Summer School: What was I thinking?

Right now I am sitting in my summer school classroom while a male student is glaring at me. I think he is contemplating ways to kill me because I took his phone away from him. He is challenging me in some way. He will not look away and although it is slightly intimidating I choose to not engage in this staring contest. Money is evil. It is the only reason that I have chosen to subject myself to this for three weeks. The hours are good, the money is nice, and it is only three weeks, but summer school is a different crowd, and I am beginng to wonder what I was thinking.

you made my night

On Saturday I spent most of my day and night doing something I did not want to do. I was one of the judges at the Mr. Moorpark pageant. I have this little problem; when people ask me to do something I can rarely say know. A lady that I work with puts on the Miss Moorpark Pageant and needed me to help with the Mr portion. So I spent a few hours evaluating male students on their speaking skills and the way they worked the stage in a tuxs. It was pretty wierd. On the way home I had to stop by the store to pick up some things for a bbq the next day. As I was walking down an aisle in my dress and hees ( not normal grocery store attire but I had to look nice at the pageant) a lady came down my aisle, tapped me on the shoulder and said, "I just wanted to tell you that you look really sexy." She said it in the sweetest, most non sexual way ever. It is not very often that a stranger tells you that you look sexy, and it is really not often that they can say it with out being creepy or offensive, but it wasn't. It was so sweet. There are times that I see people and think, "wow, what a cute dress" or "She/He looks so nice." I don't know the person, and I think that they will think I am weird. Well forget that. I am going to pay it forward, because that ladies comment in the grocery store made my night!

Projects, projects, projects

I have been on vacation but feel busier than ever. I really don't know how anything gets done during the school year. We have been working on a few projects around the house. The big thing that we tackled last week was building the patio cover. Okay, so I more supervised than built, but I did paint all of the wood. Chris and my dad did the building after work on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

Doesn't it look great! While they were building that I spent the week painting the wood, finishing up on painting our master bedroom, looking for a couple more pieces of furniture for upstairs and adding some touches to our bedroom. It is still far from done, but I am working on it.

I made some silhouettes. I look like a 10 year old in mine :)

I found this piece at an antique store in Ventura and fell in love with it! That is all for now.

I never stop teaching

Yesterday my sister called me in a panic. She is taking a college algebra course, and it is kicking her but. Some people get math and others don't. I have always been someone that kind of gets it. I know, so weird. An English teacher that actually likes math. But it is true. I think I like and respect it for how different it is from literature. It is exciting and kind of refreshing to be looking for one right answer. Her course is online and as we did her homework (she did it, with some tutoring and coaching from me) we would cheer and give each other high fives when the screen displayed the word "Fantastic!" to let us know we achieved the correct answer. I know this sounds so dorky but four hours of Algebra homework on a Monday night was kind of fun. I know, sick! I think more than anything I was proud that she was understanding the material because of me. Every time she said. "Ok, now let me do it on my own", and she did it and came to the correct answer, I felt such a sense of pride. Teaching really is so rewarding. I may be on vacation but the teacher never dies :)

Pompeys v. Nature Part 2: Mountain Biking

Wow! This was something we were not prepared for. On our first full day in Tahoe we wanted to take a bike ride around the lake. I was looking for a nice flat paved path and somehow we found the exact opposite. A lady at an information desk told us we should try the Flume trail. She said that it was super easy, downhill the entire way, and gave the best and most beautiful views of Lake Tahoe. Sign me up! When we got there we found something much different. It was a 15 mile ride, the first four miles up hill, the trails were narrow and rocky, and it was just so hard! We were at 7,500 ft elevation and that 4 mile climb was brutal. Although I felt like I was going to die, the downhill ride was worth it. It was such a beautiful ride and view! I must admit that I wanted to give up a couple of times, but my wonderful husband kept pushing me to continue, and we did it together. It was an amazing experience that I won't soon want to repeat. I do not know how those mountain bikers do it! Here are some picture from the ride.

This is when the path was nice and wide. Not too hard yet.

The first lake we reached after the challenging climb.

We turned a corner and there was Lake Tahoe!

What a ride

These are my students!!!!!!

Moorpark High School, where I work, has an amazing Academic Decathlon team. This competition is like an Olympics of the mind, and our always changing team never wavers on one thing, their determination and drive to be the best. These students, and their amazing coach, spend hours upon hours, studying given material, writing and practicing speeches, and working with one another to be the best. This dedication has won them their fifth National Championship in 10 years! This year one of the perks of being National Champions was meeting OBAMA!!!!!! They met Obama!

That is my Marlena in the blue shirt right by his side. And I had Sol and Scott, that are all the way to the right in the picture. It was so amazing for me to see this picture! They are truly extraordinary!

Dinner is getting boring

I cook dinner almost every night. It is something I really like to do, and now that I have the time I want to try to do some new things. I have about 10 go to recipes and dinner is getting a little boring! Last night I tried a new garlic lemon chicken recipe from Bobby Flay and it was great. If anyone has some good, relatively cheap to make, healthy recipes, lay 'em on me!

Pompey's v. Nature Part 1: Whitewater Rafting

Chris and I have been away for a few days on quite an outdoor adventure! We drove up to the American River near Sacramento and started our Adventure with Whitewater Rafting! We stayed in an adorable cabin right on the river (thanks Jo and Tim), and the next morning woke up pretty early to raft. I was so scared before we got on the river, but it ended up being so amazing. We rafted the middle fork which had level four rapids. We rafted an 18 mile stretch of the river and were out there for 6 hours. We had never done this before, but why start small? It was a big adventure and a great way to start our trip before wee headed to Lake Tahoe. A professional photography company took some pictures of us on one of the biggest rapids. Take a look below!

Sunday-Stress day

During the school year, Sunday is anything but relaxing. It is usually the day that I get back to work. I grade, and think about the upcoming week's lessons. Even if I decide to do something non school related, my mind is usually preoccupied with school related things. That is how my Sundays usually go, but not today. Today I slept in, did a little cleaning, took the puppies for a walk, had a bbq with friends, watched the Laker game, and celebrated their win with some drinks, and i didn't think about school one bit. It is amazing how light and relaxed I feel. That feeling never occurs during the school year becasue I am in costant work mode. What a great day it was! And tomorrow, hanging out with Kate and Zach, I can't wait!

Summer plans

SLEEP


Cook some yummy barbecue

Paint a couple more rooms in the house

Hit the open road

And find somewhere to relax.

What is everyone else doing?