Finding Autumn

Happy Anniversary to us!

I know my posts are a bit discombobulated, but alot has happened in the past year.Yesterday was our 6 year anniversary. It does not feel like we have been married for six years and have been together for 8. We have done alot in six years. I think I have listed them before.

We have also done many things in the past year. We have been to Vegas (both of us twice), Cancun Mexico for Steve and Tanya's wedding, home several times, I graduated from grad school, got a job, got a new job, got yet another new job, and Dan got a promotion. We also had some sad times. We had to put Chaz to sleep this year. I will save that for another blog.

Anyway, so for our six year anniversary, we rented a cabin in Harmonie State Park for 2 nights. We stayed the first night ourselves and today our parents and Dan's grandparents came up to visit. We made food, finished a 1000 piece puzzle, ate more food, played Tri-ominoes, ate some more, drank a ton of coffee, nursed the fire, and watched the birds eat. It has been a wonderful time so far and a nice get away close to home.

I am excited to see what the next year(s) hold(s). Hopefully the joy of a little one or two, a new home, and a start of a new long lasting career.

Cancun Mexico, July 2009

My brother Steve and his long time girlfriend/fiance Tanya married this summer in Cancun Mexico. A group of 16 stayed at the RIU Cancun for a week. While we were there, Dan and I went to visit the ruins at Chichen Itza. It was amazing to see and hear the stories of the town where so much history took place. Here are a few pictures from our trip.

I'm Back!

I have decided to start blogging again. This is a picture from a camping trip over Thanksgiving..but I will blog about the home visit shortly!

I must be crazy

So I did it. I signed up for the YWCA triathlon. I was inspired by my friend Jo who is also signed up. The race is as follows: 500 yd swim, 15 mile bike, and then a 5K run. Seriously? Am I nuts? I don't even have a bike and the only time I have ever swam a 500 was for the lifeguard test.

Thus begins my journey into fitness and endurance. Wish me luck.

Poor Kiki

Poor little Kiki had to have dental work done today. 9 teeth out all together! Poor girl. She has been wobbling around the house all night while the medicine wears off and growling and hissing at Chaz and Calcifer.

Nov 7 Rest Days
Nov 6  2 miles, 29 minute

Log

30 minutes again, 2 miles.

Day 2 Rest Day

Supposed to be rest day, but did a quick mile in 14 minutes. (Maybe that's not so quick!)

Training

Well, I've decided to start training for a half marathon in Minneapolis in April. I'm considering this my running journal. I ran 2 miles tonight in 29 minutes. Pretty pathetic but I have lots of time! Wish me luck!

Halloween Fun

Black Cat, originally uploaded by p_motch.

We had a Halloween Party at school and I dressed up as a black cat this year. The kids were so cute in their costumes. The school puts on a short parade for the parents and then they have parties in their rooms. I think the kids had fun.

Under the Weather

I've had a bad cold for about 3 weeks now. I thought it would just go away. I guess I was wrong. I left school this morning to head to Urgent Care to see what was going on. I have pink eye, a sinus infection, and a cold. Not as fun as it sounds. Not only is it not fun to wake up with crusty eyes, but it is also not fun to have a sore throat and not be able to talk without sounding like a 13 year old boy going through puberty.  At least this school week is a short one. I'm hoping I can be back in class on Wednesday.

On another note, Steve and Tanya are in Europe and they are engaged!!! Congratulations!!

Update!

Things have been so crazy busy that once again I am slacking on my blog. (This is partially true, all my free time has been playing TF2.) I started my 5th week of student teaching this week. I'm doing all subjects except for writing. Next week I take over full time for 2 weeks and then my last week at Forest will be finishing up my graduate project and giving things back to Ms Meyerhoff. Then 6 weeks of Kindergarten and I'm done!! I love the school I'm at. I hope that the referendum passes so they can hire more teachers. I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to work at that school and in the district.

We also fancied up the loft a bit. The are behind the fireplace was pretty useless so we bought a bunch of pillows,blankets, and a lamp and now it's a very cozy reading area. I also looks more complete now. This is about all we've done on the house lately except for clean. I hope we get the rest of our painting done this summer while I am off.

Steve and Tanya left for Europe today. I'm so jealous! I think they will be there for 2 weeks. Pretty exciting stuff.

