Dreaming of a white Christmas?

Here are some pretty funny pictures from our blizzard that has completely shut down Colorado. Every highway has been closed in and out of the state, mail service has been shut down for a few days, school was closed yesterday in anticipation of the storm and was closed today and maybe tomorrow (yay!), most businesses are closed, and it's still snowing. We've got a couple feet at our house with bigger drifts in most spots. Enjoy the pictures. It's a whopper of a storm:

Chris leaving for work at 7:30 on his snow bike:

11:00 when Chris got sent home from work:

Chris leaving on a bike ride (yep, a bike ride) around 12:30. He made it to the end of the subdivision in about an hour and a half, pushed 4 cars out from being stuck, and came home.

2:30:


Turbo loves the snow!

Our front door and car last night around 9:


Me and Turbo on the deck -- I'm 5'6" and that's a 70 pound Golden in snow past his head:

The door from our bedroom to the deck:

This morning:

Mom and Dad's pictures:



That's it for now, still snowing! Chris and I are driving to St. Louis (hopefully) tomorrow for Christmas, so we hope the plows do their job! Merry Christmas everyone!

*****EDIT: HOLY SH*T! Merry Christmas to me! I saw that they have officially closed school tomorrow which means I got an extra three days tacked on to my Christmas break. SWEEEEEEET!

SNOW DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I FINALLY got a snow day! It's been more than 15 years, but I finally woke up, got dressed, and found out school was cancelled. SWEET! I'm betting school will be cancelled again tommorrow as we are expected to have about 2 feet from this blizzard by noon tomorrow. Chris just called and his work has officially closed too, so he's on his way home to refuel and then be a crazy man and go on a bike ride. Schools are cancelled, businesses are closed, I-70 is closed completely to the Kansas border, they are talking about closing I-25 south of Denver through the springs, flights are cancelled, even the post office is cancelling deliveries. Only 3 days left until two weeks off for Christmas break and so far, at least one of them has been cancelled. I need the time to clean the house, pack, and get ready for our trip on Friday afternoon. So far it's looking like this storm should be past by the time we start driving east. Yay! SNOW DAY!!!

(Pictures of psycho-chris and the quickly accumulating snow to come later today -- ooh, and my new knitting project)

Tagged

I've been tagged by the hubby! 5 things people probably don't know about me (although this is a little humerous because hubby is really the only person that reads and comments on my blog with any sort of regularity and I'm sure I would have to spend a long time to think of even one thing he doesn't already know about me):

1) I didn't get asked to my senior prom and my oldest brother knew how bummed I was so he invited me up to Boulder (where he was a junior in college) and he took me to a fancy dinner and drove me around Flagstaff. The night with him was much better than prom ever would've been. It's appropriate that he set me up with Chris less than a year later.

2) I've never had an ear infection, broken bone, or stitches. Up until recently, I hadn't ever even had an antibiotic.

3) I taught myself to ride a bike by sitting on a neighbor's bike and then riding away. My parents were so surprised that they put me in the car and went and bought me my first bike -- purple banana seat with basket in the front and tassels off the side. I was awesome.

4) I have 40something first cousins -- fully blood related too (I always use this one as "no one knows this about me" so I'm sure everyone knows this about me)

5) I was awarded a scholarship in college for appearing to be a promising elementary school teacher -- something I didn't apply for but was supposedly nominated for by some professor in college -- it would've been huge news except Chris proposed two days later and it got lost in the excitement. That was the greatest week ever.

P.S: I was soooooooooo cute (this was at my very first "bike race" -- darn 2nd place!)


Now I feel sad because I have no one to tag that hasn't already been there and done that. If you're reading this and haven't been tagged, consider yourself tagged.

"Togetherness is the best holiday treat"

Words of wisdom from one of our Dove chocolates today. They really do have great little quotes in those, and the delicious chocolate is the best.

Yesterday Chris and I had a really nice day together.

Breakfast at LePeep (yum!) followed by some Christmas shopping at the mall and then a trip to Boulder where I was abandoned at the yarn store (gasp!) while Chris went on a secret mission to get a present for yours truly. Unfortunately, he won't tell me what it is despite my best efforts and most pathetic sad faces. We got some California Club sandwiches at Jasons Deli and then headed home to see that Turbo had stollen a paper towel roll off the counter and shredded it into a million pieces. Naughty dog. After that, we watched Cars while Chris rode on the trainer and then we went on feasted on some delicious free Qdoba and headed to bed.

