11.24.2008

Congratulations Kelly & Andy!!!

Some of our good friends from college expanded their brood early this morning and we are more than thrilled for them! On top of their cats and each other they have added a beautiful baby girl into the mix!

Congratulations Kelly & Andy! You are going to be such wonderful parents and we are happy that everyone is healthy and maybe just a little tired!

Mt. Cutler hike

Sundays are usually lazy days, but when you are bored by 10:00 a.m. something needs to happen. Dave decided it would be a good day to take the dogs for a hike. Since they are still slightly unused to trails we needed to choose a shorter hike. We drove to Cheyenne Canon towards a trail we had taken them on before, but decided last minute to go to Mt. Cutler. Dave had hiked it before and said it was an easy, but nice hike.

On the way we encountered a fox sauntering down the road with a recent kill in its mouth and then a buck almost ran in front of our car, but then swerved off to the left. We hadn't even reached the trail head and already it was an exciting day! We parked, put on the dogs harnesses and we're off. The trail is about 1.1 miles to the top, but it was a slow and steady incline so it wasn't too bad. Piper freaked when we walked over a bridge. She slunk low and did not know what to make of it. Dewey on the other hand just pranced along. I have decided that if Dewey could talk he would do so with an English accent. It's very fitting.

When we got to the top the dogs drank a ton of water and actually behaved long enough for me to take some great pictures! Earlier in the year we took them to Petco for professional pictures and they apparently were very rambunctious. Fortunately I was in WA with my sister so Dave got to experience that on his own! On the way back down Dewey tried desperately to take the lead from Piper but mean mommy held him back. She cannot walk that fast! Once in the car the dogs both tried to sprawl out on the back seat, but with Piper being bigger she usually ends up pushing Dewey off. Eventually they found a comfortable position with Piper laying her head over Dewey's. It was too cute and I have about 20 pictures to prove it!



Once home, the dogs slept for the remainder of the day and Dave and I watched most of season 1 of Veronica Mars. For those of you not familiar with this smart, short-lived television series then you are missing out. Even Dave proudly says that he is a fan! Well I have to go run errands and get ready to leave for San Francisco tomorrow!

Happy Thanksgiving!

11.20.2008

I'm now a Mrs. R...

...and I've done the leg work to prove it!

For anyone who has ever legally changed their name, I feel your pain! Especially now with women getting married later in life. I was on my own for nearly 10 years before walking down the aisle, or through the garden in my case. That is 10 years of signing up for catalogs, establishing credit, working, taking out loans, and joining clubs. I have a feeling that I will be encountering my former last name in weird places for years to come.

I also find it interesting what some places require. In some cases I just needed to make a phone call. Others required a fax or mailed in copy of my marriage license. Other required that I make an appearance and possibly wait for up to 2 hours. What I find most ridiculous is getting your passport updated. If you got your passport over 1 year ago then you have to pay $75.00 to get it updated with your new name. Whereas most people who never change their name pay about $100 every 10 years, however, if you get married before then you are forking over another $75. As if the government doesn't already get most of you money anyway!

Now I am just waiting for the massive influx of documents and cards that have my new last name on them. At least I like getting mail!

11.16.2008

The Impossible Quiz 1 & 2

I have discovered "The Impossible Quiz" and I am hooked.

THE IMPOSSIBLE QUIZ

THE IMPOSSIBLE QUIZ 2

Have fun and get ready to be frustrated!

Snow, Cold and Panda

This past week has been pretty low key due to me getting sick. After only 3 weeks of working in a Kindergarten classroom I got a cold. I cannot wait until flu season... The boy I am working with has not yet learned the art of covering your mouth when you cough. In fact, most Kindergartners seem to lack this skill autism or not. I have a worksheet all about covering your mouth when you cough or sneeze that I working on with him. We'll see.

We got our first significant snowfall this past Friday. There wasn't much accumulation, but I determine the first significant snowfall by the amount of car accidents I hear about on the radio. The roads were not even that icy, but people forget that you just need to slow down and keep some distance between you and the car in front of you. Hopefully by the time we actually get some real snowfall people will have remembered how to drive in the winter.

