Alpacas & Friends

I had a great Christmas and I enjoyed seeing all of my family. I was able to see all of my cousins and all but one aunt.

Kaylee enjoyed playing with Kodi and Robi. She strained a muscle the other night and scared me half to death. She could barely stand up and I thought something was seriously wrong with her. The vet said it's most likely a pulled muscle and I should keep an eye on her she also gave me some anti- inflammatory medication.

Kaylee and I are at the alpaca ranch, I wanted to get out of town before New Years and it's a great excuse to visit my friends at the ranch. I even remembered my camera this time so I will post some pictures.

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Merry Christmas!

Trying out my new Blogger app :) Enjoying my Christmas presents this year.

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Figured out how to send text messages on my new phone but now I need to figure out how to send picture messages

Woot!

Made it through bowling last night, but we were the last ones done. Didn't get home until almost 10:30. Yikes.

In other news.... IMDB has just posted the first trailer for the new Pirates of the Caribbean Movie:


Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

at bowling. just started and one of our lanes broke down... they're trying 2 fix it, but it may be a loooong night

if only i were still a child

LOL @ wrestling tourney and a Jesse Ventura looking guy just came over, scrithched Kaylee and spoke baby-talk 2 her. Yes, she's THAT cute!

walked around downtown with dad... then i stumbled into/upon a survivalist store... unsuspecting me... their sign was so inocuous.

At an alpaca ranch in New Mexico. I'm with my parents and some friends. We had a tasty dinner, followed by birthday cobbler.

I lost at Scrabble, but just bottle-fed a baby alpaca... talk about adorable! I think that more than makes up for my defeat!

I'll try to get some pictures of the critters while I'm here. I forgot my camera :(

/bangs head on desk....

But Mom and Dad both brought cameras and they're willing to share.

What a day...

I'm officially 32 years old.

We had a massive staff potluck/lunch. And if that didn't do it then it must have been the 4 cakes that filled me up.

Vanilla cake with home-made chocolate icing and fondant computer mice:


Chocolate cake with home-made vanilla icing and a computer screen with the apple logo:


Another chocolate cake with vanilla icing (the kids got to it before I could get a pic of the entire cake):


There was a pumpkin cake made by another student (and his mom), but it was gone before the camera came out too....

And my first class of the day started off right....


There were also 3 balloons (one signed by staff and students), assorted candy and cards.... And the one that really made me want to cry... A student that gave me chips and sesame seeds - part of his lunch. He wouldn't take no for an answer.... he wanted to give me something and I know that's all he had.

Days like today make me think I could never do anything else...

Threw a party tonight.... 10 people (including me) and 2 dogs (including Kaylee). Sheba was relegated to the upstairs bedroom... we were very cozy.

Was a good party. They even brought me a cake and flowers :)

/feels loved

Number 32 is around the corner... this coming Thursday.

Well the voters of Colorado defeated the three measures which could have been detrimental to Education, Transportation and pretty much ALL public services. I'm very grateful to them.

Of course the governor just released his budget which reflects a GIANT rescission to Colorado Education. Potential cuts this year of another $500,000 and next year another $900,000.

/sigh

One more reason to love Glee...

Like I needed one...

New guest star (rumored to be a 'series regular' soon-ish), Darren Criss, and his "Warblers" singing.... /sigh

Just Dance

Most fun I've had in a long time.... Wii's Just Dance.

Note to self:

When the smell of cooked or raw fish/seafood makes you feel nauseous do NOT - under any circumstances - go down to the 7th grade science classroom when they are dissecting sharks. No matter how "cool" your students say it is.

I can still smell it...

/shudder

working vb tourney. 12 to ? looking more like 6... was hoping 2b home by 4 so i could do some grading... ah well... i guess that could wait til 2morrow morn...

Glee's Rocky Horror was both awesome and msg-packed. And as for never say never... i actually agree with something Sue Sylvester said 2nite.

Congrats to the Texas Rangers! For the 1st time EVER they've made it to the WORLD SERIES. Woah! Good job fellas :)

/sigh

12.5 hr day = long day

And I learned something unpleasant - something work-related. Can't say anymore than that, but.... You know that saying: "What comes around goes around"?

I sure hope it does.

On the plus side... I've got my kiddos using Google SketchUp, a 3D drawing program (think beginning CAD).

When I first looked at SketchUp I felt really intimidated. I'd never used anything like it before and I wasn't sure I could learn it, much less teach it to my students.

However, I found some awesome tutorials (some of the best video tutorials I've ever seen) and I learned the basics very quickly.

When I presented it to the kids I told them of the real-world applications of programs similar to this, which they were excited about. I was also very upfront about my lack of knowledge. We watched a couple of the beginning tutorials together and I walked them through creating a very simple chair. I told them that I was still learning this program and that we could learn together. I encouraged them to teach me new things they found (and they have been).

They LOVE it and the things they're coming up with are AMAZING! The project they're working on now is a challenge: create something in 3D that really showcases the 3D aspect of this program. I've got kids working on everything from skate parks to mansions, high-rises to basketball courts, and even a spaceship.

They're so into this project... I love seeing them excited about learning and excited about technology.

Thank you Borders!

Last weekend I entered a contest for "Educator Appreciation" and I received a phone call on Monday saying I had won!

I went and picked up my prize yesterday and it included all of the following:

- a clippy magnet
- an address book
- a journal
- a set of four magnetic page clips
- Crossing by Andrew Xia Fukuda
- The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver
- The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
- Fabelhaven by Brandon Mull
- How to Read Novels Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster
- a handsome carrying tote holding all of the above items

Lucky me! I definitely feel "appreciated"

And it gets better.... They were having a $1 book sale... I grabbed 7 books for $7.58!

YAY!

I'm currently reading a $1 find - The Manual of Detection by Jedidiah Berry.... and I'm liking it!

RED = awesome!

"Dog!"

I was in the front office for a while during 1st hour (my planning period) and when I walked back into my locked classroom I heard a man saying something about ".... give me the dog."

And it happened again...

"No seriously, we want the dog."

And again....

Basically the head tech guy and gal can take over any computer in the district and apparently can make them say whatever they want.

I exchanged some humorous emails with the techies first hour.... It was the main guy doing it.

He did it a few times during 2nd hour and Homeroom, freaking my kids out totally. Imagine sitting there and all of a sudden your computer starts talking to you.

The techie guy came in after school and was teasing me - asking me if I was feeling alright... did I need to "Talk with someone" because I was "hearing voices."

Best part....

While he's standing there giving me a hard time every computer in my room, all 30 of them, says "Dog!" and he jumped out of his skin.

He says "That scared the crap out of me!"

Karma.

The Halloween Phantom

I heard a knock on my door this evening and when I went to check it out there was a sheet of paper and a cookie on my porch.

The letter said:

Dear Neighbor,

You have been "Hit" by the Halloween Phantom!! You must now strike TWO neighbors, or the Phantom will haunt you for the rest of October! OH NO!

PS you must place a note stating you have been hit outside your door so the phantom doesn't strike again!

Love always XOXO
Your Neighborhood Phantom

Now this alone was funny.... but since I was outside I decided to let Kaylee go potty. She headed around the side yard and we both heard a sound....

Kaylee went on point and said "Woof!"

I heard hysterical giggles and Kaylee ran around behind me.... yes behind me. She is apparently an "alert dog" after all.

