25 Years!

Well, I'm another year older! How crazy! I'm 1/4 of a century years old! I'll admit I don't feel much older but here I am. I'm hoping this year will be full of wonderful surprises and blessings! Today I went with my parents, brother & his girlfriend to Lonestar -- SO DELICIOUS! Amazing steak today! We'll see what the next year holds in store. This should be interesting :)

*School's Out For The Summer*

Well, almost at least! Today is the last day of school for the year! Woot Woot! I can't believe another school year is coming to a close. When someone asks me how long I've worked at Milan, it's crazy to think that I can say I've been here in different capacities for 3 years now! WOW time FLIES!!! Today makes up the last day of exams and we only have 1/2 day. It's third & fourth blocks and, lucky me, my third block is my prep and 4th block I have Video - only 4 kids are showing up :) We have to finish their "Finding Nemo" claymation today! I'll post it when it's done :) SO CUTE!



It's amazing how many things I wanted to do BEFORE school got out as far as reorganizing, cleaning, etc that won't get done until August now! Haha. I can check out today (THE PLAN) or tomorrow (NO GOOD). But we have meetings this afternoon - and I have a TON to do to get my room ready to leave. We'll see how it goes. My plan right now is to get the room in order to leave it for a while and then work on grades tonight and check out in the morning. The boys Varsity Baseball team is playing in the State Semi-Final game tomorrow at 12:00pm in Battle Creek and I'm going to cheer them on!!!! WAY TO GO BIG REDS! I want to make sure I'm checked out before we leave at 9:45am or so to go there. Crossin my fingers!



Well, off to get things done in quick order today! Wish me luck :)

Whew!

Almost done :) It's hard to believe that another school year is coming to a close. What an eventful year it's been. From finding out the day before school started that I was going to be teaching Advanced Algebra (instead of Geometry) to building a teacher float to putting on the 2nd annual Mock Rock and everything in between, it's definitely been a blast. It's amazing. I remember back in high school when my parents and teachers would always remind me to not wish my life away, that as I get older, life will go faster. I didn't believe them. Now, I'm the one saying it to my students. I talked to a lot of my seniors last week about their upcoming graduation and encouraged them to stop a moment and focus on everything that will be going on during the ceremony. I told them to look around, absorb the sounds, the excitment in the air, the looks on their proud parents' faces. I told them to take a moment and live in it. It was surprising how telling that to a few students soon passed through several more in the senior class. I was very proud to watch many of my students walk across the stage last Sunday, receiving their high school diplomas. They have no idea what's in store! Life will throw so many curveballs at them, both good and bad, and I pray that they are ready (as they can be), willing (as we all are to take on things that seem bigger than we are) and able (from past experiences, advice and faith) to take on anything life sends them. I look forward to hearing how they are doing a few years down the road.

Well, I didn't necessarily sit down to start writing all that, but, there it is. Two more days with students and then I'm home free for the summer! Well, except for a 5-day training next week! Haha It's nice to have my finals written and two of the four classes graded thus far. Two more tomorrow then comes the fun - preparing my rooms for the summer. Yay!

PLUS! Our Varsity Baseball boys have made it to the State Semi-Final game THIS FRIDAY in Battle Creek! WHOO HOO!!! Way to go! They beat Dewitt 9-1 today to make it to top 4 in the state! Can't wait to get to the game on Friday and cheer them on. Oh the sweet sweet victory it would be for the Big Reds!

***Tonight, though, the focus is on the Red Wings. Currently, the game is 1-0 (Pens), in the 2nd period. Wings are getting NO calls from the refs and Pens are playing dirty. Luckily, the Wings have destiny on their side and I have confidence that Brett Lebda and his Wings will be hoisting the cup again this year just like in 2008! PAINT PITTSBURG RED!!!!!

What a weekend!!!!!!!

***I know I know...COMMENTS!***

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May thus far...

Alright...time for comments :)

Below are two of my seniors from Video. Crazy kids!

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Me with Paul (my 2-year video student and independent study student) on his last day before he started his internship (which, surprise, I am his supervisor...hahaha).



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Casey, Leah & I chaperoning Prom 2009. Apparently black was "in"....



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What Jesse did all of prom...Just kidding...


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Nancy & I chaperoning. Chris (Nancy's husband), Nancy, Scott Hawks & his gf Amanda, me, Maria Durham & Melissa Fedierline all had dinner at Red Lobster before chaperoning. Hadn't been there in YEARS. Not too bad actually (though I DIDN'T eat seafood...surprise!). Very fun :) And I LOVE Nancy's dress :)

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Jesse & I at the end of the night, though he wouldn't smile all the way because his smile was tired apparently. Hahaha.....right.