It was nice to spend an entire day with the husband. In these training days, a whole day together is rare. I'm looking forward to our trip to St. Louis where we'll have more fun time together. We are both bringing our bikes for a few rides (and if Chris has his way, he'll be riding his a lot more than one would think you would on a vacation). As long as he doesn't get the grand idea to "race" me through Kansas on his bike while I drive, we'll come back still married :)


Here's a funny Christmas story about my silly kids at work...

We read a story called "Oliver Kringle" about a bus driver that looks like Santa but turns out to be Santa's brother. It's all about Santa's family and how they all help out on Christmas. Anyway, at the end of the book, one of my little ones said "this book is nonfiction!" (after all of these months, it is still SO hard for these little guys to understand the difference between fiction and nonfiction, but they pretend they do -- they always apply the overgeneralization that fiction is fake and nonfiction is real).
Here's what followed:

me: "well, if this book was nonfiction, it would be giving us facts and information about Santa, and it's really only telling us a story for fun so I think it's probably fiction"

kid: he got this sad look on his face and said "but it could be real. Santa is real isn't he?"

me: "That's true, but it still seems to be a story that someone made up about him"

kid: (still with a little of a confused and defeated face) "But Santa is real and he could have brothers, we don't know, so it's nonfiction. Santa is real right?"

me: "Yep, you're right, definetely nonfiction"

Oh man. Should've seen that one coming...

Sick day

As of 3 am this morning, I called in a sub and declared today a sick day. Chris and I have both been fighting off a nasty cold -- although he's much better at declaring himself fine even if he feels terrible and it seems to work. I'm mostly a big whiny baby when I feel bad and that probably doesn't help me get better quicker. He's at work and I'm here trying to force myself to find something to eat for breakfast and it's already lunch time. Anyway...

We hosted the after-party for my staff Christmas party on Friday night. A few people stopped over and the whole night was fun. One of the teachers brought her little 5 month old Golden over to play with Turbo. Let's just say that Turbo looked a bit like Cujo by the time the night was finished:


And this was the vicious culpret:

Poor little guy was losing his teeth and ended up bleeding all over Turbo. It was funny to see two adorable goldens look like they had been in such a nasty fight! They loved each other and had a great time.

Well, that's about it. Time to force myself to eat and then lay on the couch. I better be feeling better tomorrow, with all of these planned out of town races of Christopher's (and a certain someone's wedding in February), I'm running dangerously low on days off. Maybe I'll get to puke in front of my students for a nice change. Hmmm....

Tis the Season

I have to say that I love Kohl's. It's awesome. I got 3 oranments for our staff ornament exchange, two huge things of wrapping paper, a mystery present for Chris, and went across the street and got a tasty Jamba Juice all for $20 (which is what the ornaments originally cost). Sweet. I'm super excited!

"She's something when she's one of the guys, something else when she's not"

That's a line from a Garth song that gets me thinking every time it's played. I can't decide if I like it or not. I hear it in the song and it trips me up and I don't even hear the rest of the song. I get stuck on trying to figure out whether or not it makes sense. I get hung up on lines from songs, but usually I get over it after hearing the song enough. This one has stuck.

I feel like it describes me and I feel like I wish it didn't.

I'm am, sadly, much more comfortable being one of the guys. I'll never be able to pull off being the girly girl that I'd love to try out being.

It really hit me this weekend when we were over for a dinner at my parents' house with the family. My brother has married the most gorgeous girly girl. She is shorter and always wears big skinny heels. She usually doesn't take them off, but she did this weekend and I couldn't get over the height and thinness of these heels. They were gorgeous and I would LOVE to be able to wear shoes like that and not look like a total idiot. I realized that I will never be able to pull that off. I picked up the shoes, oggling at them, and my brother said "you could wear those, you're a girl". I immediately came back with "yeah, if I was born with sisters instead of brothers" and he looked at me like I had lost it and said "what about that lady that just walked out called your sister?" I don't think he's ever really realized that he and my other brother were the only sibling influences on my life. I pointed out that she moved out when I was 8 or 9 and didn't have any significant female influence other than taking me to get my ears pierced when I was 12. I've always considered myself the girl amongst a family of boys.

