Interview!

Oh my god, I just had two interviews and a photoshoot. I'm going to have my picture in the paper, and a feature on a website. This is surreal!

I'm teaching a new class next year, and it's kind of groundbreaking. Which is super exciting and inspiring, and also means that lots of people care, and apparently that newspapers and magazines want to write about it!

It's strange to be the voice of this, because there are so many people who have worked so hard for so long to make this kind of thing happen (if you know me, you know what kind of thing, and what kind of class, I'm talking about), and in many ways, this just fell into my lap. And now people are asking me to speak about it!

I'm going to do my damnedest to do it justice, though. I have so many ideas, none of which have to do with standards or alignment or anything else that curricular specialists would say I should focus on - it's a revolutionary class, so why shouldn't the approach to education be a little revolutionary?

I'm going to bring in podcasts and speakers and teach activism and infuse art into every nook and cranny of this learning that I can. We'll read primary documents and create context and compare intense hypotheticals because they've got enough focus on literacy going on. Skills are great and all, but if you're not inspired to do anything with them, then what's the point?

I didn't talk about that in the interviews so much though. Instead, I talked about how amazing the community I teach in is. There aren't many places that would allow this kind of class, and even fewer that would be celebrating it. I feel so blessed. And the pressure's on! This has to be good.

#fingerscrossedemoji

Troubled Waters Art Show

Ross had an artist's reception for another show today! He had 5 pieces in the show, all some of the best works there.

The boys and I are so proud of him! They loved his name tag - "Ross Becht, Artist" and of course, the snacks!

All in all a great show. It closes May 30th.

To see more about the pieces Ross had at the show, check out his website!

www.RossBecht.com

Camping!

Feeling very ambitious today - we're heading off to the Redwoods for camping! We've got a tent cabin reserved at Big Basin (cause you know there's no way I'm gonna be able to get myself up off an air mattress on the ground!)

The kiddo has been counting down the "sleeps" left til camping, and Ross is so in need of nature time - I'm looking forward to it myself. Big trees and good friends are two of my favorite things.

Ross is planning to wander off and do a bunch of paintings. He's been working on a series of the buildings on the old Naval Air Station, very technical and architectural, and very cool. The en plein air stuff he'll be doing in the Redwoods will be a nice contrast, I think. I'm excited to see them, anyways!

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Thankful today for the health of both my kiddos, my nephew's giant drooly smiles, low-sugar jam, long walks in pretty places, and distractingly silly tv shows (Sons of Anarchy and True Blood, I'm talking to you).

Baseball!

It's been a baseball couple of days around here! Yesterday we went to the A's game: $2 Wednesdays are awesome! Nachos and hot dogs and lots of cheering. The kiddo brought his glove and kept trying to go down to the field to help them "throwin an hittin daball!"

And today, inspired by the baseball game he had so much fun at, the kiddo worked on his throw in the backyard with his dad. Too cute!

These guys are just too cute.

List #...5?

1. We have a big fat pile of art to do this weekend. Yay!

2. I graded SO. MANY. PAPERS. this week that I think my eyeballs are going to fall out of my head.

3. This week's episode of Once Upon A Time was cray. Damn you, Peter Pan. Also, Jared Gilmore is not a good enough actor to pull this off. Damn you, Casting Director!

4. This shit is crazy too. Facebook, get it together - 2 year old girls can be naked. Really. It's ok. And while we're on that topic, it shouldn't matter if the topless person is 2 or 20 or 80...if men can be naked on the top half, we should be able to also. Stupid double standard.

5. The desk chair is broken, so I'm writing this with my butt at a 45 degree angle. If anything I'm saying seems crooked, that's probably why.

6. For about 20 minutes tonight, right at bedtime, we were pretty sure we'd lost all the binkies. It was potentially tragic. But we were rescued by the fact that my sister's house is like rightthere, and she has a stash of the kiddo's stuff.

7. It's ridiculously cold. As in, real frost on my windshield. As in, wearing tights under my jeans. Not cool, California! Even Gawker noticed that we've got a "chilly apocalypse" going!

Day Trip - The Bay Area Discovery Museum

Yesterday, we went to the Bay Area Discovery Museum. They have a free admission day on the first Wednesday of every month, which we've known for ages (or for about a year, but whatever), but have never taken advantage of for one silly reason or another. But yesterday we were determined, and I'm so glad we went!

The museum is in Sausalito, just across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco, in the old Fort Baker, all of which combines to make it a really cool setting. Seriously, just check out this view from the parking lot!
           

