Sunday, March 30, 2008
Catch-Up
So... the last update I did was in an airport and I didn't get to finish due to the fact that I had to board the plane. So here we are again.
February and March flew by. In all my classes we finished novels and have been preparing for standardized testing. It has been super busy and has gone by so fast.
The most exciting thing to have happened was my spring break!!! For spring break, my Nikki, Mel and I decided to go somewhere warm. Our principal, Jamie, her two daughters, her sister and niece also joined us. We headed out to Anchorage for the weekend where we shopped for some summer clothes. From there we flew to L.A. and got on our Cruise Ship!!! The first night on the Carnival Cruise we checked out the ship and relaxed on the sun deck. That night we ate in the ship's restaurant. It was very fancy. They even put your napkin on your lap for you! Nikki and I hit up the dance show that night, which was more like a cheesy Saturday Night Live skit! But it was still fun. The second day of the cruise we docked in Avalon on Catalina Island, CA. It was gorgeous!!! We took at brief tour of the city and hit the shops and a nice little restaurant by the sea for lunch. We had to laugh during the restaurant when the guide was trying to tell us how "small" the island was. He told us that the school only had 700 students from grades K-12. Haha! Only 700?! that is double the population of our whole island! He also said "here is our hospital. And yes, we only have 1 doctor." We were like, "sweet! You have a doctor?" That day after we explored Catalina, we went back to the boat to throw our swim suits and bask in the California sun. It was heaven! About 75 and blue skies! Our second day of the cruise took us to Ensenada, Mexico. We first got on a bus that took us through the city. The city itself was very dirty and smoggy. Traffic was heavy and tight and there were random dogs all over. Then we took another bus that lead us to the famous "blow hole". There are only 3 natural blow holes in the world. One is in Hawaii, one is in Australia and the third was there in Mexico. A blow hole is like a geyser that happens right on the ocean's edge. Our tour guide was great! She was hilarious and really knowledgeable, so she showed us all the key points in town along the way to the geyser. Once we got off the bus, she took us through the market place and showed us which shops were sold "the real thing" and which shops to stay away from. It was crazy there! There were people everywhere, and men that kept saying "pretty ladies, I have deals for you" and "hollywoods girls, come in and take a look." It was kind of creepy actually. We walked right through the market, which was probably about half a mile long! We wanted to see the blowhole before we did anything else. So we went to were a crowd of people stood by this cliff overlooking the ocean. You could see the waves coming and all of a sudden you could hear this gurgling noise that got really loud and then the water shot up through the rocks and high into the air. It was really cool! Then we hit up a real Mexican restaurant for lunch before attempting the market. I really liked the market. The prices were cheap, once you knew how to barter. It was so fun! I got a guy to go from $265 on a sterling silver bracelet down to $30! I didn't even buy it, I just wanted to see if I could do it! We only had a few hours there before we had to hop on the bus again. Once we got back to the boat we took a nap and got all dazzled up for the formal dinner night. The food was soooo great!!! The final day on the ship we were hoping to soak up the rays and relax. We had the whole day on the boat. Well, we woke up to temperatures of about 55 degrees and rocky waves. But we bundled up and attempted to at least get a little face tan! HAHA. It was really windy and cool. It was also hilarious to watch people try to walk around when the ship was rocking. We went to lunch and then checked out a few of the shops on the ship. At one point, one of the clothing racks on wheels went rolling to the other end of this hallway. It was rocky!! I started to feel a little sea sick, so I went back to the room to take a nap. Much to my surprise I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror back in the room and realized I had gotten some sun that morning. Even when it was that cool out! Actually my face was fried! AND... I had worn some big sunglasses that day, so I had some sweet raccoon eyes! The next day we had to catch our flight from LA to Anchorage, but we had about 5 hours to spare, so we decided to hit up Hollywood! Why not, right?! Jamie sweet-talked taxi cab guy to take us there for $50 total (he had been asking for $120!). We couldn't resist and hopped in the van. It was a creepy ride, to say the least! The driver was on the phone the whole time, weaving in and out of traffic, yelling at someone about his phone bill and saying he "had business to take care of". We were all very grateful to get out of the van back on Hollywood Blvd. It was great! We walked on the Hollywood walk of fame and saw all of the stars with the names on them. Then we hit up a pizza place for lunch in the Hollywood plaza overlooking the famous Hollywood sign. After a quick couple of hours there, we needed to find a way back to the airport. So, the subway seemed like the best option. That was a whole different adventure! The subway took us to the ghettos of L.A. We went through some pretty shady neighborhoods where all the windows and doors in the houses were barred. The subway stopped at Compton, which is where we had to get off to get on a different subway. Compton is one of the well-known rough gang areas of LA. It was quite the experience for sure! Finally we got on the plane to head to Salt Lake City and then to Anchorage. AND...the best part of the flight was that Robert Redford was on the plane with us!!!!!! Of course, he was in first class, but I did see the back of his head and his body guard.
