1/31/09

Change.....hmmm not always good!

Well, I have not blogged much this week because of a numbness of emotions.

Mom-Please do not worry. This will sound bad but it could make for some possibilities in my life.

We found out this week that our school is going to be cut by about 50% next year. The Utah Legislature is going to cut the education budget by about 11 million dollars for the next year. This is going to cause every district in the state to do some major budget cuts. Our district is hurting bad already and this has only made the problem worse. Anyway, what this means for our school is that it is going to be restructured. There will not be any freshmen at Independence next year. There will also only be a staff of about 9 instead of the 18 teachers that now teach. (Funny how my mom a few weeks ago said to me: "Good thing you and your sister are in a profession where you do not have to worry about job security").

I was really mad about this news. Not only do we all fear for our jobs at our school but we also are a family and I cannot imagine walking through those halls with half of my family gone. Also, we care about our students and in the end that is who is going to hurt by this decision to cut our program. I am not too worried about my job. I feel I have a good chance to be one of the nine that stays seeing that Health and PE are required core classes and I am the department, but you never know. I have already come up with a plan as to what I would do if out of a job. I probably would move back to Wisconsin and work some half the pay job for a year until I could get accepted into the journalism graduate program in Madison(I missed the deadline for Fall 2009 already!). I also may work in the District for a year(I am tenured so if I am not at Independence they will try an alternated placement for next year at a different school) and then proceed with the same plan. It is all up in the air until we know exactly what is going to happen with Independence and the state budget. (the state legislature will finish voting in the next week or so)

I really don't want to work at any other school and I do not have a mortgage to pay so I am in a good place to make other plans in life. I am working real hard right now to pay off my car so that debt will not kill me if I decide to do something else in life. It is funny how sometimes your plans are laughed at by the guy upstairs. I was perfectly content with just waiting and seeing what happened in my life but plans always change and sometimes we may be forced to do different things. So all in all, I have been mad, sad and angry this week. That is normal. I am getting to the point of acceptance of this huge change in my life but I am not quite there. I may be a little weepy about it for a few weeks so let's not talk about it! (that was mainly for mom or any of you that may be close by and actually have a conversation with me.)

I still am one of the faith that thinks everything happens for a reason and that things always work out in the end. This is just another bump in the journey. It will be exciting(even if a little scary) to see how things will work out!

Well, have a great day! I am going to live in denial until the plans are all finalized. I am going to see a movie tonight and go to lunch with some friends this afternoon. Cheers!

1/27/09

Not Sleeping.



I am not sleeping right now. I am chatting on Facebook. Have I every told you about my Facebook addiction? I have one. I fully admit it. I spend countless hours online stalking old friends, playing games(especially bowling) and sometimes chatting.

Sometimes I do not want to go to sleep either. This is just part of who I am. I really need Alice time. If I don't enough of it, I stay up later. That is what is happening tonight. Not that I did not enjoy my night, because I did. I played the Wii with a couple of friends. It was way fun. I am addicted to Mario Cart. It is awesome. I just didn't get much Alice at home alone time. I am actually learning to appreciate alone time in my older age. It is nice. It is not good for me when I stay up too late though. I am then crabby the next day. SIGH....life is hard sometimes.

Today was a day. Not too much excitement. The highlight at work was getting this fabulous tube of lip balm. It is from the college I graduated from. I got this balm from the counselor at my school. She got it in the mail and thought of me. I never got to be a True Aggie, which means you kissed somebody by The Old Main Building on Homecoming or a full moon. It is a crazy tradition. Anyway, now I am prepared for my chance to become a True Aggie.

I better get to my bed.

Later.

1/25/09

P.S.

I made it back to Provo with no problems. So you all don't worry!

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

I know, I need to quit complaining about snow because it is winter after all. I really don't think I can not complain about it. I really should have picked someplace where it does not snow to live. SIGH.

I may be stuck in Salt Lake for the night, which means I will have a very early morning commute tomorrow morning to get to work for the day. That will be a challenge. I am hoping it will let up and let me drive home tonight. SIGH again!

