May Day...

I thought about bringing flowers to my friends and co-workers tomorrow, as a sign that I was going to turn over a new leaf this May, and not just hold my breath for the next 31 days, and pray that nothing terrible happens... but so far, I haven't gotten up the nerve to really believe that, and I'm not good at pretending, so I will just carry on and recognize each anniversary for what it was... a chance to mourn, a chance to grow mentally and spiritually, and a chance to become the person that I am. 

A Secret...

On Saturday night I had the pleasure to attend a presentation by Frank Warren, the author of Post Secret. He is touring to promote his new book A Lifetime of Secrets. I wasn't quite sure what to expect, as I am new to his work, but I have to say, it was quite a memorable evening. He is a very extraordinary person, who has the ability to change people's lives, just by being the receiver of millions of post cards from around the world. 

I was mostly touched by the work he has done with 1-800-Suicide, the National Suicide Hotline. In October, our 21 year old neighbor committed suicide, the day after he was over at our house, asking where your heart is located... It is amazing what a void a person can leave in your life when you least expect it. 

Keep up the great work, Frank!!!

6 Random Bits of Info About Me Meme...

Mathman tagged me with the 6 random things meme... if you are tagged... here are the rules: 

 - Link to the person who tagged you

 - Post the rules on your blog

 - Write 6 random things about you

 - Tag 6 random people by linking to their blog

 - Let each of the 6 know they have been tagged by leaving them a comment on their blog

 - Let your tagger know when your entry is up

Random Facts About Bug O' Death: 

1. I graduated from a small boarding school in the north Georgia mountains. I was sent there my junior year because I skipped 33 days of my sophomore year in public school. 

2. I am the baby of 7, but the only child of my mom and dad together... think of the Brady Bunch + 1. I haven't talked to 2 of my sisters and 1 brother in over 10 years. 

3. I miss my dad terribly and think of things every day I wished I had told him before he died.

4. If I could live anywhere, I'd live in Queenstown, New Zealand. It's very similar to CO, but much smaller, not as much traffic, and even farther away from those wackadoos I call my family. 

5. I spent my 21st birthday in jail because my former was driving 120 mph from Statesboro to Atlanta and had a bunch of prescription pills in unlabeled containers in his backpack... I should have known then it wasn't going to last. 

6. My favorite thing to do when I have time (or when report cards are due) is find a great book and spend the entire day doing nothing but reading. 

Okay... now it's your turn... and I apologize if you've already gotten this one... I'm kind of new to this...

Cheer 34

GKL

LuLu

Monkey Muck

QweenB

Skyler's Dad

Spring Has Sprung...

Since last weekend was spent playing hockey, I decided this weekend I would spend time getting my house and yard back together. Many people would call this spring cleaning, but I know for me, this will happen, not just this once, but several times throughout the next 5 months.

After attempting the 2.5 hour workout at Red Rocks, Honey and I set out to repair the dog run. Some of the weed block was torn and weeds were beginning to poke their heads through, so we removed the pea-gravel, laid new weed block and returned the gravel. 

Next, it was on to the patio. 3 years ago, we built a 400 square foot patio out of flagstone. We experimented with different types of thyme to plant in between the stones. What we have discovered is that the woolly thyme and lemon thyme grow to bushy and out of control, so we started digging it up and left the creeping thyme to perform its magic. 

On Sunday, we tackled the gardens and weeds that have already started to take root, even though we had snow on Thursday. 

In the front yard, I have a typical perennial garden with iris, day lilies, columbine, and Hyacinth. 

In the back, along the east fence is my vegetable garden. It's still too early to plant the things I like to eat, i.e. tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and basil, but I got the soil ready for when the last frost has past. 

Along our south fence is more perennials. They are starting to sprout their green leaves, but it will be a few more weeks before any blossoms start to show.

Along the west fence is my rose garden. We have a variety of regular red short stem, but my favorite are the miniature ones that I have received as gifts from students and friends over the years. Every year I continue to be amazed that they survive the cold and snow. 

So the gardens, patio and dog run are good to go... if I could just get the lawn guy over to cut and trim the grass, all would be good. 

My Name is Not Chris...

I've been practicing yoga for about 2 years now, and in January, I switched studios to one closer to my work. I haven't been able to go as regularly as I would like, but I try to get there every Tuesday and Wednesday when I can. I noticed last week that the teacher thinks my name is Chris. I don't want to correct her in the middle of class, and I haven't had a chance to tell her what my name is before or after class, but it's really starting to "bug" me. 

First of all, we have to sign in at class, and there isn't anyone in our class whose name is Chris, so I don't know how she came up with that name. Second, I have a punch-card with my name on it that I leave out on the counter for her to punch after class, and again, no one else has a card with the name Chris on it. Isn't she matching the sign-in names with the punch-card names???

Anyway, it's quite the dilemma because I've let it go for so long that it almost seems awkward to correct it now. 

I've also thought about how I could have this whole secret identity at yoga... the secret life of Chris, but I just can't see it coming to fruition. I don't really look like a Chris, and it's hard enough just to keep up with my own "real" life, to make up a different one and try to keep it straight. So I think at an appropriate time I'll just tell her to call me Bug. 