Around the corner of the house were two kids (one of my students and her little brother).

We were all laughing and trying to figure out who had left the original note on their door... which had prompted them to "hit" me and one other neighbor.

hehehe.... "Woof!"

at theater wtg 4 social networking 2 start. i'm the youngest one here.... interesting.

First Snow

Kaylee and I encountered the first snow of the season on our way to (and for a good part of) book club.

I just learned their doing a Rocky Horror themed Glee with some of the original cast...

And The Taos News posted a 4.5 min video of the Taos Wool Festival.

Dad shows up at the very beginning in a quick clip and Kaylee and I made it in around the 3 minute mark (lightning quick clip).

Check it out and see what you're missing every year!



Don't you want to attend next year?

Repeat customer... already!

I just received an email from a lady who bought some handspun yarn from me at Taos and is asking for more!

My first repeat customer!

/happy

Wool Festival was fun, as always.

And it was good to see the parents.

I sold some of my handspun yarn and a purse I knit. That was a first!

I also entered two skeins into the handspun yarn contest.

The first skein was the alpaca/wool blend I also entered at the Southwest Regional Spinners Retreat. It won a 1st place ribbon at SW Regional and 2nd place in the handspun yarn at Taos.


The second skein was my very first attempt at spinning mohair locks into an art yarn. It also won 2nd place in the creative yarns contest.


Pretty happy with two 2nd place ribbons. Working my way towards 1st and/or Best in Show next year!

12+ hour day. Just got home from work and I still have to do.

Still need to finish packing...

And I have some work to do online this weekend. A teacher's work is never done!

up b4 the sun. so much 2 do b4 i go 2 taos.

Hmm...

Half the time when I tell Kaylee to "Go get your toy!" she runs and pounces at Sheba.

I think we need to redefine the word "toy."

Bowling Again!

I had an offer to join a bowling team but had to pass it up because I couldn't afford to bowl every week.... but today I got a call asking me to bowl only the last 2 Mondays of every month... that's half the price - and I can afford that.

So... I'm bowling again! Yay! I was really missing it.

Glee party was awesome! They even had slushies! Jealous?

Go Gleeks!

OMW 2 a Glee Parrrrty!

Kaylee's big day!

I worked at a couple of football games this morning, we won one and lost one.

I brought Kaylee with me and she hung out in the press box while I worked the score board. At one point one of my student's little brother came into the booth and played with Kaylee, chasing her around the booth. It was really cute.

The same kid came back later with some friends and asked if they could take her for a walk. They went to the car, got the leash, came back up and took her for a walk. I expected a short one but they were gone for 20 minutes.

When they came back they put her leash up and got her bowl from my car. The four of them each gave a little water from their own water bottles so that Kaylee could have plenty of water to drink!

I couldn't believe it! What a considerate kids! We're talking 4th maybe 5th graders.

Kaylee had a blast - A walk. People playing with her. People loving her. People telling her how cute she is.

No wonder she always wants to go with me!

She's worn out now. She crashed the second we got home.

got acupunctured 2day. can breath a little, but didn't do anything 4 this sinus headache :(

Best Sleeping Bag Ever!

ThinkGeek :: Tauntaun Sleeping Bag

Smarticle

Do you ever have one of those moments... one of those ideas... where you go "I'm a freaking genius!"

I have one....... maybe every 5 years..... if I'm lucky.

I had one this week.

For the last two years I've felt like I was pulling teeth, begging my students to send/bring me pictures for the Yearbook.

My idea?

I started a Facebook account for me as a teacher - very restricted - very professional - and I'm inviting my kiddos to be friends. They can tag me in a photo and Facebook sends me an email with a link to the photo. I then drag that picture to my computer and - BAM - I have pictures for the yearbook!

I set everything up and gave 4 of my classes time to go onto FB and tag photos for the yearbook. (Maybe 10 minutes per class today.)

The result? From what they did in school and since they've been home I have over 80 pictures.

GREAT pictures. Pictures from in school, at recess, field trips, and best of all outside activities. Kids in my school do such a range of activities: football, basketball, baseball, soccer, volleyball, hockey, tennis, golf, skateboarding, skiing, snowboarding, mountain biking, cross country, track, rodeo, ice skating.... the list goes on and on.

In the last two years it was all I could do to get ANY pictures. Now I have a bunch of great pictures and more on the way. I even have pictures from the out-of-school activities which I never had before.

This works because FB is something the kids use all the time - it is part of their lives and part of their "social networking." They already take pictures. They already load them onto FB. Now they just have to click a few times and they can submit pictures to me. It's practical, easy and relates to what they're already doing. I'm also using it to teach responsible use.

That was my one genius idea for the next 5 years.

I think it was well spent.

Thank goodness the anti-biotics seem like they *might* be working. I finally got a good night's sleep last night, which was much needed. I had an in-service today and I just got back from working at a football game. I am also working 2 games tomorrow.

Time for more sleep.

Eek gad

I just went to doctor and she confirmed I should be feeling much better by now (on meds since last Sat). So she's prescribed a new anti-biotic and she wants me to take it for 4-6 weeks.... Her thinking is that maybe we're just not getting it all and that's why I keep getting sick every 2 months.

BTW... this new anti-biotic gives new meaning to the words "horse pill" - *GULP*

You know what I've realized? There's a very basic thing that I've taken for granted for most of my life - the ability to breath.

The ability to take a nice deep breath any time I like is something I miss. Not just when I have a sinus infection, though that makes it much worse.

It's not the altitude, it's the allergies.

I go back to the acupuncturist on the 17th. Let's hope it works.

it's pretty bad when the pharmacist meets you at the drive-thru window w your prescription in hand and says "here you go aspen"

I think I'll do what I've done in the past when I'm sick and grumpy....

After I pick up my prescriptions I'm going to come home and watch something I haven't seen in a while... what will it be this time... ?

Crash, Burn, Float, Explode

Expect all of the above when you combing Middle School students and model rockets.

10

This is the 10th sinus infection in the 2 years I've lived in Colorado.

And THANK GOD I had one prescription of each of the two medications I need still at the pharmacy. Otherwise I would have had 2 options:
1. wait until Tuesday to get help = me realllllly sick or
2. gone to an "Emergency Clinic" and paid their exorbitant fee = Ouch!

But this has got to stop.

Seriously.

I've been to several family practitioners, an otolaryngologist (ent), an allergy specialist, and I just had my first found of acupuncture last week.

SOMETHING has to start working. Fast. I'm sick of being sick and I can't afford to keep missing work.

At least this time I have 3 days off to try and get it under control.

Strange Coincidence?

I had a dream last (earrrrly this morning) that I was back in New Zealand, but I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off because I hadn't made any plans. In my dream I was aware that I was super lucky to be back in NZ, something I'd wanted for years, but I didn't want to miss a single thing. I was beating myself up because I hadn't planned an iternerary - to make sure I could get to everyone/everywhere I wanted to while I was there.

And if you know me, you know I ALWAYS have a plan.

The coincidence? NZ is back in the news: Powerful 7.1 quake hits New Zealand's South Island

Grace + Aspen = NOT

Managed to get finger stuck/pinched in office chair while attempting to adjust it - while at work - with a classroom full of students. Good thing though, since I had to get a student to help me get unstuck. I was sitting in the chair and couldn't reach around the other direction far enough - what with being stuck and all.