Then it was back to Anchorage and finally back to Saint Paul. The 2 weeks since break have happened so fast. It consisted of test-prep for this weeks standardized tests. I also got a nasty cold that I have been fighting. Now only about 7 weeks left of the school year!
February and March flew by. In all my classes we finished novels and have been preparing for standardized testing. It has been super busy and has gone by so fast.
The most exciting thing to have happened was my spring break!!! For spring break, my Nikki, Mel and I decided to go somewhere warm. Our principal, Jamie, her two daughters, her sister and niece also joined us. We headed out to Anchorage for the weekend where we shopped for some summer clothes. From there we flew to L.A. and got on our Cruise Ship!!! The first night on the Carnival Cruise we checked out the ship and relaxed on the sun deck. That night we ate in the ship's restaurant. It was very fancy. They even put your napkin on your lap for you! Nikki and I hit up the dance show that night, which was more like a cheesy Saturday Night Live skit! But it was still fun. The second day of the cruise we docked in Avalon on Catalina Island, CA. It was gorgeous!!! We took at brief tour of the city and hit the shops and a nice little restaurant by the sea for lunch. We had to laugh during the restaurant when the guide was trying to tell us how "small" the island was. He told us that the school only had 700 students from grades K-12. Haha! Only 700?! that is double the population of our whole island! He also said "here is our hospital. And yes, we only have 1 doctor." We were like, "sweet! You have a doctor?" That day after we explored Catalina, we went back to the boat to throw our swim suits and bask in the California sun. It was heaven! About 75 and blue skies! Our second day of the cruise took us to Ensenada, Mexico. We first got on a bus that took us through the city. The city itself was very dirty and smoggy. Traffic was heavy and tight and there were random dogs all over. Then we took another bus that lead us to the famous "blow hole". There are only 3 natural blow holes in the world. One is in Hawaii, one is in Australia and the third was there in Mexico. A blow hole is like a geyser that happens right on the ocean's edge. Our tour guide was great! She was hilarious and really knowledgeable, so she showed us all the key points in town along the way to the geyser. Once we got off the bus, she took us through the market place and showed us which shops were sold "the real thing" and which shops to stay away from. It was crazy there! There were people everywhere, and men that kept saying "pretty ladies, I have deals for you" and "hollywoods girls, come in and take a look." It was kind of creepy actually. We walked right through the market, which was probably about half a mile long! We wanted to see the blowhole before we did anything else. So we went to were a crowd of people stood by this cliff overlooking the ocean. You could see the waves coming and all of a sudden you could hear this gurgling noise that got really loud and then the water shot up through the rocks and high into the air. It was really cool! Then we hit up a real Mexican restaurant for lunch before attempting the market. I really liked the market. The prices were cheap, once you knew how to barter. It was so fun! I got a guy to go from $265 on a sterling silver bracelet down to $30! I didn't even buy it, I just wanted to see if I could do it! We only had a few hours there before we had to hop on the bus again. Once we got back to the boat we took a nap and got all dazzled up for the formal dinner night. The food was soooo great!!! The final day on the ship we were hoping to soak up the rays and relax. We had the whole day on the boat. Well, we woke up to temperatures of about 55 degrees and rocky waves. But we bundled up and attempted to at least get a little face tan! HAHA. It was really windy and cool. It was also hilarious to watch people try to walk around when the ship was rocking. We went to lunch and then checked out a few of the shops on the ship. At one point, one of the clothing racks on wheels went rolling to the other end of this hallway. It was rocky!! I started to feel a little sea sick, so I went back to the room to take a nap. Much to my surprise I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror back in the room and realized I had gotten some sun that morning. Even when it was that cool out! Actually my face was fried! AND... I had worn some big sunglasses that day, so I had some sweet raccoon eyes! The next day we had to catch our flight from LA to Anchorage, but we had about 5 hours to spare, so we decided to hit up Hollywood! Why not, right?! Jamie sweet-talked taxi cab guy to take us there for $50 total (he had been asking for $120!). We couldn't resist and hopped in the van. It was a creepy ride, to say the least! The driver was on the phone the whole time, weaving in and out of traffic, yelling at someone about his phone bill and saying he "had business to take care of". We were all very grateful to get out of the van back on Hollywood Blvd. It was great! We walked on the Hollywood walk of fame and saw all of the stars with the names on them. Then we hit up a pizza place for lunch in the Hollywood plaza overlooking the famous Hollywood sign. After a quick couple of hours there, we needed to find a way back to the airport. So, the subway seemed like the best option. That was a whole different adventure! The subway took us to the ghettos of L.A. We went through some pretty shady neighborhoods where all the windows and doors in the houses were barred. The subway stopped at Compton, which is where we had to get off to get on a different subway. Compton is one of the well-known rough gang areas of LA. It was quite the experience for sure! Finally we got on the plane to head to Salt Lake City and then to Anchorage. AND...the best part of the flight was that Robert Redford was on the plane with us!!!!!! Of course, he was in first class, but I did see the back of his head and his body guard.
