So I officially begin my first teaching job on Monday. I have never had so many emotions running through me in my entire life!
At our first staff meeting the other day we were asked to create a metaphor for ourselves. I likened myself to a 2005 Mitsubishi Spider Eclipse - driving 100 miles per hour, top down, wind through my hair and having no control over how fast I am driving. So what do I do? Smile, let the bugs hit my teeth and just keep on going!!! The thing is, I DO feel exactly like that. I have (as well as the rest of the staff) so much going on to get ready for the school year that I feel like I am on the wildest ride of my life. It is an incredible feeling.
This weekend, Chris and I are having an arts and crafts weekend. ( Yes, you did read that correctly!) I don't have very much of anything to decorate and fill my room with, so we're going to make stuff! Chris is so sweet and gets excited to help me with this kind of stuff. On the list of crafts:
1 - 3-D atom to hang from the ceiling for the chemistry unit
2 - various signs depicting the stages of the scientific process
3 - fun quotes that I found to inspire comfort, safety and learning in my classroom
4 - apparatus to hang my MSU flag (of course!)
Just some ideas...if you know of any good sales at any nationwide stores that sell artsy supplies, let me know!
I can't believe that my dream is coming true. When did I become a grown-up?
Friday, July 29, 2005
Monday, July 25, 2005
New Ride
Hello Everyone. I hope all is well in the world for you. I am excited to announce that I have purchased my first new vehicle. After reviewing the maintenance costs adding up on the 96 Dodge Dakota, Meg and I decided it was time to do some looking into a new truck. I test drove Toyotas, Chevey's, Jeep Wranglers, and looked in to many others and decided on a '05 Nissan Frontier SE Crew Cab 4x4 truck! She is a V-6, 6 speed manual, sprayed-in bed liner, and the power option. It has four doors which will nicely fit a child safety seat (assuming I still have this car in 10+ years, Ouch, Meg gave me a nice shot in kidney for that one.) One dealer was offering less than half of what Donna Dakota was worth for a trade in, so I decided to sell it outright. This means she will get her last really good cleaning with the "Daniel Touch". Young Grasshopper has learned well from his master and she is sure to shine like the sun when I am done detailing her inside and out. Well enjoy the pictures while I enjoy the head turning looks while I pass the jaw-droppers on the left hand side. Love you all and take care.
Chris
Monday, July 18, 2005
A Walk on the Wild Side
What a weekend! I seriously think that Chris and I packed just about as much as possible into a 3-night/2-day timespan. I guess we wouldn't be Daniels if we didn't! :)
By going to help out at Sky Vista so much of the past few weeks, I have had the opportunity to get to know several of the staff members pretty well. So, Friday night, Chris and I hit the town with one of the 7th grade English teachers and her husband. They were a blast. They live out in the burbs and wanted to have a night on the town...hmmm...not hard AT ALL to say "no" to walking around this glorious city at night! The four of us strolled down the 16th Street Mall and settled at the Rock Bottom Brewery for dinner and microbrews. I had THE BEST pizza of my life - BBQ Chipotle Pizza - and dreamt about it for days (literally). After dinner, we walked some more down the mall and stopped at a place called Marlowe's to have a nightcap on the patio outside. The company and conversation were great! It was also so much fun becoming better acquainted with another couple!
On Saturday, Chris and I praised the thickness of our new curtains we purchased for our anniversary as we were able to sleep in for the first time in a while. It was fantastic! The sun was out and it was, for like the 1000th day in a row, HOT HOT HOT! A bunch of our friends were at the pool, so we gathered up the gear, lathered up and made our way to the pool deck. Half of the Post residents had the same idea as it was PACKED with people, floaties, and rafts. It was a great afternoon! We wrapped up the day by going out to a Mexican restaurant in our neighborhood called Las Margaritas. We went with our friend Matt (we call him our expensive friend because he likes to eat out all the time since his wife is gone studying at Georgetown for a month). All I have to say is, "Biggest burrito I have ever seen!" mmmmmmm After dinner, we rolled ourselves down to the movie theater and took in the new movie "The Wedding Crashers". I can't even begin to tell you all how funny it was. We laughed about it all the way home.
