Monday, January 31, 2011

January is gone

That was pretty darn fast! Just two very random pictures today. Cadi's amaryllis is in full bloom and cheering up the house even though it's dreary and windy outside. The other one is Josi's doing. She has her pandas back out again. Haven't seen them for a very long time, but they came to breakfast. Actually she said they were playing poker. Panda's playing poker with rice crispies...never quite sure where she come up with this stuff!

 

 
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Sunday, January 30, 2011

Better check in today

Last week was a pretty busy week. End of the quarter, report cards, two inservice days Friday and Saturday to sit in class. Basketball tournament and visiting relatives. Last night we were able to keep one of the younger cousins while her parents went to watch the ball game. Forgot how busy 2 year olds are, but she was super! Today, it was another nice day an I sent the kids out to blow bubbles. When it's freezing out and there's no wind, bubbles last a long time!

 

 

 
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Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Grand opening

Last night we had the grand opening for our newly renovated school. Probably the crowning jewels are the new gym and the library. We didn't have either of those before so it was pretty exciting to sit in the gym with about 400 people and finally get to use the new space. The evening was filled with speeches, kids singing, flags, and cheerleaders, but the mose excitement was probably when the mural was revealed. Must have been a moment of deep satisfaction for the artists. It shows kids enjoying our surrounding area. I still need to just take some pictures of the different areas around the school, but it seems like I'm always teaching...

 

 

 

 
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Sunday, January 23, 2011

Quote of the day...

At least she said it with a smile on her face!

 
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Kate Pertiet Ad Inspiration 4410
Joyce Paul- Elegantmess
You and Me-Bellisae Designs

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Homework day

Cadi has spent the last 5 hours working on a podcast for her social studies project. Her little sister help her out by doing the voice work. I think The should work together in broadcasting. It turned out really well. If I can figure out how to get it on the blog I'll do it. Don't hold your breath though...
I've been putzing around the house and managed to get a few of those projects I kept putting off done. The PFD applications are submitted and the fish are no longer swimming in a toxic sespool! Still trying to give my leg a bit of a rest when I can.
 
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Wednesday, January 19, 2011

So if it ain't broke...

don't fix it. But if it is broken, you should probably go back to the doctor a little sooner than I did, and get an x-ray. A week after I tumbled down the stairs, I went to the doctor. He said I had a sprained ankle on my right side and a bone contusion on my left and that it should be better in 4 days. Well 4 weeks later, the left side is still killing me so I decided that I should go back and see what's going on. Different doctor said to xray and sure enough the fibula is broken, but is healing. Add one air splint and a few more weeks and I'm supposed to be healed up and all clear for Disneyland in March. I quess I am one tough old broad considering I've moved my classroom. helped organize other spaces in the school, done Christmas, and taught through the last 4 weeks. Don't supposed I can get any retroactive sick leave...

 
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Simply Amazing

 
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Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Jan 18

 

 

 

 

The clock represents the time Cadi's getting up in the morning now so she can get to volleyball practice ready to go by 6:00 am. Makes for a long day for her. The other pictures are of Josi as she was explaining what an oxymoron is. She talked about it at school today. Then we looked up some on the internet. Their favorite seems to be "a little pregnant". Being the mom of tweeners is sure a lot of fun!
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A great video to start your day...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhOUaszMGvQ

You'll have to copy and paste. I can't get the link to work this morning...

Sunday, January 16, 2011

No pictures today

In fact we didn't even get out of our pajamas at this house today. Daughter #1 wasn't feeling well and we decided to take a much needed break day at this house. Now it's 8:30, everyone is in bed except me and I'm heading that direction shortly. Maybe tomorrow will be worthy of clothing!

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Two Layouts i did from the pictures last Sunday.

 

 
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Too cold!

We just got home from a high school basketball game. Interesting to watch and think about what those seniors we like 13 years ago as kindergartners... They did really well and won by 20 points. it was brutal to leave the warmth of the gym and to get into the feezing car to come home. I know a lot of you see temperatures colder than this, but i live in the banana belt of Alaska and we just don't get this cold very often. Brrrrrrrr.
 
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Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Since i'm on

a bit of a nostalgic trip down memory lane. I thought i would photograph these two guys. The tall one sat with a friend on our piano when i was a kid. My sister took the friend when we were cleaning our my mom and stepdad's house. I think this little figure came from my dad's family, but i'm not sure how old it is. The shorter one I found in an antique shop a couple years ago and i decided to buy it so my tall man would once again have a friend. The piano we had was an old upright that my dad bought for $25 dollars when we first moved to Alaska. Pianos have always been hard to come by in rural Alaska, but he got it from the Moose lodge. It was old and beat up, but my parents refinished it. It moved at least 7 times to a different town and in and out of different apartments and houses. I remember windows and doors being removed to get it into the houses and I remember it was lowered down about 25 stairs and then hauled back up those stairs when my Mom and stepdad moved to Arizona. The piano didn't make that move. It finally had it's last song played on it and was disposed of, but it sure gave us many years of enjoyment as well as a few memories of agony when I really didn't want to practice. Music was one of the strong ties i had with my dad. He died when I was young, but the tie is still there. I can still get lost in the joys of music and in the thrill of performance and sometimes I think about how he enjoyed music so much too. So the tall man sits on my piano. It's not an old upright. It's a sleek digital piano, but the little man still stands there and listens.
 
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Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Out with the old...

Out of the cupboard that is. When I was cleaning out the kitchen and throwing out stuff, I found this bowl tucked away in the back of the cupboard. It had a piece of masking tape with my Grandma Ball's name on it. I don't remember getting it, but when I saw it I remembered it from my childhood. I know she used it over and over again to serve her family and friends the love she cooked up in her kitchen. I love the fact it has a chip. Makes me wonder how it got there and it makes me think about Grandma and how she wouldn't have let that chip ruin her day. So instead of sticking it back into the cupboard I decided that I needed to take it out and use it. I need to take it out of the cupboard to help me remember that I can't let the little chips of life ruin my day. While I was at it, I got out an old tablecloth that was my mom's and put that on my table. I like having a part of Grandma and Mom in my kitchen and dining room. It reminds me of them and brings them closer.
BTW, the dish drainer is still clean and I'm amazed at how one clean dish drainer transfers over to a clean house.

 

 
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Sunday, January 9, 2011

in Search of Vitamin D













And we found a good dose today. We headed out the road to the Copper River Delta after an awesome church service today. For those of you not familiar with Cordova. We sit on Orca Bay with some pretty tall mountains that block the direct sunlight to a good portion of town during this time of the winter. But if you drive about 7 miles out our total of 50 miles of road you come out onto the delta and the mountains are only on one side so you can get excellent sunlight on those clear winter days we sometimes have. Today was one of those spectacular days that just restores the soul. Cadi took a lot of these photos with her new Christmas present. A little Canon powershot that she is doing an incredible job with. These photos were taken between 2:30 and 3:00 so you can tell how low the sun is in the sky. Tomorrow we will be back to school and will be inside for most of the daylight hours, but today we got some vitamin D that didn't come from a bottle! BTW, that is a moose hoof print frozen into the icy snow.

Friday, January 7, 2011

Another gorgeous day...

But I didn't really get a chance to see the sun today. As we left school Cadi noticed now cool the reflection was in the frosty car window. Not the clearest shot, but still cool. Then we headed down to the harbor and got a couple of good shots. I need to leave the tripod in the car though so I always have it.

 

 

 

 
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