On to Columbus!

The Mennonite USA national conference starts tomorrow! I'm the young adult delegate for Central District Conference and I'll be balancing those duties with my involvement in the PinkMenno actions all week. If you haven't yet joined PinkMenno.org, please check it out.

In the last view days, I finally put together this montage of PinkMenno supporters from churches all over the country. We asked individuals to create a simple sign with one of the following messages: "One Voice," "One Church," "One Spirit," "One Love." And then we set it to the song "One Voice" by the Wailin Jenny's. Thanks to animoto.com, it turned out beautifully. Please watch it and add a nice comment to it on youtube if you feel so moved.

If you're the prayin' type, please keep us PinkMenno folk in your thoughts as well as those who we impact this week. (yikes...I sound like an evangelist...) No, but really. We just want to get human conversation started. It's such a hateful issue right now, both ways. I must admit to not feeling prepared to face "the other side." I just try to remind myself that I'm not there to prove anything or to gain anyone's approval (which, as I've discussed before is hard for me since I LOVE approval :) And as Luke M. reminded me tonight, we're there for the LGBTQ youth and adults who maybe are too afraid to come out right now. And we're there for people who have always wanted to talk about it but never found a safe place to do so. Heck, I remember when I came to conventions in youth group (MYF). If I had seen a group of pink "protesters" when walking around with my crew, I CRINGE imagining the comments my friends would have made. And I would have stayed completely silent. This is my chance to speak up. It'll be good for me.

A Special Anniversary

Two months ago, on April 17th, I took a personal business day to trek to O'Hare with David to pick up our new puppy Franklin. I honestly can't believe it's only been two months. Seriously. It seems like waaaaay longer. Incidentally, until this morning, it had been about that long since I'd been to the gym. He really has changed our lives, in both nice and less nice ways. But wow--he's just so cute.

Check out these and other Franklin pics in my ever-growing Franklin Flickr Set.

And as I just went to flickr to grab the link, I realized that I've become one of those people that captions pet pictures with imagined dog-comments. I AM the high school teacher I used to make fun of who always talked about her dogs. Sigh.

new philidendron banner: Basilique Notre-Dame de Montréal

As promised--another explanation of one of the recently added Philidendron title banners. (For the full effect, click reload until you see this one up there.)

This is another picture from our spring break trip to Montreal. We took lots of panoramic shots with our little Kodak digital camera. It guides you through taking three slightly overlapped photos which the camera then "stitches" together. The results can be pretty cool. Check out my entire set of panoramic photos from that trip here on flickr. The big church in the picture is the Basilique Notre-Dame de Montréal, built in the 17th century. Full shot below.

Aww, Rosie.

I remember coming home from school and watching Rosie's talk show. She was the first one to really show me musical theater. I became obsessed with The Lion King on Broadway after seeing a live performance on her stage.

I also remember her joking about her weight and trying season after season to lose it. And she mostly failed. And she was honest about it.

In a weird way, I think she was some sort of role model for me.

And look at her now! I really respect her a lot.

new philidendron banner: flaky blue window

Now that I have a bit more freetime during summer break, I'm going to make an honest effort to revive my blog. I haven't changed much on it in a LONG time. Everytime you load my blog, you might notice that the title banner changes. It loads randomly from a set of 5 or 6 different pictures; and they've been the same for about two years.

So I've added some more into the mix. This one (reload the blog until you see it in action) is cropped from a SWEET photo I took in Quebec City when David and I took a trip there over my spring break from school. I think this may be the most beautiful color I've ever photographed. And the texture of the peeling paint is amazing as well. I'm not sure how old this building is, but
it's at least in the 100's of years old. Maybe as many as 300 years old. I remember reading that the oldest house in Quebec City was built in the late 1600's. Scroll down to see the whole house from across the street.

Below is the original picture. Click it to open the whole flickr set of Montral/Quebec City vacation pictures.

I love that copper roof!

P.S. I'll blog occasionally about other banners, as well as other changes to my blog. You get points for commenting on my new banners...or anything for that matter. For what are these points redeemable, you ask? a Name-Drop or two on my blog..

P.S.S. Extra points if you can name the font used in the title banner. (ross?)

ChicagoCares at/about our school.

I'm at school this morning, even though yesterday was the last day of the school year and I should be sleeping or drinking or somehow celebrating. Volunteers from ChicagoCares are here painting some of our classrooms and all of our student lockers. It's a welcome change to just sit back and watch some other adults work for a change. And these volunteers aren't all jaded and depressed like us teachers :)

And talk about a transformation! Check out our current flourescentgross yellow lockers. They're painting over that wreck with a nice, soothing green. And they're painting many of our classrooms a nice, calming blue--replacing the "off-white/beige-paint-our-whole-school-this color-because-it's-the-same-color-as-dirty-so-we-wont'-ever-have-to-clean-our-walls" color.

