Bug O' Death

I Could Be A Stalker...

2009-01-19T20:33:00.008-07:00

Anyone who knows me, knows my favorite hockey player is Paul Stastny. Remember last spring when I had the opportunity to have my picture taken with him, and Honey chopped his head off? Well, on Saturday night, I got my second chance...

Honey and I had tickets to see The Killers... one of my most favorite bands. I've missed them the last few times they've been in town, the last time not a big deal, and I wasn't going to let it happen again. The day before tickets went on sale, Honey said he could buy them early because he was a member of some radio club. I told him to go for it, and waited for the results. He called later that day to let me know he had indeed gotten tickets, and they cost $382. I almost crapped my pants, but thought, "What the hell... it is THE KILLERS!!!", and I knew at that moment just how much he REALLY loves me. The tickets arrived in the mail, and we realized we paid FOUR TIMES the face value, and wondered what the heck was up... We did a bit of investigating, but never got an answer as to why we paid such an inflated price. Nevertheless, we decided we weren't going to let it ruin the night, once it finally arrived... And Saturday was the night....

We arrived just in time for the opening act, and patiently waited for the main event. As they were changing out the set, some guys at the end of the row were talking loudly and harassing one another. I looked up just in time to see Paul Stastny walking down the aisle, poking fun at the guy on the end of the row in front of us, who ended up being David Jones. Just behind Paul was JML (John Michael Liles) joining in the razzing of Jones. By the time the show started, Liles, Jones and Stastny were sitting in front of us, Chris Stewart, Scott Hannan, and Daniel Tjarnqvist, were sitting right behind us, and Lappy (from the spring event) was two rows behind them.

I know that Paul could feel me staring at him the entire time. I tried sneaking pictures of him when he turned around to talk to his fellow teammates, but only a few of them came out. Honey tried to start some small talk with Stewart about the upcoming game on Sunday vs Calgary, but Stewart didn't seem interested. At that point I figured I wouldn't ask Stastny for a picture, since it wasn't an Avs event, and would respect his privacy instead.

Once the show started, we were all up dancing and singing the words to all of the songs they played. It was a great show and well worth the money we paid for the company we kept!

I'm Back...

2009-01-17T09:53:00.006-07:00

It's been awhile since I've blogged. A lot has happened in the past 4 months. Most important, Obama won the election and will be inaugurated on Tuesday. I really think our country is about see some much needed changes in the way it conducts politics.

My part-time assistant principal/part-time teacher job has turned out to be 2 full-time jobs, which has been the reason I haven't blogged. I love my AP job, and really hope it will lead to something full-time for next year. One of the great outcomes of this situation is that I have been able to rekindle a friendship with my teammate from a few years back. She teaches the literacy and social studies content to the students in the morning, while I teach them math and science in the afternoon. It is really great to be working together again!

Hockey season started up again in October, and although we haven't lost every game (like last year), we aren't doing quite as well as I had hoped... on my co-ed team, or my women's team. I'm continuing to take lessons every week, and feel that as a player, my abilities are improving, but things just aren't clicking with the teams as a whole. I get a sense that both teams are just waiting for the playoffs, because really in the end, that's where it matters.

Another change 2009 will hopefully bring is a new home. We finally settled my mother-in-law's estate (it only took a year and half) and we will begin working on her house in a few months, with hopes of living there by the end of the year. I anticipate the majority of my blog posts being about the progress of this project. The architect is making plans for the addition and remodel on the existing house, as well as for the development of the vacant corner acre we inherited. We are hoping to build 3 houses on the land, and sell them, once the housing market turns around.

At least today, from where I'm sitting, 2009 looks to bring a lot of good things our way... only time will tell!

I'll Be Praying For You...

2008-09-21T22:18:00.003-07:00

I got this email from a good friend of mine a couple of weeks ago, entitled, "Confusion". It basically slams the door on all of the idiotic things Republicans have been saying about Obama from the get-go. For example, "If your name is Barack you're a radical, unpatriotic Muslim. Name your kids Willow, Trig, and Track, your a Maverick". My personal favorite comparison is this one, "If you have been married to the same woman for 19 years while raising 2 beautiful daughters, all within Protestant churches, you're not a REAL Christian. But, if you cheated on your first wife with a rich heiress, and left your disfigured wife and married the heiress the next month, you're a Christian."There are quite a few other good ones, but I won't go into anymore detail about that.

This Blog is about what happened when I forwarded the email to some folks this morning. The majority of the people to receive the email are close friends who share the same political beliefs as I do. BUT... I also included a couple of family members (my husband included) who lean way too far to the right for my liking. Among them are my sister and my step-sister who have sent me ridiculous emails for the past few months about how Obama is going to cause the Apocalypse, how he's going to swear on the Koran if elected, etc... Now grant it... they are from the south, the deep south I might add, where the "N" word is still used to describe those of a different color, and to which I believe ignorance abounds, so I shouldn't be too surprised to the response my step-sister had to my email. It went something like this:

Stupid Step-Sister - "Are you for Barak Obama? I hear many in your state are. I'm curious."

