The Stanislaus County Fair

Last night we went to the County Fair. I haven't been in years so I was looking forward to the outing. The line to get in and park was long. The line to get into the fairgrounds (after we parked and waled about half a mile) was long. Once we were in though, things got better.

We started out by walking through the animal areas. There were SO many animals there being shown, judged and as part of interactive displays.

The kids had a great time checking out all of the animals.

I was amazed at the animals myself. While I guess that I knew that cows and pigs were large animals, I never really thought about how big they were until I was up close and personal with them last night.

Some of them were HUGE!

As we were walking through the animal areas, so many of the kids who were there with their animals were so wonderful with us. They acted as if they were paid employees of the County Fair and were there to ensure that all of the visitors had a great time at the fair. It was incredible to see that at every area we went to there were youngsters there to answers questions, offer their animals to us to pet or guide us around the booths.

The cutest youngster though was in the kiddie animal area. One of the 4-H groups designed a little "A-B-C" hay maze. You could find your way throught the maze by following the ABC's. I told the kids to go through the maze so the littlest one in our group could enjoy the ABC process. I wasn't thinking of it as a photo op, just a fun little 5 minute stop. Well, one of the 4-H-er's at this booth told me to take out my camera because he said I could take great pictures there. He then took it upon himself to gather the 3 kids together and bring in a little tractor prop for the picture. He was so sweet and kind as he tried to get the kids all set up in a cute little pose for me. What a cutie he was! I told him that I would only take the picture if he was in it too - he obliged!

I left the fair so impressed with these amazing kids. What a good feeling.

After the animal experience, we went through the exhibit halls. As a kid, these were my favorite stops. I was a 4-H-er myself and I used to enter gingerbread houses, cakes and sewing projects in the County Fair. I loved to walk around and see my entries and check everyone else's out. I was so disappointed at what I saw in the exhibit halls last night. One of the exhibit halls was purely for vendors. The second exhibit hall did have entries from kids and adults for food items and sewn items but it was so small. There were hardly any entries in comparison to what it was like when I was a kid. I wonder why? Is it because kids are so into the video age and are not doing anything with their hands anymore? Whatever the reason, the exhibit hall was a sad site. I resolved last night to investigate how to enter projects in the Fair and I will work on something with my students this year to enter in the Fair.

Panama Trip Part 3 - Los Mercados

Daily Food Shopping:
While there are supermarkets in Panama, my family members, for the most part, shop at the many little corner stores that can be found all over Panama. Some of these stores are like little mini marts where you can walk around. Some of them are fenced in (for the shop keeper's safety) so that you can go up and ask for what you want but you can't walk around to browse. In Panamá Viejo and in other poorer areas in Panama, people tend to shop just for the meal they are about to eat. At my Tía's house we sometimes shopped for a meal later on in the day but only if we needed to work on it throughout the day. The reason for this I believe is because the refrigerators that my family have, as well as other poorer families, are smaller versions of what we use here in the U.S.

Yaya's refrigerator is stocked much differently than my refrigerator here. In my refrigerator I have a bunch of junk that hopefully I will use but realistically I know that a bunch will get tossed out after a while. Yaya's fridge stores mostly water in various types of pitchers so that there will always be something cool to drink. There is also a bit of butter for bread but it really doesn't hold much more than that. The freezer portion of the fridge at my house stores tons of frozen meat that I buy in bulk at Costco. At Yaya's house it stores some ice and that is it. They wouldn't dream of buying meat to freeze it - it wouldn't be fresh when they ate it!

Where my Tía Yaya lives in Panamá Viejo, there are 3 different little stores that we shopped in throughout the day each and every day. The store that we frequented the most is the one across the street. It is the Panadería Azul.

At one point in time, you could walk around the Panadería Azul and then go up to pay for your purchases when you were done. Due to the high volume of crime though, it has been boarded up on one allowing people to only enter in one area. At the entrance, you are greeted by a counter with iron bars that reach to the ceiling. You have to order at the counter to get what you want at this store. The store opens at 6:30 am and we are there shortly after that to get piping hot bread and juice to have for breakfast. One morning as I was buying bread, a man was buying his breakfast foods. His order included 1 egg, 2 pieces of bread, and a pint of juice. Shopping like this is so different than how I usually shop! My order was 4 pieces of hot yummy bread, 2 small juices - jugo de manzana y jugo de pera, a package of galletas de limon for Sabina and I think the total was 55 cents - wow!

The second store that the family shops at in Panamá Viejo is at El Rambo. This store is 1 block away. A rougher crowd is to be found here since it is a bus stop and there is a laundromat next door to it. Purchases made at El Rambo include laundry detergent and meat.

The third store is 3 blocks away and that is my store. It was the only place that I could find in Panamá Viejo where I could find bottled water! Yaya's fridge stored lots of water but I opted for the bottled water instead. I ended up storing it in the freezer section of Yaya's fridge since it was mostly empty.

Supermarkets:

There are plenty of big supermarkets to be found in Panamá that are very similar to our grocery stores here in the US. In fact, at one point I completely forgot that I was in Panama when I went down the cereal aisle at the Super 99.

You can choose from Rey, El Machetazo, Super99, and a fancy one called Riba Smith. I had to check Riba Smith out because I remembered that Melissa mentioned that she liked this one! My family does do some shopping at these supermarkets but only if they happen to be out and about around town.

