Still waiting...

Was sposed to meet this doggie yesterday... but never got a call.

Super duper impatient.

/sigh

I reallllllly want to meet this doggie. I think she might be the right one...

Please send positive thoughts my way... if you're so inclined.

And NO, Froyd, I am NOT going to EAT the dog. You are one sick... puppy!

The Waiting

I'm trying so hard to be patient.

Really.

Seriously.

But, it's difficult.

I'm waiting for the HOA to send my landlords a letter saying it's ok with them for me to have a dog. Once they receive the letter, my landlords are going to call me and tell me it is alright for me to start looking for a dog.

I've waited so long... you wouldn't think a little while longer would be such a big deal... right?

Well, it shouldn't be. Except for the fact that I want a doggie so bad!

Patience.

Homeward bound

Home where my thoughts escaping...

I've got a couple of people to take care of kitty. I'm doing laundry right now and the house is clean. I need to make it through the last day of school, pack and go to the Staff Holiday Party. Then, first thing Friday morning, I'll be on the (14 hour) road home... to Texas... Where it's gonna be in the 70s.

Hmph.

That probably sounds good to you. Right? As for me, I'll be breaking out my summer clothes again and missing the snow :(

Ah well, I'll get to see my family! And that always makes for a happy Aspen!

And when I get back... PUPPPPPPY!

*bounce*dance*cheer*celebrate*

This news is so good...

I'm twittering it AND putting it directly in a blog link.

Can you guess what it is?

I just received permission from my landlords - I'm getting a dog!

*tee hee*

Field Trip

Yesterday I went along with the 7th graders on a field trip to Denver. LOOOONG day, but also a LOT of fun.

We went to see the Miracle Worker and it was my first experience with a theater in the round. I don't think there was a bad seat in the house and I was in a box, another first.

The kids were really well behaved, the play was awesome, and we were able to participate in a talk-back with the actors. The kids asked some good (and some funny) questions.

Last night I went to a holiday party hosted by the lady I hung out with in Denver. It was fun, but I didn't know many people. I'm such a chicken. I just hung out with the people I knew. Ah well. White elephant exchange got me a cool little candle-holding-vase thing.

Last Saturday...

I went to Denver to get new tires for my Element. (Ouchie expensive!)

One of the teachers from school was going to be in Denver on the same day and she told me to call her and she'd pick me up for lunch.

Well... she did pick me up for lunch. Then we went shopping for Christmas gifts for her entire family. And since we were having so much fun we went to go see a movie, Four Christmases. By then it was time for dinner, so we went out for a bite.

It was the first time since moving here that I've spent an entire day hanging out with someone (outside of work). She's just a year older than me and she's had an incredibly interesting life thus far. I was really excited to meet someone that I think I could be friends with!

A billionaire and his wife...

Back in July, I wrote about the Mustang Sanctuary I visited with my father: Mustangs

Last week, while we were in New Mexico, my parents told me of a story they'd heard about Madeleine Pickens, wife of billionaire T. Boone Pickens. Mrs. Pickens...

"... dramatically stepped in to come to the aid of the animals. She offered to adopt not only the 2,000 mustangs and burros, but the entire herd of 30,000 unwanted horses that were rounded up by BLM and are kept on federal land. The BLM agreed to work with Mrs. Pickens to locate an area of federal land that she could rent or purchase for the animals. The Pickens are lifelong animal lovers and advocates who are responsible for ending the slaughterhouse industry for horses in the United States."

Thank you Mrs. Pickens. On behalf of myself and all the other people who desperately wanted to help but were not able to, thank you.

I could hug that woman.

Let's Say Thanks

With the holidays now in full-swing I think this is the perfect time to send support to our military personnel posted overseas.

Let's Say Thanks

http://www.letssaythanks.com

Thanksgiving at Victory Ranch

We had an awesome time at Victory Ranch.

We played Scrabble, spun, crocheted, spent time with the animals, etc. Mom and I taught three of the people who work there how to spin and one of them, a genuine cowgirl, taught me how to make creme brulee. Nummy!

This is the adobe we stayed - Thanksgiving night - we were getting 5 inches of snow.


One of the babies...