We're Not Last...

This weekend was the state tournament for my women's hockey team. If you read GKL's blog, you know that our team has pretty much been terrible for most of the year. We only won 2 games, both of which came from teams that play in a lower division than us, but lately we've been playing pretty good... only loosing by 1 or 2 goals. 

So the tourney started on Friday night, and we were playing the 1st place team. We played a great game, only giving up 2 goals for a 2-0 loss. On Saturday we played the 3rd place team in the morning and the 6th place team in the afternoon. We lost the first of the two games 4-1, then tied the last game 0-0. Since we had the better goal differential, we moved on to play for 5th or 6th place instead of 7th or 8th this morning. Again, we played a great game, but lost in the end 3-2 (congrats to GKL for scoring the first goal!!!)

Seems totally crazy to me that we could not win a game in our division all year and still finish in 6th place, but hey, we'll take it!!! Anything is better than finishing last!

Why I Hate This Time of Year...

There are many reasons why I hate springtime... more specifically the months of April and May...

1. Hockey season is winding down. Even though I play year-round, the real season is winter... summer is for improving and keeping my legs strong.

2. Ski season is ending... even though some of the ski areas may stay open until June, the snow gets too hard and crunchy to really enjoy it. 

3. Bad things always happen this time of year... Over the past 13 years, these are things that have happened in April or May... I was diagnosed with cancer and had a hysterectomy, I was investigated for drinking and doing drugs at work (thankfully, as a result of the investigation, I haven't had a drink in almost 12 years), I went through a very ugly and nasty divorce (which I guess wasn't so bad when looking back... I wouldn't have the great Honey I have now!!!), my dad was put in hospice and died the end of May 1998,  and last year my mother-in-law became very sick from chemo and died in May... 

So why should I surprised that today I got bad news from the vet about my sweet Terra... in September she was diagnosed with bone cancer. We had her left-hind leg amputated in hopes that it would slow down the cancer and we would have a little more time with her. She adjusted well to only having 3 legs and it looked like we had made the right decision. 

On Friday, things started to change... she didn't sleep well Friday night and Saturday morning, Honey brought her back home from their morning walk early. She only made it to the end of the sidewalk and then decided she didn't want to go for a walk after all, and hasn't been on one since. Thankfully, she still has her appetite, but she doesn't have the energy we are used to seeing from her. The vet told Honey today that the cancer has probably spread and things don't look so good for our "Little Lamb". 

So besides spoiling my precious puppy with all the love and chicken she can stand, I will continue to dread the months of April and May. Even though every year I try to approach these months with new resolve, thinking this year will be different, time and time again I have been proven wrong. So only 51 more days to go... I'm keeping my fingers crossed nothing else happens. 

Politics In The Workplace...

Since this school year started, I knew it would probably be my last in the classroom. I finished schooling for my Principal's license in December '06, and  now I really want a chance at being an Administrator. 

The problem in our district is this... we are the largest school district in Colorado, third largest in the US, and we don't have very many elementary schools with AP (assistant principal) positions. We have 116 elementary schools in the district, and only about 12 of them have APs. So knowing this, I took an opportunity to do some intern work at a Middle School this year (all Middle Schools have at least 1 AP and some have 2). So once or twice I month, I take a personal day (my own time) and go "work" at this Middle School, which has the same number of students my elementary school, and has and 2 APs. I do everything the other APs at this school do, i.e. lunch duty, discipline, plan professional development, etc... 

So, a few weeks ago,  this position at another Middle School came open and of course I applied. Two people in our district who are well respected and in "high-up" positions called the principal at this school and told him about me. They both thought I would be a great fit for this job, and the least he could do was give me an interview. I even emailed the principal and asked if I could come by and visit with him, just to see if it might be a good fit. Well, I never heard back from the MAN in response to my email, and my principal told me on Friday, they would be doing interviews for this job on Monday, as in tomorrow!!! REALLY??? You couldn't even grant me an interview??? At least give me the opportunity to show you what I can do!!! 

In addition, I was told on Friday, that the district is going to place this LOSER AP from a different Middle School at our school next year (we are eligible for a .5 AP next year) so he can gain some elementary experience. He will work part time at our school and part time at the school is currently at. My principal was told that this is his last chance. He's totally screwed up some things at his current school and they think it might be easier for him if he were in an elementary school. 

OMG!!! EASIER!!! That is frickin' ludicrous!!! There are 7 grades in our elementary school, and students make the greatest gains in their learning during these years. In addition, we have 6 Gifted and Talented classes, which is like having a school within a school. These parents are in and out of our office daily, with such demands, it's going to make this LOSER want to crawl into a corner and cry like a little girl!!!

This is the conclusion I have come to... people don't want to hire people who are better than they are, especially in positions that are below them, because they are afraid the better person will make them look bad... REALITY... yes, I might make you look bad, but not intentionally... if anything I will make you look GREAT, and let YOU take all the credit for it!!!