Chipotle Joe

So, a few weeks ago we made a recipe that called for chipotle sauce. We got a bottle at the store, and as soon as I tried it I was in love. Chipotle is a hot sauce, but it has so much other flavor. It's almost sweet, but its got a dark, smokey secret. A couple days later I was making a pasta dish and instead of making up you're usual marinara, I just added a can of tomato sauce and a generous dose of our new chipotle sauce. It was crazy-easy, and really good, so try it!

Schools out

Here I am. Posting from school, right before I shut the door. I've turned in my keys, and all I have to do is give up the computer and meet with the principal. Its been a bittersweet year. I've loved it, but it's been crazy hard. I've learned a lot, but mostly I've learned that I can do it. It feels good to have been here, but I'm glad to be moving on. The future may be grim for teachers this next year, but I feel really good about it, actually. So I guess we'll see.

did you know?

Czechistankia is a country in Europe? neither did i...

End of the year

Not once or twice, but maybe 5 times these last weeks I have misplaced something in my classroom. Not just a stack of papers, but a copy of the final, my master key to a test, my ipod, etc. after checking the usual spots, plus the second usual spots, and still not finding the item, my first thought is: some punk kid came in and stole it. I wasn't looking, and they swiped it right under my nose. Ironically, one occasion was just minutes after I slathered praise on a pair of students doing some work for me after school for how much I trusted not only them, but ALL of my students. Apparently my trust is not too deep.

I think 'there was that one guy who wasn't my student sitting right next to my desk during flex', or 'it was the one kid that is ALWAYS in trouble that even the other kids don't trust'. It never has been, though. A couple months ago I thought that I had left out my mp3 player one day when there were ESL classes in my room that night. The next morning I searched my room frantically. Luckily I didn't send an accusing email to the administration because it turned up in one of my (way too) many drawers. They've all turned up in some odd spot or under something I never move.

This last week I had a real occurrence. My 8th graders were reviewing for a test and I had magnetted a copy of all the note sheets we had used during the unit. I noticed a particularly cool magnet of mine missing from the board. After I threatened to keep the class after the bell, and everyone accused the one person I actually suspected, someone found it under a cart. I think that the kid that stole it slipped it down there so that it would be found, but he wouldn't be blamed for it.

So, maybe I'm losing my mind. Maybe my suspicions are unfounded and ludicrous. Or maybe I've just been in a junior high too long. Yeah summer.