Or de-cafe Renee if you prefer. Yes, the new toy arrived yesterday. There is something to be said for having a son who works as a barista and knows how to prepare all the S*bucks concoctions. It wasn’t enough to invest in the super-automatic espresso maker that grinds, tamps, steams, froths, filters, folds laundry, and [...]

I didn’t get much sleep this week, but – whew – no one said “You’re fired!” either. We enjoyed a wonderful week of reading, discussing, and learning together. I know I learned one thing: Being on Jeopardy wasn’t nearly as nerve-wracking as being videotaped while presenting a lesson to a group of my peers. (And [...]

“It is the mark of an ineffective teacher to answer a question before it has been asked.” So, dear readers – tell me about your favorite teacher. What made him or her particularly effective?

Alas Poor Yorick Me! Guess who didn’t get the correct information about the reading assignment for the week? Guess who is inhaling Hamlet as fast as she can? Although this feels a little bit like being thrown in the deep end without my floaties, I’m confident that I’ll be ok. The good news is that [...]

No, I’m not worried about a blond guy with a bad comb-over saying “You’re fired!” So what’s up? I’m heading to North Carolina for a week of teacher training with Circe Institute. I’m excited about the chance to work with other teachers and to become a better teacher myself. I’ll be learning more about the [...]

Because I plan to get as much mileage as I can out of our vacation, and because it’s my daughter’s 16th birthday today, and because it’s about time I posted a recipe! When we arrived at the Hershey Lodge on Saturday evening, the first the the UC and I did was hand the kids a [...]

Who am I to write about clothes? Well it’s my blog and that’s what’s on my mind. (Some of you may wish I’d go back to my twice a month posting schedule!) New York City: For all those people posting over at www.tripadvisor.com who were worried about looking like a tourist, I have one word [...]