Nature in my backyard

Something I'm going to miss about our house is how close it is to nature. Sometimes this could be a bad thing, I guess, but looking out my front window and seeing this sure can add excitement to the day:

Yup. Deer in our front yard. Now, it's not like we live way out in the country or anything, but we live far enough into the suburbs that this does happen sometimes. And then there's this:

Not quite sure what kind of bird that is - I just know it's big! And it's not every day someone can walk out their back door and see a big, loud bird just sitting on their deck chair. I love our house!

New cousin!

Chris and I have a new cousin (or maybe it's a second cousin? or first cousin once removed? or second cousin once removed by marriage? oh, screw it. It's a new relative). Zander James Clem was born to Chris' cousin Josh and his girlfriend Linda on Friday, June 12 by C-section, weighing around 6 lbs and nineteen inches. ADORABLE!

I have to get me one of these!!!! What a cutie!

Bathroom Remodel Complete (mostly)

Yes! Our bathroom is finished being remodeled, just in time for us to move and not be able to enjoy the fruits of our labor! But that's okay - experience is priceless! As always, I am amazed at Chris' ability to not only rewire electricity and do crazy plumming thingys, but also his ability to not get electrocuted or flood the house in the process! Here's some photos for your viewing enjoyment:

Before: (please especially note the FANTASTIC orange and brown linoleum floor)

After:

Sorry, I forgot to take pictures of the tub surround, which might be one of the biggest changes. Chris did an awesome job on that, even though it was really difficult to do. And now, for the most important change of all: (drumroll please)...

YES!!!!!!! That is an outlet, IN the bathroom!!!!! Not in the dining room, with a twenty foot extension cord running from it into the bathroom so I can use my hair dryer, but not be able to close the bathroom door!!! It is actually IN the bathroom!!!!!!! And not just one outlet, but two!!!! My hair straightener can be plugged in, warming up, WHILE I'm drying my hair!! Could life get any better? I think not. Modern technology rocks. And my amazing husband, who rewired the bathroom specifically for this purpose, rocks too!

So, if anyone needs to use a bathroom electrical appliance, you know where to come! :)

LOVE this book

I honestly think that if I were on an island, stranded, and could choose only one book to have, this might be it. I have read it a dozen times and still love it every time! I have kept an ongoing list of my all time favorite books (beginning with "Little Women" and "The Giver" from fourth grade, right on up to "Gone With the Wind" in junior high and "The Road" from just a few years ago) and this one is my most recent fav. You know those books that you are always in the mood for, the ones that somehow manage to fit your mood, no matter what your mood is? This is one of them. I packed all my other books except for this one, because this book is the perfect read for sad endings and new beginnings. Keep in mind, it is a humongous 1400 pages, but each and every page is FANTASTIC! If you haven't read it and have a few minutes (or years) to spare, read it!

Technology + Mandy = Frustration

GRRR... okay, I know everyone is chomping at the bit for a new blog post (ha ha), but technology keeps getting in the way! First, my camera battery died - maybe it was the 4,000 photos I took at the Altamont Extravaganza! Then, couldn't find the charger... it's because I'm packing and everything's a mess. That's the excuse I'm going with, anyway. Finally found my battery charger yesterday, but now my laptop is dead and won't turn on!!! Having some issues with the charger cord or something... so, I'm using an old laptop for this post, but can't upload photos to this one! sigh. Oh, the huge problems I face. Right up there with hunger in third world countries and the Darfur situation. Anyways, new blog post with pictures coming soon!

The End of an Era

This week marks the end of an era. Thursday is the last day of school for Altamont students, and the last day we will be together as an Altamont family. Frankly, I'm having a hard time coming to grips with this transition. Me, who gets stressed about changes like getting a new entertainment center (seriously, I actually lost sleep over this one. It's because the new entertainment center couldn't hold as many of our framed pictures, so I was feeling sad. Totally not joking!). And here we are, what a year full of changes. Altamont closing. Teachers moving to city schools and new schools. Me without a job. Chris starting his externship. Moving to Medford. I'm not exagerrating when I say that I could quite happily teach at Altamont with these wonderful people for the rest of my life. It's no coincidence that people at Altamont have been there for a LONG time - it's because it's, hands down, the best staff in the district.



I have been trying really hard to not think about the whole situation. When we first realized that Altamont would be closing, we knew that we would all be split up. My coworkers are my best friends. My coworkers have been my family, my support system. They have been my teachers, my inspiration to become a better teacher. I have learned and grown, become a better person through my interactions with Altamont staff. As was quite aptly noted during happy hour a few hours ago, we at Altamont have had to be strong for each other, united against the poverty that plagues most of the kids at Altamont, and as a result have become closer than most staffs. And boy, have we had fun!

My worst fear is not being able to see these wonderful people every day. When something as wonderful and fabulous as Altamont happens, it makes for a difficult show to follow and live up to my heightened expectations. Regardless of what happens to our staff and our Altamont "family", lucky are those who come into contact with these kick-ass teachers!!! Thank you, Altamont, for being such a huge positive part of my life for these three years!

Oh no!!

So, the other day I went to routinely check my email, and found a strange email from Paypal saying that my recent purchase has been approved and money taken out of my bank account for the purchase. The purchase? Moniker Online Services. Hmm, that's strange, I think. Let's check this out. The amount of the purchase? $829.20!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yikes!!!!!!!! Talk about PANIC!!!!!!! I was like, whoa, I know I shop a lot, but I think I would have noticed spending $830.00 on Paypal!!! Especially since Moniker Online Services is website for registering domain names! umm... don't think I would be registering a domain name, since I barely have enough computer smarts to turn on a computer!!

So, I call Paypal, who are suprisingly helpful and I even get to talk to several REAL LIVE people (one could even speak English fluently!), so things are being taken care of. Thank goodness we actually had the funds in our account so no overdraft fees. The only snag is that our mortgage is being taken out on the 25th, so Chris had to transfer money from his credit card to our account to pay for that, but no biggie. I'm not sure how all this happened, but you can rest assured I will be watching my email and online accounts a lot more carefully in the future!!