A "rockin" good time!

Here is a photo diary of our first 14ers trip! We are SORE today, but proud of our achievement. Enjoy the trip!





























The end of the story: When Chris and I were turning off the highway to get to the trailhead at 3:30 am, we heard an eerily appropriate song on the XM Country station, it was "Mountains" by Lonestar. It goes something like this:

"There are times in life when you've got to crawl, lose your grip, trip and fall; When you can't lean on no one else that's when you find yourself; I've been around and I've noticed that walkin's easy when the road is flat, them danged old hills will get you everytime, yeah the good Lord gave us mountains so we could learn how to climb..."

Hope you find as much inspiration in it as we did :)

Changes schmanges

A lot has happened and changed in the last few weeks. Since our miraculous transformation in the dining room, I have learned to knit, kicked my body's butt in a bike ride, and am now a dual-language Kindergarten teacher.

This past weekend we were lucky to have my wonderful mom-in-law in town. It was fun to see her and while my dog does tend to ignore me completely when she's around, we were all sad to see her go. She left me with a new skill -- knitting. It's actually a lot of fun and I seem to be decently good at it. I started a scarf with 20 stitches and about three inches later had 37 stitches! Haha. That's not supposed to happen. The up-side is that apparently adding stitches is an advanced skill. I'm that cool :) I have since ripped the stitches out of that mini-demented-scarf and have started over, counting my stitches after each row. This time I intend for it to stay one size throughout. Hmmm...

I joined the usual group for our fun Wednesday night mountain bike ride again this week. It's a lot of fun, despite the fact that I go with a group of guys that could all quit their day jobs and become professional mountain bikers. They kick my butt up the hill and are sweet enough to find a shady spot to sit and wait for me. Then they kick my butt up the next part, and again "rest" and wait for me. They all deserve the title of "Saint" for putting up with my slowbutt each week... or do they deserve the title of "#@*#&" for picking these giant hills and encouraging me to kill myself on them each week? Hmmm...

I am now officially a part of the infamous Dual-Language program at my school. I was teamed with the dual language group last year so I sorta know what is going on although, admitedly, didn't pay too much attention. The purpose is to have our kids learn literacy in their home language (generally Spanish) while providing instruction in both languages. My teammate from last year (the dual language kindergarten teacher) took another job (to my surprise but apparently not to everyone else's surprise, but that's a whole other bitter-rant for another day). Anyway, the dual language staff and principal were unhappy with their choices to replace her and somehow decided that I was the best candidate for the job. I will be doing a Kindergarten/1st grade mix. I will be the English half while another teacher is the spanish half. I believe I'll be teaching the literacy for the native english speakers (both K and 1) and then rotating the other subjects on a weekly basis. I'm excited for the challenge and feel honored that they thought highly enough of me in my 2nd year to give me such a high-stakes position (the dual language group is always being observed by district personnel). I'm also a little nervous. Hmmm...

It's been an interesting week. Sadly, only a few short weeks left of summer vacation. Booooooooooo...

No more ugly!

Since Chris and I moved in we have both loathed the peach faux-finish dining room. It is the first room you see in the house and one of the last that we have gotten around to updating. There is still some of the lovely painting that someone obviously worked WAY too hard on left in the kitchen, so our loathing is not quite a part of our past. Mom and dad came up on Sunday and we worked from 10am to 10 pm painting, putting in 7 lights in the ceiling, and putting up our early-Christmas-present-ceiling-fan/light. It looks unbelievable and puts our outdated kitchen to shame. That may be in for a minor updating relatively soon before we redo it all together when we fall into some major $$. Donations are gladly excepted :)

Here are a few pre pictures so you can appreciate the transformation (ewwwww):





And now...

Summer Lovin'

This summer has been full of traveling for Chris's bike races, working, and learning more about my own abilities (and inabilities) in the realm of biking. It's been a great summer.