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Misc. Pics

*Kodiak (13 1/2 years old) & Tundra (6 1/2 years old) this past Christmas before Kodiak got really sick...

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*My friend Nancy & I at the 8th/9th grade mixer in March. My Friday night B-dubs pal :)

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*Austin's new puppy, a yellow lab, Sekoia. This was when he brought her home in March. She's since grown and is now best friends with our 6 year old lab Tundra. They are hilarious to watch play together.

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*Boot skating out on some property my dad leases with some other guys. We walked the property, checking the trail cams and the shed hunting...no such luck with sheds but we came across a low spot covered in ice. It was an amazing sight! Nothing like ice skating through the trees! Truly breath-taking!

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*Cheyenne & I went mudding to start off my spring break. Of course we then had to take a pic of our muddy clothes and even muddier 4-wheelers! Good times though :)

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*Jake left April 2nd to be stationed in Hawaii at the Air Force Base on the big island. He will be there for about a year (from what I know at this point). It was hard to say goodbye to him but I know he will love being in Hawaii :) I can't wait to see pictures! (And I sense a trip coming on....lol)

Oh Mock Rock!

We like to have a little "Special Guest" act for Mock Rock each year that consists of teachers, administrators, etc mocking a music artist. This year, I was part of the group...Ike & Tina Turner's "Proud Mary" (aka Rolling On A River). I thought it'd take me a while to actually get on stage (since this is only Milan's 2nd Mock Rock) but there I was....wig, pink sequence skirt and all.... What a good time though! And the kids loved Maria as Tina & Josh as Ike. What a riot! If you're lucky, I'll post the video when it's ready.... IF you're lucky....

My Friend Scott Hawks :-D

Mock Rock Security: Hoskins, Hawks, Zupi & Kraft - Gotta love these guys!

What a week.

Well, this week has truly been crazy. From putting on a huge, one night production to having to put Kodiak to sleep, the emotions have definitely been up and down. Mock Rock went pretty well. I'll post pics in a bit. To the audience, it went much better than it did to us back stage. There were a lot of technical difficulties and various issues otherwise, like almost WW3 among my Redline crew. And as for the DVD that is supposed to come out after the show, it will be pretty difficult since one of my students forgot to turn on the sound board before filming...thus, no sound. I can splice in the music for the actual acts (my spring break activity) but as far as the in-between acts (which were quite hilarious this year...much improved!), there is no sound. Lovely.

I had a lot of good support from staff members and family alike for the event. I have some good friends at the school here that really take care of me. From coming early just to let me rant to making sure I got changed out of my wig and costume before going out with them after. I'm truly blessed that way. Yes, I did say wig. I was part of the "Special Guests" act - I was a back up singer with another teacher for the song "Proud Mary" by Tina & Ike Turner. Hilarious. If I get the gumption, I'll post the video when it's done. It looked rediculous I'm sure but the kids loved it! And as a teacher, that's what counts!

After the craziness of Tuesday, Wednesday hit hard when we found out Kodiak was not going to make it through the day. And it wasn't fair to her to ask her to make it any further. She was suffering. For the past few weeks she has not been feeling well, but has adapted, as have we, to a slower-paced lifestyle. Last Thursday, however, she quit eating and started to go down hill pretty fast. We put her in the vet hospital on Monday so they could hydrate her to see if it would help. Tuesday she was better, but Wednesday when we went to see her you could tell it was her time to go. As hard as it was, it was best for her. She lived almost 14 years with our family and we've loved every minute of it. She was able to live long enough to meet Austin's new puppy Sekoia and spend 7 years with our yellow lab Tundra. (I'll post pics of them too!) We wouldn't have wanted it any other way. Amazing to think she's been part of my life since I was 10 years old. I'm so glad for all the memories!

Well, enough sadness. My students are watching Shrek 2 and working on missing/late work as the 9 weeks ends tomorrow. 3 quarters down, 1 quarter to go before summer :) WOW the year flies! And, to top that, I DO NOT have to teach Summer Accelerated Algebra like I did last year, which took me into July. YAY! Thanks to Hawks for stepping up :) Spring Break starts tomorrow at 11:00am - we still have to be here until 2:30 but students are gone by 10:40am! YAY! Much to do. MUCH TO DO on spring break. Can't say it'll be much of a break, but it will be a change of pace for a little over a week. The grandparents are coming back from Florida within the next couple of weeks so that's exciting as well. I hate it when they're gone. Things just don't seem right without them, especially with all the stress we've had this time. We've missed their support and love!!!

