I've Never Been to Speed Street

Every year when the Coca Cola 600 comes to Charlotte, the city puts on an event called Speed Street. For all my Northern friends - this involves NASCAR, the grocery store Food Lion, and country music. For all my Southern friends - you call this fun. I have heard many people at work talk about how great Speed Street is so I decided to give it a shot.

Let me preface this with the statement, I hate NASCAR. I don't get it. At all. Period. If you want to stand out in the hot sun with thousands of other people, ruining your ear drums, watching cars go round and round that end up in the same spot where they started - go for it. It's just not my thing. But I don't want to knock something too much until I've tried it, but "ya'll" might be waiting a long time to read that blog post!

Speed Street seemed like a safe way to dip my toes in the water of NASCAR. It's just basically a street festival with a racing theme. So after the Blevins crew (that's Mark, Anna, Madeline, and Audrey) picked up our glass fusing crafts and ate some dinner we were off! Our friends Sarah and Jesse let us park at their townhouse, which was within walking distance of the festival.

The first stop was the Kid Zone. There was a jumpy house and a few little games sponsored by Chex Mix and Hamburger Helper, but really nothing too exciting. It was just about sunset and a lot of the stands were shutting down. So we continued on to the main part of the festival, but again the majority of the booths were shutting down. Madeline did manage to con her parents into buying some flashy red ears which were quite awesome.

We went past the food stands and really didn't see much of anything else. The big stage was all lit up with some country music act, but it was still to early for a major party to be going on. All in all I think we were there maybe an hour. I don't think I will be heading back any time soon. I would rather have a county fair or a Woollybear Festival any day (for all my Ohio friends)!

The best part of the night was the walk back to Sara and Jesse's to pick up our car. The night was cooling down and we had the best time. Madeline was up on Mark's shoulders and she and Mike were having a tickle war. The sounds of her and the guys running around and having a great time just made me smile. It just goes to show no matter how many new things I try, all I need are good friends to have the time of my life.

I've Never Fused Glass

In my quest to do new things, the website Groupon has been a good place to find inspiration. For anyone who doesn't know what it is, they offer discounts on various products and services in different metropolitan areas. I ran across one a while back for a glass fusing class and thought it sounded cool and it was also an affordable 12 bucks, so I bought one for myself and my friend Anna.

On May 10th we decided to head on out to the class. You had the option of a wind chime, a wine stopper, 3 pendants, or earrings and a pendant. Anna chose the first option and I the last. The instructor went through the basics of glass fusing first. Basically when the glass is heated it all wants to mold into a flat plane with 3 layers being the thickest areas and one layer the thinnest. She set us up with our various size base pieces depending on our project and then it was up to us to add the details with the top two layers.

I immediately had an idea for a turquoise watery type look, but when I started to put it together the instructor said that it may not turn out how I was expecting. That was definitely the hardest part of the class - not knowing what you were going to get until you came to pick it up 10 days later. By this time my patience was long gone, so I just put random colorful dots on a clear piece and hoped for the best.

Anna had a beautiful idea for her wind chime with the top part being very geometric with blocks of different colors, and the chimes a clear background with different colored flowers. The other ladies were very impressed with Anna's creativity (as I always have been as well). There was a mother and her three grown daughters who were hilarious. The one daughter "bless her heart" had no creativity what so ever and was still trying to decide on what to do by the time Anna and I left. It didn't help that her mom and sisters were hating on the different ideas she had.

The idea of the class was sort of relaxing. In fact, Anna and I didn't realize until after we ate dinner next door at BT Burgers that we didn't take a single picture of the experience. So we took some random photos of the place, but not of us actually creating.

Overall, I don't love my designs. I just didn't have the patience for messing with rice size pieces of glass for my earrings. I may not wear them, but it was fun, and I got to spend some quality time with a good friend. And that is worth 12 bucks any day!

I've Never Been Camping in the Rain

On our Blue Ridge Parkway adventure our group decided that we would camp for our lodging. The last time I checked the weather on Saturday the weather looked gorgeous - highs in the low 80s and clear skies for most of the trip. The only sign of rain would be our last night camping and on the ride home, but only a 50% chance.