I had to get someone to come cover class while I treated my wound. And I had to ask for key to nurse's cabinet and explain to three co-workers that I injured myself while adjusting my chair.

Classic.

This weekend I read Mockingjay, the third and final book of The Hunger Games trilogy.

I read the last words. Closed the book. And as I sat there looking at the cover all I could think to say was "Wow."

I love this job.

Me: "Today we're going to look at some inventions..."

Class: "Groan"

A Student: "Awesome! Inventions are cool!"

I tell A Student: "Gold Star!"
(this means he can pick anything out of my 'Gold Star' bucket, including candy)

A Student: "REALLY?!"

Me: "Yep. You get a Gold Star for having a positive attitude!"

A Student gets a piece of candy, pops it in his mouth.

A Student says: "Mmm a Positive Attitude sure tastes good"

-------------------

Love. It.

I was using MAMP to turn my computer into a server - so I could set up the Joomla site and test it out before going live. Eventually it'll go onto the school's Mac Server OS X server.

After MUCH aggravation and several different tutorials I finally got MAMP and Joomla both up and running. Apparently all I needed to do was set up a database. Do I feel stupid? Yes.

Oh well. Live and learn.

Now I just need to figure out how to run the back-end of Joomla. There's a guy at work who says he's worked a lot with Joomla and he's offered his assistance. I'm taking it! I only have so much patience and I've got to save most of it for the kiddos.

Froyd: Thanks for the input on MySQL. I'll go a hunting :)

Foreign Languages?

Hmm....

While I was home my uber-tech-smart-web-builder Uncle gave me a crash course in database-driven websites and introduced me to SQL. This week I discovered that my District is heading towards all database-driven websites, using MySQL/Mamp/Joomla.

I'm supposed to build at least 1 from the ground up.

I spent 3 hours last night trying to figure out how to set up Mamp and Joomla to work together... not sure if I'm messing up on the Mamp end or the Joomla end....

And if you understand anything I'm talking about can you let me know??? Cuz I'm pretty sure you know a LOT more than me:( 

I also need to find a good book/source for MySQL commands...

My life definitely won't be boring this year.

First sign of fall last night:

Also, Part 1 and 2 of "Byron Phillips: Found" starring Zachary Levi. Watch and love :)

Byron Phillips: Found Part 1 w/ Zachary Levi from Joel David Moore

Byron Phillips: Found Part 2 w/ Zachary Levi from Joel David Moore

Trip Details

I'm finally getting around to posting about my trip to the fiber retreat in NM and our stay in Roswell, NM.

The fiber retreat was a TON of fun. Mom and I used to go to one or two of those a year - when I still lived in Texas. When I moved to MN it just wasn't possible (logistically or financially) for me to continue going on retreats in TX and NM. We did manage to go to one in Canada - right before I moved to CO.

Thanks to Mom's prodding, I entered some of my handspun yarn in the yarn judging contest. I chose the skein of alpaca I spun at the Alpaca Days - the one where I sat and demonstrated to the guests and the alpaca ranch GAVE me the fiber....


And the results?



Yup. That's a BLUE ribbon! Guess Mom was right.... aren't they usually?



On the way back we (Mom, Aunt M and I) stopped in Roswell, NM.





Where we stopped at the UFO Museum and Research Center.




Strange but true... twice in the night the alarm radio next to my bed woke me up with that crazy buzzy/static sound they do sometimes.... and it was off... and mom was asleep... and I'm really not making it up. Was kinda creepy and totally Roswellian.


Back home - unpacking and organizing my fiber business.


BTW: Went grocery shopping today and picked up some MASSIVE green onions - they're locally grown and their scent filled up my entire car on the short drive home.... See:

Educated!

I love my Kaylee dog. I don't think anyone who has seen the two of us together could deny that fact, but if you've met her in the flesh you know she often has an odor. I'm not saying she is the stinkiest thing on four legs, but she's probably second after skunks. Yeah, it's that bad.

In talking with a vet friend of mine this past weekend I learned several things:

1. Dogs hate human perfume/shampoo/scents - they trigger their fear instinct.

2. You shouldn't bath your dog more than about 3 times per year, no matter what shampoo you use. It dries out the dogs hair and skin, causing irritation. And you should NOT use human shampoo on a dog. (woops!)

3. Humans don't like the smells that those glands put off... well I did already know that.

4. There's a product out there for humans that is pleasing to both humans and dogs... Alpha Keri body oil. Yeah, the smell is somewhere between baby powder and "little old lady," but trust me - it's an improvement! You mix 1 part Alpha Keri with 15 parts water and rub it all over your puppy. You can do this every day if needed.

Woops! Happy Belated Anniversary 2 Aspen E!

I've been so distracted lately.... I did think about it when I was on my trip, but didn't have Internet access...

Happy 8th Anniversary to Aspen E Tall As A Tree - as of July 26th :)

Crunch time - last few days of my trip and there's a bunch of people I still need to see.... eep!

6:50 pm = 106 degrees. Did that make you cringe?

had a blast at fiber retreat. learned lots. spending 2nite in Roswell... hope we don't get abducted by aliens - eeep!

Retreat!

Heading to New Mexico this weekend with Mom and Aunt - to a Fiber Retreat!

We get to hang out with other fiber people and take workshops where we learn new techniques.

I used to go to these all the time with Mom - when I still lived in Texas. We always went to the one in NM and one in East TX. When I moved away it got harder and harder for us to meet up for these retreats... so... this is the first one in quite a while.

I'm excited!

lovely chat with a British boy and a retirement party for friend. a good day.

stop the presses... it's actually pleasant outside at the moment. cool-ish breeze and all. shocking! too bad it won't last.... 105 today.

Etsy is Up

My new Etsy Store is up and running!

You can click on the "Etsy" Tab above to access my Etsy site or to see a random sampling of my fiber.

I have a few more skeins to put up, but it's late and I'm tired! So... more to come :)

Handspun Creations

Still in Texas.... will probably stay for a month - minus a short trip with my mom and aunt to Southern New Mexico at the end of July (for a fiber retreat).

I'm keeping busy so far - helping mom and dad with their fiber business and working to set up my own. I'm still working on my Etsy site, I've ordered business cards, and I have about 20 skeins of handspun yarn to put up for sale. Each skein takes approximately 4 hours to complete. Not a speedy process, but it's something I enjoy and I'm hoping people will enjoy knitting/crocheting/weaving/etc with my yarns.

I'm mellllllllting

Well... sweating at least.

A lot.

Thank you Texas.

Made it in yesterday - I survived the drive with a cat and a dog, Denver rush-hour traffic and tons of rain.

Glad to be here, but not glad for the rain - the humidity - the heat.

I knew what I was getting into, but knowing and enduring are completely different.

Spinning wheels

Been spinning and spinning and spinning....

Need to clean house and do laundry and pack for my trip to Texas, but I haven't been feeling inspired. Felt good to take a few days off and relax after school/summer school.

Went to a softball game tonight and knew people on both teams - so I was cheering for both teams.

When I got home one of my neighbors invited me over for a fire-pit/marshmallow-roasting event.

All in all - a good day.

Fourth

Went to a friend's house last night and sat out on her deck... Had a great view of the mountains and the rodeo up on the hill, silhouetted by the setting sun.

