Yay for the weekend!
First, James and I went with some friends to a house right off the beach in Seaside. The weather was just right, and we took the beach cruiser. Riding that bike on the beach is perhaps one of the greatest joys ever. I also took my camera (of course), got a new tattoo (Ginkgo leaf/covert nerdiness warning!), and had tons of fun getting to know a few more friends. Although exhausted, it was a really fantastic way to spend a weekend.
When I got back I spent the night at home, then went on the MACA Junior's retreat in Magness Tree Farm, just up the road from Newberg. I opted not to take my camera but those at the school will see the video footage - woot!

Daniel

Bat for Lashes - New Music - More Music Videos

This song is like Robert Smith and Stevie Nicks had a baby, then hired a very sad Michel Gondry to direct it.

close your eyes...

Bat for Lashes - New Music - More Music Videos

Before you actually watch the video, may I suggest you listen to the song with your eyes closed? It's marvelous.
Then, watch the video - and Pow! Your life will never be the same!

A student made me this skunk hat.

It's the most glorious hat ever. The tail can also be worn down - it's held up in place by velcro. The ears are so cute! And the ear flaps are little skunk paws, even though you can't tell that well from this picture. I wore it all day!

Liz got a frog that is also la awesome.

Weekends with Hubby

The weather's been nice, and Hubby and I have spent more time both outside and reading - not necessarily at the same time. I took these last weekend when we went to the park to read, and the sun set just as we were driving home.

For sale: 1 skunk, descented. Eats a lot. FREE SHIPPING!














Just kidding, he's my little guy. See his milk mustache? This is his post-dinner nap.













And little girl. She's in her bathroom-cabinet hidey. I'm just glad I got this shot... I've never seen her so contorted!

Oh, how I love thee!

Upsetting news!

Okay, I realize this is actually old news. But I don't really pay attention to celebrity gossip and latest fashions. Still, I am horrified that I inadvertently did something that is now a new "Hollywood must-have."

Fact: My own tat is 5 years old. LiLo is WAAAY behind me.

Fact: I didn't do mine as a reminder of an asthma attack I had. That is weird.

Opinion: White tats of letters really don't look good. White ink is too difficult to work with for you to get the preciseness you need when doing lettering. Many tattoo artists won't even do white tattoos (fact).



















Fact: taking this picture by myself was extremely difficult with a bulky and large camera. Also, I realized that this is the first time I've seen my own tattoo the correct way (i.e., not reversed in a mirror). This is the first picture I've taken of it.

Skipping school!

So, I skipped Thursday and Friday to come up to CdA for Janneke's wedding! Here are some pics to satiate the CdA crowd:

I "helped" with the flowers the night before, and took a bunch of pictures of the festivities. Also, I stayed with a family friend (thanks Paula and Jim!) and had the opportunity to see a turkey... well, it's best for my squeamish/vegetarian friends to not look at the bottom picture.

So: Finally got the little backyard-patio area fixed up. I knew it had potential. James built the planter boxes last fall and I planted a fern, three hostas, pansies, and a few mystery plants in there. Everything that should have survived, did! Hoorah for me. Also, I added more pansies, some petunias, a whole bunch of strawberries, and a whole bunch of nasturtium seeds. Those will come in about two weeks, and I even got pink ones. Yay! Also, I have peppermint, rosemary, honeysuckle, carrots, some flowering groundcover, and a whole bunch of mystery bulbs that haven't bloomed yet. Not pictured: bbq and several spiders.

































For my birthday James took me to Crate and Barrel to pick out a vase. The first moment we walked in the door I caught site of this cool 60's looking blue one that I could swear my great-grandmother or somebody in my family once owned. I needed it immediately.













I picked some of the flowers that I had planted a few years ago at my in-laws. The pink tulips are the largest I have ever seen, and I took this picture for comparison: that's my camera lens cap. The tulip is almost as big as my hand. Ginormous!




























And the yellow and red ones are some of the prettiest I've ever seen. I got lucky with those bulbs.

Hilarity. And music.

