else was worth buying. Not much else was, until I got to the produce section. Here, I found piles and piles of beautiful peppers, red and orange a green, all for .60cents or less per POUND. Not per pepper, per pound!! There were also mushrooms and cherry tomatoes, each for 99cents per package, mexican squash for 50cents/lb, limes 15 for 99...

It has been about a year since money has been tight. And I think I've forgotten how to deal with it. I got a paycheck from A&M and Maranatha this month, so I wasn't too worried about us being ok for money, even though Tom doesn't have a job yet. But we paid $300 in tuition (leaving the rest of the $4000 plus to students loans, a tiny grant and a random act of kindness from my aunt) and then $450 in books (Greek Lexicons or whatever the hell you call those things are pricey), and loads more getting our cars up to par in California (smog inspection, registration, drivers licenses, blah blah blah). And then there were the nights that I could not bring myself to cook, and all I wanted were french fries and burgers and xtra large diet cokes. And then I needed a nerdy rolling briefcase for school, because I am breaking my back every day using my current bag, and I can't walk through a door without dropping a lunch sack, or a water bottle, or a stack of papers. And then Gr...

Last night was Back to School Night for parents. Meaning that I got to stay here from 6:30 to 8:30 and hold a mini school day for the parents. Each class lasted 10 minutes, and during that time I had to attempt to convince these parents that the $15,000 that they are spending per year for their child to attend Maranatha is worth it. That's not much pressure, huh? For the most part, everything went fantastic. I have a pretty great chemistry story (I came home the first week of high school chemistry convinced I would fail, and somehow through the process of working hard to pass the class, I fell in love with the subject), which the parents ate up. Then there is my masters in chem ed and the fact that my masters project was on chemistry anxiety and the effects of high school chemistry experience on chemistry anxiety. This all helped me defend my case fairly well for my chemistry parents, and I think they liked me for the most part. My one Algebra II class, however, was a different sto...

My current favorite aspect about teaching at Maranatha is 7th period in the commons room(basically the teacher's lounge). 6th period is my last class, so I am off at 2:06 and free to come into this beautiful room on the 3rd floor of the academic building, with windows for walls and trees of every sort surrounding it. I make a pot of coffee, throw my stuff on the leather couch, and plug in my laptop. It is the best time to get my work done, and sometimes, if I'm lucky enough, there are snacks around. Yummy snacks, like fresh picked grapes. For some reason Monday's are horrid teaching days for me, but Tuesday's end up being wonderful. Not sure why. But I'm enjoying this Tuesday. (It probably has something to do with the fact that there is no 7th period off on Monday, so I don't get my commons room experience at 2:06)

Tom bought Gracie a large squeaky tennis ball for outside in the backyard. I told him we didn't need it, that it was a bad idea. But he didn't listen. Now, my little girls spends her day doing one of two things: 1) sitting outside, clinging to her ball for dear life or 2) sitting at the door, asking to go outside to cling to her ball for dear life. It is unbelievable how obsessive she gets about things. And it's also so unreal how much she is like me with her obsessive-compulsive nature. When you combine that with how much Riley is like Tom, it is just unbelievably strange. (And in case you were wondering, Gracie is currently at the door crying for her ball. And also in case you were wondering, this ball is currently a filthy mess from being dragged through dirt, so this is why it can't spend its day indoors as well as outdoors). Now on to Riley. We don't have a garbage disposal in our kitchen sink, so we now have the dilemma of what to do with the remnants of food ...