This is my original blog. I haven’t updated for years. I keep it as a reminder of the journey.
Please see Broke Teacher for education and Poser Homestead for chickens, recipes, and dead zucchini.
Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread: Another Post on Crappy Eating
"Mom, you pack bad lunches." I try not to. I pack a nice lunch for camp every day. I ask, "What do you want for lunch?" I don't sneak in liver and broccoli when he's not looking. "You don't pack what the other moms pack. I want lunches like they pack. You know, normal...
Shakespeare’s on the Discount Shelf
There they sat, alone in my inbox for just ninety-nine cents. The Bard himself and my beloved Mark Twain. Ninety-nine cents each, that is, for a grand total of a dollar ninety-eight. "This collection gathers together the works by William Shakespeare in a single,...
The Secret to Health: Oregano Brownies
My friend lost over ninety pounds. I'm proud. Actually, I have several friends who've had amazing health and fitness victories. I bow before them. One friend reported how much her world changed along with her health. I remember people would stare--not a regular, "I'm...
Don’t Waste Hard-Earned Money! Make God Your Co-Pilot for Back to School
I'm not Back to School shopping this year. I'll buy a couple outfits for Declan and a pen or two. That's it. I stand firm. I've spent years going broke buying thousands of things for students. Until they have "Back to School" coffee sales for me, I'm done. I'm on year...
Had Enough Processed Food? Be Your Own Celebrity Chef
Thanks for playing. The game's simple. All you have to do is answer, "What's in that mason jar?" Yup, it's homemade... The prize? There's always a prize for a game show. The prize--you get to eat it! What? You can't eat it because it doesn't come from a frozen dinner...
Teachers, Parents: You Have Been Replaced by YouTube
I'm an adult. I'm a teacher. I'm a parent. I'm both stupid and irrelevant, a relic of time gone by when adults were necessary to tell kids what to do. Kids don't need us now. They've got YouTube. "Why do I have to learn that?" my students say, referring to stacks of...
Warning to Kids in Hot Tubs: You Will Boil Like Chicken Soup!
"Mommy, you're sending me to summer camp so we don't have to go on vacation!" Declan wanted "vacation." That means a hotel with a pool. He feels sold out. "No, I'm sending you to summer camp because it's fifty-five dollars for the summer. You need to play with kids...
Don’t Smash Your Head into Windows if Life Gives You a Door
"The perfect day," I thought. "The sun is shining, birds are singing, and the boy is off at day camp. That leaves me with an entire day to anything." I wrote for a good long time. I drank coffee. I watched a bird smash into the window over and over again. It's nice to...
3 Ways to Die…Try Canning!
Canning and preserving are age-old techniques for saving the mountain of food you thought was cute when you planted it or bought too much of at the farmer's market. Or maybe your friend dumped off "just a few" zucchini. It's that time of year. I do canning every year....
Why Zombies Teach Financial Education Better Than Schools
Declan wants zombies. He loves the video game Plants vs. Zombies. "Mom, go to Amazon.com." Amazon.com rests somewhere between mind reading and magic, suggesting things I didn't even know I needed. The mail carrier brings them with a smile. It's like God gave me a...
Why Cheap Moms Teach Kids to Lie
"Miss, you ain't had Kool-aid till you had it in the projects!" I'd been in and out of this neighborhood a million times, but no one ever stopped to offer me Kool-aid before. My student was going into the Marines. His family invited me by for a drink before he left....
Improve Your Health and Mind: Make “Common Core Three-Bean Salad”
My parents are moving. They retired and bought a house in Florida--it's where the old people go. They've been talking about building an in-law apartment onto my house so they could spend quality time with me until they forget who I am and think I'm coming to steal...