The Specialty Markets:

El Mercado de Abasto:

This market carries all kinds of produce.

Not only does it carry a big variety but it carries VOLUMES of each item. I couldn't believe that there was SO MUCH of EVERYTHING there.

The market has a slight smell of rotting produce but if you can get over that, there are lots of good finds both in price and quality. We bought a bag or oranges to make chicha de naranja with. A bag of 100 cost only $2.50!

There were so many amazing deals here.

El Mercado de Mariscos:

This is the Seafood Market. I was very eager to go here to see all of the seafood. I was especially excited about checking out the langostinos or HUGE SHRIMP that I love to eat in Panama.

This market also had an "interesting" odor (you can imagine!) but I loved it. As soon as I figured out that I need to tread carefully on the slick floors and neede to make sure I didn't let my clothes brush up against the fish, I fully enjoyed this experience.

There were more kinds of fish and seafood than can even remember for sale. There were HUGE fish and smaller ones.

Vendors were hard at work trying to persuade customers over to their booths to sell their fish.

It was a loud and busy place and I couldn't get enough of it.

YOU KNOW YOU ARE IN MODESTO WHEN...

I just received the following e-mail. It is so true...
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YOU KNOW YOU ARE IN MODESTO, CA. IN JULY WHEN...

The birds have to use potholders to pull worms out of the ground.
The trees are whistling for the dogs.
The best parking place is determined by shade instead of distance.
Hot water now comes out of both taps.
You can make sun tea instantly.
You learn that a seat belt buckle makes a pretty good branding iron.
The temperature drops below 95 and you feel a little chilly.
You discover that in July it only takes 2 fingers to steer your car.
You discover that you can get sunburned through your car window.
You actually burn your hand opening the car door.
You break into a sweat the instant you step outside at 7:30 a.m.
Your biggest bicycle wreck fear is, "What if I get knocked out and end up lying on the pavement and cook to death?"
You realize that asphalt has a liquid state.
The potatoes cook underground, so all you have to do is pull one out and add butter, salt and pepper.
Farmers are feeding their chickens crushed ice to keep them from laying boiled eggs.
The cows are giving evaporated milk.

Ah, what a place to call home. . . God Bless Modesto !!

What Famous Work of Art are You?

I just found this on The CincySundevil's Site. The results of my test are too funny because I LOVE Piet Mondrian's work. Just check out my FLICKR pics here and a post I did about doing Mondrian type art with my students here.

FUN!

You Are Best Described By...

Composition with Red, Blue, Yellow By Piet Mondrian

What Famous Work of Art Are You?

Deadly Heatwave

People are literally dying in this horrible heat. Click HERE for the Modeasto Bee articles related to the recent deaths and pending deaths realted to this nasty heatwave.

Stay cool and drink penty of water my friends. Maybe this picture will help to cool us up!

Random Stuff

1) Our A/C is up and running again. Apparently the drain pipe on the bottom floor was plugged up therefore causing the drainage to come out of the drain pipe upstairs. For $180 we were able to have someone come out to look at it and poke his finger in the drain to clean it out and we were back in the A/C business.

2) It is HOT! It is has been between 110 and 112 since Saturday. It is MISERABLY hot here. Help!

3) I learned today that I should never again go to the gym at 5:00 when it is hot outside. I did a hard cardio workout today and then attempted to walk to my car. The heat from my body mixed with the heat outside almost knocked me over on the sidewalk. Thank goodness I was parked close to the door. It took me about an hour to recover from that. I am going to make a good effort to go to the gym at 5:00 tomorrow morning. It will probably be about 90 degrees outside but that is still cooler than it is right now!

4) I love the $1 spot at Target. Teacher supplies are available there right now. If you are a teacher - go and pick some up. If you know a teacher - be a good friend and go and pick some up for them!

5) Plus Size Girls Clothes:
Did you know that there is a PLUS SIZE section at Sears in the girls department? I was shocked to find this out. Whenever I am in or nearby a place that sells girls clothing I always check it out in search of decent looking clothing for Sabi. Decent clothes are hard to find so I am always buying something her and something there to make up her wardrobe. Anyway, as I was searching through Sears I found that they have allocated a portion of their girls section to PLUS size clothes for girls. I am a bit disturbed by this. It makes me sad that young girls have to start their isolation from the rest of their peers at such an early age. They have to go and shop in the corner. They get a tiny area allocated to them. The clothes offered there don't come in all of the varieties and options that the rest of the clothes come in. Self esteem is such an important thing and I fear that this won't help to encourage self worth. How sad.

That's all. I am off to take a cool shower and then go to sleep and dream about snow! That will cool me off for sure!

AC PROBLEMS!

Last night my mom noticed water leaks around the top edge of one of her walls and in a concentrated area above her tv. After some investigation in the attic, it appears that we have an air conditioning unit leak. We immediately turned the AC unit off. This morning I called the company that makes the unit and installed it. They informed me that they would be happy to come out on AUGUST 8th!!! Can you believe it? They also wanted to remind me that I shouldn't use the AC until then. I reminded them that it is JULY and the temps have been in the neighborhood of 108! I don't want to mention any names but they are idiots!

