So, the last few months have been pretty crazy and hectic. Here's a few pictures to show what I've been up to...Cheri came out to visit in October, right in between Rick's and my birthdays. We had a lot of fun, and most of the pictures are on facebook. I finally got to see KA, one of the Cirque du Soleil shows I've been wanting to see. It was amazing!
Thanksgiving was pretty quiet. Rick and Holly made their own plans, so Joe and I had a little dinner at his house. I basically made Thanksgiving dinner for two, turkey, mashed potatoes, baked sweet potatoes and stuffing! It was actually really good.
Last week was a busy week, with wrestling season starting and my life getting busier. I also got sent flowers, for the first time! Yes, they are from a boy, but that's all I'm going to say for now :)
Our first wrestling match was Tuesday night. This year we are making the wrestlers dress up for school any time they have a match and they looked so good!
We had our first tournament this weekend. One of our wrestlers got head-butted and got a huge knob on his eye! The trainer wouldn't let him wrestle after that, since he couldn't see to the side. We actually came in 5th place in the lower bracket, which is good for our kiddos.
That's my life for the last couple months. I am still taking classes online towards another master's degree, this time in educational leadership. It's been interesting to balance my life between work, school, wrestling and actually having time to date. I am really looking forward to the holiday break!
So, I think I've become somewhat invisible lately. Not only have I not updated the blog in forever, I haven't been home for any length of time in the last couple months. Just ask Rick and Holly - we haven't had an entire conversation in a while and I live with them. Anyway, I'm attempting to update, so here we go...So, January and February continued with me coaching wrestling. We did not have anyone go to state this year, but one kiddo made 5th place at regionals. I became part of the schools testing committee, with my friends Katie and Joe. It was extremely stressful to be in charge of high stakes testing! I also made Holly some art deco cupcakes for her birthday in February...March and April was mostly work and testing mania. Towards the end of April I went on the Marine Science field trip for the third year in a row. We even added a stop for hiking in Red Rock National Park in CA.The field trip goes to Monterrey Bay, San Francisco and Reno, before heading back to Las Vegas. Funnily enough, the principal asked me to go on the orchestra/choir field trip the next week - to San Francisco! So I spent two weekends in a row in San Francisco seeing the sights!My friend Joe is obsessed with Ireland after his trip there last year, so for his birthday, I made cupcakes in the shape of the Ireland flag. I also made a bunch of mini cupcakes for all his students and placed them around his classroom in the shape of a shamrock. My principal is a golf fanatic, so for her birthday I made cupcakes in the shape of a golf course.This year I was also asked to chaperone prom. It was kind of fun to see all the kiddos dressed up. Joe's student aide, Manzo, was also one of our wrestlers and kind of our "special" favorite student this last year. When he finally passed the math proficiency, which made him\ eligible for graduation at the last minute, I made him graduation cupcakes, in the school colors, of course!April also brought about Rick's great roofing project... it only took about a month, but luckily the weather cooperated and there were no leaks! Bill even got to help out for a day.
After graduation, I headed out to Washington for Brian's wedding. It was fun to see everybody! The wedding was beautiful, set at a local vineyard. It was a lot of fun, despite the rain. We also got to go hiking up at Multnomah Falls. I even got to introduce Holly to my favorite place in the world, Portland Saturday Market!The rest of June was spent finishing my Master's degree culminating project. I spent about a week closeted in my room getting everything all finished. I actually just got the final product in the mail a few weeks ago...For the month of July, I worked the Extended School year program at Helen J. Stewart, a special education school. It was a very interesting month, since I'm not used to working with students that are that needy, but I had a lot of fun.In August I got to spend a week with the Marines as part of a teacher education workshop. For a week, they took us to various bases around the San Diego area and we got to see what they are all about. I think the goal is to have educators that are informed of the opportunities that the military can provide their students. It was a lot of fun, but very tiring.Also in August I got to go up to Utah for Bill and Tina's baby blessing for baby Evelyn. It was nice to see the family and some friends down in Provo. As usual, for me anyway, I forgot to take any pictures.This school year has been pretty tough so far. It's probably been my most difficult year to date. Our principal for the last three years decided to retire during the summer, getting out before all the changes going on in the district. Her retirement party was a few weeks ago...The new principal has been ok so far, but things are a lot more stressful. For one, our school is under close scrutiny as we have the highest drop out rate in the state. There