Summer. Meh.

I'm taking grad classes.  All.  Freaking.  Summer.  It really sucks.  Yes, I want this degree.  Yes, I'm doing it in an economical way that I can actually pay for without a loan.  Yes, I'm learning some things.  SOME things.  Yes, I know I waited way too long to start this darned thing.  But (pouty face), I want a summer!  I have so many things I wanted to read and plan and do, and these classes are seriously cramping my style. 

Plus, I have seriously mangled my back.  I've been on major anti-inflammatories and muscles relaxers for over a week.  It even ruined my last night that Jeff was here.  It's starting to royally get on my nerves.  I'm going to try the chiropractor this week, and I'm going back to the doctor.  I've self-diagnosed on the interwebs, and I either have a pinched nerve or spinal cancer.  That's the trouble with self-diagnosing on the interwebs.  It's not good for hypochondriacs like me.

I need an attitude adjustment.  I think it's going to come in the form of being with Tracy and the girls next weekend for three days.  I need some Tracy time.  And some Christy Creme.  I've been working really hard to eat healthier.  I've actually lost about 16 pounds, and I know Christy Creme is not on that diet.  I'll get a small cone instead of a medium.  I promise.  Tracy and Christy Creme.  Just what Dr. Tena ordered.  Not that I've looked ahead on the Christy Creme sherbet calendar or anything, but if anyone was wondering, the flavors when I'm at Tracy's happen to be raspberry, blackberry, apricot, and lime.  Not a pineapple in sight.  See?  It's meant to be.

2013

I only blogged 27 times in 2012.  That's a record, and not a good one.  I could easily analyze why.  I know it's because I've been dealing with a  lot of inner stuff this year.  I feel like I've been surviving.  It takes work to survive, but it's not always work you want to share with the world.  I've been sad.  I can usually keep it at bay, but reflecting and letting my guard down sometimes hurts too much when I'm sad... even if I'm just reflecting about nothing important.  I know I'm emotionally strained because I cry every time I do my centering prayer, every time I quiet myself enough to let the wall down for a little bit.  But this is a new year.  It's going to be better this year.  :)

I had a nice holiday.  I went to Altoona to do annual Christmas baking with the Kurths, Matt & Omara came down for several days, and it was nice to see them.  I got to see Tracy for a day.  My dad got a kidney stone, which was not good, but he's finally home from the hospital and resting comfortably.  He can't do anything half-assed.  The thing was the size of a pencil eraser!!!  Andrew is still recovering from knee replacement surgery.  He's working hard in therapy, and despite the facts that I'm a terrible nurse and he's a terribly impatient patient, we're hanging in there.  :)

Back to Tracy... this was my big Christmas present from Tracy: a pink cheetah bike helmet.  She wasn't sure I'd like it, and honestly, I wasn't sure either.  It's kind of a weird present to get.  But... after 4.2 seconds of looking at it, I fell in love.  I can't wait for spring to be able to use it!  Her rationale behind it was that I always say how ridiculous I look in my bike helmet.  It's just a silver bike helmet, but let's face it, bike helmets look RIDICULOUS.  She thought that if I'm going to look ridiculous, I should totally embrace it and REALLY look ridiculous!  I LOVE IT!

Here's my bike helmet story (the reason I always wear one even though I hate them so much):  One summer while teaching at the Wabash Arts Camp in Shenandoah, my class helper (my dearest Brenton) told me that he would have to miss class the next day because he had to pick his dad up from the hospital.  I told him that was fine, and I asked him about his dad.  It turns out his dad had been in the hospital for 4 months, recovering from a brain injury.  Brenton's dad had gone to pick up a bike they bought for Brenton's sister.  The bike wouldn't fit in the car, so Brenton's dad decided to ride it home.  The front wheel fell off, and his head hit the street curb.  This caused a brain injury that basically put Brenton's dad in a coma and left him in a state where he would need 24-hour care for the rest of his life.  After hearing this story, I was blown away.  When I could finally speak, I told Brenton that he had just saved my life.  I would never again ride my bike without wearing a helmet.  When I got home from camp, I went to Wal-Mart and bought my ridiculous silver bike helmet, and I never ride without it.  Never.  I think of Brenton's dad, and that makes me put that thing on my head every time, even though I hate it so much.  I didn't grow up wearing bike helmets.  No one my age did.  If you wore a helmet, you were a freak, and your parents were overprotective.  I don't think I'd ever even actually seen a bike helmet until I was in high school.  Anyway, things are different with me now.  Really different, considering the next time I strap on my bike helmet, it will be this awesome pink cheetah one.  If I'm going to look ridiculous, I'm going all out!