After my irritating call with that company, I called several local companies. Each one of them said they could fit me in but were apologetic about the fact that they couldn't come out until tomorrow or next week. I grabbed the appointment for tomorrow. Interestingly enough, this company went on to further apologize to me because since our visit will be an attic visit, they only do those at 7:00 or 8:00 in the am. Problem? I don't think so. We are early birds. By tomorrow morning we will be sweaty early birds who will be MORE than happy to have a visitor at that time.

I am crossing my fingers that the damage won't be too huge...

Panama Trip Part 2 - The Royal Decameron Resort

During this trip to Panama, we did something that we haven't done in the past. We stayed at a fancy resort called the Decameron on Playa Blanca. Sabi, my mom, my dad and I all stayed there one night before my mom left Panama and then my dad, Sabi and I went back and stayed another two nights there after my mom left. It was an amazing place.

The Decameron is a chain of resorts and hotels that can be found in Panama, Mexico, Colombia, El Salvador and Jamaica. The one that we stayed at in Panama was HUGE. There are condo/villas for people to stay in as well as hotel rooms.

There were so many hotel buildings that I stopped counting them. There were so many buildings that there are three different lobbies to handle all of the guests and their needs.

I was amazed at the cost of the Decameron. It is pretty cheap. The cost per adult is about $80 per night and $40 per child. (It is cheaper if you are Panamanian to stay there)

The price includes almost everything that you can think of such as meals, unlimited drinks, games, horseback riding, tennis, exercise classes and a gym, snorkeling, kayaking, paddleboats, adult programs, kids programs, 7 pools and unlimited cigarrettes. (if you like to destroy your lungs like that!) There are also things that you can do for an additional cost such as golf, jet ski, scuba dive and go on guided tours of Panama away from the site. We were at the Decameron for a total of 3 nights and 4 days and didn't take advantage of half of the things that they had to offer because there was so much to do and too little time.

Food is served at the Decameron from 7:00 am all the way to 2:30 am the following day at different areas on the grounds. There are 2 large buffet rooms where breakfast, lunch and dinners are served.

I usually hate buffets but these were great. There were fruit bars with all kinds of tropical fruit beautifully displayed. There were also bread bars, dessert bars and veggie bars. There were also two large buffet areas with the main course entrees for each meal. I enjoyed lots of yuca, platanos, chicken, fish, rice and best of all sancocho de pollo and caldo de pollo with ñame and yuca in them - YUM!

In addition to that, each of the buffet rooms also had an area for specialty items to be cooked on the spot. The Pacifico buffet room was a more traditional Panamanian themed room. Two items that I enjoyed from the Pacifico were pastelitos, carimañolas and patacones. The Atlantis buffet room had an Asian inspired theme for their on the spot cooking areas. In addition to the buffet rooms, there are also 6 restaurants where you can eat as well. Reservations have to be made in advance but it is still included in your fee.

Each morning, we got up and ate and then spent the better part of the days between the pools and the beach. They were very close to each other so it was quite easy to hop back and forth. One morning Sabina spent 4 straight hours in the sun playing.

At night, we went to the children's program. One night they showed the Scooby Doo movie. Another night all the kids came on stage and played a hula hoop musical chairs type of game.

All of the hotel rooms were located on top of a hill and the rest of the action (bars, restaurants, beach and pools) were located down the hill. The walk down was always an easy one. Going back up was not as fun. We tried to take different routes each time to esploe our surroundings. We found so many paths. They were all so beautifully lined with plants and flowers. I kept snapping up shot after shot in an attempt to remember it all.

I will definitely go back to the Decameron the next time I go to Panama. I heard that one is being built right now close to Coiba. That should be a nice spot too.

Panama Trip Part 1 - Airplanes and Airports

I don't really enjoy plane rides anymore. In the past, I wasn't bothered one bit about being so high up in the air. Now , it makes me kind of weak in the knees. I couldn't not be open with my fears though because I had to be strong for Sabi who was a bit nervous at first. As it turns out, I did ok on the plane. The take offs were a bit shaky for me but after the initial nervousness, I got over it. I did have one moment of stress somewhere over Mexico though. I was in line for the bathroom and happened to glance out of the window. We were WAY above the clouds and all I could see was blue sky. There was nothing natural to me about standing up that high in the sky and I almost lost it on the plane!

What I hated about the plane trip
All of the rude idiots who pushed their seats back on me during the trip. I was so squished and have bruised knees from being banged up by their chairs. I also hated the dude sittting across the aisle from me who for about 2 hours or so ate sunflower seeds and spit the shells into an empty coke bottle. GROSS!

Flight Attendant Observations:
Oakland to Houston - 1 man and 3 women all young, chipper and cute in their 20's or so.
Houston to Panama - 2 men and 2 women, athletic looking and in their 30's.
Panama to Houston - 4 men in their 30's. They provided the BEST service of all.
(Oh yeah, they were cuties!)
Houston to Panama - 3 women. 3 large, loud and none under 45 years age. NO JOKE. They were cracking me up with comments like "Thank you for flying Continental, if Oakland is not your final destination, it is NOW!" (as we
were taking off) These ladies didn't mess around either. They snapped at
people who didn't put thier seats or trays up on time etc. (I was a bit scared of them!)

Here is a list of some observations Sabi and I made about the airplane rides and airports.

