Quick Successions: New Mexico Edition

We spent Christmas at our house this year because Brian was recovering from surgery. Christmases at home are always so relaxing. I got a new wedding band for Christmas. I lost my old one and I don't even know where.

Here is me at the grave of Benjamin Rush, a signer of the declaration of independence and apparently my relation. He is in the same cemetery as Benjamin Franklin. Chelsea and I went on a tour of Christ's Church Cemetery while we were in Phily. It was a really good tour. The top picture is of the inside of Christ's Church, where Grandpa Ben went to church. He sat on the right side looking forward at the front of the church.

My colleague Chelsea and I went to Phily in November so we could attend a conference. It was very fun. We got to go to a session with Julie Andrews and we also got me meet some other authors like Matthew and Jennifer Holm who do my favorite series, Babymouse. Here are some picks of us having fun. The top picture is one of Chelsea and I. The bottom one is at the famous Reading Terminal Market where I went to eat lunch with Chelsea and some friends from Georgia. It was so crazy. There were so many people.

Here lies my most recent pair of glasses. I have had prescription eyeglasses since I was in seventh grade. I probably needed them with I was in fifth or sixth. I started wearing contacts in tenth grade. Over the years my prescription slipped to about 20/500. I decided to have laser vision correction. I had to wear my glasses for a little over three weeks while the blood vessels that had grown on my eyes from contact lens wear, dissappated and my tear ducts started working optimally again. They performed the surgery in Salt Lake on Thursday. I got to hold a teddy bear while they cut open my eyes and shot a laser into them. When they finished, my vision was 20/30. People told me that it would not hurt, but it did after the numbing drops wore off and my eyes were extremely light sensitive. It was so painful. I took some pain medicaton and went to bed and when I woke up 12 hours later, I felt amazing. And even better, I could see. When I went to the doctor 22 hours after the surgery for a ...

I have many fun colleagues at work. This is another English teacher at our school. Today was dress up like a student day for teachers and dress up like a teacher day for students. We are skaters. I think we totally pulled it off.

Since I have been a first year teacher, some of the students every year try to dress like me. I used to be embarrassed and avoid it. But I have come to embrace those days when I share a shirt with a student. Since this is spirit week, this student and I both have tennis jerseys. She wasn't trying though, it was just good luck.

Here are some pictures from when we went to Brian's class reunion in California in August. These aren't of the reunion, they are actually from the Monterrey Bay Aquarium. The weather was so nice there and we had a really good time at the reunion with Brian's amazing friends.

Here are some pictures of my with people from my master's program. I will miss them, but I won't miss going to bed at 2 and getting up at 6.

Okay, so we have tile now. It actually looks pretty good. I painted the room and then we have to put some new baseboards. I am on my third week without laundry though. That is a pain.

Well, I guess this means that I have to admit that I have been out of high school for 10 years. But here are a few pictures of me and my old friends. I put more photos on my class reunion site and on Facebook.

We have been re-doing our laundry room and downstairs bathroom. We sort of cruised right through demolition and then stopped because we had to get a new water heater and we wanted to do the laundry room and this room at the same time. Here is our bathroom in its dilapidated glory. Hopefully I can post a picture of both places in a finished state soon.

The school year is over. The penultimate day of school is often spent at Lagoon, a local amusement park. Here is a picture of Brian and his friend Jethro, who teaches art at the junior high, but will be leaving to another school in the fall.

I review books for ALAN-The Assembly on Literature for Adolescents. This is a national organization affiliated with National Council of Teachers of English in which I hold office. Here is the link to ALAN Reviews. Depending on the month, I have a review in ALAN Picks. http://www.alan-ya.org

While we were in San Diego we did some sightseeing. Here I am tinkering around on a plane aboard the Midway, a retired Naval Ship.

We went to a conference in San Diego as part of my work with BYU and thanks to Brian's brother Michael, we got to go to a Giants/Padres game on Opening Week. Here is Brian enjoying the game.

I got roses at work from a very nice man. Maybe I should go out with him.

I found this old picture of me on a girls' trip to Yellowstone I went on before I got married.

We went with our friends out into the west desert just before Christmas and cut down a tree. We already had two, but the more the merrier, I guess. Here is Brian with his conquest.