A Lot to Catch Up On

Its been a crazy few months, my apologies for not making more posts! There have been some changes in my life since my last post, things have happened not only with me but friends and family. Lets start with me. I started the school year with a bang! I love every class, plus we get longer time together, which is amazing to be able to get done what I need to get done! I am finally wrapping up my education with the official word that I am student teaching in the spring. I bought a new car this fall...kinda a weird deal but I love it and it fits my lifestyle much better that the Acura ever did. My family is doing well, I cannot beleive that my brother is a senior I have been working with my dad doing handyman work, he has been really busy. My parents new project is remodeling thier kitchen, which is coming along really well. My friends after a few trys finally had thier first baby, a baby boy!! My other really good friend got married in San Francisco a couple weeks ago, and myself and a few other people from work were able to go to San Francisco to share in her day! It was an amazing trip! Lets see, oh yah, I am starting to work on weekends starting in November for Colorado Ski Acadamy. That should be a lot of fun, I am really excited about it! I took a few camping trips in the early fall to Steamboat Lake and Rocky Mountain National Park with my Dad, which was an amazing trip! We had a lot of fun! The picture on this post was taken in a heavy downpour in Rocky Mountain National Park in September!

Proceed On

Do you ever take the time to step back an re-evaluate where your journey is taking you, or who you have let join you on that journey? This is something I need to learn how to do. I need to take a moment, step back and re-evaluate where my journey is taking me. I need to see me through the eyes of another to see who I am and where I am going. We all have faults but sometimes it is hard to admit our flaws and when we get called on it, it sucks. There is no way around it. I know that there are things that I need to work on to better myself, these things I find myself working on daily, and its not going to happen over night. We all have flaws about us, no one person is perfect, nor will that ever happen to any one person. I had a moment where I needed to step back and take the moment to re-evaluate. I learned a lot in that moment, things that will forever alter my journey and that path it has chosen to take me. I have stepped back, re-aligned my goals, set new goals and am taking baby steps to a new me. My life has always taken different twists and turns, but never before has it been completely de-railed. I am picking up the pieces, dusting myself off and looking at myself through new eyes and moving forword. Till next time, remember who you are, and take moments to re-evaluate your journey.

Its All Over

Its all over! Time to go back to face reality and go back to work! Even though I started last week, this upcoming week for sure tells me that it is over because in 4 days the school will be filling with kids and then signifies that my nice long relaxing summer is over! I did a lot, saw a lot and yah worked a little! It was nice though! I enjoyed the time with the kids, I enjoyed camping and hiking and visiting with friends! I even took a weekend camping trip with my Dad and brother to Leadville where we literally got flooded out and had to head home early! It was a lot of fun, and definantely an adventure! So after a few more sleepless nights I finally went to the doctor and got some antibiotics and finally today I am starting to feel like myself again! I really thought there for a while that I was dying of some rare amazonian diease that was uncurable! Well, I am off - the picture this week was taken on the camping trip with my Dad and brother near Leadville, Colorado! Aloha!

Another Sleepless Night

Here I sit at 1:44am Monday morning. I was woke once again by a runny nose at around 1am. The past couple of weeks I have not slept through the night, woken up about the same time for the same reason most of the time. The other times was either a bathroom break or my mind would not allow me to rest. I have sat here now for 44 minutes with a runny stuffy nose along with the sinus pressures and pains that are not allowing me to fall back asleep. My alarm is set for 6:30 am, less thatn 5 hours away...I think Monday is going to be yet another day where I am too tired to do anything! This sucks. Pray that you never have sinus troubles, pray that you are always healthy. I have had allergy testing, I have had sinus surgery, I have tried what seems like every medication under the sun, and yet I still suffer. Most of the time I cannot breathe while my nose runs uncontrollably, I cannot smell, which means often times things do not taste as good to me as they should. I do not know what to do, I thought this was maybe a cold and I would get over it, but its been like two weeks! I am done with it, all I want is to sleep through the night, be able to breathe and smell. I feel that I leave a pretty healthy life, I try to eat the right things, I am active I went hiking today, then took my dogs swimming, then did yard work and chores, and never really took a break until I watched the 9pm news. Whos knows...maybe it is a cold that is taking its sweet time, or its just something that is going to linger because I am with the kids all summer and it is the pool that is starting to get to me, who knows. All I know is that I am going to crawl back into bed, blow my nose a few more times, and try to catch some zzz's before that 6:30am wakeup call! Ni-Nite!

Ohana

Ohana in Hawaiian means family. Ohana is also the name of my new friend here pictured to the left. I learned something (not that I did not know this before, but anyways) but I learned that Family really is the most important entity in life. Without family where would you be? Whatever your family may look like always remember who they are, and why they always stick by your side. They may not be related to you, but you still consider them your family because they will always be there for you. My family, has and always will be there for me, no matter what. I also learned like many others before me that family is more than the people I am related to, it is my true and dear friends that no matter what have been there for me when I have needed them most. This all exists because we all look out for each other. If I did not make effort to care and look after these relationships they would not exist and life would not be as much fun as an enjoyable as it is. Family is there for you always, they listen, they kick you in the ass when needed and love you unconditionally. Today was a day that I needed to step back and realize this! I love my friends more than they know especially the ones who love Justin! LOL! :) Without them I would not be where I am today, I love knowing that whenever I need a good ass kicking they are there to not only provide the shoe but the force to knock some sense into me! It was a rough day, and I hate being grumpy around the kids and I know that I will have to make that up to them someway somehow, because that is what my Journey is all about - finding that path that captures my heart and following it to the end. Till next time, stay strong, and remember, Ohana. Mahalo!

