AWOL

So, Brad pointed out to me yesterday that I haven't posted anything in almost a month (and that my last few posts were cop-outs). Wow. I'm sorry. I know you've all been having withdrawals from my charming rhetoric... or at least from pictures of my chubby offspring. Let me shed some light - and complain a little bit - on the Walker happenings of February 2010.

The month started out with a slew of concrete and vinyl fence bids, which resulted in a beautiful yard and a happy Brad, but also a slightly-strained relationship with our neighbors to the south. (I'd like to think of our new fence as a "Mending Wall".)

I spent every spare minute pre February 20 preparing for our region debate tournament. I've never hosted a tournament before, let alone a high stakes region competition, and was freaking out. We didn't have enough schools to pair or tab electronically, so everything had to be done by hand. Despite a few minor setbacks (like my fake out "master key" that didn't open half of the doors it was supposed to, the absence of hallway lights for the first round, and some overly-emotional Salem Hills Policy debaters), the tournament ran smoothly and Payson snagged first place awards in LD, NX, and FX, and second place in OO. (Yes, I realize this means nothing to most of you.) Yay! And yay to the fact that after March 13 I am done coaching debate FOREVER.

Oh, in the midst of all this we had Parent Teacher Conferences. Those are always a joy.

And Kaiya had double ear infections.

And I got a new calling. I'm in the Young Women presidency; I won't tell them I have a blog so they can still think I'm a good person.

And I'm in the middle of teaching research papers (my most dreaded unit) in senior English.

Then there was my professional portfolio for level two licensure for the district. Holy crap. It was literally the most asinine assignment I've ever been given. I know that the program is well-intended and that the portfolio is supposed to be an indicator of my growth as an educator over the course of my career thus far, blah, blah, blah. But seriously!? I am awarded points based on my ability to talk myself up using specific vocabulary from the UPT Standards. --I guess that before I complain too much about being swamped with work, I should point out that I've had almost four years to complete this portfolio, but instead wrote all my reflections in the course of two weeks and turned it in two days before it was due.-- Let's just pray that I passed it, because I have never been more happy to hand over substandard work. (Except maybe for that one Math 1010 class where my teacher awarded extra credit for swearing on tests. He's fired now.)

Then we went to Disneyland with the Lillywhites. It was bitchin'.

Which brings me to the present. We've been home for three days and I still have piles of dirty, clean, and questionable laundry all over my house. I have finally caught a spare minute at work in which to rant in my virtual journal, for which I will undoubtedly be embarrassed in the years to come.

I promise I will post pictures of our landscaping improvements and our vacation in bipolar-weather-California. It's impossible to use the computer when Kaiya is awake, so I will see how much I can accomplish during nap time tomorrow!

{Insert deep breath here.}