Me - "Yes, I'm a big supporter of his."

Stupid Step-Sister - "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. I'll be praying for you."

Praying for me??? WTF... do I have cancer??? Am I going to die soon??? I couldn't believe her response. Who does she think she is?

Well to her I say, "Really, don't waste your piddley little prayers on the fact that I can't fathom 4 more years of corruption, lies, and a never ending war." It's really quite simple to me. All you have to do is ask yourself one question, "How much better off today are we, than 8 years ago?" Well let's see:

1. Osama Bin Ladin has yet to be captured. In fact, as we all know the Taliban has quickly been rebuilding their terrorist forces in Pakistan and Afghanistan, while we look for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Yes, remember, that's why we started this whole thing initially. And how many WMDs did find? Oh yeah, I know, Sadam Hussein was a an evil dictator, and caused lots of harm to many people in his country, but a close friend of ours who just returned from his tour in Iraq, said basically the only type of government that can sustain in that country for about the next 100 years, is one with a dictator, much like Sadam. He was the only type of person who could maintain some sort of order between the 4 major tribes who exist there.

2. Our economy...We all know how that is doing. Well, at least those of us who have the guts to take an honest look, and speak honestly about where things truly are. And if the past week is any indicator of things to come, it doesn't look like it's going to get better any time sooner.

3. Healthcare... funny, my mom is always complaining about the cost of her prescriptions, and how difficult it is to get good care at the doctor's office anymore... HELLO... so when did this begin... Oh about 5-6 years ago... Ummmm coincidence??? I don't think so!!!

4. Education... That's a whole other Blog topic... I could go on and on, but the fact of the matter is... Since No Child Left Behind came into play, I've had less resources and more demands placed on me as an educator, and are the children any more smarter, or getting any better jobs??? NO... they are little robots, spitting out useless knowledge to pass some test, designed to make sure a certain percentage of them fail.

5. The Environment - Now this is something to pray for... As an educator I have seen more and more students with severe Asthma and allergies enter my classroom than ever before. I don't believe it is a coincidence either. The air we breather, the food we eat, some thing has got to change.

These are just a few of the things I was thinking about when I made my decision for which candidate I was going to support. I didn't know, nor do I care that it has caused my family to put me on the prayer list at church...

Be Careful What You Wish For...

2008-09-19T04:25:00.005-07:00

On Wednesday, I finally got what I've been wishing for...

My principal got a new job, which opened the door for our current AP to take her position, which left the AP position open. I was offered and accepted the job! Yipeee!!! Finally...

I've posted before, and truly believe that all things happen for a reason, which is why things didn't quite go my way this summer.

In reality this is really the best of both worlds. The AP position is only half-time, which means I will be wearing the AP hat in the morning, then returning to my classroom in the afternoon to teach math and science. This works out well, because I think the parents of my students would not be as happy as they are about the whole thing, if I weren't going to be teaching at all.

The problem is that I now feel pretty schizophrenic. Administration and teaching are 2 VERY DIFFERENT worlds. People don't really see that unless they've had the opportunity to do both. Many people think that because you show up to work in a school that everyone's doing pretty much the same thing, but that just isn't the case.

As an administrator I do not have a contract. We are "at will" employees and can be let go at any time. As a teacher, I have this insane contract, that covers just about every little possible incident that could ever happen.

Yesterday, I found myself in an conversation with our PE teacher, and later our Art teacher about some contractual issues. Halfway through the conversation, I realized that they were not speaking to me as a colleague, but as their boss. Holy Crap!!! I've never been someone's boss!!!

So I realized this morning that this is what's been keeping me up at night for the past few nights... For the past few years, I've had several opportunities to "play administrator" at our school, but the final decisions have always been made by our principal and AP, and folks just knew that. They came to me as a kind of sounding board, then would go to either of the bosses for the final decision.

So in one days time, all of this has changed. I can still be the sounding board, but I also get to make the final decisions... God help us all!!!

Girls Are Smarter Than Boys...

2008-08-29T20:23:00.005-07:00

It's hard to believe that it is just now Labor Day Weekend, and I've already been back at with kiddos for 3-weeks. This year I have the exact opposite of my class from last year... I have 16 girls and 6 boys in my GT class. The one thing I've noticed with so many girls is that I have to plan 3 times more assignments, activities and opportunities for learning than I ever have before.

When I first started teaching GT a few years ago, the amount of planning required was my biggest challenge. Now, with the majority of students being girls, I am finding I have to plan even more than I did back then.

Girls tend to be much more chatty than boys, but when it comes to working and studying, they are very focused and motivated. It's been fun to watch the girls bring the boys along these passed few weeks. You can literally watch them walk over to where the boys are working, get in with them, and help them figure things out. I love their confidence in answering difficult questions, and their willingness to take risks in putting ideas out there.

I'm glad that I got the opportunity to teach this group of students this year. Things definitely turned out the way they were supposed to.

We Are The Champions...

