Two posts in one! Garden/Kids

Stir fry mix bouquet

Garden Update: After most of the lettuce and stir fry mix went to seed, I used the flowers in a bouquet. Then I pulled everything out. :) Some of the lettuce in the barrels had trouble with root rot. I wasn't watering but between the rain and too few holes in the bottom the soil was staying too wet. The peas were long gone.

The remains of the vines and my "water catchment system" ;) I used it to water and dumped the remains as I had my own mosquito farm starting.

I supplemented for a phosphorus deficiency since the vines looked like the pictures I found online. The symptoms however read like a nitrogen deficiency. I supplemented that and kept the tops of two vines alive (life support). But they succumbed as well. Not sure what went wrong. And yes, I was careful not to overdo the supplements.

Composted rabbit manure and a couple worms from home.

I'm guessing my understanding of the nitrogen cycle is lacking, the heavy rain and the plants being pot bound all contributed. I'm just not sure why it started in the big pots and then affected the smaller ones... More research! All this to say, my beds are basically barren. I've planted seeds but nothing is up yet.

This bed has some swiss chard coming up.

This one has a couple surviving lettuce plants and has been planted with more.

Special Mint

One of my friends D. likes to garden and has her yard on campus done up as a kitchen garden.

I offered her some of my seeds and she brought me mint that she brought back from France. It traveled to two of my classes which sparked a lot of conversations. Most people thought it was a strawberry plant. As we were talking about gardens, my professor, Dr. W., got really excited as he's just starting one so I brought him some seeds and we've been sharing garden ideas and recipes.

The mint was in partial shade so finding a spot on my south (slightly east facing) balcony was a challenge. It's pretty happy here on the back side of the tub so it only gets morning sun.

Post Two:

Kids are awesome.

I've been working with a class of second graders twice a week for about 5 weeks now. Last semester I was at the same school working with 4th graders. I've encountered a couple of the kids outside of class or school and they've come up and given me hugs! Sweet, but worrisome since their parents don't know me!


April 1st.
B.: "Your hair is pretty"
Me: "Thanks"
B.: "April Fools!" :D He got me good!

During a flower dissection, A.: "I want to be a garden scientist!" Me: "Someone who studies plants is a botanist. Someone who is a garden scientist is a horticulturist." A. "Well, I want to study plant disease." Me: "Well, in that case you would be a plant pathologist." I love it when kids get excited about learning.

I worked with the reading groups today. Our class has about 28 kids in it. During the standardized test preparation, we bump up to about 30. We break into 3 groups based on proficiency levels so the two groups that I had contained 11-12 kids. I'm basically handed the material and I get to go for it.

D. and Y. are the two that worry me. D. is adorable but he's not "present". He's in his own little world and nothing seems to motivate him or excite him. He's been tested for learning disabilities and will be getting some additional help. Y., on the other hand, gets super excited, bounces around and blurts out answers. He's incredibly smart. He seems to pick up concepts quickly and is able to apply them outside of the context in which they are given. He's just one of those kids that I would hate to see crushed because of his behavior.

To know someone’s name…

I wrote this a couple months ago, but tonight, after chatting with a pastor from church #3, I wanted to revisit this issue.

When I moved to the area, I didn’t think finding a church would be hard. I wasn’t picky. I had my criteria all laid out:

1. Good teaching (preferably expository)
2. Friendly
3. Multi-generational

Yeah… not a lot to work with! I tried out three churches and each one was different. What really made a difference was how I was greeted and welcomed. Not surprising since a The State of the Church (Group Publishing Company, 2009?) found that welcoming/connectedness is one of the top reason a person visiting will stay with a church.

So how did the three churches do?

Church #1 This is a small Baptist church with ~150 members. I came for the main service. I sat down and was greeted by a woman in the pew behind me. She chatted with me for a bit and brought me a welcome packet. Really nice welcome packet, btw. She introduced me to others as well. The pastor came by and said hello. The meet and greet during the service was a little weird at first. Pews emptied as people moved from the front to the back and around greeting everyone. Even the kids were going up and shaking everyone’s hands and saying hello! At the end of the service, I was caught by the 20 something’s leader who invited me on a bike ride that they were having.

Church #2 This a large (2,000+ member) church with senior pastor model. I came for the last service and sat down. No one spoke to me unless they were asking if I was saving seats. During the meet and greet, I didn’t get anyone’s name and no one asked me mine. To the person who said, “Good to see you again”, I resisted the urge to say “have we met before?” If I wasn’t meeting someone after the service, I wouldn’t have met anyone! The entire service was just awkward and I'm not sure why.

Church #3 This is a mid size church that is “non-denominational” that was similar to my home church in teaching and worship. I came in a little late. During the meet and greet, I got some names but I didn’t feel a sense of community.

This made me consider my home church. What would a visitor experience there? Would they feel welcomed or ignored? Connected or drifting? Whose responsibility is it to make the connections and environment welcoming? I didn’t make a lot of meet and greet sessions in the last couple years… usually, I was late to service because of Children’s Ministry (CM). I do know that when I did greet people, I got their names and how long they’ve attended (it’s an easy and polite way to find out if they’re visiting). The goal is to engage them in conversation if possible.