I think I only have about 20 more days until I will be an aunt! We hope to make a trip to visit the first chance we get. We are really excited to meet the little guy.

That's about all the news I have for now. Nothing too exciting happening lately.

Just Bragging

I know it's not good to brag but I am pretty proud of myself! I got 2 certificate's of excellence on the Praxis II test I took for teaching. One is content knowledge K-6 which was extremely hard! and the other is for Principles of Learning and Teaching. The state requires you to get a certain score to pass. It's basically a pass/fail test but if you do really well, you get recognition that is sent to schools and you can put it on your resume! It means I scored in the top 15% of all test takers in the previous years. Woohoo!!! Maybe this will help me when the time comes to get a job. Things aren't going to well for teachers here in MN at the moment.

On another note, started Student Teaching this week. The kids aren't there yet so it's been alot of meetings and room prep. This week has flown by and I'm really excited for the kids to get there!

Sicky Pie

Well I am home on vacation and I have the flu! Sheesh! Maybe it will go away by tomorrow. The major symptoms didn't hit until bed time. Fever, chills, sweats, aches, pains, vomiting. I feel surprisingly okay right now though. Too bad it's 1:23 in the morning.

Maybe I will blog about my trip tomorrow since I am sick. It was so much fun and I don't want to forget anything about it!

What else? um, I finished the next Twilight Series book. I don't know why I'm so hooked. The writing is alright. I guess the story is gripping but I find the climaxes pretty lame. Oh well. Any suggestions for the next book I should read?

Stunning

I'll blog about our road trip later, but this photo jumped out at me. Dan is a great photographer!

Our Road Trip

I didn't think it was actually going to happen but it's only 2 weeks away!!! My last day of work is July 29th and we are heading out directly afterwards. Here is our schedule so far. After Vegas still isn't finalized but I am starting to get excited!

Corn Palace, Mount Rushmore, Devils Tower, Yellowstone, Jackson Hole, Cannon Beach, Vegas, Grand Canyon, Canyon Lands, Arches, Denver, , maybe Fort Collins,and finally Evansville. We are stopping somewhere in California before Vegas at a national park for a day but I'm not sure of the name.

Let's just hope the Old Prius doesn't blow a tire or have any problems!!

inVisit

Bill and Shelly and Mike and Brie came for a visit over the 4th of July weekend. Bill and Shelly arrived on Monday June 30th and left on July 10 and Mike and Brie visited from July 3-6th. The week and a half just flew by. For the first few days we just hung out in the evening. Shelly taught me more sewing techniques and we made a few things including the apron!

We also grilled alot while they were here.

Then on the day Mike and Brie got in, they rode the light rail in and I joined them at Brit's for a delicious dinner of the best fish and chips in Minneapolis.

The next afternoon we went to eat at PF Chang's ( I had brown rice and Cantonese Shrimp-so good!) and then we went to see Wall-E. It was cute. Afterward we walked around the nice shops in Maple Grove, went to JoAnn Fabrics and REI, then drove out to another REI, and ended it with a quick stop at IKEA. I mean quick because they were closing in 40 minutes by the time we got there.

Also, to interject some sad news. Little Buddy passed away on the morning of July 4th. This will be an entry in of itself, but he was a good little dog and his absence is greatly felt. :(

We didn't go see fireworks the night of the 4th, but we grilled and Bobby and Ashley made a surprise stop by. (Actually it wouldn't have been a surprise if my cell phone hadn't been dead for 4 days.) They got engaged the night before. Congratulations!

After they left, we grilled, ate outside, and made a fire. It was nice until the bugs came out.

On Saturday we got up and made our way to the light rail to go to Minnehaha Park to see the falls and to eat lunch at SeaSalt. When we got there they had bikes you could rent for an hour so we did that. It was alot of fun and great exercise. We were going to go to the zoo afterward, but we were all a little too sweaty!!

That night after resting and cleaning up, we went to eat dinner at Brit's. This time we sat out so we could see the lawn bowling. It was the perfect night and the food was delicious as always.

 

Mike and Brie left early on Sunday. The rest of the next week was spent going to PF Chang's again and we went to see the movie Wanted, which I liked. We also sewed some more.

Overall it was a fun visit. I like when people visit and we actually go out and do stuff, not just sit around! Can't wait for our next round of visitors. Who's coming next?