They had a 15-20 minute firework show up on the hill too - her patio provided a great view of that as well. Fireworks in a mountain valley are something... very loud, very echoey, and they light up the mountains.

There was delicious food, good company, and s'mores! It was a great night.

Let's not do that again...

In addition to being poked with 13 needles yesterday the trip home was uber-stressfull.

1. The part of the trip that usually takes 30 minutes took an HOUR and 30 minutes, three times as long. All the people in Denver were trying to get an early start out of the big city and into the mountains for the 4th. Bad timing on my part. Didn't think about it being the Friday before the 4th when I made my appointment.

2. I almost saw an accident on the interstate - still not sure how that truck stopped in time.

3. Here in town, when I was almost home, I saw 2 pedestrians almost get hit by an idiot speeding along in his Jeep. If the wife hadn't pulled the husband back he WOULD have been hit. Best part? The driver then had the good manners to stop and yell at the pedestrians. Never mind that it IS Colorado State Law that pedestrians have right of way, they were in the crosswalk, everyone in my lane was stopped (clue) and HE was speeding and not paying attention. I really thought I was about to see two people get plowed over...

I really want to lock myself in my townhouse for the rest of the weekend to avoid traffic and stupid people.

free at last! though i have this nagging feeling i'll get a call about something tomorrow.... i'm "officially done" with summer school

and not a day too soon... we were ALLLLL ready 4 a break

Today:

Social Studies - mock trial

English - on the computers (my home away from home) playing preposition games

Science - building and shooting off model rockets

Should be fun!

2 days and counting.... 10 hours and then freedom!

an hour later and the other teacher came back from her appointment. she took over. so i'm home... hopefully they won't have to wait another hour.

not good. accident has road blocked. stuck here with 4 kids til bus can get through.... apparently it's a pretty bad accident :(

Oh me, oh my!

An extended trailer for the last two Harry Potter movies being released November 2010 and July 2011.


I'm looking forward to these... hoping they do justice to the other movies and to the books.


Big task.

One week until Summer!

I've actually got 4 days of summer school left... not bad! It's gone by pretty quickly, and while it hasn't been a horrible experience, I will be reallllllly glad when it's over.

I know people think teacher's have a cushy job, getting 2-3 months off a year, but we NEED that time to recharge our batteries. Our job is emotionally exhausting.

I'm going to take a week off after summer school and then - just when I'm starting to getting stir-crazy - I'll head down to Texas to hang out with the parents, attend a birthday party, work on the parent's fiber business, and get mine up and running (hopefully).

Happy Monday Everyone!

Treasure Hunt!

I went into work to set up for tomorrow's summer school and I went up to the library to get a Book on CD for the 14 hour trip home. As I was leaving I browsed through the books they're getting rid of. At first I didn't recognize anything and didn't see anything interesting... but then... hidden under some other books... I saw The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain... Upon further searching I found and absconded with Robin Hood, Little Women, The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, 10,000 Leagues Under the Sea, A Wizard of Earthsea, and Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume.

Free books!?!?!

Pure awesomeness!

Survival

Survived Denver.

Got bored on the way down and started playing the license plate game. 20 plates, including Colorado. Definitely summer/vacation time.

The allergy doctor wasn't... well I want to say he wasn't very encouraging, but that's just because I didn't like what he had to say :(

He says the next step is allergy shots. 1-2-3 times a week for a month and then once a month for five years. 5. FIVE.

Oofda.

That's assuming they work.

I need to find out if my insurance will pay for any of it and I need to find out if the clinic here will be willing to do the shots for me. I can't afford to drive an hour and a half one way every time I need to get a shot and I can't miss work for it.

I'm going back down to see him next Friday - he wants to test/retest me for a few things to see how I respond... more needles and welts :) Gotta love it!

I just hope we can work something out for the shots... and that THEY work. :\

To Denver, and Beyond!

After school I'm making another trip down to Denver to see my allergy doctor. I'm just going to tell him that what he's doing isn't working. My nose/sinuses are still giving me grief 24/7. I'm not in misery, but I'm VERY uncomfortable.

I'm not looking forward to the projected high of 93 degrees today in Denver.... of course that won't feel anything like what I'll be greeted with in Texas... /cringe (What was I thinking?)

On the plus side, I'm going to try and see a movie while down in Denver. I just have to decide between Toy Story 3, Knight and Day, and Prince of Persia. Hmmmm....

How to get free worms...

There's a book and a movie called "How to Eat Fried Worms" - now that's just disgusting... I mean really...

I only needed 5 (life) meal worms for a couple of summer school science experiments. When I went into our local hunting/fishing store and asked if they come in packages smaller than 30 he asked me what I was going to use them for. I told him and he told me to just take them since they were for the school.

Sweet. Free worms.

If only that worked for gasoline... I need gas to get back and forth to school so I can teach my kiddos... Sure go ahead and take a tank!

New Green Hornet Movie

I never watched the original.... what do you think?

Patience paid off

I'm glad I never got around to switching my Blog over to some other site.

Blogger finally came through... I love the new changes ;)

Ok... so it was part patience, part dread of all the likely complications, and a heavy dose of nostalgia. Blogger and I go way back; this July 22nd will be our 8th Anniversary... *sniffle*

Excuse me... I need a tissue...

Contemplating Etsy

I'm pondering...

I'd like to try to sell some skeins of my handspun yarn on Etsy. They charge 20 cents to list an item for four months and 3.5% of the total sale price (does not include shipping) when your item sells.

That seems pretty reasonable...

I know Sharon has used Etsy in the past... any thoughts/comments/recommendations from Sharon (or any other readers) would be greatly appreciated.

I'm also trying to figure out how much I should sell my handspun yarn for. I mostly spin fine wools (merino, corriedale, rambouillet) which is hand-painted by my parents.

Decisions, decisions.

think i just gave dad best father's day ever. told him i'm coming home 4 a month. mom pretty happy 2. can help them w/work... and i'll be bored if i stay here.

Star Trek: Tik Tok

Lots of Pictures

Pictures from Dad's visit, which just reminded me how lucky I am to be living in Colorado!

Another marmot - love these guys :)


A pine squirrel


AND I finally got my "moose-in-the-water" picture...






Jumping over a fallen log...


I'd never even seen a baby moose before last week! This one was LITTLE - still wobbly.



Running to Mama for a kiss and a feed.

whoever invented migraines should be shot.

pass closed due to snow/weather. took the long way around. pretty drive. dinner at fancy restrnt then back home :)

Dad and i having a blast. Wool Market. Lots of elk, moose, deer (all with babies!), pelicans, an osprey and a bald eagle.

Preparations

I worked for 3/4 of the day on Friday (unusual for me) - at a training. Our district, like many others has remedial and night school courses. We've just joined a company that provides these services online and I went to the training on how to use it.

Fortunately for me, I can use bits and pieces of it for summer school.

Unfortunately for me, that means I have to go through all the bits and pieces to see what I can and can't use.

I spent about 5 hours on Saturday going through the website, trying to plan my summer school classes. I will be teaching one course each of; Reading, English and Social Studies. Luckily the Social Studies is all planned out and I managed to come up with an outline and the first week worth of lessons for English. However, I'm not really sure what to do with Reading.

It's 3 weeks, 5 days a week, 1 hr 20 mins a day - with a test every Friday. That's not a lot of time to go through an entire years worth of information.

