Bears

The San Francisco Zoo was nice, but no better than some other zoos I've been to, especially the San Antonio Zoo and the Fort Worth Zoo. I purposely didn't post pictures from our zoo visit, because honestly who likes to see someone's zoo photos? They're really boring if you ask me. However, I thought this was pretty cool. We got to watch two grizzly bears play and wrestle, up close and personal:

And while I was standing there watching this, I thought back to the night at the tent cabin in Yosemite. I'd mentioned that we'd been given "bear aware" warnings, which included not having anything in your car or tent with a scent - chapstick, water, deodorant, you name it. Everything had to go in the lock box outside the tent. Here's the picture again so you can see the lock box.

So about 3:30 a.m. I woke up to a sound right outside the tent, less than a foot from mine and Alan's pillows. Something was banging on the lock box. HARD. As I lay there, I tried envisioning a really strong raccoon, or fox, or coyote...anything but a bear. And then I heard a loud "sniff." Oh Lord. And then what sounded about another 10 yards a way...a low moan. Oh my. There were two of them, whatever they were. And then "it" walked over to the tent right next door and started banging on their lock box. Once my heart stopped racing, I eventually fell asleep. Scary, yes...but exciting, YES.

Oh Dear

So I used to have a large, mature Mexican feather plant that somehow survived under my care for the past three seasons. It's now a place for Duke to spread out and chew on his rawhide. Two feet from this feather plant are, I mean were, three good-size pittosporum shrubs that had finally matured enough to grow together in pretty mounds. Two of those shrubs have now been split down the middle, because why in the world would one walk around shrubs when you can barrel through them?

And do you see the leafy remnants on the lounge chair in the foreground? Before yesterday, I had a purple potato vine that was coming back to life and really thriving in a cheap plastic pot. Duke felt it best to rip it out of the pot, and then make several trips to the chaise lounge with a mouth full of leaves and stems. There's also a fern that he knocked over, so it remains to be seen if that plant will survive.

At 11 weeks, he's maybe a third his full size and weight. I guess I better get hanging plants and large enough pots that can't be knocked over. And I guess I have some plants to dig up and toss.

A year ago I'm pretty confident I would have freaked out, as any normal person would have, right? But it's all relative. There have been bigger fish to fry for a while now, and Duke's puppy adventures are small beans. And he makes us laugh, which is so nice.

New Addition

Hi. I'm Duke. You'll be hearing a lot about me, I'm sure.

San Francisco

I could live there, for maybe a year or two. I've always wanted to experience that kind of lifestyle - that cramped, New York City kind of lifestyle where you do a lot of walking and use public transportation and have so much variety all around. I want to step out of my home, walk around the corner to a coffee shop with sidewalk seating, read the paper (of course I'd have to start reading a newspaper for once in my life), and people watch. Or I'd be so inspired by all the fit, athletic types running up and down the hilly streets that I'd throw on my running shoes and join them. Maybe.


Not the best photo, but I was in the car as we headed down Lombard Street, "The Crookedest Street."

I think what I like about San Francisco is that it doesn't feel like a big, concrete, polluted city, yet it has all the positive amenities such as dining, things to do, events, etc. It feels clean and pretty. Maybe it's all that white Victorian architecture that I'm "blinded" by, or the hills or the marine atmosphere or the sunsets...I just like it. I'm a fan.


Sunset at Pier 39.

Okay, back to our trip. I had high hopes for this part of the vacation. How could anyone, especially teenagers, not be wowed by the sites and sounds of this city? I've seen the shows they watch on MTV and VH1 - San Francisco should be right up their alley! What I thought was clean and pretty, they thought was dirty and gross. What I thought was entertaining, they were offended by. Riding the trolley and the metro with smelly, obnoxious sorts was not their cup of tea. Okay, perhaps it was a little offensive when the fat old man in the cut-off shirt and protruding belly bumped into Keena and said, "Get out of the way you piece of meat!" Ouch. Or the beggars along the sidewalks of Fisherman's Wharf who yelled out profanities for reasons only their schizophrenic minds understand.