                   
So we went in, and the kiddo could barely keep it together long enough for us to fill out the guest card and make our $3 donation. The whole place is set up so that kids can roam around and discover all sorts of things on their own, which I love. I'm kind of a museum dork, and I love nothing more than a well-curated museum, which my family mocks me for relentlessly. And I LOVED this place. The setup and concept all made sens, and it made it really easy for Emmett to find a set of instruments to play almost instantly

Of course, with so much to check out, the music didn't last too long. Within about 5 minutes, we were on to a section of the museum that actually made me jealous of my kid. When my sister and I were little, we pretended all over the place, and our favorite pretend game was "Wilderness Girls" which we invented while camping in Sequoia with my cousin Carrie and friends. Post camping trip, our favorite place to have epic games of Wilderness Girls was at the Chicago Botanic Gardens, a magical place with a Japanese rock garden, a big lake, and huge forests full of wild animals that might jump out at you at any moment so you'd better go make a fort quick! That last bit might not actually be real...

Anyways, the Discovery Museum had a whole section designed just for absolutely epic games of pretend, called "Lookout Cove." A shipwreck, a fishing boat with a steering wheel, a smaller (but still big!) version of the Golden Gate, little nests, possibly the best climbing tree I've ever seen, several caves, miniature rivers and waterfalls and best of all, this amazing work of art called the Peekaboo Palace. It was amazing - nooks and crannies and windows and corners to peek around - the ultimate treehousefortcastle. (I know, that's not a real word, but this place was unreal, so I'm sticking with it.)

Seriously, look at this thing! The coolest!

Peekaboo!

A nest, that apparently had baby tuhtoes in it

Serious frog is serious

Stepping stones - those are probably special "hot lava" type woodchips 

A spiderweb! Of course, if Kelle and I had been captured by a villain, this would have been the dungeon

Ross couldn't wait to climb this thing

We spent most of our time in this pretend wonderland, but there were other fun things all over the place. An exhibit created by the Boston Children's Museum that explores all sorts of fascinating things about 5 Native American communities in New England, like traditional jewelry making, storytelling, modern Pow Wow, traditional recreation and more. I didn't have a chance to get pictures in this one because the kiddo was grabbing things left and right, putting them down in the wrongest places, and trying to climb into display cases. So you'll just have to trust me that it was awesome.

Another set of exhibits featured hands on crafting and art for all ages - from complicated whirligig creations to simple paper towel tube scupltures, there was something designed for any kind of kid. Even mine! He drew on his face, licked some glue sticks, got his hand stuck in a tube, tried to stomp through the display of tissue paper sculpture, and then pulled all the books off the shelves. But you know what? It was totally fine! The museum staff was well trained to interact with little ones, and knew what to expect, and I didn't feel awful about my 2 year old being just that, which was so nice.

mmmm, purple

I was glad to see this survived all the toddlers - it was even cooler in person

I just love reading corners with giant pillows

After we undid the mess, Emmett was ready to move on. We hit up the giant tinker toys in a spot called "Imagination Playground" for a bit, and watched big kids build an enormous fort. The kiddo didn't quite know what to do with these things, but Ross sure did, and had a great time showing him how to build fancy things.

I don't have a kid, I have an adorable sheepdog

Next was the "Tot Spot," which was a smaller version of Lookout Cove, based around animal homes. It was sweet and cute, but I think Emmett enjoyed the "big kid" stuff a bit more.

Playing in the "fissies" home

A groundhog tunnel

The cutest dang puppet show stage I ever saw

We finished the afternoon in Bay Hall, which had Emmett's favorite thing in the whole world, Trains. And that was the end of it for us - once he saw the elaborate Brio setup with Thomas and James and the whole Shining Time Station crew, he didn't want to leave.

We will without a doubt be back to this place, and not just for a free Wednesday. It was so fun, for all of us, and I am sure that it will just get better. As Emmett gets older, we'll be able to set him free (ish) to run around the place, while we hang out in the cafe and enjoy the view.

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Today, I'm thankful for: interesting conversations with coworkers, burritos (Northern California style, of course), cinnamon raisin bread, salad, and NPR

Several Haikus About My Day (because why not)

Bart Trains are smelly
People talk much too loudly
Dudes, close your legs please

Observation stress
Thank god for the internet
I made the kids laugh

Gallagher and farms
A real match made in heaven
Watermelon smash

Art school students rock
They dance and sing in the halls
Parents, not so much

Mama, look, the twains!
I know honey, I saw them
But mama, there's twains!

