Reuben Arnold Reiser: 1921-2012

My grandpa’s memorial was held yesterday morning. My grandma chose May 19th for his memorial because it is Armed Forces Day, which is fitting given my grandpa’s service in the Air Force. The day was dreary and wet, but the rain felt refreshing and renewing, perfect for a day or remembrance.

The service was exactly what my grandfather would have wanted – a traditional Lutheran worship with all the glory going to his God. My grandpa was a devout Christian and a humble servant. I certainly understand his wish for his memorial, but I was happy the pastor shared a few personal memories about my grandpa. After all, 90 years of life is very impressive and definitely deserves some recognition! Not all grandparents live long enough to be great-grandparents.

Ian and I put together a slideshow of my grandpa’s life. It was fun to see the pictures of him as a young man and the early pictures of he and my grandma. They were married nearly 60 years! Quite a testimony to the power of love. Here are some of my favorite pictures from his past:

RIP Grandpa! We love you!

My Naked Face

Here is a picture of me moments before I stepped out the door en route to work/school.

Notice anything unusual? (Besides the fact that I look tired because it’s 6am?). My face is NAKED! Let me provide a little context.

My 8th graders’ final project is a challenge to identify intolerance, disrespect, or inhumanity in their school, community, or world and positively effect the situation. We have been studying tolerance, bullying, and respect for the past few weeks. We have read articles, watched videos, and held class discussions. I have given my students as much information as I could possibly fit into the past few weeks. Now, it is their turn to do something great.

With 85 8th graders, I’ve had a variety of project ideas from posting positive messages around the school to supporting children in Africa. So far, the projects I have seen around school have been well received and from the heart. One project in particular really caught my attention. One of my 8th grade girls challenged the female population at our school to NOT wear make up for an entire week. She challenged girls to resist the negative messages of perfection constantly sent through media and encouraged by peers. She encouraged girls to go “naked faced” to prove that they know they are beautiful without make up.

A few weeks ago, I read a similar challenge on one of my favorite healthy living blogs. The challenge was called The Naked Face Project. I read about the project and thought it was a great idea. I was inspired by the women who were compelled to participate. I briefly considered participating, but then I thought, “No. Make up helps me feel professional and put together at work. It’s important that I set myself apart from my students.” I briefly thought about attempting the project over the summer, but that felt like cheating since I rarely wear make up in the summer anyway.

Then I saw a poster for my student’s challenge hanging in the bathroom. Again, I thought it was a great idea, but I didn’t really consider participating. Last Thursday night, my mentor teacher asked if I was doing the no make up challenge. I told her probably not. She looked shocked and remarked, “But isn’t she your student?! And isn’t this project for your class?!” I replied with a sheepish, “Yeah…”

And then I promptly decided that if I am going to claim to be an educator and a tolerance teacher, then I must support my student’s efforts.

I don’t wear much make up to begin with, but I definitely felt “naked” walking out the door with a bare face this morning. Several students gave me long side glances, and a few asked if I had trouble sleeping last night because I looked really tired (great!). But so many girls were excited to see that I too was participating in the challenge. And, honestly, I was excited to see so many middle school girls with bare faces!

 

We’ll see how I feel as the week goes on, and if more and more girls decide to “be brave” and go to school sans make up. I’m happy that I decided to be brave, too.

A Month in Review

Wow! It has been a while since I posted. Sorry friends. The past few weeks have been a crazy roller coaster of ups and downs, and I’ve had a hard time keeping up with everything. There are many changes on the horizon, and I always struggle when my happy little routine is disrupted. But I’m working on my ability to embrace change.

Here are a few positive highlights from the past month:

The last weekend in March, Ian and I spent a glorious Saturday relaxing and tasting new brews released at Odell Brewery (our favorite local brewery!). Ahhhhhh, it was so wonderful! We’re really trying to get out and enjoy Fort Collins before we move in May.

I spent Spring Break in Reno, NV visiting my long-lost family. My nephew Oliver has grown so much! I can hardly believe that he will turn one May 4th. Seriously, where does the time go?! I took dozens of pictures of little Olly, and only a few vaguely turned out. Babies are hard to photograph.

I had so much fun spending time with and catching up with my family. We drove all the way around Tahoe (windy, but beautiful!), ate delicious food, created fun glass fusion art, got the best local pedicures (mom and me), and just spent time relaxing. I miss having them in CO, but Reno is such a great city and I love visiting them. I will happily visit my fam in NV for as long as they live in the wonderful “Biggest little city in the world.” Maybe next time Ian can come, too.

Last week, I took my student council kids to tour the Denver Capitol building. We had a blast! My students were just great and the weather could not have been better for walking around Denver. Such a good day.

Viola! The ups of my month. The rest of the month was spent working, planning, grading, and frantically job searching. I am SO SAD to be leaving my current school. Thinking about it makes me want to cry. But, I know the future holds great things, and Ian and I are so ready for the next phase of our lives. I’ll end up where I’m supposed to be next year. I just need to be patient and let the universe work its magic.

How have you been?!

Enjoying the Weekend Weather

The spring weather has been unseasonably warm, not that I’m complaining! Temps have been hovering around the high 70s, low 80s just beckoning us outdoors. It’s so hard to remember that I’m not yet on summer vacation!