I helped groups get started by hooking up speakers to student computers and logging in to pandora.com radio. And now I'm hiding out in my classroom trying to get the rest of my mess put away. At some point in the next few weeks, the maintenance staff will come into my classroom and drag everything into the hallway so they can clean and wax my floor. So I have to have everything put away in closets and desks or I risk losing it. It's a very cleansing process to go through piles of paper and realize I only need to save a few things here and there.

I have one week away from school before I return for a few afternoons a week for about half of the summer to lead a summer program called "Freshman Connections." Basically, we hang out with the new freshmen and get them into the frame of mind that high school isn't scary (even though we know it is) and that they can be confident coming on the first day. I'm looking forward to it, because I like kids to know who I am and that there are teachers here that care openly about them.

Time to go check on the painters and take some more pictures.

"Away We Go"

This movie looks so "awww." And could you ask for a funnier/cuter cast?

John Krasinski (Jim from The Office...and with a beard...yum), Maya Rudolph (from SNL...Donatella Versace and Whitney Houston, two of the best characters ever), and little parts for Catherine O'Hara (mom in Home Alone, and in all those Chistopher Guest movies) and Maggie Gyllenhaal (Jake's sister).

A Summer Must-See.

David in a Sea of Purple

Hubbard Street Dance

David and I have a season subscription to the Hubbard Street Dance company which performs at the Harris Theater at Millennium Park. The performance dates always sneak up on me and it's always so refreshing to see such passion and creativity on stage. Our last tickets for the season are for tomorrow's performance. I'm definitely in the mood for some sweet contemporary dance to gear up for the new season of So You Think You Can Dance which starts this week!

Summer in Chicago Calendar!

In hopes of maximizing my summer fun with friends and (mostly) free events, I'm adding events I want to attend to a google calendar. I've shared this calendar with some friends so they can also add their ideas. Let me know if you want access to add your own events or if you have tips for me. And finally, let me know if you want to meet up for any of these!

Click an event to see the details.

I love love. Do you? (you'd better, or else.)

Click the picture to link to CREDO where you can get a free "I Love Love" sticker of your own. And then you can stick it on your car or on your laptop or on your bag. And then when people comment on it, you can tell them that your friend Philip would be gay married if it was legal. But instead, he and his partner had a wedding and somewhat awkwardly called it a "ceremony" most of the time because on some level they didn't feel entitled to call it a wedding. And when they do their taxes, in the eyes of the government, they're two "single" guys who live together and own some stuff together (how wierd...right?). So when they ask, you can tell them why it's so important that straight people care about gay marriage, too. Cause there's not enough gay people around to fight alone.

Get a sticker dudes.

the RAGE

OMG. I just spent nearly two hours trying once again to get our wireless network working. Our imac that we bought last summer has never stayed connected to the internet correctly whether connected wirelessly or straight through an ethernet cable. We bought airport expresses thinking that setting up a mac-based wireless network would solve the issue and hoping to stream our itunes music to other areas of the apartment. They freaking suck. And I wish I could return them. I've probably spent a good 30-40 hours of my life trying to get them to work. And each effort ends in the same furious, childlike-tantrum featuring me muttering curses under my breath and teetering on the edge of a panic attack. There is nothing more frustrating to me than waiting on thousand dollar equipment that I'm supposed to LOVE to freaking recognize a wireless signal from an equally lovable and cute wireless router. I want to scream. Sometimes I do.

I told David to call RCN (cable/internet provider) tomorrow and ask for a new router, becuase I know that that's one of the helpful troubleshooting tips Apple will tell me to check when I call applecare--AGAIN.

And AGAIN, I'll try to calmly explain to someone who is reading prompts on their screen guided by choose-your-own-adventure software that MY FIVE YEAR OLD PUBLIC SCHOOL ISSUED HEWLETT-FREAKING-PACKARD LAPTOP can stay connected to our wireless network, but our oh-so-pretty-HI-I'M-A-FREAKIN-MAC imac can't. And they'll ask me "Is your computer plugged in correctly?" and "Have you tried resetting your cable modem?" and "Have you tried a different browser?"

the RAGE that churns in my belly!

Franklin's New Harness

David just sent me a picture of Franklin wearing his nifty new orange harness!  David had the day off and took him to the vet for a vaccine booster and to the pet store to get him a new harness since he'd grown out of his old one.  Just had to share the cuteness!