Then it was back to Anchorage and finally back to Saint Paul. The 2 weeks since break have happened so fast. It consisted of test-prep for this weeks standardized tests. I also got a nasty cold that I have been fighting. Now only about 7 weeks left of the school year!
Catch-Up
So... the last update I did was in an airport and I didn't get to finish due to the fact that I had to board the plane. So here we are again.
February and March flew by. In all my classes we finished novels and have been preparing for standardized testing. It has been super busy and has gone by so fast.
The most exciting thing to have happened was my spring break!!! For spring break, my Nikki, Mel and I decided to go somewhere warm. Our principal, Jamie, her two daughters, her sister and niece also joined us. We headed out to Anchorage for the weekend where we shopped for some summer clothes. From there we flew to L.A. and got on our Cruise Ship!!! The first night on the Carnival Cruise we checked out the ship and relaxed on the sun deck. That night we ate in the ship's restaurant. It was very fancy. They even put your napkin on your lap for you! Nikki and I hit up the dance show that night, which was more like a cheesy Saturday Night Live skit! But it was still fun. The second day of the cruise we docked in Avalon on Catalina Island, CA. It was gorgeous!!! We took at brief tour of the city and hit the shops and a nice little restaurant by the sea for lunch. We had to laugh during the restaurant when the guide was trying to tell us how "small" the island was. He told us that the school only had 700 students from grades K-12. Haha! Only 700?! that is double the population of our whole island! He also said "here is our hospital. And yes, we only have 1 doctor." We were like, "sweet! You have a doctor?" That day after we explored Catalina, we went back to the boat to throw our swim suits and bask in the California sun. It was heaven! About 75 and blue skies! Our second day of the cruise took us to Ensenada, Mexico. We first got on a bus that took us through the city. The city itself was very dirty and smoggy. Traffic was heavy and tight and there were random dogs all over. Then we took another bus that lead us to the famous "blow hole". There are only 3 natural blow holes in the world. One is in Hawaii, one is in Australia and the third was there in Mexico. A blow hole is like a geyser that happens right on the ocean's edge. Our tour guide was great! She was hilarious and really knowledgeable, so she showed us all the key points in town along the way to the geyser. Once we got off the bus, she took us through the market place and showed us which shops were sold "the real thing" and which shops to stay away from. It was crazy there! There were people everywhere, and men that kept saying "pretty ladies, I have deals for you" and "hollywoods girls, come in and take a look." It was kind of creepy actually. We walked right through the market, which was probably about half a mile long! We wanted to see the blowhole before we did anything else. So we went to were a crowd of people stood by this cliff overlooking the ocean. You could see the waves coming and all of a sudden you could hear this gurgling noise that got really loud and then the water shot up through the rocks and high into the air. It was really cool! Then we hit up a real Mexican restaurant for lunch before attempting the market. I really liked the market. The prices were cheap, once you knew how to barter. It was so fun! I got a guy to go from $265 on a sterling silver bracelet down to $30! I didn't even buy it, I just wanted to see if I could do it! We only had a few hours there before we had to hop on the bus again. Once we got back to the boat we took a nap and got all dazzled up for the formal dinner night. The food was soooo great!!! The final day on the ship we were hoping to soak up the rays and relax. We had the whole day on the boat. Well, we woke up to temperatures of about 55 degrees and rocky waves. But we bundled up and attempted to at least get a little face tan! HAHA. It was really windy and cool. It was also hilarious to watch people try to walk around when the ship was rocking. We went to lunch and then checked out a few of the shops on the ship. At one point, one of the clothing racks on wheels went rolling to the other end of this hallway. It was rocky!! I started to feel a little sea sick, so I went back to the room to take a nap. Much to my surprise I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror back in the room and realized I had gotten some sun that morning. Even when it was that cool out! Actually my face was fried! AND... I had worn some big sunglasses that day, so I had some sweet raccoon eyes! The next day we had to catch our flight