Well apparently lots changed between Saturday and Monday night. Our second night of camping as we had just finished cooking dinner we could hear thunder in the distance. I checked my phone weather ap and sure enough rain was headed our way. The skies opened up and we scrambled to throw things in the car and tents and get things covered up. We all piled in Mark and Anna's tent which is fairly large. The girls, Madeline and Audrey, were scared at first because the thunder was quite loud and the lightening quite close. But they were distracted with games and tickling and soon all was fine.

The rain stopped and we sat around the remnants of the fire to talk about our plan of action. The driving of the Parkway was more tedious than we had thought and with 80% chance of rain the next night we decided to cut our trip short by one night. I guess even the most seasoned campers don't like to camp in the rain.

The view from our campsite in the morning.

Our dreary campsite in the morning.

Enjoying leftover pizza in the morning.

As sad as I was to not be up for the challenge of camping in the rain for a second night, I was relieved to be able to go home. I was having a great time, but I had a feeling if that we continued on for another day the fun factor would have dropped dramatically. Also, those storms that we avoided turned out to produce flash flood warnings and then a day later several counties had tornado watches. So I have learned that I am definitely a fair weather camper. The rain just made me miserable. So another experience down, but not one that I want to repeat!

I've Never Been Camping

I grew up in the country, so I am a country girl at heart. But somehow that didn't translate into an outdoorsy girl. I don't mind getting my hands dirty, but I would like to wash them when I am finished. I have lots of great outdoor memories, most with my dad. Finding earthworms for fishing on a rainy night, planting flowers, outdoor ed in 6th grade, getting ready for the county fair, picnics at a family friend's pond. But I blame my mom and my allergies for limiting my outdoor fun and slowly I turned into a timeshare in Florida kind of girl instead of a state park vacation kind of girl. Which is funny, because all of my friends who grew up like me went camping for their summer vacations. We didn't, Pompano Beach Florida was our vacation every year with my grandparents.



So many people are sort of shocked when I tell them I have never been camping. I have been working up to going camping because the idea sort of terrified me. Last fall we camped out in the backyard as practice. My goal was that once I left the house I would only be able to go back in to use the "bath house." I did really well until the lows that night got into the low 40s and at 5am I ended up inside because I was SO cold. I was discouraged, but optimistic for the next time.

Here I am setting up in our backyard

As we traveled the Blue Ridge Parkway (Mark, Anna, Madeline, Audrey, Mike and me) the best way to have the Parkway "experience" was with camping. Originally the group wanted to camp at some of the state park sites, but they were missing one important thing - showers. I was not willing to give this up, I just couldn't do it. So we found a private campground called Moonshine Creek Campground just a few miles from the Parkway in Sylva, NC. It was a really nice small campground with a creek running right be the campsites. The sound of the water was so relaxing!

We got to the campsite at almost 7pm and were losing light so Mark, Anna, and Mike set up while I tried to occupy the girls and not get in the way. I didn't and still don't have a clue on how to set up a tent. But I did help set up chairs and sleeping bags and air mattresses. We had a great dinner of hot dogs on the campfire and finished up with smores. It was a great relaxing evening by the creek.

In the morning we woke up and slowly got going. The funniest experience for me happened in the bath house that morning. I was in taking a shower, no one else was in the bathroom and a man opened the door and said, "Can I came in?" I was freaked out! My response was, "Uh, in a minute." I hurried up and got dressed and got out of there. Mike was waiting for me out in the common are and I told him about the guy. He said, "Yeah, I know. It was a cleaning guy." That made me feel a lot better! There were signs posted all over that the bathrooms were cleaned between 1-2pm so I had no idea the guy was an employee. All I knew was some guy was asking to come in the bathroom!

I had a great time at the Moonshine Creek Campground. The weather was fantastic, the location was wonderful, and the company was even better. I think that in the future I wouldn't mind camping again, especially when the funds are tight. But best of all it was an opportunity to spend time with great friends and my hubby.

I've Never Driven On the Blue Ridge Parkway

The Blue Ridge Parkway is a National Scenic Byway, an All-American Road, and the most visited unit in the National Park System. However, I have not been one of those visitors until recently. I have been on the Parkway for just a few minutes here or there, but never with the sole purpose to drive on the Parkway to see the sights. Mark Blevins, a dear friend, made it his mission to drive all 469 miles of the Parkway this year. So he, his wife Anna, and two girls Madeline and Audrey, invited me and my husband Mike on a road trip.

