March

If I could actually update my blog more often, my posts would be shorter...if only....maybe after this weekend, the LAST weekend of cookies!! This Saturday I'm taking the first two of five total Praxis Tests to get my certification to teach in Washington. NONE of my certifications from Texas transferred to Washington - the only thing those certificates certified me for was to substitute teach - blah! I'm happy at Girl Scouts, but I want to get certified officially, because I know I want to be a full-time teacher eventually. Thus, $550 later, I'm signed up for 5 tests this spring.
Picture 69: March 10, 2010 - I've been having some problems with respect with my 8th graders, so today we did some team-building exercises to help combat the problem. They all actually were very receptive and we made a class agreement. Our opening activity was "Question Ball" - I made this for it:

Picture 68: March 9, 2010 - I know I've taken picture of the Cherry Blossoms before, but as Spring gets closer, they just get prettier and more fragrant...LOVE THEM!!


Picture 67: March 8, 2010 - As I took Billy for our power walk this morning, I saw this interesting tree. These flower petals are as thin as tissue paper, and this tree is covered in them. It's such a cool tree and I've never seen it before - I gotta look up its name!!

Picture 66: March 7, 2010 - I worked at Starbucks and then Marcy and I went to see "Alice in Wonderland 3D." I'd been fighting a cold all week, so sitting in the theater and relaxing was a wonderful way to spend a cloudy afternoon!! And, I really liked the movie - very empowering for teenage girls - I am going to encourage my troop to go see it!!

Picture 65: March 6, 2010 - I had another cookie booth sale after school - it wasn't super busy, but the girls had fun, and that's all that matters, right??!! :) Our cookie stash...

Picture 64: March 5, 2010 - I got my haircut on Wednesday, and it's SUPER short. I'm definitely still getting used to it...

Picture 63: March 4, 2010 - We went to this delicious little Mexican restaurant for dinner - my favorite is the veggie burrito, and the delicious margaritas!! This place is walking distance from our house and it's inexpensive, so it's a lucky find!!

Picture 62: March 3, 2010 - I took this picture today on my commute to work. This saying cracks me up, because when we were little, my brother and I used play this ridiculous game where one of us would say to the other, "Betcha I can beat ya..." and then we would slowly move our hand close to something (for example, the chair) and say "to the chair" as we were touching the chair. I told you, it's ridiculous, but we seriously played it ALL the time - sometimes it involved running, but more often it was a game we played on road trips....I'm sure my parents loved it!!

Picture 61: March 2, 2010 - This is the girl that inspired the haircut. I sat near her on the train today...I used my iPhone to take the picture so as to not seem *too* creepy :)

Picture 60: March 1, 2010 - We had a Girl Scout troop meeting on the 1st. The Daisy Girl Scouts (K and 1st Graders) painted with food, and of course, had a BLAST doing their art project!!

THE OLYMPICS 2010

Some highlights from our trip to Vancouver - awesome trip, once-in-a-lifetime experience, surreal....

Marcy and me on the train to Vancouver


View from our seats on the train


Awesome lanterns hanging in the trees in the Olympic Village


Pride


View of Downtown Vancouver from Stanley Park


The Olympic Torch


CURLING!!!


Team USA vs. China


Inside the Curling Venue


The Olympic Mascots - pretty cute little creatures


At the Pacific Coliseum for Women's Figure Skating


It was so awesome to see the Women's Short Program - we were there for 4 hours. The skaters perform in groups of five. After the two groups of skaters skate, they "zamboni" the ice, then the next groups of skaters gets 6 minutes to warm up, then each person from that group performs. It was cool to see all the "behind-the-scenes" stuff. I've been watching Ice Skating since forever, so seeing it in person was totally rad!!


The Pacific Coliseum


The Olympic Torch by night

Whirlwind End to February

I can't believe tomorrow is the first day of March!! Things have been really busy around here with Cookies - It seems like that is all I can think about lately...Well, that and the Olympics :) We had an AWESOME time at the Olympics. I sometimes still think it's surreal that we were really there a week ago!!!
Picture 59: February 28, 2010: Billy is one tired pup...he and I went on an epic walk yesterday morning, and he's been tired since. His mood reflects mine. I'm exhausted. Isn't a weekend supposed to be restful....