Springtime! Hoorah!
Friday we had a half day at school. It was great, especially since my prep period was one of the two classes scheduled. Most of us on staff went to Golden Valley Brewery afterward and enjoyed some foods and drinks. Hilarity ensued.
Then, after school, Liz and I did some gardening. We found curry plants, which we found fascinating, as you normally don't find curry in the gardening section - it smells so strongly! Our fingers even smelled like curry long after we'd touched it. I found this super weird succulent that feels like worms. I got some carrot seeds, and nasturtium (pink?!), and more strawberries, and another hosta.

Enjoy some Postal Service!

If you haven't seen "Lazy Sunday," well, here it is.

do yourself a favor

...and listen to Heavy Metal Drummer, by Wilco. Actually, listen to this whole album. Several times. I've had it for years, and I've never gotten sick of it, not once. Also, become familiar with the song "Jesus, etc." Video below.



...and I link this next one for two reasons: first, you get to listen to "Heavy Metal Drummer." Second, this was clearly made by five punk teenage boys, but it has good production value for highschoolers. Seriously, I can only hope my kids will be able to pull something like this off. I genuinely enjoyed watching it. Also, we at the school have already begun discussions about some sort of music-video contest. This is an exemplar.

Still super sick. My voice is slowly coming back, but my throat still kills me... and I've a pretty bad cough at night, and I'm running out of my precious Vicodin. :( I did manage to escape bedrest for a couple of hours on Saturday to take some pictures with Liz - we went to Bald Peak State Park outside town and took some shots. It was pretty hazy, unfortunately, but here are a couple 180 degree views - one looking south/southwest, the color one looking northwest. You can't see very well, but the color one was a shot of Mt. Saint Helens, Mount Adams, Mount Hood, and Mount Jefferson. You could see all four, it was awesome.

I'm going to crawl back into bed.

PS: Happy birthday, Dad! I hope you had sushi.

Guh, I'm totally sick again (worse than ever this time), and miserable, and out of it. A few days ago I even dug out my stash of Vicodin from last year because my sore throat/coughing was keeping me and Hubby up... only five left, but the doctor gave me a new prescription today (I was also glad that I had made the right call with the Vidocin, considering she wanted me to continue it. Oh, Vicodin, my best friend!). I did luck out, though - after I went in to work and realized that I can't effictively teach with zero voice (hardly a whisper), I managed to find a sub for the afternoon. Then, my doctor just happened to have an opening at 11. Good news: not strep, but definitely something nasty, and she says if it continues to get worse I need to go to the ER. Gah!

Side note: it's embarrassing running around in public with no voice. Trying to get someone's attention? Forget it. Filling a prescription? They think you're a junkie. This checkout lady at Fred Meyer's self-check-out was so incredibly rude/condescending to me, and I really wanted to tell her off, but I couldn't! Torture, I tell you.

The kids are being super sweet about it though. I love my kids.

Spring Break

Hubby and I went to Lincoln City for the night, and had an awesome time - it was totally relaxing having a room right off the beach. This is the view from our room's doorway:













Here are a few pictures. Not a drop of rain fell (regardless of forecast), and even though it was mostly overcast, it was still pretty warm.

































On our way back, we stopped at the Evergreen Aviation Museum. Hubby got to see the Sruce Goose (among other cool aircraft) and I got to take some pictures.













The skunks were overjoyed when we came home. Within five minutes we both had skunks snuggling. This one's Aroma.

I must say that I was a little concerned that after Obama took office, my excitement and interest over the presidency would wane.

However, I still heart Obama. Very much. I'm not expecting perfection, and I'm sick of people knit-picking every little thing he does... and I'm just so happy that he's chosen the things he has to focus on first. (Esp. stem-cell research. Holla!)

I can't wait to see what he has in store for education!

Sick again, ugh. Looking forward to spring break - only one more week of school, yay.

Found new guilty pleasure: Tough Love. Oh man. This series premiered today, only two days after I read my college diary and realized how pathetic I was at BYU - and how many jerks I hung out with. Seriously. Jerks. All boys I ever went on a date with at BYU, hear this: You are a jerk! Also, one of the girls on the show had total lip implants and squishes them together all the time, which I hate. I hate her.

Maybe the Sudafed is talking too much today.