Perspective

Life does not have to be perfect to be wonderful...

Updated Photo .... Countdown: 3 days

March 3rd, Updated photo from Children's International...

While I do miss the brilliant, mega-watt smile of Asmoni's first picture, I am beyond thrilled to see her wearing clean clothes, in what seems to be a playground/slide, and looking healthy. Her hair looks clean, her teeth look brushed, her skin clean from dirt & possible bugs. I'm working on putting together a package for her... hopefully can send it out during my Spring Break.

3 days until Spring Break...

3 days until a car-ride will be shared with a dear friend (practically a sister)...

3 days until we howl away with the soundtracks of "Les Miserables," "Mama Mia," and "The Lion King," among other musicals and Disneys. (We ARE going to Disney-land, after all)

3 days until we laugh our happy little heads off about anything and everything...

3 days until I again ignore the years that separate my age & hers... who cares!!?

In 2 more days, I'll turn another year older. Eeggh.

Wednesday....... Thursday....... Friday........ Celebrate!

Please, weather, listen to me? I know we got another 6 inches of snow last night, and several more today. I know we had a delayed start this morning due to roads that needed plowing.

But really....We don't want any more snow.

Really, we don't.

Some of us can't even remember what the sun looks like anymore....

Countdown to Spring Break... 5

5

Doing my best to ignore all the chaos around me this week...

Hormonal teenagers...

Paperwork deadlines...

Drama within the school district...

Snow falling outside (even more snow)...

Burnt out and overworked co-workers...

Kids that have just had enough...
All of us longing for vacation...

5 days until Disneyland TEA CUPS!

5 days until "Welcome to California"

5 days until "Welcome to Sunlight"

5 days until the open road stretches ahead of me...

The Post Without a Real Title

I'm tired of the snow....

...tired of the snowflake layout I previously had.

...replaced snowflakes with something cheerier and full of springtime enjoyment.

...so many layouts that I could have/would have picked- too bad there can only be 1 at a time!!

.... feels like winter will never end!!!!

Yesterday (Mon) was a snow day, with 9.5 additional inches of snow.

Today was a delayed start school-day, which means school started instead at 9:30 and released at 2:30. Two hours for school-busses to navigate snowy roads safely.

With the elimination of those 2 hours + all of yesterday =

loud, hormonal, chaotic, (LOUD) wild behavior!

Pre-teens certainly know how to eliminate the silences that the day off

blessed us teachers with!!

On a brighter note:

18 days until Anaheim! 19 days until Disneyland!!

Four Years Apart

It is my hope that each human on this planet has one friend (at least) with whom they can enjoy to the fullest extent. A friend with whom no time apart appears to have passed when you're together. A friend who knows your insides and outs- the goods and the bads. A friend that inspires you to become the best version of yourself that you can be. (A friend that inspires you to wear jewelry, after a long-time aversion to it!)

My dear friend Jessica came to visit me in Flagstaff. She and her Army-soldier husband are being stationed in Germany this summer, and Jess wanted to re-visit her hometowns and west-coast friends. They currently live in Alabama (though she'll be the first to tell you how much she hates 'Bama!). The last time I'd seen Jess was at her Flagstaff bridal shower 4 years ago. I met her then-fiancee, Christian, there, and I cried when I got in my car to drive away. We've been friends since we were both 11 years old and her family moved to Flagstaff in our 6th grade year.

We wandered through the halls of our high school, reminiscing of old teachers, friends, and adventures.
She didn't even laugh at my black eye! I introduced her to Sayde and they were instant friends. We talked at long length about animal rescue organizations, and how thankful we are for the pets we have each rescued. I'm motivated to do a lot more volunteerwork with Paw Placement (Sayde's former group) this summer.
Having lunch at Black Bean Cafe downtown - the burritos there are HUGE!

Walking through downtown Flagstaff, pausing in front of the Monte Vista, a historic hotel & landmark.

We wanted pictures with the snowy San Francisco Peaks. A tourist took this picture for us.

We drove all around Flagstaff, re-visiting our old "haunts" and her old houses. This is the house I knew her in the most, just two blocks from where I grew up. I used to walk past her house in the mornings on my way to school (elementary) and pick her up to walk the rest of the way together. We had so many nights of movies and laughter, popcorn and junk food, in the basement. We sat for hours at her mom's kitchen table and enjoyed her family. She'd come over to my house and bake brownies, cookies, and spend the night. We shared an infatuation with Brad Pitt- when "Legends of the Fall" came out, and both despised Julia Ormond with teenage infatuation.

Jessica and I graduated from Flagstaff High School with the class of 2000. Our 10-year reunion is this summer (yikes!). As Jessica will be in the middle of an cross-continental transfer, she won't be able to attend. We arranged a drinks-and-conversation meeting at a wine bar downtown with two of our high school girlfriends.

I had so much fun during your visit, Jessica. I'd gladly take even more days off from work next time you're able to visit. I promise not to laugh at your high-heeled boots during snowy weather. At least not for very long.... :)

I miss you already, dear friend. Thank you so much for visiting. I love you!

Walking, Talking Science Experiment

Before school this morning (while I waited for my car to un-freeze)...

Turning maroon, purple, yellow, and even green in some areas!

Starting to feel like a walking, talking science experiment...

