Out here in Wyoming, there is a huge energy boom going on right now. Gas pipeline is being laid all over the place, going from here to there and everywhere (wish I had a map...not sure exactly where its going to / coming from). People aren't sure how long the boom will last for. It seems many of the towns go through booms out here. But as I think about it...Im not entirely sure why. They had a boom back in the 70s and it died....now its going through a boom again. Well what happened to...
I write this on the morning we lay my dear cousin to rest. I'm wondering what words I can put on these pages that can be sufficient to explain what Bill meant to his family and friends. To me, Billy was the embodiment of FUN. I always knew that when I got together with Billy we'd have a good time no matter what we did. It didn't matter if we were picking rocks with Grandpa out in the field or building a fort together somewhere we weren't supposed to, it was ALWAYS fun when Bill was arou...
It's 10 pm Mountain time...11 pm Central time. I just got off the phone with my cousin Ann. She was Bill's big sister--my cousin who died a year ago this weekend. They're having their ga-rage party in honor of him tonight. All of Bill's friends are there and many of my aunts, uncles, and cousins. I have to "puff out my chest" a little. Bill loved bonfires and parties and stuff...so as we gathered last year, I suggested we all get together at his house and build a fire and have a party i...
Just wanted to let you know what was going on in our household. I'm officially down 11 pounds. Not a WHOLE lot, but enough to feel a difference in the way clothes fit. Most of the weight is coming off the lower part of my body--rear, legs, etc. I'm waiting for my gut to start to shrink. That would be lovely, but I guess I don't have much choice in the matter. My sugars have still been high...too much chocolate availability. If they're still not down by the time I go back next time, s...
I had my first round of conferences in New Town this week. They went really well. I had my students lead their conferences this year after finding lots of positive research on them. I had my students write down some things they thought they were doing well in, some things they were having difficulty understanding, and a goal they would like to work towards for the next quarter. I think that during conferences it also helped having the students there to help with problem solving. I have...
I know those of who have or who have had family members in the military overseas are going to want to kick my rear end for this, but I miss my husband. He's been gone for almost a month doing this training thing. We still don't know when he'll be home for even a few hours. I miss being able to argue with him in person, and talk to him the minute I walk in the door. I miss watching movies with him, and going to the store with him. I miss him showing up at school just to talk during lunc...
On Monday I had that work physical, right? Tuesday morning I went in for my fasting blood draw, and on Thursday afternoon I went in for the ultrasound. So...let's say that things didn't go so well. Expected, I suppose, but disappointing nonetheless. It's not "official"...I'm not supposed to know, because the ultrasound tech isn't allowed to say anything, but I've definitely got cysts on my ovaries again. I'm a little relieved that I'm not crazy, and the pain that I've been having is le...
I had my "work physical" today. The new doctor is awesome, and she listenened to my concerns well, and she's pretty easy to get into. So...luckily my cerebellum is okay. I talked to her about concerns about my meds. She added Wellbutrin, so we'll see how that goes. I spent several hours on the phone trying to track down a doctor I had in Las Vegas because she wanted to put me on metformin extended release, and I didn't remember what I had been on. I had been the regular metformin, and...
On Thursday many of the staff at our school converged at our local McDonalds for "McTeacher's Night" with our Parent Teacher Organization to help earn money for our school. I signed up for all three hours because I'm a "trucker's widow" right now, and I didn't really have much else to do. It was totally gross, but I had a blast. When we got there, the owner and his wife greeted all of us and asked us which jobs we'd like to do. I kind of wanted to do the drive-through, but another t...
The last day of school for this year is Wednesday. I'm looking forward to it but dreading it all at the same time. I had a crazy mish-mash of students this year. Lots of kidlets that did not do well together at all. Love-hate relationships. At the end looking back, I see the vast amount of things I could do better, and I always wonder if I've failed. And it never fails that i feel like I have. I feel like I didn't do enough for my students academically, ...
Seriously, in the hour I was out and about town after school today, I encounter an abnormally high number of idiots. So, the first set of idiots I encountered were at Wal-Mart. I try to stay away as much as I can, but once a month, when it's time to pick up the prescriptions, I have no choice. Today was that day. Walking into Wal-Mart, I run into a buch of idjits that have absolutely NO idea that they are blocking the entire entrance to the store. There's two people with ...
Hi guys! Hope you've been doing well! Life has been CRAZY. The school year is quickly wrapping up (do I seriously only have two weeks left of this year?), and there are lots of reports and things to do, and I'm still working on the master's degree and stuff. Lots of changes await for next year at my school. Our principal is leaving, and we'll have four new teachers (although none at my grade level, which really is too bad). I get to stay in my room (yay!), but an...
It was a very good week. I had my third and final evaluation of the year and it went very well. My principal told me that I *WILL* be employed next year (and mid-year next year I'll be at Master's Degree salary...whooeee!), and I'll get to teach second grade again, which I'm very excited about, because I *LOVE* it way more than I thought I would. I think that our school is going through some very positive changes, and I think next year will be wonderful as well. It will also...
Today was that last day here at our school for one of my students. She's been here since the beginning of the year, and she's a brilliant little girl. I'm going to miss her. I hate crying when a student leaves, especially when I know it's coming, because I feel like a big dork. I know lots of you disagree, but I think that a relationship needs to be established with children before what you say can mean anything to them. I have kiddos that test my patience on a very...
*Do you ever wish that you had a "snapshot" of the future? What would you want to see? *I had a training for our math series today. It was ridiculous. It was the SAME darn thing we did in the fall. If I'm going to be away from my students for a day (my students do NOT do well with a sub at ALL--plus I miss them), I at least want it to be good. I can read ALL the manuals myself. I can! I kind of got thrown into it this year because my curriculum ...