When they ring the breakfast bell the alpacas go running...


One of the many barn cats


And this is Elvis. He may be half the size of the other horses, but he's got twice the appetite and when his dinner bell is rung he's a blur - racing around the other horses
to get to his stall first.


Gringo - one of the many Great Pyrenees.


Zeus - who is VERY protective of his food bowl - he sits like this all the time.


Shamu - this is his bed and breakfast...

Happy 40th Anniversary Mom & Dad!

Yesterday we celebrated their 40th year together as husband and wife.

Pretty awesome!

Guard Kitty

To say that I am not the biggest fan of spiders would be an understatement. They give me the willies. I would go so far as to say I despise them. They are UBER creepy. That stop – go – stop – go… all those legs… you know what I’m talking about.

Needless to say I was not comforted when, as the movers were hauling my stuff in, I discovered the BIGGEST non-tarantula spider that I’ve ever seen. Thankfully one of the manly-mover-men disposed of it for me.

This evening I was sitting in my recliner when Sheba darted from my lap to the wall where a relatively large spider was crawling.

She then proceeded to plop down on her furry behind and stare at it.

No spider is safe from her inspection!

Goodbye 20's

Hello 30's!

Birthday Party

The party went well. 7 people (plus myself), but that's not bad considering I've only lived here 4 months. And it seemed like everyone had fun. Lots of food (just like MN parties).

Odd to think I will be 30 in 2 days. Just 2 days left of life in my 20's.

*ponder*

Well it has been getting better and better over the last 6 years so I'm thinking positive. And besides... I'm still young at heart... so I really feel more like 25.

This week

Had a rough week. It got progressively rougher as it wore on. By the end of they day today I was ready to crawl under the covers and not come up for a month.

At home now. Snuggling with kitty.

In-service tomorrow.

My new place...

I'm having a House Warming/Birthday Party at my place this Saturday - Partly to celebrate my 30th Birthday and partly to inspire myself to finish unpacking. So... the downstairs is finally presentable.

Stars in the sea

I love this article for so several reasons:

1. Stars in the sea - cool title/idea
2. New Zealand
3. We are still learning and who knows how much we have yet to learn?

Hard core fisherpeople

Saw lots of fisherpeople today... they were out in the river in their waders... never mind that it was snowing and the river was frozen in large sections... there were fish out there and they needed to be caught!

BTW love Target and love clearance even more!

Hair Despair

I asked around at school regarding a "good" hair dresser and was recommended place A. I called and got an appointment.

Last night I was on my way to place A and called for directions - only to find out it was actually place B (with a similar name to place A). I felt bad, because I'd already made an appointment and they were waiting on me, so I went ahead and kept my appointment.

In short - the lady massacred my hair. It's never a good sign when the hair dresser's hands are stumbling around your head. I have wavy hair and she cut it dry (which I later learned is a BIG no-no).

Immediately upon leaving place B I ran to place A and begged them to help me, which they graciously did. And as that hair dresser said: "There's definitely something funky going on with this cut. It looks like she took a pair of garden shears to the back and the right side is 2 inches longer than the left in front."

*sigh*

Thank goodness place A fixed me up, with exactly what I wanted in the first place! Near disaster diverted. Lesson learned.

Bloody stump

Now I remember why I used the same (refillable) razor for 5 years. I thought I'd try a new one and was rewarded for my adventurousness with six nicks on one leg.

Now I've got one bloody stump and one hairy one.

How much is that doggy in the window?

Some of my MN friends sent me pics of their new puppy, a yellow lab. He's adorable.

Friday I spent half an hour or so at the local animal shelter playing with puppies and kitties.

And everywhere I go in Colorado I see them... dogs...

Dogs, dogs, DOGS!

/sigh

I wanna doggy.

What I learned this week...

1. I'm finally comfortable enough with myself to break it down in front of a bunch of middle school kids and a few teachers. I danced to the Cha-Cha Slide, Staying Alive, Thriller... I had a blast.
2. The above mentioned middle school kids think I'm 23. Bless them.
3. Little things can make a big difference with kids. That kid I mentioned before, the one I caught being good, it did make a difference.
4. I love the week leading up to Halloween. Each day was a dress-up day: 60's & 70's day, crazy hair day, crazy sock day... etc.
5.Finally, and most importantly, I love being a teacher. Through the good times and the bad times. I was made for this.