I've never been a tom-boy, never been a girly girl. We had a girls' night out at the Boulder Dinner Theater (great show -- "Crazy For You") and had a really good time. I realized that I have to work to feel equally comfortable being with the girls at a musical as I do with the guys riding bikes or working on cars. I think the reason I can't quite grasp the line "She's something when she's one of the guys, something else when she's not" is that it doesn't give me an answer as to which is better. Is she something good when she's one of the guys and then something not as good when she's not? Is she better when she's not? Am I overthinking it and it's really all about sex like most songs? I feel much more comfortable being the one girl amid a group of guys, then I am being in a group of girls. Urgh. Do I like the line in the song? Is it good or bad? I'm confused. Hmmm...

Stupid dentist...

Not sure what I hate worse, being in pain, or paying $460 to be in pain. I'm impressed with the technology advances over the past two years in the dentistry business. Some very cool stuff that our nice, new dentist was willing to show off. I'm baffled that they can make these awesome digital x-rays that immediately show up on a laptop screen and can blow up as big as they want, yet they still have to use the crappy technology of that hard square thing being shoved into your mouth to get them. No cavities, just losing bone in my jaw so they had to pump it full of some crap to stop that. I am so freaking sick of being in pain and paying for other people to make it worse before it gets better. I guess this is what happens when you're an "adult". Can I go back to being a kid? Little Critter looks so happy to be at the dentist because a) he is going to get some sweet prize at the end or b) his mommy is paying the bill or c) his dentist is some goofy looking bunny and there's a frog on the floor or d) all of the above. Hmmm...

Novemburrrrr

Went to the Dr for visit #2 yesterday -- went well. More popping and cracking and not-so-subtle jabs at my lack of butt muscles. Whatever he's been doing seems to work, my back is slowly getting better and I'm not in constant pain like before. I asked him if riding my bike would further injure my back... and as soon as he said no, I got excited to get back to being slightly active. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE laying around on the couch doing nothing just as much as the next girl, but when you HAVE to do it, it sucks. So...

Tonight I hopped on the road bike that's been taunting me on the trainer for the last two weeks and rode for an hour. We watched "Super Size Me" which quickly motivated me to ride an hour instead of my previously scheduled 20 minutes. I'm not a fan of McDonalds (it must be 10 years since my last McDonalds) but I enjoy the occasional Wendys. The movie was great, finally a movie that lived up to the hype. Very entertaining and enjoyable. Especially as I rode the trainer next to Chris on the rollers. Makes you feel like a very fit and skinny person. Score. No back pain during or after the ride -- I'm finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Except...

It's freaking cold outside and currently snowing fairly hard (even though Chris scoffs at calling this a "storm"). I'm secretly doing my snow dance, but am not getting my hopes up. Some people hope for snow for the skiing. Others hope for snow for the beauty. I hope for snow for a snowday just as I have done for the past 19 years. Unfortunately, living in Colorado makes the "big wigs" resist EVER giving a snow day, as I've only had maybe 2 in my entire life. In conclusion...

I am not looking forward to scraping off the car in the morning (Scott -- that jab is intended for you, not because I really care, but mostly because I'm jealous that I'm not heading off to Hawaii). So cold in the mornings :( Especially with no mittens because Turbo ate one :( Want to send me to Hawaii yet? Damn. Can't say I didn't try...

[anyone notice that we were talking about transitions in writing today? Yes, I'm that cool]

I am thankful for...

- Sweet, wonderful hubby who is still moving around fairly well (ah-hem) considering he's ridden 5 zillion miles on his bike in the past year

- Adorable dog who thinks he's a human and sleeps next to me with his head on Chris's pillow

- My family who, despite their moments of pure insanity, are still always good for a stomach cramping laugh at the dinner table

- My house and everything in it (especially my cool new bike even though I haven't been able to ride it in a few weeks)

- 600 mg Ibuprofin and some muscle relaxant with a big name -- they make my day a little less painful

- My wonderful friends who, despite their tendency to be flaky once in a while, are the best at challenging me to make it through a bike ride without crying or are good for teacher-time that generally includes all of the following in one shape or form: wine, avocado, and chocoalte

- My sweet little kids at work, they've faced more in their 5 or 6 years than I've faced in my 24 and yet they always smile and giggle and think farts are hillarious

- My tasty pumpkin pie that mom made just for us to take home -- complete with spray whipped cream and everything

- My knitting. It's fun and productive and I've made some good friends doing it.

- My health -- things could be much worse

- Everyone that leaves comments on my blog and makes me feel loved :)

Happy Feet!