from LA to Anchorage, but we had about 5 hours to spare, so we decided to hit up Hollywood! Why not, right?! Jamie sweet-talked taxi cab guy to take us there for $50 total (he had been asking for $120!). We couldn't resist and hopped in the van. It was a creepy ride, to say the least! The driver was on the phone the whole time, weaving in and out of traffic, yelling at someone about his phone bill and saying he "had business to take care of". We were all very grateful to get out of the van back on Hollywood Blvd. It was great! We walked on the Hollywood walk of fame and saw all of the stars with the names on them. Then we hit up a pizza place for lunch in the Hollywood plaza overlooking the famous Hollywood sign. After a quick couple of hours there, we needed to find a way back to the airport. So, the subway seemed like the best option. That was a whole different adventure! The subway took us to the ghettos of L.A. We went through some pretty shady neighborhoods where all the windows and doors in the houses were barred. The subway stopped at Compton, which is where we had to get off to get on a different subway. Compton is one of the well-known rough gang areas of LA. It was quite the experience for sure! Finally we got on the plane to head to Salt Lake City and then to Anchorage. AND...the best part of the flight was that Robert Redford was on the plane with us!!!!!! Of course, he was in first class, but I did see the back of his head and his body guard.
Then it was back to Anchorage and finally back to Saint Paul. The 2 weeks since break have happened so fast. It consisted of test-prep for this weeks standardized tests. I also got a nasty cold that I have been fighting. Now only about 7 weeks left of the school year!
February and March flew by. In all my classes we finished novels and have been preparing for standardized testing. It has been super busy and has gone by so fast.
The most exciting thing to have happened was my spring break!!! For spring break, my Nikki, Mel and I decided to go somewhere warm. Our principal, Jamie, her two daughters, her sister and niece also joined us. We headed out to Anchorage for the weekend where we shopped for some summer clothes. From there we flew to L.A. and got on our Cruise Ship!!! The first night on the Carnival Cruise we checked out the ship and relaxed on the sun deck. That night we ate in the ship's restaurant. It was very fancy. They even put your napkin on your lap for you! Nikki and I hit up the dance show that night, which was more like a cheesy Saturday Night Live skit! But it was still fun. The second day of the cruise we docked in Avalon on Catalina Island, CA. It was gorgeous!!! We took at brief tour of the city and hit the shops and a nice little restaurant by the sea for lunch. We had to laugh during the restaurant when the guide was trying to tell us how "small" the island was. He told us that the school only had 700 students from grades K-12. Haha! Only 700?! that is double the population of our whole island! He also said "here is our hospital. And yes, we only have 1 doctor." We were like, "sweet! You have a doctor?" That day after we explored Catalina, we went back to the boat to throw our swim suits and bask in the California sun. It was heaven! About 75 and blue skies! Our second day of the cruise took us to Ensenada, Mexico. We first got on a bus that took us through the city. The city itself was very dirty and smoggy. Traffic was heavy and tight and there were random dogs all over. Then we took another bus that lead us to the famous "blow hole". There are only 3 natural blow holes in the world. One is in Hawaii, one is in Australia and the third was there in Mexico. A blow hole is like a geyser that happens right on the ocean's edge. Our tour guide was great! She was hilarious and really knowledgeable, so she showed us all the key points in town along the way to the geyser. Once we got off the bus, she took us through the market place and showed us which shops were sold "the real thing" and which shops to stay away from. It was crazy there! There were people everywhere, and men that kept saying "pretty ladies, I have deals for you" and "hollywoods girls, come in and take a look." It was kind of creepy actually. We walked right through the market, which was probably about half a mile long! We wanted to see the blowhole before we did anything else. So we went to were a crowd of people stood by this cliff overlooking the ocean. You could see the waves coming and all of a sudden you could hear this gurgling noise that got really loud and then the water shot up through the rocks and high into the air. It was really cool! Then we hit up a real Mexican restaurant for lunch before attempting the market. I really liked the market. The prices were