Raced for the Cure

I did it! The Race for the Cure yesterday went well. I raised over $1000!!! So a HUGE thanks goes out to everyone who financially and emotionally supported me!

Next year hopefully I'll raise a good amount and actually be able to run some of the Race. There were 10,000 people there, so since I didn't get close enough to the runners I got stuck in a pack of walkers, which isn't bad. I walked with my team (headed by members of my school's county's educators association (read: union). I stayed with them for the first mile but it took 30 minutes and Chris had a photo shoot to get ready for, so I excused myself and walked as quickly as I could for the other 2+ miles. Then after the race I did get some free stuff, but I do have to say I was a little bummed that I didn't get to the Ford tent until they were out of scarves. Apparently they hand out really cool scarves every year. Chris and I did get some free Sun Chips and Panera bagels, and I got a free visor from Shane Co. (a jewelry store).

Then it was off to, well, change my air filter. We'd walked by a couple auto stores on the way from where we parked to where the race started, and I was in dire need of a new air filter. So we bought one and Chris helped me change it (he did most of the work).

Then we went to Famous Dave's for a celebratory lunch then to the photo shoot at Fellowship Bible Church, where Chris and I have been going to church out in Brentwood the past few months. He's on the email list for a photography club through the church, and he got to be one of about 5 photographers for family portraits. The first two families (each family had an hour with a photographer) were really difficult. The third family was awesome and it made everybody's day. Chris finally had a fun time and got some cool stuff.

Next on the schedule was the drive-in! We love going to the drive-in. It's inexpensive (including the food), fun, and we get to see 2 movies instead of 1. We saw "Michael Clayton" (the new George Clooney movie) followed by "The Brave One" with Jodie Foster. Neither are feel good movies but I liked them both.

So after a really long 19+ hour day, we got to turn the clocks back (yay!).

And I think we're going to Cracker Barrel for breakfast!

fall break!

For the past week I was in NoVA. It was a great time. I had way too much to do and didn't get to do it all, or see everyone. But it was great nonetheless. Plus, Mom got me a bunch of fall clothes (always a plus).

Now it's time to go back to work. Okay... it's not yet. Man, I love a two-week fall break!

Other than seeing some awesome friends and spending some time with the rents, I got some quality sleeping-in time a couple mornings, I went walking solo or with Mom for an hour to an hour and a half every day, and went down to VA Beach to help Chris' family celebrate his sister's awesome graduation from massage therapy school. And I got to read some magazines I put off during the school year.

Hopefully I'll be able to get back to NoVA over Christmas break to do some more stuff I didn't get to do, like going to see some friends' houses, going to church at Reston Town Center, eating at Big Bowl, and visiting more people.

Maybe a two-week fall break isn't as long as I thought it'd be...

chugging along

Things at school are basically going well. I wish I had a more supportive administration. Chimes meets after school on Mondays, chorus meets after school on Tuesdays, and starting next week the musical rehearsals will be after school Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Chris has been super busy working part-time as a school photographer (think picture day and yearbook stuff including sports teams) and doing his own photography stuff on the side. Last weekend he shot a horse show for the whole weekend and I helped out on Saturday and Sunday. I had an awesome time. I do have to admit I'm not the biggest fan of dressage (where the rider has to make the horse do certain things like walk and canter and turn with the least amount of movement as possible). I'd much rather go to a rodeo (something I still haven't done out here). The best part was that I got to pet a bunch of horses. It made me realize even more how I'm completely happier when I have animals around me (nice animals, that is). So I've decided I want to take some horseback riding lessons for a month or so just for fun. Hopefully my friend Katie, who owns some horses, will be my teacher. I really hope it works out.