Sunday, we checked out a new church a few blocks away from our place. It is one of the most beautiful churches either of us have ever seen and all the people were genuinely nice...we need to give it a few more services to make sure it is the one for us though. Summertime is always such a difficult time to start attending a new place, as there are lots of guest speakers and "different" types of services. It is hard to get a real image of what the church is like during these times. We are definitely going to keep giving it a shot though! :) After church, we made our tri-weekly trip to Super Target and STOCKED UP! I love a full fridge!!!!
And to end the weekend...
"Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"! Two movies in one weekend! Hard on the wallet, but tons of fun. This too, is a new release that I would highly recommend. Johny Depp was fantastic and the boy who played Charlie was simply adorable and perfect for the part. It brought back so many childhood memories and was fun to sit through the new adaptation of the fabulous Rhol Dahl book.
Well, it's time to sign off. Many blessings to you all!
P.S. We seemed to recieve an unusual amount of responses due to the fact that we tasted eel. Before we moved here, I will be the first to admit that I was not a very good risk-taker. But, I have learned since then that in life we need adventure and the opportunity to try new things every once in a while! I'm not saying that either one of us is going to jump off the top of a mountain, but just take a second to imagine what this world would be like if we all took a little walk on the adventurous side every once in a while.
By going to help out at Sky Vista so much of the past few weeks, I have had the opportunity to get to know several of the staff members pretty well. So, Friday night, Chris and I hit the town with one of the 7th grade English teachers and her husband. They were a blast. They live out in the burbs and wanted to have a night on the town...hmmm...not hard AT ALL to say "no" to walking around this glorious city at night! The four of us strolled down the 16th Street Mall and settled at the Rock Bottom Brewery for dinner and microbrews. I had THE BEST pizza of my life - BBQ Chipotle Pizza - and dreamt about it for days (literally). After dinner, we walked some more down the mall and stopped at a place called Marlowe's to have a nightcap on the patio outside. The company and conversation were great! It was also so much fun becoming better acquainted with another couple!
On Saturday, Chris and I praised the thickness of our new curtains we purchased for our anniversary as we were able to sleep in for the first time in a while. It was fantastic! The sun was out and it was, for like the 1000th day in a row, HOT HOT HOT! A bunch of our friends were at the pool, so we gathered up the gear, lathered up and made our way to the pool deck. Half of the Post residents had the same idea as it was PACKED with people, floaties, and rafts. It was a great afternoon! We wrapped up the day by going out to a Mexican restaurant in our neighborhood called Las Margaritas. We went with our friend Matt (we call him our expensive friend because he likes to eat out all the time since his wife is gone studying at Georgetown for a month). All I have to say is, "Biggest burrito I have ever seen!" mmmmmmm After dinner, we rolled ourselves down to the movie theater and took in the new movie "The Wedding Crashers". I can't even begin to tell you all how funny it was. We laughed about it all the way home.
Sunday, we checked out a new church a few blocks away from our place. It is one of the most beautiful churches either of us have ever seen and all the people were genuinely nice...we need to give it a few more services to make sure it is the one for us though. Summertime is always such a difficult time to start attending a new place, as there are lots of guest speakers and "different" types of services. It is hard to get a real image of what the church is like during these times. We are definitely going to keep giving it a shot though! :) After church, we made our tri-weekly trip to Super Target and STOCKED UP! I love a full fridge!!!!
And to end the weekend...
"Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"! Two movies in one weekend! Hard on the wallet, but tons of fun. This too, is a new release that I would highly recommend. Johny Depp was fantastic and the boy who played Charlie was simply adorable and perfect for the part. It brought back so many childhood memories and was fun to sit through the new adaptation of the fabulous Rhol Dahl book.
Well, it's time to sign off. Many blessings to you all!