Planning ahead

I bought some plane tickets.... guess where I'm going for Spring Break?

Painting & Settling In

I think my first formal observation went well... won't meet with the principal until next week, but he didn't call me in right away to fire me... so I'm taking that as a good sign. Besides, I feel like it went well. I'm just curious what comments/suggestions he has for me.

Book club was fun. Of course we didn't talk about the book that much. But the seven of us found plenty to keep ourselves entertained. And there were 2 dogs there, so I was a happy girl.

I finally got around to painting the two tables Dad & I picked up at a garage sale in Telluride. They were red, now they're DARK purple. Purrrrrty.

I'm kind of behind on grading again, which means I've got plenty to keep me busy this weekend.

Stories

Snow today!

So many things happen at school and I want to share these stories with you, but I must respect my student's confidentiality. In order to do this I will name all of my students "student" and I'll use the pronouns (he/she) interchangeably.

I have a student who needs to be loved. By all accounts (and observations) he does not have a good family life. This student told me one time that "Everybody hates me." And I genuinely think he believes it. I told him "I don't hate you" and he seemed surprised by that. He's always in trouble, but today I "caught him being good" and rewarded him for it. That's what he needs - some positive attention for his good behavior and I'm making an effort to see he gets it. It's good for him and it makes me feel good because I'm helping him and showing him that someone cares about him and notices when he does good things.

What've I been doing?

Helped out with the HS football game - worked at the gate in the freezing cold. BUT got to love 3 puppy dogs, visit with (and pick the mind of) a lovely experienced teacher, AND had a great view of the alpenglow as the sun set.

Today I had my first tear-jerker moment with a student. This student was struggling so much, trying so hard to understand, and I was explaining it as simply and in as many different ways as possible. Neither of us gave up and watching this student struggle was almost heart breaking. But in the end this student understood most of what I was trying to get across and they left my desk with a smile because they had finished the assignment.

Bitter sweet? I think that applies. I'm so happy at what we achieved, but it was still hard to watch the student struggle so much.

Spent an hour with the district computer guru trying to fix a dozen little problems with my lab. Fixed about two thirds... the rest will have to wait. Ahhh computers!

Still enjoying teaching. Still having fun with the kids.

Gotta make a run to Denver to buy some stuff... snow shovel, snow boots, etc.

It's a horse... it's a plane...

I was driving to a nearby town for dinner when the truck in front of me swerved. I looked over to see a horse... a BIG horse running along the side of the road... swerving back and forth. I'm not sure what it's doing or where it's going, so I slow down. It turns around and I realize it's a moose... a BIG moose and she's as confused as I am. Then she starts running right at me, so I slam on my breaks. Problem is, she's still headed right for me. I'm staring at her face-to-face and I'm in a Honda Element. Thankfully the van behind me slams on their breaks, tires squealing and the poor moose decides she's had enough. She gave up on crossing the road and headed back the way she came.

Needless to say I'm relieved I didn't hit the moose. I'm relieved she didn't hit me. And I'm relieved the car behind me didn't hit me.

Welcome to The Rockies.

Taos 2008

Taos Wool Festival












Taos, NM




Alpaca Ranch

Back from Taos

Got in last night at 8:30pm.

Took quite a few pictures this weekend, hopefully I have a few good ones.

Gotta get to work soon and then I have an online class tonight, but maybe I can post the pics tomorrow.

On the road again... and again...

I feel like I've driven more this year than in all my other years combined.

Maybe I have.

I used to enjoy driving, but now it's become something I *have* to do... a means to an end. Ah well.

On the plus side! I'm *driving* to Taos, NM tomorrow (for a 4 day weekend) to join my parents at the Taos Wool Festival. Woot!

I guess all that pesky driving is ok when you get to go/do something cool :)

I actually took a personal day (Monday) so that I could make it a 4 day weekend and not stress myself out trying to get back to school Monday morning.

Gots me a book on cd, Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog on iPod, lotsa music, and my imagination. Shouldn't be too horrible.

