I Left My Heart ...

Hello! I made it safely back to Chicago. Yesterday (Monday) was one of the hardest days I've had this year; no one, least of all me, was happy to be back at school after the break, and I wasn't even that excited to be back in Chicago (though, helpfully, temperatures have been back in the 50s, nice and warm). It was great to see Patrick again, but ... I guess I just would've wanted a little more time to be with family. But we'll both be in SF for Christmas, and that's a big comfort. Also, today was much better than yesterday, work-wise. Besides remembering something this other teacher told me about loving your students (and realizing that I do really enjoy a lot of them as people), I discovered that several teachers returned from their trips yesterday morning before school, which made me feel like I couldn't complain about having a mere afternoon to get ready.

Photo time. First, the new paint job on a house just up the hill from my parents' place, on Teresita. You can't quite make it out, but there's a silver tinsel Christmas tree in the doorway. I sure do love San Francisco.
The redone De Young Museum was also totally hot. It's covered in copper plates with holes and impressions that make each plate unique. The streetlamps are also gorgeous. I'm looking forward to going inside next time.



Here's a photo from Thanksgiving at Uncle Dennis' house. Avery peers into the camera while his brother, Garrett, displays the action figures that he makes out of twist ties. Watching the latest Harry Potter movie, I found myself wondering when I would see the name of the oldest brother, Chris, on a rolling screen of credits. His just told me that he's thinking about going into film production. Cool!

Oh yeah, also, I got my ears pierced, as Candice's comment mentions. It was really nice to see her. I miss you too, Can!

Last of all, a picture of the quilt (inspired by Auntie Marilyn's projects with Allison's school) that another teacher and I made with our 7th grade students. The 8th graders did one, too. It features a square advertising "Respect, Caring, and Honesty" (done by a teacher, of course) right next to one with a big "50 Cent" (surprisingly, also done by a teacher)(just kidding).