This weekend has been good. I got to sleep in yesterday and then I headed up to Salt Lake to visit with my friend Christina and her family. I played rugby at Utah State with her as well as spent a lot of time in English classes with her. It was so nice to re-connect. Her little boy is also very, very cute and her husband is so very nice. He fried up some Alaskan Halibut for fish tacos and they were so very yummy!

I stayed with the Bills. They are always so nice to me and let me stay at Hotel Bills. It is a lot like Hotel California but different!

My girls basketball team lost again on Friday but they did much better with defense. I am hoping that we can play like we did Friday against the team we play on Friday. I am very optimistic that we could actually get a W.

Well, I hope you are enjoying the weather where ever you are because I am not. Night!

1/22/09

Rain in January?

I was driving to my friend's house to watch The Office, when it struck me that it is very weird for it to rain in January. Weird. I like the rain though. For some reason, it reminds me of home.

Here is a poem my dad emailed me that also made me think of home and made me chuckle:

It's winter in Wisconsin
And the gentle breezes blow,
70 miles per hour at 52 below!
Oh, how I love Wisconsin
When the snow's up to your butt;
You take a breath of winter air
And your nose is frozen shut.
Yes, the weather here is wonderful,
I guess I'll hang around.
I could never leave Wisconsin ,
'Cause I'm frozen to the ground.

Today was hard. I was still tired when I woke up and never really woke up all day. Basketball practice was disappointing because only five girls showed. I think it is very good that the season will be done very soon! I am kinda done with it.

Well, I am off to bed. Happy almost weekend to you!

1/21/09

Tired Post

Today was excellent. I am always in awe by the courage of my students. They shared so much today and are true survivors. Emotional days make me really, really tired. I must go to bed at 9:30 which is very weird for this night owl.

That is all you get today. Eat it up, read it a few times-then you will feel like you read a lot! Ha ha.

1/20/09

Happy Inauguration Day!

I was filled with Patriotism as I watched the Inauguration tonight. I had DVRed it because I knew I would be teaching when the actual events happened. It was pretty awesome to watch history happen and I had tears in my eyes as President Obama took the oath. It is awesome that America has finally come to a place where an African-American can be President. That makes me happy inside. We have come along way! I hope our country can pull together and make true change happen and get closer to fixing the many problems we face as a nation right now.

Speaking of Change, it is Challenge Day tomorrow at our school. I am very excited. I better get to bed before a very emotional day!

Later.

1/19/09

For All Wisconsinites....or people who know a Wisconsinite. (That is all of you because I am one!)

I read this on a friend's blog the other day and thought I should put it on my blog too, seeing you cannot go to that blog anymore without an invite which makes me sad. Oh well! These are all so true and it made me a bit homesick. Well, I must now go to bed. Term 3 starts tomorrow. Yipee. We are over half way over with the school year. Not that I don't like school, I just like summer more!

Jeff Foxworthy on Wisconsin:

If you consider it a sport to gather your food by drilling through 38 inches of ice and sitting there all day hoping that the food will swim by,you might live in Wisconsin

If you're proud that your region makes the national news 96 nights each year because Park Falls is the coldest spot in the nation, you might live in Wisconsin

If you have ever refused to buy something because it's'too pricey,' you might live in Wisconsin

If your local Dairy Queen is closed from November through March, you might live in Wisconsin

If you instinctively walk like a penguin for five months out of the year, you might live in Wisconsin

If someone in a store offers you assistance, and they don't work there, you might live in Wisconsin

If your dad's suntan stops at a line curving around the middle of his forehead, you might live in Wisconsin

If you may not have actually eaten it, but you have heard of HeadCheese, you might live in Wisconsin

If you have worn shorts and a parka at the same time, you might live in Wisconsin

If you have either a pet or a child named 'Brett,' you might live in Wisconsin

If your town has an equal number of bars and churches, you might live in Wisconsin

If you have had a lengthy telephone conversation with someone who dialed a wrong number, you might live in Wisconsin

If you know how to say Oconomowoc, Waukesha , Menomonie &Manitowoc, you might live in Wisconsin

If you think that ketchup is a little too spicy, you might live in Wisconsin

If every time you see moonlight on a lake, you think of a dancing bear,and you sing gently, 'From the land of sky-blue waters,'....you might live in Wisconsin