We just got back last night from a nice few days in Breckenridge. Having grown up in Colorado, it is hard to admit that I'd never been there, and I was pleasantly surprised and pleased with the town. It was beautiful and if I were spontaneously rich, I could easily see myself living there. Chris has been doing so great in his bike races. I've learned how to be a good pit-crew person and each time is getting easier and more fun. Yesterday I finagled a great roadside spot for the Element and got to have support materials and dog located in the back of the car. I met some really interesting people and a nice retired couple that volunteers to be course workers for the bike races. Chris did an awesome job and I'm very proud of him. He's really disappointed with his performance and DNF but I am still just as proud of him as when he gets on the podium. I think it takes a strong rider and athlete to be able to see your limits and make smart decisions regarding your own body and how you are feeling. He hates to quit and give up on himself but his 115 mile race 10 days prior left his body completely exhausted. I think as time passes he will gain perspective and realize that the race was a great learning experience and possibly an even bigger success than a win would've been. Turbo and I were very happy to see him!

Overall, very successful and fun weekend! Here's my random thought for the day: Am I the only one that gets nervous driving in front of car that has 8 beanie babies and a bobble head hoola dancer on the dash board, and 3 necklaces and a handicapped sticker hanging from the rearview mirror? Why do people feel the need to decorate something that is between them and actually seeing the road and cars in front of them? I wonder how they became handicapped? Hmmm...

Biker booty

Biking is supposed to be healthy for you both physically and mentally. Well, I'm starting to doubt both claims. I finished my first mountain bike race this weekend in Winter Park. I rode 5.2 miles up a mountain in 1 hour and 7 minutes. I didn't do so well in comparison to the other girls in my age-group but ended up beating 30some people overall. I'm decently pleased with that... I guess. I finished it and that was my major goal in the end. Anyway, I went shopping for some new clothes today with some bonus money from my wonderful wonderful mother-in-law. I think the new board-short length shorts are cute so I thought I'd try to find some. Eh, didn't work out so well. Apparently shorts/pants these days are made for girls with bird legs. I have a size 0 waist but every pair of shorts or pants that I tried on that were actually my size were impossible to get over my big 'ol biker thighs. Pants/shorts that fit over my thighs were huge in my waist. Hmmm... not good. Overall the shopping trip was a complete failure and only further solidified my dislike in shopping. Biking -- neither good for my physical or mental health. Did I mention that I'm still going on a fun ride tonight? Obviously I'm not too depressed about it all...

Elefunt

Meet our new 2006 Element! We are really excited! Chris's stubborness paid off with the dealer and we traded in the Civic for our 4WD Element EX last night. Turbo has already decided that he approves :)

Well, it's not Saturday night :)

"Another Saturday night and I ain't got nobody, I got some money cuz I just got paid..." Hmm, don't know if those are the actual lyrics. That's what's stuck in my mind tonight. Maybe because it's paycheck Friday. Yay! I've been dirt poor for two months due to some upcoming trips to and dresses for weddings, a big tax bill, and a clogged sewer line. I feel like I should go celebrate my return to money. Instead I left work #2, picked up some Qdoba, and now it's 8:30 and the delicious Burrito is still sitting in the fridge waiting for Chris to get home from a bike ride with his friend. I kinda want to go see a movie, but maybe a different weekend -- a rest weekend -- my favorite :)... good thing there's a fun playoff Avs game on. Hopefully we won't lose...

Harold the Phantom :)

Here's the newest member of our quickly growing family of bicycles! This is my first NEW bike, just for me, not used by a sibling, since my banana seat bike when I was 8. Chris surprised me at the bike shop today with his plan to not only fit me on a bike, but to also buy the bike too. I'm really excited to finally have a bike all of my own that fits. After getting home shortly after dusk we took a few quick spins around the block and I'm really excited to take it out again tomorrow. Now I'm all set for my first really long ride in Buena Vista in less than a month. Eek!

No more pink!