And, in the extremely unlikely event that I get bored while at the festival, I'm about halfway through Eldest. Brisingr... here I come!

I'll try to take lotsa pics so I have something interesting for you, my lovely readers, to peep at.

As promised...

Fall Colors 2008

Time to go for a drive...

Last weekend I noted the progression of fall colors, thinking that by this weekend they'd be perfect for pictures... and they are!

So I'm off to drive around a bit to see if I can get some decent pictures

Stay tuned.

Devil cat? Or Yoda?

The things my kids find on the internet... I have them working on Newsletters and several students decided to do "weird-but-true" news... This is one of the articles they chose.

The cat's owner named him Yoda, but I think he looks more like a devil... maybe they should have named him Lucifer... What do you think?

Rude awakening...

At some point during the night I was awakened by an odd squeak. I opened my eyes to find myself face-to-face with my darling kitty. She was sitting there staring at me. A few seconds later I realized my face was wet... I put two and two together and came up with what caused my rude awakening... my kitty sneezed on me. On my face to be exact. And that's what woke me up.

So what did I do?

I wiped off my face, picked her up and tossed her to the foot of the bed, called her a choice name, and went back to sleep.

Week 2

Well, Monday was fine. Uneventful even.

Tuesday morning, first period, before class even started, I had two boys fighting in my room. That made for a rough day.

Wednesday 7am - 8pm (stayed late for Open House with parents). I didn't have to give any presentations, so I was able to stay in my room and get a lot of work done in between visits. A bunch of parents stopped by to introduce themselves and they were all really nice - not at all scary.

Thursday afternoon we had our first pep rally and I had NO idea exactly HOW LOUD 150 teenage girls could be... and how HIGH PITCHED. I mean really! But it was fun too. And then, one of my boys brought me an apple. How cute is that?!?

Friday - all day training.

I'm surviving and I'm still having fun, fight excluded. But I'm tired and my back hurts - even with good shoes. I'm making it one day at a time.

And the winner is....

Froyd!

Congratulations on winning the $10.00 Amazon gift card. Just shoot an email (from your preferred email account) to aaspenstarshine AT hotmail.com and I'll email your gift card to you! Ah technology is a wonderful thing... when it works ;)

Sorry it took me so long to get this posted, I spent most of the weekend sifting through papers and making lesson plans.

Speaking of... Time for school!

First Week of School

Successfully completed.

I do have some challenges ahead of me, no doubt about that.

However, I'm looking forward to this new adventure and I'm happy with the way the kids are responding to me.

Texted several of my MN friends today (good to know they haven't forgotten about me), called one of my aunts (who shared in my joy), and received an unexpected call from a cousin (who was just thinking about me and wondering how I was doing - isn't that sweet?).

Overall... Good week and good day.

I've got several emails to send tomorrow and a few more calls. I want to keep in touch with all my MN friends and TX/AL family. It's a bit of a juggling act - totally worth it - and making me realize how many friends/loved ones I have... I'm extremely thankful, if a bit sad for missing them.

First Day of School

I survived!

More than that... I kind of had fun.

I'm completely exhausted and my feet and my back are killing me, but it wasn't horrible.

I have over 180 students this semester, which is CRAZY. It's going to take me forever to learn all their names. I'll get there though.

Long day for me... at school from 7am to 5:30pm and then I came home and spent another couple of hours working. That's my life for the next... 30 years. I shouldn't complain, the 4-day work week kinda rocks.

It's 8:25pm and I'm going to bed. LoL

Ahhhh well... At least I knew what I was getting myself into! I have plenty of teachers in my family, friends who were/are teachers and then there was student teaching and subbing.

1001

Spent this morning working on my curriculum/lesson plans and this afternoon weighing and measuring (height) kids for registration.

Other than the extreme heat this afternoon I had fun. I met many of my students (and their parents) and I'm feeling even better about things.

Now I have a four-day weekend to finish unpacking and put the final touches on my first few weeks of lesson plans.

I REALLLLLLLLY need to finish unpacking. I got to a certain point and kind of gave up on it. There are several unopened boxes in my bedroom and a BUNCH in my office. My goal is to have everything unpacked and in its proper place so I can take and post pictures of my new digs by next week.