This weekend, rather than spend time at the usual dog park, we took Ava up to Legacy Park so she could get her feet wet. Or at least we thought she would just get her feet wet, but she was fully prepared to plunge her entire body into the water! She loves to fetch sticks we throw into the water, not matter how big or small…

She went crazy running around the trail and running into the water to fetch sticks. She found this huge chunk of wood and probably would have torn it to shreds if we hadn’t made her stop eating it.

Ava is such a nut! Bene had a pretty good weekend, too. When he wasn’t outside rolling around on the patio, he was relaxing in the warm sunshine. He’s such a lush. (And he seems super thrilled that I was taking his picture while he was trying to take a nap…)

The weekends always go by too quickly! I saw Hunger Games with a colleague on Friday night (it was amazing!) and I spent Saturday working on curriculum alignment with another colleague. Ian and I spent today running errands, washing the cars, and catching up on household chores. Spring Break is only two weeks away, and I can hardly wait for some time away from school. I love my job, but it is certainly exhausting! And this beautiful weather we’ve been experiencing leaves me pining for summer!

New Camera!

Three years ago, Ian and I invested in a Sony DSLR to take on our epic 90-Day trip to Italy. We loved the camera and were so proud of the images we captured of our memorable journey. Then, Ian dropped the camera and screwed up the mirrors inside the lens. We sent it in to Sony to have it fixed (reason #1 to never buy a Sony – only Sony will “fix” the camera!), but the problem was never truly resolved. From then on, our images were slightly blurred and never really crystal clear.

In addition, I realized that I’m not a professional photographer (surprised, are you?). While I love to take pictures and am fanatical about the quality of my images, I also hate luging around a large camera. In fact, I started leaving the camera at home because it seemed like a bit if a burden to try and fit the camera into my purse, or have one more thing to carry on my shoulder. For several months, I didn’t take any pictures outside of my house, which seems to contradict the whole reason to have a camera (to document memoreis…).

Thus, we made the very adult decision to sell our DSLR and buy a more practical point and shoot. I opted for the Nikon Coolpix S8200. Of course I wanted pined after the Nikon 1, but an $800 camera just wasn’t in the cards. I haggled a bit and scored a great deal at Target. (They were out of the older, less expensive model that I actually wanted, and thus gave me a discount on the new model). The Coolpix S8200 takes pretty darn good pictures and has some fun features! I’ve been pleasantly surprised. And, I’ve been taking more pictures, which is the whole point!

Cross one more item off my list! I feel very satisfied with my new, practical camera. I’m sure we will invest in another (Nikon) DSLR down the road, but for now, my Coolpix is just what I need!

Blueberry Banana Muffins

We eat a lot of bananas, but sometimes we buy more than we can actually eat. I’ve had a few bananas sitting on the counter well past their prime. Ian threatened to throw them away (and, sadly our compost bin is full, so they actually would go in the trash! Gah!). Luckily, I saved the bananas from a fateful trip to the landfill. Instead, these “bad” bananas became good muffins!

I found this recipe on Daily Garnish and made it last summer. The muffins were good and definitely vegetarian (actually, vegan). We were out of flax seeds, so I broke down and used a real egg instead of a “flax egg” (ground up flax and water). We were also short on whole wheat flour, so I used half white and half wheat. The results were just as delicious! (Word to the wise – fresh blueberries are much better than frozen!)

Blueberry Banana Muffins 

(*original recipe from Daily Garnish)

Ingredients (12 large muffins)

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup white flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/3 cup raw sugar
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 very ripe banana, mashed
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup almond
• 1 cup frozen blueberries

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, and sugars and stir until combined.
3. Use a separate, smaller bowl for the wet ingredients, and start with the ripe banana.
4. Mash with a fork.
5. Add almond milk, vanilla, and egg, and combine.
6. Mix wet ingredients into dry, and stir until everything is combined. Then gently fold in 1 cup frozen (or fresh!) blueberries.
7. Spoon muffin batter evenly into greased muffin tin.
8. Put muffin tin into the 400 degree oven, and bake for 20 minutes or until tops are turning golden brown. (At high altitude, bake for about 15-16 minutes)
9. Pour a large glass of milk and enjoy straight out of the oven!

“Baby Legs”

Several months ago, I found a sweet and easy tutorial to make adorable leggings for a baby girl (the author named them “baby legs“. I’m sure baby legs could very well be made suitable for a boy, but they seemed oh-so-perfect for a little girl). I was so excited to make baby legs for one of my many pregnant friends. The problem was, all my then-pregnant friends were expecting baby boys. *Sigh* All the boys were born and I was left wondering if there was something fishy in the water to create all boys and no girls…

My "nephew" Declan

My nephew Oliver

Then, a few months ago, my dear friend Sarah announced that she was having a girl! Imagine my delight when I realized I could finally make baby legs!!! And, I finally got to use the Singer sewing machine Ian bought me for my birthday! Double delight!

Baby legs are super easy to make and very, very cute. Here’s the step-by-step (thanks to Calico for the simple tutorial!):

1. Buy long socks (knee length works well).

2. Cut off the foot.

3. Carefully wrap the sock around the base of your sewing machine and sew a zig zag right along the edge of the sock. Keep the stitches close and tight.

4. The end will ruffle up.

I wish I had an adorable baby on hand to model these baby legs. Unfortunately, Sarah’s baby isn’t slated to arrive for a few more months. C’est la vie! We’ll just have to wait, and my somewhat bland picture of completed baby leges will have to suffice.

I was also pretty excited to find matching outfits at the thrift store in the same colors as my baby legs.

Baby girl clothes are just precious. All ruffles and frill. Love it!