Happy 2013, everyone.  Let's make it a good one!

Early Birthday Celebration

I have to be in Des Moines for school on my birthday. This turned into Andrew & I getting away for a night. This turned into Jason and Suzanne meeting us for dinner. This turned into Tracy and Steve driving over to join us all.

We had a wonderful evening at the Court Avenue Brewing Company. I had prime rib and bread pudding for dessert. It was low key and fun... Exactly what I wanted for my birthday celebration!

November Gratitude #29

November 29: I had a blue day today. And before I wrote this, I had a pity party thinking about how NOT thankful I am today. Pity Party, table for 1, please. But I thought about it. I know I shouldn't HAVE to think so hard about it, but I guess it's just one of those days. When I thought about it, I came up with 2 things:

1. My students. About 10 of them came in after school tonight to brainstorm ideas for starting a middle school book club. They were FIRED up. About books. It made me fired up. There's nothing as contagious as that. We teachers feed off of it.

2. My Tracy. Today, when I was upset, I private messaged her on Facebook. All she said was "I am so sorry... :( I love you..." Those few words gave me what I needed to not melt down at school in front of the kids. It gave me strength to go a little further.

She's not my best friend for nothing, folks.

Tracy's Birthday Weekend

Andrew and I hit the road Saturday morning, heading for Council Bluffs. We listened to the Hawkeye game and enjoyed the beautiful fall day. Our destination was Tracy's house, and our purpose was to attend her 40th birthday party.

Now Tracy is not one who likes to call a lot of attention to herself, but when confronted with the question of how she wanted to celebrate her birthday, she thought of the perfect thing. She wanted all her dearest friends around her so they could get to know one another. Beautiful idea, yes?

After an afternoon of visiting and enjoying the kids, we grown-ups went to the Kitchen Emporium and Wine Shop in Council Bluffs. There were 16 of us, and we had a great time. We laughed, we ate, we drank, we talked, and we laughed some more. It was a great party. We started with a meat and cheese platter, and then we all ordered from the menu. Lacie and I split and shared... she ordered the Hawaii 5-0, and I ordered the Roasted Veggie Focaccia sandwich. They were both deeeeelicious! The evening ended with a chocolate/raspberry/layered/dreamcake. WOW!

It was so fun having Andrew there with me and introducing him to my friends and Tracy's family. At the end of the night, my face hurt from smiling so much. What a wonderful problem to have!

On Sunday, we had a nice breakfast and enjoyed Tracy, Steve, and the girls. When Tracy left for work, I drove Andrew around Council Bluffs, showing him all the places that were pivotal to making me who I am. It's weird that I went to his home in England before he went to my home in Iowa. I had to have him taste Christy Creme, of course! The flavor for Sunday was lemon, and it was perfect. We ended our jaunt by going up to Lewis and Clark Monument... the best view in the area. We stopped back by the library to hug Tracy one more time, and then we hit the road. It was a quick trip, but a lovely one. I loved celebrating my best friend, in exactly the way she'd dreamed up. It was perfect!

hugging my best friend after a rousing rendition of "Happy birthday"

so many laughs

our table... Charity (taking the pic), Tony, Max, Lacie, me, Andrew

my love and me

Iowa State Fair

I can hardly describe how much I love the Iowa State Fair. I have so many happy memories on those fairgrounds. Tracy & I met in Altoona and spent the night at Jason & Suzanne's. It was nice to see the whole Kurth family. We went to the Fair for a couple of hours on Sunday night. We saw the fireworks and people watched. I had my first lemonade and a pork chop on a stick. But, the event of the evening was trying the new Fair "treat," fried butter on a stick. Tracy & I split it, and I think even half of that thing was 2 bites too many. It's half a stick of butter on a stick, dipped in honey, dipped in cinnamon batter, deep fried, and drizzled with icing. It tasted like a cinnamon roll-flavored pancake soaked in melted butter. It didn't taste bad, but it's definitely not something I'd eat again. It's always fun to try the new Fair food though!

