Meet Nancy Cook

I'm Nancy Cook, the instructor for this class. I'm on the full time faculty at Clatsop and teach five classes each quarter, including the RAIN Magazine literary magazine. I received my MFA in Creative Nonfiction at University of Alaska Fairbanks and continue to spend each summer in Alaska where I direct the Wrangell Mountains Writing Workshop. I am a single mother of one five year old daughter who attends Astor School and Shooting Stars after school care. We got a new pupply from the shelter. Issues I face include time management. How much time is too much time to give to my teaching? Do I do I manage my teaching/grading responsibilities well enough to allow ample quality time with my daughter? When can I find time to exercise? Is it realistic to expect I would also have a personal writing life while teaching full time and parenting? I'm also interested in issues of appropriate food choices. Is it economical for a single parent to eat out several times a week? What consitutes a healthy but enjoyable packed lunch for a kid? Should I feel guilty about including package items (fruit snacks, juice boxes, etc.) on a daily basis? Where should I shop? Is the co-op worth the extra buck? Is Costco a good choice, or does shopping at Costco mean I purchase excess packaging which I know is not environmentally sustainable. Theoretically, I love to garden and harvest my own local food, but sometimes struggle to find the time required to actually bring that local food (salmon, razor clams, garden kale, chanterelles) to the table, especially when that table includes just one kid who won't necessarily enjoy eating the food I take the time to prepare. Those are a few issues I struggle with.