I'm going to take a moment to come up for air and say hello!
Al is doing great. He is working as usual. They are getting ready to do their annual St. Jude's promotion, so we'll be letting you all know what day you need to go out to Chili's to support a great cause! If you want to know a little about the program and the success last year, visit:
http://www.chilis.com/ourcommitment/default.asp
I'm quickly relearning what real life feels like. I have 2 classes that I've never taught before, so that takes a lot of planning. One of them, READ 180 is largely tracked on a computer program that I am slowly learning to navigate. The other teacher left a job at the district to come back to teaching, and her district job was centered around this program and literacy, so I was excited to have her as a go-to. However, she is on maternity leave for the next couple of months...
Then there is the English Department fun that started when one of our teachers went to another school about three weeks before the start of the year. The administrators and department head interviewed some people, but no one really sparked their interest, so now I'm one of a few teachers on productivity. For those of you unfamiliar with that, we have eight periods--4 on A days and 4 on B days, so students are in my class every other day. On regular salary, I teach 3 classes each day with one prep period. Now, on A days, I don't have a prep, but I teach 4 Junior English classes. The happy part is that I make extra money. Unfortunately, I am very, very, busy, because not only do I have more students and therefore work to grade, I have half the time at school to complete it. I find myself working lunches and after school.
And I've made a commitment to be going to the gym, so that adds to the busy-ness of life. I feel like I'm always on the run!
But I guess it keeps things interesting...
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Summer's Over...The Last Hurrah
So summer is over already and I'm back in school. Students come back on Monday. The last few days of my vacation have been spent doing fun things at home, like reading with Kenzie:
Getting a pedicure:
And stuff for my classroom:
All-in-all, it's been a great summer. Here's looking forward to Christmas!
Getting a pedicure:
Shopping for fun stuff:
And stuff for my classroom:
And just watching the animals do silly things:
All-in-all, it's been a great summer. Here's looking forward to Christmas!
Monday, August 18, 2008
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Madden 09
It's ironic that we have our wedding anniversary right about the same time I become a football widow. And today is the day it officially starts! Al is a fanatic about the Madden games. He's been playing them for years! He's not the only one. With the release of this game today, there are several news stories floating around MSN:
Reviews and cool pictures in Madden 09': The Best Yet:
Madden: The Man, the Game and the Curse
And a slideshow of all the Madden covers:
And so it begins...
Sunday, August 10, 2008
It's Been Four Years!
Yesterday was our fourth wedding anniversary! We decided to keep things at home this year, since we'd already taken a trip last month. Al's friend, Jake, had done a spa day with his fiance not too long ago and when Al told me about it, I suggested we do that for our anniversary. (I tried to get him to a spa in San Francisco for our second, but he wouldn't even consider it.) I was surprised (and thrilled) when he said, "ok."
He booked us an appointment for Muddy Buddies at the New Image Day Spa. Check out the page. The pictures make me laugh because they're so cheesy! (We did not, in fact, have roses in the steam bath with us...)
https://www.newimagespa.com/index.asp#Retreats
Mom, Jill, Ashley, and Ashley, on that page, you should click over to #4, the Sorellanza Retreat. Any takers?
The spa was fabulous. I'm still all soft and smooth from the experience. I also got the added bonus of finding a good sore muscle rub. Every different version of Icy Hot that I've tried is waxy or greasy. The massage therapist could tell my back and shoulders were tight (thank you, Pump FX class at Lady Fitness) and she used this Capsicum Hot Rub on me. The stuff is aloe-based so it just soaks right on in and gives you soft skin in the bargain. Yes, I bought some, along with the chocolate peppermint body polish we used in the steam bath.
On our way home, Kenzie called me and wanted to read Inkspell, so when we got back, I spent some time reading with her and Al messed around on the computer. He's all about audiobooks right now because he likes to listen to them while he's working out or doing yard work. He's probably put about 70 cds on Itunes over the past week or two.
That night we went to dinner at the Prairie Schooner. It was definitely a splurge, but it was really great! I'd never heard of the place until Al's mom went there for a drug presentation (she's a nurse and drug companies put on these nice wine-and-dines to promote their new products). Then, all of a suddden, a bunch of people started coming out of the woodwork telling us how great it was.
http://www.prairieschoonerrestaurant.com/
It ended up being delicious! We'll definitely go back, maybe at lunch sometime to try their sandwiches.
He booked us an appointment for Muddy Buddies at the New Image Day Spa. Check out the page. The pictures make me laugh because they're so cheesy! (We did not, in fact, have roses in the steam bath with us...)
https://www.newimagespa.com/index.asp#Retreats
Mom, Jill, Ashley, and Ashley, on that page, you should click over to #4, the Sorellanza Retreat. Any takers?
The spa was fabulous. I'm still all soft and smooth from the experience. I also got the added bonus of finding a good sore muscle rub. Every different version of Icy Hot that I've tried is waxy or greasy. The massage therapist could tell my back and shoulders were tight (thank you, Pump FX class at Lady Fitness) and she used this Capsicum Hot Rub on me. The stuff is aloe-based so it just soaks right on in and gives you soft skin in the bargain. Yes, I bought some, along with the chocolate peppermint body polish we used in the steam bath.
On our way home, Kenzie called me and wanted to read Inkspell, so when we got back, I spent some time reading with her and Al messed around on the computer. He's all about audiobooks right now because he likes to listen to them while he's working out or doing yard work. He's probably put about 70 cds on Itunes over the past week or two.
That night we went to dinner at the Prairie Schooner. It was definitely a splurge, but it was really great! I'd never heard of the place until Al's mom went there for a drug presentation (she's a nurse and drug companies put on these nice wine-and-dines to promote their new products). Then, all of a suddden, a bunch of people started coming out of the woodwork telling us how great it was.
http://www.prairieschoonerrestaurant.com/
It ended up being delicious! We'll definitely go back, maybe at lunch sometime to try their sandwiches.
Friday, August 1, 2008
Happy Birthday, Trillian!
Trillian is one year old today!
She used to be so itty-bitty! We took these pictures right after we got her, at about 6-7 weeks old:
She still loves the cat, although now she is able to walk right over him so he is directly beneath her, then she lays down on him to pin him so he can't get away.
It's not so easy to pick her up anymore, but Al still does it anyway.
She still thinks she's a lapdog and I love it! We fight over the same spot on the loveseat downstairs and usually end up compromising by sharing it. I love it when she cuddles!
She still loves the grass. It is the only place she'll do her roll-over trick. The best part is when she crouches down low in it and she thinks she's hiding from Thursday.
She's not so interested in herself anymore, but this is still one of our favorite pictures!
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