So, I guess a lot has happened since I last wrote. I purchased a house (to be sold to Rick and Holly in the future) and moved in at the end of October. Rick and Holly moved in with me about a week and a half ago, and we have been having lots of fun getting everything all set up! Work has been crazy, as usual for me. Our Del Sol football team has made the playoffs again this year, so I've been going to a lot of football games. We actually have a chance to go to state this year, so my fingers are definitely crossed! I also got to go to Six Flags with the Key Club again this year, and as always had lots of fun! As for now, I'm looking forward to the Holidays and having a real Christmas this year!
Well, I don't feel like I have a lot that's new, but I guess most of you don't hear from me every day, so it might be new to you. School started a few weeks ago, and so far things are going good. Out of the 16 Special Education teachers I manage, I think I'm only going to have problems with 2 or 3, which is much better than last year. I also already have 3 expulsions going on, and I'm hoping it won't be this busy for the rest of the year. Our school was finally able to go Title I this year, so we have a lot of money to spend on new programs. I've only had to deal with a few crazy parent so far, but I'm sure there will be more as the school year continues. We're still working on finding a house and have put in several offers. Vegas real estate is a crazy business at the moment. Fingers are currently crossed that something goes through soon, although I have had several people offer me a couch to stay on if I can't handle my roommates any longer! I really can't wait for Rick and Holly to move down here! So, in all, things here are good. I've been getting out more, so I'm not quite as bored as I normally was. My friend has tickets to the UNLV vs. Oregon State game next weekend, so that ought to be fun. Plus, a bunch of us at work got a discount for one of the shows downtown, and are trying to decide on a date to go. Here's to a great school year!
There are some things I definitely miss about the Pacific Northwest, and Portland is one of them. I think I just like the uniqueness of it. This morning Kat and I went to Voodoo Doughnuts... although the line was long, the doughnuts were definitely unique!
I got a somewhat plain maple doughnut face, while Kat got a banana fritter topped with chocolate, peanut butter and cocoa puffs!
We also went to Saturday Market. I think I must have been a hippie in a former life, because I just love all the cool artwork and homemade stuff! http://www.portlandsaturdaymarket.com/
Growing up I took all of it for granted, and now that I have moved away, I find that I miss it all. Not enough to move back, but enough to make visiting really fun!
On the way to the orchard... Picking apricots... Picking cherries... We also picked raspberries at another farm in Spokane. It was really fun to eat fruit fresh off the tree! While picking raspberries, the farm we were at also had tay berries, a cross between a blackberry and a raspberry. Most had already been picked, but we were able to sample some. Very different flavor, not really my style. But I LOVE the raspberries and have been snacking on them all day!!!
Over the past few weeks, there have been a few things that have made this school year entirely worth all the hard work I have put in.
My efforts at pushing the school towards full inclusion have paid off in that more than 4 times the number of Special education students passed the proficiency exams than last year.
Twice as many sped students graduated this year compared to last year.
One of my student brought me flowers and a candy lei (filled with life savers) and said thank you for saving my life. I had never been to a sadder meeting, parents/teachers/counselor/student in tears because he wasn't going to graduate - we worked out a deal, and he did an incredible amount of work and is now graduating. He's such a great kid, and I am so glad I was able to help.
I am looking forward to the break, although I will probably still go in and work over the summer. I am mostly looking forward to the break from all the staffing and drama issues! I am now pretty sure I will never go into administration, because I never want to deal with personnel issues again!
So, after giving it some thought, I decided to go back to my original hair color. I called Tina to get some advice and was a little nervous after hearing all she had to say. When I first got to the salon, my stylist tried to convince me to go darker, then get highlights; as I really didn't want dark brown hair with pink highlights, I chose to take the longer route to color correction.