Picture 58: February 27, 2010: My girls at our first Cookie Booth Sale of the season. They sold 400 boxes in 6 hours!! Enough for the troop to go to Build-A-Bear - they're all pretty excited!!

Picture 57: February 26, 2010: This picture was sent to me. While I was at the Olympics, some of my girls from my class participated in the Girl Scouts Leadership Luncheon. They had the honor of presenting the flags for the ceremony and they were so excited (I think mostly for the fancy lunch more than anything else...). It was a great experience for them, and they all had a blast!! They're pictured here with a local Seattle newscaster

Picture 56: February 25, 2010: I took a picture of this poster today, because the girls in my class ask me what this means all the time. We're working on teamwork and trust a lot in this class, so this poster has sort-of become my class motto...

Picture 55: February 24, 2010: We took the Amtrak to and from Vancouver, and while it provided gorgeous views of the Northwest, I don't think I'll be doing it again, because Customs on both ends was long and drawn-out and completely ridiculous. Top that off with a four-hour train ride, and it was pretty exhausting (driving to Vancouver only takes 2 hours, but they were predicting impossible parking situations and long lines at the border - all of which turned out to be over-estimated...)

Picture 54: February 23, 2010: Marcy and me at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver for Women's Figure Skating Short Program. One word sums it up: AWESOME!

Picture 53: February 22, 2010: We spent our first day in Vancouver exploring downtown, walking around the Olympics exhibits, and of course, checking out the massive gift shop. The Olympic Torch was pretty phenomenal - there was this huge metal fencing around it to keep people far away...I can't complain though, because it makes for better pictures :)

Picture 52: February 21, 2010: Our Girl Scout Troop (the one I volunteer with) participated in a World Thinking Day Event and studied Argentina. Aren't they so cute!!

Picture 51: February 20, 2010: Bryan and Leann flew in to visit for the day before heading up to Vancouver. We had fun exploring Seattle. We ate lunch on a pier on the water, shopped, and had a great day with beautiful weather!!

Picture 50: February 19, 2010: Tulips from my dad for Valentine's Day...still beautiful a week later!!

Picture 49: February 18, 2010: The weather in Seattle was absolutely beautiful this week. There were several days of cloudless skies with crisp coolness. LOVE IT!! Makes me excited for summer!!

Picture 48: February 17, 2010: I went to Pullman, WA to visit my KD Ladies for a couple of days, and the views on my drive were so fabulous...

Picture 47: February 16, 2010: Washington State University, Pullman, WA - not as beautiful as the Tech Campus, but still very pretty...

Mid-Winter Break!!

I just got back from a few days in Pullman, WA visiting the Kappa Delta chapter. They are preparing for their CDC (Chapter Development Consultant) Visit - for my non-Kappa Delta friends, that is when someone from the Sorority National Office comes to the chapter and grades them on how they're functioning. Most of the women in the chapter have never had a CDC visit, so they were all pretty intimidated - hopefully it will go well!!

(Pictures from yesterday and today will be added when I unpack my camera from my bag)

Picture 46: February 15, 2010
Marcy got me these beautiful lilies for Valentine's Day, and their blooms were beautiful today.


Picture 45: February 14, 2010
Valentine's Brunch at Anthony's - I had a crab and cheddar melt and it was delicious!!


Picture 44: February 13, 2010
I was in a card-making mood on Saturday, so I decided to make a card sample for my upcoming class. This card has a little plastic "treat cup" - I am really pleased with how it turned out!!


Picture 43: February 12, 2010
Opening Ceremonies!!!! My parents sent me this picture today - this flag hangs outside their house - GO TEAM USA!!!


Picture 42: February 11, 2010
I went to Pike Place Market today, and passed by my favorite little Kitchen Shop in the market - looking through the windows you can see the endless stacks of Fiestaware - LOVE IT!!!


Picture 41: February 10, 2010
This tree is blooming outside the front door - so pretty, and a sure sign that spring is around the corner - YAY!!

Daily Pictures Updated...

