Valentines Day - Shishmaref Style

Sometimes, I will admit, I resent sharing the common areas of the school with the elementary side. They're throwing balls on one side of the gym while we're trying to eat on the other. There are also times I'm sure they resent us. They lose recess every time we want to set up a carnival/prom/pep assembly/basketball tournament.

Sometimes, though, it's the best thing in the world.

Every year, as a fundraiser, the seniors make and sell cookies with valentines attached. You can write your own little message for the recipient, and they are passed out on Valentines Day, or in our case, the Friday before Valentines Day. I wanted to buy one for Bob, but decided that as part of Financial Freedom February, I would just make him one instead. Well, why make one when you can make 90? I made a dozen big ones for friends on the staff, and over 70 for my kids.

I forgot to take a picture of the big ones, but they really weren't that pretty. I'd been given two copies of the same huge cookie cutter, so I gave one to Daphne Weyiouanna, who loves to bake. She shortened and widened it a little, and it actually looks like a very nice heart now. It was rather tall and skinny before she fixed it, so everyone's cookies were also tall and skinny. Sorry everyone.

And yes, I was lazy and just took this picture from where I was sitting, which is why she's SO FAR AWAY!!!

For the students, because no one has enough flour to make big ones for everyone, I made smaller versions.  I didn't take a picture of my cake pan full of cookies, but I did manage to get one of Patrick, who was kind enough to pose for the picture, in exchange for the cookie. (His 4th of the day.)

Once again, I took the picture from where I was sitting, but I did make him come closer. It's amazing the things kids will do for some sugar.

Now, in case you're wondering why I started today's post with thoughts of the elementary side, here is the reason: When the little kids sit down the night before their Valentines Day parties, they often remember me when making their lists. And this year was no different. So, with no further ado, my Valentines:

The matching hearts came with my cookies, the big paper with the heart-flower came from Lisa and the rest of the Stenek's. The rest are from little girls from the land of tiny chairs. They come to the door, and sort of lurk until I notice them, then I lure them in and they give me my little card. I think they're afraid of the big boys.  Now is the time to go home, and drink half a gallon of water to try and equalize some of this sugar pumping through my system.

May everyone else's Valentines be as wonderful as mine.

Aca Deca

Tonight is the Academic Decathlon district competition. Angie Alston is coaching this year, and has offered me my choice of "speech judge" "interview judge" "essay judge" or "attitude." I told her to put me down for whatever was open when those that cared had picked. I did Speech's last year, and that was sort of fun. It's hard to objectively judge a kid, especially when you helped them write half of the speech. I think I might have judged my own kids too hard, since I expect more out of them.

This year, however, I was put on the interview circuit. I had two of my own kids, Heather and Miizuk, two kids from Stebbins, and two from Savoonga. It was . . . interesting. Some of the kids, especially those who have done this last year, dressed pretty, had sparkling personalities, and had well thought out responses. Some, umm, didn't. But, it's a learning experience.

At the end of the interview (4-6 minutes, or 11. Depending) the student is given a minute to "Share any other thoughts you'd like us to know. Some kids pulled something out, some just smiled and shook their heads. Austin was prepared. While I didn't have the opportunity to interview him, as there were two sets, I did see him go in. It turns out that he told his coach that he was going to spend that minute discussing ice cream. Angie offered him $5 if he could talk for the entire minute. He pulled it off.

Tomorrow is the awards ceremony, so I may get some pictures and post them here.

Wind Chill

Yesterday, as I walked into my house at 10pm, I glanced at my indoor/outdoor thermometer. (Thanks Dad!!) It said the inside was a wonderful 70*, which is halfway between where I like to keep the heater (65) and where Amy likes to keep the heater (gates of Hades). I also noticed that the outside temp was -25*F. (I've been told that saying 'degrees Fahrenheit' is redundant. I'm just not sure how.)

That means our poor heater is trying to keep our house a whopping 95 degrees warmer than the surrounding air. Way to go heater!

Luckily for me, there was no wind last night. That's the part that makes it feel so cold your eyeballs want to solidify. I'm not joking here, it's felt like that before.

So today, thanks to NOAA's National Weather Service, here is the official wind-chill chart:

So yesterday, regardless of wind chill, I could get frostbite, if not properly covered up, in less than 30 minutes. I know nothing in this village is more than 30 minutes from my house, or even 15, but that doesn't mean I want to be out in temperatures like this.

Here is something I'd never thought of, but which struck me as interesting: Note: Windchill Temperature is only defined for temperatures at or below 50 degrees F and wind speeds above 3 mph. Bright sunshine may increase the wind chill temperature by 10 to 18 degrees F.

7 days down, 21 to go

Week one of Frugal February is now over. And I've survived. Then I put on my coat to come to school today, and it had a dollar in the pocket, and I decided that I needed to get Bob a valentine cookie. After all, he bought me that HUGE BOX OF CHOCOLATES!! So I told Melinda I wanted on, and she said okay. I haven't actually given her the money yet. I wonder if I can barter it somehow? Maybe I'll frost a couple dozen cookies, and she'll throw it into the deal. That won't hurt. right?
In related news: My credit card bill from January came. Right, now I remember why I started this little experiment in the first place.