San Francisco is different, and you either appreciate those differences or are turned off by them. And honestly, after a year or two I'd probably be turned off. For now, I hope it's a place we (meaning Alan and I) visit from time to time.


If you ever go to San Francisco, you must cross the Golden Gate! It's a must-see, up close and personal. So beautiful!

Yosemite

Our first night at Yosemite we stayed in a tent cabin in the valley. Finding our tent cabin at 10:00 p.m., after checking in at the park office and getting our keys, was a bit of an adventure. I found it humorous, but not everyone agreed. Keep in mind we had just been given many "bear-aware" warnings by the park rangers, as we began our trek in the dark to find our site. We literally found our tent using our cell phone lights. (A tent cabin is basically a canvas tent with a wooden frame, built up off the ground with wooden floors, with beds and one electric light.) I thought it was fine, but the girls hated every moment. That was a sentiment they had many times during the vacation, but that's a whole other post entirely.



What I didn't realize until the light of the morning, was that we were surrounded by the beautiful granite mountains that bring many people to Yosemite. I stepped out of the tent and saw this:


Half Dome.

And this:




I'm no Ansel Adams, but this is my shot of El Capitan with Half Dome in the background.

I was awestruck. Again, not everyone shared my feelings. After breakfast, we took a tour of the valley floor on an open-air tram...very nice and lots of interesting facts, but I was glad it was only two hours. We then left the valley and headed to our lodge which was right outside the park, about an hour away. We stayed at the Tenaya Lodge, which was just awesome. We were there three nights, and while there we rode horses, mountain biked (me and Alan - mostly Alan), lounged by the pool, hiked to see the Giant Sequoias (again, just me and Alan - Bailey and Keena were not wild about exerting themselves on this trip), and treated the girls to facials at the lodge's spa.


There's something about those big pink helmets that make the girls look 10 yrs. old.


This horseback ride was not your average, simple trail ride. We went over steep, rocky, narrow paths and crossed several creeks. It was pretty adventurous! We all agreed this ranked nearly as high as the rafting as the most memorable part of the trip!


We enjoyed one "dressy" night out for dinner during our Yosemite stay.




I had to take a picture of this bloody mary I had poolside. The best I've ever had!

One of the highlights of the entire vacation was the all-day whitewater rafting on the Tuolomne River. The girls and I had never been rafting, but we were big fans shortly after getting started. I could have settled for a half-day, but perhaps all the strenuous activities in the higher elevation were getting to me. I was pooped, and the rafting was hard work. My back is still not happy with me. Anyway, before we began the rapids we practiced some strokes and maneuvers and the ability to follow directives from the guide. We practiced one maneuver that the guide said was rarely necessary, but important to know. So I think our favorite part of the rafting was when we actually had to perform the maneuver to keep everyone from falling out in the middle of a Class IV rapid. It was exciting and kind of scary, but so fun afterwards! (This is not a picture of that maneuver!)


You can't even see the other rider in the front right of the boat. She's getting an ice-cold splash in the face.

We got back to the lodge around 7:30 p.m. to discover they were still having trouble with a water main break. Too bad, it meant we had no water in our hotel room and they had to move us to the luxury suite for our last night. Darn it. :-) This was a $700/night suite, so needless to say we were wishing the water problems had occurred earlier in the week!

The next morning we left for San Francisco, which I thought would be another highlight of the trip. What was I thinking?

Los Angeles

We began our trip in L.A., so that's where I'll start. Not long after we landed and found our hotel in Garden Grove (which we soon discovered was an inconvenient part of L.A. for us to stay in, yet cool that we've been where Sublime sang about!), we headed to Hollywood. Some things you just want to say you've "been there, done that," and that was the thinking behind walking down Hollywood Blvd, driving through Beverly Hills and down Rodeo, and seeing the Hollywood sign. It was cool and I'm glad we experienced it, but I can't think of a reason to go back. That sounds worse than I mean for it to.