1) Sabina REALLY thought that it was cool that Pizza Hut is in the Oakland airport and that they serve cinnamon rolls at 5:30 am.

2) We learned that you might not want to bring your bottled water into the bathroom stall with you as it might fall in the toilet and ruin your desire to finish up what is left in the bottle.

3) It is better to just sit and wait for your plane seat to be called when boarding a plane than hovering around the line. (especially if you have heavy backpacks!)

4) Planes that don't show movies are boring. (flight from Oakland to Houston)

5) Planes that show boring movies are boring too! (flight from Houston to Panama)

6) Planes that show 2 movies are VERY cool. (Houston to Oakland - Ice Age 2 and The Pink Panther!)

7) Plane food is hit or miss.

8) We don't recommend that you play card games such as Skip-Bo or Uno on the plane. It is too messy as there is not enough space to spread out. The people behind you might not enjoy retrieving your cards either!

9) If you bring a portable DVD player, make sure to plug in your headphones before you turn it on. Other people may not like it.

10) If you get bored waiting in the airport, take funny pictures of yourself to make the wait go faster.

11) There are too many lines and stops to get through customs.

12) Not everyone in Texas (Houston) says "y'all" (Sabina was REALLY sure that all Texans spoke with accents!) :-)

13) The best landing is the last one when you are back home.

We're Back!

Last night Sabi and I returned from Panama. I am SO tired!!! The trip took almost everything out of me. I have been working on uploading pictures. It is hard because I took over 1,000 pics! I am trying to organize them before I upload them.

Check out what I have posted so far on FLICKR here. For more pics, check my mom's Panama pics on FLICKR here.

Sabi and I will be posting about our trip soon...

Panama

WE are here! I am having trouble with the keyboard so will apologize now.

WE spent the first in Panama Viejo and then went on to the REsort Hotel Decameron the next day. WOW! What a place! I didn´t want to go...

Last night we stayed at my dad´s cabins. They are a bit rustic. We slept with the mosquito´s and some other creepy crawlies that I couldn´t identify! One of them was in my suitcase!!!!

Today we are in Chitre, a bigger town getting some shopping done.

I am taking LOTS of pics. Will post when I get home.

=KElly

Adios!

Sabi and I will be boarding a plane to Panama on Monday so this will be the last post for a while. See y'all later!

-Kelly

Done!

The school year is over - YAY!

Our Spelling Bee yesterday was fabulous. The students REALLY got into it. They studied so well with each other. We went many rounds before finally coming up with a winner. The student who won came up to me after the Spelling Bee and he told me "Ms. V., you know what? My mom already knows that I am a winner!" How cute! I gave all of the kids prizes for working so hard. It was great fun.

We also played multiplication "Around the World." They LOVED that too. I was very impressed at how well they know their multiplication tables. My stomach is also hurting from laughing so hard while playing this game. The kids crack me up with their fast responses. One kid (the Spelling Bee winner) figured that he wouldn't know any of the answers so his blanket response was "20!" for whatever question he was asked. Others respond so fast that they pointed at me when they responded or jumped and answered at the same time, one fell out of a chair! The funniest one though was a kid who would yell the answer and jump at the same time and then finish with a goofy deep throated laugh. I wish I had that on video.

At the end of the day, I pulled the kids over to me one by one and reviewed their report cards with them and said personal good byes. This went over very well except for with one student. I am never teary eyed at the end of the year. I am happy to see my students move on to the next grade and start fresh with a new bunch. Well, one of my students, Ana, (remember her from here and here?) brought me to tears yesterday. As I was reviewing her report card with her I noticed that her eyes were watery. I smiled at her and hugged her to help her to feel better. As I was hugging her I started to get misty. I know how hard this little girl has worked all year long to acquire a new language and try and reach the grade level benchmark. I also know how much she appreciates all of the work I have done for her. I asked her for her phone number so I can contact her in the summer to play with Sabi. I hope that she sticks around town so that I can follow her progress through the years. What a moment we had, the two of us. Those moments are what I live for and why I keep teaching.

Dinner Theater

Last night was Dinner Theater night at the library. The Story Quilters from the Sonora area came to entertain. As usual, we had a blast. The Modesto Bee covered the event last night. Read about it here. There are some pictures posted on the website. If you look very carefully, you can spot Sabi and me in the first picture. My grandmother called me this evening to tell me that she spotted us!

Winding Down

School:
Including today, I have three more days left of school. I have completed report cards and organized my class cummulative files in the office so all of the BIG things are done. Now we just have to get through the next few days.

The last week of school is always loaded with events. Here is what we do in 2nd grade:

Tuesday:
Assembly in the morning and a visit from CSU Stanislaus future teachers. A group of 24 future teachers come to our school to do a science project with our second graders. 4 teachers come to each class and work with 5 kids a piece. They practice their teaching skills on our kids while performing a science experiment. It is always a lot of fun.

In the afternoon, we had our field day. The kids got to rotate through 2 different stations outside and do different activities with water and chalk. It was hot but fun. We ended the day with popsicles!

Wednesday:
Today is the staff vs. 6th graders baseball game. I have never played because it is always too hot. I also don't like to play because if I do, there is no one to watch my kids.

Thursday:
In the afternoon we are having a movie day and an end of year party.