I also spent some time yesterday vacuuming, steam-cleaning my carpets, dusting, and doing laundry. This morning I gave Kaylee a bath so she wouldn't stink up the carpets again... cuz she's a dog... that's what they do.

My house is almost ready for company, but I still have a lot of work to do with my lessons. Better get back to it... Got book club this afternoon.

Oh, and I'm still fighting off this stupid sinus infection. All the trees are blooming and I don't suppose I'll get better until their done. But at least it'll be pretty and green for Dad's trip.

Memorial Day Weekend?

I spent Friday doing housework - getting things together for a garage sale.

I spent Saturday sitting and spinning - which was plenty of fun.

I spent Sunday and Monday home sick with a sinus infection.

Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures, but I did get a bobbin full of "The Beast." Most fiber mills pick up all the scraps and run them through on more time - to not waste perfectly good fiber - and you never know what you'll get! This was mostly alpaca and full of natural colors (browns, red, grays, blacks and whites).

I'm on an anti-biotic and a steroid... again... If I keep this up I'll wind up turning into the Incredible Hulk :/

Sitting and spinning

I read an article in the newspaper that said the local Alpaca Ranch is having an open house this weekend and they gave a phone number... I called them up and asked them if they wanted someone to come out and demonstrate spinning. She got all excited, said she had one person, but would love more. So.... I'll be out there spinning from 10 to 4 tomorrow. AND they'll give me the roving to spin

/faint

Lucky me!

Hot, Hot, Hot!

Oofda.

Yesterday we took 90 kids to Denver on a field trip. I went on that field trip last year and it was great. This year would have been great if the air conditioning was working :(

It was 93 degrees, in a room with 120 warm bodies, and 1/2 the roof was a collection of sun roofs.

HOT!

And the bus ride back, on a bus with no ac, in lots of traffic, in downtown Denver with no air moving.

Oofda.

I don't do hot. That's why I left Texas.

I made it back to school and then home and then I passed out on my couch for an hour and 45 minutes. And I slept quite late today.

I was just totally drained.

But, other than the heat it WAS fun...

Catching Lightening

I tried really hard.... 71 pictures... but this was the best I could get.

There's a lightening storm over the mountains and it's quite spectacular...

The sun was well gone, but it's a fool moon.

That's something I should get Dad to do while he is here - show me how to take pictures at night :)

7 days and counting

Well... tomorrow is a field trip to Denver and the very last day of school doesn't isn't so much teaching as it is crowd control.

But 7 days of school left, 5 days of teaching.

The kids are definitely starting to get rowdy.

But I'll survive.

And when it's all over with, Dad will be up here visiting and we'll go to the Estes Park Wool Market. Something to look forward to.

The Hunger Games

New book for book club: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Could NOT put it down. On to the second book already. The 3rd and final book comes out this August 24th :)
http://mediaroom.scholastic.com/hungergames

I should be completely revolted by the subject matter: kids forced to kill each other for the amusement of their government and to as a means of keeping the people in line. However, I find Collins' writing style, characters and the world of Panem absolutely captivating.

Really looking forward to this book club discussion and for the final book to wrap things up.

Critters

Kaylee and I went to the park and for the first time since October we saw moose! Two of them. Almost hit one on the road:



And the other one stared me down... I was judging the distance between me and the car and me and the moose:


Then Kaylee and I went to a local mountain pass where we found a good bit of snow. I was scooping up hand-fulls of the sticky snow and throwing them for her. She would run through the snow, using her nose to find the snowball. When she found where they landed she dug down through the snow, it's like she could smell the "something" that I had thrown and was trying desperately to find "it." Silllllly dog.


And just so the kitty doesn't feel left out... She and Kaylee really do get along SUPER well :)

3 things

1. I finally finished Wicked (the book) last night. It's been a long, 4 month journey. I forced myself to finish it... because I've wanted to read it forever. I watched the musical first - LOVED it, then read the book - didn't love it. The book is very dark and I think the witch goes insane there at the end... cuz it stopped making sense to me... but, I finished it.

2. I'm on my way to Denver to see the Allergy Specialist. Last week, out of the blue, I had an allergic reaction to some unknown thing, which resulted in a very ugly, very itchy, slightly painful rash across my upper chest. I went to a local doctor last Friday and she diagnosed it as "contact dermatitis," but we could not isolate the cause. I've decided to go to the Allergy Specialist today, in hopes that he might be able to figure out what caused it. I've never had a reaction like that and I REALLY don't want to go through it again.

3. I hope to see Iron Man 2 while in Denver :)

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers :)

Aya even wished me a Happy Mother's Day, because I have a cat and a dog and I'm like a mother to them :)

Gleeful

Just when I think I should call it my "guilty pleasure," Glee rocks the house and I'm proud to be a Gleek!

Tonight's episode = MC Hammer, Vanilla Ice AND Olivia Newton-John... and one of my all-time favorites, Total Eclipse of the Heart (Bonnie Tyler) in one episode. It was almost TOO much to process - I'll just have to watch it again tomorrow!

And soon, I'm SOOOOO excited, an episode starring Neil Patrick Harris, directed by Joss Whedon.

I might swoon.

If you hear ecstatic screams/laughter/sobs coming from the direction of Colorado ---- it *might* be me!

Pics

The surprisingly large snow yesterday morning:



The kids got me flowers for helping to direct the play - one kid got me the purple and white ones and the group got me a dozen orange roses :)

The Wizard of Oz

Tonight was our production of The Wizard of Oz.

The kids ROCKED THE HOUSE!

I'm SO proud of them.

I was really worried last week, but they definitely came through in the end!

went 2 sleep w/rainy sounds. woke up to 5 inches of snow - and still accumilating!

raindrops on my metal roof. very soothing. goodnight world.

Just watched Ninja Assassain and I've gotta say... I loved it! Surprised? Me too.

He was right...

I turned on the TV and was met by an old man proclaiming how Germany's Military is an evil bully - the new Holy Roman Empire. He was quoting Herbert W. Armstrong and saying his prophecies were correct - while telling you that you shouldn't trust what any man says or you are cursed (from the bible). And apparently the Middle East's problems originate from Germany.

Basically, he was preaching hate against Germany and using Hitler, the bible, and Armstrong as an examples.

Where has he been for the last 65 years?

Gotta love Sunday Morning TV...

I'm disgusted.

Time to go for a drive and get in tune with nature.

65 degrees and sunn yesterday. windy and snowy 2day. that's springtime in the mountains!

Zappos.com Puppet Commercial - Jessie

LOL

hmmm... to Target or not to Target... uhm yeah. that's a no-brainer!

7:20am to 7:10pm. Long day. Sleepy time.

Kaylee and i are Memphis, TX enjoying a Sonic burger. Listening to garden spell on audio cd. Really interesting... making time fly.

Spring Break 2010

Family, friends, lunches, model rockets, attempted kite flying and a cool breeze.

Overall, a good trip back to Texas... but ended with a bang.

Spent last night in the emergency room with mom - she accidentally doubled up on all her medicine last night (diabetes and blood pressure). I "slept/sat" in the hospital chair in her room all night.

She's fine. They just kept her overnight/morning to monitor her and make sure nothing dropped too low.

