Help Japan

This has been a pretty overwhelming week for me - returning from the high of attending the NWP Rural Sites Network Conference, to the low seen in the horrific images of Japan. Though I would consider myself to be a pretty optimistic person, I'm not going to lie - I'm feeling pretty down these days. I'm trying to concentrate on work, on the puppy, on life - but, it's been hard.

W+K Studio has created this beautifully simple print to raise money for relief efforts in Japan. If you can, please donate - I already have. It's made me feel like I've contributed somehow.

Happy St. Patty's Day!

From Coco Boling, the ever-growing puppy-dog. She's all that a puppy should be (rambunctious, playful, soft, cuddly, good kisser). She's also a chewer, if you haven't noticed!



So much for posing with the Celtics hat

Oh, Little Rock!

I returned Saturday night from a wonderful visit to Little Rock, Arkansas for the 2011 NWP Rural Sites Network Conference. Not only was the program great, but the city was fun as well! And, it was great to be around NWP peeps (as usual). Given the current funding circumstances, it was especially great to network and catch up with the teachers from across the country. I would say that people were in good spirits and ready to fight the good fight to try to get NWP funding back into the federal budget. One of the best parts of the conference was hearing Spirit Trickey speak about her work, her life, and her mom (Minnijean Brown Trickey) of the Little Rock Nine). She was very inspiring, and I left feeling really empowered!

Sunset over the Arkansas River
And now, for the fun part. Yes, those are ducks you see swimming in the Peabody Hotel fountain:


Legend has it that the general manager of the original Peabody Hotel in Memphis had a little too much whiskey and left his live decoy ducks in the fountain. The guests loved it and they let them stay. Now days, the ducks are paraded twice a day on the red carpet for all to see:

Source

I took some video of the whole parade, but am working on making it into a movie with fun sounds and stuff. So, I'll post that later. If you ever get the chance to go to Little Rock, I would totally recommend it!

Eating my way through Kansas City

I totally forgot to give a recap on my trip to Kansas City. The meeting was very productive and we got a lot of work done. But the best part of Kansas City was the food. The first night I was in town, we went to this yummy place called Grand Street Cafe. It was right around the corner from our hotel, and had an awesome selection of what I would call "California cuisine". I had a fried chicken salad (an oxymoron, right?) It was delicious. I will definitely be going back there in May.


Our second night we ventured a few more blocks from our hotel to the Beer Kitchen. This place was the bomb. It reminded me a lot of the Publick House in Boston. Lots of artisanal beers and comfort food. I had a reuben sandwich with fries (the fries come with different aoili sauces. YUM!) Our table also ordered these amazing deviled eggs as an appetizer. Highly recommended.

And finally, the mother of all barbeque joints - Gates BBQ. A Kansas City institution.



Our group went all out on our trip to Gates. I had a burnt end sandwich, which is basically all of the ends of the meat on a bun with lots of bbq sauce. That sh*t melted in my mouth!



Katie, our Kansas City Writing Project colleague and host, ordered the 4-boner (heheh). Four different meats on one plate:




She made me take most of it home for Paul. Luckily for him, the leftovers made it home and he was in heaven. I can't wait to go back in May!

Tough times

Most of you may know that I work for an amazing organization called the National Writing Project. The NWP is a network of over 200 university-based sites that provide professional development opportunities to local teachers with the goal of improving writing in all of our nations schools. I joined the NWP over 3 years ago, and was drawn to the organization because of it's values - teachers are treated as professionals and experts in their fields of study. Teachers are respected (what a concept!), and writing is something that is a part of our everyday life (and is fun!) From a social work perspective, the organization is a fine example of organic community organizing - NWP began as a group of teachers in Berkeley coming together every summer to talk about what's happening in their classrooms, and to share knowledge. It doesn't get more organic than that.

Times are tough for us right now. We've been cut from the budget that was signed by the President last week. Among us are programs like Reading is Fundamental and Teach for America - we are all considered "earmarks." And, we all know what earmarks mean in the current political scene: Sarah Palin and the bridge to nowhere. Pet projects and "pork." But we're not just an earmark - we're so much more than that!