P.S. We seemed to recieve an unusual amount of responses due to the fact that we tasted eel. Before we moved here, I will be the first to admit that I was not a very good risk-taker. But, I have learned since then that in life we need adventure and the opportunity to try new things every once in a while! I'm not saying that either one of us is going to jump off the top of a mountain, but just take a second to imagine what this world would be like if we all took a little walk on the adventurous side every once in a while.
Thursday, July 14, 2005
Back In Cyberspace...
Hi there!
Glad to be back in cyberspace once again now that my computer cord has been replaced. I didn't realize just how addicted I was to my little Mac until I couldn't use it whenever I wanted anymore!!! I think that my pulse hass returned to normal now that I can play on my trusty computer again. :)
Things have been going well since our last post. Layla (cutest dog EVER) has been winning our hearts over every day as we get to know one another even better. We are now going for 2 accident-free days in a row in the Adventures of Housebreaking! Woo hoo! Puppies are definitely a ton of work, but so worth every minute. She is the little socialite of the neighborhood - all the dogs and people love her. It is hilarious. In fact, more people know Layla's name that mine or Chris's! Denverites have some serious issues.
I have been going to Sky Vista just about every day to help move things in. Just today, the staff was given word that we could begin moving in our personal items and setting up our classrooms! I am incredibely excited, as I have begun (with the help of awesome friends and family) to collect some great items to put in my room - an Albert Einstein action figure for starters! It has been a ton of fun going to school (despite the dirty hands and sore body parts) as it has provided for several opportunities to bond with individual staff members. I definitely feel as if I will go into the school year with much more confidence with my surroundings. August 1st marks the official start date! Whoa.
Chris has been working SO hard with his job lately. Due to the incredibly high temps lately (around the 100's!), the site superintendent has adjusted their hours to try and beat the heat a bit - 6 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. That means that the alarm goes off at 4:45 a.m. Yikes! Even the dog moans when the tunes start playing that early!! Chris is a champ about it all though and even enjoys being able to get home a bit earlier as a result. Hmm, I think this means that he will be playing around in the kitchen more frequently. Score one for Meg! :)
Denver has a great variety of restaurants. In fact, you could probably eat at a different one each day for a year and not eat at the same place twice! Tonight, Chris, our friend Matt, and I went out to try a sushi restaurant we heard about that is downtown. It is called Sonada's. Neither Chris nor I had ever been to an actual sushi restaurant, so we were really looking forward to it. Matt was a great help in encouraging us to be daring in our choices. We got so daring that we even tried freshwater eel! - and it was actually good! Needless to say, the company, the atmostphere, and the food was fantastic! We are really excited to keep exploring all the delicious bites that Denver has to offer.
Well, it's getting late and...you guessed it...Fluid Coffee Bar bright and early tomorrow morning. Until next time!
...it won't be so long, I promise!
Glad to be back in cyberspace once again now that my computer cord has been replaced. I didn't realize just how addicted I was to my little Mac until I couldn't use it whenever I wanted anymore!!! I think that my pulse hass returned to normal now that I can play on my trusty computer again. :)
Things have been going well since our last post. Layla (cutest dog EVER) has been winning our hearts over every day as we get to know one another even better. We are now going for 2 accident-free days in a row in the Adventures of Housebreaking! Woo hoo! Puppies are definitely a ton of work, but so worth every minute. She is the little socialite of the neighborhood - all the dogs and people love her. It is hilarious. In fact, more people know Layla's name that mine or Chris's! Denverites have some serious issues.
I have been going to Sky Vista just about every day to help move things in. Just today, the staff was given word that we could begin moving in our personal items and setting up our classrooms! I am incredibely excited, as I have begun (with the help of awesome friends and family) to collect some great items to put in my room - an Albert Einstein action figure for starters! It has been a ton of fun going to school (despite the dirty hands and sore body parts) as it has provided for several opportunities to bond with individual staff members. I definitely feel as if I will go into the school year with much more confidence with my surroundings. August 1st marks the official start date! Whoa.