I didn't really get any sleep last night, but I managed to get 3 hours of sleep this afternoon. Now I need a good night's sleep so I can get up and drive 14 hours back to Colorado.

everything's so green here. shock 2 the system after months of all brown and white. only 1 allergy attack so far. yay 4 tex-mex! num num!

clean bathroom. yummy vanilla latte. 2 compliments on my shirt. gotta love Starbucks :) makes up 4 snowy 1.5 hr drive over pass. ok so far.

Yup. That's about right

Just when all the snow around town had melted and the weather was turning beautiful... We get a nice spring snow storm today....

It wasn't enough that today was April Fool's Day AND the last day before Spring Break... nope... the server HAD to crash at the end of 3rd hour. No server = no computers = inventive teaching in a "Computer Class."

Good times.

But I survived. I'm gonna get some dinner, go pack for my trip home and then I'm gonna go to bed early. Again.

Spring is in the air

It's been in the 50's the last few days and the snow is almost all gone, except for what's on top of the mountains.

The wind has been howling like crazy every night and the red-breasted robins were out singing this afternoon when I get home from work.

Tomorrow is April and next week is Spring Break.

Yup.

It's that time of the year.

Spring Break Inc!

I worked late every night last week and every day the weekend before.

I worked a bit this last weekend, but I also managed to get some rest.

We had an extra rehearsal for play practice, I had to get the yearbook done, and it was the end of the quarter so all grades and comments for all my students were due.

Oofda.

Just have to get the comments done by the end of the day tomorrow and I'll be all caught up.

Thank goodness next week is our Spring Break.

I'm looking forward to relaxing at home with the family and the critters.

3 good things from today

1. I had something happen today that makes me believe I might still have a job even after next year :)

2. Several girls from the school play were asking if I would be teaching the new drama class next year - and were disappointed when I said no. Which I translate to: they like me and I'm good at it!

3. I'm my own best friend... Kaylee!

Your results:
You are Kaylee Frye (Ship Mechanic)

Kaylee Frye (Ship Mechanic) 85% Dr. Simon Tam (Ship Medic) 85% Malcolm Reynolds (Captain) 60% Derrial Book (Shepherd) 55% Zoe Washburne (Second-in-command) 50% Wash (Ship Pilot) 40% Inara Serra (Companion) 25% River (Stowaway) 25% Alliance 20% Jayne Cobb (Mercenary) 15% A Reaver (Cannibal) 5%

You are good at fixing things. You are usually cheerful. You appreciate being treated with delicacy and specialness.

Click here to take the "Which Serenity character are you?" quiz...


And because the play we're doing is The Wizard of Oz, I've finally started reading Wicked... so far - so good.

helped set up, chaperone, and clean up our 1st annual semi-formal dance. SO tired, but totally worth it. was awesome. now, to sleep!

Great Futures Colorado

Here's a video from Great Futures Colorado that sums it up in 32 seconds:



And the map for that.

no matter what, kids are going 2 lose out. our job is 2 minimize the affects of the budget crunch. hope i can do my part.

rough district staff mtg 2day. super int. laid it all on the line. next 3-4 yrs r goin 2 be HARD. hope i can hold onto my job throughout it.

50 degrees felt quite warm 2day. warmest we've been in months. now it's cold enough 2 use electric blanket. that's life in the mountains 4 ya :)

Sunday's Pictures

I went to the park to try and find some wildlife, but was unsuccessful.

Mountains always make for a good picture:


On a different road I did find these:




And on the way home I caught this guy eye-balling me:

Dear Mom & Dad

Remember how you guys used to always nag me to "use common sense!"

Well, I'm here to tell you that the amount of common sense you have is, at least partially, related to age. There are of course those random exceptions.: students who are ahead of the developmental curve, students who have learned the hard way, and adults who just never developed a healthy amount of it.

I submit to you the following two examples from this afternoon as proof positive that, at least in part, common sense is related to age.

Example A:

After school, at play practice, we had a student pick up a paint can by the inner ring... aka the lid.

Yup.

The lid popped right off and the entire thing fell onto the floor.

Paint everywhere.

On the carpet.

And the kids was shocked.

Example B:

After we had managed to somewhat clean up that mess, thank you SO much to the lovely custodian, we had another incident.

The large set piece had been laid out, on top of newspaper, and painted.

The other teacher and I were in back and when we came out to the front, after all the kids had left, we were greeted with kid-sized, black paint shoe prints all over the commons area.

Someone *student* had walked onto the still-drying set piece and then walked onto the tile floor with their black-painted shoes.

I spent 20 minutes after rehearsal on my hands and knees scrubbing the floor so the custodian wouldn't have to clean up after us again.

Someone from MN

I've added a new link to my blog roll: Taylor S Smith

I went to school with him at BSU, we share some mutual friends and were in ceramics together.

Nice guy. Awesome artist.

He also has an online portfolio.

Thwarted

I made it halfway down the other side of the pass - on my way to see the allergy doctor - only to learn that the pass was closed. Apparently an avalanche was being cleared away and it took several hours.

I wish I hadn't wasted an hour each direction and a 1/4 tank of gas.

On the plus side I ran into a friend on the way back and we had brunch at a neat little place I'd never been to... it was good to chat with her and her kids and the food was delicious.

helped break up a fight 2day AND yelled at girl who slapped a boy (and boy 4 deserving it) AND a half day of testing. thank god 4 trivia.

Melting

It snowed a good bit yesterday and it is snowing right now... yet we have LESS snow accumulation now than we did on Monday. It's warm enough to melt the snow on the ground, but cold enough to snow.

Odd.

Another sign that Spring is on the way.

Cutbacks

We're all feeling it...

We're all hearing it...

"Tough economic times..."

That horrible grating sound of an empty bank account...

People are losing jobs...

We started out the week with an early morning staff meeting on Monday. The main topics of conversation: a. The two people in my building who have been told they're not rehired - one is being bumped for someone with seniority and the other's position is being cut. b. The principal also informed us that instead of 9 cuts throughout the district, it's looking more like 17 cuts.

Seventeen.

That's more than 10-15% of the district... How can we even function like that?

I don't know.

These are dark times for education.

I'm safe for now, but nobody is sure when/where more cuts will be coming.

They're calling a district wide staff meeting next Wednesday, after school, to discuss budget issues and projected cuts.

I'm going to keep my toes crossed. I'm not safe yet... and if I do wind up safe for this year there is NOTHING that says they won't cut me next year.

Scary.

And I feel really bad for the two women at my school who were cut... one of them has lived in the county for 30 years.

Comments?

I *think* I fixed the commenting issue... for really real this time :)

let it snow, let it snow, let it snow... better late than never.

Dancing with the Stars

I tried several times to watch The Bachelor, out of curiosity... but it was just too weird to see all the drama, kisses and tears revolving around someone I remember as a goofy-ish teen.

Sorry Jake.

I did fast forward through last nights episode so I could see who he picked... and I hope he's very happy with his choice.

But now he's signed up for
Dancing with the Stars, a show I actually enjoy... I guess I'll wind up watching him on TV after all.

I'll just have to split my votes between Jake and Evan Lysacek.

woah! slow down little town! we just got a 2nd stoplight - a mcdonald's is opening soon - AND now a Subway? we're just exploding! crazy!

Comments sorted

I think... maybe...

Let me know?

Co-pilot

Hmmm...

No idea what's wrong with my comments....
/sigh

Too tired to figure it out tonight - will try again tomorrow.

Another school shooting...

This one happening at a Denver Middle School... not too far from the Columbine High School...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/23/deer-creek-middle-school_n_473943.html

Scary.

