"A Rude Awakening"

So recently some fellow teachers (Kyla, Raimee) and I decided to form a bike club. Every Wednesday we bring our bikes to school and ride up towards the copper mines after school. We decided that we should train for a specific event so we signed up to do a 50 mile bike ride in Rosarito, Mexico. We even have a team name... T.O.W. "Teachers on Wheels".

Well as the date approaches we have been getting more and more nervous. To help ease our nerves we thought we could do a trial bike ride and ride the Heber Century. Now for all of you who don't know, century = 100 miles but there was also a 25 mile option, which was our initial plan. Well for some suicidal reason we thought 25 miles sounded wimpy so instead we took the 50 mile option.

This event went down last Saturday and I have lived to tell the tale so that is good news. It was rather intense I won't downplay it. Raimee's husband took us up to Heber and was our unofficial pit crew. He tried to prep us for the ride up there but I think he thought we were crazy and said we were in for a rude awakening and rude awakening it was. This was in no way a "warm up" ride. If anything this ride was the great achievement and Mexico will seem like a joy ride. Here is my evidence:
*Exhibit one: the elevation... Heber 5500-6500 ft., Rosarito 700 ft.
*Exhibit two: weather... Heber- rainy and windy, Rosarito- sunny.
*Exhibit three: setting... Heber- mountains, Rosarito- beaches.

Well after a week of recovery we are off to Mexico so... stay tuned... and pictures will follow.

Ms. Ideaz!

Since I am currently off-track from school I decided to help out some fellow teachers and do some "trade days". Trade days means that I substitute for them while I am off-track and then they substitute for me when they are off track. In this manner we can save our sick days and we get more days off for free! Anyway, on Monday I substituted for a Kindergarten teacher. It was quite the entertaining experience. My favorite was a little Mexican boy (or "Messican" as he kept saying). He kept asking me what my name was and when I would tell him he would say "Ms. Ideaz?" It was pretty funny.
Anyway the purpose of this post was to share what wonderful things the students of Ms. Ideaz have learned during their unit on safety. We talked about different safety topics during our last few weeks of school and on the last day I put them in groups, assigned a director, and let them create their own "Second Grade Public Service Announcement". We watched a few examples from YouTube but the scripting and acting is purely their own. I would also like to add that I did assign all students a job in their group and one of the jobs was Costume Design. This cracked me up because they took it very seriously and tried to coordinate their outfits. The best comment I heard was from one group who wanted their "bully" to wear red because "bullies wear red".

Special Thanks to Raimee who did the editing and added the special effects!
p.s. The video is a little fuzzy to protect the identity of the students. Just kidding. I will try to get a better version of the video later. Sorry.

Bringing "Feelings" Back

Last weekend I had the pleasure of hangin' with my homegirls T-licious and Foxy A (otherwise known as Tara and Celeste) chillin' out maxin' relaxin' all cool at the End of Summer Jamboree at Thanksgiving Point. Despite the fact that entering Thanksgiving Point is like entering Prison we had a pretty good time. Points of interest were: The Aquabats (fun for kids and spectating from a distance), The Format (AZ locals), Some girl who sang songs about feelings, Toad the Wet Sprocket (surprisingly excellent) and the main reason for attending and lets face it the main reason for my existence... Dashboard Confessional (two words- tight pants and hightops, need I say more). Here is the magnificence himself, Chris Carrabba...
I am sorry but I don't care if he does spend most of his time screaming infidelities it was definately worth the wait of a 12 hour concert just for this piece of eye candy. I especially liked how Glen Phillips from Toad the Wet Sprocket, talking about Chris, said he was "bringing feelings back".

As a sidenote: on the way to the concert we stumbled upon a fantastic little restaurant. And for all my gueros out there who love juice it is a must try.

It's the Aquabats! High Five!

P.S. If anyone knows what a "Sprocket" is please let me know.

I Like To Party!