Friday night we went and saw Happy Feet. So cute! I've officially decided that I now want a pet penguin...








Open Letter to the lady at the Happy Feet movie on Friday night:

You look like a very nice lady. I'm happy that you were out taking your three teenage daughters to a movie. It's nice that they consider you cool enough to go to a movie with on a Friday night; however, I have a bone to pick with you...

Happy Feet is a PG movie and we went to the 9:30 showing. Needless to say, by the time you came in around 9:00, the theater was virtually empty. My husband and I had choosen some seats in the front half of the theater because he's gimpy and can't walk up and down stairs so good at the moment. The theater must have a capacity of 300 people or so. There must have been roughly 30 people in the theater at the time that you and your three lovely daughters got there.

All sounds great, right?

Here's my beef: Chris and I were enjoying our smuggled outside food when you decided to come sit RIGHT next to me. Not one seat away like any normal human being with a sense of personal space would, but instead, right next to me. You cozied up, stole the arm rest, and decided this was your place in the theater. Wait. I'm confused... with 250 seats open (and this is being conservative) you had to sit right next to me. What was the deal? Chris and I found it hillarious because everytime we go to the movies, someone decides to sit very close to us or right in front of us, despite the numerous other empty seats in the theater.

I understand that if the movies are packed, it's ok and totally necessary to sit directly next to someone. In that case, I welcome you to sit next to me. I'm a fairly passive person and will even allow you to hog our shared arm rest. I won't elbow you in the head until you pass out and then take your tasty $5 M&Ms while stealing the arm rest back -- I understand the dangers in the world, I am a good person to sit next to. I'm pretty decent looking, I don't usually smell bad when I go to the movies, I'm skinny and don't spill over into your seat. I'm cool. I understand. I appreciate your kindness -- however, if there are 250 seats in a theater, you don't sit right next to someone. Leave that one seat for personal space. Please. I'm sorry if I was rude when Chris and I slyly scoot over a seat as the theater got dark -- you just creeped me out.

Next time you go to movie, please just assume the person you are going to sit RIGHT next to is going to smell or fart or snore or do something else annoying. Give yourself and the other person a break and make some room.

Thank you.

Frustration

Back is freaking killing me.
Pukes number 6 and 7 on the year in my class and it's only November.
Need to talk husband into taking up something like painting.
Exhausted but can't sleep.

Lovely.

A comment on "Kick It"

This was a comment I typed up in response to Chris's "Kick It" blog and his dad's subsequent comment/letter to me... I typed it up and realized that's a really long comment. So I spun it off into my own blog. Woohoo!


Chris, you are talented. I trust you in these crazy races. Although I, and the rest of your family, don't get whole-heartedly psyched about sending you out into the abyss of races that you want to do... we do all believe in you. I will always be here when you get back and I will always do my best to not cry hysterically every time you think of a fun new one to try. You have an adventurous personality, and I love that about you. I see you research on the internet ALL THE TIME on ways to keep yourself safe and healthy on the races that you always promise me are "not this year!" We wouldn't be your family if we didn't try to discourage you from anything that might harm you. I, for one, would love to get one of those little kid leashes and stick it on you and carry you around with me at all times and call you my squishy. That would be schweeeeeeeeeeeeeet. Unfortunately you're an adult sized human being and they don't make those yet. I guess I could always try Turbo's shock collar though!

Todd, I have to remind you that you took credit for his craziness and thus, I blame you :)I wish I had the veto power that you bestowed upon me. If I did have the power, you bet I would probably veto a few of these freezing races, but the truth is, I guess would rather he do them and get them out of his system rather than have the desire build up and then he wants to do Everest or something (or at least that's what I tell myself). Everest is a no. I told him he can do Everest if we all die before he does... And the biking up Everest thing is funny because we JUST had a conversation that included Chris saying "I'd like to do Everest with a bike approach" -- haha. At that point I think I either gave him an inappropriate finger or some other equally awesome verbal reply. My trick is to take it day-by-day and be happy that today is not the day that I send him into the freezing wilderness or the burning sand. Or sniper fire. Whatever comes first.

Dave, Scott, Erik, Bill, and all other random bikers that read his blog...seriously, stop encouraging him :)

Chris, don't get discouraged. You rock. We all know it. We all just secretly wish we were as cool as you. In fact, you are Becky's hero.

I love you all and goodnight.