Friday:
Spelling Bee! This is my first time ever doing a Spelling Bee with my students. I am SO excited and they are too. We have been practicing for the last two weeks.
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In other news, Sabi and I will be flying to Panama on Monday. I have been going crazy trying to prepare for my trip. We have been shopping for items that we need, trying to pack and taking care of things that need to happen around the house.

One of the things I have been working on is boarding my cat while I am gone. (My mom left for Panama already!) I have never boarded a cat before so I am new at this. My mom and I discussed keeping the cat inside and having a friend come and feed him. When I was thinking about this idea I kept getting visions of a feline version of Ferris Bueller's Day Off! I decided to look for a place to board Sagwa. I called a LOT of places and went to visit a few. The first couple I saw were gross! I finally found one that is ok but it is expensive - $14 a day! Due to the fact that there were no vacancies at many of the kennels and that the ones that had openings were disgusting, we are going with the $14 a day place. I am still a bit worried about how it will go for my cat but I guess that there is no other option.
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In other news, The LA Times just had a huge article on Panama this past weekend. The write up is nice, the pictures are good and so is the music. (look to the right of the screen to see the pics and hear the music) You can get there by clicking here. Thanks to Margie for sharing it with me.

They're back!

I have been enjoying the Copa Mundial but last week something terrible happened. The World Cup pre-empted my re-run novelas on Televisa. It wouldn't have been so bad if the first half hour of my pre-empted novelas was taken over by the stupidest show of all time "Derbez."

Anyway...today the shows are back! My line up includes "El Precio de tu Amor", "Mi Destino Eres Tu" and "Entre el Amor y el Odio." I have seen 2 of these shows before but I am a die hard novela fan! One of them I watch as I get ready for school and the other two I tape and watch in the evening as I cook dinner and clean up around the house.

Yay for their return!

What is Happening in Modesto

Weather:
Today's forecast is for 110 degrees. I will melt sometime today, I am sure of it!
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International Festival:

Our annual, well known International Heritage Festival has been canceled this year due to lack of funding. This event has always taken place in October. It is one of my favorite local events here in town.

It may return in 2007 if $ is found. How sad. More on this story here.
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Yesterday's Protest:
Yesterday I was shopping at Safeway and I saw a group of protesters standing on the corner of McHenry and Briggsmore. I saw a lot of American Flags waving in the air and I could read one sign from where I was. The sign said "Future Minuteman." I knew then that it was an anti -immigration protest. I was a bit disgusted. As I left the store, I drove back around the lot so that I could drive by the protesting crowd. When I drove by, I notciced several brown faces and "This is Aztlan" signs. People from both sides of this argument showed up on the same corner! I got a bit worried. Just then, around 5-6 police officers started driving up on motorcycles.

I reached for my camera to get some take some shots but I only could take one picture as I had no room left on my memory stick in the camera and the traffic light turned green! Read the Modesto Bee coverage of this event and see the Bee pictures here.

Gwinnett County Library - No More Spanish Books

My friend Mary Mageean Morado is my special guest blogger for this entry. She responded to an article regarding the Lawrenceville, Georgia library that decided to not purchase any new adult books written in Spanish. Her letter has been published in the Ceres Courier, on SusanOhanian.org and now here!
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Here is Mary's Letter:
It deeply saddens me to see your county's refusal to purchase adult library materials in Spanish. Regardless of the misguided racist views of some members of the community, purchasing materials in languages other than English is not catering to undocumented immigrants. As an adult learner of Spanish, access to enjoyable reading materials in that language has been one of the keys to my success to communicating in Spanish. The miniscule percentage that the library had scheduled to spend on adult Spanish titles (less than .5% of the total budget or $12,000 of a $2.2 million budget)represents a much smaller percentage of the tax revenues than your Latino population contributes to your local government in taxes. (One of six of the local residents is Latino.)

Once again, how very sad and silly it is that the actions of your local government reinforce the stereotypes of the Southeastern region as ignorant and backward. Make an informed decision. Much research has been done regarding the acquisition of a second language through pleasure reading. An excellent source of this information to assist you in making more informed decisions would be The Power of Reading by Dr. Steven Krashen from USC.

Libraries are the key to our common success as a society. Don't waste their potential by using them as a weapon to punish taxpayers who because of their legal status are not as empowered as your board members.

Sincerely,
Mary Mageean Morado
Modesto, CA

Non-Fiction vs. Fiction:

Reading.
I love to read.
Well, really, I only love to read fiction. I enjoy murder/mystery stories, some romances (not many), true crime, historical fiction, trashy smut, (not ashamed to say it!) and other types of fiction novels.

What I don’t do much of is read non-fiction. Since I don’t read much non-fiction, when I do have to read this genre of literature, I find myself quite challenged at staying engaged in the reading and retaining information that I have read. What have I done to remedy this situation? I have steered clear of anything that is not fiction! I have tried to run as far away from possible. Why stretch my brain if I don’t have to, right?

Well, it appears as if I have finally run into a wall. Next month, I am supposed to work at a workshop for teachers. I was sent the book Professional Learning Communities at Work by DuFour and Eaker to read and familiarize myself with prior to the workshop.

