These last two months, I have been busy!!
...packing up my Sedona classroom into boxes.
...packing up my Sedona apartment & cleaning quickly & furiously. (Had 3 days to finish packing, clean, garage-sale, & vacate.)
...spending 4 glorious days floating & rafting on the San Juan River, in UT. I travelled with my parents, cousin Beth, dear friend Anneliese, as well as family friends Regina, Jeff, and Craig. We hiked, had water fights, rescued cookies that fell overboard, had mudslide drinks before 10 am, played in the mud, visited ancient Navajo cliff dwellings, played Apples-to-Apples, LAUGHED, shrieked with joy as we paddled down rapids, took silly pictures, gave the lizards in our campsite names & identities, and so many more activities. I loved the time I got to spend underneath the sun- and the wonderful people I got to travel with.
...moved said boxes from Sedona apartment to storage unit here in Flagstaff. (Yep- I moved back to Flagstaff! It's official!)
...had a wonderful, wonderful, WONDERFUL day with my dear friend Crystal and her dog Bones. They came up to Sedona to visit for the day. We had lunch at Junipine, in Oak Creek. Crystal's pregnant with her first baby and we are soooo excited for little boy Beckett to arrive! I loved her visit, and do wish that we had more time together. A welcome break from moving!
...cleaned & organized the upstairs bedroom that I am going to be occupying for about a year. We sorted through about 15 bins full of saved family photographs, childhood artwork, etc.
...unpacking & making this room feel like "home" to me again. It's certainly weird right now, and definitely an adjustment- but it's going to be good.
...going on job interviews with various schools in Flagstaff. One day consisted of 4 interviews, before 12 noon. That was not an experience I want to re-live again anytime soon.
...landing a job with Flagstaff Middle School as a Resource Special Education teacher!! I'm so excited that I get to continue working with 7th & 8th graders. Most people have told me that I'm "nuts, crazy, psycho, insane," for enjoying Middle School. There's something awkward & gawky about the age. I remember MS with such distaste at feeling so out of place socially. I tried so hard to "keep up" with my friends, and wanted so badly to fit in. I remember those years with clarity. I am excited to be working with a team of 4 teachers and an administrator with an extensive wealth of recent, valid, experienced SpEd knowledge!! Better yet, I have returned to a place that was once mine, and those beautiful Peaks that I can view from its backyard.
...spending time with my good friend Anneliese. She is like a younger sister to me. She's returned from Western Washington University, and will be continuing her path as a student at Northern Ariz Univ here in Flagstaff. I'm excited that she's back!
...helping Anneliese/Annie unpack and redecorate her room. Like myself, she also faces returning to "live at home" for budget reasons. Neither of us are that happy about it, but have found some redemption at redecoration!
...helping my mom at her job in the Sinagua High School counseling office. Lots & lots of filing spent during many, many hours inside a hot, stuffy vault. Got paid in Thai food & Starbucks though! Best of all, my mom doesn't have to worry about not being able to get it finished herself. It was a wonderful gift to give her.
...rafted down the Salt River (near Mesa/Phx, AZ) with my aunt Marian, cousin Robin, and Anneliese. We rented inter-tubes and relaxed the entire 3 hours. It was soooo much fun, and I can't wait to go on the Salt again!!
...going to Flagstaff First Friday Art Walk with Beth & Annie. SO MUCH FUN!
...seeing the new Harry Potter movie. I didn't hate the movie at all, and an amazed at how much older the trio appear to be- but do wish I'd re-read the book before going to see it. I was very confused as to the plot, and I had a particularly tough time with their British accents.
...audiology exam. My hearing hasn't improved (rather the opposite in a minor decrease) but my audiologist thinks that I'm a good candidate for a very-newly-released model of hearing aid technology. I'm really excited to see what they can do for me! My current pair is about 6 years old; it's time for a new pair with better & improved technology.
...working out. Crazily enough, I signed up to work out with a group of women 5 x week, meeting from 5:30 to 6:30 AM. Yes, AM. It's effective, fast-paced, modifiable, and motivating. We also are getting pointers on bettering our nutrition and it's already been a lot of fun. Painful, yes, but fun. I am making new friends & though I spend a lot of time physically sore, I am already feeling a lot better that I am actively pursuing some changes for something that's a weak area for me.
...attending the annual Celtic Festival here in Flagstaff. I went with Annie- we walked in the rain for hours but had a great time! We got temporary henna tattoos (I got a bracelet.)
...got myself a new pair of glasses frames (ended up with Coach frames) and also cut off 5'' of my hair off! Short hairdo & new frames surely made me feel like a brand-new girl.
...getting medical needs taken care of, catching up on dentist/eye/ear appointments that are so hard to do during the school year.
...celebrated my younger sisters' 25th birthday! I guess she isn't so "young" anymore- she used to be! What happened to the curly-headed little shadow I used to have? It was a very fun day spent with family.
...(along with the eye appt reference above)- managed to severely bruise my eye as a result of all the moving & boxing up I did in June. I don't think I have ever been through anything as weird & uncomfortable as a bruised eye. I don't mean the skin around my eye- I mean the real eye. It was solidly bright red for almost three weeks. While healing, it began to turn a yellowish color. My vision wasn't impaired at all, I could still see just fine. My eye dr. said that I burst a blood vessel in the thin layers of the eye. A skin bruise would have turned purple but an eye bruise is just blood underneath the fragile thin layers. Very weird!! I had a lot of people ask me about it. (One young man asked me, even, how badly I had hurt the other guy! lol)
...watching "Bachelorette!" I've never watched one of these kinds of series before, but I'm really enjoying this one! (Free episodes online with closed-captioning)
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...concluding this post. :) I'm tired & have another 5:30 AM workout tomorrow. Saturday I'll be going hiking with Anneliese & new friend Jackie up Mt. Elden! Goodnight... sleep tight.
If you look closely, you will see the hand of one of the 6th graders, waving to me through the bus window!
Yes-- it's small. Yes-- it's a rental. Yes-- it (often) needs to be vaccummed, and yes-- it has the world's sweetest dog laying there. But best of all, it is all Mine to enjoy! Outside of being in my bed & asleep, this room is where I spend the majority of my time while I'm at home. I have my laptop here, which is where I do paperwork for school or play around on facebook or the internet. TV & movies. I can fall asleep so easily on that couch. I bought the four prints above the couch with my very first paycheck after college (love those bi-monthly deposits!). They are various paintings of Italian countryside, with my favorite colors. The green frame above my (garage sale) entertainment center is a watercolor of Heidelberg, Germany, that I bought from the original artist. Above that city is the first castle that I ever experienced, and remember so clearly. I was in SO much awe on that day - Europe was brand-new to me at that time! My eyes were literally widening every second. LR: Various photographs of loved family & friends. And though it's hard to see above- I have a stunning view of Sedona's famous Bell Rock from that spot on the couch. My living room is sunny and brightly lit during the day, and cool & dark at night. It's become a safe retreat for me, and a quiet haven after a hectic day full of loud & demanding teenagers and crazy staff members. I love that I share it with the best little rez dog in the world, my sweet Sayde. She loves to lay on her pillows, and does so for hours as she watches the quail, birds, and lizards go by in the backyard. My only request is that I wish I could paint the walls; these are currently a pinky-tan, with a lot more pink than tan. It is much mmore apparent in person, not so much in pictures. I notice it all the time, even after 2 years of living here... Fortunately it doesn't show well in pictures!