Cookie Season is NON STOP for me!! And to top that all off, tomorrow night is a Girl Scout Thinking Day Event for the Girl Scout Council that I've planned the past two years - it's a great event, but as I'm sure you know, things always seem to get backed-up the day before an event and it's SUPER BUSY!!! I'm finally able to take a break, so I thought I'd blog while watching Scrubs....

Picture 40: February 9, 2010 - A sure sign of spring being CLOSE - the Cherry Blossoms are starting to bloom - YAY!!


Picture 39: February 8, 2010 - Our Girl Scout Troop in the Welcome Circle!! We have 29 members now - Can't believe it!! Last night we celebrated our Troop Thinking Day by studying Argentina...


Picture 38: February 7, 2010 - I worked at Starbucks today and we started using the new Heart cups - Bravo, Starbucks!! - these are AWESOME!!


Picture 37: February 6, 2010 - Beautiful Seattle Saturday - This is the Olympic Mountain range, looking west from the beach near my house. The Cascade Mountain range east of Seattle was also visible and beautiful - LOVE IT!!


Picture 36: February 5, 2010 - I woke up on Friday with my eye swollen shut - I don't know if it was a bug bite or major zit, but needless to say, it was really painful and totally swollen and pink. Thus, I decided to find a substitute for my classes, because I really didn't want to face the wrath of those 6th and 7th graders - oh the humiliation.... Since I was home, I took advantage of the day and rested, used a hot compress on my eye, and took benadryl. By the afternoon I was feeling a lot better so I went for my powerwalk in the sunshine. I discovered this adorable little house for sale along the way. I absolutely love the craftsman style...


Picture 35: February 4, 2010 - Some of my girls posing in front of their Thinking Day Display. Each class was divided into groups to research a different country. Then, they got a display board to display the information they learned. This group got an A+. I don't get to see all of my 1st semester girls anymore, but some of them are in my Thursday After-School Troop...


Picture 34: February 3, 2010 - My new girls making their journals for class. Each class starts with 10 minutes of Bell Work - the girls journal on a topic that I post on the board....They're loving making their journals...



Picture 33: February 2, 2010 - New Semester, New Month...Here's what we're up to in class for February...notice that Mid-Winter Break - I'm excited!!

Cookie Video

I love this video!! So cute! Happy Cookie Season :)

A New Blog and More Pictures

Well, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow yesterday. I guess that means MORE WINTER....Although, I don't really have much to complain about. The winter here in the northwest has been pretty mild...still cloudy, but not freezing. I am really ready for more sunshine and longer days, but who isn't, right?!?!

I've started a new blog: supertroopblog.blogspot.com. It's for my Girl Scout Troop and offers them ideas on how to earn badges at home, keep them updated on events, etc....

And now, pictures...
I'm going to upload the pictures from yesterday and today soon, but for now I'll update the last week of pictures....

Picture 32: February 1, 2010
I've lived here for almost two years and today was the first time I saw the KD house at the University of Washington. It reminds me of the KD house in Lubbock - mostly because it's white with green shutters. All the houses at the UW are really close together and right across the street from campus. The more universities I visit, the more I see that that's the norm. People always think it's weird that Greek Circle at Tech was far away and that really the only purpose for the sorority houses was meetings and recruitment.


Picture 31: January 31, 2010
Billy Boy. He's pretty cute, huh??


Picture 30: January 30, 2010
One of my good friends, Chris, moved to Seattle several months ago. He and his cousin have a band called Lights On Why, and Saturday night was their first show. I've watched Chris perform for years - I remember fondly the days of seeing his band, Dirty Virgin Deluxe, play at Bash's in Lubbock....It was a lot of fun to see him play again!!


Picture 29: January 29, 2010
We went out with some friends for dinner tonight to Hot Diggity Dog. I'd been hearing about it all week on the radio, getting e-mails, etc....Well, needless to say it was not Diggity. Or Hot. I.was.not.impressed. I had high hopes because they advertised delicious veggie dogs, but it was pretty blah. Dessert, however, was a different story!! We went to The Fainting Goat Gelato Shop and it was YUMMY!! I had two scoops - one Salted Caramel, one Peanut Butter Cup - both DELICIOUS!! The place is named after goats that actually faint from excitement...so I'm guessing they assume the goats would faint from the excitement of eating gelato?!?!?