10.30.09- Day 163

I finished this book last night:
Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers: A beautiful fictional portrayal of the book of Hosea. It follows a woman's journey to accepting love from God and man after living a life of abuse. It reminded me of how lucky I am to be married to a man with a wonderful heart of unconditional love for me. It reminded me that I have a God who loves me and seeks me even more. That the reason I'm blessed with my husband and all those around me I love is to learn about HIM and show others HIS love. This book may have to become an annual read. I strongly recommend it.
I watched this movie tonight after doing some organizing for next week. It is about two individuals with Asperger Syndrome falling in love. I found it so interesting because I have several students with Autism/Asperger Syndrome. I don't know many adults with these conditions, but I could see my students in the characters. It is an interesting and entertaining watch for anyone working with or interested in this population.

In other news: the snow is melting- mainly off the trees and pavement. It's suppose to be in the 60's this weekend and next week, so I'm sure it will all be gone soon. Also news, I have been a total lazy bum on my days off, so I'm going to have to get back in action tomorrow. I need to take advantage of my extra time off work. It has been soooo nice though. I could get used to this whole not working thing. But... I have to admit that planning for my kids next week did make me a little anxious to get back in there and work with them. They are pretty fun to work with (most of the time) ;). Hopefully I'll have wonderful productive things to report tomorrow. Until then... I'm gonna get some sleep!

10.29.09- Day 162

More snow today! It snowed all night and when I woke up this morning, our porch and sidewalk were barely visible beneath the blanket of snow! The weather report said that as of about 11am today, Aurora had received over 16" of snow and Denver had received over 23"! We are right on the border between the two, so I suspect we had about 20"!

All the teacher girls had another snow day, so Nicole and I went back over to Carissa and Sarah's for lunch and a couple Sandra Bullock movies.

You can kind of tell how deep the snow is by the path that I shovelled!

Our bushes look like a huge snow drift!

After coming home from the girls', I made stew for Alan and hung out with him for a while. Besides that, I have just been reading Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers all night long. It's really good. It's not only a beautiful love story, but a fresh reminder of the love God has for me and his constant pursuit of me.

10.28.09- Day 161

Snowy day in Denver! It snowed all night after we got back from Louisiana. I think we got about 1 foot by the end of the day. Oh goofy Nigel
Sledding!

Snowy day in Stapleton. The snow was coming down so hard that it pelted your face if you looked into the wind!

Me and Alan

Buried in snow!

So, although it was my fall break, my other teacher friends got a SNOW DAY! That happens so rarely in Denver. We celebrated by sledding in the afternoon, then going to Carissa, Sarah, and Sarah's house for pizza and a full round of Mexican Train. I really like that game. Can't believe I never played dominos growing up. It was fun. We just had to be a little careful on the drive home around 11:30! Yay for snow!

10.27.09- Day 160

Last day in Louisiana :(
But, we got the full experience by going on a swamp tour!

Beautiful A bird (can't remember the name)
Me and Al

Look closely and see the little baby alligators

Cyprus trees

It was a lovely time. We enjoyed it so much. After the swamp tour we went straight to the Waffle House for Chocolate chip waffles and hashbrowns, then straight to the airport. Said our goodbyes. :( When Alan and I arrived back in Denver, we had a shock- it was snowing like crazy and not expected to stop until a day or two later! Crazy October in CO. We did make it home okay, the road weren't frozen over yet. We were greeted by a very enthusiastic Nigel, who may or may not have thought he was abandoned forever when Andy left him earlier in the evening. Needless to say, he jumped in circles for about a half hour. :)

10.26.09- Day 159

Monday...
Lazy morning while Charlie and Stephanie were at school
Hung out for a while
Helped clean pecans (really cool machine that sorts the nuts from the leaves and sticks)
Cleaned up
Went over to the big Loups house
Toured where Charlie proposed to Stephanie
Ate some yummy food made by Mrs. Annie (rolls, etouffer-pronounced A to fay, salad, and yummy halfcooked brownie for dessert).
Visited
Back to the little Loups
Bedtime

10.25.09- Day 159

Church in the morning, New Orleans afternoon and evening. Fun day!