One of our least favorite rooms in the house was always the 3rd bedroom. It was piercing pink when we moved in. Very very cute for a little girl's room, but seeing as there won't be a kid in that room for quite a few years, we've wanted to change it into a home office for a while. It's been a pink storage room since we moved in and the paint has been sitting in our garage waiting to be applied to the walls. I finally got a chance to paint and clear out the clutter. Here is a before picture.









Unfortunately the ugly wood panelling did not get torn down this go-around, but hopefully this summer we'll get a chance to tear it out and redo the crumbling shelves... here's the after picture.

Green thumb, itchy nose

Yay for Spring Break! One of the many benefits of being a teacher. It is a much needed break -- probably seen as unnecessary to anyone who has never been a teacher. Yeah, most professionals work the year through without any major breaks, but teaching is unique. You have to be one or be closely familiar with one to see why these breaks are necessary to the survival of our future generations :)

Today was a beautiful day. I bought a rake and did my first yard work of my life. It was fun and surprisingly satisfying. Don't get my wrong, I will not become a gardener any time soon. I don't like that you can work your butt off all day and then one gust of wind can ruin most of the work. It is nice getting rid of all of the dead leaves and grass that cover up the potential life that might mysteriously be growing underneath. This will be our first spring here in our house and I am quite anxious to see if anything grows in the fenced off garden in our yard. I'm hoping for pretty flowers but will most likely get a sea of weeds (haha, sea weed). I found some interesting bamboo shoots while cleaning out the garden -- don't know what that was all about.

I also started the long process of renovating the now-pink storage room into the soon-to-be blue home office. It will be nice when it's done...

That's all for now, must take care of the dizzyhubby.

A picnic under a house?

Sounds like a good time to me I guess. Assuming you could get under there and there weren't a bunch of little animals crawling around. A kid told me that a picnic is a lunch -- when asked where you eat the lunch (expecting him to say outside) -- he quickly told me that it is under a house. Hmmm...

I went on a two hour mountain bike ride with Chris after work yesterday. It was sooooo fun and we had beautiful weather. I have to say that I'm getting better at the little things that make me a ridiculous bike rider. Like the fact that I hate going downhill quickly. And riding for extended periods of time. Chris did a good job of being an encouraging bike partner and we ended up having a great time. One of the best Monday nights I've had in a long time. Don't get me wrong -- I'm hurting today. The right side of my back feels like it is constantly cramped up, my right knee is killing me, and my left groinular region is not so happy either. Good times.

Here's my work rant for the day: How, in this time of great thinkers and innovative research, can some idiot mandate that we give my ELL (English Language Learners) Kindergarteners a standardized test? Are you fucking kidding me? They actually have to fill in bubbles. I knew people in college who couldn't fill in bubbles if their life depended on it. They expect these kids to read a paragraph -- haha, have they ever met 5 year olds? Seriously. And then answer questions by filling in a bubble. People are talking about it being a conspiracy against publically educating kids that don't natively speak english. Set the schools up for failure and they say "see, we told you so" and then close us down. Luckily I haven't become that synical yet. I'm sure it's coming...

On a lighter note. I have to say that I have the best dog in the whole world :)

Random rant about an unproductively productive weekend

There's always a tension over the weekend between being productive and resting. Weekends should be a time to relax and recover from a long week of working two jobs. Weekends are also the only time to catch up on the housework and social life that's been neglected during the week.

Weekends are really only one day for me since I work on Sundays. It's only 3 hours, but it's smacked right in the middle of the day. No time to be productive OR relax before and after.