I think this picture of Bailey and Keena was taken at the corner of Hollywood and Vine. Just 'cause!

Rodeo Drive kind of looked like streets of Paris.

While in the L.A. area, we drove to San Bernardino for Alan to try hangliding. This is a picture of Alan flying tandem of course, and I could be wrong but I think they were about 2000 feet up? He's glad he tried it, but I don't think he feels the need to do that ever again. It was fun for us three girls to watch, though.

After the hangliding, we drove to Venice Beach. I don't even know a word to describe it - bizarre is the best I can come up with. I've seen and heard about Venice, but nothing on TV or in the movies could ever compare to actually being there. It's just so WEIRD. You spend the first 20 minutes or so walking around laughing, pointing, with your jaw dropped half the time. And then it just gets creepy, dirty, sad. (I don't have good pictures, because I wasn't about to pay anyone just because they were painted silver or walking around in nothing but an American flag speedo.) I think you have to keep a good sense of humor to enjoy it, but frankly I couldn't wait to leave and wash my hands!

The beach itself, however, was beautiful and clean.

Sunday we spent at Universal Studios Hollywood, and I think it's safe to say that we were all a little disappointed. Universal Studios in Florida last year was awesome, with lots of thrill rides, water rides, etc. The one in Hollywood had way more 3D and 4D experiences than a person like me who gets motion sickness easily can handle. There was ONE roller coaster, if you really want to call it a roller coaster, and ONE water ride in which we barely got wet. So really, I can't say a lot for a theme park that we gave $250 to (before food) and only moderately entertained us.

The next day however, we spent at Santa Monica Beach and had a great time! The beach was beautiful, and except for how bone-chilling cold the water was, it was too short a day:

Does Alan look cold? :-)

The girls played in the waves and tanned, while I spent a lot of time walking up and down the beach and taking pictures of Alan surfing for the first time. By the way, if we ever move remotely close to a beach, Alan's first priority will be buying a surf board. He's absolutely hooked:

So after a few hours at the beach, we packed up the car and began our very long drive towards Yosemite. I was ready to leave the city for the mountains, and Yosemite did not disappoint. I'll post those pictures tomorrow!

Aaaawww...

Hard to believe that this rotund, often grouchy and sometimes vicious cat...

...was once this sweet little kitten:

I found Junior's kitten pictures while going through some old CDs today. I took this when he was a few weeks old, before I had a digital camera, and when I was still retarded when it came to taking pictures.

When we first found Junior at around ten days old, I was taking classes at UTPB and had to drive home most days between classes to bottle feed him. We also had to teach him to go pee and poop, but that's another story. Anyway, one day I came home and couldn't find him. He couldn't walk yet and his crawling skills weren't great, so imagine how confused I was when he was missing. Finally I found him ON THE COUCH curled up underneath a pillow. I can just picture those tiny, razor-sharp claws digging into our couch as he climbed all the way up.

He'll be four years old this summer, but we have enough "Junior" stories to fill a decade. Many of those stories leave people wondering why we allow him to live with us! But if you had been there from the beginning, when he fit in the palm of your hand, and when he was bottle-fed and burped like a baby, you might be hooked like we are. And you'll probably never see it for yourself, but he really does have a sweet side. :-)

Good Beginning

We had a fun, relaxing time at DeeBee's in Oklahoma and came home on Saturday. I should be more clear when I say "relaxing," because what I really mean is lazy. I haven't sat and vegged that much in a really long time. It was nice and went by too fast.


Charles (Caitlin's boyfriend), Caitlin, and Bailey


Alan and DeeBee

Bailey left for church camp the day after we got back, so Alan and I are childless this week. This always leaves me with mixed feelings - glad for the alone time with Alan but somewhat restless when my "mom" duties aren't needed. I'm filling the time with household chores, cooking, yard work, a little swimming, and some reading if I can get into my book. I'm not very chipper this week, which I'm 99% sure can be blamed on hormones, but nevertheless...keeping busy is key. We've only been home two days, and I'm so ready to leave again for vacation.

