New Things in the New Year

New recipe for New Year's Eve: I'm a brown rice girl but I followed this recipe down to the white rice and mmmm... Rachel Ray pegged it right on this Jambalaya recipe.

A new washer. Super capacity, front loading, energy saving, a Frigidaire. The only thing not to like about it is the fact that it can't be stacked with our older dryer. Fortunately we have the space. The capacity is awesome; with just 2 of us here, we only need to do two loads a week.

New insurance and new Dr.: I'm not so sure about my return to Group Health but I do like the online ability to look at test results to communicate with my Dr. As for my first appointment with Dr. Wood... She spent an hour with me and this was a routine, good health check up! Thumbs up for good listening and making that all important 'personal connection.'

New parish: Our Lady of Guadalupe. Father Jack gives great homilies and the singing is awesome but I do wish the 5:30 Saturday Mass had a choir. I would prefer that they kneel for the consecration; the slight bow from the hips doesn't cut it with me. Have any of you other Roman Catholics noticed the huge differences from church to church in when to kneel or stand in recent years?

New running routine: 4 miles daily Monday-Friday (switched with Spinning on some Tuesdays), 3-7 miles on Saturday, 2 miles on Sunday (This used to be my day of rest.)
And I have new Brooks Trance 9 shoes on order online.

New Widget: See the Flickr photos on the left.

New yoga class; every Sunday (at least through Feb.) at Sound Yoga

New growth in the Seattle plant world: Go here first to see some spectacular photography by another West Seattlite. I lust for a new camera every time I visit David Perry's site.He calls the new growth of our warmer that usual January a 'snack'. I prefer to call it an appetizer because there is so much more to come!

New budget: More $$$ towards that elusive retirement date and less towards tuition. Yippee! In Spring the University of Chicago will be getting less of my money.

New favorite book: Lamb by Christopher Moore Don't bother reading this book if your religious beliefs are easily offended. Some may find it blasphemous but I thought it was hilarious and heartwarming and I find myself thinking about it almost every Sunday. Thank you dear daughter for this wonderful Christmas gift!

New music: OK It's not new to me but I am always updating or adding variety to what I listen to on Pandora. I have my Nino Rota station on in the background right now. More specifically, the Pink Panther played by Henry Mancinni.

A new student. Challenging; speaks very little English but is learning quickly, cute as a button, talkative (Believe it or not THAT is a GOOD thing!), doesn't know a letter from a number, but she's trying and that makes all the difference.

New IEPS for not one, not two, but three of my students. Actually one was done before the new year but his time in the resource room didn't start until Jan. One is autistic.He says "Can I tell you something?" twenty times a day to me and conversation never has a straight line or a clear end. The other is probably autistic too but for now he is being called Developmentally Delayed. He's game to copy almost anything you show him once, but original conversation is nil, nada, nothing. Anything you can teach by rote he gets down pat. When people speak of the 'spectrum' of autism, I really get it. The third student has developmental apraxia of speech. He cannot string three words together even if you are asking him to talk about something that is usually riveting for a kindergarten kid like "What kind of cake will you be having at your birthday party?" But he LOVES math and he can count on, recognizes numbers to 100, does simple addition and subtraction in his head, sorts and patterns (just can't tell me how he sorted or describe his pattern). I'm not supportive of merit pay but I must say that I should be given an 'honorary certificate' in special ed. with all I have done to unravel the needs of special kids in my class this year. Those of you in the know understand how hard it is to get our youngest students to qualify for any extra help. It's a 'feather in my cap' that I would rather not wear. It was a hard first trimester folks but I've got my mojo back. This 'teacher gig' was made for me.

New experience in independence : I have a solo visit to a desert clime planned for February. I always was a tease... visit me in late February.