Round 1 - bleach, stint under hairdryer (burnt my scalp due to heat, not bleach), and first trip to sink - hair was now orange and red. Round 2 - different bleach, stint under steamer, second trip to sink - hair was now bright orange and yellow (think Carrot top or girl in 5th element). Round 3 - two different hair dyes, more time under hair dryer and third trip to sink - hair was now mostly brown, with some underlying orange-ish strands. Round 4 - more hair dye and bleach for highlights, fourth trip to sink - I didn't see hair at this point, but the stylist seemed quite concerned and had to consult with another stylist regarding the color of the highlights. Round 5 - still at sink, toner applied to hair - hair is now a few shades darker than my natural with highlights. Round 6 - haircut, blow dry, more haircut, flat iron, more hair cut. Total time - 8 hours. In the end, it's only a little darker than my natural shade and I think after a little time I can get it back to normal. I loved the red and would go back to it in a heartbeat, but it's a lot to maintain and I'm trying to make life simpler.
I had the great opportunity to go on the Marine Science Field Trip this year. We started on Wednesday morning and got back Saturday night. On Wednesday we visited Steinbeck Vineyards in CA, and the owners taught the kids a mini-lesson and took them for rides around the vineyard in a 1975 Jeep. That night we camped out at San Simean State Campground, right by the beach. We had a telescope and taught an astronomy lesson that night. We were also visited by some raccoons and what we think was a wild pig of some sort. It made for an interesting night.
The next day we drove out to Monterrey Bay and visited Hopkins Marine Station, a satellite of Standford University. Then we got to spend some time at the tide pools nearby. We also spent a couple hours at the Monterrey Bay Aquarium, which was huge! That night we drove up to Alemeda and spent the night in a nice little hotel.
In the morning, we took the ferry over to San Fransisco. It started raining on us and many of the kids put on huge garbage bags to stay dry. We spent a little time at Pier 39 and then walked down to the ferry terminal for Alcatraz. One ferry ride later, we spent a couple hours touring Alcatraz. It was pretty cool. After taking the ferry back, we let the kids loose on Pier 39 for dinner. Our next stop was Reno, which should have only taken 4 hours. However, we got stuck in some crazy traffic for 1.5 hours, and then it started snowing around Lake Tahoe! Our 4 hour bus ride turned into a 7 hour bus ride!
We stayed the night at Circus, Circus in Reno. In the morning, we took an hour long tour of the University of Nevada, Reno campus. I think all universities are pretty much the same, so nothing too terribly exciting there. After that, we spent another 8 hours on the bus and made it back to Vegas. I can't wait for the next field trip!
I'm not really much of a Spring Breaker, but I sure did enjoy the time off. I did manage to get away for a few days and went down to Arizona to visit Bill and family. We played lots of games and did a little sight seeing. One of the days we went up South Mountain, which has an amazing few of all of Phoenix. The kids were cracking me up, because that morning when they were getting dressed, they both decided that they wanted to wear blue, because I was wearing blue. When they came downstairs, dressed and ready to go, they kept saying they were on "Aunt Sharon's team." I'm not sure we ever split into teams, but I at least got a picture of "team blue!" My favorite part of the visit was getting to see Bill take off in an F-16. It still amazes me that he can actually fly something like that! It's so cool! I also got the chance to make Bill his favorite dessert, strawberry shortcake, but I forgot to take a picture. Anyway, now I'm all ready for school to start back up!
Although I can get around most cities just fine, I apperently become directionally challenged when it comes to taking longer trips. I decided to go to Arizona to visit Bill and family for part of my spring break. I've been here once before, and on both trips I've managed to make wrong turns, or miss turns, and add about half an hour to my trip. This last trip I decided to take a different route, so as to avoid all the extra traffic at Hoover Dam. I wound up in California! I had to turn around and backtrack until I found the missed turnoff! I eventually made, so all is good now. Hopefully I will be able to find my home in a few days without too many detours...
I have never been a superstitious person, but after the last few days I might become one. There was a Friday the 13th in February, and just about everything that could go wrong did. Yesterday was even worse! Not even a minute after school started I was called down to the boys PE locker room because one of my Downs Syndrome students was standing on the bench, chain around his hand, shirt off, trying to find one of the football players to fight him. Apparently he had a dream in which this football player had hit him, but it was just a dream. He wouldn't calm down until the campus security monitor told him he could go talk to the police officers. So we walk him over to the campus police office and he tells the officer about his dream. He calms down a little bit, but you could tell he would still go off in a split second. We took him up to the Deans office and had to explain how he was going to be suspended for a few days. While we were waiting for his brother to come get him, we had to put him in one of the other self-contained units, but he wouldn't go. The AP walked in the room and he started hugging me and wouldn't let go. The SPTA for that room came out and walked around campus with him for a while. When the brother finally came, the student wouldn't leave the classroom! He didn't want to go home because he likes school. The brother, although not mentally challenged, was just as hot-headed as the student. The Dean was still trying to explain things when he took the chain from her desk and walked out! I can't wait until my meeting with them next week.
