Spring Hodgepodge Part Deux

I was going to use Spring Hodgepodge as my post title, but when I went back to see where I had left off, I found that I've already used it.  And recently.  Apparently, creativity is not a strength right now.

I'm excited to announce that I was offered and have accepted a new job for next school year.  I will be the Learning Specialist at Columbus Elementary in the McMinnville School District.  My old boss, Dan, will be moving on to be a principal in the district (sad for me), but my current boss, Lee Ann, has been hired as the new director of special services in the district, so she will remain my boss (fabulous, awesome, thrilling, and just out of this world exciting for me).  Going to a new district with Lee Ann is about as fantastic of a silver lining as I can get from this so-far-crappy journey.

I have some reservations about being in a building again, but most of those stem from how incredibly difficult and stressful it was when I was in a building before in Woodburn with a caseload of 70.  I know my caseload won't be as high this time and I am going in with my eyes wide open and a lot more experience, but now I have a child and a house to maintain and not nearly as much energy as I did when I was in my 20's.  Only time will tell how I learn to balance a stressful job, my family, my household, and any sense of personal time.  Oh, did I mention that my commute will be 50 minutes each way?  Feel free to send me any audiobook suggestions.

After we got back from Hawaii, Trey came down with a cold, so I was home for three days.  It was a blessing in disguise because while I didn't want my boy to be sick and I had a lot of work to do at the office from missing three days the previous week, having some time at home allowed me to get caught up in a way I wouldn't have been able to otherwise.

We made some of the most delicious cookies that I have ever had.

(I substituted peanut butter like they suggest in the recipe.)

The only downside was that Trey didn't like them (he's crazy),

 so I think I ate them all myself.  

Seriously.  Not good for the belly (or thighs) (or butt) (or ...) 

This was pre-underwear-wearing...

At least I got them on his body somewhere without him crying... 

Sick days meant a lot of cuddling and reading books.

I was okay with that.   

I've discovered another cookbook for quick weeknight cooking that I really like.

I've only tried a few things so far, but I have another recipe on the meal plan for this week.  

On the way home from my interview in McMinnville, I stopped at a corner farm store and bought a bunch of rhubarb and some strawberries.  Despite the fact that my to do list was a mile long, I spent one evening making strawberry rhubarb quick jam from this cookbook.  It is so delish!

Isn't it pretty?  

I also froze some of the rhubarb for later and still have some in my fridge. 

Tonight I'm going to make some strawberry rhubarb crisp bars from Smitten Kitchen.   

I'm near the end of my term teaching at PSU which means it's grading time.  

One night I went over to Kris and John's to have some uninterrupted time to power through my work.

Note the extra tall drink and the box of kleenex (damn allergies) 

to help me focus. 

One Friday night we went to Nyree and Jason's to have pizza.

I was in charge of the pizza, and I was over the moon to see that this Papa Murphy's has a drive-thru.  Genius, I tell you. Pure genius.   

Trey being silly with the girls 

We have taken Trey to see Sesame Street Live for the past few years, and this year Grady and Julie wanted to join too!  Randy got off the hook (I'm sure he really missed watching Bert dance - always my favorite part), so my sister and I took the boys.

Waiting for Elmo's opening appearance 

Trey has been pretty cranky lately.  

I liken it to a PMSed teenage girl.  

I blame it on closing in on four and hope this isn't what our summer is like. 

I mean, really...who gets cranky at Sesame Street Live?

And his mood changed on a dime, of course, 

as soon as the guys came out on stage. 

Fun sister and son time! 

The best shot of the show I could get...

After Sesame Street Live, we went to lunch at Hopworks (Grady's first time!) and then Trey and I made our way to wine country.  We picked up Randy at Archery Summit, where he was tasting with Kris and John, then took a quick trip by my new school in McMinnville to show Randy (Trey was sleeping), and then went to Dan and Kristina's for dinner.  It was time for our annual (or semi-annual depending on how on top of it we are) dinner with Jeanne, Paul, Dan, and Kristina.  It was a perfect pre-summer evening, and everyone had a great time.