On a break

I've been busy and preoccupied with other things, and have let this little journal here take a backseat. Monday we leave for Oklahoma for a much-anticipated, relaxing stay at my sister's. A week later Bailey leaves for church camp, and a week after that is our trip to California (Cali, as Bailey calls it). Somewhere in the middle I plan to move my classroom, paint the living room, and cook, cook, cook. Cooking is one of the many things that I let take a back seat during the school year. And reading. And socializing. So I hope to do more of all three this summer.

I also used to blog more. Maybe some of the above will provide something to blog about.

Hide and seek

If you have a cat and a suitcase, then I'd bet money the two have met. Cats love suitcases and dresser drawers.



When we get home from a trip, we leave the suitcase out for a couple of days so that Junior can play in it.

10 days!

Just stuff. That's my reason for not blogging. Nothing exciting or life-changing, just stuff. School is simply crazy right now, partly due to activities and deadlines, and partly due to the OVERWHELMING discipline issues. They fight, hit, kick, argue, bicker, tease, cry, tattle, cuss. I'm gonna hurt someone soon. Here's a sample of what my kids did this week to a teacher:

Student to teacher: "They're talking about you."

Teacher: "I don't care if you call me names."

Another student: "Okay, then you're stupid and ugly."

After a full day everyday of playing mediator, police, counselor, and maybe teacher, I'm tired. The summer break is a time to get away, refresh, forget. Otherwise we'd never come back!

Earth Day

A couple of weeks ago on Earth Day, I passed out large newsprint paper and told the third graders to write "Why I Love the Earth" at the top. They were to artistically demonstrate that statement, and this was a time when I did NOT give them a choice on whether or not the statement applied to them. I'm no tree-hugger, but I was determined to force a love for Planet Earth on these kids whether they liked it or not! The wall outside my classroom is now decorated with all of their posters, but here are a few samples:

Did I mention it was an interpretative assignment?

Procrastination

Love the job, hate the grading. It's time to get settled in front of the t.v. and start my weekend. Joy!

Swimming

I'm on my way to go swimming - my latest workout of choice. I won't make any claims that this will be the exercise I'll stick with long-term, because when have I ever stuck with something? But a workout with no impact, no sweat, and no weather issues is tough to beat! The downside is not knowing if a lane will be available, although so far it hasn't been an issue.

I was a little self-conscious at first, because there's no telling what I look like swimming. I've been comfortable swimming since I was pretty little, but I never had to swim with "form." So far, it's really relaxing in a butt-kicking kind of way. I can only do about 10-12 laps right now, while Alan does about 27. Show off!

Anyway, I'm enjoying it for now, and it's an awesome workout!

Spring has sprung

A little excitement here tonight. We're having thunderstorms hitting about every 20-30 minutes, and each time there's been heavy rain and/or these little beauties:

Aren't they cool? Can't remember the last time we had hail this size...

I have to admit that when I opened the front door to start recording and was hit with this, I was a tiny bit spooked. Especially since we were also in the middle of a tornado warning.

The Amateur Gardener

Seems that most of our long distance friends and family live in areas where winter hasn't gotten the message that it's time to move on. And then there's us. We don't have the scenery that most of you have, but I have to say our weather's hard to beat sometimes. (Wednesday's high is expected to be 92.) My plants, the very few I have, started coming up several weeks ago and survived a couple of mild freezes along the way. This Salvia plant comes back bigger and better each year.



The Rose of Sharon in front of the guest house is not much to look at right now, but it just came out of nowhere last year...those quirky acts of nature are usually my favorite. Kind of like last year when a Morning Glory vine started growing up through the rotted seat of an old wooden chair.

And I think this is the first time I've ever planted tomatoes. I bought two different varieties just to see how each one does. I placed them on the scorching hot west side of the house. I eat some version of tomatoes almost every day, so I don't see these going to waste. We'll have salsa all summer long!