Recently Mike bought a new Kia Sorrento with a third row seat (with this sort of craziness in mind) so we packed ourselves in and headed out. We started at the "end" which is in Cherokee, NC. Our mission was to drive 25oish miles to the NC/VA border over 3 days.

So Sunday after lunch we loaded up into the car and headed for the 2 hour trip to our first stop, our campground in Sylva called Moonshine Creek Campground. We set up camp and headed to Cherokee to do some sightseeing before getting started on our Parkway adventure.

I've been to Cherokee before, but just briefly, and this visit was also brief because being Easter Sunday, not a whole lot was open. My specialization in college was Native American History and so I can't wait to get back here and really see everything Cherokee has to offer. In the main area of town they have some beautiful monuments and artwork. One piece you can't help but notice is a statue outside veteran's park. It depicts part of the Cherokee creation story in which land is created out of the sea on the back of a turtle.

They also have bear art all around the town. Each one is done to honor something different about the Eastern Cherokee people. This one is my favorite which honors the arts of the Cherokee people.

Once we were finished in Cherokee we headed to the official start of the Blue Ridge Parkway to drive back to our campground.

This section was only about 25 miles worth of driving. It was starting to get dark by this time of the evening and the views were a bit hazy.

The next morning we got back on the Parkway and did the section to Asheville. The mountains were very cloudy and hazy. One of our stops was at the highest point on the Parkway. It didn't hold any great views for us, but it did feel like we were standing in a cloud.

We continued on our way to Asheville to eat lunch at the Mellow Mushroom. Even though it is a chain, it still has a unique vibe and some great pizza. Anna's parents surprised us by showing up to visit for a few minutes before we got back on the road.

Our next stop was the Folk Art Center which has great mountain art for sale. They also have a gallery and other educational resources. It was really fun to see all the different pottery, quilts, jewelry, stained glass, leather goods, loom work, and paintings. I picked up something for our house and a Mother's Day present.

We got back on the Parkway again for an afternoon drive of about 60 miles. I know that doesn't sound like much, but with the 45 mile an hour speed limit, and a reality of about 30 miles an hour due to curves and road conditions, it made for a really long afternoon - kids and adults alike. The girls did a fabulous job on the road trip - better than us adults at times!!

The last stop for Monday was Mount Mitchell State Park. Mt. Mitchell is the highest point east of the Mississippi. I have been to Clingman's Dome which is the second highest point so I figured a few feet difference wasn't that big of a deal. And although it had cleared up nicely during the day the clouds were beginning to roll in. One side of the mountain was clear, but the other side looked threatening. So we drove to the parking lot, hopped out for a quick photo opportunity and headed on to our campsite.

Our camping that night was right on the parkway. It was a stormy and soggy night. Because of that we decided to cut our trip short by one day. So the next day we headed to our final destination of Linville Caverns. I'll blog about that at a later date.

So instead of a 250 mile journey we cut it to 150 miles. Even though we knew it would be slow driving I don't think any of us thought it would be that slow. The weather didn't help us either. When we left the weather forecast was for sunny skies with a chance of rain our last day. This turned into thunderstorms and possible flash floods. Every time we got to something cool on the parkway it was cloudy and the views were terrible.

We had a great time though seeing and doing new things. Even though we were all close friends before, this was a great memory making time for the six of us. I am looking forward to the next journey on the Blue Ridge Parkway during some better weather!

I've Never Been to a Swedish Smoragasbord

Ikea is a great place to get inexpensive home furnishings, but did you know it is a great place for food? I have always loved their cafe that serves delicious items like Swedish meatballs and lingonberry soda. Their food store is also great to find items like frozen meatballs and Swedish cookies. Occasionally Ikea has special events to showcase Swedish food items and this past weekend I had the opportunity to try one out.

Ikea held a traditional all you can eat Easter smorgasbord on Friday. Our friends Mark and Anna and their girls love Ikea and had invited us along. I couldn't find a menu online, but Swedish food had me a little nervous. I know a lot of their cuisine centers around fish, which I just cannot eat. I was a bit afraid I would be leaving hungry.

We arrived and were given yellow bracelets to confirm our all you can eat status. We got in line and sure enough fish was a main staple on the menu. There were all types of salmon and herring - raw, on boiled eggs, in sauces, and even reshaped like a fish. There were my favorite meatballs. I took something that was a purplish color and foamy and I thought would be fruity. Turns out it was a beet salad something. I didn't hate it, but it was not what I expected!