"Know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em"

I consider myself a fairly intelligent and somewhat talented person. When I was little, I got bored of watching my brothers fumble around trying to learn how to ride bikes so I went next door, got a bike from a friend, and rode up on it and everyone was stunned that I could teach myself to ride a bike in 2 minutes when it had taken my siblings months... I used to play piano decently by ear until my parents got me some creepy piano teacher and I refused to touch a piano after that... I was on the Deans List through high school and graduated with honors... I was the only one of my siblings to graduate college in 4 years (basically with two degrees), and that was staying an extra semester so I wouldn't have to slam myself the rest of the time... I've learned to rock climb, mountain bike, fix cars, race cars and knit... I had secured a great teaching job, was married, bought a house, and had a dog by the time I was 23... BUT...

I also do the stupidest stuff -- I screw up EasyMac (everytime I make it)... I screw up Shake and Pour Pancakes (add water, shake, pour -- not that difficult)... and I manage to hurt myself taking a nap on the couch. It's been a painful day. Time for more Advil and more staying in one position and not moving. How can a generally smart person be such an idiot sometimes? Hmmm...

"You work at a smile and you go for a ride"

I've been riding my cool new bike almost every night, chasing the sunset and trying to squeeze every last moment out of the light. Chris and I have been riding over to the dirt trail right by our house (we picked the best place to live) and just practicing basic mountain biking skills. I love getting to do the same stupid bump over and over and over again because I actually feel successful and feel like I am making some progress. It's a nice way to burn off a little steam at the end of the day, while at the same time spending time with the best husband in the world and getting to ride your favorite bike in the world. Here are some pics from our ride the other night (with Chris taking a few moments out of trucking along on "Fatty Plugsko" to take a few pics)

Off to the knitting store (Shuttles Spindles and Skeins in Boulder -- the best knitting shop EVER) to get some longer size 8 needles for my baby sweater. I finished the back and now am going to be working on the two front sides and then the sleeves and then the hood. We'll see how it all comes together. It's cute and teeny tiny (for 3-6 month old), and I'm super excited to put it in my stash for a future baby. The stash is growing and now we just need a baby to put in the cute knit-wear :) I hope that this time next year I'll have a good excuse to eat even more Turkey at Thanksgiving. Yum, turkey...

Blooby!

Here's the newest member of the quickly growing and greatly overpopulated bike stable in our house. Yesterday Chris bought me my very first mountain bike that was actually bought for me. After riding a hand-me-down bike from my brother for a few years, we finally found my new Trek Fuel EX 7 WSD. My sweet hubby decided I needed a bike that fits me and is actually made for a girl :)

Life is a Highway

It's been a long time since I have posted. Life has felt like a highway lately, speeding by but I've at least gotten a glimpse of some beautiful scenary out the windows along the way.


School is flying by. Conferences are next week -- I feel like school just started. My class has its challenging days, but I am starting to love each kid for their individual querks and personalities. I have one kid who is the biggest suck up I've ever met -- he constantly tells me "nice glasses" or "nice hair" or "nice shoes". At least twice a day he will say "thanks for saying thanks" and we get in this never ending circle of "no, thank you". He drives me crazy but I look forward to his comments every day. I have a little guy that, EVERY single morning, asks me if he can read books out of the green bucket. Every morning I say 'of course' and he responds with "yes!" as if he thought I was going to say no. I've yet to figure out what's so special about the green bucket. My special ed kid that couldn't draw or write anything but circles has started writing random letters. I nearly cried when he showed me his writing on Tuesday -- I couldn't believe he made that much progress. I must be doing something right somewhere in the chaos and stress of the days that whiz past.


I am, once again, so proud of Chris. We packed up the car and headed down to Moab for a beautiful weekend in the desert. Forcast showed 70's for the whole weekend when I checked before leaving work on Thursday. Friday was beautiful.
Saturday morning we woke up to rain and it turned out to be a record setting "perfect storm" that cancelled his 24 hour race after just 9 hours.
He was hauling and doing better that I ever expected him to do. He felt awesome, looked awesome, and rode awesome despite the terrential downpour that was slowly washing out the trail, the campsite, and the road that was the only way out of the valley we were in.





As a crew we had Chris's dad, friends Scott and Melissa and Dave.

