Five Events From the Past Month (A Cheap and Easy Update to Ease Myself Back Into Blogging ;-))

When trying to figure out what to write about for my first post "back" after a rather extensive absence from the blogosphere, I got a really bad case of writer's block. Consequently, I'm going to relate five things from that time period, just to get the ball rolling again.

1. I won a cooking contest.
Okay, I have to be completely honest with you: I don't cook. Like, I ruin macaroni and cheese out of a box. That's part of why the whole blue-ribbon thing (and for what was pretty much just chicken salad, although to be fair it is quite delicious) was so exciting.

My brother-in-law's family holds an annual themed cooking contest to go along with their Easter weekend get-together. Since Easter is one of those holidays that has become all chocolate rabbits and marshmallow Peeps for those who aren't particularly religious, it's kind of a neat way to spend time with loved ones.
My blue ribbon:

The various chicken dishes:

Belle sitting at the judges' table (yup, the non-eating kid served as a judge)

2. Prom night has come and gone.
In what can only be described as the ultimate Murphy's Law moment, Addie's prom was scheduled for the same night as the school at my prom. As a junior class advisor (in other words, the class hosting the prom), I had to go to my school's prom. I think Addie was just as happy, though, since I would have been one of the lame crying mothers.

Addie bought her prom dress online, by the way, for, like, a hundred bucks. My mom and her best friend from high school did the alterations, and I think it worked out well all around (except that Addie had a pretty lousy attitude leading up to the prom).
Addie being a twit at the fitting/alteration marathon:

Right before leaving for her prom:

I got my hair cut for the prom (well, it was a good motivator), but you can't really tell in this picture ;-)

I had to wear a dress.  I don't wear dresses : )

This is the only picture from my school's prom without kids in it.  Yes, we had a chocolate fountain :-)

3. My school had an Earth Day Clean-Up.
The Student Council planned a town beautification day, and each Advisory was assigned a certain part of town to clean up. It was incredibly fun and a very eye-opening and rewarding experience for the kiddos. (There are a ton of amazing pictures, but these are a couple that don't show faces)

4. I enjoy taking random pictures of things that make me laugh ... here are some recent offerings.
Sometimes I think I'm even less mature than my middle schoolers ;-)

In a very serious, very important meeting where we were doing a role clarity exercise for aspects of school.  I know it's supposed to be "standardized testing", but couldn't someone have come up with a better abbreviation than STD????  (I got the giggles hard-core...in said very serious, very important meeting)

There was a yard sale going on with this sign out in front.  I have no idea what it meant (it says, "HO TRAINS"), but it just cracked me up.

5.   Exciting stuff is happening at school.
My school is going through an intense redesign process, so I've gotten to go on a lot of workshops and site visits to other schools to observe and bring back best practices. I've come to the conclusion that the education system is changing, and those of us in the field might as well embrace it, because it's coming anyway. It's an exciting, terrifying time to be in education ;-)