I'll post pictures later this evening of all my recent events :)

*****This spring break: In my mind, I'm gone to Carolina*****

The Stars Aligned Against Me

I am sure the stars are against me this week. Not that I believe in all that but if I did, I would know that the world just doesn't want things to go well for me. Now, don't get me wrong, things aren't going TERRIBLY, but they sure aren't going smoothly and the stress of the week has landed me here, typing this, and wondering how I'm going to make it through the second Friday The 13th in two months. I've officially taken the morning off from work in order to regroup a little and catch up on some mental health. That means I'll only be at school for 3 1/2 hours tomorrow! WAHOO. We'll see where that gets me. I figure by Saturday things have got to turn around...the week will be over and things will be on the up&up...I hope...

Until then, I'm hunkering down and going to knit the night away, trying to take my mind off things.

Here goes nothin'...

N-3-0-2-Foxtrot-Golf

In October I was given the opportunity to fly in a 4-seater airplane to a math conference in Lansing. One of the other math teachers, Cindy H., has her pilot's license and offered to fly a couple of us up there to meet the rest of the bunch. Surprisingly, I said yes! I've never been one to LOVE flying (though once I'm in the air I don't mind it) and I'm not very adventuresome, but for whatever reason, I never second-guessed my decision to fly in this teeny-tiny plane to Lansing.... Even the night before, when I would usually have difficulty getting settled and would be a little nervous, I felt nothing. It was one of the oddest feelings, knowing that I don't do stuff like that without thinking twice and weighing my options. We had to be at the Ann Arbor Airport by 7:15 as we were to take off about 7:40am. The conference started at 8:30 am and it would only take us about 30 minutes to get to Lansing.

I pulled into the airport and right up to the hanger where the plane was still parked inside. Clint K. and I were the passengers and Cindy H., the pilot. Cindy was doing all the final checks on the plane before we pulled it out of the hanger (yes, we! It's small enough that the three of us could pull it out of the hanger....) and climbed in.

Once we did climb in, Clint was the co-pilot and I sat in the back seat. We put on our headsets (in order to communicate with each other) and Cindy went through the instrument panel checks. It was brisk so the windows kept fogging up - no defrost on the plane.... Cindy then communicated with the tower and got us cleared for take-off.

Clint looked back at me, giving me a look almost to say, "Well, this is it. Say a little prayer!" We lined up on the runway towards the west and started accelerating. I took a deep breath and began praying....and praying...and praying! Next thing I knew, we were off the ground and assending into the deep blue morning sky! The sun had not risen yet but was just beginning to come over the horizon behind us! I could see the blocks of land, the roads, I-94 backed up towards Jackson in the early morning traffic. Amazing. Indescribable. We flew over Dexter and Chelsea and off we went towards Lansing. I pulled out my camera and took a ton of shots of the sunrise behind us! With very little cloud cover, the colors were magnificent. God really knows how to paint a breath-taking picture.

We flew on towards Lansing, taking in all the sights and listening to Cindy tell us about the landmarks below, various towers and cement domes that guide the way to Lansing. Before entering the Lansing Airport Airspace, Cindy had to communicate via the headset that we were coming, who we were, etc. The air traffic controller in Lansing, though, could not hear her....AHHHH! Clint looks back at me and I look back at him with a sort of panic on our faces. Cindy was so calm, though! She told Clint what to do and had him communicate our location and information to the controller. Way to go Clint! Before we knew it, we were landing in Lansing where Ron was there to pick us up! We felt like big-shots as we got out of our plane right at the terminal with our briefcases and walked right in to our ride to the conference! Goose, Mavrick & Iceman have arrived!

The conference went well but all we could think about was flying back home in the beautiful blue sky! Once we arrived back at the airport, Cindy had to look up the weather & wind information before we could take off. She then checked over the airplane again before we got in and settled for take-off #2. Small problem....The engine wouldn't start.... Trying not to panic, I thought about something else...anything else. She called her instructor and through some trial and error, they figured out how to get it turned over. Still, I couldn't let it go through my head that I was going to be a thousand feet in the air in a plane that had a hard time starting for about 10 minutes before we took off.... Here we go....