I didn't ever know that I could have such a good time standing out in the rain. From trying for a good solid hour to start a fire with wet wood and some USA Today to stringing up 4 tarps between the tent and two cars to only end up creating a six inch square of dry haven -- we had a blast.
I loved watching Chris roll in with a bike full of mud and then watching the boys try to "clean" it before his next lap. It was a muddy, mucky mess, but well worth the trip and Chris ended up in 16th-ish!
I know that with a longer race he would've done even better, but wow. 16th for a world-class race. Damn. The kid is awesome.


Funny thing, I was about to type what a wonderful dog Turbo is because he was all snuggled up on my legs in a pitiful attempt to get my lemonade, but then he made a big stretch and wacked me in the face with his paw, splitting open my lip. Great. Life gives you lemonade and your dog gives you a split lip. Thanks Turb.

Smile and laugh along the highway that your life takes you on. It is short. It is muddy. It can disapointingly cancel a race you've trained for all year after a few short hours. It gives you students that ask questions like "what if I don't listen to adults and get in the car with a stranger, what do I do then?" It can split your lip when you are thinking it is really cute. Life is funny -- laugh at it while you have a chance. I hope you have someone to smile with at the end of a hard day.

Ay Vomito!

That's right. Vomito. I feel this will be the defining quote for my year: Ay Vomito! I did the math, and after today's puker, I have averaged one puker for every 4 days of school. In the words of Ricky Ricardo, ayayayayay.

AY VOMITO!

I really do avoid political conversations...

Take this story the way you want; however, after a long week of work, I had some pretty hillarious conspiracy stories swirling around my head by the time I got home:

I was driving home from work today and two cars, at separate parts of the commute, both merged into me making me slam on my brakes. These two cars had one thing in common. Both had identical "W '04" stickers on the back.

Hmmm...

Wedding frenzy

This weekend was the last of the crazy family wedding frenzy. Our immediate family is now officially all married off, with the next to probably be my niece who is 10 years old. Hopefully we have a while! My brother Scott got married this weekend in a BEAUTIFUL wedding. The weather held off -- it was freezing cold for us bridesmaids but the bride seemed to stay plenty warm and the guests had giant heaters warming them. The ceremony and reception were beautiful and a lot of fun (minus the scary moment of my aunt finding my 87 year old grandma in a side room blue from choking on a piece of chicken -- thankfully some nice man gave her the heimlich twice and she was ok -- scary!). I saw people I hadn't seen since high school and I loved getting to see a bunch of my extended family in from Michigan.

Here is a picture of Chris and I at the reception...

Scott and Betsy during the wedding...

A good time was had by all!

Watch what you say!

I think as adults we don't always think about the fact that kids are going to believe anything and everything we say. I had a kid (one of my more advanced 1st graders) with a mosquito bite raise his hand and tell me "my mom works in the crazy house. She said she got a new patient who got a mosquito bite and she itched it so much that now she's in the crazy house. Make sure you don't itch your mosquito bites too much or it drives you crazy." I don't know if the mom intended for her son to believe this but he believed it with every ounce of his being. It worked, he wouldn't itch his mosquito bites and he would warn others not to, but man did this kid believe that story was true. I wonder what I've said in the past that kids have believed... hmmm...