Of course, I also had to deal with arguing teachers, a toothache, an Assistant Principal that was mad at me and my Instructional Assistants for not doing a job she never told us to do in the first place, pushing around a dead electric wheelchair, dealing with an instructional assistant that was 2 hours late and left early, and all the normal paperwork that I deal with on a daily basis. The only good part was that the cooking teacher was having a special lunch and she let me come in and eat for free. I can only hope that next time Friday the 13th rolls around, it's better, or at least a weekend!
After cleaning out my dad's apartment this last weekend, I just have to say that I am grateful for all those who helped. The church members who came to help were amazing, especially considering some of them helped dad move in all that stuff just a few months ago. Dad's friend Jerome was also an amazing help, saving us many trips to good will by finding places for all the useful household items. He even helped us cart most of dad's books to the library to donate. The apartment managers were also very helpful and understanding. Of course, Kat, Rick and Holly were also selfless with their time and energy. I am especially grateful for Holly, who was brave enough to tackle the bathroom! It was not a pleasant task!
After cleaning out my dad's apartment over the past few days, I've realized that there are just some things you don't want to know about your parents. The fact that he was over 60 and still wearing short shorts and using sun-in makes me laugh. After looking at the kitchen, I'm grateful to know that he was never hungry!
It was kind of sad that he had pills and cough drops in every room and in all coat pockets. It has been fun to meet his neighbors and friends (they keep coming by to figure out who is making all the racket!) I probably could've lived without finding his porn collection, but I guess it will be a funny memory for a long time. It makes me nervous about what I'm going to find next!
So, I recently discovered that Las Vegas has a China Town. We went there today for lunnch. It was really interesting to see all the business names in foreign characters, when we were only a few blocks from the strip. We had a lot of fun, and the food was really good. It's too bad it was raining, I didn't get to take any pictures!
After being in Washington the last few days, I've realized how much I miss the green. Not the I have any plans for moving back to the rainy, frizzy hair states. Everything out there is just so pretty and peaceful, from the green trees to the water and ferries. It also reminds me of how far I've come since I've lived in the northwest. Of course, like always, I forgot to take pictures. I even had my camera with me! I guess some things will never change!
Our Del Sol football team has made the playoffs again this year, so I've been going to a lot of football games. We actually have a chance to go to state this year, so my fingers are definitely crossed! 
I also got to go to Six Flags with the Key Club again this year, and as always had lots of fun! As for now, I'm looking forward to the Holidays and having a real Christmas this year!
The original voodoo doughnut
I got a somewhat plain maple doughnut face, while Kat got a banana fritter topped with chocolate, peanut butter and cocoa puffs!
Picking apricots...
Picking cherries...
We also picked raspberries at another farm in Spokane. It was really fun to eat fruit fresh off the tree! While picking raspberries, the farm we were at also had tay berries, a cross between a blackberry and a raspberry. Most had already been picked, but we were able to sample some. Very different flavor, not really my style. But I LOVE the raspberries and have been snacking on them all day!!!
In the end, it's only a little darker than my natural shade and I think after a little time I can get it back to normal. I loved the red and would go back to it in a heartbeat, but it's a lot to maintain and I'm trying to make life simpler.
The kids were cracking me up, because that morning when they were getting dressed, they both decided that they wanted to wear blue, because I was wearing blue. When they came downstairs, dressed and ready to go, they kept saying they were on "Aunt Sharon's team." I'm not sure we ever split into teams, but I at least got a picture of "team blue!" 
My favorite part of the visit was getting to see Bill take off in an F-16. It still amazes me that he can actually fly something like that! It's so cool! 
I also got the chance to make Bill his favorite dessert, strawberry shortcake, but I forgot to take a picture. Anyway, now I'm all ready for school to start back up!
