Semester 19...done

86 days....That is how many school days the last semester was. I am always surprised by how fast the days fly by. It seemed like only yesterday was October. WOW.
Now that the semester is done, I have the new semester to look forward to. This past semester went well. I had really well behaved students, who were eager to learn. Which makes teaching fun. Yeah!!
As I am typing this up I am having a hard time believing that I have been in the education field for 10 years now. If I do the math quick...on average, I have about 20 student in each class...I teach 5 classes a semester. Now take 100 multiply by 19....wow....I have had about 1900 students in the last decade.
Now if I could only remember all their names. Hahah imagine that!

Choose Wisely!

As I am sitting in the warmth of my house. Old man winter is pounding on the door with minus 20 degree force. Pound away!!! I am not leaving, at least for awhile. I have the day off because of the cold. The last day I had off because of the cold was January 30th of last year. I chose wisely because yesterday, I had a dentist appointment that took up most of the morning and I had yesterday off as well. So today is a nice gift and break from the routine.

Yesterday I graduated from the dentist, at least for awhile. In the last three months, I went 4 times because of cavities...Booo. With all the money, I put into my mouth I could have funded a great trip somewhere!

A word of advice! Don't go multiple years with out a trip to the dentist like I did! I remember the dentist saying, "Boy, I haven't seen a cavity this bad in 6 weeks" on one of my visits. I guess that means, I won an award and have a plaque on a wall somewhere in his office. I don't know if that is a good thing???

So last night the school that I teach at cancelled school, so I knew that I didn't have to set an alarm. It felt great to sleep in.

What does the day hold for me? I am planning on making some bread, heading to the gym for a workout, and maybe a walk. Inside or outside....to be determined.

Note: In the time that it took for me to type this it has dropped two degrees.... -22 .....

...And Hello 2009!

Happy new year! Derek's end-of-2008 post pretty much sums up my sentiments. Looking at that list, one thing is clear -- there was much to enjoy in 2008! I'm very thankful for getting a chance to do and experience all that I did, but more importantly, I'm thankful for the people who helped make it so enjoyable. Derek, friends, family...you know who you are.

Derek and I celebrated the end of 2008 with an old favorite -- dinner at Great Waters Brewery in downtown St. Paul. We had appetizers, drinks, dinner and dessert, we spent about 2.5 hours total in that place. Good stuff! We started with a hummus/pita/veggies plate, followed by chicken for me and duck for Derek. The best was the desset, though...bread pudding as big as my head. Derek was happy...just look at him!


After dinner, that left us with about 2.5 more hours to burn until midnight, and we decided to spend it at home...where it was warm, comfortable and free! I really couldn't ask for more on NYE.

So far today has been what New Year's should be...a whole lot of not much of anything besides relaxing and enjoying simple pleasures like pancakes and a walk on what's turned out to be a not-too-cold day. The year 2009 is off to a great start.