It looks like quite an interesting book. Here is a quote from the book that is supposed to summarize it:

“The most promising strategy for sustained,
substantive
improvement is developing the ability of school personnel to
function as a
professional learning community.” -DuFour and
Eaker"

Here is the problem: I have tried picking up this book this week with the best intentions to get through the book one chapter at a time. Guess what? I can’t stay with it. My mind keeps wandering!!!! I have resorted to my devious college ways and have been looking online for reviews of the book. I know… I AM BAD!

You want to know what is even worse? I bought several books (fiction) that I was supposed to wait and read on the plane and I have already read two this week. I just can’t train myself to focus and concentrate on the important stuff.

I know – it is terrible for me, a teacher who knows the value of non-fiction reading, a teacher who stresses a good mix of both genres of literature for children, to be so selective with my own reading. I guess that I will just have to keep at it....ugh!
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Oh! By the way - one of the books I read this week was the latest Janet Evanovich book in the Stephanie Plum bounty hunter series, Twelve Sharp.

It was good! There was a lot of good Joe and Ranger action with a kooky twist of Grandma Mazur and Lula in the mix as well. Those of you who know the series know what I am talking about, right CAD?

Burning Up

Today's Forecast is a high of 108 degrees. I hope I can make it through the day!!!

Sunday

Instead of Father's Day, today we celebrated Tío's Day at our house. Sabina made her Tío Ruben some special art and cards and gave him some presents. We ate our Baker Family favorite, waffles and chipped beef gravy. A great time was had by all.

Later on, we called my dad in Panama to wish him a good Father's Day. My brother, Nebur, wrote a nice Father's Day post. Check it out here.

Meme of Five

Meme of Five
I found this meme a couple of weeks ago over on Guusje's Blog who found it on Chalkdust’s blog. It looked fun so I am doing it!

5 items in my fridge
1. Paradise Iced Tea (2 Jars full - it is getting hot!)
2. A bag of Mixed Greens for salads.
3. Chipped Beef Gravy: leftover from our waffles and gravy breakfast (It's an East Coast thing - don't knock it until you try it - YUM!
4. Non-Fat Milk - For my morning coffee
5. Fat- Free Hazelnut Creamer for my morning coffee. Yum!
*Note: I drink coffee with my milk NOT milk with my coffee. (Melissa: Is this a Panamanian thing? That is how my dad drinks it too!)

5 items in my closet
1. A LARGE box of winter clothes
2. Dresses I never wear (Not practical at school)
3. Pants - lots of them. (I usually only wear about 3 pairs of them though)
4. Unironed clothes (Who has the time to iron?)
5. Presents for Sabina that I hide and then forget about when it is time to give them to her!

5 items in my car (For the record... there are WAY more than 5 items in my car -Here are 5 of them!)

1. Spring Water for my tadpoles at school
2. Sabi's Stuff - All over the car - (How does that happen???)
3. Water- I like to travel with lots of liquid - you never know when you will need it.
4. My i-Pod - Don't go anywhere without it
5. My training binders for my new teacher trainings that I do.

5 items in my purse:
(notice: I don't mention $. Why? I never have it!)

1. Wipes for my glasses
2. Ibuprofen
3. First Communion Picture of One of My Students - He just gave it to me - so sweet!
4. Cell Phone (With all kinds of cool ring tones!!!)
5. Camera - I take it everywhere

Random Stuff

Weather:
This week we have had weird weather. We have had windy and cool days with not much sun and we have also had HOT (100 degree) days. I think that today will be one of the hot ones. It is 8:37 in the morning and it is already warm and muggy inside. That is not a good sign.
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Weekend:
Graffiti Fest has been going on for the past two weeks here in Modesto. This is annual tribute to the movie American Graffiti . Why? Modesto is the hometown of director George Lucas. The movie was based on his experiences growing up here in MoTown. There are many scheduled events going on around town. During the week there was a HUGE gathering of old cars at a restaurant close by. The entire strip mall parking lot wher ethe restaurant is house was packed. That didn't make me too happy when I went to Trader Joe's to shop which is also in that same parking lot! When I was in high school, Graffiti Weekend was big. People would cruise up and down McHenry Avenue in their vintage cars and not so vintage cars. Not too long after that though a city ordinance was passed banning cruising.
I won't be partaking in any of the festivities today though. Today is the big birthday marathon day starting at 1:00 until ....
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More Bushisms -
" The illiteracy level of our children are appaling"
-Washington D.C., January 23, 2004

"Laura and I really don't realize how bright our children is sometimes until we get an objective analysis."
-CNBC; April 15, 2000

Is grammar really that difficult people? Come on...

Choices

I found this poem over on Classroom Connection. I like it so much I am going to post it too.

Have a good weekend everyone!

-Kelly
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CHOICES
Some people sit – some people try.
Some people laugh – some people cry.
Some people will – some people won’t.
Some people do – some people don’t.

Some people believe and develop a plan.
Some people doubt – never think that they can.
Some people face hurdles and give it their best.
Some people back down when faced with a test.

Some people complain of their miserable lot.
Some people are thankful for all that they’ve got.
And when it’s all over – when it comes to an end
Some people lose out and some people win.

We all have a choice – we all have a say.
We are spectators in life or we get in and play.
Whichever we choose – how we handle life’s game.
The choices are ours – no one else is to blame.

No Bargain Today and other random stuff!

We found shoes. Yesterday's bargain made up for today's purchase. These fancy kicks cost $42.94. Ouch!