School's Out For Summer

Today is my last class for this term! My 8am class finished up last weekend so basically I have to go in at 1pm and share my nonfiction book. I worked on it all day yesterday. I can't wait to get this day over so I can come home and...clean!

Vegas, Baby!

We are going to Vegas! I'm so excited! Dan booked the hotel a couple of days ago so it's starting to feel real now.

We are actually going on a road trip and Vegas is a stop on the way. Dan is attending the Black Hat Conference for work in Vegas, so I will be working on my tan during the day and site seeing in the evenings.

Our tentative road trip plans are as follows:

• Minneapolis to Corn Palace
• Corn Palace to Mount Rushmore
• Mount Rushmore to Devil's Tower
• Devil's Tower to Yellowstone
• Yellowstone to Jackson Hole
• Jackson Hole to Cannon Beach
• Cannon Beach to Las Vegas (with a nice drive down Cali)
• Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon
• Grand Canyon to Canyon Lands
• Canyon Lands to Arches
• Arches to Denver
• Denver to Evansville!

We plan to leave after work on July 29th (my last day!) and get to the Corn Palace and then camp at a KOA. Getting from Minneapolis to Yellowstone will be quick. We'll be in Vegas by the evening of August 5th and then we'll head out of there the evening of August 8th. We figure we'll be in Evansville by the 13th. Exact details have yet to be worked out.

Anyway, I'm so excited!!

For Your Information

Turning the water on full blast and sticking your hands under the water for 2 seconds does NOT count as washing your hands! So if you are guilty of this, knock it off! (this is a big problem I see at work, yuck!)

Call Me Miss Green Thumb

            

            

or brown, because that is what is underneath my fingernails and all over my feet and hair! I spent most of today outside in the sunshine. It was a cool 50 degrees but it felt nice in the sun. I bought some ivy, ferns, impatiens, petunias, zinnias, and mulch and got to planting. I planted the ferns, ivy and impatiens in the retaining wall. I'm hoping the ivy will grow fast and cover up this ugly fence! The rest of the flowers I put in pots.

There is something really satisfying about planting flowers and watching them grow! I'll post updated pics once they are bigger.

My New Obsession

Well crap, I'm addicted.

Evansville's Best Mom Contest

Zeidler's Evansville's Favorite Mom Contest

Please follow the link and rock the vote for my mom! Use every email address you have and vote vote vote! She deserves it because she's not only the best mom in Evansville, she's the best mom in the universe!  Thanks! NOW GO VOTE!

Save the Rain Forests!

For my Literature class, our big project for the term is writing a non-fiction book and presenting it to the class. For some reason, and I don't know why, I chose to do a survey book on Rain Forests. The more I research, the more sad I get! Rain forests are so important on so many levels and they are being destroyed!

Here are a few tidbits I have learned so far:

• Rain forests only cover about 6% of the world but house more than 1/2 of all animals and plants species in the world! I think that's reason enough to save them!! These poor animals are losing their homes and are becoming endangered because of deforestation, logging, agriculture, and grazing.
• Rain forests help stabilize the world's climate. What happens when they are gone? Maybe we are already feeling the effects?
• They protect against flood, drought, erosion.

We really need to think about our actions because they will have major consequences. I don't think the Earth was given to us to destroy.

Anyway, I'm just starting my research. At first I thought I'd make a book of all the cute little animals that live in the rain forest but I think this is more important. I think I'll try to post my book when I am finished if I can figure out how.

E-Portfolio

Yesterday I had my electronic portfolio interview. I think I mentioned it in a previous blog. This interview was the deciding factor on whether or not I get to student teach. I know for sure now that I will get to student teach! Yay!

In two weeks I should get a narrative in the mail with my interviewers' feedback and the score they gave me. The associate dean said people rarely get the highest mark so that's what I'm anxious to see. From the rubric, I feel like I should get it..but if they don't really give them out, I'm happy enough that I passed the interview.

Now on to next weekend's assignments. I'm taking it one week at a time!

Scaredy Cat

The weather here has been a mess. It's hot and stuffy one day, cool and rainy the next. I'm actually glad it's cooled off because we need to have our air conditioner inspected and maybe charged up before the hot weather arrives. I'm sick of sweating in my own house!

