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.
Why I Will Turn Myself into a Human Pretzel
I'm going on a yoga retreat. First off I don't "do yoga." At first, I declined--this isn't just yoga, it's a weekend of yoga--a weekend of quietly turning my energies inward, getting rid of the clutter in my brain, and getting in touch with myself. Or at least...
Four Seasons of Frugal: Why I’m Grateful to the Great Recession
It all began with blips on the financial radar in 2006. I was pregnant with Declan--the hero of some of these stories. The universe was about to come crashing down. I felt it. I wasn't sure what was about to happen only that something was wrong in the universe. Our...
Simplicity: The Intersection of Frugal and Cheap
I found my canvas bags. In my move, I'd lost them and I'd been forced to use plastic. I'd committed a great many enviro-crimes in moving from House A to House B, the least of which was forgetting my bags. I confessed this to my green friend. I expected to hear "You...
The Horrors of the American Grocery Cart: Really Dumb Things You, Too, Can Buy
I was doing the grocery shopping--because that's what good moms do, and I took time out of my life to really pay attention to people's carts. I'll admit it...I'm frugal. I might even do a mini-series on frugal, because it's a lifestyle few understand and many mock....
Thank the Lord for Congress: Teachers are Looking Pretty Good Right Now
I would just like to pause to take a moment to be thankful for Congress. I had been a little down about the public perception of education. I even got chastised by a good friend after sending a link to an education article in which I had some involvement. "You do...
A Connecticut Yankee (still) Lives In Rhode Island (and you should, too)
Yesterday morning seemed to be a good time to reflect about my twenty years in Rhode Island. I was driving to an appointment I inadvertently scheduled for next Saturday, making me seven days and ten minutes early, when all of a sudden a rusty-red truck cut me off,...
Mom, Why is There No Scrooge II?
In fourth grade, I won a spelling bee. Or something similar. I got a prize. Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. I was an avid reader, the kind of kid who didn't mind getting sent to my room because there were books there. I took my prize upstairs and started reading....
Where’s My Snow? How to enjoy holiday blessings without it.
This is something I can now ascertain with metaphysical certitude. There will be no snow. It was fifty degrees when I closed up shop for Christmas vacation, walking out of the school in a flurry of high-fives after what seemed to be the longest semester of my life. I...
Kids in the Hall: The Bell’s About to Ring (Surviving the Day before Christmas)
It's between classes. I’m looking down the hallway at the kids running around, scattering in every direction in the five minutes between classes. I'm remembering what it felt to be one of those kids. The kid with the outrageous fashion, the kid talking to her friends...
Glitter, Garbage and Gratitude
Yesterday I made a strategic error in lesson planning. I wanted some old-school fun that disguised learning. Some "edutainment." I needed the quickest of projects that showed mastery of the Bill of Rights, synthesized some research, and didn't look like it sucked....
Tardiness, Cluelessness, and Lack of Balance
I was going to a conference on a topic that I suspected was not going to be exciting. My boss suggested I go, and since he's right about many things, I decided to listen. I was not really excited about the topic, but I figured I'd survive till 2PM with enough fully...
Putting up the #$%$^ Tree. A Holiday Tradition of Love
Each year, we put up the Christmas tree. Each year, we have the tree fight. It has been this way since the dawn of mankind. When I was little, we'd tag the tree and later in the season, we'd cut the tree down. Some years our tree would be there, others it would...