We're an organization that serves 130,000 educators and 1.4 million students. These educators are the people that I get to work with on a day to day basis - whether that's helping them plan for a professional development event or drinking a beer after a long day of conferences. These are educators that are doing amazing work in the communities in which they live. They are educators who tell me about their students lives, and how their own lives have changed by being a part of a national network of hard-working teachers. Educators that don't spend their summer vacations poolside drinking pina coladas. These are teachers who are facilitating and participating in Summer Institutes - places where a whole new world of personal and professional opportunities await.

Of course I am sad that there is a possibility I may lose my job, but for me that's not the saddest part. For me, I'm sad, frustrated, and angry that these amazing teachers won't be able to pass on the knowledge from the NWP to their own students. I am a product of a NWP educator (my freshman college writing instructor started the Central California Writing Project at UCSC). He was the first person to show me the power of writing. What about the future of our nation's students, who need the NWP?

The only thing we can do now is urge everyone to contact their local reps to try and get us back in the budget. Please, anything you can do will help us tremendously. Click here to find out who represents you in DC.

If you're interested, here's more press:
Congress Chops Funding for High-Profile Education Programs

Famed state writing program on federal chopping block

Two-Week Continuing Resolution Shows No Path Forward on Funding

Statement by Sharon J. Washington, Executive Director of National Writing Project

Fine little stuff

Thanks, Creature Comforts, for introducing me to the Fine Little Shop. Look at all of the adorable stuff they have!

Cute packaging tape
postcard set
nature-inspired pillowcase
Go check it out!

What a weekend!

So many fun and exciting things happened this weekend! First of all, I came home from work on Friday to our FIRST EGG!


We're not sure who laid it, but she's laid a total of 3 so far! I'm so excited about it - five months of chicken farming has paid off. And the eggs are delicious!

Foghorn
After making that discovery, Jenny, Paula and I hopped into the rhino and drove up to Squaw Valley to celebrate my friend Kim's dirty 30th birthday. We got up there around 9pm and bar hopped in Squaw Village, returning to our condo around 1am and proceeded to eat mass quantities of chips, salsa, guacamole, and M&Ms. There were a few dares going on, none of which can be revealed on this blog due to their embarrassing nature. You get the picture.

Saturday morning we (umm...I) nursed our hangovers and went tubing. I think the whole ski resort could hear me screaming as I made it down the hill. Those tubes are scary! (and are made for 5-year-old butts):

Jenny and Paula being pulled up the tubing hill
We ended the day with naps and dinner at the Blue Coyote Cafe. Luckily there were no more dares, only a rousing game of Celebrity (courtesy of Jenny). After a yummy breakfast Sunday morning, we bid adieu to Kim and the land of snow. We treated ourselves to In 'n Out in Davis, and made it home in time to do laundry and go grocery shopping. And play with the puppy! It was a much-needed, exciting weekend!

Team Coco

I can't help myself. I'm in love with this dog. She's everything that we expected and more - a typical puppy that chases things, bites toes, pees on the floor (we're working on that) - but also, a total sweetheart who gives big kisses, is mellow, and doesn't chase the cats! We are very proud puppy parents, and things are going very well so far. Of course, the biggest thing now is bonding and working on potty/house training. Though she's still learning, she's just had a couple accidents while we've been home (and she nearly always makes it onto the puppy pads when we're not home). She's very happy-go-lucky and I think is in love with both of us as well :)

Here are some shots from her first week home:

Her first bath





And....videos!! She's such a rascal.

Fashion model!

Yay! I just got this pic from my dearest friends who recently had little baby C. Here he is, modeling the onesie I made him!

Project complete!

Hi folks! Just a quick update with pretty pictures of my latest completed project:



Made for a soon-to-be-born nugget. I won't mention who, so if you're my friend and you're expecting, this may be yours! Sorry to blow the surprise, but I was just so excited about how cute it turned out...

Spring travels

These next few months are pretty insane for me - I'll be in 6 different states and 1 different country before the end of May is here. Crazy! Even though my schedule is packed, I'm really excited to get to all of these places/meetings.

Anyway, I purchased a fun LeSportSac bag with Christmas money that I thought would be perfect for my upcoming travels. While I love its functionality, it doesn't hold my laptop :( I spotted a sweet Fossil bag at Macy's that I'm dying to get. And I should, right, since I'll be getting a raise? This is the one that I want - the "Key-per" - at only $88, I think it's a good deal:


And then, I spotted the Holy Grail of travel bags - the Vintage re-issue Weekender:


At $218, I think that Paul would kill me if I bought it. Drool.

