Some people like airplane smell

Yesterday morning I spilled coffee all over the office desk, carpet, wall, and the computer keyboard at 4:30 in the morning. Of course, my first thought: What can I tell Charley happened instead of telling him what actually happened?

I even practiced in my head saying, "Gee, I don't know why the keyboard doesn't work," and "Gee, I don't know what that brown stuff is in between the keys. You were the last one to use it, hon."

I felt a huge sense of relief, however, after I mopped it all up and discovered the keyboard worked. Until I hit the the letter e and a 5 came up on the screen and then the letter t and a 9 appeared. The space bar also failed to work as did the @.

Honestly, this was not my first major spill on the keyboard, but it was the first time I had to confess.

On the bright side, our office has that stale coffee odor that you smell upon entering the craft, and I like it.

Call me Martha

I have a lot in common with Martha Stewart. I am very domestic, and I have neat tricks to share like she does. I also have a good recipe.

1. NEAT TRICK THAT WORKS, JUST NOT FOR ME REALLY

Sponges are petri dishes for bacteria. Do I want to clean my counters and/or dishes with a bacteria infested sponge? If you pop a dirty sponge (while wet) in the microwave for three minutes the bacteria is destroyed, and the sponge is again usable.

Yesterday I made delicious banana bread. The house smelled like a bakery. After I was done, I took my most recently soiled sponge and cooked it for what I thought was three minutes.

I guess I accidentally hit the 5 instead of the 3 and went on about my cleaning. A few minutes later, I realized my sponge was a charcoaled mess, smoking and hissing.

Charley is not convinced like I am that this process kills the germs, and I have burnt about 10 sponges as a result of this process I am still perfecting. Fortunately, he was taking a shower as I was setting the house afire, and I managed to light a lovely vanilla candle to mask the odor.

2. I HAVE A GOOD RECIPE LIKE MARTHA

Yummy chicken or turkey kashmiri

1 bottle Kashmiri Curry sauce from Lunds
1 small can tomato paste
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can water chestnuts
1 can sliced potatoes
1 small bag or frozen peas
1 can coconut milk
1/2 pound ground turkey or 1-2 chicken breasts in small pieces

Strain everything.
Cook meat.
Place everything in a wok and cook over medium heat, uncovered, until tender(about 40 minutes).
Enjoy with brown rice or naan.
Eat with chopsticks for more fun.

Delayed gratification

I listen to Dr. Joy Browne when I run, and she is wise. Today she said that kids who learn to delay their gratification, according to studies, perform better in school and are, overall, beter workers and performers. She also said not to pick up a crying baby immediately every time he starts to cry. I will practice this with Benjamin right now, as I let him cry for a few minutes as he is waking up from his nap.

Today I had to do a long run for my marathon training. Usually it takes five or six miles before I feel any endorphin rush (gratification). Today at five miles I felt no gratification. At ten miles I felt no gratification. 15 miles: nothing. Not until I reached my block (20 miles) did I feel any sort of runner's high.

So Benjamin and I have both experienced delayed gratification today. The kid is going to Yale, I'm sure. However, I am not yet sure how my delayed gratification will be beneficial.

Can anything involving the word puncture and the body be a good thing?

Maybe. Today I had acupuncture for the first time. Melody, my acupuncturist, stuck me with 24 pins in my feet, head, hands, and ears. I felt kind of wobbly for the rest of the day. I think I will try it again.

I am also grateful that I work with such wonderful coworkers.

Finally, I plan to call every single one of my students before the school year to introduce myself to them. I think this will inspire them. Or maybe just me. We'll see. It is all part of my plan to regain tireless enthusiasm and make stronger connections.

M & M

This year I want to become the teacher I was during my first few years of teaching: tirelessly enthusiastic and really connected to my students. To do this I have a plan. Within this plan are several mini plans.

My first mini plan is called M & M: movies and music. The steps in this plan are as follows:

1. Have students write down their favorite song and/or band and favorite movie.
2. Read responses.
3. Begin the long process of making CDs for class that contain their favorite songs.
4. Check legality of step 4.
5. If legal, play CDs at the beginning of class each day.
6. Students (I'm sure) will say things like, "Hey, this is my favorite song!"
7. Students will want to talk to me more?
8. Begin long process of viewing movies and TV shows (this may take the entire year).
9. Talk to kids about the movies and TV shows.
10. Connect more with students?
11. Yes, connect more with students.

I do not know if this plan will turn out like my text message plan did last year. Last fall, I asked kids for their cell phone numbers. My plan was to send kids encouraging text messages when they deserved praise or needed a kind word. It's a great idea I got from a a great colleague, and I did it a total of three times.

My husband thinks the M&M plan is too complicated. It could backfire, and instead of helping me become tirelessly enthusiastic, it will just make me tired.

We'll see.