Right now Panda is visiting us in Colorado. Panda is my niece Sabrina's school project. He gets to spend all school year traveling while the rest of us have to work and go to school. Slacker. Yesterday Dave and I took Panda to Garden of the Gods and Manitou Springs. The same two places we take every guest. It never gets old especially when we go out to eat at my favorite restaurant, Adam's Mountain Cafe. They have a ton of vegetarian and vegan options and I have never had a bad meal there. If you ever get chance order the sesame tofu with your salad. It is only a thousand times better than the stuff that Whole Foods passes off as sesame tofu. Seriously.

(Me & Panda at Garden of the Gods)

(Panda enjoying my Green Mountain Polenta)

11.11.2008

What have we been up to...

It has been a whole week since I last blogged. I either have given up on my pursuit of not-another-fly-by-night blog, or I have actually been busy!

As you can probably tell from my last blog, I am thrilled about the outcome of the election and am looking forward to this change that is in the air. I cried tears of joy last Tuesday. My generation has lived through some pretty crappy historical events so it is nice to witness good history in the making. This is something I will be proud to tell my future children about. Hopefully I will one day get to tell them that I was there when equal rights for ALL became law...

My new job has been going really well. I like the people that I work with and the kids have pretty much gotten used to me. I get random hugs from 5 year olds everyday! The boy that I am there to oversee constantly surprises me. He comes up with unique ways of saying no without actually using the words. He is not allowed to say no and when he does he loses points towards a reward. He is so smart and keeps me on my toes. I thought getting up at 6:15 am everyday was going to be hard, but I look forward to going to work! I am still teaching with Science Matters as well, which is great because I enjoy that work too.

Around the house we have finally painted the laundry room. We bought a nice blue paint before our wedding, but kept putting it off until this past weekend. I brought all the supplies upstairs and told Dave that we were just going to get it done. It was the last all white room in the house and it drove me nuts walking past it everyday. Our laundry room is right next to our bedroom so there is no avoiding it. I got a 5 x 7 rug from Kmart to cover the ugly brownish orange linoleum floor and painted the trim a 'french white' I do believe. It looks a thousand times
better!


I am not sure what project we are going to do next, but I'll keep you posted!!!

..and just because I think they are adorable I will leave you with a few pictures of my dogs.


11.04.2008

VOTE

Today is such an exciting day for this country. The world is watching to see how this election is going to pan out. We have a real chance to make a difference in our lives, the lives of those around us and in the eyes if the world. This is my 3rd time being eligible to vote in the presidential elections and this is going to be my 3rd time voting for whom I think is the best candidate.

Dave got to the polls 30 minutes before they opened and said there was already a line. Do you know how great it is that people are really amped about this election? It gives me hope that our young country might not be as dense as previously feared.

It is going to be a long night for many people around the world and I hope that tomorrow morning, though sleep deprived, that I am smiling for change!


11.02.2008

1 week in!

I started my new job this past Tuesday. Unfortunately, the boy I am going to be working with was sick my first two days. However, this gave me an opportunity to familiarize myself with the classroom and the daily routine. I will admit I was a little nervous. No book can actually prepare you for working with autism. On Thursday I finally got to meet my new pal and he put a smile on my face from the first second! I stooped down and said hello and he smiled at me big and bright and said hello back.

In just one day I learned to not fear autism and I threw all I thought I knew out the window. Here is a kid who needs to learn things that every other kid needs to learn. He just learns them a little differently. There are so many things that he already understands and I can tell just by looking at his face what kind of mood he's in. I can certainly tell when I am annoying him, but, as the adult, I am supposed to make sure he understands and follows the schedule and rules. There were a few moments that I was not sure exactly what to do, but there is a strong support system at the school for both of us. Every day someone new would introduce themselves as a person that I can rely upon for help. It is a very supportive working environment.

I think I have found a job that is going to teach me a lot about myself. It will be challenging at times, but it will also be more rewarding than any other job I have ever had. I also get to spend my days in a kindergarten classroom. Is there any better working environment? I get to dress up for Halloween and play games and have recess and experience true joy in the little things that are so monumental in the mind of a 4 and 5 year olds. I am now way more excited than nervous to arrive at work everyday.

Bring on week 2!!

(Tourist Sara off to work on Halloween)