Anyway, a couple of nights ago we had a bad thunderstorm. It was raining really hard with lightning and thunder. The cats aren't really afraid of anything. Chaz and Calcifer just lounged around during the storm but poor little Kiki was slinking around the house. She went missing for a while and then reappeared through the cat door meowing like crazy. She was so scared.

The one thing I like about Kiki when she is scared is that she doesn't freak out. On a normal day, she does not like to be held. if you pick her up, she will squirm away from you but when she is scared she clings to you! I love it. I grabbed a blanket, wrapped her in it, and held her through the storm. She's so funny! It's really neat to see how each cat has such a distinctive personality.

If you can't tell...our cats are a big part of our lives as we don't have any children and we have really social cats. I think I'd be really lonely without them!

School Simulation

Tonight I participated in a mock simulation to come up with a plan in the classroom for a little boy who has suspected ADHD and possibly signs of autism. It was actually alot of fun! We worked with the Social Work and Occupational Therapy department to come up ideas and how to implement them. It was nice to meet girls in other departments and to learn what kind of professionals I will collaborate with in school.

Warm Weather

Last week we got blasted with snow and cold weather. This week is supposed to feel like Spring! We got a glimpse of it yesterday. Something about warmer weather gets me motivated to get some cleaning done. I reorganized the clutter in the basement this weekend (we are trying to clear some space to make a little craft area) and I put our cat tree on craigslist and it sold within minutes! I got it out to clean up and the cats were loving it. I felt bad getting rid of it but we just don't really have a good place for it.

            

We also have a little bunny living in our backyard. I have been feeding her carrots. She is usually in the yard when we leave for work and then in the evening. The cats sit and look at her through the window for hours!

Oh, I also caught someone shop lifting listerine from a pharmacy downtown. I told an employee and they went and caught him. There is a group of people who hang out in the skyway near where I work who always reek of listerine. They drink it for the alchol content. Isn't that disgusting!

A New Term

This weekend I start a new term in school. I am actually pretty excited about this one. Last term sounded like it was going to be fun (Music, PE, and Kindergarten Methods) but it really wasn't!

I'm taking my Literacy in the Content Areas:Grades 4-6, Relationship Techniques, and Intro to Action Research. The literacy in the content areas will be the first class I've taken where we really only focus on the upper grades. We're starting off with Nonfiction and I can tell it's going to be a fun class. Relationship techniques focuses on special education, building relationships with resources in the school, and other paperwork type of issues teachers have to be aware of. Intro to Action Research is the beginning of the Master's project that I will be working on for 2 terms after student teaching.

In order to complete the Master's portion, I have to come up with an action research problem, implement it during student teaching, then analyze the information and present it to 'the public' at the end of the year. Kind of scary!

Tonight I'm going to a recognition dinner at school for those who participated in EcoSTARS. This was something that I did during science, math, and social studies methods for fieldwork. I taught 5 lessons on soil (part of GLOBE) in a 5th grade classroom. I'm sure we will be having dinner and then maybe looking at pictures and video of the program.

This Saturday I will be initiated into the International Honor Society and Professional Organization in Education: Pi Lambda Theta: Gamma Xi Chapter at St Kate's. I'm pretty excited about it. It will look really good on a resume and might help me with getting a job, plus I'll get to wear gold chords at graduation. That's always a treat.

Student teaching will begin at the end of August. On April 26 I have a pre student teaching interview that I have to pass to be able to student teach. I'm a little worried about it! It's alot to prepare for with so much other stuff going on. I think I'm going to be quitting my job at the beginning of August and Dan and I are going to do our little road trip and then end in Evansville for his cousin's wedding, stay there a few days and then head back. Something to look forward to!

Quiet Birthday

Well my birthday has come and gone this year. Since it fell on a Monday we decided to go out to eat after my classes on Saturday. We went to Olive Garden and it was delicious! Their Ravioli di portobello is awesome! That's pretty much all we did. On my actual birthday we just ordered some pizza and watched season 6 of Curb Your Enthusiasm. It was a nice relaxing night!

I got really nice cards and gifts from my parents, Bill and Shelly, my grandparents, my aunt Anne, and Steve and Tanya, and Mike and Brie. Thank you guys! I appreciate  your thoughtfulness!