2008-08-24T22:38:00.003-07:00

Finally... it's been a long time comin', but my co-ed team finally won our league championship. We have worked very hard this season, and tonight it paid off. The past two games we have really focused on playing as a team. Amazing how that works when you are playing a team sport. We got goals from different people, and different lines, and our defense, not just the defensive lines, but how well played D as a team, was the best I've seen it in the past 5 years. Way to go guys and gals!!!

The Last Two Weeks...

2008-07-22T14:21:00.004-07:00

With such a short summer break this year, I've been trying to pack in as much fun, relaxation, and house organizing as I can.

On July 12th, Honey and I celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary. It is truly hard to believe it has been that long. It seems like we've only been married a few years, which I think is a good sign. November will be 12 years that we began our relationship, and we are still discovering new and exciting things about one another. I hope that this never stops!

On the 16th we headed to Atlanta to visit the family and celebrate my mom's 75th birthday. I have to say, it was one of the best trips we've had there in a few years. Maybe it's because we are all getting older and realizing that we may not have as much time together as we once thought, or perhaps we just deal with each other's crazy quirks a bit better, but no matter the reason, there was lots of laughter and good times had by everyone.

I return to work on Thursday to help get things ready for the new school year and to set up my new classroom.

I'm not sure I'm ready for this summer vacation to be over just yet:(

Three Cups of Tea...

2008-07-08T14:19:00.004-07:00

The best book I have read, by far, this summer has been Three Cups of Tea. It is the true story of climber Greg Mortenson and how he has built over 50 schools in Pakistan (pre 9/11) and now in Afghanistan (post 9/11). I loved this book for several reasons... mainly because he believes education is the only way we can truly combat terrorism. He started out building his first school as a way of thanking a small village for saving his life as he failed to summit K2. After building that school, he realized the need for others and has made it his life's mission to build as many schools as he can. He especially focuses on remote villages... ones like where the Taliban found it so easy to educate boys of the values of warfare and jihad. I would highly recommend purchasing this book. A portion of the proceeds go to help his organization, Central Asia Institute, so that he can continue his work!!! Happy Reading:)

June Is Almost Over...

2008-06-29T14:46:00.006-07:00

I can't believe the month of June is almost over... I've only posted one other blog this month... Hard to believe how fast time flys.

I won't bore you with the nitty-gritty details of the events of the past month, but would like to highlight a few of the more important ones:

First... I had two more interviews for AP jobs... no luck... looks like I'll be back in the classroom come August 6th.

Second... I just returned on Wednesday from a week in Mazatlan with my Principal, Blanca, and my BFF, Julia.

We had a GREAT time. The weather was perfect, which is hard to believe this time of year. Usually it is too hot for my liking, but it was actually quite bearable this go around. Here is a picture I took of myself while on the beach:

Third, and probably my greatest accomplishment for the month of June was climbing my first 14ner!!! As many of you know, GKL is quite the accomplished mountain climber. Well, she was down to climbing her last of Colorado's 54 high peaks, and invited a group to go along with her to celebrate. The event consisted of a 5 mile bike ride in preparation for the climb to the 14, 264 ft summit.

I can easily see why folks get addicted to climbing. It was such an exhilarating feeling once we reached the top. I can't wait to do my next one. The next best part was that Honey and our 10 year old Golden Retriever, Tybee, joined us the top for the celebration.

A Reason...

2008-06-04T18:40:00.004-07:00

I am one of those people who believe ALL things happen for a reason. I have experienced this time and time again, so I know that this is true, however, there is a problem with this belief. The problem comes from being patient enough to find out what the reason is.

I interviewed for another AP job last week, and didn't get this one either. Apparently I was the second choice, which I'm taking as progress, due to the fact that there were over 60 applicants for this position. The good news is that there are several other opportunities out there, so I haven't resigned to returning to the classroom next year, just yet.

Patience isn't one of my strengths, but I know that I'll be happy regardless of what the next few months brings.

Last Few Days of School...

2008-05-22T18:32:00.005-07:00

I'm supposed to be grading papers and working on report cards, but I can't seem to bring myself to get these things done. I've been "playing" Assistant Principal at our school for the past week (and still teaching my 6th graders), because the looser they sent over from the High School has proven to be fairly incompetent. I love what I'm doing, and it has proven to me more and more I am ready to make this career change, but I still have to finish up this year!

To make matters worse... this week has been "Camp Bug O'Death". I bring in my HUGE 8 man/3 room tent and my kids bring in their camp chairs and sleeping bags and we build roller coasters, and perform Shakespeare for the other classes in the school. It has been an awesome week! Today, we spent the day at Elitch's (our amusement park like Six Flags), tomorrow is I Love to Read Day, next Wednesday is their Continuation Ceremony, and Thursday is our annual raft trip.

Really is seems like school is over and out, but I have these last few things that have to be done before I can close the books on another year. I wish I weren't such a procrastinator!!!

The Virus Amped Up...

2008-05-17T15:19:00.003-07:00

So I got tagged by Mathman again... This one is pretty fun...

Here's the deal:
Here's what I would like to do. I want to create a story that branches out in a variety of different, unexpected ways. I don't know how realistic it is, but that's what I'm aiming for. Hopefully, at least one thread of the story can make a decent number of hops before it dies out.