Our new Elfa-ized closet

Elfa organization systems were on sale at Container Store, so we went all out and got shelving for our master and guest bedroom closets. It totally transformed our smaller-than-optimal "walk-in" master closet (above). (It's more like a step-in closet, but someday when we list our condo, we'll call it a walk-in.)

I totally should've taken a "before" shot of the disaster that occupied this space previously. The switch also required us make peace and part with the piles and piles of clothing we no longer wear. A fun summer project might be painting the closet walls a nice, bright color. Fuschia?

I totally recommend Elfa stuff if you're looking to maximize the storage possibilities in a small space. It all hangs from a track installed near the ceiling, so there's very little installation mess in your drywall. And then it's very easy to rearrange and switch out elements.

Now I just have to get everything organized enough so we can show it off when people come over. (Basically, I'm looking for Ross's stamp of approval.)

Threadless Still Rockin' It.

I'm at the Coffee Studio in Andersonville on my totally legit sick day (sniffle, sniffle). No but seriously, I felt awful yesterday and was dreading the height of my sickness hitting right in the middle of my vacation weekend. So I took maybe my 2nd or 3rd sick day of the school year. I deserve it. (Listen to me justify...)

Anyways, at this coffee shop, they have Threadless Prints hanging up as decoration and as well as advertising for Threadless.com. I haven't been into Threadless ever since my belly outgrew my collection (15 maybe?) of Threadless tshirts about a year ago. They've been hidden underneath sweaters and long-sleeved shirts. But I've been slimming down again lately and it's time to bring them back out.

And they are always on top of the trends--now they have "twitter threadless" shirts. Check them out as well as the prints. And as always, if you ever buy anything, do so after navigating to the site from a link on my blog. Then I get free stuff. And I love free stuff.

overhearding's at school

My classroom door is open and I just overheard a classic end-of-the-year exchange between a student from the adjacent school and her vice principal...

V.P. -- "Why aren't you in class?" (incredulously)
Student -- "I'm going home. I don't got no work!"
V.P. -- "What do you mean you don't have no work?" (even more incredulously)

It's that time of the year. Things are crazy, unorganized and we're all apathetic to the max.

Let the summer grilling begin!!

David Says...

"It's exhausting being me!"

ha.

a story in need of telling

You know how you're supposed to change the filter on your furnace every 3 months? Well we didn't.

I mean, I was vaguely aware of my dad changing our furnace filters with some regularity, but it wasn't until our neighbor Jenny mentioned it that we sheepishly asked exactly where this filter was located. Of course, after over a year of living here, our filter was filthy.

We bought a replacement, turned the heat back on and BAM--heat came blowing, yes blowing out of vents all throughout our chilly garden condo. All winter long, we cuddled in blankets and faux-fur throws by the fireplace in the living room and tiptoed over cold bathroom floors shivering in defeat. We thought our windows were too drafty or that our furnace was just inefficient. Turns out, we were just naive.

Seriously, we've never really felt air blow out of our vents until now. WARM air nonetheless.

It's a story in need of telling. Cause what if you don't know you're supposed to change your filters. Now you know.

Drums and DonorsChoose

After three years of teaching at my school and dreaming/talking about getting a world drum curriculum started in my general music classes, I've finally found the momentum to make it happen for next year. I've revived my DonorsChoose.org efforts, encouraged by the current offer by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to match all donations towards college-preparation-geared proposals in low-income schools. So currently, I have three drum-circle proposals active and two of them are on their way towards getting funded already since posting a week ago!

I'm hoping to build a collection of percussion instruments big enough that I can do year-long drum circles in my general music classes next year. I don't have much experience with drumming, but I know that my students would benefit IMMENSELY from this type of collaborative, trust-building creativity. This year, we worked for about 5-6 weeks on learning to play recorders (which I plan on repeating next year) and in that time I saw the glimmers of confidence and discovery and even reflection on learning in my students that I long to see more of. Most of them have very low self-esteem when it comes to school. My music class should be a place where they can come and feel successful--that's my goal.

So I'm starting with DonorsChoose to get the drums and other instruments.

In addition to getting the stuff in my hands, I'm signed up to take djembe drumming lessons at the Old Town School of Folk Music starting in a few weeks. And I'm connecting with a non-profit called Memory Bridge who offers teachers a curriculum for connecting students with seniors who have Alzheimer's. I'm considering leading this program at school next year, so to learn more about it, I'm shadowing a group of students at another high school in a drum circle training and then a session with seniors next week.

I've set up a google site to explain what I do and what I want from these projects. Please visit it and consider donating if you're able. And even better, pass on this link to anyone you think might support my classroom.