The ride back wasn't as smooth due to a little bit of wind but the view was just as gorgeous. With it being the afternoon, we were able to see the State Capital Building, the Grand River in Lansing, Michigan State University's campus (including the football stadium and dorms!), the Huron River in Ann Arbor, the new location for Mott's Children's Hospital, Briarwood Mall and Michigan Stadium. Cindy asked for permission from the Ann Arbor Airport traffic controller to circle Michigan Stadium so I could get some pictures! VERY COOL!!!!!!

Landing went well and we pushed the plane back into it's little hanger at the Ann Arbor Airport. What an amazing experience! Would I do it again with her as the pilot, YOU BET. Would I go with another pilot??? We'll see. I'm so glad that I didn't hesitate and overthink before having what was truly an amazing and breath-taking experience!

Check out the picture slideshow here! :)

Carmel Adventures!

November/December 2008:

Mom and I took on the task of making carmel corn again this year. We didn't do it last year for whatever reason but I think after how good some of it turned out this time, it will definitely be a tradition! The first batch we made filled 12 1-gallon bags! And all of it went to school for the staff! I made little bags for some of my closer friends at school and then put large bags in both of the teachers' lounges so the entire staff could enjoy! One teacher said someone tried to steal his bag because it was so good! Another said it was "awesome"! Glad to know they like it! The second batch only made about 8 1-gallon bags. We did it in 4 segments and each segment turned out differently! Very weird! The 3rd & 4th times were the best (in my & mom's opinion) but Dad liked #2. Everyone that came over had to taste-test each batch and say whether they liked #1, 2, 3, or 4. YUM!!!!

Courtney & I made Carmel Apples at the beginning of November that were extremely sticky and messy to eat but oh-so-good! Here are a couple pictures!

I Finally Took A Day Off!

10.23.08:

Well, I finally did it. I took my first official paid day off!!! Yay! What did I do all day? Graded. What a day off! I did feel very refreshed after getting caught up. Last week was homecoming at MHS. I am one of the class advisors for the class of 2012 along with Casey. Because of that, we got the opportunity to help our students with float building all week. It was a lot of fun, don't get me wrong, but whew was I worn out by the end of the week! I even chaperoned the dance Saturday night! Good times though :)

Teaching is going well. Advanced Algebra & I are not necessarily the best of friends....I struggle a lot more with the curriculum of Advanced Algebra and am just trying to stay ahead of the students. Most of the time it works, sometimes, though it doesn't. It's definitely a challenge for me to teach that class. Hopefully next year will be easier. I love Algebra, though. This is practically my third time teaching it and I feel pretty confident in the topics.

Video Production is going great! The students designed a backdrop and we hired my great-grandma to sew the 8'9" by 11'6" backdrop in a week...I think she almost drowned in it! But it sure looks amazing! My dad and I also built an actual news desk (instead of using a fold-up table) that looks great as well! The students are really working hard and investing a lot of time and energy into making a great program at MHS. It's starting to get noticed throughout the school and I am so proud of them! Check out the web-site here!

Enough about school. I cannot believe that it is already 1 week before November! It's insane! Time is sure flying. I know they always say time flies even more as you get older but I don't know how it could fly any more than it is. With November right around the corner comes the holiday season, an amazing time with family and friends and a time that I treasure each and every year! I can't help but have a little bit of excitement for it to arrive but at the same time I don't want to rush through what's going on in life right now!

Praline Pecans

So - I decided to get adventerous today. I tasted a pecan praline while in Charleston, South Carolina last week and decided to attempt to make some. I used this recipe below. I think they turned out pretty well! Delicious, a little sticky to make, but overall fun :)

Southern Pecan Pralines

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon butter

3 cups firmly packed brown sugar

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

2 cups evaporated milk

1/4 cup light corn syrup

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

3 cups coarsely chopped pecans, toasted

Preparation ---- Coat sides of a Dutch oven with 1 tablespoon butter. Add brown sugar and next 4 ingredients. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly until sugar dissolves (about 5 minutes). Cover and cook, without stirring, 2 to 3 minutes to wash down sugar crystals from sides of pan. Uncover and cook, stirring occasionally, 10 to 12 minutes or until mixture reaches soft ball stage (234°). Remove from heat; stir in 1/2 cup butter and vanilla.

Beat with a wooden spoon 5 minutes or until mixture is creamy and begins to thicken. Stir in pecans. Working quickly, drop mixture by heaping tablespoonfuls onto lightly greased wax paper; let stand until firm. Yields 3 pounds

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dynaction=displayRecipe&recipe_id=340336