Adventure was a harder theme than I imagined it would be, but I'm determined to post seven entries because that's the arbitrary target I set for myself, and I'm nothing if not rigid.

My adventure today is sort of pedestrian, but I think people are going to want to know about it. I've ventured into the wide world of canned alcoholic beverages. I'm talking the aluminum cans of bubbly rosé you might have seen at the liquor store check out. I'm also talking about the single-serve pre-mixed cocktails in adorable little, fruit-cocktail sized packages.

These handy beverages seems a little spendy for a single serving (like 6 dollars, either for the 8 oz can or the teeny cocktail can), but also the whole concept is brilliant. Who needs two old fashioneds? On a weeknight? While watching Bachelor in Paradise?

No one, that's who. But many people need just the one old fashioned. They need it with no mixing required, poured over ice and crafted with, like, what I'm sure are bespoke ingredients.

Speaking of Bachelor in Paradise, I'd be remiss if I didn't say it's the best season ever. The contestants have thrown themselves into boundless adventure, and I salute them and their public and often-flighty and seemingly shallow quest for love. A canned cheers to those adventurers! I haven't missed a single episode, and I won't.

A new job is a big adventure!

But, I've thought a lot about it, and there's just not much to report about my new job as a novelist that would be thrilling and hold people's attention. But, never fear! Just because I'm guaranteed to be boring, that won't stop me.

Here are the details of what I do now that my job is to be writing a novel:

First, I get up really early, but not as early as before. Now that I don't have to go to school, the wake up is more like 5:30 or 5:45 instead of 4:45. Last week, my first order of business was beta reading. Beta reading is when you peruse and comment on someone's early draft. I have a few writing partners and critique groups, and I like to beta read for these people because it's fun and inspiring, and also because then my pals will feel compelled to beta read for me.

When in my family has left the building, I set my timer and make myself write or revise for a certain interval (30 or 35 minutes, usually), and then I take a short break. I might get some tea or a snack or fold a quick load of laundry. Then, I do that--the interval of work followed by the short break--again and again and again until I can stand it no longer.

Then, I go for a run and do other writing-related tasks like Instagram and Twitter and drafting my newsletter and answering and sending work-related emails.

And after that, I might go to Target and get a couple of ingredients for dinner. Finally, I drive carpool and cook and consult on homework and walk the dog.

That's it. That's the whole of the new job. Is it as glamorous and adventurous as you imagined?

I'm not sure I've ever written about my formerly-crippling fear of birds. It developed sometime around middle school and plagued me well into adulthood. I ducked and covered and avoided and panicked, all related to birds. Other people laughed about this, not because they didn't care about me, but because who's afraid of a friendly little robin?

Happily, I've been able to logic my way out of this phobia as I've grown older. I no longer scream when encountering birds or refuse to dine al fresco because of the possible presence of chickadees. I'll refuse to dine outdoors for other reasons--heat, cold, wind, a general dislike of things that others find "fun"--but small and harmless birds are no longer on the list.

Large birds, though, those are still very, very scary. I'm talking geese, swans, turkeys, and other species that walk or waddle on land. Even ducks are too big for me, and I'd prefer never to encounter them at close range.

So, imagine my horror when I encountered flocks of turkeys while trail running alone in the early morning this past Friday. There I was, just plodding along on some singletrack, forest bathing and whatnot, and then all of a sudden six or seven turkeys blocked the path in front of me.

I'll be honest, I screamed a little the first time I saw them. That turned out to be quite a successful strategy as I startled the turkeys and they ran up a hill. I wished to God I didn't have to pass them while they stood there on that hill above the trail, ready to attack, but there was no other reasonable choice. My heart pounds now as I remember the terror of the ordeal, but I did it. I passed the turkeys and nothing happened.

Later, two other turkeys scuttled ahead of me in a similar fashion, blocking and then clearing my way. I was terrified, but I carried on. The whole thing was an adventure. On this same run, I took a hard fall unrelated to the turkeys and scraped up my legs and jammed my finger. Through it all, I persevered with an adventurous sort of spirit.

Publishing: I'm working on something called "first pass pages," which is when you see your manuscript printed out exactly how it will look in the book with the right fonts and headers and page numbers. It's called "first pass," but really it means "last chance," because it's my very final opportunity to change anything. I'm not supposed to change much -- a word here or an error there. It feels a little nuts to be signing off on all of these sentences, all 96,000 words, or whatever, for the very last time. Many steps of writing Minor Dramas & Other Catastrophes have felt like adventures. Reading the pages as other people will (I hope!) read them is one of those steps.