Copper Mountain

Okay, so I have spent the week here in beautiful Copper Mountain Colorado attending the TIE (Technology in Education) conference. I have gained a wealth of new knowledge which I cannot wait to share with my students in the fall! They are going to have a lot of fun with what I wan to do with them! It has been amazing up here! I am attending the conference with my boss and his family so that has been a lot of fun! Two of them even celebrated their birthdays while we were up here! I have been staying in a condo all by myself which has been a new experience, I have been a little lonely in the evenings, but during the day I am so busy with classes and such that I cannot even phathom being lonely! This afternoon I am headed to Glenwood Springs to see some friends and catch up, and then Sunday night I am headed to do a little camping! I am thinking I may head to Bogan Flats near Marble, that is one of my favorite areas in the whole state, I am hoping that there are openings, usually one needs a reservation to get in, but I think I will be able to find a spot where I can sit on the river, do a little reading a little relaxing! I may even head to the pool one day and just hang out! Well, that is all for now! Have a SUPER weekend!

Summer Time!

Yeah! Summer time! It is so weird having time off, getting paid and having nothing to do! A couple weekends ago my Dad, brother and his friend went to Durango for the Memorial Day weekend! It was SO much fun! We rode the Durango and Silverton train, visited Mesa Verde and just had a grand ol' time! This last week the family has spent a lot of time cruising through the inside passage of Alaska! I cannot wait to see and hear how the trip was! Next Friday I am headed to Glenwood Springs, and then to Copper Mountain for a conference and to visit some friends that I have not seen in a while! Its nice having all this time off, however, when you don't have a lot of money its hard to do anything! Oh well, I will make the best of it, I always do! Things with me have been great, I successfully finished my first year in the classroom and to top it off, they had to move my classroom so I have been spending a few hours here and a few hours there moving things and getting re-situated. Well, I am off! I have a lot to do today cause the families are all getting home from Alaska this evening! The picture on this weeks post was taken at the Train Station in Durango.

ITS OVER!

Never before have I been so relieved to be done with a class! That is why my blogs have been few and far between!!! I was taking a class to teach me how to teach reading and it was not my best class ever! I struggled not really with course content but with formats the professor wanted for assignments, I felt I spent more time fretting about how the final product was supposed to look rather than what the assignment was about! I spent every waking moment on this class, and if I was not working on an assignment I was working on a future assignment to just try and keep up! It was not fun at all! But, ITS OVER! I am so glad to be done with this class! It is also our last week of school this next week and I can say its been an AMAZING year!!! I am so glad to be teaching where I am, I LOVE IT!!! Alright I am off for now, off to help Mom plant flowers!! :)

The Mask Project

I have a friend who is a very talented Artist who lives in Glenwood Springs and for the past two years she has painted a Mask for the Mask Project to benefit Hospice of Metro Denver. Anyway this year her mask has been showcased on all the signs, posters, newspaper ads, you name it! It is so cool to see her work plastered all over the Cherry Creek Shopping District! I went down yesterday and took some pictures, it is just amazing to see her work all over! I wanted people to stop so I could say, 'Hey! I know that artist!' but that was not the case yesterday! Oh well, I am so stoked for her, this is such a great thing for her, and I do hope that her art will take off and she can be a famous artist! Not like she is now with all these cool signs and stuff showcasing her mask! What a few weeks its been! School and work have been CRAZY!!! Its been nuts!!! I am so glad that summer is almost here, have reservations so far in Durango and Copper Mountain and more to come...will keep you posted and use my Blog this summer as a Journal of all my camping trips I am planning on taking!!! YAHOO! Well, HAPPY EASTER...see you all later!

Writing my Congressman...

So there have been many times that I have wanted to write my congressman for various items within our society that I have wanted to complain about. Often times I talk about but never actually go through with the actual letter, probably because I am not too sure who my congressman is to be honest with you, and this time will be just like all the others but maybe if I voice my concern here on Blogger someone will hear me. Who Knows? Okay, so I went to Blockbuster last night to rent a DVD that has been out for more than 5 years now usualy I think that older movies are a .99 cent rental, or because I am a 'Rewards' member I am supposed to get one free older rental a month, and I have not taken advantage this month. So I get to the counter hand the clerk my card and my selected DVD 'Pocahontas'. She rings me up and tells me that my charge is $4.68 - I asked why it was so much, she informed me this: "That's how much rentals are." That is her exact words. This movie was in Theaters when I was a teen!! What the HECK??? I told her that I was a rewards member and that I should get my free movie this month, again these are her exact words: "It will be a coupon that prints out" - mind you after I pay the $4.68 for 'Pocahontas' - it will be a coupon I can use next time, I cannot apply it to my current rental. I told the clerk to put the DVD back on the shelf and that I was not interested in $4.68 for the DVD when I can go find a VCR and watch it that way since I do happen to have it on VHS at home, just not VHS player. WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO CHEAP MOVIE RENTALS? This was a JOKE to me - it was April Fools day but I was not laughing, why is it that society keeps sucking more and more money from our pockets. Next I am sure there is going to be taxes on the basic Necessities of life such as oxygen and sunlight. I mean COME ON! Is there where we are headed? Questions to ponder as I walked out of Blockbuster last night without my $4.68 DVD rental. I was just torqued off and needed an avenue to vent my frustrations so here I am. Feel free to click on the comment link below and tell me that I am crazy or that you wonder the same things that I do!!! :)