Day 233

The days feel like they're bleeding into each other. I'm back on the grind and getting no more than 4 hours of sleep. I'm not doing anything phenomenally extra in my own classrooms, but there are other things on my plate that are consuming my time. Thankfully, I'm perched at a place where I can pounce on anything that comes between me and my goals to continue evolving. I will let nothing come between me and my desire to get better. If that means lose some sleep so that I can shift my exercise routine to a 9 or 10PM shift - so be it. I'll make it work - and I'll enjoy writing about it in the process. 

The new bike is on its way. I can't wait to take pictures. =)

Today's bow was gifted by the generous folks at Forage. I think it's a great Fall tie even though some teachers are still basking in their Summer vacation. -___-

Day 223

Today's bow was gifted by Laura over at Xoelle.com.

After a full day of planning, and a nice run, I'm ready for the week ahead!

Day 206

The boys all got haircuts today in preparation for an upcoming wedding appearance (stay tuned for pics this weekend). I can't wait to share how we all look in our coordinating (not matching) outfits. If you haven't done so already, you can follow me on Instagram (@mathquez) to get my bow tie updates as they happen - because, you know, you really need that.

Today's bow tie was gifted by Laura over at xoelle.com. If you haven't done so already, I sincerely recommend you check out her great collection of bow ties out of her studio in Hawaii. It's totally rad!

Day 193

I got to spend most of the day getting some gear together for my upcoming Spartan Race in PA on Saturday and playing lots of Batman Arkham City to the joy of my boys who take great pleasure in watching their Papi beat up on the bad guys.  

Today's bow was gifted by the gracious folks over at Forage who have a wonderful collection of bows. Check out their stuff here. Yes, that's a polo shirt again.

Day 167

Have I told you how much I enjoy incorporating my instagram photos into this blog? I do. The filters shed a different light on the photos I normally take during this adventure, and allow me to see things in a new perpective. There's wisdom in looking at things from different points of view, and that's what I was given when I initially thought, TGIF. My trainer, God bless him always pushing me out of my comfort zone, said GTIF. In his terms, he means Get Tough it's Friday. In other words, don't slow down when you come to the end of your race. Muster up the strength to finish your week in strong fashion. True rest will come on the other side of eternity. For now, I must fight on.

Today's bow was a generous gift to keep me fighting the achievement gap in style. A thousand thank yous to Xoelle who is commited to fightin along with me every month until this challenge is over. Back to the trenches ...

Day 154

It's such a lovely Saturday in NYC, although it didn't look to start that way. In fact, when I went out for a morning jog after a WOD I thought it would rain. Instead, the sun came out to play and I took to my sewing machine to clear my head a bit while the little ones got themselves into, out of, and back into trouble. Oh, dear.

Today's bow came via the good folks at Forage and features a combination of orange, brown, blue and white on this awesome plaid cotton. It's totally my kind of bow. Check out the bows that joined the family today. I made a clip-on animal print for the boys and I decided to make another Superman bow after my previous one sold. It's been bittersweet to actually start selling off some of my bow tie creations. I really don't know how folks do this for a living. I get too attached to things I have a hand in constructing, I guess. Happy Saturday, friends.

Day 138

"Experience is the mother of knowledge." I just overheard this and had to mention it.

I'm so grateful for the experience that can only come from being in the classroom as long as this - and it's not even that long compared to the educators I gleaned the most from. I still remember you, Ms. Lacen, Ms. Davila, Mrs. Rodriguez, Mrs. Gallegos (my first grade teacher who I would eventually be colleagues with at the same school I attended up until the third grade) and my mom (the first Mrs. Vasquez) who taught for over 30 years. If there was anything I missed the most about my time in the traditional public school, it is strength of knowing a teacher's place is in the classroom. It may be obvious. A superhero fights crime, a doctor heals and the teacher teaches. Unfortunately, there's an elephant in the room nurturing this idea that some teachers graduate from the classroom into other roles. Somehow, the rationale goes, you grow out of one position and you evolve into something better. In my nearly 13 years as a classroom teacher I've seen this rationale played out in so many ways and I was reminded of that today. I guess I'm not willing to grow up(or out).

Today's bow comes from a reconstructed t-shirt that I was gifted with during Teacher Appreciation Week nearly one week ago. The Operations team (God bless you gals!) came up with this great idea to host a Teacher Games, not unlike the Hunger Games, that featured our school's lion logo fuzed with the mockingjay. Can you believe it only took me an hour to make? Someone's getting awfully familiar with his wife's sewing machine.

Day 25

Ah, there is nothing like waking up to the absence of hot water during the winter. Never fear, kids. There's always an opportunity to strengthen your character and intestinal fortitude. 

Many many thanks to those of you who have stumbled upon this site via Twitter or Facebook and found it a good idea to share this cause with a friend. I appreciate the time it takes to keep the conversation going. I also appreciate the comments, retweets and posts on my facebook wall. It's the small things that matter. Although there's a bit of a glare at the top left hand corner of the picture above, there's a quote that lives in my classroom. Jaime Escalante famously said "All we need is ganas." Keep your hot water. I've got ganas - and some bow ties.

Today's bow tie comes by way of a generous donation from ties.com. These folks really are your neck's best friend. Last weekend I was blessed with a healthy supply of colorful freestyle and pre-tied bows that I look forward to wearing strategically over the next few weeks as my supply of newer and donated ties runs thin. If you look closely you'll see a repeating pattern of bats on a soft orange bow. This one's for you, Gotham.

Day 9

I decided to sport another new tie for the first day back to work. This one was part of a set of two lovelies donated to me by my new friends at Forage. Most weekday mornings I'll also rock a cinnamon chewing stick because I won't have time to eat breakfast and the feel of chewing on something helps me take my mind off of wanting to eat!