Happy Valentine's Day

A lot has happened since my last post. I got my cast off and am back to the gym now as often as I was before. Even able to jog on the treadmill from time to time. it sure is nice to be off of "house arrest." Dad and Leyta came up for Christmas and I was surprised that they enjoyed the weather. I wasn't sure how they would take it but it went well and I think they really enjoyed their time. I started my last two classes of the spring semester and they are going okay. This week I will send off my student teaching forms so that the district can get that all figured out for my student teaching next year and am waiting to get my renewed initial teaching certificate. I have also registered for the Praxis II test which I have to take before I can get my professional certificate and have been studying for those in between school work, work practicum, and attempting a regular gym schedule again. I have registered to take the Elementary Content exam on April 30th which, if I pass, will make me qualified to teach K-5 and have also registered for Middle School Social Studies and Language Arts on March 12th (though am hoping to get it changed to June so I have more time to study) and if I pass I will be considered highly qualified to teach those subjects at the middle school level should the craziness possess me to actually work with middle schoolers. In the process of updating my teaching application with the school district so I will be eligible for the classified hiring pool this next school year. Since last year I have been in the classified hiring pool which means that when teaching positions become available at the end of each school year, principals can look through the applications of people who are in the process of becoming certified and interview them for potential positions if they still have openings that have not been filled by certified staff. I interviewed for a position last year but didn't get it because they went with someone further along in the program. Since then the district has proposed retirement incentives so I know there will be quite a few opening this year as people take up the incentive which will give new teachers a better chance at getting hired and I already know of some positions that will open up at schools close to home so we will see what happens. My ideal goal is still to be in an actual teaching position during the time I am student teaching next fall so I can actually be getting paid while I student teach. Otherwise I will have to take a short term leave of absence without pay from my current position during the fall and will return to that position in the spring after student teaching.
I can't really think of anything else that has been happening since then. Life has pretty much just been business as usual. My birthday is in two weeks and my dad has reserved me a cabin like the one he stayed at while he was here so I will go there for the weekend, possibly see the local theatre's production of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," and get my nails done and a pedicure as well as do homework by the fireplace. Jamie left for the hospital this afternoon because his dad is back in the hospital. He was found unresponsive this morning and they think this might be it for him. He has been in and out over the years for health problems stemming from self-inflicted health issues. Last I heard they still had him sedated and on a ventilator and they did not know what was wrong with him and he should be having his CT scan right now and is still unresponsive so who knows how that will turn out. I guess people will know as often as I am updated which hasn't been very often.
Hope everyone has a good week.

Continued home rennovations

Jamie spent most of this last month completing the flooring in the house. Tearing up living room tile,carpet,and old hardwood in the kitchen, and replacing it with new bamboo.

Though this process seemed an inconvenience at the time since it created a large mess and I was on crutches during that time, it ended up beautiful. Jamie's uncle Ted came in and textured the living room/hallway ceiling and helped prime the walls for painting. Two of the living room walls were painted a pale yellow color and the remaining wall and the hallway were painted a dark white/pale yellow (officially called "buttermilk") The are set off beautifully against our original green accent wall, toning down and complimenting each other.

I am so pleased at how it all turned out and was even more thrilled to have it done just before Christmas so all the decorations could be put up. The living room finally feels "complete" and all that is left to be done if putting the trim work back (though it may possibly be repainted along with the doors), finally hanging our pictures and mirrors, choosing new tile to put down in the entryway, as well as changing the office into the spare bedroom and vise versa. Fairly small indoor projects that should keep us busy in the following months.

2011

This was my view as I woke this morning January 1st 2011. Fresh and clean as we enter this new year. It seems there is a trend when starting the new year to reflect on the previous year as well as the upcoming. I have much to be thankful for from the last year and am intrigued to what this new year will bring. As I spend this last weekend of freedom in my pajamas, I will do just that, enjoying my time alone before heading back to work.

Cause I am talented like that.....

