How to Make Family Visits an Adventure....

Bring someone who's never been to your hometown before!

So tonight's my last night in California for the next few months. I'll be back during the holidays. This was a good visit...filled with theme park visits (okay one), trips to the city, factory tours, hanging out with friends & family, visit to a movie studio (Pixar!!!), going through most of my stuff in storage, and a tattoo.....

I got a tattoo....the stars on the Alaskan state flag. It's the most delicate looking of my 7 tattoos. I love it!

The time flew by! This has been my longest trip to California but it's been fun. Normally, I just hang out with family & friends & shop, but this time I got to enjoy the sites and fun activities the Bay Area have to offer.

Oh....and there were sunburns....did I mention I got totally sunburned? Once while just driving around? Where was my sunblock? Right next to me in case I needed it. I obviously need to work on my judgement involving skin care and the sun's rays....good to know. I see a strapless dress is in order for the plane ride home....ouch!

Sister really enjoyed herself here. She's hoping I oversleep and we miss our flight. And since I have been guilty of oversleeping twice during the course of our stay.....it's a real possibility. And she's not even secretly hoping, she's made it clear that if I do oversleep, she's gonna let just keep on sleeping!

I have noticed something. I thought Alaska would make me stronger and tougher. And it has, but I also thought I would start looking tougher....and be less girlie. But I find myself buying more pink. And this is the tote I am bringing home:



Yeah, I dance to the beat of a different drummer....and he's slightly off beat.

Here are some pictures of my trip: Enjoy!!!

And One Journey Comes to an End.....

Tonight, my mother, Sister, and I went to see the last Harry Potter movie. (In 3D no less.)

Yes, I am a total Harry Potter fan.

Watching the last Harry Potter meant a lot to me. It was the last of the movies, but it meant more than that to me.

Yes, it's been a tradition for my mother and I to watch the movies together, but the books are what really did it for me.

I had a friend who would bring those books down to the coffeehouse I hung out at and read them. One day I asked what they were about since I had heard a buzz about the books but knew nothing about them. She told me all about them. That friend has since passed away (Meghan), but Harry Potter reminds me of her.

I was interested but not really. Then I saw the first book on sale at Raley's. I figured I'd just see what it was about........just for fun. My brother, Ethan, walked by and asked "Why the hell are you reading that?" And I said, "I just want to see what the deal is."

I was hooked.....and then so was my mother.....and then my brother Adam, and yes, even Ethan finally came around.

I got one of my girl friends to read the book. And she was hooked. We'd watch the movies and pick them apart, cause let's admit it....it wasn't until the last few movies that the movies started following the books more closely.....and don't get me started on the third movie....that left out all my favorite elements of the book. For example: it never once said that Harry's dad changed into a stag.....which would explain some things. And Harry's dad is supposed to have the same wild hair as Harry....and while I am a fan of Daniel Radcliffe....Harry's eyes are supposed to be his mother's eyes....green.

Actually, it wasn't until the last couple of movies I even liked them. They used to bug me.

I think I started to forgive them a bit after I read the Wizard of Oz.....did you know that the ruby slippers aren't actually ruby? They're silver. I think it would be fun to start a book/movie club where you read the book and compare it to the movie. See what movies followed the story....

There's one movie that is totally different from the book, but I found it maintained the book's "soul". It was the Pride & Prejudice that starred Keira Knightly.

So no more Harry Potter movies. That journey is done.....and I can't say anything bad about it. The movie was very well done. And I totally cried.....but I cried at the beginning of the Lion King so I may not be the best judge of movies that make you cry. But I saw other people crying too.....

My trip is going well....I took Sister to an amusement park. She rode every rollercoaster she could. Her favorite one was the one that goes up really high and drops you. This week we will be going to the city. I have been cleaning out my stuff I put in my parent's garage. It's been fun going through my stuff......and tossing out a ton of stuff I really don't need. That's good too.....

Starting Over, Yet Again....

I love that title. It's from a Sex & the City episode.

But fresh starts are on my mind. I'm feeling better, thank goodness. Nothing really interesting to report other than a stomach flu bug. I started eating the BRAT diet (bananas, rice, applesauce, & tea) and within a couple of days all was set right again. Today was the last day of summer school. I enjoyed myself and so did the students. I hope what the community tried to start continues beyond the summer school program.

But I have made good connections. Now I feel comfortable inviting the elders into my classroom because I actually know some of them. Before I would put a general sentence at the end of a news note but now I can just go up and ask. And I got to know the people here even better.

But now the summer school boxes have been packed and put away for next year. My classroom is slowly returning to the blank canvas it needs to be in order to prepare for the coming school year. Every year comes a fresh start.....new students, new co-workers, and another new principal.....and in some ways I have to start all over again. I start the curriculum again....I have to let the principal get to know me and my teaching methods. Thankfully, the kids all know me. And most of the parents. So it's not as nerveracking as it was last year.

Personally, I like this time of year. I reflect on my teaching....what works and what I want to improve. I've already gone through the teaching catalogs and picked out my new stuff for this year. I pick out books to read to improve my craft. Okay, I did that already but now I'm going to read them. Normally, I don't teach summer school, so I have a lot more time for reading....but ah well, it was worth it.

This year I am also taking this time to make a fresh start in my personal life. The day after tomorrow I leave for California. I am bringing a high school student back with me. She's a good kid and I'd like to do something nice for her and show her Northern California. I've always wanted to play tour guide and I was hoping to show my then boyfriend. But then we broke up.

That's actually what started this. I was feeling so negative that I needed to do something positive. I needed to step out of my comfort zone and shake my life up. Me bringing L to California is the most selfless thing I've ever done. I realized doing something to give someone else joy was just what I needed to pick myself up.

Because of course, it only got worse.....in my love life that is. See, I broke up with my boyfriend when I found out he wasn't being honest with me. And then I found out, it was worse than I thought.....he was cheating too. This was totally new for me, discovering the man you loved was a work of fiction and didn't really exist. And we had made all these plans.....he was going to do this....then after a year we'd move in together....then after a year if things were going well, (and of course they'd be going well) then we'd consider marriage (because marriage is a must). So to go back to your life without the plans, makes things seem empty.

*************

I was interrupted while typing that post. Apparently, a maintenance worker went into my house to fix something, saw my cats and thought I had abandoned them and was gone for the summer. He reported me to my superintendent and so there was a mess for me to clean up. The funny thing was I was up at the school all day finishing the last day of summer school.

But the point I was heading to was that I was bummed out but planning my trip with Sister was a really good way to change things around for me. I was no longer dwelling in the stinkiness that was my ex....I was moving on with purpose. And it felt good.

Sister and I are at the airport now....and they just started boarding our flight to California...so there's a new adventure heading my way!!! Details to follow (of course!!!)

Augh.....

i'm sick with the stomach flu.......will post something interesting later.....

sorry.....