An old Catholic Church by the French Market

Sittin' on a bench (without yucky smells)
Stephanie and Charles

Me and Alan

A beautiful Live Oak

The Mississippi (I think, maybe Lake Ponchatrain)

Me and Steph at Cafe DuMonde getting Binettes (sp?)

A crazy man on stilts at the Boo Carre parade

Live music and cute kids at the pumpkin procession of Boo Carre

Fun Day!

10.24.09- Day 158

So... Steph has the picture with Alan and I in her LSU snuggie- it was pretty cool. Here's an idea of what it looks like...

Awoke at 4am.
Drove to airport.
Flew to Dallas.
Flew to Baton Rouge.
Got picked up by Charlie and Stephanie!
Went to their house for lunch.
Went to the Big House to see people and go on a tour.
Went for yummy pizza.
Hung out with the sister while Alan went to bed and Charlie went to watch the LSU game.
Ahhhh... love being with one of my sisters.

10.23.09- Day 157

A lovely end to the week before fall break: the final day to Every Move Counts. I loved the workshop. It kind of made me want to go into full time work just helping kids learn how to communicate. I hope to implement this stuff in my lifeskills classroom as soon as I get back from fall break.

Louisiana tomorrow!

10.22.09- Day 156

Alan found my lost key!!!!!!! Thank you babe! I was moments away from sorrowfully going to tell Mallori, the school secretary, that I had lost the key I had begged her for for weeks. But... I don't have to now. And you better believe that I will protect that key with my life from now on! Yay!

10.21.09- Day 155

October? Hmmm... it feels more like Christmas time around here. I watched the snow fall all day. We only got about a half inch of accumulation because the ground was so warm, but it was really pretty. Alan and I went out to eat tonight and I felt like the holidays were here. I have to keep reminding myself that Halloween isn't even here yet! I think I'll remember the real season after it warms up again tomorrow. That's CO weather for you!

Today I got stuck at a school for 30 extra minutes for a code yellow level 2 lockdown. (I didn't even know what that meant). I did figure I needed to shut the door to the gym (where the child and I were working) and not be in the hallway. The stupid drill lasted for 30 minutes! I started to wonder if it really was a drill! I ran over to the preschool and wasn't really too late, but I did miss out on some paperwork time. It wasn't too big of a deal because the fire fighters came today to show the kids the firetrucks and teach about fire safety. (I didn't get much one on one time with kids today anyways). I caught up on paperwork in the morning when the firefighters were there and went to see their presentation in the afternoon. The kids were so cute. They loved the firefighters! Somehow, I didn't make it out of the preschool until about 4:30. Almost everyone else was gone! This evening Alan and I went out to eat for the first time this month! We went to Chili's and did the appetizer, entree, and dessert for $20. It was such a good deal, and we both ended up with leftovers. Afterwards, we went to Barnes and Noble to read magazines and hangout. I really enjoyed spending time with my husband! Now, we are watching funny videos on YouTube and looking at peopleofwalmart.com!

10.20.09- Day 154

My mom is an amazing woman. I love her so much and appreciate her in so many ways. I can always depend on her to be a listening ear no matter what is going on in my life, whether good, bad, hard, or easy. Thanks Mom!

Also- I am SOOOO glad that next week is fall break. I'm about to explode with all the information I have learned over the last two and a half months. I feel like I'm maxed out on learning, responsibility, and planning. I just need a few days to breath and get my head back on straight. Good thing I'm going to get to spend my fall break visiting Steph and Charlie for the beginning of the break, then have a few days to recoop and get my head back in the game for work. I really do like work, I just need to let all the information settle in my brain, so I can come back with some new ideas and new energy. My kids deserve the best!

10.19.09- Day 153

Small Group Fall Party!!!!

our pumpkins

my dear husband with our butt-crack pumpkin

the dedicated carvers

the finished products (in order- the anderson's, the bresnahan's, the hunt's)

With flash

Our cute guy (it was awesome because his butt crack glowed in the back too!)

the whole group (minus Al taking the pic)

Me, Al, and little pumpkin

We had a fall party at our house with our small group Monday night. (Jurney's and Schmandles- we missed you!) We also watch the Bronco's go 6-0! Yummy fall treats + friends + pumpkin carving= lovely evening.