If you are one of the carriers of this story virus (i.e. you have been tagged and choose to contribute to it), you will have one responsibility, in addition to contributing your own piece of the story: you will have to tag at least one person that continues your story thread. So, say you tag five people. If four people decide to not participate, it's okay, as long as the fifth one does. And if all five participate, well that's five interesting threads the story spins off into.

Not a requirement, but something your readers would appreciate: to help people trace your own particular thread of the narrative, it will be helpful if you include links to the chapters preceding yours. -Splotchy

I had been shuffling around the house for a few hours and already felt tired. The doorbell rang. I opened the front door and saw a figure striding away from the house, quickly and purposefully. I looked down and saw a bulky envelope. I picked it up. The handwriting was smudged and cramped, and I could only make out a few words. (Splotchy)

"Meet me at two o'clock at Grisham Square. Don't be late!"

What? I already had an appointment at that time. In fact, that was the only reason I had even taken off work that Wednesday. But, when I saw the photos, I knew I had to go and see what the hell was going on. Oh gosh, now I wish I hadn't, but how was I to know then that Elizabeth would take this whole thing so far? (Freida Bee)

The thing with Elizabeth began innocently enough. She was my first love but in high school seniors girls are not supposed to date freshman boys and she told me so in a yearbook message that is captured in time, "If you were only older... hang loose and have a great summer."

Now, all these years later age did not mater and the photos proved it. But I still was unsure of exactly what was going to happen. Wednesday could not come soon enough. (Mathman).

Wednesday morning, I awoke early. I had laid out my clothes the night before. I wanted everything to be perfect. After a long, hot shower, in which I tried a new shaving gel, I was off on my adventure.

The photos only told a piece of the story. Elizabeth had undergone some sort of drastic operation, and surely something had gone wrong. Was she expecting me to help her out of this mess? (Bug O' Death)

Do your creative best my tagged friends:
GKL
Qween B
Cheer 34

Why I Don't Have Children...

2008-05-16T21:05:00.000-07:00

I didn't go to college 1500 miles away, but the day after I graduated from college I moved 1500 miles away from my family. Growing up in the south, this is unheard of. You just don't stray too far. When I left, my mom told everyone I'd be back in 6 months. I've been gone for 15 years.

Today, I was on the phone with my mom talking about my half-sister. She's 17 years older than me, and a few months ago, she decided she was going to leave her husband of 30 years. I was a bit shocked by this, but the more I've been thinking about it, the more it makes sense. We've always thought my brother-in-law was nuts for staying with her. She's incredibly mean and self-centered. Everything bad that has happened in her life has always been someone else's fault. She's extremely competitive over material things. Recently, she inherited $250, 000 from her grandparents (unfortunately, not my grandparents), and decided she didn't want her husband to get any of the money, so she left him.

This may sound pretty crazy, but in my family, this makes perfect sense. I believe there is some whacked out gene floating in the females in my family. My grandmother was one of the craziest people I knew. She was always doing things that shocked the crap out of us. My grandma passed the crazy gene on to my mom... When I was getting married (the first go around), my mom told me a story about how she ran off to NC with some guy one weekend and got married because she saw her boyfriend out with another girl one Friday night. (The girl ended up being the boyfriend's cousin who was in town for a visit, and now my mom is married to that old HS boyfriend, but that's for a different blog)... When she returned to Atlanta on Sunday, they got the marriage annulled. My mom has definitely passed that crazy gene on to me and my two sisters, and my two sisters have passed the gene on to their daughters, who unfortunately have daughters as well, who will probably end up with the craziness themselves.

So thankfully I have stopped the craziness from my end, by not having any children, and hopefully my great-nieces won't perpetuate it either. There are too many people who get hurt by the crazy things we do.

What A Week...

2008-05-15T03:36:00.006-07:00

It's been a while since I lasted posted... actually, I've tried to write a few things, but none of them came out the way I wanted, so I deleted them, and now I'm going to try again.

The past week has been, well pretty typical for May. On Thursday, Honey and I had to put our Sweet Terra girl down. She was just in too much pain to let her continue to suffer. It was the hardest decision I've had to make in my life. This incredible woman came to our home so that we wouldn't have to take her somewhere, and she was able to be comfortable on her own bed, with her sister, Tybee, by her side.

Terra was a talker, she barked all the time, and sometimes it would drive me crazy. We had several disagreements with our neighbor about Terra's barking, even to the extent that I slammed the door in his face once, and now our house is so quiet. Tybee, being the good Golden Retriever that she is, hardly says anything. She's perfectly content just lying around. I never thought I would dislike the quietness so much.