Jeanne and Kristina

Jeanne was my mentor when I started in Woodburn in 1998, 

and I love that we are still friends. 

Great night, great food, great beer, great friends.

Perfect. 

Trey and the kids enjoying their Otter Pops

Time for s'mores, of course! 

Trey's version of heaven 

Getting messier by the minute

Not much better than a boy, his dad, and a fire

This past week I went to Bend for an RTI conference.  I wasn't super thrilled with the content, but I got to spend some time with Michele and Brent, so that made it all worth it.  I also got to spend time alone in the car on the way there and back listening to a great new audio book, so that was fun too.  And did I mention sleeping alone in a hotel on Wednesday night and not having to wake early in the morning?  Fabulous.

I love this view so much on the drive over.  

Listening to Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld made the drive extra fun. 

I stopped at Crux before meeting Michele for dinner.

Delicious beer, sunshine, and my great book....

who could ask for more?

Speaking of great books, I have been lucky to have read some really fabulous books lately.  When I was in Hawaii, I read over 500 pages in 5 days.  Some of you might think that's a poor way to spend vacation, but to me it is heaven.  (And most of it was done on the airplane anyway.)

I'd seen that Oprah picked this book for her book club, and I usually really like her choices.  I've seen it highlighted in a variety of other places, so I put it on hold at the library without even knowing what it was about.  It came in right before we went to Hawaii, so I thought it would be a great vacation book.  I pulled it out on the plane, still without ever reading what it was about, opened it up and started reading.  I paused, looked at Randy, and said, "Shit, this book is about slavery."  Now, I have nothing against books about slavery, but if I had known, I probably wouldn't have chosen it as my vacation book.  I'm glad I did because this book was one of my favorite I've read in a long time.  Loved it.

This book I'd started before but had to pause because I had mismanaged my library holds.  I bought a used copy at Powell's because I loved the cover, and I brought it with me to Hawaii.  I picked up where I left off, and I really enjoyed it.  It's about a solitary man living in central/eastern Washington in the early 1900's.  He lives on an orchard and comes across two young girls who are squatting on his property.  The story goes from there and it's a slow portrait of place and character.  I thought it was great.

Here's another example of me not reading about the book's content before starting it.  This one I listened to in the car and had no idea it was about teenagers with cancer.  The movie comes out in a few weeks, and if it gets good reviews, I will probably see it.  I thought this book was fantastic, despite the tears running down my face as I drove to work in the morning.

I have read all of Michelle Huneven's books, so I was thrilled to see that she had a new one coming out this spring.  I am not sure if her main character was supposed to be likable or not, as I still haven't decided how I feel about her.  I really like Huneven's writing, so despite my occasional annoyance with the narrator, I still liked the book.

This is an older book that was recommended to me years ago, but it is sort of long and I have never wanted to commit to it.  I saw it on audio, so I have been listening to it and I love it.  It's about a young girl who goes to prep school as a freshman and is her coming of age story.  I'm only on disc 7 out of 15, so I still have a ways to go, but so far it just makes me want to drive a lot so I can listen to more of it.

I started this book last night.  I have read all of Waldman's fiction as well as her nonfiction work of Bad Mother.  I really like her work (and did you know she's married to dreamy Michael Chabon?) so I was also thrilled to see that she had a new novel coming out this spring.  This has received great reviews, and I love good historical fiction (which I think this is, but who really knows since apparently I don't read about the book's content before I read them), so I'm looking forward to another good read.

This summer there is a new JoJo Moyes book coming out as well as a new non-Maisie Dobbs Jacqueline Winspear novel.  Molly Wizenberg just published her newest called Delancey, and she's coming to Powell's on June 9th (can't wait!); Jenny Rosenstrach , author of Dinner: A Love Story, is coming out with a new book in August, and I am excited for that too.  Can't wait for some good summer reading!