10.18.09- Day 152

Sunday-

• Lazy morning. I was actually still in bed when Al got home!
• Helped with Sunday school at church.
• Went home and discovered an entire bag of trash spread all over the yard by an unhappy dog that was left outside while I was at church (mistakingly with the bag of trash). Cleaned it up and tied dog up for a while.
• Ate leftover stirfry for lunch.
• Took a nap.
• Made pizza with Alan.
• Discovered I lost an important key and still can't find it! Yikes- pray I find it really soon!
• Ran with Nicole.
• Ate pizza while watching Extreme Makeover Home Edition.
• Got a spurt of energy and reorganized the office. See picture for new design. I moved the big bookshelf to the guest room and the little bookshelf back to the office. I also switched the position of the bookshelf with the futon. Then, I decorated the walls with some of the art I got from Ethiopia and China.
• Finished an IEP that I forgot about.
• Finally caught up on my blog (but of course there is still a pile of clothes on my bed that needs to be put away).
• Now time for bed- get ready for a busy week!

10.17.09- Day 151

Me and Becca at the health fair. We had fun doing balance test on different people and giving them random Physical Therapy advice. I even got chili and a free latte out of the whole thing :). We'll have to ramp up for next year! Saturday...

• Woke up... went to the health fair.
• Came home, started making naan dough and cleaning a little.
• Hung out with Alan a little.
• Went to Nicole's to get ready for the Punjammie Party.
• Made hummus, naan, and chai with Nicole.
• Hung out with some fun girls and talked about helping women escape prostitution in India through buying the punjammies they make. Go to intlprincess.org for more info or to buy punjammies.
• Watched Bride and Prejudice- LOVE IT!
• Went home for sleep!
  

10.16.09- Day 150

Oh Friday...

• Woke up late again on the alarm clock experiment. Better luck next week, I guess.
• Ran 3 groups at the preschool in the hall or outside because they were having parent coffees in the multi-purpose room.
• Went to Arkansas Elementary for the first time and met 4 of my 5 kids.
• Hung out at home for a while, then ate dinner with Alan.
• Went over to Sarah and Carissa's to hang out. We had chocolate and berry milkshakes. No, not combined, but 2 different milkshakes. According to Nicole, we'll all be really fertile now, because milkshakes make you fertile. Hmmm....
• Came home and went to sleep late. Pic is me getting ready to get some shut eye. Notice the new sheets. A while ago ours ripped and I had to go get new ones. These are so soft!

10.15.09- Day 149

(picture, dusk at Stapleton's Central Park, where Nicole and I ran)
Today...

• Day 2 of the "alarm clock/wake up early experiment"= TOTAL FAILURE! I set my two alarm clocks last night with a plan. I decided that I need a more gradual wake up and that it might help the tiredness I felt yesterday. But, my second alarm clock did not go off this morning! Thus, I lay in bed til about 1 hour after my alarm clock originally went off. I wasn't late for anything, but had to rush to work. Although, I felt WAY more rested today and actually had a really good day. (not good encouragement to keep this up- haha). However, I will try again tonight. I think that maybe I just need 9 hours of sleep. I have my phone alarm set to go off tonight when I need to go to bed, so hopefully I can get in bed in time to get 9 hours and still get up when I want to.
• Remember the middle school student that I embarrassed because I thought he was skipping out on after school activities, but really wasn't? So, I saw him today and I thought he would be so mad at me, but he wasn't! He actually talked to me more than usual!!! And, a child that gives me the most behavior problems didn't have any today!!!! And I went to the Children's Hospital and finally got the medical records I needed for one of my patients. I need these break through days, especially since I've had 9 students added to my caseload this week. I'm going to get busy!
• Forgot to take a picture, but I ran with Nicole after Alan went to work. We had a really good run. We even ran an extra lap than we had originally planned!
• Forgot to take a picture again, but Sarah and I got together for our own "TAP" room tonight. We both really like praying for the world, but the group we used to pray with meets too late in the evening for us to join (they don't have "real" jobs for the most part, so they don't have to get up early in the morning). We shared prayer requests and prayed for : AMCC, Megan, Alana, Micah's sister and family, Word Made Flesh in Sierra Leone, those in slavery, and the country of Spain. We also shared with each other and prayed for each other. Then, we exchanged back rubs!!!
• Overall, a good day. Thank you Lord!