YOU KNOW YOU ARE A TRUE WISCONSINITE WHEN
1. Your idea of a traffic jam is ten cars waiting to pass a tractor on the highway.
2. 'Vacation' means going up north past Hwy 8 for the weekend.
3. You measure distance in hours.
4. You know several people who have hit deer more than once
5. You often switch from 'heat' to 'A/C' in the same day and back again
6. Your whole family wears Packer Green to church on Sunday
7. You can drive 65 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard, without flinching.
8. You see people wearing camouflage at social events (including weddings and funerals ).
9. You install security lights on your house and garage and leave both unlocked.
10. You think of the major food groups as beer, fish, and venison.
11. You carry jumper cables in your car and your wife or girlfriend knows how to use them.
12. There are 7 empty cars running in the parking lot at Farm and Fleet at any given time.
13. You design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit.
14. Driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow.
15. You refer to the Packers as 'we.
16. You know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter and road construction.
17. You can identify a southern or eastern accent.
18. You have no problem pronouncing Lac Du Flambeau.
19. You consider Minneapolis exotic.
20. You know how to polka.
21. Your idea of creative landscaping is a statue of a deer next to your blue spruce.
22. You were unaware that there is a legal drinking age.
23. Down South to you means Illinois .
24. A brat is something you eat.
25. Your neighbor throws a party to celebrate his new pole shed.
26. You go out to fish fry every Friday
27. Your 4th of July picnic was moved indoors due to frost.
28. You have more miles on your snow blower than your car.
29. You find minus twenty degrees 'a little chilly.
30. You actually understand these jokes, and you forward them to all your Wisconsin friends.

1/17/09

Laziness is all I have today...

I have been lying on my couch for about two hours this morning. I am blogging as a procrastination tool. I really don't want to go into work and finish my grades, but I must. I just finished season one of Pushing Daisies. It is a spectacular little TV show. I suggest it to each of you to add to your get through winter list of things to watch. Each of you have one of those lists right? It is very artistic and has amazing colors in it. It is set modernly but actually brings lots of classic cars that are all rebuilt. It is about a pie maker who has the power to bring people and living things back to life once they have died. There are consequences of this like, if he keeps them alive then another person or bug or dog have to die. He helps a private investigator solve crimes by bring people back to life for one minute to tell how they were killed. He then touches them a second time to put them back to dead. It is very cool and interesting and you should check it out. My description did not give it too much justice, by the way.

I like that we have a three day weekend. Sorry to those of you who have to work on Monday. I love Martin Luther King Jr. Day. It is awesome.

Next week is Challenge Day at my school. It is going to be awesome. I am so excited. If you have not been educated about Challenge Day visit challengeday.org and become eduacted. They will be on the Oprah show on Monday, January 26th. Watch that too. I actually have met the two people who created the program and they are amazing human beings.

Well, here I go to get some motivation. I guess winter will do this to you.

1/15/09

Highlights

Highlights of the day:
1. Knowing it was the end of the teaching week for me and that it will be a three-day weekend.
2. Knowing I would be able to go back to my bed later in the day.
3. My students being good.
4. The day going quickly.
5. Tying my basketball players together in order to teach them a zone defense.
6. Red Robin burger and fries.
7. The Office


I don't have much to say, obviously. You fans of the short post will now be happy. Give me a high five later!

1/14/09

School

I sit writing this from my first hour PE class. They are so good when
they are playing badminton. Sometimes I even get pretty bored.

I seem to not have gotten around to writing lately. Part of this is
due to the season premiere of 24. It was two hours both Sunday and
Monday. Then last night I was at a friend's for dinner and games. Time
seems to escape me. I am meaning to write my annual New Year's letter
but have not even gotten to that yet.

Someone mentioned the other day that my posts are sometimes "too
long." I basically told that person to take a hike. Just kidding.
Seriously people, you do have the choice whether you follow this blog
or not. Length is totally up to the blog writter. I was just going to
post the word "whatever" to help said person get through the blog
easier but then I decided not to. I also contmplated writing the
longest post ever but that would take too much energy today. And
really I do not have all that much to say. Please do not take any of
this seriously Sharri. I love that you read my blog and I am also glad
to have you in my life!

