2 days!

Two days down. I have officially been on summer break for 2 days. I have accomplished…a little. I am going through some paperwork. I’m trying to get some things organized around here. If you know me, you know I’m not organized. I’m going to start working on my syllabus for my summer class. I don’t want to put it off until the last minute. I want to finish reading the 7th book in the James Patterson series. I’m almost done with numero seis. I started them before I moved. I read the First to Die and thought it was good. Mom bought me the 2nd and 3rd on audio so that I would have something to do with my long drive from M-town. I think they took care of 15 hours of the road trip. I need to invest in some more audio books for the drive in July. I guess that is something else for my to do list. Back to the books, I received #7 as a present and then filled in the gap every time I went to Wall-Hell (that’s for Kellie). The books were great to start, but I’m finding that the author has a habit of making each chapter 2 or 3 pages long. It is annoying. Really, really annoying. I don’t know how to describe why. I kind of feel like the book is not experienced in writing so it just tells a quick thought, blinks, and starts a new chapter. It’s weird. The next chapter is not from another point of view. It picks up exactly where the last one left off. Am I just being stupid? I know I taught Language Arts and literature was my favorite thing, but I am not an expert.

I don’t have much to blog about because I only think of good things when I am in the shower. I don’t think it would be wise to take my laptop in the shower with me and I usually forget my thoughts by the time I get out. Anyone have a solution for that?

The weather has been great! Big blue sky. Sun is shining. Temp in the high 70’s - low 80’s. : ) Here is something to ponder…Aspen is open for skiing this weekend. The top of the mountain still has enough of the white stuff.

I stink.

No. Really, I stink. I’m going to go take a nice hot shower. I just wanted to say HI!

We had a field trip today. We walked almost a total of 4 miles there and back. That does not include running all around the top of a mountain chasing the kiddos. It poured down rain on our journey back to school. We were drenched. Then, the sun came out all happy and smiling down on us. We went out back and played on the playground until the final bell for the 8th graders rang. YEAH!!!

More to come….need a shower….need the bed.

More white stuff

Well, I woke up Thursday morning to snow. It was on the ground, in the trees, everywhere. I knew we were getting a storm, but I figured we would get a light dusting. No cleaning off the truck. It would be more like rain. It’s been warm. We got snow.

My truck had to be cleaned off. Here is a view from my windshield.

And, here is a few of me with snowflakes in my hair. Happy May 1st!

I’m thinking about cutting my hair. It’s getting so long. Any thoughts??

Dance with me….

I drove to Vail the Saturday before I flew to Vegas for the Ben Harper concert. It was (of course) freakin’ amazing. I met up with my friend Kristen (KK) and her boyfriend Ryan.

It was cold and snowing in Vail. It took a while to find a parking spot, but I finally did in the garage. The walk to the concert was slippery. I skated and attempted to walk on about 3 inches of packed snow. Who am I kidding? It was pretty much ice and I almost fell about four times. I did stop and take the picture that is above. I love to see snow on the river. I don’t know why, but water is always beautiful. A lake, a river, the ocean, you get the point. And before some smart ass comments, water in nature is beautiful. Water in the toilet bowl is not. Moving on.  At first I was a little scared about standing outside in the snow to listen to KK’s crush. I’m a little thing. I get cold. But, once you get in the middle of a crowd and have a beer…it was very comfortable. And there was fire because people had to light their pipes and joints. This is the third time that I have Ben Harper since I moved to Colorado. The first time was at the Jazz Aspen Snowmass Festival. I met up with another teacher and her parents. I think I had a contact high that night. Wow! Welcome to Colorado! The second time was in October at the Orpheum in Memphis. I remember being a little upset that people were firing up IN the Orpheum. I love it and want it to always be beautiful. So, I wasn’t surprised that I felt a little funny when leaving or that KK lost her phone. Anyway, Ben Harper is amazing. If you ever get the chance to see him, you should. I leave you with one last picture from the concert. : )

This time next week…

I will be in VEGAS!!! Ooooh, ahhhhh! I have a lot of planning to do. It so hard for a responsible loving teacher to take 4 days in a row off from school. Luckily, I only have to plan for 3 days b/c the kids have a field trip on Thursday. I hate to give them busy work, but I hate to give them a grade for any assignments that I am not not their to monitor, teacher, whatever. I know some of you think it is the control freak in me, but, yeah..you’re right…I’m a control freak. I have to be around to control the situation even when my kids learning or testing. Four more days this week! Oh, did I mention the white fluffy stuff that fell from the sky all day today? Yeah, when is Spring? The mountain closes next weekend, so I’m gonna need it to warm up, quickly. Please. : )

More of Nothing

A few things….

• I’m getting sick (again). I suddenly developed a cough again on Saturday and it is only getting worse. My head is heavy and very congested.
• I woke up with 5 or 6 inches of SNOW on the ground this morning. Yes, it is the last day of March. Yes, it is officially Spring.
• It continued to snow ALL day long. Aspen received 13″ today. Talk about fresh powder! At times, I couldn’t see out the windows at school. It’s been warm enough that the streets were fine.
•  I survived the first day back from Spring Break.
• Vegas, I’m coming soon! One of my fellow teacher friends bought us all tickets to a show. (I now have to come up with money to pay her back and didn’t ask for the ticket in the first place. hmm…)
• Did I mention that I can’t breathe? Because I’m really having a hard time.
• Today was the first day of the LAST quarter of school. Time has gone by so quickly.
• I don’t know why I’m using bullets or what else I have to talk about right now.