Here's the link: Bit.ly/Kendall
Visit it. Read it. Forward the link.

More on bit.ly later... I love it.

The cutest thing ever.

I've started a flickr photo set and I'm sure it will be growing quickly!

Check it out here.

Franklin has Arrived!

We're on the way home and David is in the back seat cradling our new
baby. He stinks a little.

Still not sure what Twitter is all about?

This video gave me the nudge to try it a while back. And now I really like it, especially accessing it on my iphone (somewhat obsessively at times.) Right now I'm following 57 people. If you use twitter and I don't know about you yet, let me know so I can follow you too!

Photos from Montreal and Quebec City

I'm still working on entering titles, descriptions and tags for all the flickr photos I uploaded, but you can go ahead and look at them. I hope to take the time to write in some stories along with links to locations and websites. We definitely want to go back some day and this will be a great record of what we did and where we want to return. Also, we enjoyed playing with the panoramic setting on our camera. You take three pictures and the camera "stitches" them together with amazing accuracy.

Click on the example above to see the whole set of panoramic shots. Be sure to view each one in a bigger size to get the whole effect.

And click on the photo strip to the left to see the entire set of our Montreal and Quebec City pictures.

And once again, I loved how Animoto.com throws together a really cool slideshow of pictures and music you upload. Watch that below.

a storm is coming...

...and no, it's not gay marriage.  The storm is Franklin Eugene, our french bulldog puppy who arrives Friday!  And we're afraid Bailey (the cat) isn't going to be pleased.  So David cut out this picture from the cardboard box of the puppy crate we bought yesterday in hopes of acclimating Bailey to having a dog around.  This is of course half joke, half totally-serious.  David announced in church this morning during sharing time that "Philip and I are very excited to announce that we're adding a new member to our family..." He continued the announcement with vague descriptions of what I'm sure some thought might be a child and then finally revealed the puppy nature of Franklin.  This was directly after I shared about how we celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary in Quebec and my reflections on having spent it in a country where gay marriage is legal and then having to return to the U.S. and fill out separate customs forms since we're not members of the same "family."  The announcement was well played on his part, I must admit.

Many puppy stories and pictures will be filling this blog soon.  That you can be sure of.

Stay tuned for pictures and stories from our Montreal/Quebec trip.

testing my twitter feed...

If this works correctly, twitterfeed.com will automatically tweet a link to this blog post. It'll be pretty awesome if it works. It's supposed to check every hour. I'm counting...

Meanwhile, David and I are making a list of all the places we ate at in Montreal and Quebec City. We realized today that we should have been blogging about all the amazing meals we've had, so now we're going to go back and try to recreate such a list.

"a rainbow collision"

Rachel Maddow blasts the scare-tactic anit-gay-marriage ad--blasts it to bits. I especially love the "audition" out-takes by the "actors" playing scared straight people. My favorite: "a rainbow collision of people..."

Watch it below via youtube:

Fish out of Water

Check out this trailer for a new film dealing with homosexuality and religion: Fish out of Water. I hope it's very successful!

Bonjour de Montréal!!

It's beautiful and charming, even thought it's cold and rainish. We're relaxing on our last day in Montreal before taking a short train ride to Quebec City tomorrow. Our bed & breakfast here has been just incredible. I aim to yelp about some of the restaurants we've visited and definitely about this b&b! I would recommend it to anyone visiting Montreal. We've already been talking about coming back someday, but next time in the summer and maybe with some friends so we can enjoy the lovely, open culture together!

We've been drinking lots of leisurely espresso at our favorite cafe "Kilo." We've gotten really good at asking if people speak English and then getting by if they don't. (But almost everyone does.) Today, the sweetest old lady stopped to talk to us while we were eating lunch in a big open fresh food market we visited. She started in french and then switched to english, commenting on the fact that we were eating french fries--that it was ok since we are "slim." Bless her. Then she asked, nicely, when we were going to learn french. We explained that we were from Chicago. She asked about the economy and I explained that our jobs our secure thankfully. She remembered her mother saying that even though her dad's job as a teacher didn't pay that well in the 30's, at least it was secure in the midst of the depression. She wished us well and moved on. This has been the sweetest interaction with anyone here in Montreal so far, besides the VERY helpful and warm conversations with Alain, our B&B owner/host. When we first arrived, he told us how to get around, where to go, what restaurants to try and has made the nicest breakfasts for us each morning, complete with gluten and lactose-free options for David.

Stay tuned for more pictures on flickr and a photo/movie compilation once we get back to Chicago. (I've taken lots of panoramic photos with that option on our digital camera. Click on them and zoom in for the full effect--so cool.)

Portia's Sorry