I hope everybody's Wednesday is full of surprises unless you don't
like surprises then I hope it is full of predictability. Until next time.

1/10/09

What is that Sound?

This morning I was woken by this weird sound.  I kept thinking that it was somebody shoveling but I knew that it wasn't supposed to have snowed last night.  Turns out it was this hot air balloon.  It was so close to my house and I thought that they might be having problem because it looked as if they were going to crash.  They managed to get the balloon back into the air and I didn't hear any sirens so I assume they are okay.  It was a pretty cool thing to see, though.

My basketball team did so well last night.  I was so proud of them.  They did not win, but they were a totally different team.  They finally started listening to me and it paid off.  

I am having a lazy saturday morning.  I really have no drive to do anything.  I should have exercised but I have not gotten around to it.  I probably will just go into work and catch up on some grading.  It is truly a thrill a minute.  

Later
A

1/7/09

Skiing and Happy Snow Moments.





I am trying to have a good attitude about winter. Today, I got a gift that I think will keep my attitude up. Last night, I was talking with one of my co-workers and telling him my sob story about losing my cross-country ski boots. Well, he asked me what my size was and when I answered he said he thought the extra pair he had at home would be the right size. The funny part of the story is that he had been trying to get rid of these boots at a yard sale for the past twenty years. Funny. It was like they were supposed to be for me.

I enjoyed cutting a new ski trail in the back of school today. It was a blast. I went for an hour and wanted to go for even longer but got cold and tired.

Pretty much that is the highlight of the day. I do have to say that I have been loving lunch this week because the people I work with are hilarious and awesome.

Night.

1/6/09

Words describing today

Two minute drill. Should be in bed. Here is a sum up of today with random words:

1. alarm
2. 6:30
3. Shower
4. Read scriptures
5. Watch Sportscenter
6. Drive to school
7. Snow
8. Snow
9. Snow
10. Snow
11. Snow
12. Teach Pe
13. Put in SOME grades
14. Feeling behind
15. Teach Health
16. Teach Pe again
17. Eat lunch
18. Laugh so hard.
19. Love the people I work with.
20. Have a grade level meeting after teaching two more classes.
21. Talk with Math department
22. Scrape snow off people's cars
23. Get stuck in road outside of friend's house.
24. Help a stranger get unstuck from same road
25. Shovel
26. Shovel
27. Shovel
28. Eat Spaghetti while watching Reba
29. Return 24:Redemption to Blockbuster
30. Kmart. Didn't buy Christmas tree. Another year I convinced myself not to.
31. Bought shower caddy for my soap. My other soap holder always falls down
32. Come home
33. Have an hour to myself.
34. Blog
35. Bed

Well that was more than 2 minutes. Night.

1/5/09

Winter hits hard.

Winter does not play well with the other children. Winter pretty much hates everybody. Okay so maybe there are some people out there that like the snow and go "play" in it and are friends with winter but I am feeling the Winter blahs already. Maybe it is because it is always hard to come back from Winter Break. I just want to shut myself in my house and watch movie after movie. Maybe I will start tomorrow night. It snowed a lot today. I would say somewhere between four and eight inches. I do not like it. I do not like cleaning it off my car. I do not like driving in it. I do not like walking in it. I do not like having to take off my shoes when entering houses. I do not like putting said shoes back on to go out again. I do not like coats(although I do like my pink coat).

It is ten and I am ready to sleep. I am off to bed. Thanks for reading my paragraph of ramblings about my dislike for winter. I need to buy some ski boots so I can cross-country ski in the back of school.

School was good today. The kids were surprisingly not annoying. Go kids!

1/4/09

The End of Break...





It is time to go to bed so I can be fresh for tomorrow. It is always hard to go back to work after a long break. I am very thankful for the vacation that I was able to have.

Today I cooked some pot roast in my crock-pot. The smell radiating from my kitchen when I came home from church was amazing. I was so excited to eat it. It was just as yummy as it smelled. I tried to make gravy but apparently, I am not a good gravy maker yet. I will have to work on that.

I did get to go to Park City yesterday. We left a little late because Janette got her car stuck on the side of the road by her house. It was hilarious. I was glad I could help her get out with my mad winter skills. It was a funny experience that I am sure Janette will not live down any time soon.