So, I am going to leave you with a picture of the most precious baby girl in the world. (I’ve been showing her off ALL day.)

On the road…again…

I’m heading to Denver tomorrow afternoon so that I can catch my flight. Pray for some good weather. I heard on the radio this afternoon that the Vail Pass may get a foot overnight and it will continue tomorrow. This is the direct route to Denver and I would NOT make my flight if I attempted to go the round-about way. The radio also said that if you could avoid traveling to Denver until Saturday, you should. Urgh! I hope it doesn’t snow. That is not a normal statement for me.I’m so glad that there is only ONE day left until Spring Break. Awww! The silence will be so nice. 1st on my agenda is catching my flight. Second is the PRAY walk. I get to see so many friends that are like family. Saturday night will include a Stock the Bar party for KT. Easter will be spent with my family on Easter. I plan on spending the rest of my trip visiting friends. I don’t have a lot of time, but I will do what I can.

Sorry I have been MIA. Our state standardized tests are finally finished. It was a very strange experience. It was not nearly as strict as I am used to. I read in the paper that they are thinking about doing away with the whole program. Things are different around here.

St. Paddy’s Day - Went to the Fitz’s for corned beef and cabbage. Yummy! We had a good time with other people from school. Hanging out, drinking, laughing at the boys doing car bombs, taking funny pictures of us in funny hats… what? you want to see the pictures? ok…

Left to right: Mary, Ryan (of Kristen and Ryan), ME, and Suzanne

Me and Kristen

I have to run. Mucho packing to do.

What a beautiful day!!

It was gorgeous here. Big bright blue skies! See look….

I had a great time on the mountain today. No falls. Okay, I’m lying but really there were only like 2, maybe 3. Not even hard ones. I ended up snowboarding all afternoon with two of my kids, one of their older sisters, and eventually one of their dads. It was fun. There is no better incentive to race down a mountain than following two of your students and not wanting to make an ass of yourself. I can’t wait to go again next weekend. Here’s a pic of me on top of the mountain. I think the other reason I snowboard is to see the awesome views from the top of a mountain. Hey, you have to make it down the mountain somehow. Oh, yeah, back to the picture. One of kids took it. I took of my helmet and stuff so I wouldn’t look so stupid. If you want the stupid pic click - img_0186.jpg

I’m alive!

Hello, Everyone! Something is going on with my wireless service at home. I can get on with the neighbors, but not with my own wireless router. It’s strange. The airport shows a full signal, but there is always a “problem loading page” error when I go to any website. I’m hoping the signal from the neighbors will last long enough for me to finish this post and publish it.

Here are a few updates from the week: (I know a lot of you have talked to me, so you already know. Just play along.)

• Last Friday, Granny had back surgery. It was longer than expected, but she came through very well. She was released from the hospital on Tuesday and is now at a rehab facility. Mom said that Granny is doing great in rehab. We don’t know how long she will be there yet. Maybe one week, maybe two.
• My little taller, just younger cousin, Jenifer, had her second baby on Tuesday. (It was a busy day for my family.) Christopher Colin came into this world weighing 8lb. 1 oz. and was 20 inches long. His brother was much bigger, but I hear that they look A LOT alike. Mommy and Colin are doing well. Just say a prayer that they will remain healthy. Dad is sick and Mommy has had a cold almost the entire pregnancy.
• I have no new snow to report. It’s kind of strange.
• I need to send out a big congrats to the Heisser’s! They found out today that they are having a little girl!!! Sonya is our 7th grade LA teacher and Jeremy is our tech teacher. They are an awesome couple and will be fantastic parents. : ) Sonya is due in July. (pronounced with a long o)
• I am about 20 pages short of finishing a book I started in January. I’ve been very busy, because I should have knocked it out a long time ago.
• My kids and I discussed gambling today. I was teaching them about probability and next thing I know we were discussing casino games. I rock as a teacher. Don’t judge. They were awake and they were listening. Don’t get me started on how I was able to relate slope-intercept form to get married and having babies. y=mx+b
• I watched Ratouille (or however you spell it) last night. Very cute movie. I enjoyed it. I took it upstairs for the girls to watch.
• My compaq laptop is sitting in a Fed Ex drop box. I managed to miss all of the drop off times in this town. The latest is 4! There is not a store to take it to, so I dropped it in the box and said a little prayer. It will be picked up by 3 tomorrow and on its way to Tennessee. Hopefully, it will be fixed quickly and shipped right back.

I leave you with the only picture that I have of Colin right now. It’s from a phone camera, so it’s a little fuzzy.

A few pics

I wanted to get some really good shots of all the snow this week, but that would involve me leaving work before it’s dark outside. So, you are just going to have to deal with what I have….

Here is my truck after sitting in the parking lot all day on Wednesday. It’s hard to see where the snow ends and the truck begins. (hint: just look for the dirt.)

This next one is for her and her. This is what mine looks like.

Where, oh, where do they put all the snow when they plough a parking lot or a street?

 In big piles (this one is actually very small) off to the side. Sometimes the kids in the neighborhood dig tunnels through the piles. Yes, they get that big.

And, one more snow bank in front of a mountain.

I know everyone is tired of hearing about all my snow, but it’s what is happening here.

We have parent/teacher conferences tomorrow. Wish me luck. It’ll either be great or not. We are in crunch time before CSAP and the kids have been wild with the snow days and scheduled days off. At this point, I’m counting down the days until Spring Break. (29 more school days) KT, I’ll be back soon. Will the house be ready for a party?

Edited: Thanks, Jana. I wouldn’t have realized I had two pics with the same name.