Weekends are time for Chris to get reacquainted with his bicycle seat. He feels the need to be on that damn seat 90% of the weekend. Sounds really uncomfortable to me. I understand it though -- when I got to ride with him last weekend, it was a way to feel both productive and relaxed. I wish I could ride with him more often, but I'm usually the tag along on rest weeks or on a "cool down" ride. I guess I'm not quite good enough to be a part of any real meaningful rides, but we both enjoy it when we do get to go. Daylight savings means that I'll hopefully get to ride with him once in a while after work, but it also means that when I don't ride with him, I don't expect to see him until well into the evening. I feel like being the wife of a biker is similar to being the wife of a doctor or a fireman. They're always on-call and ready to go. It is a unique experience, being married to a biker...

Happy Birthday to meeeee!

Yay, birthday! Minus the fact that I'm sick and there's a nice sized water leak in our basement, this year's birthday has been pretty good! My kindergarteners thought it was funny that I have birthdays too -- they guessed that I'm 200 years old. Haha, cute. I also found out that I get to keep my position in Kindergarten again next year -- yay! I was worried about teacher cuts, but I survived the process so I'm excited. Got some super comfy terry-cloth seperates from the sweet hubby for my birthday -- they are wonderful and I never want to take them off (probably not his intended response!).

On a side-note: Today was the first day I used the A/C in my car since last summer. It was a beautiful day -- not hot enough to need the A/C, just perfect for rolling down the windows and cruising home. Too bad I work in a neighborhood that has had 3 carjackings in the last week -- one of which ended up with a person shot and killed. Needless to say, I kept my windows tightly closed and doors tightly locked...

My first post (again)

So... I created an account and made a profound introduction to myself. Not a day later I had completely forgotten the login and password and now that blog is forever lost in the deep abyss known as the internet. Sad? Yes. Funny? Absolutely.

I always have a hard time describing myself -- what comes first? My profession? My marital status? My shoe size? My age? Hobbies? Interests? Favorite wine?

Here's the answer: shoe size. Every introduction should start with the size of your foot. I wear a 7. Not freakishly tiny, not unusually huge. I think it's a pretty good size. Whew, glad that's over with. Here's the rest:

My name is Marni (not Marty, not Barney) and the name of my blog is "Hmmm?" because I say it more often than I'd like to admit. I teach Kindergarten to 50 kids -- 5 of which speak English as their native language. When you are the sole provider of a language to a five year old, you learn quite quickly the expressions that you use too often. Everytime I pause, a kid will interrupt with "Hmmm?" for me. Very cute. Kinda annoying :) I love my job. I've always wanted to teach and actually doing it hasn't changed my mind. I'm almost done with my first year -- the dreaded first year. I expected the worst and so the first year has proven to be surprisingly easy. I have two months left, and I've managed to take two evening Spanish classes and work a second job on Friday nights and Sundays. I think I'm doing pretty good -- I haven't had the whole "well, it's her first year " comment ever come out of anyone's mouth, and instead of heard several "can you believe it's her first year?"s. I like those.

When I'm not working, I play with my puppy and my husband. Both are crazy in their own ways :) Turbo likes to rub his head across the floor with his butt in the air. He likes to hog the blankets on the bed at night and he likes to sleep uncomfortably between your legs. And that's just my husband. Haha. Just kidding. Chris is wonderful. He is the sweetest man you'll ever meet. He has his typical man-moments but they are few and far between. He's thoughtful, cute, and makes me two eggo waffles every morning without complaint. On special days he cuts them into hearts. Awww, so cute. He's obsessed with riding his bike. He's currently considering driving 16 hours to Iowa to ride 36 hours across one of the more borring states in the union, then drive 16 hours back the next day. Sounds like a rockin' good time to me :) I like to ride with him when he settles for shorter, slower rides. I've yet to understand the passion for epic rides. I like to enjoy my bike rides, not torture myself for hours and hours and hours. He's a unique breed though, and I love him. For some reason. :)

That's enough about me. For now. I'm sure I'll have more entertaining blogs about the moments that make teaching the best profession in the world and thoughts about a husband who has ridden enough miles so far this year that he could ride back and forth from Denver to St. Louis at least three times. But here's me. I've now gotten over the akward introduction...

Hola

Here's me!