Over the weekend our hockey team played in a tournament. We play in this tourney every year, and every year we vow to never come back. Unfortunately, we helped host the gawd awful event, so we had to participate. It's called the Front Range Face-Off, but it should be called "Our ringer is better than your ringer"! We entered the lowest division this year, because we had a couple of skaters returning after being gone for awhile. We played really well on Friday night and Saturday morning, then Saturday afternoon, got our butts handed to us by a team from Gunnison. Really it was just a few of the girls, and not the whole team, but it was a loss nonetheless. So on Sunday morning, we played the other host team for a chance at the Championship. The game was at 7:30 AM. This was a problem to begin with, as I don't think in our 5 year history, The Monkeys have ever won a game that was played before 9, but I digress. The other team didn't have a goalie and wanted to hold off play until she arrived. We didn't agree (it was their fault for picking a goalie who shows up drunk, if at all, half the time) and took the ice. Now, it seems like this should be a no brainer, we should win the game, but it's not the same game when there isn't a goalie, although our coach would tell you it is. The team put an ex-college player in net (with no face protection) and the game was on. We scored an early goal, and things looked like they were going to go well, but then their current college player took over and dominated the remainder. Grant it, we weren't playing well, we couldn't control the puck, our shots were missing the net, we weren't/couldn't skate... it was a bad scene. In the end we lost. Looking back I think we didn't really want to win. A win would have meant we played again at 11:30, and I think we were all just tired. I know that I was ready to just go home and spend some time with Honey, and had had enough of the ridiculousness of the tourney organizer.

On Monday, I had my first ever interview for an Assistant Principal job. The interview didn't go very well, so I wasn't surprised when the principal called yesterday to tell me the committee had chosen someone else. She told me I did great during the interview, but she didn't think it was the right fit, meaning, "I don't have enough experience in Title I/ESL schools". I have some other applications out, so I will be more prepared for the next interview, but I'm starting to get concerned about next year. There are not many AP positions out there...

So I'm taking Friday off for a little R&R, and to regroup for a better week, next week. We only have 10 days of school left, and several of them are field trip days, so things should be looking up.

May Day...

2008-04-30T20:41:00.002-07:00

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...

2008-04-28T03:48:00.005-07:00

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...

2008-04-23T19:36:00.000-07:00

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...

Spring Has Sprung...

2008-04-20T19:50:00.000-07:00

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...

2008-04-15T20:04:00.004-07:00

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...

2008-04-13T20:29:00.003-07:00

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...

2008-04-09T19:59:00.004-07:00

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...

2008-04-06T18:01:00.004-07:00

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!!!

Bring It!!!

2008-03-30T14:07:00.004-07:00

On Tuesday, Coach Chin Beaver told me I was out of shape... since then, I have been working out to the point that I can barely walk. I did lunges at the gym on Wednesday, had a lesson with CCB, skied Loveland on Thursday and Friday, completed a 2.5 hour workout at Red Rocks, and played in a hockey game. Today, Honey bought me a Heart Rate Monitor and a pair of weight-lifting gloves... the concrete and sand at Red Rocks don't feel so great on the hands... so to Coach I say... "Bring It!".

This Is NOT Hockey!!!

2008-03-28T19:43:00.002-07:00

Believe me... I was probably yelling louder than anyone when Patrick Roy beat the CRAP out of Osgood, but THIS is NOT the same. The other goalie didn't even want to fight, and he makes Jonathan Roy, Patrick's 19 year old son look like a complete idiot!

Spring Break... Day Two

2008-03-25T19:28:00.007-07:00

No sleeping in today... Honey had me up and at the gym bright and early at 6 AM!!! Last night before we went to bed, I told him to make sure I got up and joined him for his daily workout, since I didn't have my usual hockey lesson at 5:15... an idea I most certainly regretted once I realized how utterly stupid it was, for I am on vacat

ion... but off to the gym I went.

The rest of the morning was spent packing up winter house decor in hopes that spring might truly be arriving. I even took about an hour nap with my sweet pup Terra (she's the three-legged Chocolate Doberman). Tybee (the Golden Retriever), our other sweet girl, was sleeping on the tile floor in the basement... her favorite spot in the whole house.

After running some errands, it was time for my lesson. Thanks to QweenB for sharing her spot with me this afternoon, so I didn't have to wake-up at 4 AM. The lesson was brutal, as always seems to be the case when we are working on shooting. I've never been taught how to properly shoot until Coach Chin Beaver. He's been very patient with me as I learn which foot goes where, and how the puck is to be placed, etc... And I know that one day I will get it... it's just taking too damn long. The worst part of the lesson was when Coach Chin Beaver told me I was out of shape. My right quad was killing, and that was his response as to why. I don't think I am THAT out of shape... I go to the gym pretty regularly, do Yoga 2-3 times a week, skate 3-4 times a week... it's not like I don't do anything, BUT apparently it isn't enough. I've only been asking him EVERY week for the past month when he's doing his Boot Camp Clinic... ummmmmmm I beginning to wonder if it's not because he's out of shape that we haven't seen the flyers for this.

Anyway, I digress... the best part of my day happened this evening. In December I took the risk and had LASIK done. I chose the 20/20 Institute because they are the official LASIK provider for the Avs. I figure if they are good enough for professional players, they would be good enough for me. The procedure went incredibly well and to date I have 20/15 vision. It's awesome!!! Well, tonight was their annual alumni event with the Colorado Avalanche. Honey and I went to the Pepsi Center to hang out with some Avs players and eat good food.