I got a cool new pair of basketball shoes. I will be set for teaching PE now seeing my mom also bought me some new shorts and four new t-shirts. I will have to take pictures each day so you can see how awesome I look.

I do look quite amazing in my new necklace that I got from my mom for Christmas. She is so good to me. I miss her already!

Well, here is to a great Monday for everybody. Enjoy!

1/3/09

Back.

I arrived safely into Salt Lake City Thursday night. Funny how coming back seems to always go easily, but going doesn't. Weird.

I had a great break and enjoyed seeing my family and so many of my friends. Like I always say, I am surrounded by wonderful people all the time.

Yesterday, I fooled myself by thinking that I would go into work and get some grading done. Yeah right! I did go into school and managed to pick up the work that needs to be graded.

I guess it wasn't a total loss of a day though, because I was able to organize my clothes drawers and make a pile of clothes to get rid of and I also unpacked.

Last night, I had dinner with the famous Janette and then we watched the 24 Movie which is a preview of the upcoming season.

Today Janette and I have plans to drive to Park City and hit the outlet mall, but it did snow last night and the roads may be a bit icy. Janette is supposed to drive so I am thinking we may not go. If I were driving, we would go, seeing I am a skilled winter driver.

Tonight, I really should get some grading done. Slacker pants here is having a hard time being motivated. I really have a desire to watch The Holiday. I love that movie and probably will end up watching it. See how exciting my life in Provo really is? Don't be jealous. I need to find something in the future to look forward to or it is going to be a long, long January and winter.

Well, off to ready myself for a trip to PC, or at least I hope I will be going! I need some new basketball shoes for work. Thrilling again, eh?

Later.

1/1/09

2009....a new dimension.

I always feel welcomed in Wausau!
Inside The Wausau Mine Company. Great food and amazing atmosphere.
It was cool to re-connect with Holly
I loved this pic of Heidi. It is definitely Facebook material.
I stayed at The Hotel Marla. She is an awesome friend!
This is my new hat. I think it may just be on my head permanently.

So, have you broken any resolutions yet? Me either, but it is only 1:30 a.m. here. It was a great last day of 2008. I was able to head up to Wausau on Tuesday. I went real early because snow was in the forecast and I am so glad I did. I am very thankful that my dad knocked on my door at 8 a.m. and encouraged me to get going in order to beat the storm. In Wausau they got about four inches during the day. I met up with some friends at The Wausau Mine Company that evening. Can you say: "I want some cheese on my cheese, please?" Me either, but their food is amazing. My favorite is the Italian french fries which are little morsels of goodness consisting of a pizza crust smothered in mozzarella cheese. We also had some pizza but by the time you pig out on the fries you have very little room for the pizza.

Marla and I stayed up until two talking. She is an awesome friend. I really am so blessed to have the people in my life that I do. I am always in awe due to the way that I can be away for months and instantly re-connect with my Wisconsin friends.

Today, I was able to meet up with an old friend from my ward in Wausau and her family. Holly is a good kid who just returned from her mission. She is figuring out her life and it will be fun to see where it all takes her.

Tonight, I came back to Rhinelander and spent time with the fam. We met for dinner and then came home. Andi and I watched Friends and then turned to each other at midnight and said nonchalantly, "Happy new year." I didn't watch all of the episodes that we watched because I was asleep for about half of them. I guess I really am getting old. Old people don't make it to midnight. They go to bed at like ten or eleven. Maybe it is true that you revert back to your childhood as you age seeing tiny kids usually miss the ringing in of the new year. Life sure is a roller coaster.

2008 leaves with many adventures had. It was the year of, "Whatev," for me. I really like that theme so I am keeping it this year but adding the theme "opening to possibilities" to it. Of course, I also have some resolutions but I am keeping them to myself so all of you cannot point and laugh at me when I break them. I should write a list for myself before going to bed tonight, though. Then the only person pointing and laughing will be me. I look forward to all of the experiences I will be blessed with this coming year.

Here is to 2009 being one of the greatest years for each and every one of us. Happy New Year to all and to all a good night. I cannot even say see ya next year because I missed my chance. I guess I will have to settle for a see you in the future!