It's been a while since I got a weekend with NOTHING to do! It's been lovely! Saturday I enjoyed sleeping in, playing with my puppy dog (and brushing him, much to his dismay), followed by reading (NOT for school!) and a nap. My fat kitty supervised the reading and napping to make sure I was doing it correctly :)
Then for dinner I drove down to Pueblo and met up with Mums. We had dinner and then headed over to the CO state fair. It was lots of fun. First we saw some baby cows, followed by some goats, and that was all while in search of our main destination... the bunnies!! :) There were lots of them and they were fluffy with wiggly noses! Some of them were sleepy, some were scared, and some came hopping over to say hi to us. I wonder if Sherlock and Fat Kitty would like to have a bunny as a sibling..? :)
From the bunny-barn we wandered through some of the booths, saw the quilts (it's amazing that people still do that by hand!), the photographs, and some other crafty things. By then it was getting a little late, so I got some pink lemonade and we went and rode the ferris wheel. It was a very nice evening at the fair with my Mums.
This morning I got up and cleaned up the house a bit and then the pooper and I hit the trail. I didn't feel like driving up to the reservoir today, so we went over to the foothills and found a nice trail that meandered along a creek. Sherlock enjoyed the creek and I enjoyed the walk in the sun. It got pretty cloudy, so we headed back home, and then Sherlock took a nap while I painted my toes :) Then I made a scrumptious lamb chop on a bed of spinach and feta cheese. It was soooo yummy!!!
I find it pretty stupid that I have class tomorrow while everyone else has another day off, but at least I still don't have to get up super early. Oh well. At least I got my weekend :)!
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Wednesday's Checklist
1. Get up too early. Check!
2. Call Jeffrey (at Images of Nature DIA) to check in with the old crew. Check!
No-one makes me laugh like Jeff :)
3. Make a lot (A LOT!) of copies for teachers who have issues with making double-sided copies. Apparently I have the magic touch. Check!
4. Have a great day with kids. Check! There is nothing like getting a hug from a kid who just wants to hug you! :)
5. Remind Sharla to buy crickets for Issa (our classroom tarantula) since she keeps forgetting. Don't want to have her eat any kids :) Check!
6. Take the pooperdog to the dog park to let him play with doggie friends, his frisbee, and romp around in the creek. Check!
7. Drive past the doughnut store on my way home even though it was calling my name. Check!
8. Make some yummy new spinach and feta cheese snasages that I discovered in the grocery store for dinner. Yum! Check!
9. Clean up the pile of dirty dishes in the sink. Check!
10. Call the very nice maintenance guy at 8:45pm to have him change the battery in my smoke detector as it started beeping periodically. Check! (I'm not a helpless female, just too short to reach the ceiling!)
11. Enjoy an evening of sitting in my chair watching t.v. in my pjs doing nothing!! Check!
12. Enjoy the thought of going to bed without a stuffy snotty nose for the first time in 4 days! Check and Check!! (that's one check for each nostril!)
Overall... it was a good day :) Hope yours was too!
2. Call Jeffrey (at Images of Nature DIA) to check in with the old crew. Check!
No-one makes me laugh like Jeff :)
3. Make a lot (A LOT!) of copies for teachers who have issues with making double-sided copies. Apparently I have the magic touch. Check!
4. Have a great day with kids. Check! There is nothing like getting a hug from a kid who just wants to hug you! :)
5. Remind Sharla to buy crickets for Issa (our classroom tarantula) since she keeps forgetting. Don't want to have her eat any kids :) Check!
6. Take the pooperdog to the dog park to let him play with doggie friends, his frisbee, and romp around in the creek. Check!
7. Drive past the doughnut store on my way home even though it was calling my name. Check!
8. Make some yummy new spinach and feta cheese snasages that I discovered in the grocery store for dinner. Yum! Check!
9. Clean up the pile of dirty dishes in the sink. Check!
10. Call the very nice maintenance guy at 8:45pm to have him change the battery in my smoke detector as it started beeping periodically. Check! (I'm not a helpless female, just too short to reach the ceiling!)
11. Enjoy an evening of sitting in my chair watching t.v. in my pjs doing nothing!! Check!
12. Enjoy the thought of going to bed without a stuffy snotty nose for the first time in 4 days! Check and Check!! (that's one check for each nostril!)
Overall... it was a good day :) Hope yours was too!
Sunday, August 24, 2008
No Fun
Being sick is no fun.
Writing a paper is no fun.
Being sick and writing a paper is really no fun.