In order to meet with a player, you had to have this special ticket and when your group was called, you could go talk to the player, get your picture taken, get autographs, etc... We had Red Group 2 tickets. When we arrived, my most favorite player on the Avs, Paul Stastny was signing autographs. I was really excited until I realized they were not going to callour group for pictures until another player had shown up. Sure enough, around 7:00 Paulie was being replaced by Lappy and our group hadn't been called yet. For the past hour, I had been trying to sneak shots of Paul while others got their things signed. I got a couple of OK shots, but not the one I really wanted.

As he started to leave, I noticed he would have

to walk right by our table, so I gave Honey the camera and told him to be ready. Sure enough, I blocked Stastny's way and asked if I could "steal" a picture with him. He put his arm around me and said,"Sure". Honey took the shot, and wha-la... to the left is what came out... Yes, that is me, and the headless man in the argyle sweater is Avs Super Star, Paul Stastny. I felt bad for Honey, because he he knew he had let me down, but it really wasn't that big of a deal. It is much more fun making fun of what he did than to actually have a picture of me and Stastny. I know I will get my chance again, someday.

When our group was finally called, we got in line to see Lappy... another of my favs on the Avs. The reason I love Lappy so much is

because he never backs down from a fight, he's always trying to get under someone's skin, and occasionally can give the refs an hear full... sound like anyone else you know??? I actually asked him how I could get away with saying something to the ref without being thrown in the box, and he said, "I've been around a long time. They expect it from me." Oh, so in a few years I'll be free to say what I wish about the refs??? That will be a glorious day!!! But until then, I will continue to keep my mouth shut on the bench and share all the things I wish I could say with those care afterwards at the bar.

Day Two of Spring Break '08 was one I won't soon forget... and neither will Honey, for it will be a LONG time until I let him live his picture taking mistake down.

Spring Break... So Far

2008-03-24T19:02:00.005-07:00

I guess today would officially kick off Spring Break '08. Since I don't normally work on Saturday or Sunday, they didn't really count as vacation days, but they were fun nonetheless.

On Friday night, our co-ed team came very close to beating the first place team in our division. We lost in a shootout.

On Saturday, I started reading another great book by Jodi Picoult, Salem Falls. For those of you who know me, I love to read. When I get a good book, as Picoult's often are, then I become completely immersed. I read 238 pages Saturday afternoon, including the end of the book. I always read the end once I get a good handle on all the character... that way I know how it ends and can put the book down if need be to do things like eat, sleep or go play hockey, which I did on Saturday night, and the Monkeys lost for the 15th time in a row, but whose counting.

Sunday was spent recouping from the late night on Saturday, and Honey and I slept in until noon. As I spoke with my family, back home in Hotlanta, they were quite disappointed they we had just gotten up, which meant we missed Easter services, and we didn't have any special Easter events planned. First of all, we don't really celebrate Easter. In the past we would have had Honey's mom over and some of her friend's for brunch, but now that she isn't with us, we didn't really want to do anything.

So my first official day off has gone something like this... read my book until 2:00am, slept in until 10:30, went to the gym; killed my biceps, came home, read until 4:30, then met with my regular Monday night friends. Now, I'm watching the Avs and keeping my fingers crossed that they can pull off a win.

Not a bad way to start off this vacation!

I've Been... Tagged

2008-03-23T13:08:00.009-07:00

Thanks to Mathman I've been memed (tagged) for movie quotes. Now, this soooo is not my thing. I love movies, but my memory is horrible for quotes, so I've done the best I can with this meme. If you are looking for classics or serious movies, this is not the place. You'll get much better results from Qween B when she responds on her blog.

So here's the deal:

1. Here are quotes from 15 of my favorite movies.

2. See if you can name the quotes from whence they were lifted.

3. No googling or IMDBing; I'm trusting you on this.

4. I'll post the film names as they are correctly identified.

Movie #1: "What are you doing?... Nothing, I was just getting some lint off for you... You were going for a feelski!... All right, I'm sorry... But this is like the 23rd time we've made out already and... they're getting blue!"

Fifty-First Dates - Qween B

Movie #2:"And there I was killing them softly with my song. Or rather being killed. And not so softly either."
About a Boy - QweenB

Movie #3: "You're living in the past, Sammi. Me and the Woodland Fairies, we're living in the HERE and NOW."

Movie #4:"Oh, here it is. Bratislava. Hmm. Capital of Slovakia. Oh, here's a fun fact: You made out with your sister, man!" EuroTrip - QweenB

Movie #5: "You must spank her well, and after you are done with her, you may deal with her as you like... and then... spank me. ...And me. And me too. And me.... Yes. Yes, you must give us all a good spanking.... And after the spanking, the oral sex....Well, I could stay a bit longer..." Holy Grail - QweenB

Movie #6: "That ain't no etch-a-sketch. This is one doodle that can't be un-did, homeskillet." Juno - QweenB

Movie #7: "What you don't understand is, no, see, no. You can never, never ask me to stop drinking. Do you understand?" Leaving Las Vegas - QweenB

Movie #8: "That look like hockey to you? ... To me it looks like two monkeys trying to hump a football."

