After 15+ months out of the country....

Septmeber 2, 2011

We dropped her off at SFO bound for New Zealand where she lived, traveled and worked for a year...

When her VISA expired September 3, 2012, she headed to Singapore....then onto Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and a layover in Japan...and she arrived at SFO tonight.....

(I had an arrival photo here but Picasa says I am out of space- even though I deleted a dozen photos from the album...so it is new blog time with a new host.)


*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*TRAVEL WHILE YOU'RE YOUNG*

What's more fun than a barrel of monkeys?

Taking 25 first graders to see the Nutcracker Ballet.
Jealous huh?!

*livestrong*lovestronger*laugh harder*remember it could aways be worse*

HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY Thanksgiving Eve

It was a loooooong...day. Everything went awry from the very start and stayed that way until the final conference ended. The topper was breaking a TV! I was wheeling in a 5' tall cart that had a BIG old TV on top...as I turned to go between two desks the wheel came off the cart and...CrAsH! As it was falling I had a fleeting thought to catch it....thankfully I just let it go. Those big old monster TV's have back ya know. So that is just a little insight into my day.

I swam and now it is my favorite dinner from a little Mexican restaurant and HaPPy HoUr!

I am Thankful for 4 days off :)

 

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*BREAK A TV*

21

My baby turned 21 yesterday...not long ago he was 3' tall and wore those little high tops....

 

Now he is 6'6" and wears those size 15 clown shoes.

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BIG FOOT!

 

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER LAUGH HARDER*OH TO BE 21 AGAIN*

Day 5

The place where we work out is having a contest...it's called WINTER WARRIORS. There are 51 days to work out...and prizes along the way...if you work out all of them you get free dues...or a few less and you get a t-shirt and a few more gets you a hoodie.

So far I am 5/5 days.

I will either be in really good shape...or I will get a mug for working out 20 days.

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*BE A WINTER WARRIOR*

GO FISH!

Yesterday I taught 23 first graders how to play GO FISH. (At the same time- don't try this at home!)
I finished my 18th parent conference.
I swam 800 yards in the rain.
And I celebrated with a blended margarita with salt.

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*CELEBRATE SMALL VICTORIES*

Running With the Jets

It was 43 degrees this morning when Daughter #1 and I took off for the run at Coyote Point...I know that is not even close for my midwest and east coast friends, but that is cold for here....it was clear which is unusual for the bay near the San Francisco Airport- hence, Running with the jets- as they take off and land parallel to the run.

Daughter #1 realized she had left her sunglasses when we were about to the freeway and didn't want to go back...so being the nice mom that I am, I let her use mine....I was only doing the 5K and she was doing a half marathon....so she would be running into the sun for way more miles than I would be.

It was a nice, flat run along the edge of the bay and the perfect weather. I felt a little yucky but at least my back wasn't sore...I just wanted to break 30 minutes, which I did, but I would have taken 4th in my age group had I not had to stop to tie my shoes TWO TIMES! I sure wish I had felt better so I could have run faster. Then I visited with a student from my running club, a former boy I had coached in soccer years ago and then headed down the trail to run the last bit with daughter #1....I ran about 1/4 mile with her then cut across the park to get her photo at the finish line.

Now home to work on report cards and drink Tylenol sore throat cure!

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*RUN WITH THE JETS*

3 Days Off....

I am not going to get sick....I can feel it coming.....everyone at work is sick and the time change has messed with the kids inner clocks and they are out of sorts...so I am staying home, working on report cards, drinking tea and Airborne.

 

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*ENJOY THE LONG WEEKEND*

It's MAGIC!

So today I did 3 centers...I didn't have any parent help so I explained what we were going to do.... and my center was a reading group....and we read a Level 1 book, Picking Apples and Pumpkins. 

And every kid read!

Like magic! I have no idea how it happens...I just kinda swirl all this info around their little brains, and it gets absorbed, and ABRA-Ca-DABRA!! THEY READ!!

It is like losing teeth...it happens when they are ready...and it just happened!

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*READ A BOOK*

I have never spent $170 on shoes before. And I wouldn't have on these....even though they are really cool!

 

But I won up to $160 in Aasics shoes in last month's Road Runner Running Store's 3rd Thursday fUn RuN....for my Sponge Bob Lincecum costume. So today I went to redeem my coupon for shoes and I saw these wild Aasics...and I asked if I could pay the $10 difference and they said, "No problem, we will give them to you!!!!"

I usually run in whatever Nike is on clearance. I really don't care what color but I do use the Nike + shoe so I can put the chip in the shoe which hooks up to my iPod and lets me know how far I run...and records it on the Nike site afterwards. But I must say, I can sure tell the difference in these expensive shoes. Just the right amount of cushion and the support I need on my outer right foot where I broke it in college. I can't wait to show the kids at Running Club tomorrow morning!

 

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*RUN IN WILD SHOES*

1,000 Jack-o-lanterns and Screaming Like Wuss!

As I was rubbing my calloused hands this morning, I pondered the HGTV show I briefly caught where two towns were trying to set a Guinness Book World Records for most carved pumpkins and most carved lighted pumpkins. There were thousands and thousands and although not on my bucket list, I have had my hand in carving well over 1,000 pumpkins....at least in cutting off the tops and helping pull the toughest pulp out of the insides....and poking out the triangles and circles out of the thickest pumpkin faces.

27 years of Jack-o-lantern carving, plus 3 of my kids times 15 years....and well, there it is....A LOT of Jacks!

This morning after pondering calloused hands and Jack-o-lanterns, I headed to work. I got in before the janitor and after disarming Sonitrol, I walked into the wing where my classroom is and a GIANT RAT ran past. I was startled...then I decided, since it ran into the doorway and hid behind some big Rubbermaid tubs, that I would take one and turn it over to trap the rat. I carefully got one bin, and then moved the other bin with my foot, expecting it to run to my right. BUT the GIANT rat ran to the left... AND I SCREAMED LIKE A WUSS! SO LOUDLY THAT THE JANITOR WHO JUST ARRIVED TO WORK HEARD ME OUTSIDE THE BUILDING! Damn rat got away.

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*TRY TO

TRAP A RAT*SCREAM LIKE A WUSS*