Orange Golden Gate
Beautiful fog-free evening
San Francisco love



Ok, so I kind of know "why not" with the haikus, but honestly, I couldn't get myself going to write this evening. Today was a lot. Not all bad, but not all good, and Emmet cried and whined our whole ride home from the Bay Area Discovery Museum (I took lots of pictures, and I'm gonna review it tomorrow I think - AMAZING kid's museum). But before that, I had my biennial observation at work, which I think went well but was stressy all the same. I did a great lecture on advertising techniques with lots of commercials and video clips, and the kids seemed to enjoy it, so that was good. My boss said he enjoyed it too, so yay! Did lots of work on curriculum and other school advocacy stuff, attempted to get going on my National Boards, but I didn't get anywhere. Then the boys came and picked me up and we had some amazing playtime up in Sausalito. But man, I am beat now. So tired, so ready for an episode of Friday Night Lights and a drink.


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Today, I'm thankful for: The Bay Area's awesomeness, the hole in the fence in my backyard, rum, just-sharpened pencils, triple chunk brownie mix

I hate other drivers. I get so very mad at them. I feel like they're always in my way, and rude about it too. I drive a pretty big commute to work every day, and go through multiple tunnels, merges, and one big ass bridge to do it, and there are some things that I see on a regular basis that make me really crazy. I'm going to preface this rant by saying that by no means do I believe I'm the best driver, and I've inherited a leadfoot, so take this all with a grain of salt.

Lynds's Rules for Drivers:

1. Go. Just go. When a light turns green, hit the gas pedal and get up to the speed limit, and do it quickly. There's no reason to hang out in limbo for 10 seconds in between taking your foot off the brake and hitting the gas. And if you must be slow about it, be in the right lane so I can pass you. You don't have to go fast, but I do, so get out of the way, please?

2. Get up to freeway speeds before you actually hit the freeway. That's what the onramp is for - you should be going 65 by the time you try to merge. Merging at 45 mph is dangerous, and causes traffic jams for everyone and road rage for me.

3. The right lane is for driving the speed limit or below. The lanes to the left of that are for going fast, faster, and fastest. Stay out of them if you're not passing someone, so that I can pass you if I want to go faster than you!

4. If you're going the same speed as someone to your right, get into their lane and drive the same speed together in the same lane, rather than doing it next to each other, so that I can pass you.

5. Use your turn signal. Just do it. Especially when you're going to be turning left and you're waiting at a stoplight. There's little that makes me madder than waiting behind someone at a light only to see them turn on their blinker after the light turns green. I would have been in another lane if I'd known you were going to turn! Gah! And of course, no one in the right lane wants to let anyone move over when they're stuck behind a stopped car.

6. Let people in when they signal a lane change. Don't be a selfish or vindictive jerk. Once, I had been signalling a lane change for a few minutes in traffic, hoping someone would let me in. I eventually just started scooting over, and the man in the car I was trying to get in front of rolled his window down and started yelling! I responded, because I like yelling in my car, that I was trying to change lanes (which, duh), and he said, before selfishly driving his car up the butt of the person in front of him, "YOU HAVE TO ASK PERMISSION!" To which I responded, "WHAT DO YOU THINK THE BLINKER IS FOR YA JERK?" Which didn't get me into the lane I wanted, but it did make me feel a little better.

7. Don't slow down to change lanes. It's not necessary and it's unsafe. You're just making traffic.

8. You don't have to go slower just because someone next to you is going slow. It's ok to continue at the speed limit.

9. If someone is close behind you, don't slow down. Move over so that they can pass you.  It's not your job to police other people's speed. It's your job to be as unobtrusive as possible.

10. Tunnels don't require you to hit the brakes. The people in the tunnel probably aren't even hitting their brakes, it's just that they have their headlights on, which makes their rear lights turn on too. So lay off the brakes.

11. Intersections don't require that either. Look both ways without putting your foot on the brake. Covering the brake and hitting the brake are two different things.

I really believe that if we all drove like we were trying our best to get out of each others' way, we would have so much less traffic. Instead, most people seem to drive like they're trying to own as much of the road as possible in one go, or like they're terrified. I regularly see people driving 45 mph on the freeway, and I don't understand how they don't realize that they're being more unsafe than people driving 90. Someone's going to rear end you!

In summary, everyone drive faster, please.

/rant