Miracle - QweenB

Movie #9: "I play hockey and I fornicate, 'cause those are the two most fun things to do in cold weather."
Mystery Alaska - QweenB

Movie #10: "Well, when I came home from school my head started to get really hot. So I drank some cold water, but it didn't do nothing. So I laid in the bathtub for a while, but then I realized that it was my hair that was making my head hot. So I went into my kitchen and I shaved it all off. I don't want anyone to see." Napoleon Dynamite - QweenB

Movie #11:"Whoo-hoo-hoo, look who knows so much. It just happens that your friend here is only MOSTLY dead. There's a big difference between mostly dead and all dead. Mostly dead is slightly alive. With all dead, well, with all dead there's only one thing you can do. ... Go through his clothes and look for loose change."

Princess Bride - QweenB

Movie #12: "Hamburgers. The cornerstone of any nutritious breakfast." Pulp Fiction - QweenB

Movie #13: "When you're dealing with a store like this, they're insured up the ass. They're not supposed to give you any resistance whatsoever. If you get a customer, or an employee, who thinks he's Charles Bronson, take the butt of your gun and smash their nose in. Everybody jumps. He falls down screaming, blood squirts out of his nose, nobody says fucking shit after that. You might get some bitch talk shit to you, but give her a look like you're gonna smash her in the face next, watch her shut the fuck up. Now if it's a manager, that's a different story. Managers know better than to fuck around, so if you get one that's giving you static, he probably thinks he's a real cowboy, so you gotta break that son of a bitch in two. If you wanna know something and he won't tell you, cut off one of his fingers. The little one. Then tell him his thumb's next. After that he'll tell you if he wears ladies underwear. I'm hungry. Let's get a taco." Reservoir Dogs - QweenB

Movie #14: "Please. I don't wanna go back there. You don't know what it's like to be considered a freak... Well, maybe you do, but that's why we gotta stick together. You gotta let me stay!... We can stay up late, swapping manly stories, and in the morning, I'm making waffles!" Shrek - QweenB

Movie #15: "I'm gonna walk down that stinkin' runway, open up this faggot robe and wiggle my dick at 'em! And do you know why? Because I want you to have a heart-attack and die so we don't have to do this shit again! You and your fucking fashion shows!" Slap Shot - QweenB

Okay fellow bloggers... now it's your turn... you've been tagged!:

QweenB

GKL

Blowing Shit Up With Gas

Sprawling Ramshackle Compound

Spring Break... Here I Come

2008-03-21T15:54:00.005-07:00

Finally, it seemed like it would never arrive, but alas, Spring Break '08 is here!!!

This has been a really tough year, because I didn't REALLY want to teach again this year. I finished my Principal License Program in Dec. '06 and was ready for the next step last spring, but my mother-in-law became very sick. I didn't want to make a career change with such uncertainty in the future, so I decided I would spend one more year with the GT kids. Unfortunately, she passed away in May and last summer was CRAZY cleaning up her place and trying to get things in order... I'll post about that at some other point.

Anyway, for Winter Break, Honey and I went to Mazatlan to visit his dad and dad's girlfriend. We are REALLY lucky!!! They purchased a house on the beach there 3 years ago, so we always have this great place in Mexico to go whenever we want. So, it was kind of like a vacation, but we were still dealing with a lot of stuff from his mom, so we spent most of that week just trying to catch up on sleep and reconnect with one another.

So now Spring Break is here... The best part is that I really have nothing planned. We have a second playoff game on my co-ed team, the Monkeys are playing their next to last game of the season, I have a couple of lunch dates with girlfriends planned, and I want to get in some spring skiing, but other than that, it's going to be 10 glorious days of just doing whatever I feel like!

Two Wrongs...

2008-03-20T18:48:00.005-07:00

Okay, well actually it's more like 10 wrongs. My good friend Qween B already blogged about the terrible refereeing we had a few weeks ago in a game, but for me, it's much worse than just the one game. As Qween B said, the next night, in our co-ed game, the refs were crap! THEN I went to a Rocky Mountain Rage game on Friday, and the refs there were terrible! THEN, this past Saturday, the same horrible woman as the week before was the ref for our Monkey game.

What's up??? Have all the refs decided they are GOD and untouchable??? Are they just going to make stupid calls, no calls, and throw games just because they can, and no one can say/do anything about it??? I think it has really gotten out of hand, at least in Colorado, and more so in the last few months. There are always stupid calls, or things I personally like to protest, but these folks are really out of control.

As GKL stated, I have a tendency to exhibit Tourettes type symptoms on the ice towards refs and occasionally players or coaches, but truly, I have to be provoked. The problem is that if I get too out of hand, then my coach, aka Chin Beaver, doesn't let me play. He thinks my head isn't in the game, and I need to sit on the bench, which can provoke further displays of Tourettes type symptoms, then all hell can break loose.