When it rains, it pours

This has been an interesting weeked (but then again, when is a weekend not interesting to me?).
Last week ended with 4 kids throwing up either in my classroom or in the hall. I was down to 14 kids with the ones who had either puked in class or were already home sick. I spent Friday hoping that I wouldn't be next, and luckily, I've escaped the vomitting wrath so far. I feel sorry for the little ones puking all over, they are so cute and so sad when they get sick. I'm loving my class, they are going to be a fun and entertaining group.
On Friday night, our friends Erik and Michelle got married. It was a beautiful ceremony. They were supposed to get married outside which made me worried when it had been pouring rain all day. Luckily the rain let up and allowed the ceremony to be held outside with only a short delay. They looked very happy and it was all beautiful. I'm very happy for both of them and yes, jealous that they are in Hawaii for the next week. On the way home from the wedding I stopped to get gas in my mom's car while Chris filled up the Element a few gas things down. I got back in the car, saw some creepy guy walking towards the station, instinctually locked the doors (thanks to my drivers' ed teacher who always said to lock the doors even before you put on your seatbelt) and the creepy guy proceded to try to get in my car. He pounded on the window and tried to door handle and I slammed on the gas and squeeled away. I spent the next 30 minutes driving to my parents' house in complete shock. I was scared to death and crying hysterically/hyperventilating the whole way home. I needed Chris but my parents were the ones who sat and calmed me down when I got there. All I needed was a hug, and you can always count on your parents for that. Call me a baby or an overreacter, but it was, by far, one of the scariest moments of my life. I don't know if it was some drunk kid or some creep ball out for a good time, but either way, I thank God for the advice of my drivers ed teacher. That's a first for me, very very very scary and I'm sure it will make me paranoid for a long time.
Yesterday I woke up to pieces of ziplock bag on the floor -- turns out that my lovely golden turbo had decided to eat an entire plastic bag full of stickers. A year or so back, he ate a plastic bag of chocolate chip cookies. Back then, we rushed him to the vet, they made him throw up the bag, and told us that any later and he would've needed surgery. This time I freaked out, took him to the vet, and now he is on a Metamucil diet to make the stickers and bag "slide" through him. Eww. Yesterday was also spent in a marital tiff but ended with a tasty dinner at Pei Wei's near our old apartment. It's owned by P.F. Chang's but is faster and cheaper -- one of my new favorite places to eat. Today I got to use this miraculous floor scrubber contraption to revitalize our nasty kitchen floor. The thing has magical powers -- how it can take our ugly ugly floor and make it actually look decent is beyond me. I've been able to veg on the couch and get some knitting done while watching some cheesy movies that I haven't seen in a while. Next weekend is my brother's wedding and I'm very excited! I'm hoping they get the same weather luck that Erik and Michelle had -- Scott and Betsy's wedding is planned for outside and the weather people are forecasting terrential downpours for three days surrounding the wedding.
I wonder if next weekend will prove to be as interesting as this weekend... hmmm, I sure hope not...

Long weekend, long post

This was a much needed long weekend away from work. The beginning of school is hard, new, fun, but stressful. I'm happy with my cute new class of Kinders and 1st graders. I have some challenging little ones but, on the whole, they are a good group. This new position brings with it much more stress and less flexibility and fun. It's hard to be part of a new program and feel at least partially responsible for its success or failure. I think I'm still too young to feel that stress in my career right now, but I'm running with it and trying to make the best of it. It all comes down to the kids anyway. No matter what I teach, I am partially responsible for their success or failure. Just part of the job and I like that part. Tomorrow I start my new after school tutoring program for a group of five 2nd and 3rd graders in the dual language program. I'm a little nervous about that, but happy to have quit job #2 to be able to do this. Better money and I get to help out kids that really need it instead of kids whose parents can afford to pay $50/hour for a professional tutoring program. In other news...

I went riding with the group on Wednesday. New trail, new friends, great time. Almost decided to divorce Chris after the ride went well into the dark, but luckily I love him and quickly forgave him when he bought me tasty dinner afterwards. Got to meet and ride with Scott's new girlfriend, Melissa. It was refreshing to finally have a girl my speed to ride with and we had a great time. She was a lot of fun and definetely a keeper for Scott.

Me doing my ride/walk/complaining bit at the end...
Me looking a little happier at the beginning of the trail. Deep thoughts, hmmm...
Scott and Dave. Nice glasses Scott, I think those are meant for your eyeballs...

I've been working on some new knitting. Jenny at work graciously taught me how to purl and now I'm making a great ribbed scarf. It's requires much more thinking than a regular knitted scarf but it looks a lot cooler. We're even thinking about starting a monthly knitting group at Starbucks after work. The blurry picture isn't so good but shows the ribbing...


This weekend was relaxing and fun. I had a friend's bachelorette party here Saturday night. It was interesting and fun. I was happy that the stripper didn't show up because I was a little wary of some strange guy stripping in my house. Today we decided to go up to Boulder and ride the mountain bike trail that Chris took me on a few years ago as my first ride in 8 years. Back then, I cried and yelled and couldn't believe he took me on such a horrible trail. This year I had a blast and took some risks and went faster than usual. I thought I was going to eat dirt a few times but stayed up, so that was good. I cruised the 3.2 mile trail in 30 minutes and had a good Chris-and-Marni ride. It's been a while since it's just been the two of us on a trail that challenges me.


Off to another week of school. We have two upcoming weekends of weddings and a bunch of family coming into town in two weeks for my brother's wedding. I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone and getting to know my cousin's almost-hubby. Hopefully this week I'll feel less exhausted than I did the last two weeks or I'll be visiting the doctor to make sure there's nothing physically wrong. Hmmm...