So I didn't realize until the other day how long it had actually been since I last posted on here! Can't believe it has been two months already. Since then we have gotten snow, I have become more comfortable in my work routine, I have been helping in a 1st/2nd grade classroom for practicum and love that age and the teacher I am with, and am almost done with a semester of school!
The biggest news, if you can call it that, is that I broke my ankle at the gym on Friday while doing a balance exercise on the BOSU ball and apparently my Friday night balance is not the best. While doing the exercise, I lost my balance and fell, thus breaking my ankle and ended up going straight from the gym to the hospital for x-rays and a splint. Turns out, the fracture was in the back of my ankle and would therefore explain the swelling and the fact
that I am completely unable to put any weight on it. I have spent this last week at home, elevating and icing my ankle and generally staying in bed and getting some recreational reading done, getting up only to hobble the house on my crutches to eat and go to the bathroom and stretch my body out. Today was cast day. Went into Anchorage where they did another set of x-rays to make sure nothing had shifted and see if I needed a cast or surgery. Luckily for me nothing has shifted and that means all I needed was a cast. However, it also meas that I am in that cast for six weeks, can do no strenuous activity or walking/standing for long periods of time and most likely no driving but I am calling the doctor tomorrow to double check, though I am assuming that if I can't really walk then I probably can't drive. Because of the need for extreme modifications like these, I am waiting to hear back from the "big boss" at work as to how he wants to proceed in this area. Does he think we can successfully modify or should I just stay home? This would mean, by my calculations, that the cast should be removed somewhere around the week of Christmas. We will see.....
I have been blessed that my mother-in-law has made it a point to come out most days this week to help with laundry and dishes, bringing the mail, taking me to my appointments, and running other small errands that I would normally do. So at this point only time will tell what things will look like from here on out.

School is back in session

Beets, Turnips, Peas, Broccoli (cabbage and green onions were on the way)
Busy preparing beets and turnips for canning

Well school for me has officially started although I have been back at work for almost two weeks and the adjustment has been fairly easy. So far I enjoy the smaller environment and most of the kids and in some ways it is nice to see some of the kids I have worked with before at the elementary school. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, the transition into fall weather has been nicer than our summer weather was. Jamie left today to go caribou hunting for the weekend and will hopefully be successful. I am looking forward to going to the fair on Sunday as well as on Monday for a Boys 2 Men concert, as well as getting the house cleaned and settling into the school routine and figuring out how to balance school and work again. Last weekend we spent a successful day at the U-Pick vegetable farm and, assuming on what is available, I may or may not go back this weekend (or in upcoming weekends) for carrots and green beans.

Chicken Coop Part 1

As the summer wraps up and I prepare to go back to work this Monday (kids start school Thursday) I figured I should do one last summer update while there is still downtime. School and work ended quite uneventfully and today we have FINALLY had a short break from the 27 consecutive days of rain, which I think has really been bad news for our plants and I think we will definitely need to re-think next year's greenhouse. Finally got the storage trailer and were able to load some stuff into it and clean up the yard a bit so things don't look quite so ghetto. Overall this summer was pretty quiet. For reasons unknown to me I did not get the job at the day school that I was hoping for in a previous post. I had an interview for a 5th grade teaching position also but was not lucky enough to land that spot either so for the next year I will be working at Houston Middle School which is only about 15 minutes from the road. Most of our 5th graders from last year will be attending that school and I am assuming that I will be in a class with some if not all of them. As much as I was looking forward to the possibility of branching out and working with new kids, this position has its upside as well. It should be nice to experience a different environment. I had some experience in the middle school last year with a practicum and feel that it might be a nice fit. This will be my last year of academic classes toward my certification and I will be student teaching next fall which means this might be my last year working until I can figure out how to get myself into classroom next year and hopefully get paid to student teach. Normally you are not paid for student teaching but if I can get into my own classroom then that might be my loophole.
Now I must explain the hen house. It was obtained from Jamie's uncle who used to use it for his guinea fowl. We have set it up in the back woods of the house but it still needs a door, insulation, and a completed fenced-in area before it is ready for birds. We will be getting six hens from some friends who are looking to downsize their birds this year but the coop probably wont be ready until the end of September or so and I don't anticipate really having any birds settled in until October depending on how fast things get done. This is officially the first step toward Jamie's dream of a small farm, or what my mother-in-law has christened as the start of "Noah's Ark" and in due time "Mrs. Noah" will be in charge of plants and animals. We don't even have birds settled yet and he is already contemplating more birds, goats, and even brought up the idea of yaks. Oh boy. These next few years should be interesting but at least it will take that long to get settled and get things figured and it isn't all happening at once.