Also, I've joined the Nashville Race for the Cure. I'm running (err, walking... err, crawling) in honor of my mom's mom, my granny, Alene Bohanon. She had breast cancer when I was little and had a mastectomy. I'm on the Wilson County Educator's Association (county my school's in) team, so I'm hoping I'll get to know some other teachers and people working in the county. And I'm hoping to raise some money for breast cancer research. If you would like to help me reach my goal of $1,000, you can go to my website for the race. I'm super excited about this!

stupid finale registration

I just spent about 6 hours working on some hand chimes music. I basically had to take 4 songs and cut them apart (musically/notationally... if that's a word... speaking) and rewrite them all in Finale NotePad. I would have loved to use the version of Finale I bought back in college, but I loaned it to too many people and can't register the software on my newish laptop.

I will probably never want to hear Jolly Old St. Nicholas, Jingle Bells, Up on the Housetop, or We Wish You a Merry Christmas after the chimes group is done with them.

We're working on getting the musical approved by our principal. I hope it's approved. My team teacher really wants to do it (and I don't really but that means I'll be able to do the one I like when I'm teaching solo). It's a new kids' musical called Dreamcatcher. The teacher I work with is all into Native Americans and ghosts (she says she can communicate with ghosts and wants me to go with her to the Bell Mansion to see if she can communicate with the Bell Witch Ghost... on halloween). Last year's musical was some spinoff of The Wizard of Oz and it was almost not approved because there's a witch/evil/scary stuff. Mostly evil. I mean, this is the first year where if the chorus sings a Christmas carol (We Three Kings, for instance), we also have to sing a secular Christmas song (Jolly Old St. Nicholas). We weren't even allowed to sing any songs with the words Christmas or Jesus when I was in elementary school. (Sidenote: apparently this school system drove out the ACLU a couple years back, and when we do the moment of silence we actually have to bow our heads and close our eyes.)

Next week is my first observation and I'm not too excited. The state of Tennessee has so much paperwork for observations that it's taking me longer to do the paperwork than prepare for the lesson! And I don't know what this administrator wants so I'm not positive what kind of lesson will make her happiest. From what I can tell, anything that connects to other subjects is good. Basically involve as little music as possible, and as much social studies as possible.

But I'm finished for the afternoon, so that's good! I learned that a new teacher spends an average of 70 hours per week working. So it's great to have a little break!

so it's been a while

I've been SO tired with my new job. It's been pretty exhausting but a great time. Even though I'm at school for 12 hours at a time, I don't feel as, well, depressed as I did with my previous job. We'll see how it goes for the rest of the year. I do know, though, that Wilson County Schools doesn't have appreciation for the arts like Fairfax County (but really, most school systems don't).

I'm getting over the 2nd week sickness. My team teacher (there are 2 general music teachers for the school since we have over 1,000 K-5 students) has been sick as well. Turns out the school's ventilation system has no air filters. We asked them to come in and clean our vents, so some guy showed up, put plastic bags under the vent (on top of the desk directly below the vent), and swept it with a broom. The end. He didn't even take the bags up. Oh well. Like my team teacher, Emily, says, it could be worse!

Now I'm ready for my first full weekend off. Not this weekend though. I have my second full-day Saturday In-Service. Ugh. At least I'm having a good time with a new 2nd grade teacher at my school.

I'm going to save my money throughout this school year so I can take an Orff I certification class that will be a week long in the summer. It'll teach me more about general music, which is especially great since I didn't have much coursework in it and I only subbed for a music class for a few weeks after I graduated.

I'm excited to go back to NoVA for 8 days in October. I guess one good thing about working for this county is we start with the kids in late August, but we have 2 weeks off for fall break and then 2 weeks off for spring break and are finished with the kids on, like, June 1 or something crazy.

That's about it from me. I'm just, well, it's my bedtime.

everyone has one

I want a scooter. But I don't know where I'll be living in the next few years, so I've decided it's not the best investment. I don't want to end up living in Hermitage and riding my scooter downtown.

Our gift shop manager has one (blue with red/yellow flames). One of our gift shop employees has one (red). One of our food/beverage people has one (blue and silver, I've heard, although I haven't seen this one). And somebody else that works here has one because I keep seeing a light silver one by the "bike rack" (photo on right).

But for the record, I wanted one first!!!

today is lisa's birthday

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LISA!!!