The kids keep asking me if I got into a fight. I tell them that I saved an old lady.

Then, being the lover of truth that I am,

we laugh and I explain that my eye wasn't the result of anything cool -

just that I collided with my dog in the middle of the night.

(I still -secretly- hope they think it's cool that I have a "shiner!")

It does definitely feel like a bruise, all the way down to my eye-socket bone. I'm sure it looks worse than it is, really!

Flagstaff, my hometown, got over 5' of snow in January. The rooves (roofs?) of my favorite bookstore and the ice-skating rink collapsed underneath the weight of snow & rain.

I have probably 100+ pictures of those events - record-breaking in Flag news.

Yet I find time to post about my shiner..... and not real-life events. :)

School is good.

Figuring out the "weak" links of our SpEd Dept. chain,

and trying to create a plan of action to help them be stronger/competent.

Kids are doing great - they work hard.

Roaring through paperwork & meetings like it's no-one's business.

Coming up with as many stories about my eye as I can....... then not telling them. :)

The rest of this week (taking Thursday off) shall be spent with a dear friend visiting from Alabama! She's moving to Germany in April.

She and I did a lot of growing up together, and it's been about 4 years since I last saw her.

I'm really, really excited!
Maybe I'll post about that............ eventually. Ha!

You shoulda seen the other guy!!

SATURDAY

8:30 PM:

Snow starts falling. Weatherman predicted 8-10" of snow. Low visibility on drive home, made it home safely, etc...

SUNDAY

5:10 AM:

Sayde jumped into my bed with me, waking me up rather confusedly.
(She normally sleeps in her own bed at the foot of mine, quite happily and cozily.)
Realized the power had gone out- the clock at my table was flashing "12:00" on and off.
Cellphone told me that it was MUCH too early to be awake. Why's Sayde upset? Sayde is trembling & shaking uncontrollably.
Realized Sayde was freaked out by the high-pitched beeping of the electric/power system re-start that had to be painful to her ears. Its freaked her out in the past.
Many parts of owning a Rez Rescue dog are frustrating- we'll never know all the horrible things she's been through.
I was able to get Sayde back onto the floor next to my bed and laying down. She was still pretty freaked, though a bit calmer.
I fell back asleep...

5:25 AM:

Woken by a very painful collision of something sharp and rock-hard hitting what I thought was my forehead. All I knew was that it H.U.R.T.!
I yelped- loudly.
Realized that Sayde had leapt again onto my bed.
The "rock" I'd felt colliding with my head had been her skull hitting my skull, the "sharp" I'd felt had been her claw hitting my EYE.
Sayde's in my bed, in my arms, trying to get as close to me as she can. She is trembling and shaking.
Felt liquid running down my face- I thought it was tears.
Turned on the light, learned that the liquid was actually blood.
Grabbed kleenex and went downstairs (stumbling very sleepily down the stairs.)
Woke up my mom and told her that my eye was bleeding, she then helped me look at my eye.
Took 2 ibuprofen to help the rapidly-swelling skin, by then bleeding had stopped.
Mom made me a wet-cold compress to hold to my eye, I trudged back upstairs as I was still very sleepy.
Cold compress held against my eye by a pillow arrangement, I fell back asleep very quickly. Slept until 10:15...

11:00 AM:

My mom drove me to my eye doctor's clinic.

Dr. K. is a wonderful, wonderful man. He's helped me a LOT these past few months.
I've dealt with the onslaught of eye issue after eye issue, after eye issue - since April.
Pinkeye, then a burst blood vessel that turned my whole eye red (no white at all), then a scratched cornea, and a clogged tear-duct.
All the while battling a sudden allergy to the brand of contacts I'd worn for 3+ years.
Countless prescriptions and appointments (including some emergency visits on weekend days!)


We love Dr. K. Dr. K. examined my eye.
Sayde's claw scratched the sub-surface of my eye; the pink poofy stuff you see when you pull your lower eyelid down. Between the eyelashes and the white of the actual eye-ball.

Amazingly- Sayde's claw did NOT scratch my eye!

He checked my vision, which was just fine, we already knew. He wanted to just be sure. He gave me a free tube of medical eye-glue-stuff (again, free = we love Dr. K.)

The skin around my eye is very swollen - it looks like I have grapes under neath my skin (but feels like golf-balls). Another blood vessel has burst (caused by Sayde's head colliding with my eye), slowly turning my eye red once more. The bruising is becoming more and more purple... throbbing. I look like I tried to take on Mike Tyson and lost miserably.

I know she didn't hit me on purpose.

I know she didn't mean to hurt me.

She keeps trying to lick my cheek below the swelling, like she wants to make it better again. It's like she knows.

I still love my sweet puppy so very, very much...

...but OW.

Due to the constant eye issues I have dealt with, we have dubbed April 2009-?? ... "Year of the Eye." Believe me, I'm ready for this 'year' to END.

Not bad for a girl's first shiner, huh??

My sister told me I should use the line, "You shoulda see the other guy!" She also suggested I tell people I saved a baby from a runaway horse. Or was attacked by a swarm of rabid vampire bats. Or that I got into a fight and won! :)

My 7th graders are going to LOVE this when they see me tomorrow morning!! Oh great... Maybe I *will* tell them that I won the fight... I actually might be "cool" for once in my life! :)