Summer Projects

As is the norm for an Alaskan summer, the weather tends to be fairly unpredictable. Yesterday was sunny and 70. Today its raining, its pouring, so I decided to take some pictures of our recent projects, complete with cute rain boots which will soon become the norm as projects expand (might have to get another pair next summer just because) and do some blogging since I noticed it has been awhile.
Worked my last day of summer school on friday. Overall I would say that it was an uneventful summer school experience which I am always thankful for. I worked with middle school kids in the A.M. and high school kids in the P.M. which was pretty much a breeze so I can't complain. I have an interview tomorrow for a job at the new day school that the district is creating for primary kids K-3. We already have one for middle school/ high school kids but they are feeling the need for a primary school. For those unfamiliar with this term "day school" it is an environment created for those children with behavioral and emotional issues that are so out of control that they have essentially worn-out their welcomes at every other special education program designed for them and there would be no educational opportunities for them in a traditional school setting. These are children who are at extremely high-risk and need to be dealt with in an environment where they are a danger to as few children as possible and who have staff that are able to meet their needs in a program that will hopefully be better equipped for their success than a traditional school environment. Really, it isn't much different from the work I have been doing over the years, with the exception that these kids will only be attending school half the day since that is all they can realistically handle and staff will spend the remaining part of the day planning and discussing issues that arise. Just a new environment. The cool thing about this program is that they will be working in conjunction with a community organization known as CODI which is the co-occurring disorder institute. Since all of these kids have mental and family issues that accompany their behavior problems and learning disabilities, it is important that as many agencies support them and work together as possible. This will be the first time that a social service agency will be allowed to work so closely with the schools and I think it is a positive step. It will incorporate parenting classes, counseling, medication management, and social supports for the children and their families as well as educational opportunities for the children. It is essentially a position that has been tailor-made and, since it will also be full-time, I am keeping my fingers crossed. In the event however, that I do not get this position or refuse this position, I will be working in one of the middle school ED programs which will be three-quarter time. There are pros and cons for each position as I think about how to balance my own classes and practicums with work this coming year, but overall I believe I will be happy in whatever position I end up in.
We have been slowly making progress on some summer home projects though I think the list will be never-ending for quite some time. In June we got some of the property cleared in hopes of renting some equipment to scrape up the ground to put down topsoil and grass seed but that will probably be #1 on next summer's to-do list, along with widening the driveway and hopefully having a completed shop/garage by that time if not sooner, as long as it gets staked off and cleared and we can get a foundation in.

Here is the beginning stage of our temporary greenhouse. We had to get the sprouts out of the house and in a better growing environment. Not sure yet how long this structure will last until we are ready to plot out plans for a more permanent greenhouse but it is working well for now.

Here is the finished product complete with garden boxes and the plants which have been inhabiting it for probably a little over a month now. It does require the occassional maintenance of sometimes getting out the packing tape and re-taping the seams (very Alaskan I know. Pretty much anything can be fixed with tape) and if it wasn't raining right now that is what I would be doing. I knew I shouldn't have let it slide yesterday when the weather was nice!We have planted potatoes, cabbage, two types of cucumber, peas, beans, aspargus, and some herbs. Most of our plants, with the exception of the asparagus and herbs, have done well and will hopefully be producing soon so we can start eating from them. It is possible that we waited too late to start and transplant them but it was colder for longer this year which made it hard to judge when the time would be right to move them outside. As you can see, they haven't done too bad.

Jamie has also talked for quite some time about wanting to get chickens and start raising them for egg and meat purposes. We know a couple who is looking to get rid of some of their birds since they have so many and his uncle had a hen house he was willing to give us, along with a fenced area for them to roam in the winter months.

So, we obtained the hen house and the pen which are currently occupying the trailer in the yard until his next hitch off when we can stake off an area to place these structures and start preparing the area for at least six birds(the current hen house can comfortably house 12) possibly by September. Success with this project will mean expanding, in due time, to have more chickens as well as the possibility of geese, ducks, turkeys, or phesant. There has also been talk of getting goats within the next year mainly for milk production and he is still toying with the idea of bees and larger livestock. Obviously these will be steps that will be done gradually as it will a fair amount of research and time for building the necessary structures and obtaining the animals and the means to maintain them. Honestly, this expansion has been something we have had some disagreement on but I think once it all comes together, it will be well worth it and I may even learn to enjoy it. There is a part of me that is a little excited about the possibilities and the opportunities for growth in this aspect. There is something so satisfying about being able to provide for yourself and know where your food comes from and how it has been cared for.
The final project in the last two weeks was the conversion of the hall closet from storage closet to pantry. This will be ideal in providing extra storage space especially when it comes time to can again and clears up the kitchen quite a bit. Overall it is just a better use of the provided space. Next on the agenda will be starting the compost pile (priority #1!!! during the next hitch home since my barrel is VERY full), staking off areas for the shop and aforementioned hen house, deciding on and ordering flooring for the living room as well as installing said flooring after coming to a solid agreement on the type of hardwood we want and deciding on a tile pattern for the entry way since that will also get replaced. Below are the samples we have gathered so far. I think I might be partial to the one on the middle right because I believe it best compliments what we have and I think we can both live with it......possibly. Choosing flooring really shouldn't be this hard.....And then deciding where to hang my new beautiful mirror, which was made by a dear friend of mine as a housewarming present. In reality this mirror will hang long-wise but I forgot to rotate pictures before I posted them, though it would actually hang well as shown if it had been made to do so. So I guess all there is left to say is: Stay tuned for the next batch of summer projects!!