But I did it anyway, and while it probably isn't as good as it could be (i'm not that stressed as I get a chance to revise it after this) it's done.
Time for bed soon, hoping that I wake up tomorrow with no more germs!
Writing a paper is no fun.
Being sick and writing a paper is really no fun.
But I did it anyway, and while it probably isn't as good as it could be (i'm not that stressed as I get a chance to revise it after this) it's done.
Time for bed soon, hoping that I wake up tomorrow with no more germs!
Saturday, August 23, 2008
GO PACKERS!! WOOOO!!! *FIREWORKS* YAYAY!!! *CONFETTI*
So it was an awesome evening watching the Packers beat the Broncos with my Daddeee!! :) Even though I woke up with a super-soar throat Friday morning (which unfortunately hasn't gone away), I was ready for the game!! So once we got to the parking lot (after lots and lots of traffic) we headed up to section 506. It was the end of the first quarter by the time we found a potty, got some hot dogs, and found our seats (priorities ya know!) And the Packers were already ahead 7 to 3. It was a good game. The new quarterback was in for the first half and he did pretty well (so there Mr. Farve!) and then the other two quarterbacks got a chance to play in the second half. They are a little young... if I could tell where they were going to throw you know the defense could too! :) But I am sure they will get better. I also enjoyed watching the pair of birds fly around the stadium (maybe a pair of peregrine falcons?), picking the helmet that the football was under (#3!), and most of all just spending a fun evening with my Daddy. Here is us:
And here are a few shots from our seats. YAY! GO PACKERS!! :)
When we were walking out of the stadium some Packers fans set off some great green fireworks! :) It was fun. Thanks for a fun evening of Packers, hot dogs, and Daddy time!! :)
I've spent Saturday so far at the library making some good progress on my MR paper, but the library is closing shortly so I'm going to clean up and head home to take a dog-walk break!
I've spent Saturday so far at the library making some good progress on my MR paper, but the library is closing shortly so I'm going to clean up and head home to take a dog-walk break!
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Tuesday's Smile is Inspired By...
My brother and nephew Sam :) Now admit it... you smiled didn't you?Monday, August 18, 2008
The Best Part of My Weekend
The best part of my weekend was having dinner with my Mommy. I felt really crappy on Saturday so in between running some errands I took lots of naps. I must have needed the sleep because I still went to bed early that evening. Sunday I worked on my MR paper (even though the stupid library was closed!!) and then I got to have dinner with my Mommy! We went to the Phantom Brewery downtown and it was VERY yummy. I had bbq pork chops with garlic mashed potatoes and asparagus. Mmmmmm!! Then we split a brownie and ice cream. It was nice to just have a good meal with my Mums. And she also brought me home-made yummies to have for lunch this week. I am spoiled :)
Anyway, I felt pretty recovered after the weekend until I had to get up early this morning!! It was an ok day. We switched classes for math groups for the first time and I am going to have ALOT of practice at being patient with these kids. Unfortunately I really don't agree with the style of the aid-teacher who helps with the class, so I am not sure how that will work out. But as it was only the first day I am just going to see how things go!
The count down to the Packers game is 4 days!!! Yay!! GO PACKERS :)
Anyway, I felt pretty recovered after the weekend until I had to get up early this morning!! It was an ok day. We switched classes for math groups for the first time and I am going to have ALOT of practice at being patient with these kids. Unfortunately I really don't agree with the style of the aid-teacher who helps with the class, so I am not sure how that will work out. But as it was only the first day I am just going to see how things go!
The count down to the Packers game is 4 days!!! Yay!! GO PACKERS :)
Friday, August 15, 2008
A bone to pick with the Brits.
I think I am going to have to head to China because Mark Cavendish (aka my boyfriend) wasn't selected to compete in the individual Olympic cycling race. Are they crazy!?!? Have you SEEN this guy race??! Why did no one check with me on this?!? I am not a happy camper. He is competing in another partner-race, in which I am sure he will kick some serious bootie, but I still need to have a chat with these coaches. I'm sure they will come around and see it my way :)
*Whew*
Time is a funny thing... it feels like this week went by in a flash and at the same time I can't believe that it was only five days long!! It's definitely going to be an interesting year. My mentor teacher, Sharla, is a neat person. She spent the summer studying fungi in the rain forest of Paraguay (and she's not even sciencey!) and also went through the CC Masters program, so its cool that she can relate to my current stress-load. We are very different, but I think it will be a great learning experience to work together and get that other perspective to keep me on my toes. We went out on Thursday evening to do some planning for next week and, during a "study break" we played some pool. She's a good teacher because I actually got a ball in a pocket (with the cue and everything!) It was fun to spend some time (away from school) just getting to know her. And of course even though I lost the pool game, I was proud of my one shot! :)
One of the less fun parts of the week was realizing that the school district I'm in has a lot of hoops to jump through. The staff at the school is great, but all the district "guidelines" are going to be frustrating. It's part of the job I know, but its my least favorite part. It will be a challenge to keep my focus on the kids without letting the rest of the stuff get me down.