Really, it's all about truth, justice and well... what's fair. I don't like the idea that all that I work for, or other players for that matter can come down to two (or three) people who have serious control issues.

Cheaters

2008-03-19T20:28:00.004-07:00

Today in class, I caught 6 of my boys cheating on a pretty meaningless homework assignment. They were supposed to be typing their Latin America Outlines, and being the highly bright and intelligent boys they are, they decided that one of them would type the outline, and then they would just change the name on the top and print new copies with the names changed, and turn it in for a grade.

Being the observant teacher that I am, they were easily busted. My principal and I decided we would tag-team the disciplinary procedure after lunch. It was great!!! 4 of them were bawling profusely, which was perfect. They felt remorse and will probably never spend another day in the principal's office again, in their entire life.

However, there were 2 who just sat there and acted as if we were just wasting their time. This concerns me, because they really didn't see a problem with having someone else do their work for them, and still be able to get the credit. I see frequent visits to the principal's office in their future.

This is what I hate about group projects (even though this was an individual assignment). There is always one person who does all of the work (usually me) and then the rest of the group gets to skate by and still get credit. I remember when I was getting my Master's Degree. I had finally had enough of that crap and I told the professor about this girl in my group who hadn't done anything for a particular project we had been working on. She failed the class and eventually dropped out of the program. I see this as a good thing because she probably wasn't going to make through anyway, so in a way, I was just saving her money in the long run.

That's what I told the mom of the boys who had done all of the typing for this assignment. He needed to tell the other boys NO and make them do their own work. It will only benefit them in the end.

Wrestlemania

2008-03-18T15:37:00.005-07:00

One of the girls on my hockey team has this side gig... professional wrestler!!! My friend QweenB and I have seen her wrestle twice now, but this past Sunday night was by far the best. There was a group of us from our team who decided to go check it out. There are so many best parts about this:

1. It's in the back room of this cheesy bar in Golden.

2. Amy... aka Little Woodie, is the only girl who wrestles in this show, so she always gets some looser guy to go up against.

3. It's total family night... there are kids from 2-16 and they are all into it... there was this little girl about 10 heckling this wrestler, and he retorted with some comment about her training bra and then continued on with his rant. (I think in my professional life, I'm supposed to report this to Social Services, but it seemed all in good fun at the time.)

4. The heckling... one of the girls in our group commented, "This is great. You get to yell out all of the things you always wanted to say, but just couldn't." I'm pretty outspoken anyway, so for me this wasn't as big of a deal, I just got to say it a lot louder. And much to my husband's chagrin, I was caught on video yelling many unpleasantries at the looser taking advantage of Little Woodie. Funny how he was able to pick my voice up right off that video.

5. Every time I go watch her, I'm reminded of how my brother used to practice his latest WWF moves on me when I was younger. He's 10 years older than me, about a foot taller and at that time, probably a good 75 lbs heavier. The pain of having my arm twisted behind my back, the gasping for air as he would drop me over his knee, the body slams... All the while saying, "What's wrong with you? Don't be a wuss! This will toughen you up! Someday, you'll thank me!" No Thanks!!! Not what I call a good time. But, Little Woodie seems to really enjoy it, so more power to her. I think I'll just keep taking my aggression out on the ice.

The next match is April 13th and I'm already trying to round up some more folks to come join us. It's like a bad train wreck. You just can't stop watching.

Here It Is...

2008-03-13T12:22:00.011-07:00

Okay... I've been trying to start this blog for about a year now... but this time last year, my life kind of went topsy-turvy and now, time has flown by. I have several friends who Blog (See:Two Minutes... and QweenB) and enjoy reading what they have to say, as well as the other people's Blogs they read, and so now that things are settling a bit, I think I'm finally ready.

In January, I set up a Blog account for my students for our unit on tolerance. We were reading Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl, and I wanted them to be able to post their thoughts and views about what were studying. Many of my students have really gotten into this study, but the ones I was hoping would be affected, ended up not reading the last set of books I chose. They said they were tired of reading depressing books, and wanted something that was not so heavy. See, I have 20 boys and 7 girls in my class. 5 of the 7 girls are MEAN!!! They pick on and bully the other 2 girls, only because the other 2 girls are REALLY smart and truly belong in my class. I wanted these 5 girls to see what effect they were having on the others. I think they were starting to make the connection, and decided they didn't like what they saw.

I was not bullied when I was in school. Actually, I think was a bully. I have an older brother who used to beat the crap out of me on a daily basis, and my older sister broke my nose when I was 15, so I'm sure I took it out on some of the kids at school. Now don't get me wrong... I'm pretty short and have been small most of my life. But as the name of my Blog suggests, I can pack quite a punch. The name "Bug O' Death" was given to me most affectionately by one of my teammates on my hockey team, as I was nailing some poor unexpected girl into the boards, and stealing the puck.

So I know it sounds like I'm talking out of both sides of my ass... I don't want the girls in my class to be bullies, yet I'm pretty much a bully, especially on the ice, but I'm older and know fully well the consequences of my actions... usually 2 minutes in the box:)