I'm Back

I have been inspired by my friends Sarah's recent return to blogging. She is extremely busy with wedding planning, school things, and the rest of her fun life so if she can do it so can I. I also was inspired by my friend Michelle's recent blogaversary celebration. She is an avid blogger which is something that I suppose I will aspire to. I am also inspired by my recent acquisition of a desk and office chair. I purchased these items (on sale) and put them together myself in the guest bedroom at our house. So now Warren has his office to work in and I have a place to work as well. I also have a place to spread out my piles of bills, mail, and school stuff so that the dinner table can remain clear and can be (hopefully will be) eaten off of.

I was just looking at my last post. That was only 6+ months ago and some things have changed, I have tackled some things on my list and some things have stayed the same. First, school. Warren has been working so hard. He spends a great deal of hours studying and although I know that this is valuable time spent and that it is important I still miss him. My own school days are far less brutal then they were at the beginning of the year but are still emotionally and physically taxing. I am enjoying what I do more and more each day but feel increasingly disheartened by the current state and direction of education. Each day I read article after article about the lack of funding, faith, and respect that the American public has in the educators that I consider myself proud to be a part of. I have tried to do my part by remaining informed and by advocating for education funding to my (new) legislators but it all seems trivial and hopeless. Every day I see first hand poverty on a very real scale. The well being of children and their future input in society hinges on the answers to educational/societal problems. It is far more complicated then getting rid of "bad" teachers and unions. The answers are harder to find than that and I am so angry that the person who is in charge of the "education overhaul" is, as far as I can tell, not really looking at the the whole issue and definitely not in touch with what is happening in the classroom. Oh well, that is another rant for another day. I will say that I did a little research into an Ed.D program that would equip me for studying educational policy. I doubt that would feel less hopeless but it does sound intellectually stimulating and challenging in a different way.

Here was my former upcoming things to do list and the progress I have made on it.
Find artwork/something to put up on the walls of our apartment- I have found some but am having trouble committing to anything on the wall. This is probably some form of denial about living in Spokane. Oh well, I still have three years to hang things up.
Find new recipes to try- I have been trying a lot of new recipes. I have been attending some free technique classes at Williams and Sonoma with some friends (see below) and bought a new Recipe book called Weeknights Fresh and Fast which I enjoy. I also just ordered The New Abs diet cookbook. The recipes look fairly quick and healthy.
Steal my mother in law's copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking-didn't do it, will leave this on my to do.
Find the perfect chair to sit and read in the bedroom, outdoor furniture, side table and lamps- So my parents have promised us a chair that should work nicely in the bedroom but the weather has been terrible and that transfer of goods has not happened. I like my new desk. I don't know how much we need the other things. My parents have also promised Warren and I (rather generously) an electric bbq that they won (actually bought but saying he won makes my dad feel better about buying things at auctions) so I am looking forward to that addition as the weather improves. (Thank God that that is happening. Warren and I went for a nice 4ish mile, hilly run today and it was great.)
Make friends- How sad that I had to write this but I am happy to report that I have met some wonderful people in Spokane. I really enjoy my new coworkers and have been hanging on the weekends with some teachers/law school wives who have recently relocated to Spokane from various locations. It is nice to be able to commiserate with other people who understand exactly how you feel. The only down side to hanging with them was learning that they make lunches for their husbands and feeling guilty enough to start doing that for Warren too.
Bake french bread- Still no french bread either

Next on my to do list:
Finish the Franzen novel Freedom. I have been getting a lot of reading in which is good. I keep hating Franzen and his characters but I hate to give up on a book. Also I think that there is a really interesting narrative thread that is based on population control. I am more interested in that than his unlikeable characters.
Exercise more. I have recently fallen off the band wagon. 1 (excuse): It is hard to find parking in the dumb Y parking lot. 2 (excuse): bad weather/dark 3 (fun fact): I bought Just Dance for the Wii and have had a lot of fun getting my cardio on that way 4 (fun fact): I bought calm, fun, sexy yoga and stuck to that for a while. I will try to get back on that wagon too. I did sleep better.
Quit watching so many tv shows on the Wii/Netflix instant viewing. I am embarrassed even mentally listing the amount of television series I have devoured over the past few months. Only Warren and the computer know the extent of my shame. Recommends: Weeds, Arrested Development, Greek, and Veronica Mars.
Try to not get so worked up about the state of education/the world. It only leads to anger and high blood pressure.
P.S. I typed in adjustment image to google and got a lot of crazy things. I finally settled on this because I think of myself as a nerdy asian (as described in the name of this image).