Chris has been working SO hard with his job lately. Due to the incredibly high temps lately (around the 100's!), the site superintendent has adjusted their hours to try and beat the heat a bit - 6 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. That means that the alarm goes off at 4:45 a.m. Yikes! Even the dog moans when the tunes start playing that early!! Chris is a champ about it all though and even enjoys being able to get home a bit earlier as a result. Hmm, I think this means that he will be playing around in the kitchen more frequently. Score one for Meg! :)
Denver has a great variety of restaurants. In fact, you could probably eat at a different one each day for a year and not eat at the same place twice! Tonight, Chris, our friend Matt, and I went out to try a sushi restaurant we heard about that is downtown. It is called Sonada's. Neither Chris nor I had ever been to an actual sushi restaurant, so we were really looking forward to it. Matt was a great help in encouraging us to be daring in our choices. We got so daring that we even tried freshwater eel! - and it was actually good! Needless to say, the company, the atmostphere, and the food was fantastic! We are really excited to keep exploring all the delicious bites that Denver has to offer.
Well, it's getting late and...you guessed it...Fluid Coffee Bar bright and early tomorrow morning. Until next time!
...it won't be so long, I promise!
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
Meet Layla the Puppy
Hello there everyone! Sorry this Blog took so long. Meg's power-cord to her computer took a dive after too many nibbles from Jack-the-Cat. We are now the proud owner of a new puppy! She is a 5-1/2 month old Australian Cattle Dog/Australian Sheppard Mix. It is absolutely amazing how well Layla and Jack get along. I think it helps that they are the same size! It is great having a pet that is excited to see you for more than two minutes and then begging for an ice cube, sorry Jack. We got her from the local pound last Friday and took her to Lake McCounghy in Nebraska with a few friends, friends of their's, and two other dogs. We are working on house breaking her and it is going very well. A few nights of interupted sleep haven't been so bad yet, and it is good practice for those unmentionable things down the road. Of course the first toy I bought her was a plush football toy. I am sure Meg and I will have many more stories and blogs filled with cute mishaps and cute pictures. Here are some of those pictures to make you fall in love too...
Friday, July 01, 2005
Simple Pleasures
Have you ever noticed how easy it can be to please people sometimes? Here's a for instance for ya:
Each morning, I drag myself out of my super-comfy bed to inhale airborne caffeine and with a smile ask over and over again, "Good morning! How are you today? The regular?" Usually the customer grunts, yawns, or has a major throat-clearing session before answering "Yes" and handing over their $3.51 and Frequent Fluid Card.
After this point in the transaction, there are either two reasons that a person will smile:
1) They are walking out the door and have taken a few sips of their much needed morning caffeine; OR
2) They have earned a free coffee!
Now, usually the latter of the two will result in the greatest mood shift, but let's be honest here, who's wouldn't be altered at the news of a free coffee? It would certainly make my day!
We leave early tomorrow morning for a camping trip to Lake Macconahey in Nebraska (yes, Nebraska). We are going with a group of midwesterners we have become friends with and needed a good dose of some waves! Happy 4th of July and have a safe and wonderful weekend!
Each morning, I drag myself out of my super-comfy bed to inhale airborne caffeine and with a smile ask over and over again, "Good morning! How are you today? The regular?" Usually the customer grunts, yawns, or has a major throat-clearing session before answering "Yes" and handing over their $3.51 and Frequent Fluid Card.
After this point in the transaction, there are either two reasons that a person will smile:
1) They are walking out the door and have taken a few sips of their much needed morning caffeine; OR
2) They have earned a free coffee!
Now, usually the latter of the two will result in the greatest mood shift, but let's be honest here, who's wouldn't be altered at the news of a free coffee? It would certainly make my day!
We leave early tomorrow morning for a camping trip to Lake Macconahey in Nebraska (yes, Nebraska). We are going with a group of midwesterners we have become friends with and needed a good dose of some waves! Happy 4th of July and have a safe and wonderful weekend!
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