And for those of you, my patient, devoted fans, who are getting a little sick and fed up of money talk: I'm sorry. I seriously have nothing else to talk about, unless you'd like to know about how dreams are prophetic in The Epic of Gilgamesh, or the use of pastoral language in The Odyssey. (Which I still can't spell without spell check). Besides that, I am going to fundraise with the cheerleaders this weekend. I'll take pictures.

Presents

I was hanging out in Bob's room after school today, working on this binder that I'm making for the senior advisor. I just think they should get a heads up before all the weird stuff gets dumped on them.

It's lonely in my room, that's why.

Bob got a new shelf for his student journals. Nice, eh?

And now he's playing the new shelf shuffle. His goal is to end up with a windowsill that's not covered in stacks of books. I applaud his efforts.

During his shuffling, he asks me if I want a present. I promptly responded with: "Candy! Or Tums." (School lunch) Turns out he actually had Tums. So I got some of those. It's my first experience with pepermint, but they're okay.

Then he gave me my actual "present," which was just as awesome:

Don't laugh. I need these, and I didn't order enough this year. Since I'm one of the few teachers in the school using my old projector, these are always welcome. I like them most because I can edit in front of the kids, and they can follow along. I know Smart-boards will do that too. But you can't back a smart board up to make it big enough to trace a Christmas pattern on it, can you? No. No you can't. 

Then I found out that Bob actually bought me a Valentines Day present, which is shocking, because I hadn't actually thought about it. But here it is:

YEAH!! Tums and CANDY!! Bob is great. 

quirk of blogger

Apparently, it doesn't matter if I go back and add a new section for every day to the same post, it still thinks it's only the first post. Which is why my dates are off. If you want to read how my Financial Freeze February is going, check the post from Feb 1. It will catch you up.

Frugal February

DAY 1:
Okay, devoted fans. I have now made it through the first 24 hours of Frugal February. I made sure to eat breakfast to avoid running to the student store during lunch, and I also stayed out of that hallway while it was open.

I will be giving some of my emergency money to Amy, because she's going to Anchorage on Wednesday, for a preschool conference. She's going to bring back jam and backing cocoa. I know, it's not fun or exciting, but that's what I need.

One of my seniors has decided that I will not be able to survive for the 28 days of Financial Freeze February. I invited her to play along, but she declined. Instead, she is going to write down every dollar that she spends for the 28 days, so she can see where her money is going. This should be interesting.

DAY 2:
Went to the dentist. It didn't cost anything, but my insurance may be sending a bill later. This will be paid for out of regular checking account funds, and not my "emergency" money. It would probably wipe my emergency money out anyway.

Spent $9 at the post office today. I mailed a book for Paperback Swap, my dad's birthday present, and a letter to the Department of Revenue, State of Alaska. I had to explain why I was out of the state for 91 days. (See previous posts about senior trip, and Copenhagen.) This cuts into my emergency cash a little, but otherwise, I'm fine.

DAY 3:
I really want cookies. I sort of want Mountain Dew. I am refraining from both. Henry asked if he could eat his sweet-tarts during class if he shared with me. This could be a nice loop-hole to not buying anything. After all, a positive aspect of not spending money is that I can't just buy junk food. This may require more thought.

I went home for lunch, and had a sandwich and an orange. And some of Amy's candy, because she's gone, and she'll never know. Except for the thing where she reads this blog. He He, sorry Amy.

DAY 4:
I accidentally kept my finger on "Shift" while I wrote 4. The "$" came up. Awww. Yesterday I graded papers, made a homemade pizza, and talked to my dad on the phone for 2 hours. No money was spent. I didn't even have the desire. It was nice.

DAY 5:
Basketball games tonight. I always get sucked into buying things. I'm just not going to take any money with me. Besides, there's a different person babysitting the seniors today, and he doesn't know I have a tab, so he probably wouldn't just give me stuff anyway. SCORE.
Recap of basketball games: I went (without paying, which is why I didn't stay). Saw the senior store. Saw the juniors making popcorn, saw the new shirts the activities is putting out, ignored all of it. YEAH FOR ME.  The hardest part about this month-long endeavor happens when I see someone else drinking a Diet Mountain Dew. But, I heave a little sigh and go on with my life. I don't feel like I'm missing out on much. I'm not sure I'd want to do this for much longer than a month, since there are things I like buying, like stained glass supplies, ivory, and snacks, but it's going pretty well so far.

DAY 6:
Today was Saturday, so Frugality was a little easier. I read until 5, slept until noon, and hung around the house playing online today. Then I visited Ken and Lisa, watched a little "Ghost Hunters International" and played with the kids. All in all, a good day. And no money was spent.