Tracy and I love the Skylift, and we rode it twice. There's no better view of the Fair, and there was a beautiful breeze.

Lemonade is my very favorite thing at the Fair, and here is the traditional picture of me drinking a cherry lemonade. There is only one stand that makes these (that I know of). I always have to go there!

It was such a nice day that not many people were hanging out in the Varied Industries building. We walked right through. Since it's the 100th birthday of the Butter Cow, there were lots of fun things around the Fair to celebrate. Here's a Butter Cow made completely of canned goods!

Tracy & I used the photobooths in the Varied Industries Building, and it was a time warp right back to Midlands Mall in Council Bluffs. We had a ball, as you can tell from the pics.

Some other highlights were: the best corn dog ever, sampling Iowa beers, watching grape stomping (they never called our names... boo), everything in the Cultural Building (love the big sand castle & the tie dye the most), listening to the 34th Army Band from Fairfield, apple cider slush, seeing the amazing draft horses, and drinking more lemonades. I can't wait until next year... our State Fair is the BEST state fair!!!

Weekly Update

Crazy week. CRAZY week! And we're headed into a CRAZY WEEK! I guess that's what you get with the end of the school year. Last Tuesday, I took the 7th grade GOAL kids to Hannibal, MO. We had a beautiful day. We went to the Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum and Mark Twain Cave. We took an hour tour on the Hannibal Trolley, and we did some geocaching. My GOAL kids have officially found two geocaches now and have their Illinois and Missouri badges.

When the bus got back to Fairfield Tuesday evening, I packed and headed over to Council Bluffs. Karl's funeral was beautiful and sad. It was especially hard seeing his wife lead his three kids by the hands down the aisle. I got to see many old friends from high school that I hadn't seen in ages. It was nice to reconnect. Several of us went out to eat lunch together. We laughed, shared memories, and raised a glass to our dear friend. The visit with Tracy was way too short, but luckily, I plan to head back over this summer. I hit the road again that afternoon to come home.

Friday was the 7th grade assignment journal trip to the mall in Coralville. It was a nice day, and I made the last of my purchases (I hope) for our upcoming trip. Yesterday, I went to 2 graduation parties and to the cemeteries. Now, I'm trying to catch up on some rest to battle this last week. It's going to be another crazy one.

I hope wherever you are, you're enjoying your friends and family this Memorial Day weekend. Take a moment to remember loved ones you've lost and those heroes who gave their lives fighting for our country.

Christmas in a Nutshell

Dec. 22: Last day of school. Kids dismissed at 2:30.

Dec. 23: Frantic cleaning, shopping, wrapping, and cooking.

Dec. 24: Snowed all day... the perfect Christmas snow. Finished last minute things around the house. Repairman tried to fix fridge... still leaking and not dispensing water. Part ordered. Was smart enough not to drive down into the cemetery, but hiked down in the snow to take flowers, diet coke, and chocolate covered cherries. Matt & Omara got here around 8:30. Andrew joined us for dinner (pickled ham, shrimp, chili, cheese bread, Christmas goodies, and cranberry tea). I went to church at the 11:00 service at the Methodist Church. It was the perfect Christmas Eve feeling.

Dec. 25: Matt & Omara & I went out to Dad's. We took a breakfast pizza. Opened gifts and had a fantastic lunch. Andrew & I had our Christmas that night. Watched The Departed and got a wonderful call from the McLeods.

Dec. 26: Took Andrew to the airport and exchanged a gift at the mall in Coralville. Found good deals on next year's Christmas cards and a few other things.

Dec. 27: Tracy arrived! Had a long talk, exchanged gifts, and went to Vivo for dinner.

Dec. 28: Tracy & I putzed around town, checking out all the stores around the square. Coffee at Revelations. Watched Eat, Pray, Love and had a snack. Played Mario Kart and Dance on Broadway on the Wii. Went to see the Rock Paper Scissors concert at Cafe Paradiso. Had pizza at Torino's.

Dec. 29: Tracy went home. Quiet, lonely house. Going to take it easy today before digging into a month's worth of school work that needs to be done in 4 days. :)

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday... I know I have so far!