First Place

I posted this picture on Facebook and commented that Alan won a 10K in his age division last Saturday. Turns out he won the 10K overall, with a time of 45:42. It was around 40 degrees when he ran, not temps Alan likes to run in. Anyway, I'm just bragging on my husband!

Out of it

I've been in a migraine fog the past few days, but I'm not sure I would have had anything to blog about regardless. I knew before we went to the matinee late Friday that I had a headache coming on, and I knew going to the movie would make it worse. I'm not sure why, but it does - even renting a movie. Weird. Anyway, it's been a crummy few days but I'm hopeful today is the end of it.

On a positive note, 51 of our 55 students passed the state test, and 30% received "commended performance." And the four who didn't pass get a second chance in a few weeks.

By the way, the movie was "Taken" and it was really good. If you're a vengeful spirit like me, go see it!

What Rocks About Spring Break:

• Sitting down to eat breakfast.
• Not showering 'til 2:00 p.m.
• Having time to cook.
• Getting more than 15 minutes for lunch.
• Going to the gym at whatever time I want.
• Watering the yard.
• Wearing flip-flops.
• No makeup.
• No schedule.
• No kids!

If I remember correctly, it was Alan who found him and wanted to keep him.

I spent several months looking for a new dining table and chairs. I sold the old set on Craig's List back in October or November and started looking for a replacement that I could keep for many years. I quickly found the table, but it took longer to find the perfect chairs. Several weeks ago I found these gorgeous chocolate leather chairs from Overstock.com, and then a couple weeks later found the two rust-colored leather end chairs from Pier One. So basically I bought the whole set piecemeal, but it turned out really pretty and somewhat eclectic....just what I wanted.

I owned the previous set for about 13 years. It was so outdated - purchased when "country" was still the rage. This new set is anything but country!

So...imagine my dismay when 5 days after bringing home the end chairs and thus finishing the set, I discover this:

Yeah. Those are teeth marks. Anyone want a cat?

Fault

Last week one of my students popped off that the our state standardized test "is to show if the teachers are doing their jobs or not." I know she's not really the one who said it, that one of her parents probably said it and she just repeated it. Still, I didn't give the most polite response.

And yesterday as I walked around my students' desks as they took the test we've all been preparing for, I watched a nightmare unfold throughout the day as a child here and another child there rushed through the test, didn't use a single flippin' strategy I taught them, and basically failed the test before my eyes. Although most of them did fine and will pass, it's the ones that chose to do nothing that will do the most harm - to our district, our school, and to my credibility.

Alan reminded me that in a couple weeks when the results roll in, there'll be success stories to celebrate. But unfortunately, the system doesn't work that way. We'll focus on the failures, including the ones who tried so, so hard and just couldn't quite "get it."

Coming Soon

With temps at 90 degrees the past couple of days, it didn't seem right to have a wintry photo scene on the banner. This was the beginning of spring looking out my kitchen window last year. Can't wait for my favorite season!

Pivotal Week

There are many things I love about teaching, but preparing students for a state standardized test is not one of them. This week is crunch time, and therefore I'm working late, not sleeping well, and crashing when I come home. I can't wait until it's over, and we can get back to having more fun with our lessons. When I was in third grade, I never dreaded going to school. Elementary school was fun! Now it's high-pressure and way too stressful for a 9-year old...and the teacher. Wish us luck!

As Seen on TV

We own this one piece of furniture that causes much concern (if not fear!) and cursing each time we have to move it. It's an armoire, about a hundred years old, with dangerously wobbly legs that twist and pinch any time it's moved. But this piece is our only antique and really quite pretty, and therefore worth the trouble. We've been wanting to move it into the guest bedroom for quite some time, and Alan recently had the idea of getting the Forearm Forklift. Have you seen those silly commercials where they stop people in the middle of a mall and ask them to move a refrigerator across the floor by strapping on the "Forklift?"