On the other hand, the kids are great! I don't think I would already appreciate them so much if I hadn't had the experience in Whiz Bang with the two groups of science kids. My new kids are super energetic, and there are certainly some characters, but I know that is going to be so much more fun than if they were passive. I'm sure that also means that every day is not going to be a good one, but I still can't wait until they are "my" class! Sharla has done so great with including me in the classroom community since day one, but I wonder if the kids will have a hard time with the transition because we have such different styles. It will be interesting.
We are, of course, still in the introductory phases of everything, but in the next few weeks we will have the highest reading group as well as the lowest math group for the 3rd grade. I think this will be a great experience to see both ends of the spectrum. It's going to be hard in September and October while I have classes at CC again. I will be leaving school around noon to get back to campus for class and I feel like I will miss out on so much! (and it has been so nice to come home and NOT have homework this week!)
Anyway, its the weekend already!! Which means I need to get more work done on the MR paper. I found out that one of my CC advisers actually has taught a global perspectives class (that is my MR topic), so I am going to pick his brain too :)
I am sure there are things I forgot to tell you about my week, but my brain is too sleepy. Right now I am going to go snuggle down in my pjs with my pillows and my fat kitty and look forward to NOT getting up early tomorrow morning!
One of the less fun parts of the week was realizing that the school district I'm in has a lot of hoops to jump through. The staff at the school is great, but all the district "guidelines" are going to be frustrating. It's part of the job I know, but its my least favorite part. It will be a challenge to keep my focus on the kids without letting the rest of the stuff get me down.
On the other hand, the kids are great! I don't think I would already appreciate them so much if I hadn't had the experience in Whiz Bang with the two groups of science kids. My new kids are super energetic, and there are certainly some characters, but I know that is going to be so much more fun than if they were passive. I'm sure that also means that every day is not going to be a good one, but I still can't wait until they are "my" class! Sharla has done so great with including me in the classroom community since day one, but I wonder if the kids will have a hard time with the transition because we have such different styles. It will be interesting.
We are, of course, still in the introductory phases of everything, but in the next few weeks we will have the highest reading group as well as the lowest math group for the 3rd grade. I think this will be a great experience to see both ends of the spectrum. It's going to be hard in September and October while I have classes at CC again. I will be leaving school around noon to get back to campus for class and I feel like I will miss out on so much! (and it has been so nice to come home and NOT have homework this week!)
Anyway, its the weekend already!! Which means I need to get more work done on the MR paper. I found out that one of my CC advisers actually has taught a global perspectives class (that is my MR topic), so I am going to pick his brain too :)
I am sure there are things I forgot to tell you about my week, but my brain is too sleepy. Right now I am going to go snuggle down in my pjs with my pillows and my fat kitty and look forward to NOT getting up early tomorrow morning!
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Tomorrow is the first day of school!!
Well I am still alive... technically. Around 6:30am tomorrow I will be dropping off my art project on my way to my first official day of school. That will mark the official end to the summer session!! yayayayyay!! I just have to finish the project :) (it's almost done)
Half an hour later I should be walking in the door to school, which will mark the start of the school year... *deep breath* Friday did not go really well (no time or desire to elaborate on that at this point) so I am hoping Monday will be good. Send me lots of good thoughts! PLEASE!
Oh, one good thing -- the masters paper deadline was extended, so I hopefully will have some time to come up for some air during the week!
Half an hour later I should be walking in the door to school, which will mark the start of the school year... *deep breath* Friday did not go really well (no time or desire to elaborate on that at this point) so I am hoping Monday will be good. Send me lots of good thoughts! PLEASE!
Oh, one good thing -- the masters paper deadline was extended, so I hopefully will have some time to come up for some air during the week!
Thursday, August 07, 2008
My Snorkel
Ok so I might not have time to come up for air, but I have a pretty wonderful family who brought in a snorkel for me this evening in the form of a Hoops & Yo-Yo (I just love those crazy green and pink guys!). The cute little squeaky blue guy was even in this one! This card was a "Favorite Movie Lines"
My favorite part was:
"Houston, we have a problem."