Today began the June Birthday Cycle. We went to a birthday party this evening for a 5 year old friend of ours. On Saturday we have 4 birthday parties to attend. Two of them are from 1-3. How we will do that - I just don't know. We then have two more to go to next week!

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In other news - AMC- American Movie Channel is having a Viva Bond Week. I absolutely LOVE all 007 movies. James Bond ROCKS! T\Yes, there are too many corny lines and women are made out to look weak in many of them. They even have crazy names like "Pussy Galore." I just don't care. I love James Bond. I have been trying to figure out which James I like better: Sean Connery, Roger Moore, Pierce Brosnan, Timothy Dalton or George Lazenby. (are you proud of me for remembering that one Nebur?) Sean Connery has to be the best with Roger Moore as a close second. They are all good though. Who is your favorite James Bond?

Shopping at the Mall - The Good and The Bad

The Bad:
Sabina is now offically in women's shoe sizes. She wears a size 7. Why is this bad? The shoes cost more, the shoes are not so cute - no Dora the Explorer or Strawberry Shortcake in women's sizes and did I mention that they are more expensive??? !!! We went all over the Mall and couldn't find any shoes that she liked that were under $40. I really don't even want to go over $30 because the girl is 7, almost 8. The life of a tennis shoe for a 7 year old, a ROUGH PLAYING 7 year old, is about 3 months - if I am lucky! I will go broke! We are still looking for shoes. We will hit Mervyn's tomorrow - maybe we will get lucky...

The Good:
As we were walking through the Mall, I did a little window shopping. Ok - I tried on clothes! I couldn't help myself. I found a pair of cute pants that were on sale for $19.99. I went up to the register to pay for them. As I pulled out my wallet I remembered that I had a coupon for the store. I figured that it was for 10% off. I handed it the the sales clerk. Guess what - it was for $15 off a purchase of $15 or more!!! That means that I got my pants for a grand total of $5.36. Do you know how exciting moments like this are for me? BIG TIME exciting. I love deals like that! Woo-Hoo! I have been feeling the urge to frame my receipt. I won't - but I will save it! :-)

80's Music "is like so cool!"

Have 5-10 minutes? You have to take this 80's music quiz. It is awesome! Thanks to Robin from The Other Mother for the link!

Too Much To Do - So Little Time

I have 3 weeks left of school and a million things to get done before then.

1) Report Cards
2) Student Cummulative Folders
3) Room Clean up and Prep for next year. (That could take a month all by itself)
4) Carnival Booth Prep: The 2nd grade is doing a fishing booth at the carnival this year. (augh!)
5) Art Show and Science Expo: Why did I say I would help organize this at school?
6) Testing
7) Packing for my trip. (both of us!!!!)
8) Find passports and tickets for trip!
9) Various meetings, parties and commitments around town.
10) Make sure that I get to the gym

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I hate June because it is always hectic and it seems like the month just drags on and on forever and ever. I can't believe that it is only the 11th because it feels like it should be the end of the month already. I am looking forward to boarding my plane on the 3rd of July because I will have to have finished everything that needs to be done by then. I will be able to sit down and (hopefully) relax.
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In other news...
I found out that one of my favorite series of books by Janet Evanovich is scheduled to be released on June 20th.

It is the 12th in the series of Stephanie Plum books. Usually, I buy the books on the release date and read the entire book by the end of that day. This year, I am thinking that I should hold off on reading the book so I can have something to read on the plane. It is killing me though to think about someone else reading the book before me. I am already jealous just thinking about it! If you read it, PLEASE don't spill the beans to me!

New Post

Sabi went to her great-grandmother's house today and had lots of fun. She wrote about her adventures this week and her grandmother typed it up for her. Check it out here!

Take Your Daughter, Granddaughter and Niece to Work Days

On Monday and Tuesday Sabi came to work with me. Yesterday she went with her Bubbe to work at the High School and today she will be going to work with her Tío at his law office. She has been having the best time.

It was funny to hear her talk about getting ready to go to High School. The first thing she did was run around the house doing the happy dance and singing "I'm going to La Secundaria, I'm going to La Secundaria!" Then she had a serious thought about wardrobe. She decided on her Frida Kahlo t-shirt and some black gaucho pants/shorts because "It is cool mom. It's what the high school students wear!"

Today she is going to the law office. She told me that she didn't have anything to wear. I said "You have a closet full of clothes!" She then informed me that on tv when people go to court they wear suits. She doesn't have a suit. I convinced her that a dress would do just fine.

I think she will be writing about her adventures on her blog either today or tomorrow. When she does, I will add the link to her new post.

Busy Day

Today was another fun filled day at school.

We had two visitors today. Our first visitor was the husband of a fellow teacher. He came to show the kids at all grade levels how they can perform science experiments at home with items that they have readily available to them there. He was great. He got lots of OOOH's and Ahhh's from the kids as he showed them the experiments. Sabina's favorite was the make it yourself lava lamp. We will make it soon, take pictures and post on her blog.

The next visitor was Python Ron. Python Ron comes every year to show the second grade kids his collection of animal friends.

Today he brought a skink, a monitor, a Red Tegu, Several Pythons and other snakes, a scorpion and a Magdagascar Hissing Cockroach. I had to miss the event as I was in meetings all afternoon but my sub graciously agreed to take pictures for me. They are a bit blurry but better than nothing. The kids were VERY impressed by Python Ron and his animal collection. He also got lots of oohs's and ahhh's!