We'll see how that goes :)

1000

This is my 1000th post since July of 2002.

In celebration, I'd like to reward my faithful readers. I'm having a contest and it's super-simple! Just comment to this post by Sept. 4th at 11:59pm (central) and include how long you've been following my blog.

The prize is a $10 Amazon gift card. A thousand pennies, one for each post.

I'll put all your names in a bag and draw the winner Sept. 5th - once I've survived the first week of school!

Succumbing to parental pressure...

to blog.

*chuckle*

I've been busy with teacher in-service, training and developing my lesson plans for this year.

So far so good... Other teachers keep checking in with me to see how I am and if I need anything. I'm feeling very welcome and supported.

This next week

I'll meet the entire staff (of my school) tomorrow and this next week is all about training and getting to know your peers.

Good things I learned last week:
*I will have a mentor.
*I get health and dental insurance totally paid for!
*I will have 6 evaluations throughout the year.
*I like my new principal.
*I can wear jeans on Thursdays (since there's no class on Friday!)
*I have a lot more freedom about what I teach and how I teach it than I thought.
*I get one prep period each day.

Other than school stuff... I read the Twilight Saga by Stephanie Meyer last week... all four books. Now I finally know what all the hype is about. I enjoyed them.

I'm on to the Earthsea Trilogy by Ursula K. Le Guin. Should be a quick read.

Thoughts on a new life...

When you know there's a big change coming in your life you try to prepare yourself for it.

I knew months in advance that I would be moving to Colorado and before I even accepted the job I tried to imagine what my life would be like here and I thought long and hard about what I would be leaving behind.

In preparation for the big move I made as many plans and lists as possible, I tried to think of all the things that would be different and how to prepare myself. At the same time, I tried to enjoy my time in MN, my friends, and not get so caught up in what was coming that I missed out on what was happening at that point in time.

Of course you can try to prepare yourself for you new experiences and the things you'll be leaving behind, but you can never fully prepare yourself. You never REALLY know what it will be like until it's happening to you.

I think I'm in the final stages of grieving for my life in MN. Yes. Grieving. That's kind of what it feels like. I had something amazing and I loved it and not it's gone. Like a puppy that died and you got a new one to replace it, but it's not quite the same. That's a horrible analogy. Sorry puppy...

Anyway... The last month has been extremely difficult (and at times painful), but I survived. That's what you do. You face new challenges and move on, or you go crazy.

And now, looking to the future I have new teacher training, lesson plans, meeting my new co-workers and my 300 students. I'll have plenty to keep me busy, but not as much as I was going to. I finally met with the District's technology guy (one of my bosses) and he told me about some changes that were implemented: Instead of me teaching my 300 students AND playing tech person for the entire school (and its 6 computer labs), I now only have to worry about teaching my 300 students and my ONE lab.

Awesomeness in a bottle!

I can't even tell you how much weight was lifted off of my shoulders during our one hour conversation. In addition to cutting my work in half, he also gave me a GREAT idea of exactly how and what I need to be teaching. This is the first time I've had any clue about that. I feel so much better.

For the first time in a long time, I'm actually looking forward to this. It was all exciting when I had the job offer and then slowly, but surely, reality set in and I was nervous, hesitant, even dreading it. I know the first year of teaching will be draining in every way imaginable, but I can do this.

I will do this.

And I might even like it.

A new world record?

Sorry Bucky, but my Sheba would win out in this contest.
She stayed up from 6am to 10pm for the two days it took to get to CO and since I've been unpacking she hasn't had much sleep either...

But at last, today, I unpacked the ONE thing that should make it all worth while...

Catnip.

Unpacking

The only thing worse than packing is UNpacking.

It's nice to see my apt starting to look like a "home," but it's taking forever!

A phone call...

... from the moving guy!

According to him, he may or may not be able to deliver my goods this evening. If not, he'll be here first thing in the morning.

Exciting!

That's a good feeling/emotion to have. Over the last few weeks I've had all sorts of other, less pleasant feelings...