...... pause.....
"Ok." (giggles)
"What do you want me to do about it?" (more giggles) "You got yourself up there, get yourself down." (more giggles)
I giggled too :) Thanks Daddeee :)
http://www.hallmark.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ecard%7C10001%7C10051%7C594885%7C147551;-102001;181568;181569%7Cecard%7CP1R1S%7Cecard?&categoryId=181569 (that is the very long link if you want to see it for yourself.)
My favorite part was:
"Houston, we have a problem."
...... pause.....
"Ok." (giggles)
"What do you want me to do about it?" (more giggles) "You got yourself up there, get yourself down." (more giggles)
I giggled too :) Thanks Daddeee :)
http://www.hallmark.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ecard%7C10001%7C10051%7C594885%7C147551;-102001;181568;181569%7Cecard%7CP1R1S%7Cecard?&categoryId=181569 (that is the very long link if you want to see it for yourself.)
No Time For Air
Hi friends... I apologize for the lack of blogging. This week has been a little on the rocky side of things. The class of art in elementary is a lot of fun, we've been dancing, acting, painting, singing, and overall acting like kids, and the teacher is so great, but I just don't "get" art like I get science, math, reading, etc. I might be able to make some sense of it in my brain, but I can't turn around and explain it to someone else... to learning how to teach it has been hard. Maybe I am making it harder than it needs to be because I will be explaining it to third graders and not to other adults... but I am still struggling with it. It's not a bad thing to struggle with something... I always end up learning something from it... but right now I am so exhausted that I feel much more like giving up than like stepping up to the challenge. It's also a bummer that this class is only a week long. A) because it is way more fun that some of the other classes, and B) because that means it's super-duper intense.
Add to the intensity the fact that I found out yesterday (Wednesday) afternoon that I need to be at my school before 1pm tomorrow (Friday) because my future students and their parents will be meeting in my future classroom for an ice cream social. Put this on the list of things-that-would-have-been-nice-to-know-ahead-of-time. If I had more energy I would be totally freaking out. As it is I am stressing about it with as much energy as I can muster (equal to about a blink right now). This was not the light at the end of my rough-week-tunnel that I was expecting.
In addition to this wonderful mix of life-elements, throw in a dash (or a few tons) of panic that the second chapter of the masters paper is due a week from tomorrow. Some professors are trying to get that changed for us, but since they don't know yet -- its just this lovely additional layer of stress which is on top of the huge art project that is due this coming Monday. Which, if you may recall, is also the first day of school.
If you are wondering at this point how I have the time or energy to be typing this... well its pretty much because this is all the crap racing around and around through my brain, so why not let it repeat again on the keyboard :)
Oh.. and just as that lovely little extra bonus gift thrown in... the company I use to work for is closing the gallery that I worked at in Sun Valley. Yes, its true that it doesn't really affect my life right now... but since I put 3 years into it, and since one of my good friends just lost her job because of the situation... I still care. And it sucks that I don't even have the time to feel sad.
No I'm not sorry I chose this path... I still feel like its the right one to be on, and I know that it will be so worth it at some point in the future... but right now I am standing on that mountain realizing that the last two months have been quite the climb, and when I look ahead it sure is still a looooooong way to the top.
But don't take the tone of this particular post as a sign of things to come... I am sure there will be brighter days coming soon. Besides, there are only 134 days until Christmas break :)
Add to the intensity the fact that I found out yesterday (Wednesday) afternoon that I need to be at my school before 1pm tomorrow (Friday) because my future students and their parents will be meeting in my future classroom for an ice cream social. Put this on the list of things-that-would-have-been-nice-to-know-ahead-of-time. If I had more energy I would be totally freaking out. As it is I am stressing about it with as much energy as I can muster (equal to about a blink right now). This was not the light at the end of my rough-week-tunnel that I was expecting.
In addition to this wonderful mix of life-elements, throw in a dash (or a few tons) of panic that the second chapter of the masters paper is due a week from tomorrow. Some professors are trying to get that changed for us, but since they don't know yet -- its just this lovely additional layer of stress which is on top of the huge art project that is due this coming Monday. Which, if you may recall, is also the first day of school.
If you are wondering at this point how I have the time or energy to be typing this... well its pretty much because this is all the crap racing around and around through my brain, so why not let it repeat again on the keyboard :)
Oh.. and just as that lovely little extra bonus gift thrown in... the company I use to work for is closing the gallery that I worked at in Sun Valley. Yes, its true that it doesn't really affect my life right now... but since I put 3 years into it, and since one of my good friends just lost her job because of the situation... I still care. And it sucks that I don't even have the time to feel sad.