Back in the saddle again

I missed ALL of last week due to my sinus infection and we had yesterday off for a 4-day weekend. That means I had 11 days off in a row. These days were spent sleeping, reading, and watching the Olympics.

At no point during those 11 days did I hear 200+ rowdy students.
At no point during those 11 days did I have to yell at anyone.
At no point during those 11 days did I yell at or get talked back to by anyone.

Yes, I was sick and miserable and in pain... but the up-side presents itself.

Today was a rough day back. I really don't like being gone - for oh-so many reasons...
1. I'm a neat freak and I have a place for everything, but when I'm gone things out of order so I have to re-order and hunt for stuff.
2. The kids tend to "forget" the rules.
3. I have no idea where any of my students are on their assignments.

And of course the longer I am gone the worse these things get.

Add to that a 4-day weekend where kids slept very little and were not ready to come back to school...

Add the fact that I had after school tutoring today - full of kids who cause trouble in class and don't get their work done when they're supposed to...

And... yeah... it was a long first day back.

But I survived it and we only have 2 more days of this week!

And I should also add that I did receive a warm welcome back from many of my students "Ms. E! You're alive! You're back!? Are you better?"

So it wasn't all bad.

I'm just tired.

5 Things I Love About The Olympics

In between hours of snoozing, sneezing, sniffling and being down-right miserable I've been trying to keep up with the Olympics - thank you TiVo. Here's a list of 5 things I love about the Olympics:

5. They happen only once every 2/4 years so they feel special.

4. I enjoy seeing/learning about the countries they take place in.

3. It's the only time I watch sports of any kind, outside of the Cowboys, so it's refreshing.

2. Learning fun names for tricks/moves in different sports, such as the "kickin' chicken" in snowboarding.

1. I find myself hoping and praying for the good performances of people I knew nothing about 5 minutes before - thanks to the 2-3 minute piece about their life story/bid for the Olympics.

started feeling sniffley yesterday. now i have a full-blown sinus infection. stayed home from school. /sigh. these are becoming a habit.

my hunt for the elusive CO big game was a bust. the fresh coat of snow created a beauty all its own. love the frosty winter wonderland look.

Feeling the love

Worked at the MS girls basketball tournament - keeping score - this morning.

It was fun to go and support my students and Kaylee was able to go. She loves going to things like that because people are always falling all over her - yes, she's THAT adorable.

Had a short chat with the town's mayor (who is also the mother of one of my students) and she says she's going to put in a good word for me with the superintendent. She says I should definitely keep my job. There are a LOT fingers in the pot and a lot of factors that go into the decision, but it is always nice to know you're appreciated.

I've got to spend this afternoon working on the yearbook... only 1 month left until that's due.

And maybe, if they play their cards right, I'll get some snuggling with a kitty and puppy.

Final count....

Dad went out and measured.... 15 inches of snow.

In Texas.

Ridiculous.

Let it snow.... Please?

This is ridiculous.

The east coast is buried in snow.

Dallas/Ft. Worth has received 10 + inches in the last 12 hours and it's still snowing.

I live in Colorado, in the mountains, 5 minutes from one ski resort and 15 minutes from two other ski resorts... and we have what... 2 inches of snow?

Ridiculous.

Long couple of weeks

- write-ups
- argumentative students
- overheard things I had to report
- more talk about budget cuts
- stress
- lack of sleep
- fights broken up
- major problems happening with kids' families

I really needed tonight.

I went to trivia with the new teacher from school and there were 5 other people on our team. We did pretty well.

I knew it was gonna be a good night when the first question was: "What country's native population refers to it as Aotearoa?"

Answer: New Zealand!

Next round, first question: "What's the sea that separates Australia and New Zealand?"

Answer: Tasman Sea

Third round, first question: "Aotearoa means 'Land of the long white THIS'"

Answer: cloud

Boo to the ya!

There was also a question in the third round about Sir Edmund Hillary's job before he climbed Mt. Everest... I had heard, but forgotten the answer - bee keeper.

In addition to the NZ questions I knew several other answers. It felt good :)

AND I learned that one of the guys who comes to trivia off and on knows sign language. He was talking to me and signed a word... I don't think he realized he was doing it. I signed my answer back and we both got excited. He knows A LOT more than me, because he grew up with it - he's mostly deaf in one ear. I hope he keeps coming so we can sign together!

Overall, it was a very good night and just what I needed.

Can you help "Us" ?

I just got the following message (via Facebook) from an Us Weekly magazine reporter:

"We are working on a story about Jake Pavelka, The Bachelor, and we're looking for classmates to share fun stories and fun photos with Us for our article! Our readers love him and we want to include a fun walk down memory lane for them! Let me know if you or anyone you know could help! We close tonight. Thanks!!!"

At least I went to High School with a Bachelor that people "love."

LoL

me: "What do we know about blogs?"
student: "They start with a 'B' and end with a 'S'"

lunch time. blissfully quiet. resisting urge 2 lock doors and not let "them" back in. but that won't do... must persevere... /sigh

TOTALLY worth it

finally at the theater. wtg 4 Avatar. Better be worth it!

does that baby have a mohawk? yes, yes he does... and it's kind of awesome :)

working gate at hs basketball tourney. opposing team's coach screams at the boys. entertianing and aggravating at the same time.

Lions and Tigers and Bears!

Oh my!

I've volunteered to help out our 1st-year music teacher who has taken on the ENORMOUS task of producing/directing a musical for our school. We don't have a drama department, but apparently there was enough interest amongst the kids. She has 20 kids for the production of The Wizard of Oz and she was all alone. I told her I'd be happy to help out - I always love music and theater when I was in school. It means staying until 6pm on Mondays for the next couple of months, but it will be better for her and the kids.

In other news... There were two sitings of a mountain lion in my neighborhood at the end of last week. One was about a half a mile down the street. Kaylee is on a VERY short leash. Poor baby, she loves to run!

We won the third round of trivia, but lost overall. And I learned that a group of tigers is called a streak or an ambush. Who knew? Not us.

Hmm... I got nothing for bears... oh wait, there's an adorable German Shepherd mix at the pound that needs a home... his name is Bear!

Ha!

Take that L. Frank Baum!

LoL!

I love being told how stupid I am, but my favorite has to be when a student informs me their mom is a lawyer and she is going to sue me - though the student can't really give me a reason other than I'm being horrible to them (aka making them follow the rules).

That's just awesome!

I didn't laugh in the student's face.... much. I did, however, inform that student that I didn't have ANYTHING worth suing over... I don't own anything other than some dvds, a tv, and my clothes. I'm a second year, single, teacher. So good luck with that!

School Finance

I haven't really gone into detail about this yet, but my school district is in a major financial pickle. We're just one of many school districts throughout the country that are in the same boat.

There are a lot of factors that go into this, including:

1. We are very isolated and if a family/parent loses a job they don't have a lot of other prospects. As a result of the current economy we've lost several families/students to bigger districts. A family with four kids just moved to Arkansas for the Dad's job last week. For each kid we lose the district loses thousands of dollars in funding from the state.

2. The county has lost millions in unpaid property taxes (because people can't afford to pay them) and a hefty chunk of that money would go to local schools.

3. Rising costs of... well, everything.

The district is talking about major cuts. We've already cut over $500,000 since last year and we need to cut $1 million next year and over a $1.2 million from the following year's budget.