Trail Running: I've finished the Endless Summer Trail Series, an adventurous race series at area parks. I really enjoy these little forays, heading into the woods and trying to finish faster than other people in my age group. I wish I could say that I don't care about winning, but everyone knows I do care about it. At these races, after my kids and my brother and I try to beat as many people as possible, we eat Dominoes pizza and drink a Summit India Extra Pale Ale. Well, the kids don't drink the beer. That's just for me and for other people over the legal age of 21. The pizza and the beer (and the Coke for the children) are included in the race fee, and if that isn't the best model ever, I don't know what is. I'm already looking forward to next summer's trail running adventures.

Eating Out: There's a place in St. Paul that's getting all sorts of buzz, and Dan and I are heading there to celebrate our 17th wedding anniversary tonight. When I thought to get the reservation, there were only two slots available: 5:15 and 8:00. I had to pick the earlier because, well, regardless of how capital-A adventurous our August is, we still have to be in bed by like 9.

About 75% of the time when I sign up for an endurance sporting event, I find myself lying in bed the morning of the race, at the requisite early wake-up time, regretting it.

This was the case yesterday when it was time to head out to the MDRA 15k. Here's why I didn't want to go: It's a team circuit race, so the field would be fast and intimidating. None of my personal friends were going, so I'd be awkward and alone. The weather was sticky, heavy, and slow--not only would my time lag, but I'd also probably feel miserable.

Here are the reasons I went: I already paid the entry fee. I would probably feel righteous at the finish line. I would score points for my team, even though I never go to practice and no one on the team actually knows me. AND, we're blogging about ADVENTURE in August. A 9.3 mile race in the heat and humidity would qualify as adventurous.

Here are the highlights:

• I met a nice woman in the early miles and we chatted about running, a decade apart, in the same Minnesota small-college athletic conference.
• I met a nice guy who provided helpful hints about the locations of the mile-markers and the conditions of the course and also who called me a "beast" at the end, even though he beat me by at least 15 seconds.
• I was in my team photo for the first time ever. The director of the team asked me my name, so now I know one person.
• Although I felt woozy at the finish, I powered through by drinking water and eating a cookie. The cookie was delicious. Maybe eating a cookie isn't supremely adventurous, but given the questionable state of my stomach after heat running, I thought it kind of was.

Just a few cousins cruising Lake Minnetonka eating some chocolate chip cookies. You know, just a normal Minnesota evening. Wish u were here!

I've have a great first week of school with the yoots.  We rolled into the weekend after discussing our trip to Camp next week.  It turns out that all of the eighth graders go to a camp to bond.  We do high ropes and rock climbing and canoeing and stuff.

And because we're short on parent volunteers, the teachers will have to sleep in the cabins with the yoots.  This is one of those times when I'm incredibly grateful to have had five years of camp counseling experience.

I'll be honest: the biggest hurdle for me in the current blogging challenge is the requirement of an image.  I've really had to phone a few images in because of this.  Of course, Pronto would say that phoning it in is actually great blogging. Perhaps I just need a change of perspective.

Anyway, I decided I don't care that the deadline has come and gone and that technically I failed the challenge.  I'm going to complete these last few letters!  I'll finish if it's the last thing I ever do!

This is a photo our babysitter Claire took as Shef and I were leaving for our first day of school together.  

As we all know, this is generally what happens when we try to take a nice family photo.

Anyway, we both had awesome days.  I have the nicest students, and I feel like I'm working in a dream, pretty much.

Shef was psyched because now that he's a second grader, he has REAL HOMEWORK. And an assignment notebook. Totes official. I wonder how long we can make this excitement last?

For goodness knows what reason, I taught the boys that "going commando" means wearing pants without underwear. Any normal parent would realize she shouldn't pass on this bit of vernacular. But, whatever. I guess I wasn't thinking.

So anyway, the other morning, I helped Mac remove his nighttime diaper in order to accomplish his morning evacuations. Afterward, he didn't want to take the time to change.

"Don't worry, Mom," he said. "I'll just go volcano."

It took me a moment, but then I realized he meant commando.

You know you're teaching middle school when you open your mailbox in the teachers' workroom and find a taxidermied ferrety thing mounted on a birch log. Staring out at you with beady eyes and creepy teeth.

I did what any normal middle school teacher would do: I put it in a colleague's mailbox and shut the door.

The food at my new school is SO FLIPPING GOOD. Yesterday's lunch was grilled portobello mushrooms over wild rice with marinara sauce. Also, strawberry and spinach salad. In case you didn't want that, you could have had tilapia in a light cream sauce. Or a sandwich with meat or sunbutter.

Before all of that, when you get to school you can have cereal, Nurtrigrain or Special K snack bars, and some fresh fruit. Also, you can have coffee.

The best part is that it's free. FREE! INCLUDED IN MY CONTRACT! I keep talking about this. Everyday I marvel at my good fortune.

Yesterday as part of a workshop on equity and community engagement, I got to hear a family in our school talk about their religion and how it impacts their life. They are Sikhs.