Kansas City here I come...

Tomorrow I leave for a 3 day meeting in the land of good barbecue (oh so I've heard): Kansas City. I'm meeting with a few NWP folks to plan the 2011 Web Presence Retreat, which will be held in May. The weather looks a little menacing - snow flurries - so let's hope I don't get stuck there. However, after reading this Kansas City City Guide on Design*Sponge, that doesn't sound so bad!

Ladies that Craft

Knowing I had some serious crafting to complete before my spring travels, I held a "Ladies that Craft" lunch/craft session on Saturday. I invited 2 of my craftiest friends, and we sat around my table, ate yummy food, drank wine, and crafted away. Erin made a delicious Lemon Pound Cake (which we had for dessert) and was working on a few knitted items. Jenny and I worked on a few things for her sisters upcoming baby shower:

Awesome streamers from Oh Happy Day

Poms from Martha Stewart

A make-your-own-onesie station

Can't show pics of our final projects, as it's supposed to be a surprise for the mama and papa-to-be. Additionally, I worked on a new quilt for another mama and papa-to-be (those pics to come soon). This is definitely going to become a permanent "Ladies that..." event. Wanna join us??

Introducing Coco Boling

The newest member of the family (aka "Fulton farm" as some people have called it). I have to say that it's not actually just the Fulton farm - it's the Boling farm too, since Paul is the number 1 supporter of adopting Coco.

Last night we spent some quality pup cuddle time with Coco (we don't pick her up until Sunday). Knock on wood, but she was a joy! She took to snuggling in her bed, and licked/played with her new stuffed monkey toy. We have made all of the preparations in our home for her arrival - I just can't wait! We've been talking about getting a dog for at least a year - we couldn't decide on the right time, the right breed, etc. Then this little mutt came into our lives. We realized that there's never the "perfect" time to get a dog (like having a child) - but we feel prepared enough to take on the house training right now and give her enough love to be a wonderful family dog. Welcome to the farm family Coco!

Snow in SF?

If you've ever needed evidence of global warming, come to the bay area. Last week, we had temps in the 70's, sun, and warm breezes. Today we have dumping rain, fierce winds, and snow on Mt. Diablo. Now really, we've always had this kind of bi-polar winter weather (ever since I can remember, at least) - though it seems like it's getting even wackier. I remember when I was a small child and it snowed on the hill tops in San Jose (elevation 1000ft maybe?), though I've never heard of snow fall in San Francisco. Today there was an interesting article on The Poop (San Fransisco Chronicle's baby blog. Don't ask). It featured some really old photos of the "great snows" of SF:

1887:
Probably easier to stay warm in petticoats
From the collection of John Carpenter/Chronicle archives


Outside of the Conservatory of Flowers in GGP
Courtesy Edward Brown & Lorio/Chronicle archives


1962:
Crazy hippies
UPI photos

The SFO airport
Aero Photographers/Special to the Chronicle

When I lived in Boston, I thought the city looked so beautiful when it snowed. Never mind what it looked like after the snow (i.e. dirty slush, garbage, and salt everywhere). I have a few distinct memories of staring out my window on Commonwealth Ave, watching the snow fall and feeling like I was in the middle of a forest. No cars driving by, no people on the street - just the quiet noise the snow makes. I would be stoked for a Berkeley snow day right about now!

Rustic "chic" camping shower

Let me preface this post with I AM NOT PREGNANT.

However, that does not stop me from having baby-related blogs in my RSS feed. My newest discovery today is Ontobaby.com (from the ladies at Wedding Chicks). They sure have the market covered, don't they?

Anyway, this post has me written all over it. Friends and family, when you throw my baby shower, will you please make it a Rustic Chic Camping theme??

Flannels are required

The colors remind me of our wedding...

How cute is the garland?

The texture on the cake is like wood grain. SO AWESOME

Photos by Carlie Renee for Gabriel Ryan Photographers. All other vendors are on the post.

Most productive day off EVER

Today, I finally tackled a project that's been a thorn in my side for many months - the craft room. About a month ago, I painted a few walls a beautiful color called "Solitude" - I couldn't decide what new furniture I needed, what I already owned that I would repurpose, or how I would arrange it all. Well, my friends, I'm so excited with the results! I can't wait to start crafting away in this space!

Closet Before:


Closet After:



Ikea table for crafts:



My sewing space:


Bulletin board up close: