Happy Thanksgiving, and Happy Birthday Mom

Today is a double shot. It's Thanksgiving and Mom's birthday. I won't disclose how young she is (you know, Mom), but she's younger than I'll be at that age. I think she might be younger than I am at my age...
Today was a great day. We went down to Meeker to the family farm for a Thanksgiving feast. Good food and good conversation was had by all. I took a 30 min. walk down the country road after lunch to try to settle the food. Too bad my asthma decided to come for a walk with me. Oh well- breathing is for the wimpy. The picture of the sky was taken on my walk. The clouds were so pretty today.
My wrist is healing up nicely. I get the stitches out on Tuesday. I'm SO excited. I can't wait to shower that hand (I've been cleaning it gently, but I can't get it wet). I can use both hands now, although I probably use the hurt hand more than I should. I may be getting a scolding from the surgeon on Tuesday. Bad, me.

I guess that's all. It was a wonderful day. Wish I could have spent it with some of my family, but that's just not an option. I'll think of them and know they are with me even if not in person.

Love to all.
Happy Birthday, Mom!

I'm off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of the Farmer's Market

I think that's how the song goes, huh?????

Today I went to the local farmer's market for the first time. I know it's winter, and there's not much of a selection, but I wanted to go check it out. It's pretty nice, albeit a little small (but it's winter- what do you expec?). I picked up some green beans, broccoli, tomatoes, fresh eggs, and a gigantic cucumber. I'll definitely go back in the spring/summer when fruits will be out and the selection is much larger. I enjoyed the atmosphere, and really felt like I was helping out my local community, rather than just shopping at the store where my groceries come from thousands of miles away. I rather enjoyed myself!!

The picture if from our front yard. As I was pulling out, I noticed how beautiful the red bush was against the green pine tree. So stunning- even in the winter when most everything is dying. Beauty is all around.

I'm feeling pretty good since the surgery. I've taken a few pain killers (the heavy narcotic kind), and they've worked well. Then again, so has the Aleve. My wrist is swollen, black and blue, and breaking out in hives. It's lovely. My poor body is trying to figure out what it did to deserve this.

I'm getting very droopy eyed right now. Time for rest. Take care!

ewwwwwwww... I'm a Frankenstein

I had my carpal tunnel surgery done today. It went well. I was told not to take the wrap off, but I did anyway. I had to see it. I'm a curious monkey. It's like Frankenpalm- pretty cool!!! I made the eeewwwwww face when I saw it. I'm typing one handed so this will be short & sweet. Now I just have to see how long I can milk this before hubby tires of my one handed helplessness. hee hee

Off to pain med land now... ta ta

A weekend getaway

I went away for four lovely days. Where did I go? To the mental hospital? Probably should have, but no. To the Carribean? Wish I could've, but no. I went to Quartz Mountain resort in Altus, OK for a 4 day workshop on integrating the arts in the classroom. It was a lovely weekend away from it all. All the pictures are taken at the park (the wind generators were on the way down- I just find them so pretty to look at). It's beautiful there, even in the winter. My room was very nice, the resort staff was wonderful, and I enjoyed the hot tub almost every night I was there. I did some biking, some running, and even a little hiking. It was a great getaway. I even learned a few things to take back into my classroom and use with my kiddos. I don't have much to say, except it was lovely down there. We'll have to go back sometime in the warmer months to enjoy the scenery much more.

It was relaxing and refreshing. Although I missed Rian, I sure didn't miss being away from here...

I love the morning sky. Everything about it is just so beautiful. Some mornings the sun is shining brightly, some mornings it's cloudy and gloomy, and some mornings it's just peaceful and calm.

Today was a good day. School wasn't great, but it was OK. Just one more day and then I'm off for 2 days. Then only 2 days of work next week and I'm off for 6 days. Woo hoo. So what if I have to have surgery- if it means a few days away from my classroom then I'm all in...

Today was very uneventful. Go to work, work, come home and relax. We took all 3 dogs for a walk tonight. Yikes! That's too much of an adventure for me. They are some serious pulling machines. I need to take them out more often so they don't get too excited when we do go out. I guess that's why I have an acre of land- so they can walk themselves. :)

All in all a good day. Two down, one to go this week- then it's 4 days at Quartz Mountain Resort for a little retreat from life...

Today was a lot of fun, and kind of a momentus day for us. We woke up at 3 AM to head to El Reno, OK for a race. We weren't doing the race, but we were volunteering at the finish line. It was a 100 mile running race across Western Oklahoma. Talk about an amazing event. I'm inspired by all those runners. I could never fathom running that far, nor would I ever even want to try it. I get worn out by 26.2. Forget the other 73.8. Sheesh!

On our way to El Reno our car hit a big milestone. It rolled over 100,000 miles. I've never had a car do that before- especially never when it was ME that put all those miles on there. It was pretty exciting!!! I pulled over on the highway to get a picture. I had to commemorate the event because it's a pretty big deal.

The picture of the 3 men is Rian, Rich, and Mike. We were all in the basement of the chapel on the military fort (where the finish line was). They are just playing around (as always). The next picture is of my friend, Bret, finishing his 100 mile race. He's hiding in the middle of all the people surrounding him. The next picture is of the homecoming corsage he found on the side of the road. It's a buffalo head with a garter belt and all kinds of ribbons. He put it on and ran with it until the finish (he found it about 30 miles away from the finish). He's a funny guy.

It was a lot of fun out there today. I can't believe anyone would run 100 miles on purpose. It's just too crazy far for me. I don't much like riding my bike 100 miles.

It was a great day for the race, the weather was perfect, and I had a lot of fun hanging out with friends. A great way to spend a Sunday.

Crazy fall weather

Today was a strange day. I knew it would rain and thunderstorm, but it was kinda crazy! I got off work, took one look at the crazy sky (see first picture), then hightailed it home. I had to run by Lowe's, so I ran inside while dodging raindrops. Next thing I know, the sky opens up and all heck breaks loose outside. Hail, lightning, rain- the works. I safely wander around inside the dry building to kill some time then head outside. The most beautiful rainbow was waiting for me. It went from horizon to horizon. I rarely see a full rainbow, so it was a great treat!!!! Minutes later it disappeared behind more rain clouds and it was gone. I came outside just in time.

One more week down, 24 to go. Next week is a 3 day work week (I'm attending a 2 day conference on Thursday and Friday), and the week after that is a 2 day work week (I have surgery on Wed. and will be out for 2 weeks). After that it's almost Christmas break and some much needed time off before all the hellish testing begins in the spring.

Life is still good!

Barack the vote!

I went to vote today, and I've never felt more proud to be an American! The line was sooooo long, and I didn't mind waiting at all. I've never waited more than about 1 min. to vote here, so it was truly welcome to see so many people getting out there and exercising their right to vote. I watched the coverage all night long, and cried when Barack was announced as our new President. I'd been hoping all along that he'd win, and he did. I respect McCain tremendously, we just differ on our viewpoints a bit. Barack's got a huge weight on his shoulders (both of them would have the same heavy weight).

I'm just glad it's all over...

What a day!

The weather was incredible today. Is this November or April??? It was such a nice day to be out and about. I got up sorta early and rode my bike to the library to check out a few books, then to the store to pick up a few things for the election on Tuesday (I'm hosting the school-wide election in my classroom). It was just dreamy outside. The wind was calm, the sun was shining, and it was indeed heaven on Earth.

Later in the afternoon I went out to the courtyard and swung in the hammock for a couple hours reading my newly borrowed books from the library. Rian came home from work and joined me. It was really nice. About 6:30 we met some friends for dinner (and stayed at the restaurant for 3.5 hours!).

Would you believe that on the way to dinner I passed a gas station that had gas for $1.88????? WHAAAAAAAT???? I didn't think I'd see it get below $2, but this is ridiculous. Makes me want to drive around town in my car just for fun. Maybe buy a gallon of gas and pour it on the ground because it's not liquid gold anymore. Ah, but this too shall pass. I'll enjoy it now for it won't last forever...

All in all it was a wonderful day. No kids, so stress, no driving. Just the way I like it on the weekend.

Have you noticed I can't do an update without pictures? It seems plain wrong to not have photos.