This and That

Not much exciting has been going on in the world of Cory and Jona lately. Hence, no posts. So...I will just fill the blogosphere in on the itty bitty things we've been up to in recent days:
Cory
* Hosted a guy's night out at the pubs to collect some little trinkets for a certain someone's wedding coming up (I must add that this was the most carefully-orchestrated, slow-sip-taking, least cross-eyed 12-hour bender and therefore most considerate one once he got home that I have ever experienced during the course of our marriage. He must be learning.)
* Has been enjoying his fifth graders immensely as they've gone on several field trips recently and are finally, finally getting the hang of data collection, graphing and the analyzing of results based on suitable evidence. His worm bins are also producing soil out of food scraps and newspaper - it's amazing to see the process!
* Did not win the MS writing contest this year (but I just read the winning entries today and discovered that he really should have won - his really was fantastic. I will post it at a later time when I can find the picture that goes with it.)

Jona
* Been having the tailor visit on many occasions to alter a few sundresses and a bridesmaid dress in preparation for our trip to Thailand in four days for Amy's wedding! I could not be more excited for a break.
* Really relished in watching my students take control on student-led conference day. The way the kids interacted with their parents and explained the process of their learning was fascinating to me. I had lots of laughs and even more beaming smiles of pride.
* Finished reading The Omnivore's Dilemma. It has inspired me to take action. Cory and I are both making efforts to consume food that is local and ethical. This means cutting out meat three times a week, shopping at weekend food markets and actually asking where shop owners get their food from and how the farms where we get our milk and yogurt from treat their cows. It means taking responsibility for what we put into our bodies and thinking about minimal packaging, shopping with reusable bags and looking for natural foods which do not contain synthetic additives. It's a huge chore, but because we're really interested in it, we are keen to do it. We have also added several more books to our list of reading material to get to and several websites which we will be able to use to find local food resources back in Seattle for the summertime. Never has a book, nor documentaries, nor a way of being or choosing to view the world brought me to action like this. It's a very good thing for me.

And finally, we are hoping that a contract goes through within the next week to move into a house in a village next year. I don't want to share too many details yet, but we love it. It's a 5-bedroom townhouse with a cute and cozy feel. It's been remodeled on the inside, which is great because the outside is less than attractive, complete with lime green paint. (That's Manila for you.) It's modern and has a patio off the living room for dinners outside and a huge rooftop balcony for future barbecues, hammock swinging and sun lounging. We are hoping the landlord agrees to fix a few things. Will keep you posted.

And that's life in the slow lane with the Pattersons. Expect a more exciting post and lots of photos with our new camera come the second week in April or so.