cheap, once you knew how to barter. It was so fun! I got a guy to go from $265 on a sterling silver bracelet down to $30! I didn't even buy it, I just wanted to see if I could do it! We only had a few hours there before we had to hop on the bus again. Once we got back to the boat we took a nap and got all dazzled up for the formal dinner night. The food was soooo great!!! The final day on the ship we were hoping to soak up the rays and relax. We had the whole day on the boat. Well, we woke up to temperatures of about 55 degrees and rocky waves. But we bundled up and attempted to at least get a little face tan! HAHA. It was really windy and cool. It was also hilarious to watch people try to walk around when the ship was rocking. We went to lunch and then checked out a few of the shops on the ship. At one point, one of the clothing racks on wheels went rolling to the other end of this hallway. It was rocky!! I started to feel a little sea sick, so I went back to the room to take a nap. Much to my surprise I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror back in the room and realized I had gotten some sun that morning. Even when it was that cool out! Actually my face was fried! AND... I had worn some big sunglasses that day, so I had some sweet raccoon eyes! The next day we had to catch our flight from LA to Anchorage, but we had about 5 hours to spare, so we decided to hit up Hollywood! Why not, right?! Jamie sweet-talked taxi cab guy to take us there for $50 total (he had been asking for $120!). We couldn't resist and hopped in the van. It was a creepy ride, to say the least! The driver was on the phone the whole time, weaving in and out of traffic, yelling at someone about his phone bill and saying he "had business to take care of". We were all very grateful to get out of the van back on Hollywood Blvd. It was great! We walked on the Hollywood walk of fame and saw all of the stars with the names on them. Then we hit up a pizza place for lunch in the Hollywood plaza overlooking the famous Hollywood sign. After a quick couple of hours there, we needed to find a way back to the airport. So, the subway seemed like the best option. That was a whole different adventure! The subway took us to the ghettos of L.A. We went through some pretty shady neighborhoods where all the windows and doors in the houses were barred. The subway stopped at Compton, which is where we had to get off to get on a different subway. Compton is one of the well-known rough gang areas of LA. It was quite the experience for sure! Finally we got on the plane to head to Salt Lake City and then to Anchorage. AND...the best part of the flight was that Robert Redford was on the plane with us!!!!!! Of course, he was in first class, but I did see the back of his head and his body guard.
Then it was back to Anchorage and finally back to Saint Paul. The 2 weeks since break have happened so fast. It consisted of test-prep for this weeks standardized tests. I also got a nasty cold that I have been fighting. Now only about 7 weeks left of the school year!
Monday, March 10, 2008
Busy Busy
Sorry! It has been WAY too long! Can you tell I have been busy?
Life is going swell. It has been over a month since the last update. I cannot believe how fast everything has gone by since Christmas break! Here we are and it is Spring break already! I have added a new class to my list of classes I am teaching. I now also have all the juniors and seniors. It is a nice refresher from middle school, but also a big change. They challenge me a lot, which keeps me on my toes. I have also taken on the extra duty called Rose Urban Rural Exchange. I will be taking 5 of my middle school students to a city on the mainland for a week on April and 5 of the city kids come to Saint Paul for a week. It is a lot of extra work, but I am really excited about the trip. I am also enrolled in a college class through University of Anchorage Alaska. Busy!!!
Life is going swell. It has been over a month since the last update. I cannot believe how fast everything has gone by since Christmas break! Here we are and it is Spring break already! I have added a new class to my list of classes I am teaching. I now also have all the juniors and seniors. It is a nice refresher from middle school, but also a big change. They challenge me a lot, which keeps me on my toes. I have also taken on the extra duty called Rose Urban Rural Exchange. I will be taking 5 of my middle school students to a city on the mainland for a week on April and 5 of the city kids come to Saint Paul for a week. It is a lot of extra work, but I am really excited about the trip. I am also enrolled in a college class through University of Anchorage Alaska. Busy!!!
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