No I'm not sorry I chose this path... I still feel like its the right one to be on, and I know that it will be so worth it at some point in the future... but right now I am standing on that mountain realizing that the last two months have been quite the climb, and when I look ahead it sure is still a looooooong way to the top.
But don't take the tone of this particular post as a sign of things to come... I am sure there will be brighter days coming soon. Besides, there are only 134 days until Christmas break :)
Sunday, August 03, 2008
Me & The Library
Me and the CC Library are good friends. Our friendship would be better if my pupper could come hang out with me there... but I guess you can't have everything. Too bad I can't get paid for time at the library... I wouldn't be a poor college student anymore :)
Thursday was the last official day of science class as our prof very kindly gave us Friday off so we could work on the project for science. However, our art prof stopped by class that day to give us an assignment to do over the weekend. Homework before the class even starts?!? I don't think that should be allowed. So Thursday afternoon I went to the CC bookstore and bought the art textbook (and a new CC sweatshirt! It was Pam's fault for making me look at them :) She bought one too!) and then worked on my project for a few hours. Friday I spent the day in the library working on my project... yes, the entire day (no, I was not procrastinating until the end... I spent a chunk of last weekend and all my afternoons during the week working on it too!) Luckily my parents rescued me from spending the evening there too as they took me out to dinner. Thanks Mommy and Daddeeeeee :) We went to Famous Dave's BBQ (yummers!!) and then all the blood went from my brain to my tummy, so I couldn't do anymore homework that day :)
Saturday I got up and Sherlock and I played frisbee in the park before it got too warm. Then it was... you know it.... back to the library! I finished my project within the first hour and turned it in. I feel pretty good about it (its 40% of our grade!) so I hope I get an A. The rest of the day I worked on research for my masters paper. I have to say that I think I am learning a lot more from my classes and practicum experience than from this dumb paper, but I guess if it gets me more money back out in the real world, its worth doing.
I did nothing Saturday evening, which I enjoyed immensely, and so far this morning I have been very productive in cleaning my house and organizing some school stuff (I can see my desk!!) but haven't made much progress on the research. The library didn't open until 1pm today, and I printed out a bunch of stuff that I haven't read through yet, so I don't know if I will visit my friend library today or not. I have finished the reading for art, so I'm set for tomorrow, I just need to make progress on this paper while I have some time.
I have to share that the highlight of my week this week was discovering a Jimmy Johns Sandwich Shop (Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!) a few blocks from campus. Too bad its not attach to the library :)!! Alright... well... time to check the laundry and then read some more.
Thursday was the last official day of science class as our prof very kindly gave us Friday off so we could work on the project for science. However, our art prof stopped by class that day to give us an assignment to do over the weekend. Homework before the class even starts?!? I don't think that should be allowed. So Thursday afternoon I went to the CC bookstore and bought the art textbook (and a new CC sweatshirt! It was Pam's fault for making me look at them :) She bought one too!) and then worked on my project for a few hours. Friday I spent the day in the library working on my project... yes, the entire day (no, I was not procrastinating until the end... I spent a chunk of last weekend and all my afternoons during the week working on it too!) Luckily my parents rescued me from spending the evening there too as they took me out to dinner. Thanks Mommy and Daddeeeeee :) We went to Famous Dave's BBQ (yummers!!) and then all the blood went from my brain to my tummy, so I couldn't do anymore homework that day :)
Saturday I got up and Sherlock and I played frisbee in the park before it got too warm. Then it was... you know it.... back to the library! I finished my project within the first hour and turned it in. I feel pretty good about it (its 40% of our grade!) so I hope I get an A. The rest of the day I worked on research for my masters paper. I have to say that I think I am learning a lot more from my classes and practicum experience than from this dumb paper, but I guess if it gets me more money back out in the real world, its worth doing.
I did nothing Saturday evening, which I enjoyed immensely, and so far this morning I have been very productive in cleaning my house and organizing some school stuff (I can see my desk!!) but haven't made much progress on the research. The library didn't open until 1pm today, and I printed out a bunch of stuff that I haven't read through yet, so I don't know if I will visit my friend library today or not. I have finished the reading for art, so I'm set for tomorrow, I just need to make progress on this paper while I have some time.
I have to share that the highlight of my week this week was discovering a Jimmy Johns Sandwich Shop (Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!) a few blocks from campus. Too bad its not attach to the library :)!! Alright... well... time to check the laundry and then read some more.
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