Today's Dinner

Today's dinner was Tabouli Salad.

I kind of followed the recipe for this salad and then tweaked it a bit to suit my liking. I didn't measure anything that I put in except the olive oil so when I say "about" - that means that I really don't know exactly how much I put in - I just put in as much as I wanted!

Here are the steps that I took.

Ingredients:

* 16 ozs cracked wheat (we got a very finely chopped grade at the Middle Eastern Market)
* Finely chopped parsley (about 1 cup worth)
* Finely chopped mint leaves - no stems (About 10 large leaves)
* 4 tablespoons lemon (that is what the recipe called for - I doubled it since I like
the tang! )
* 6 tablespoons olive oil
* Chopped green onions - the entire stalk (about 10 of them)
* Tomatoes - peeled and chopped (I used about 6 medium sized tomatoes)
* Cucumbers chopped up small. (I used about 6 small English cukes)
* salt to taste

Directions:

Pour cracked wheat into a large bowl and cover with cool water for about 20-30 minutes. You want the wheat to be soft - not crunchy. Taste it to make sure it is ready. When it is ready, place it in a colander and squeeze out as much water as you can. Place it back in a large bowl and add parsley, lemon and green onion. Stir well and refrigerate for an hour.

1 hour later:
Peel the tomatoes by placing them in hot water for about 1 minute and the taking the peel off. Cut in half and squeeze out the seeds and liquid. Chop up finely and add to the salad. Chop up mint and cukes and add to the salad. Add the olive oil, add salt to your liking and stir again. Refrigerate again until chilled and serve.
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* Notes -
- I substituted limes for lemons because that is all that we had
- Add more or less of the veggies to you liking.
- I couldn't wait to eat my salad. I ate some before I refrigerated it the second time. It was YUMMY!!!!

Dinner

My dinner looks so good tonight that I have to blog about it!!!

About 2 years ago, my family and I went to Laguna Beach and had lunch at Scott B's house. Mrs. B., his mother made several different salads. One of them was this yummy dish. We make it in the summer time. It is a very refreshing salad that serves as the entire meal for us since it is so filling.

Here is the recipe:

GREEN BEAN SALAD

1 ½ lbs green beans
2 large cloves garlic, chopped
¼ c. olive oil
1 tsp. tarragon
½ tsp salt
½ cup parsley (minced)
½ cup chopped olives
1/3 lb. Swiss cheese – in small strips or cubes
½ cup each red and green pepper
3 to 4 T. lemon juice
1 T. red wine vinegar
½ c. toasted sliced almonds (or more)

Steam beans until tender. Rinse in cold water. Drain. Combine other ingredients except lemon and vinegar and almonds. Add beans, toss and marinate 2-3 hours. Add juice, vinegar and almonds 10 minutes prior to eating.

Notes –
You'll want to about double the recipe for potlucks.
I add in the lemon and vinegar with the rest of the marinade
The original version uses ½ t. dill and 2 tsp mustard. Add if you like it. My mom loves it that way but I prefer it this way.
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I am making tabbouleh for for dinner tomorrow. If it remember, I will take a picture of it and put the recipe up as well!

El Bongocero

One of the stories in our second grade reading book is a story called Moses Goes to a Concert. It is about a boy who is deaf who goes to hear a concert with his classmates who are also deaf. When they arrive at the concert, they are surprised to find that the percussionist in the band is also deaf. She is able to keep up keep in sync with the rest of the members in the band by not wearing shoes allowing her to feel the vibrations of the music. The little boy, Moses, wants to be a precussionist when he grows up. It is a great story!

Today, we made the story even better. My friend Carlos Caro came to visit my class. He is a percussionist too, a Bongocero. He brought his Bongó to class today and mesmerized my students and the students next door with his Bongó skills and information about music. He was great. The kids couldn't get enough of him.

Not one student misbehaved or was not paying attention. He had 100% of their attention. He taught them all kinds of vocabulary such as:

* tuning
* pitch
* martillo: A Bongo Rhythm
* macho : the smaller of the two drums on the Bongo
* hembra: the larger of the two drums

The kids had lots of questions for him and he gave them very good responses. My favorite answer that he gave though was to this question "Are you famous?" He replied something to the effect that while he has a CD out and people know about him around the world he isn't famous, at least not like what the kids equate to famous. He went on to say that while he may not be famous in that way, he felt famous because he had the opportunity to be able to come and talk with the kids. I know that most of the kids didn't get that but the other teacher and I did for sure! What he was able to really drive home with the kids was his love and passion for his job as a musician. He told and showed them through his talk that they can do anything they want to, and be happy at what they are doing, if they work at it.

We had a great visit. After our visitor left, the kids talked about how they all wanted to be a Bongocero when they get older. What an inspiring visit it was!
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Now for a shameless plug:

You can visit the following two sites to get more information on Carlos and his band Vission Latina here:

www.vissionlatina.com

www.carloscaro.net

www.vissionlatina.blogspot.com

You can also download his songs on itunes. Which songs would I recommend for you to buy? ALl of them! They are all great. Sabina and I know the lyrics to almost all of the songs. It is in the car and we play it everyday!!!

Enjoy!