Worry - about when/if/how my stuff will get here, if I made the right decision to move away, what my life will be like here, if I'll be any good as a teacher, if the kids will eat me alive...

Anger/Annoyance - at the moving company for not keeping their word.

Sadness - for leaving my friends in MN and the VERY comfortable life I'd built for myself there. I REALLY miss everything about that place.

Restlessness - I need things to do. I'm always better when I'm working or going to school. Too much time alone, without set tasks is NOT healthy for me.

Lazyness - There's a few minor things around the apartment I could have been doing, but I have no drive. I think all the other emotions/thoughts are drowning out my initiative.

Hmm... I sound like a half-crazy woman.

I'm not.

Not really.

I'm just going through a HUGE transition and it's going to take me some time to adjust. The first day of school is Sept 2nd and I start training later this week. I hope I feel more confident after I've had a dab of training. At this point, I don't even know what my daily schedule is.

If nothing else, I'll be around other people again and I'll have a set structure to my life. Both good things.

Ahhhh... That's better!

I've got my fix!

TV & Internet... More better!

Plus, it's been in the 60's here, compared to the 100+ of Texas.

Definitely an improvement.

And Sheba's almost recovered from the trauma of being left alone for an entire week... She still wakes up crying and looking around every once in a while... it's like "Mommy! Mommy! Where are you! Don't leave me!"

Guilt trip much?

This one's for Aya...

Spaceballs - The Animated Series

Twittering in Texas

Aya actually started doing something that I've been contemplating. She says it's working well for her... so I'm going to go ahead and give it a try.

I still prefer actual blog postings... but for now at least (when I don't have internet) this should be an easy way for me to keep you informed about my goings-on.

Check out the right column, just under my Blog links...

Guess what!

I'm in Texas.

Betcha didn't see that one coming.

Did ya?

Ha! Gotta keep you on your toes.

Actually... it was all very spur of the moment. I got a call from the movers yesterday morning and they said that the earliest my stuff would be delivered is next Wednesday. I decided my time could be better spent at home, visiting with my family, than sitting alone in an empty apartment.

So here I am.

I drove the 14 hours yesterday from 11:30am to 1:30am (mountain time).

Of course Mom is in New Mexico on a fiber retreat with my aunt and a friend... They won't be back until Monday afternoon. Dad and I kept ourselves entertained today.

I'm happy with my decision to come back here... even if it is 105 degrees, plus humidity. Ugh. So miserably hot.

August + Texas = Aspen nearly fainting... literally...

*sigh*

Mustangs, etc

I was reading Sunday's Denver Post and they had this big article about the "wild" mustangs in this country and how the BLM (Bureau for Land Management) is considering euthanizing some or selling them to the slaughterhouse.

You may or may not know this about me; I love horses. LOVE them. Want one desperately. When I was *much* younger my parents paid for me to have horseback riding lessons - just so I could be around them. We didn't have the money or a place to keep one ourselves.

In this article it stated that there were 4 wild horse sanctuaries in Colorado, the largest being the Sand Wash Basin in NW Colorado. This sanctuary holds 460-ish horses and it's a days drive from here. Having no new news on the movers we decided to check it out.

Wow.

Aside from the horribly desolate land they chose... I mean could they have found worse land for these horses? It was a wonderful experience. We actually got quite close to several of the horses.









We also saw other critters...
A coyote




Elk


Prairie Dogs




And on the way back we were treated to a few rainbows...




And a shepherd's wagon

Today...

Dad and I drove from Ridgeway to Telluride, back to Ouray and over to Silverton... then back to Ridgeway. Lotsa driving. Lotsa scenery. Lotsa fun.

Bridal Vail Falls - Telluride, CO


Ouray, CO (one of my favorite CO towns)


Red Mountain - Between Ouray and Silverton


More chipmunks because let's face it - they're cute!


In Ouray, in the middle of the main street... in someone's yard... two young bucks. They didn't mind the people, the cars, the Harley's...


And the one thing that's hard for me (about living in Colorado)... Everywhere you go there are dogs... Dogs... DOGS! People walking with them, driving with them... in stores... lots of stores have free dog biscuits for your dogs when you bring them in the store.


Ah well... one day.