As they were talking, I started thinking to myself that a Sikh sounds like a great thing to be. Sikhs believe in peace, faith, and justice. They believe that each person creates and cultivates their own personal connection to God. Sikhs do not have a lot of rules around social behavior. For instance, if you're a Sikh, you're allowed to have an abortion if you want to or have a relationship with any partner you choose. Also, Sikhs are open to conversion.

The thing that makes Sikhs most visible is that they show their devotion and respect for creation by not cutting their hair. The men also wear turbans. Jas, the dad in the family who visited, told us that 99% of men you see in the U.S. wearing turbans are Sikhs. I had no idea, but now I know.

Yesterday at work, the new school-wide arts department chair told me that I was so funny and had such good energy that she could really imagine me as an emcee of the biggest event of the school year with 2000 people in attendance. So, would I do it?

I'll be honest: I pretty much stopped listening after she mentioned how I'd had the group "in stitches" during my introduction of myself the day before. Oh, the flattery! The legitimacy! The potential of keeping up with Pronto!

And then, before I knew what I was doing, I agreed. To be the emcee of the BIGGEST SCHOOL TRADITION that I've never even participated in before.

As @DailyRos would say, Hella WHAT?!

So, today, I had to send an email backing out of this ridiculous commitment. Thank God the chair was nice about it. She just laughed when she saw me. Let's be honest, I was probably hilarious as I was backing out.

Sometimes I use Google to solve life's big problems. Tonight I used Google to find out why I have been clenching my jaw at night and how I might stop. Sadly, I haven't found definitive answers to these questions. But, I made an effort.

I also tried to find out why this leech bite I got a few summers ago still itches sometimes. Why does it do that? That's so weird. And annoying.

I'm writing this from my new classroom. My mom generously offered to take the kids overnight, which means I can attend the New Faculty Dinner by myself. This event takes place in about an hour and is the culminating experience for the New People. We've already had the New Faculty Introductory Meeting, the New Faculty Benefits Overview, the New Faculty/Mentor Lunch, the New Faculty Technology Training, and the New Faculty Division Time.

I'm starting to feel a little spinny in the head here, actually. I have a lot to learn. The good news is that the father of one of my new co-workers knows a friend of mine. That friend told me that the father told him that the co-worker told HIM that he thinks I'm PRIMO.

And primo starts with P. Phew.

Today was the last day. Tomorrow, I'm back to work. Of course, I've been there a lot; but tomorrow is the first time I'm required.

Yes, summer is OVER.

Summer is over, and I haven't even thought about a motto for the year! Last year, I thought a lot about it. Remember I settled with Get it Done? I actually did Get it Done, both the school year and the unbelievably long and intense interview process I endured to get this new gig.

I'm excited, you guys! I'm super excited. I'm so excited, I don't even think I need a motto.

This classic dichotomy pretty much sums up life with Surly Seven and Whiny Three.






Still. Gotta love those guys!!

I read several teaching and education-related blogs and Twitter feeds. One of my new favorites is Mind/Shift. The blog curates a lot of interesting ed-tech news.

One thing I'm especially interested in is figuring out ways to harness mobile devices. Mind/Shift had an article on this recently. A highlight of the article is the little blurb on "Snack Learning." If you think about it, a 50-minute class period is rather snack-like.

Today on my mobile device (in this case, my laptop, which isn't quite as mobile as my phone or my iPad), I solved a work problem. My new boss (she seems so fabulous, fyi) asked for a head shot-type photo of me. I took one quick with my webcam and emailed it to her. "This is as good as it gets," I told her.



Never mind the zit on my chin. You can't hardly notice it, right?!

Way back when I first purchased a family membership at the zoo, my mom gave me a piece of advice. At the zoo, you write down how many dependent children you have living with you at your address. She told me to just round up. That way, when one of your kids brings a friend, that extra kid is free. She said she always did that kind of thing when my brother and I were young.

I didn't think much about the LIE, and just signed up for three kids like my mom told me to. Never mind that we have never actually brought a friend for either of our boys. But, whatever, I COULD HAVE.

Well, on this past weekend's visit, we didn't bring friends, but we had to renew our membership. I was, of course, reminded of my enduring LIE. Then, I was forced to ramp it up. On the new membership application, you have to list the names and birth dates of your children. My first inclination was just to let it drop. Like, just say, "Oh you know what? We just have two kids now." But then what if I had to do more explaining and it only compounded the LIES?

So, I just decided that the easiest thing would be to invent a middle child. Plenty of people with 7 year-olds and 3 year-olds also have 5 year-olds, and now, ladies and gentlemen, we do too! As far as the zoo is concerned Shef exists, Mac exists, and so does Thomas, our middle child born on May 15th, 2006.



Welcome, Thomas! I think I do love you so much.