So in case you were wondering, I chose church #1. It’s different from my home church and there’s less temptation to draw comparisons. It’s traditional and conservative which balances with the liberalness of the University. It’s also safe. I’m not jumping into CM or taking on leadership roles. When I left CM, I felt that a six month break was in order. I did some little things here and there for some churches but I needed the time to gain a better perspective. Church #1 is home for this time and this place.

Can I post this?

I'm still questioning whether I should post this. Every couple of months, I feel a little to introspective thinking about life and how I'm not where I expected to be. First problem: too many "I"s in that sentence. I may not be where I expected, but God knows where I am. He sees me. He holds the map. It's even better than a Google Map. It's a God Map. ;)

So here's the real post.

Do you ever feel like you're swimming and not moving?

I feel like I've been in the same place for the last 6 years. I'm coming up on the divider birthday between early twenty's and late twenty's. I'll officially be in my mid-twenties. And it makes me want to run; hard and fast as far as I can go. I feel like I'm missing the milestones that I should have reached at this point. I really didn't plan on making college my career, honest. Yet here I am 6 years into it and I have 2 more to go. And that's just for the BA!

I've never been asked out on a date.

I've been asked to dance once and accepted. Really, I don't bite, I swear. I've been to a lot of dances but in 4-H your chances were slim since there were 3 girls for every guy. Girls in 4-H had to take initiative to get a dance and in my mind that would be "forward". Civil War Balls involved bribing my brother to dance with me if no one asked and then elbowing or tromping on his toes so he would ask since the etiquette required boys to ask.

A boy brought me flowers, once. He was single; he was cute. He was five.

I know a lot of this is my own fault though, there are things about me that need to change.
My grandmother's voice adds to my list: wear brighter colors, wear makeup, smile at boys, flirt, make eye contact. For the record, I do make eye contact. ;)

Someone is getting married. I'm told "All the good ones get taken first". Gee thanks.

"So are you dating yet?" Every time a relative visits, this question never fails to be asked. Note to self: I need more creative answers...

I'm at a wedding (couple years ago) and a newly married friend leans over at the end with a "you'll be next!" Next in relation to what? And here I thought only grandmothery types doled out that one.

I met one other person who had never been asked out. We were both in our early twenties. Less than six months later, she was engaged. God works fast doesn't he! :)

The nice part about starting over in a new place is that no one really knows how old I am unless they ask. Most just assume I'm about 21 since I'm a junior transfer student. And FYI not wearing makeup helps with that assumption.

The funny thing is I like being single. I enjoy my freedom, time and space. I feel that I've used this time wisely. I think the trouble stems from seeing what's important to the world/culture and using that as my measuring stick. I just don't like being thought of as a failure and I feel like the world and even people in the church see me as that.

I'm different. I'm on a special God mission. He has a plan just for me and it doesn't look like anyone else's plan. I may be running right now but I'm running to him.

Commit your way to the Lord, hope in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.
- Psalm 37:5-6

Teaching

This has been a fabulous week! I feel so blessed to be at my university. God orchestrated this week.... I feel like I've been able to make some good connections, personally, academically and professionally.

Around the middle of the week, a well known speaker on education and education reform gave a talk at the university. I was very impressed by what was said and took 5 pages of notes. I'm like my mom in that... It was awesome to hear a counter argument to what is being touted in the media as the latest and greatest reform: Race to the Top. There are points that I definitely want to know more about, but overall it was an inspiring message. Now we just need to do something about it.

The cool part was sitting with a new group of people and getting to know others in my major. I was four seats down from my physics professor so I finally got to nail him on the most missed questions from last semesters final. :) We then chatted about his class, the teaching tests and his teaching style. Such a worthwhile class and a great teacher! So many professors were there; it was fun to see them outside of class!

I caught up with Dr. W. to make sure that he had me down for some homework and we got to chat about the talk briefly. It dovetailed so nicely with what we had learned in class. It's wonderful when the pieces start to fall together and the picture becomes clearer.

Today, I had my first classroom volunteering spot of the semester. I almost canceled since my neighbors partied until 2 am, and I wasn't sure I was going to be useful as I was so tired this morning. I'm so glad I went though.

I'm working with 2nd graders. So cute! It's been interesting to see the difference between 2nd and 4th grade. I love the teacher. I like her style and her classroom. This is what I thought teaching would be like. As I was signing out, the principal stopped and said hi. She recognized me from Dr. W's class. When she heard that I was looking forward to her next visit to our class, she asked if I had time to ask her my questions now. I was able to ask my questions regarding scripted curriculum, expectations, her role as principal and the teacher removal process. A long term sub who had taught on the school's role in the community for my Learning and Teaching class stopped in and I was able to get his perspective on some of the issues.

What I really walked away with was: if I'm going to be a teacher, I'd better be positive that that's the right path for me and be ready to stick with it.

I know I'll be a good teacher. I'm just not sure I'll be able to handle the bureaucracy and politics that comes with it.

That's why I'm here.

One Year

God,

It's been one year since you turned my life upside down. You took my dreams and said you had something better. Left me wondering what my next step was.
I was comfortable; You changed that.
I had to depend on you.
Really depend.
My heart hurt. I felt betrayed.
Why me? Was something wrong with me?
Instead I was given a new life. New challenges.

My dreams are still befuddled. I'm not sure what to dream or if it's even safe yet. I know your dreams are better but I keep trying to peek around the bend to see what's next.
I thank you for this year.
You've given me a richer life than I hoped for.
It still hurts sometimes when I think about what I'm missing:
the people, the happenings, the changes, the growth.

But you've promised something better.
I'm trusting and waiting for your timing and wisdom to be revealed.

Soli Deo Gloria

Food vs. Foodie?

Part of life at the University is cooking for myself. I love cooking... but I rarely follow a recipe. I never really thought about the creativity that goes into food until I moved. I had to decide what I wanted to buy and make it affordable. Where did I want to put my money? One of my first purchases was "green" dish soap. When I bought ziplock bags and saran wrap, I had to think about what the trade offs were and if it was worth it. Yeah, my environmental conscience kicked in big time. Thus, I try to grow food and buy more at farmer's markets than the grocery store. The hardest part is figuring out how much vegetables I will use in a week. It all looks so good. Swiss chard and kale are my weaknesses, I always buy too much. There are some organic things that a college girl can't afford but it's about balance: balancing priorities, money, health and ethics.

It's rather nice to cook for myself. I was definitely influenced by the foodies at church and in Children's Ministry. We did food like you wouldn't believe. We're not in Costco anymore, Toto. Church luncheons are always surprising...

I've been taking pictures for a while of my creations and thought I would share some with you. All the vegetables are organic and most were bought at the local farmers market. The pictures were taken at different times so yes, some vegetables are out of season.
The main ingredients of most of my cooking: olive oil, fresh garlic and onion.

Chicken Stir Fry with yellow zucchini, red and green cabbage, carrots and broccoli over noodles.

This is a variation on a noodle bake. I omitted the meat and doubled the eggs. There is about one cup cooked chopped spinach, low fat ricotta cheese mixed with 2 eggs, spiral pasta, spaghetti sauce mixed up and topped with cheese. I made two of these last week. One for the freezer and one to eat!
Chili (from a can) with extra beans and carrots. I stirred in some frozen corn when I served it and topped it off with monterey jack cheese.

This was a left over creative inspiration. I had too much brown rice so I added chili powder, garlic, black beans and corn. I added some cheese and topped it with some left over chicken. The rice was better than the chicken which was rather bland.

This is a family favorite which has become my favorite study food for crazy weeks. Tuna Noodle Salad. A can of tuna, noodles, olives and green beans over a bed of lettuce and topped with a olive oil vinaigrette. The side dish is garlic sauteed summer squash.

This is my favorite summer meal. Corn chips and "salsa". Onions, sometimes a spicy pepper, heirloom tomatoes, cilantro and dash of lemon or vinegar. Yes, it's more of a pico de gallo but at our house it's called salsa...

My other favorite study food is salsa with frozen corn and black beans. Simple, fast, and filling!

Presentations and Power

I've emerged from last week slightly sleep deprived and over caffeinated. Last week went much better than I expected on most accounts. I have to thank my professors for a couple class-wide extended due dates.

I gave my longest academic presentation on Wednesday. Thirty minutes! I definitely could have gone for forty though. I managed to weave the history of "textbooks/curriculum" spanning from Hornbooks to McGuffey Readers (briefly touching on the Dick and Jane Basal Readers) with how they perpetuated the social norms and contributed to national stability and unity. Webster's desire for a national identity was an important part as well as the shift from oral literacy to written literacy. We sped through the Puritanism, Presbyterian/Calvinism, Protestantism and Victorian morality. Year II of Worldviews of the Western World came back with a vengance as I explained who Cromwell was, spoke about "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God", defined creed vs. catechism and gave a brief overview of the Calvinist beliefs. Thanks, Mom and Dad! I even had a little hornbook and recitation activity. I was out of breath by the end trying to cover all the material. Dr. W. had that goofy grin on his face for most of my presentation that means he's pleased (either that or he was stunned). :) He only stopped me once to emphasize something so I think it went well. I'm not trying to sound my own praises but this was one of the most notable and exciting things this week.

Well, that and the electricity issues, we've had.

We had half of the breakers in the kitchen, laundry room and my room go out. We switched the breakers and nothing happened, so we put a work order in. A couple hours later, I looked at the breakers and realized that one whole bank of breakers were off. We had flipped them on and back off not realizing which direction they should go. We canceled the work order. ;)

Today, when I came home from church, I went into the kitchen and turned on the lights. The incandescent lights were really dim. I went into the bathroom where the lights are really bright, but they were dim too! I thought I was going blind... either that or my eyes were taking way too long to adjust from coming inside. Then the florescent tubes went out. My roommate lost power at that point and we watched appliances and lights turn off one by one. It's a little creepy. I called the management company who referred me to the electric company. Turns out there was an equipment failure. We got power back around 2:30.