Mark, Anna, and Mike all tried new things mostly in the fish arena. Even Madeline tried some fish roe (we told her they were sprinkles). The overall consensus was, it was fun to do, but we will stick to our normal Swedish meatballs.

Happy Easter!!

I've Never Sent My National Boards for the Final Time

For the past three years I have been on a journey to get my National Board Certification. As a teacher, we get licensed by individual states, but this is an opportunity to go above and beyond and get recognition by a national organization. It means something to have your National Boards. With all this talk in the media recently about bad teachers who just show up for a paycheck, I can guarantee you anyone who gets their National Boards is not on this level. It's a really difficult process. Luckily in my state, in the year I began, North Carolina paid for your initial $2500 fee. Everyone completes four portfolio entries, varying slightly by your certification, and then an assessment test. My portfolio entries required me to analyze student writing, video and analyze a whole class lesson, video and analyze a small group lesson, and finally look at my professional contributions and accomplishments. The assessment test is very grueling - three hours of writing as much as you coherently can about content topics. You get about 5 to 6 months to complete this whole process. When I got my scores back from my first attempt I was upset. I was only 5 points away - a 270 out of 275. While I was sad, I was also optimistic because I thought - 5 points!?! No problem! So the next year I became a retake candidate. I only had to redo the portfolio pieces that I did not do well on. I decided to redo the entry about my professional contributions. Anyone who knows me professionally knows this is an area I excel at so I thought I would get it this time. I did a lot of work writing, and rewriting. I had data from test scores to back up my accomplishments. I thought for sure I had rocked the entry. I got my scores back and guess what? I got the exact same score as the first time. I was heartbroken. What feels worse than thinking you had excelled and then being told you didn't? But, I picked myself up, dusted myself off, and chose the only other option I had to redo this time around which was the writing analysis. This is not something I am good at, but I just hoped for the best. While working on my entry this time, I just didn't have my heart in it. The news everyday seemed to have some story about how teachers suck and don't deserve their paycheck. The legislature of my state was holding budget meetings that cut education around 13%. And in those cuts were talks of getting rid of National Board bonus pay. NC has already cut paying for the $2500 initial fee, and now there is serious talk of cutting the 12% raise that goes with the honor of receiving National Boards. Needless to say I got even more depressed. So on Friday, when my entry was due, I was in a panic about getting it finished and sent, but at the same time, I didn't really care. Why would I work so hard to get something when it doesn't matter if I do? I make the same amount of money as I did four years ago, even though I have consistently shown student growth year after year. Our school has pulled itself out of turn around (which for all those non teachers is a big deal), but we didn't get so much as a pat on the back by the state. All this talk of bad teachers that just show up for a paycheck... has turned me into a bad teacher that just cares about my paycheck. I invite anyone who thinks teaching is an easy job to come to my classroom for one week and do my job. Please be there for the moments when seniors are failing and you have to tell their parents. Please be there when kids tell you about having to work 40 hours a week because their parent got laid off and they want to contribute to the household. Please be there when a student desperately wants to go to college, but can't get their parents to fill out the FAFSA form to get financial aid. Please be there when a student literally needs some attention so they are willing to act out in class just to hear someone say their name. Please be there and see the students who wear the same hooded sweatshirt day in and day out because that is the only thing they have that comes close to a winter coat, and the students who have to wear flip flops year round because that is all they have. Please be there and see if you can do this, because I guarantee you can't. I certainly didn't enter education to have a big fat paycheck. And I don't stay in it for the paycheck. But it certainly would be nice to be acknowledged for all the hard work I do day in and day out, and the extra time I put in outside the classroom to make sure I am being the best I can be. I am not a bad teacher. In fact I'm a good one. And on some days I am a great one. I wish someone would have the guts to get rid of all these people that the news anchors are talking about and let those of us who do a good job get some credit. My state ends up ranking in the 40s in almost every education poll out there. It is just plain sad. So this was the last time I could try for my National Board Certification. I hope I make it, but I am not holding my breath. Not to say I wouldn't be proud of myself for making it into this elite club. But I don't need a piece of paper to tell me that I do a good job, just like I don't need a fair paycheck either. Instead, I have many former and current students that are excelling, some partially because of me. And really, what more could you ask for?