This year I had the best birthday ever!! Mandy, Lesli and I had a surprise party for myself which included margaritas, cake and karaoke. All of my favorite things!
Mandy, Lesli and I went out to dinner first and while we were away Katrina broke in and decorated in a Luau fashion. It was fantastic! I also received great gifts...

Jared's mustache

My bike (a gift to myself)

Cards from my many friends! Thank you!!

It's My Birthday and I'll Cry if I Want To...

Once again it's my birthday! I am another year older and wiser too. According to my mother, this year is significant because my birthday falls on a Monday and I was actually born on a Monday. In recognition of the blessed event I decided to post some pictures of birthdays past.

Presents!!! Yes please.

I like to party!

P.S. Since it is my birthday now would be an appropriate time to leave a comment especially if you never do!

Rockin' the Library!

Disclamer: Nerd Alert! I know but I am ok with that.
Fact: This weekend I was introduced to the wide world of wizarding rock. I had no idea that there was such a thing but apparently there is and it is huge. Don't believe me? Check this out.
Event: Saturday night "Harry and the Potters" performed live at the SLC Library with special guest "Draco and the Malfoys". It was seriously the awesomest concert I have ever witnessed. I don't know which band I liked better they were both so excellent. My favorite things about "Draco and the Malfoys" were that their opening song was "Party like your evil" and before every song they said "our next song is about this kid at Hogwarts who gets too much attention for his own good". For samples of their songs check out Draco and the Malfoys' myspace. I highly recommend the song "Potions Yesterday". My favorite thing about "Harry and the Potters" was the ridiculous amount of energy and enthusiasm they put into their music. They also had excellent songs especially "Save Ginny Weasley".
Evidence: This is a video of me and Clark at the concert to prove that we were there, we rocked and we bought the T-shirt!
Added Bonus: If you enjoyed this segment on Wizard Rock then here is another link you will enjoy. This is by far my favorite wizard rock song of all time (time being the last 2 days)... The Whomping Willows and their hit song "House called Awesome". It is a song about how the whomping willow wants to be sorted but he can't because he is a tree so he starts his own house and it's called "Awesome".

Well-Mannered Frivolity!

In recognition of the long awaited release of the seventh and final Harry Potter book I decided to pay tribute through blog. Last Saturday night, at 11:00 pm, my brother Clark and I joined the many Harry Potter fans at the U of U bookstore to receive our copy of the long anticipated book. We decided to take advantage of this opportunity to wear our Harry Potter outfits for what may possibly be the last time. Me in my Professor Trewlany glasses and Clark in his wizarding robes (he was crushed that he couldn't find his "Magical Me" book as a tribute to Professor Lockhart).

The Harry Potter Party at the bookstore was fantastic!! As soon as we walked in the door we were all sorted. I was sorted into the Ravenclaw house which we all know are known for their intellect (rightly sorted I believe). Then we received 5 galleons to spend on various activities such as wand making, butterbeer and Bertie Botts every flavor beans at the Hogshead Tavern, quidditch, face painting, Weasly's Wizard Wheezes, ect.

Brett, Aaron, Me, Clark and Steve.. all proud owners of the last Harry Potter book!

Some people couldn't wait to get home before they started reading. Steve read as he was driving us back to his apartment. I even read the entire first chapter out loud to Clark as he drove us home.

What you cannot see here is Brett because he is under the invisibility cloak!

Now I would like to take a moment to share some personal thoughts on the last and final Harry Potter book. I have to be honest here and say that I was a little disappointed. Not only because she killed off one of my

favorite characters but because the epilogue was incredibly chessy. Some may disagree but it kind of ruined the book for me. After giving it some more thought I have concluded that probably the main reason I was disappointed was because now the mystery and intrigue is over. There is nothing left to look forward to, nothing to try and figure out. This last book was bittersweet. I have enjoyed the fantasy that was Harry Potter. I guess I will just have to get on with my own life but what fun is reality?