are a lot of new mandates and responsibilities that are making work difficult. Our student numbers are also lower, so we are short an assistant principal. I am the only one left on the testing committee and proficiency exams are critical this year. We are also in a new "area" of the district, which means I have new special education leadership and new expectations. This is all on top of the new Master's degree program I started with Joe, in educational leadership. One other event happened at our school that caused me a lot of stress, but was probably worth it. Our school was host to Challenge Day, an event targeted at bringing the school population closer together to end bullying. I was part of the organizers for this event. It seemed to go pretty well, but I'm glad that it's over and I can get back to focusing on my actual job. Plus, wrestling season is about to start back up, so I'm gonna be super busy, again. On top of all this, I've been going to see the doctor because I think I have a pinched nerve. My arm and fingers keep going numb and tingly at the most inopportune times. It's a little frustrating, but hopefully it will be resolved soon.Anyway, that's the news for now. Hopefully I can stay on top of things and keep posting, but no promises. :-)
So, I guess I need to fill in the gaps, since I haven't posted in a while. School and work still keep me pretty busy. I am down to only 3 more classes for my Masters degree, which I will finish up this summer. My friend Joe is the head wrestling coach at work - which is actually really funny because he knows absolutely nothing about wrestling! He decided to make me an assistant coach! I think it's a little crazy, but I can always appreciate some extra income. So, I do the paperwork and am in charge of fund raising. I help at the matches and tournaments, but it's pretty funny because they ask me all sorts of questions that I have no idea how to answer.The holiday season went pretty well. I took Joe to the church Christmas party, which was actually pretty nice. Rick choreographed a dance number for part, and Holly sang a duet. All in all it was fun. Of course, Rick and Holly had to squash a lot of rumors about me and Joe, but I guess that's what I get for bringing a friend to a church function.I went to Ohio for Christmas, but typical me, did not take many pictures. We flew through Minneapolis on the way there and were fortunate to not have any weather issues. We went to the Columbus Zoo one night and it was amazing to see all the lights! My favorite were the "blue herons," which Rick might be the only one to remember why I laugh at that phrase. We were able to see a lot of the animals, too, so that was nice.It was a pretty quiet holiday, mostly spent with Joe's family. We did get up to Cincinnati to see his 'sisters' and went to visit Ohio University on another day. When we got back to Vegas we had a wrestling tournament for a few days. I am now pretty good at score keeping and yelling basic commands. I don't think the wrestlers can hear through their headgear anyway.New Years was pretty quiet as well. We were originally going to go downtown with the principal, but those plans fell through. So, Joe and I watched movies and had a new year's cookie!School started up this week, but UNLV hasn't started yet so I've got some free time. I spend most of it at wrestling practices and matches! I had the opportunity to go on a field trip yesterday to the Getty Villa in Malibu. Except for some issues with the bus, it was amazing! The building and surroundings are set up like a true Roman Villa. It's a museum with mostly Greek and Roman antiquities, but I was most impressed with the gardens. There were several, including an herb garden, to make it feel more real, like a real Roman villa.
I liked this one because it was all about wrestling! 
Me, Donita and Patty hanging out on the field trip.
This is me with our principal, Ms. Angelcor.After the Getty Villa, we went across the street and spent a little while at the beach. It was a little chilly, but I still love the ocean...
That's about it for now. UNLV starts up next week, so I'll probably be pretty busy between that, work and wrestling season. Hopefully no other major events come along!
Thanksgiving was pretty quiet. Rick and Holly made their own plans, so Joe and I had a little dinner at his house. I basically made Thanksgiving dinner for two, turkey, mashed potatoes, baked sweet potatoes and stuffing! It was actually really good.
Last week was a busy week, with wrestling season starting and my life getting busier. I also got sent flowers, for the first time! Yes, they are from a boy, but that's all I'm going to say for now :)
Our first wrestling match was Tuesday night. This year we are making the wrestlers dress up for school any time they have a match and they looked so good!
We had our first tournament this weekend. One of our wrestlers got head-butted and got a huge knob on his eye! The trainer wouldn't let him wrestle after that, since he couldn't see to the side. We actually came in 5th place in the lower bracket, which is good for our kiddos.
That's my life for the last couple months. I am still taking classes online towards another master's degree, this time in educational leadership. It's been interesting to balance my life between work, school, wrestling and actually having time to date. I am really looking forward to the holiday break!