The number one (and really only) spot in a school district's budget to make big cuts is in personnel. The superintendent sent out an email last Thursday saying that there was a motion before the board to cut 9 positions from next year and she outlined the district's policy of letting probationary teachers go first. This is perfectly normal, but unfortunately I fall under that category until the end of next school year.

Educating the Teacher

As I just posted, I'm at a tech conference/workshop/class in Denver. We've just finished the morning session and I have 3 pages (single-spaced) of typed notes... and the afternoon session still ahead of me.

I'm overflowing with ideas and excited to hear some more! It's going to take quite a bit of time to process all of this! And I haven't even cracked the idea/handbook that came with the class. YAY!

At the same time I'm worrying about how long I'll have to implement these new ideas...

at tech class/workshop. LOADS of info coming my way. brain hurts, but in a good way. feeling inspired! and only 1/2 way done!

well that's not good. motion b4 board 2 cut 9 positions 4 next year. only 3 retirees and last in = first out... /sigh. i love my job.

Woot! School district is paying 4 me 2 go 2 a workshop on Friday 2 learn more about using tech in classes. Should get a book full of ideas!

*breathes a DEEP sigh of relief* i passed test #2 to bcome a CO tcher. that's #8 total... i should get official license in the mail soon :)

Stuck

It really was one of those weekends.

It started out Friday night with me trying to move my treadmill and getting it stuck in the doorway. Very, very stuck. I finally had to disassemble part of it before I managed to get it unstuck yesterday afternoon.

This afternoon I went to my favorite Mexican restaurant and on the way home I managed to get my car EXTREMELY stuck in a snow drift. I couldn't dig it out at all and the couple of friends I called weren't answering.

As I was walking back to the restaurant to ask for help I passed two guys and a girl taking their two dogs for a walk. I asked if they knew anyone I could call to help get me unstuck and they offered to help. They attempted to push me out and when that didn't work they said they'd go get some shovels and would be back to help me.

I waited almost 20 minutes and it was getting dark... it was around 0 degrees, windy and nasty... and I was getting worried they might not come back... So... I went back to the restaurant where the hostess called her boyfriend to come help me. I decided to walk back to my car and said I would meet them there.

When I got back to my car I found the first two guys digging furiously - one of them was actually UNDER my car with the shovel. I feel UNBELIEVABLY guilty for thinking they might not come back. Between the two guys digging and pushing and the boyfriend and his 4-wheel drive truck pulling they got me unstuck.

Nobody would accept any money, so I offered as many thank yous as I could before they drove away.

Good Samaritans, I salute you.

Tivo is SO the way 2 watch award shows. Yay 4 Glee and Robert Downey Jr = best speech i've heard in a LONG time =O)

Dropping the ball

Last night's bowling took FOREVER. We were bowling on lanes 3 and 4, but lane 4 was broken so really we had 2 teams bowling on lane 3. It took us over 2 hours to get through 1 and a half games. By that time several other teams were done and we moved over to 2 working lanes. Unfortunately, that seemed to throw everyone off and everybody's (both teams) scores went whack-a-doo. It was a pretty frustrating night.

Oh well.

Last night's Dollhouse, on the other hand, was pretty much amazing. I expected a death and was rewarded... if you can call it that. That's just what Joss does. He creates the amazing characters that we fall in love with and then BAM tragic death scene. It's so cruel, but it's how Joss rolls.

Only one episode left.

Fox is evil/stupid.

Joss Whedon is a genius.

right now = mexican food and live music. next up, bowling. then home 4 sleep and 2morrow hot date in Denver w/RussL! yay 4 MN friend in CO.

girls lost. action off court WAY more interesting. cops called 2 prevent brawl. watched my student being frisked. a night 2 remember.

watching my girls basketball team. tied 4 - 4.

Gray day

Kaylee's (and my) Christmas present from my parents was a new kennel. Her old one was all metal and she could reach through the sides to claw at stuff (floor, pillows, carpet, etc). Her new kennel is a nice, big, dark gray plastic one with solid sides.

This morning I put her in her kennel, as usual, and then I came home during 7th hour (my planning period) to let her out. I could hear her exclaiming her joy at my arrival as I climbed the stairs and when I let her out a gray streak zoomed past her... much to my surprise.

Sheba made it down the hall and halfway through the bedroom before she stopped - turned around - squawked rudely at me - then proceeded directly to her food bowl where she ate as though she had been without food for a good week.

I've got one seriously hissed off kitty cat.

Kaylee HAS to be in the kennel because she suffers from separation anxiety and tears up anything and everything she can get her paws or teeth on in my absence. Sheba, on the other hand, is an angel. There is absolutely no need for her to be kenneled. She must have been asleep in the kennel this morning (or just checking it out) when I locked Kaylee in it.

Dark gray cat. Dark gray kennel.

Easy mistake.

But try telling her that...

I've got some serious smoozing to do tonight!

if u can stand the pain of going up n over the mtn pass, coming down 2 denver is the best thing 4 a sinus infctn. can breath thru BOTH sides

made stuffed zuc 2nite = num. watched Dollhouse = OMG! nother test 2morrow 4 CO tchg license = UGH! and only 2 more eps of Dollhouse = Waah!

Something Old and Something New

As you may have noticed on my Twitter, it's COLD here. Reminds me of Minnesota. I know I've had much colder (up to -60), but Colorado doesn't seem to stay quite as cold for quite as long as Minnesota. As a result, I've forgotten how it feels to shiver! I love "cool" weather and even "cold" weather, but my range of comfort stops at about -20. That's just plain uncomfortable/miserable.

As for the something new... We had book club tonight, where we discussed our latest book, Little Women, and we rolled our own sushi. Mine was beautiful and delicious! Nori (seaweed wrap), rice, yellow pepper, avocado, baby spinach leaves, shredded carrots, cucumber and cream cheese. Yummy-yum-yums! I can now make it myself and I actually enjoy it (minus the fish)!

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My trip back to Texas was fun and productive. I went through some more boxes and "purged" things I hadn't even seen in 8 years. Found a "Time Capsule" letter 12th grade me wrote to future me for a Keyboarding class - apparently I was should have wound up as a marine biologist or a zoologist. I helped Mom and Dad in their goal of building a website for their fiber business. I also helped them with various computer/tv/cable/electronic issues. I made chicken parmigiana for my Italian family's Christmas dinner. I saw most of my family and quite a few friends.

One year is a long time to be away from somewhere, especially when that somewhere contains 90% of your family. I don't know if I can stand going back to Texas in the summer, but I might have to brave it... just so I'm not away from family/friends for so long.

Also, while at home, I contracted another sinus infection.. thanks to a "flue issue." Basically, I closed it because it was drafty and smokey smelling, but because Mom never touches it Dad didn't check before lighting a fire. Mom and I forgot to tell him we closed it so the entire house filled with smoke + Aspen's crappy, hyper-sensitive sinuses = Sinus Infection #3 (this year).

I've been on antibiotics and a steroid burst for most of the week. I'm just hoping I don't get worse and can make it through my big test on Saturday. This is test number 8 in my teacher licensing saga.

Brrrrr! Operation "Electric Blanket" has been activated! It's flipping cold tonight!

Still boggling over the fact that I went to Jr. High and High School with "The Bachelor." This world o' mine gets smaller every day.