Before PhotoShop...

...there was cut and paste.

(That's my old darling tarantula, Fluffy. And my first car--the yellow one.)

Congratulations, Dani and Paul!

You two are beautiful! I'm so privileged to be a small part of your lives and your ceremony. You'll have an extraordinary life together.

I HAVE A JOB

Yay!
The past two weeks have been a crazy rollercoaster of job offers, interviews, school visits, job offer declines, and this evening: job offer acceptance. I was offered a job in Anchorage, Alaska--James and I wanted it, but no pet skunks allowed. :( Corbett, then, sounded perfect (the school owns 13 acres in the mouth of the Columbia river--and they're building a mini observatory to house their new telescope. They wanted me to teach the Astronomy class. Suh-weet!), and I had my heart set on it. Then I interviewed (and subsequently was offered a job) with MACA--the brand new Media Arts and Communications Academy down in McMinnville. Next year will be their first year. It's a small charter school that focuses on integrating all subject areas and technology. In the end, that's what I chose. It's exciting to be part of the process of creating a school--I feel like I'll be part of a real team, and the school will be small (which I like). I feel fortunate that I even had the choice between two fantastic schools that both seemed right for me. Never did I hope that I could find a job in a small school with proper funds and really great support--but everything came together, and I'm so thankful.
Check out MACA...

**Addendum**

That comic might lead you to believe that Josh secretly hated me. That might be true, but that didn't stop him from asking me to prom. We didn't go together, but it was a nice thought. Josh and I were great friends.

Once upon a time, in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho...

In high school, I had a friend named Josh Montreil. He was a fantastic artist. In Senior English one day, he whipped this baby out in about 10 minutes. I'm not sure where the final draft went (it was in ink, and involved a gruesome scene with white-out) but I liked this one better anyway.

In case you can't decifer the dialogue, it goes like this:
"The blessedly brief adventure of Audrey, wanna-be Queen of the Universe!
...Once upon a time in the village of Coeur d'Alene, in the kingdom of Idaho...
...there lived a poor comic book artist named Josh...

One day, Josh was minding his own business, when suddenly...'I am AUDREY...QUEEN OF THE UNIVERSE!'...an annoying pixie bust in...

...and Josh said... "Holy freakin' bloody motherlovin'sweet merciful CRAP!"

"You seem to be an artist, Draw me a comic starring me!"
"...I must be drunk..."

Josh tried to ignore Audrey, but everywhere he went, she popped up and went off about how she was the Queen and must be drawn.

"DRAW ME" "Shut up" "DRAW ME" "Shut up" "DRAW ME" "Shut up"

Suddenly, Josh had an idea! "She's just a drawing!" So he got an eraser.

"NO!"

And he lived happily ever after.


I like the part about being a pixie.

Once a Queen of the Universe, always a Queen of the Universe... right James?

I heart herbs and pots and pans

Hubby gave me one of the most thoughtful gifts I think I've ever received for my birthday. I came home to discover that he had installed a very cute shelf in the kitchen and bought pots and herbs! He even accounted for "morning sun" so our lovely kitchen garden will grow strong. Yay! He knows how sad I've been about not having a garden of my own, so he brought one to me. How sweet is that!?






















Also, Toby is super cute. He's found himself a new favorite hidey-hole: behind some pots in a kitchen cupboard. This is him peeking out. I woke him from a nap. He was using some stored-away plates as a pillow.










He says, "I'm coming out now!"

Change of plans

I was so so so looking forward to our backpacking/fossil hunting trip this weekend.

Alas, my plans were thwarted--by a terribly painful sinus infection!












And rain, to boot!









It wasn't meant to be, I suppose. We were even invited to a "Stache Bash" (party celebrating the glory that is the moustache--James was going to shave down to a gnarly Fu Manchu), but sinus ickiness prevailed.
I tried to make up for my party-pooperness by making banana pancakes Sunday morning! Made with an organic, genetically modified banana and a little fingerling banana thrown in there too. Possibly the fluffiest pancakes I've ever made.