10.14.09- Day 148

Post title: The Most Tired Day Ever
So, today was my first day of the "alarm clock experiment/attempt to get up earlier." I actually got up after my second alarm clock went off. I had time to make breakfast, drink some tea, read my bible, make my lunch, send an email, and talk to Megan on Skype before work. It was really nice. However, I had a haze of tiredness over me ALL day. If felt like I was struggling to keep my eyes open all day, especially til about 10. I think I must have woken up in the middle of a REM cycle. Who knows, but maybe I just need to let myself wake up more gradually tomorrow, or maybe I just need to get used to waking up earlier. Either way, I'm going to try something slightly different tomorrow.

10.13.09- Day 147

Today I took on half of another school, Arkansas Elementary preschoolers- 5 more students (seems right that I would get "Arkansas" elementary. That takes my total caseload up to 45 students. I'm glad that I have a few more students because I had just enough free time that I wasn't getting things done. Do you ever do that? If I'm busy, I will get everything done because I know I have to be efficient, but if I have too much free time, I am a little lazy. All that to say, I'm glad I could help out a co-worker and I think this number will be just right to take me through the rest of the year, since I bet I'll get between 5-10 more preschoolers at the CDC.
Also today, worked, went to an OT/PT meeting, chatted with my parents, made breakfast for dinner, went to small group, and helped Alan study for his advanced life support class.

Public Notice: I am implementing a new wake-up system for myself. I'm setting 2 alarm clocks: one in my room and one in the bathroom set a few minutes later. This is a desperate attempt to rouse myself at my desired time. I have no self control in the mornings. I always get places on time, but when I am accountable only to myself, sometimes I sleep longer than I should. One good/bad thing about my job is that I can adjust the hours I work depending on when I start. So, if I start at 8, I can be done around 3:30 or 4 depending on if I take a lunch break. If I start early around 7:30, I can be done at 3 or 3:30. If I start later around 8:30, I just have to work until 4 or 4:30. Anyways, I am telling you about this new project because I will report all this next week how well I do at getting up. Maybe the slight external accountability of blog readers will be enough to help me get up at my desired time.

10.12.09- Day 146

Oh Monday. It is seemingly getting harder and harder to get up in the morning. Maybe it was the weekend camping trip, maybe the ever later sunrise. Who knows? What I do know is that I've got to figure out some strategy to get myself out of bed on time. I hate being rushed in the morning, yet I do it to myself every day. HELP!

After a busy, yet productive day in the schools and office, I came home and hung out with Alan for a while. He left around 6:45 to go watch Monday Night Football at the boy's house. I stayed in and surfed the internet, biked while watching Modern Family, and ate a taco salad.

Modern Family is a new comedy series on ABC. It reminds me of a combination between Everybody Loves Raymond, Will and Grace, The Office, and Three and a Half Men. It is a family sitcom about these three "all-american families." (they are all related). The Dad is married to a Colombian woman several decades younger and his wife has a 10 year old son. The daughter is married to a guy who wants to be hip and all the kids' friends- they have 3 kids. The son is gay, and he and his partner just adopted a baby from Vietnam. It's really pretty funny, although I'm not sure how happy I am that this is the new American family. They're real and the jokes play into families in our culture right now. It's just kind of sad that dads are either seen as inept fathers or weak men. Women are naggy and in charge. Kids think their parents are uncool and won't talk to them. Hmmm... maybe the reality is why I like the show and also what makes me uneasy with the show. All that said, I would definitely recommend it for some laughs and a look into what our culture says about family.