Well listen up my TV-watching America - that thing is awesome! We bought the forklift and as soon as we got home started moving the armoire with ease.

Little did we know that despite how easy it was, we needed additional help:

Lots of help.

And still more help.

Stealing moments to relax and read...

I bought a book on CD before starting the drive back from Dallas last Saturday. I've been listening to "The Kite Runner," which has been a best seller for quite a while I think. It's a fascinating yet difficult (as in disturbing) story to listen to. I really like listening as opposed to reading this one, because the author pronounces all the middle-eastern terms and names better than I could attempt in my head. It just seems more authentic. Anyway, I know it's not a new book, but I recommend it to anyone. Just be prepared to be affected by it, in that you'll carry the story around in your head throughout your day and think about things you've done in your own life.

I'm also reading "Elijah of Buxton," which is probably found in the young adult section. So far it's very funny and endearing, but I just know it's going to take a sad turn.

Anyone in the middle of a good book?

West Texas Sunrise

Another photo on the way to school one morning...

A humongous Valentine

Alan and I got back yesterday from a weekend away in Dallas (we stayed in Dallas but spent most of the time in Ft. Worth). Ft. Worth is the one other place where we feel at "home," so it's always fun to go back and visit our favorite places. Most of those places involve food, but we usually end up at one of the museums as well. Neither one of us had ever been to the Modern, so that was fun for a while. I'm a closet art fan, and the Modern was so cool, but even I reach my time limit in a museum.

As our weekend was coming to an end yesterday, we had lunch at one of our favorites - La Madeleine. Alan and I often make fun of pretentious people, and you'd definitely find that type of clientele at La Madeleine. So as we were pulling up to the restaurant, I pointed out that maybe this was our pretentious thing we do? And some would see going to the museums as pretentious. But we really do love that restaurant and going to museums together. Anyway, it was a fun and fitting Valentine's weekend for us...pretentious or not. :-)

But the most exciting part was bringing home the biggest Valentine I've ever received:

Ah-ha!

I'm annoyed at how grainy and blurry this video is, because my camera keeps focusing and unfocusing...is there some setting I don't know about? Anyway, I finally captured Junior playing his favorite game involving a hair-tie (or in this case a headband), in which he hides it, finds it, hides it, finds it, etc. He can go on like this forever, hiding it and then acting so surprised and proud that he was able to find it and get it back out from underneath the rug.

Homage to Hitchcock

I've seen this sight several times around town, but only in a couple of areas and only at dusk or dawn. I just think it's cool. This was on my way to school this morning.

My next baby will not be human.

Things have been so busy and stressful at school, that all I want to do is come home and veg. So my postings have been few and far between, although quite honestly I've had little going on that was blogworthy.

We did do some car shopping yesterday, which proved pretty unsuccessful. The vehicle I had my eye on has been sold, but there's another one very similar that we might negotiate on this week.

I've known I was getting a new (as in a couple of years old) SUV for almost a year now, many thanks to Alan being diligent to take a big chunk of my paycheck each month and sock it away towards the car fund. We've been saving $1500 a month since sometime last spring so that we could purchase the car outright. Let me tell you, when you first start getting a decent paycheck again, after being a college student and barely working for so long, it's hard to see that much money zapped away each month! But it's been worth it.

For many months now, I've been "looking" so to speak...checking out vehicles every time I'm driving around town, asking people about their cars, reading Consumer Reports' data, etc. I know what are my must-haves, my deal-breakers, and which bells and whistles I would like but could do without. Finding a used car that meets all your requirements is not that easy.

I started out wanting a Toyota Sequoia, but man those things are pricey. I think I've narrowed it down to a Ford Explorer with third-row seat, preferably the Eddie Bauer edition. Wish us luck, because my next post could be a picture of my new car. If I seem a little excited, consider the fact that our cars our 12 (mine) and 14 (Alan's) years old. I think we're due for an upgrade!